Computer games bought on Steam

Star Ruler $3.99 USD

Armada 2526 $2.99 USD

Galactic Civilizations Complete Pack $6.24 USD

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion $13.59 USD

Whee!

I have been playing lots of Airmech. Heheh. Enough for now! Whee!

Something happy!

Something happy!

Of the end of the future

Technologists who lament the 'end of the future' are denigrating the incremental advances that actually improve everyday life.

Virginia Postrel

Great military man

"As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that."

Norman Schwarzkopf

Observations made during a run

Spotted when I went running the last two evenings, one basset hound, several white-breasted waterhens, joggers of various varieties, one prime minister, one prime minister's wife, three bodyguards, a couple of unidentified dogs, one monitor lizard, two squirrels, many tourists including Chinese ones, three wedding couples, three photographers and assistants.

Simcity Social progress

My current objective is to build that Atlantean City and buy every single piece of land in the game. The quests? I will do them as they come.

Non-confirmists

Quoting my friend, Tom:

"It's like those groups of non-conformists. If they all have black nail polish, black trench coats, long dark black hair and wear mascara then aren't they really conformists? I like Escher too and think I had that hand-drawing-a-hand poster when I was 5 years old. Not very esoteric in my book either. It's like thinking Scarlett Johannson is hot - you ain't alone, buddy."

In the early 90s, when it was trendy to be a non-confirming rebel here in Singapore. All the rebels here wore rebel style clothing (bandannas, etc), listen to rebel music (trendy folk, indie music and jazz), read indie literature (Beats generation stuff), read 'indie' underground comics (Neil Gaiman/Sandman) and watch 'dark' movies (Tim Burton)! WOO HOO! How original is that? Extremely rebellious I should say.

Tom also said:

"It's like Doc Martens. They used to be used exclusively by punks in the U.K. and were badass. Then, before you knew it, there were sold at Urban Outfitters in the color Pink and every punk wannabe chick had a pair. The only thing that sucks more than conformity is non-conformity."

Same boring shit

Dreamworks = Disney = Pixar = Same old boring shit. Ever notice how they look exactly the same, with the same boring sitcom kind of jokes?

Of Queens Park Rangers and their plight

I can't wait to see Queen's Park Rangers spend more money. It should be entertaining to see them grasping at straws and get relegated! Haha!

Of people who like the work of M.C.Escher

The works of M.C. Escher are commonplace. They appear in calendars and these calendars are very popular. For some strange reason, a lot of friends that I know who like the work of Escher seem to think that they are the only unique person around who likes Escher. I find that strange because I have many such 'unique' friends.

End of football season

Bah. No season left. As early as one month or so ago, I said that the season was essentially Manure's. I think I am right. I will likely stop following this season except for the Champion's League. Nothing much left to watch.

Dreary day.

A dream of industry

I had a curious dream last night. I dreamed that I was a waiter serving in a diplomatic dinner in a crumbling mansion in Italy. I dreamed that I had opened the windows and looked out at the expanse of the industrial town, the tall smokestacks, the dirty factories and warehouses.

"Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends."

Woody Allen

Beg for shit

All the fucking Christmas beggars from the different organisations are calling to beg for shit.

A coffin with a hole for his big nose!

As if ugly is not ugly enough... Haha!

Friday! Whee! A nice rainy week. I have been reading and doing a bit of drawing. Most of it all, I have been chatting with the little squirrel. Haha.

"Religious belief is a totalitarian belief. It is the wish to be a slave. It is the desire that there be an unalterable, unchallengeable, tyrannical authority who can convict you of thought crime while you are asleep, who can subject you - who must, indeed, subject you - to total surveillance around the clock every waking and sleeping minute of your life - I say, of your life - before you're born and, even worse and where the real fun begins, after you're dead. A celestial North Korea. Who wants this to be true? Who but a slave desires such a ghastly fate? I've been to North Korea. It has a dead man as its president, Kim Jong-Il is only head of the party and head of the army. He's not head of the state. That office belongs to his deceased father, Kim Il-Sung. It's a necrocracy, a thanatocracy. It's one short of a trinity I might add. The son is the reincarnation of the father. It is the most revolting and utter and absolute and heartless tyranny the human species has ever evolved. But at least you can fucking die and leave North Korea!"

Christopher Hitchens

Dreary day.

Pompous and pretentious

Pompous and pretentious. That was the impression I got from that 'death vibe' and the stereotypical love of certain imagery and music, for instance, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet. It is trite and predictable. Then, there are the political cartoons, done in a school textbook style. And more proclamations of death and so forth. Has he ever looked at himself in a mirror? Has he ever really thought about things instead of adopting such a posture?

I had a restful sleep last night, the most restful in a while. I feel wonderful today!

How was this effected? By sleeping half an hour earlier! I need to rein in my hours and get sufficient sleep.

A wonderful weekend. A dinner at Shaslik which bring back memories. A walk around Marina Bay.

It doesn't look like I will be travelling anywhere this year. Hong Kong is going to be expensive at the end of the year. I will probably go in January.

I decided that I was not in the mood to draw with a crowd of forty-five other artists this evening. And there is the horrid loud music at the Red Dot Museum. I decided to give up my place for others.

I want to draw cities and spaceships and relax this evening.

A nice week. I ran twice this week, once on Wednesday and once on Thursday. I do need to start increasing my distances again.

Speed wise, I should be alright. I could be faster though. No doubt, I am not as fast as before.

And I need to start lifting weights again. And do crunches or sit-ups.

“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” 

― A.C. Grayling

What a wonderful weekend. However, this weekend felt really short for a variety of reasons. I do need to get more sleep.

Romeo

He's on my restricted list now. All the girls have been warned. There is no need for any more action.

"What is a totalitarian system if not one where the abject glorification of the perfect leader is matched by the surrender of all privacy and individuality, especially in matters sexual, and in denunciation and punishment — "for their own good" — of those who transgress?"

Christopher Hitchens