Just One

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-

I took the one less traveled by,

and that has made all the difference."

"I would rather see films than talk about them.

I would rather write than talk about feelings.

I would rather read than bask in a sea of acquantainces.

I would rather cruise museums alone than with someone who drones on why we should adore Van Gogh.

A freak? A geek? A loner? Aloof?

Alone. One feels alive."

Dialectics

As I was making my way to the bus terminal in Heathrow airport two weeks ago, I was welcomed with a slew of HSBC's ads. I have seen these ads painted on walls in Singapore's train stations but was never able to relish them due to the helter skelter lifestyle. This time, I had the opportunity to revel them at my own pace. On a travellator.

Designed to promote HSBC's standing as the world's local bank, the new Your Point of view campaign offers a refreshing thought to celebrate people's differences by voicing common oppositions to various topics. There was one particular one that caught my eye, one ad featuring a cat and a pug with words imprinted love and loathe, and vice versa. I love pugs, but I have heard of many who cohesively thought it was an ugly "piece of animal".

This concept I learnt today, after watching "Half-Nelson" starring Ryan Gosling" is called Dialectics. Side tracking a lil, I highly recommend this movie. It shows the friendship between an idealistic high school teacher with a drug habit and a troubled student. He rejects the conventional curriculum and instead, takes an edgier approach and emphasizes dialectics in many of his classes. Basically, dialectics is a tool to understand the way things are and the way things change. Dialectics highlights the following three points:

1. Everything is made of opposing forces/opposing sides
2. Gradual changes lead to turning points, where one opposite overcomes the other.
3. Change moves in spirals, not circles.

In this movie, you'll see the dialectical theme playing multiple times: the teacher and student relationship, the "black" student and "white" teacher, ideals vs rules and systems, the adult teacher and the child student. Despite the differences, they made changes in their lives which resulted in positive turning points.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

One day he noticed the brilliant work of a young reporter on another paper and sent for him. The boy came , but the salary that Wynand mentioned had no effect on him. "I can't work for you, Mr Wynand," he said with desperate earnestness, " because you have no ideals." Wynand's thin lips smiled."You can't escape human depravity, kid," he said gently. "The boss you work for may have ideals, but he has to beg money and take orders from many contemptible people. I have no ideals- but I don't beg. Take your choice. There's no other."

Chinese New Year Gathering at Home

Check out the Sumo baby!

Random Photos from Edinburgh

Singapore, part of Malaysia?

I was just doing the usual city Glasgow saunter: admiring the charm of the Victorian buildings, scrutinizing the locals and conducting my own "globalisation" analysis by counting the staggering number of Starbucks and identifying similar stores that could be found in major cities. I ended up in a typical bookstore, browsing their "bestsellers" and then the travelling section.

Yes..I saw the Frommers, Lonely Planet etc. As they had a huge selection, curiosity overwhelmed me and I wanted to see whether I could find travelling books on Singapore. I glimpsed at the "S" section, but no books on Singapore. Alas! The travelling books on Singapore were actually found on the "M" section, together with travelling books on Malaysia. Where is the geographical sense and knowledge? Having a lil nationalistic pride, I transfered the whole set of travelling books on Singapore to its rightful hearthstone. Hah...

Oh well...

Univerity of Glasgow

Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery

Merchant City- Glasgow

Her Majesty's Yacht - Edinburgh

This Royal Yacht was launched by Queen Elizabeth II on 16 April 1953. She took Prince Charles and Princess Diana on a honeymoon cruise aboard Britannia in 1981. She was also used to evacuate refugees from a civil war in '86. The last foreign mission was to convey the last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Pattern, away from Hong Kong for the handover of the British colony to China in 1997. The Yacht was decommissioned in the same year.

The bedroom picture shown above belonged to Queen Elizabeth. During its sails, it carried plentiful royal yachtsmen and officers. Look at the cramped accommodation area as well as the small locker spaces (look at pictures above).

Dining

As seen from the picture, Angela (my host) prepares delicious hot breakfasts every morning coupled with loads of fruits, cereals, toasts and tea. Yummy! On the plate, you see this round black thing. It's what they call it as the 'black pudding', made of pig's blood and herbs. Ain't that bad at all!

I also had the opportunity to taste haggis, a traditional Scottish Dish. It is normally made with the following ingredients: sheep's heart, liver and lungs, minced with onion, oatmeal, spices and salt, and traditionally boiled in the animal's stomach for approximately an hour. And of course, you gotta try their whisky.

Besides the traditional restaurants, one finds cuisine from all around the world, particularly Indian and Thai food.

Adam Smith's Tomb

All hail to the father of economics!

Royal Botanic Gardens - Edinburgh

Supposedly one of the grandest gardens in all of Great Britain.

Calton Hill - Edinburgh

Calton Hill, rising 106 m, has been termed as the "Athens of the North". It's a bullshit of monuments. BUT..people visit the top of the hill not only to see them up close, but most importantly to enjoy the paranomic views of the city spread beneath it.

Edinburgh Castle

The Edinburgh Castle is a landmark that symbolizes this city in the way the way Eiffel town represents Paris. Off Princes Street, you'll be welcomed with the sight of a magnificent building perched on top of a hill. Today it is home to the crown jewels, used at the coronation, and the infamous Stone of Scone (which I thought looked rather plain and useless!)

Scottish Delights

Last week, I made my way to Scotland and visited two amazing, vibrant cities: Edinburgh and Glasgow! Before I show you some pictures, let me give you some interesting information about Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Edinburgh, (where the "burgh" is always pronounced as "burra") is a city filled with historic, literary and intellectual associations. Some familiar names from this city include pioneer economist ADAM SMITH, philosopher David Hume, inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and poet Robert Burns. The city dons a historical feeling, with the cobbled alleys and "closes", and elegant streetscapes.

Glasgow, on the other hand, is a much modern city with plentiful art galleries, music halls, shopping malls and stylish bars. Although Glasgow is a short distance away from Edinburgh, the contrast between the two cities is noticeable. It doesn't offer a fairy tale setting such as Edinburgh, but compensates with a big, metropolitan city.

Party for Ian

Office life will never be the same without Ian...We planned a surprise farewell party for him. Too much food...but great fun playing chariots.

Eileen's Birthday and Karaoke

Francis Bacon's Work Sold for 14 Million Pounds

Christie's auction house sold Study for Portrait II for 14 million pounds, surpassing the previous 7.8 million pounds auction record for a Bacon painting.

General 1996 By Botero

Hah....see any similarities between the picture in my last entry and this painting..