Currently listening to: Yoshinori Sunahara - Love Beat

I'm in chill mode tonight, and this track is some serious kick back music...no matter which remix you download...

I've been seeing a lot of my family lately. Dinner on Sunday night for one of my aunties 61st birthdays (which are apparently VERY big in Chinese culture), and now dinner again tonight. (and if you're ever on Liverpool Street in Darlinghurst with abot 60 ducats to drop on a good meal, Restaurante Riva is recommended...). Family dinners and get-togethers are something I've always had a love-hate relationship with. On one hand, I have the barrage of questions and comments fired at me from all my aunts and uncles, for example, "so, where is your girlfriend?"..."when are you getting married?"..."you're so thin! You need to eat more!"..."What have you done with your hair? You look like a Hong Kong rock star!" You get the idea right?

But on the flipside, I still love seeing all my family. For those that don't know, my extended family is huge...at least 40 when you total up all my cousins, and it's great to see eveyone once in a while. Just to catch up, to see how everyone is doing, to see how my baby nephew and neice are getting bigger (and naughtier!). I'm fond of just sitting and listening to my family talk...especially the women.

Whether it's the defacto female family matriarch, my hot shot corporate cousin, or the only cousin younger than me, Jade, I always find something new. You can learn so much from women, and my family is no exception. All you have to do is sit and listen. Over dinner, my aunties and older cousins were breaking down the finer points of marriage, a relationship, their views on terrorism, and just how important or unimportant your in-laws family can be. It's not that nagging talk either (well, most of the time *grin*), and while it's not like my family is a super well of knowledge, sometimes it can be just a good exchange of ideas...kicking back after a nice dinner with a scotch, it was nice to hear the wisdom that these people I call my family possess...I too often forget that my family are real people too...

I had my last exam in session today, and after I finished, all I could think of was how good it felt...seriously, I couldn't stop taking in deep breaths for about half an hour afterwards...I feel as if I've finished the session! But sitting outside the BioMed building, smoking with some classmates after, I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Yes, I do smoke occasionally...Yes I know it's bad for me...Yes I'm trying to change that...

Just imagine the feeling that'll lift when I graduate.

You can't? Ha...I don't blame you...neither can I...* wry grin*

Currently listening to: A Tribe Called Quest - Stressed Out

I lost my ring today.

You know, the swirly one that covers almost my whole little finger? I don't know what it is with me these last few weeks, but I lost my bracelet as well. Now this isn't the first time I've lost stuff like that (as my mother was quick to remind me), and if anyone goes to UNSW and finds a ring in CLB 8...actually no. I take that back. Honestly. I really don't mind that I've lost it at all. I sat there on the bus, thought about it for a minute, and then went...whatever. The last time this happened, I retraced all my steps at uni (ahhh...so much work!) until I couldn't go any more, and eventually found it. And this ring was hella kewl; I found it at the Jade market in Taipei.

So why the sudden change of heart? I'm not sure...my apathy to what I own is something new. Things like my ring, bracelet, stuff like that, I think one of the main reason why I liked them so much was because they made me feel different. Special almost. Something to make me 'stand apart' Where I got that link from, I'm not sure...I guess that even though I've always been a bit different from my surroundings, I've gone from trying to hide and blend in to purposely make myself stand out. Doing things to accentuate my Asianess if you will...

Now I'm thinking that my ethnicity is something I can never hide, and does accentuating things about myself make me any more special? Does it make me any more Asian? Of course not...I guess I'm just realising that I should stop stressing about metal links, and worry more about my mental links...

At least I won't get mistaken for having a girlfriend anymore...*smile*

Currently listening to: Mo Wen Wei (Karen Mok) - Shi Er Lou (Twelfth Floor)

Prolific.

Now that's not a word that usually doesn't describes most singers, but when it comes to most Chinese artists, the word fits...just the way Karen's smokey voice floats over the piano and drum programming from this track. I can't get over how quick the Chinese music industry can be. Whether it be in HK or Taiwan, artists can put out as many as 2-3 albums a YEAR! Which is a real shame, because it usually means that their record company is forcing them to churn out songs with sounds that are "hot" right now at breakneck speeds; perfect and flawless, yet sterile, without much soul. Kind of like Singapore...*grin*

Not to say that all Chinese music is like that. I find it really hard to see why we like what we do, and how my tastes differ so much from what gets put on commercially. Far from being a musical purist (okay, I take that back...), I just have my own tastes, which just happen to differ greatly from the mainstream. That doesn't mean I'll give up listening to hip-hop in a knee-jerk reation just because it's now 'hot'. That's like selling your soul for a doughnut...

A great music video can do a lot for a song. Think any Dr Dre or Nelly video clip. And speaking of clips, sorry about the last link on my last update, I'll try to get the video up and working...it's well woth the download time! *wink* However, my addiction to watching Channel [V] has past me (at least in Australia), so my media isn't very multi at all these days. All that on-sceeen booty isn't selling me anything either...Listening closer to the way Karen wraps her vocals in the track, the quiet energy she brings, the beauty in the imperfection of her voice, you can feel the soul...just like Mary J. Blige, who is one of the most soulful I've ever heard, these women go to show that you don't need to have a perfect voice to make soulful music...

No offence to other "Diva's" and "prolific" artists, but it's a shame...is perfection really worth the price of your soul...?

Currently listening to: Busta Rhyme feat. Zhane - It's A Party

Another oldie but goodie party jam...pulled this track out of the archives, and listening to it, my head can't stop noddin'. I actually got reminded I had it when I was driving to uni today. The CD player in the car isn't working right now, so to save myself from listening to the radio, I grabbed a handful of old tapes as I ran out the door...after going through a few of them, I finally came across this gem...

I also found my old Dangerous tape, the whole album on tape! Actually, this was the first album I ever owned...ahh, the memories of buying it in Malaysia, and rushing back to my Grandma's to put it in the old tape deck there.... I don't care that a lot of people may pan his abilities; along with Prince, I think Michael is king. 'Remember The Time' is still one of my favourite songs period, but it's actually one of those rare albums where you can listen to almost all the songs without skipping tracks. I think I can name the albums I can do that to on one hand...the rest I can do without.

Chilling out at the Amber Lounge (which is a really nice spot at Burwood) last weekend with some friends, the talk also turned to what we could and what we couldn't do without. So I've been thinking, just what can I do without, or more acurately, what I can't do without? Here are a few...

My ear drums...I was actually so scared one morning after an extra long clubbing nite at Booty Bar when I woke up and had this ringing in my left ear all weekend.I've heard some rock stars have suffered from permanent ringing. Bottom line: but no eardrums, no music. I might as well be listening to country music for the rest of my life...on second thoughts...

Haircuts at Noddy's from Liz...okay, I admit it, I'm a bit of a vain bastard, but taking the old moniker that I'm fond of : "You can't look good everyday", I should at least to try to look good on the days that I can...if I was in a relationship, then slipping a bit wouldn't be so bad, but I'm NOT!

The 3 and a half pound organ imbedded in my skull. Not only is it the source of all this you're reading, it also makes me part of the Australian Labor Party leader Kim Beazley's 'Knowledge Nation'. (okay, okay...I'm not THAT smart). On top of that, it keeps me from falling over uncontrollably and drooling too. Some even say it's the biggest sex organ in your body. Well, unless you have some pocket rocket that weights more than 3 and a half pounds that is...

And last but not least, some of this...don't be scared ladies, many women think it tastes good, and from the video, she seems to agree too...

Currently listening to: Common - "The 6th Sense"

"I'm Morpheus in this hip-hop matrix, exposing fake shit..."

If I were to be an emcee in another life, I'd be like Common. When he writes, it's so simple, yet so complex and filled with meaning, and the metaphors and similes he uses can be really subtle and clever. That's how I want to be able to write one day. Simple, to the point stuff, but layered with meaning and occasional humour...Most importantly, he speaks his mind, and doesn't hold back...I'll admit, I wish I could do more of that. Curse my non-confrontational tendancies!

Speaking of (non) confrontational tendancies, you thought I wasn't going to mention The Man? Hahah...how could I resist? It's true that Anthony Mundine is someone a lot of people love to hate, and with comments like "the US brought the whole (WTO) incident on themselves", I don't think he's endearing himself in any way.

Still, one has to wonder about his remarks and ask your own questions. What ARE we doing sending troops to Afghanistan? DID the US bring the whole tradgedy on its own people, a case of "the chickens coming home to roost"?. How can we have an ANZUS treaty if New Zealand isn't even a member anymore? Would the media care less if Mundine weren't a hated man, as well as a Muslim? What if Mundine were Christian? Why won't the links being made in the media between Islam and terrorism be left alone? After months of discussion, I don't think that agreement will ever be reached over these sorts of questions, and after all we all have, and are entitled to, our own opinions.

Does that mean that I agree with all the comments he made? No.

Does that mean that I think he was right for saying what he felt? Yes.

"...who am I to judge one's perspective?"

Currently Listening to: The New Radicals - "You Get What You Give"

Yes, the Mitsubishi ads that have this song are working! I want to hear more of this CD!

Well, after yesterdays mental lapse, it's back to some more normal transmission...

And now that this comments thing is up, it's interactive transmission for all! Yep, I'm pretty sure it's working now, so go on, hit that link, and write your thoughts...

As for me, I've been busy busy busy...week 13! Ahhh...It's amazing how things can get prioritised under stress...Can you say Human Rights and Spy Plane? No? I didn't think so...and apparently neither can Dubya. As I was saying, it's all about the priorities...

"Give it to me now!"

Currently Listening to: Jurassic 5 - "Quality Control"

Ahhhhh...if I'm finding it this hard to write something right now, I shouldn't be writing at all...

I don't know what's wrong; perhaps it's the feeling of an impending Monday, combined with the tonne of uni work I have, a cube of writers block, and a touch of self-realisation about why I'm still busy, still a bit directionless and still single...a potent mix eh?

If you fall into any (or all) of the above, hopefully after reading this you'll feel a bit better too...(and who said Reuters was boring?)

Oh, and I switched and tweaked templates...you like?

Currently listening to: George Michael - "It Doesn't Really Matter"

For those who haven't listened to his album Older, I urge you to. Sure it may not be for you, and to be honest, besides Fastlove, I didn't like it at first. But give it a listen or two; it grows on you, and now, if my sis ever moves out, I'm going to have to buy my own copy to relax and wallow in for sure...I think he even won a Songwriter of the Year award in Britain for it...

I was meant to go to this party at Fox Studios, "Cintah", but I'm not really in the mood tonight...uni work due has a big part to do with it too. It's not very exciting at all is it?

What I AM excited about though is the upcoming release of Dilated Peoples second album Expansion Team, which comes out States wide on Oct 23rd. Their first album 'The Platform' was off the chain, and the new site is great, with heaps of cool Flash stuff. On a somewhat related note, for some local tripleoptix stuff that will dilate your pupils, check out Mike's site...his Flash skills are like WHOA!

Nothing too profound right now, but then, you can't look good everyday...

"...And if I have to tell you, then it really doesn't matter at all..."

Currently listening to: Dilated Peoples - "Guaranteed"

"To me it don't matter how dope you write or look, emcee's without a voice should write a book..."

Just got back from the ABC centre in Ultimo, with my lil' minidisc interview with Dai from the ABC in my hot little hand.(thanx for letting me borrow your kewl MD Recorder Alvina!) All excited, I popped it in, and got comfy on the train ready to track mark the questions...and then I heard my own voice on the headphones...

Evidence is right on point with that quote above...I really don't like my voice. When I spent about 7 months in Taiwan last year, not even my friend Miriam from Canberra could pick I was from Australia...she thought I was from HK! And NO, I didn't have my thick-rimmed glasses back then either! That's why I'm sticking with the words...

So after hanging out it with Dai for a while, we did the interview, and it was kewl...got some good stuff, and covered quite a few issues. I don't think I'll post up anything from the interview just yet, 'cause I need to write it out and edit it some...ironic that one of the questions I asked was about free media and freedom of the press. Dai is great, like an older sis...

Speaking of older sisters, Julene, if you're reading this, call home okay? Mum won't stop trippin' until you call...You in Greece yet?

Currently listening to: SingTel Australia - "The Hum of Equipment in the N.O.C."


That's Network Operations Centre...

And no, that's not a joke either, I'm here at work experience at SingTel, my last week actually. I don't know how I managed to get here before most people in the office, but since Wednesdays I'm basically the shift guy until 3pm, it's kewl...

Just realised that my comments thing isn't working, but I'm in no real mood to try to fix it right now...sorry Angel :-)

I wish I could sleep the next few weeks away...I'm finding it harder to concentrate these days, and my thoughts are all over the place...Good thing for my article for Faan Magazine this month, I'm doing an interview...which is this afternoon with Dai Le from the ABC! I'm getting lazy...if I'm not careful, I'm going to run out of people to interview! But Dai will be good to talk about the media with, and I'll probabaly post some excerpts from the interview if I gets the time...

Perhaps two posts in the one day? Wow, this blog things just writes itself! :-)

I'm hearing my manager's voice over the hum of the equipment...time to post and publish!

Currently listening to: Talib Kweli - "Africa Dream"


"These cat's drink champagne, they toast death and pain, like slaves on a ship talkin' about who got the flyest chain..."

Love Kweli.

Today was so loooooong, I had to spell it with 6 'o's...got up at 6:15 in the am, and got a lift to uni (thanx Dad). Prepped a presentation (my second in as many days), and our team was locked, loaded and ready to roll by 9am. Our group got up, and things started well, but cracks started appearing in our time management...suddenly, I was left with no time (and I MEAN NONE) to say my part of the presentation. I literally got up, threw my slides on quickly, then sat back down. It was like that...

And we came out with an 8/10 (funnily enough, uni has been good thus far...my grades for this session for far are WHOA!)

Today was the first time that I checked the news on TV (usually read the Sydney Morning Herald Online )...so there I am, watching Donald Rumsfeld from the Pentagon giving out a detailed breakdown of the latest daytime US strikes on the Taliban, and some reporter asks him about the targets, and one cave that US fighters bombed; you know, usually questions like why did you bomb the cave, etc.

Pause.

Then he turns to his aide, no luck.

So he turns back to the press and says, quote unquote "Well, we know they're not cooking cookies in those caves..."

Quick thinking from the young at heart US Secretary of Defence.

What do the Australian Rugby teams and Destiny's Child have in common? Both refuse to fly because of the terrorist threat. (but I think the Rugby teams have after careful deliberation decided to fly for a shortened tour). But what I want to know is, even IF they do decide to fly, I don't think that bin Laden has even HEARD of either the World Champs or the Bootylicious Trio.

Can you say paranoia (through your Anthrax defeating gas mask that is?)

I get cynical like this when I'm tired and lack sleep...oh, okay, I just like to poke fun...


( )

Currently listening to: Miles Davis - "so what"


Today has been hectic, as has this week, and so will the weeks to come as things wind down to finals at UNSW...that's University of New South Wales for all those who aren't with the local acronyms...hell, it could mean Undercover No-Name Socialist Workers for all I know...

But really, that thing isn't my bag baby...honest! Yay capitalism!

As you can tell from the little html thing I added in at the top (okay, I lifted it off another site, but last time I checked, online kleptomania wasn't a crime...), I'm chillin' with Miles Davis right now...it's classic old jazz, but it's still so good...why is it that we are so fond of talking about things in the past, and when we do, we think of them in such a positive light? Or at least, things always seem better than they did at the time? "The good old days"..."Fond old memories"...that kinda train of thought...

On that same note, a friend at lunch the other day told me that not only can we dream of the future, but we can also dream of (and perhaps sometimes become trapped in) the past. At the time, we were referring to girls in our pasts, and that somehow things with so-and-so MIGHT still have a minute chance of POSSIBLY working out, and IF we got REALLY lucky and the timing was JUST RIGHT, THEN the old flames that we never had would be ours...but I'm actually referring to something only marginally more important...our humanity.

Legalists, or people who believe that the rules of law are necessary to keep society in order, believe that man's nature is inherently bad. That's why we need all these laws to keep us in check, to keep our society on the 'right path'. However on the flipside, within Confucian schools of thought, all people are inherently good, and all men were born good natured, inherently positive.

Now I'm usually a pessimist, but if Confucius were still here, I think he would have liked Miles Davis too...

Well, it's taken me a long time to finally get around to this...I've been meaning to fire up a blog for ages now, but was always of the thought that it was hard to set one up...so I've always been putting it off...kinda, shoulda, woulda....(thanx to Annamal and Lotus Angel from the Faan Magazine forum for giving me the idea).

But....

Here I am, with the most stripped down and streamlined blog around, firing my thoughts into the space where cyber exists and everything in between. No fancy pics, no flash graphic pop-ups, no massive bulletin boards, just (not so) fancy wording, thoughts that flash in and out of my head, and my minds posts...

As for the name of my blog izm? Well, I'll write on that later. I know it kind of defeats the purpose to name your blog and not explain it, but hey, I'm pretty busy right now (uni and all that other good stuff), and besides, everyone deserves a second chance.

Even US President George W. Bush thinks so.