Back in melbourne

Am back, and amazingly given best seats in the universe again. I must say Tiger's definitely been kind to me. Although I doubt I'll fly with them for international flights again, 11 hours of self-entertainment is a bit too much to bear. 4.5 hours to Darwin, 2 hours plus transit in Darwin then another 4 hours to Melbourne. Too much.

For the flight from Singapore to Darwin, I had a whole row to myself (see photos) though all around me were filled to the brim seats. Must have been a great cause of envy.




Wasn't too great sets from Darwin to Melbourne, but had a seat next to me empty.

Simple pleasures! Oh yes, if you're in the mood to sponsor this struggling student's quest for a drum kit so he can start playing in a band again, feel most free to donate (see Paypal donate option to the right)!

to the point.

"you ripped the dreams right out my mind."

Ever felt that happen before? Or have you ever been guilty of causing such?

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On a sidenote, congratulations to Singapore for winning the Youth Olympics Bid. Big performance bonuses for a few happy ministers-to-be I can imagine.

Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC?

From the NY Times...This makes for a good leisurely read.Is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC?

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In other news, went to catch Santana with my dad at the Indoor Stadium. Was never a great fan, I felt anyone who wrote a song proclaiming his own name on lead guitar was not quite my cup of tea (Think Maria Maria). At the other end of the spectrum, he was responsible for Oye Como Va, one of the great dance tracks of all time. So I went. And I became a fan. 3 hours non-stop action showed great stamina and musicianship, and a massively tight 12-piece band deftly attacking gaps in time with dexterous big hits, was enough for me to say. Santana rocks. And, it's a great feeling going for a gig with your dad and seeing him enjoy himself. Santana was one of the groups his band covered heaps back in his band days, what more can I say? And I can see why he keeps up the effort collaborating with contemporary artistes to keep his brand name up there instead of staying irrelevantly retro.

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And oh yes, please do click on 'em ads :)

For something completely different...

Check Uncyclopedia out.

Quite evidently an alternative take on wiki, here's a glimpse of the stories they spin -

1. Homeland Security valiantly protects America from brown babies
2. Survey on apathy cancelled due to lack of interest
3. Bush travels to Africa in search of country to invade

Go read!

Out, up and about

Butterflies at Insect World, Sentosa. If you want to relive primary school days circa 1980 or abouts, head there. They still feature the same boards and pins with laminated vanguard sheet-type display boards.

Home and Zen

Want to know who you are? Read and watch on.

Had the fortune of spending some time with Luke, my dear friend and guide. He shared this video with me, and I thought it massively worth sharing. A former Yale graduate now Zen Monk who has an amazing presentation style.

In a nutshell, very engaging and a slightly more direct and less parabolic, and if parabolic, nicely explained approach to understanding Zen with a few good parallels drawn to Socrates, Descarte and Jesus Christ. He shares great insight into the parables of Jesus, which was very enlightening.

Go here

5 stars worth.

Return

Am back in Singapore! Flew tiger and despite all the horror stories I was one blessed one.

First the domestic part of the flight - had to fly to Darwin and amazingly despite being last in the queue (made a nice friend in the process), got front row seats with maximum legroom and no one sitting next to me, I had the window seat. I could seriously sprawl. On a full flight!!!

The international part of the flight - back to Singapore, managed to get huge as emergency seats on the aisle, and again with no one sitting next to me, on a full flight, again. So I slept like a baby.

I'm back!