Thursday, September 29, 2005

carry on

人總需要勇敢生存, 我還是重新許願.

Carry On Till Tomorrow

In younger days, I told myself my life would be my own
And I'd leave the place where sunshine never shone
For my life's too short for waiting when I see the rising sun
Then I know again that I must carry on

Carry on till tomorow, there's no reason to look back
Carry on, carry on, carry on

Beyond the shadows of the clouds and onward to the sky
Carry on till I find the rainbow's end
For my life's too short for waiting when I see the rising sun
Then I know again that I must carry on

Carry on till tomorow, there's no reason to look back
Carry on, carry on, carry on

Drifting on the wings of freedom, leave this stormy day
And we'll ride to tomorrow's golden fields
For my life's too short for waiting when I see the rising sun
Then I know again that I must carry on

Carry on, carry on, carry on

And when the heavy journey's done, I'll rest my weary head
For the world and it's colours will be mine
For my life's too short for waiting when I see the setting sun
Then I know again that I must carry on

Carry on till tomorow, there's no reason to look back

Carry on, carry on, carry on

Ever felt dumped on ?

I have learned something new from here. 貿易要公平 - 停止傾銷.

貿易要公平

make trade fair

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

bloggers ethics Vs speech freedom

Bloggers beware
28 September 2005
Straits Times
English
(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited

SO junior college students drunk on cyber-freedom and hotheads with strong opinions about ethnicity have been held to account for certain of their Internet postings. If a random trawl was done here of chatlines and Net journals known to the trade as blogs, there will be unamused frowns, if not warning lights flashing. Granted, most bloggers are having a lark - the more agitated the content and language, the more empowered they feel. But they should know the rules of play. In America, an airline stewardess was sacked for satirical things she wrote about her employer, Delta Airlines. Business- Week's cover story on Microsoft's loss of key personnel to rivals like Google mentions a staff blogger, who apparently is inside enemy No. 1 for his running commentaries judged to be injurious to the company's interests. The blogger knows he will be dismissed if his identity is uncovered.

On the revolution sweeping news-gathering, lame stream media is the derisive label given to mainstream media which do not adjust to the 'power shift' wrought by blog culture. It is clear: The reach of the blog is crossing boundaries beyond its original purpose of personal expression.

All this says that blogging is not terra incognita, if this is what Singaporean hobbyist-bloggers think the medium is. There are laws and conventions to observe, just as e-mail and letters to the editor are so governed. Here, as in other jurisdictions, the law of defamation should be every Net propagator's watchword. They would do well to understand the Computer Misuse Act. The case of the three persons charged with posting inflammatory remarks about Muslims will have alerted bloggers to an especial sensitivity that is not to be trifled with in a multicultural setting. If the intrinsic weakness of Net freedom is that many 'liberationists' are not fully aware of legal restraints and conventional pitfalls, it would be a straightforward matter of educating them. Internet service providers, schools and the media are the appropriate conduits for it. Showing good taste and a sense of appropriateness as a means of advancing the use of blogs for public discourse and ideas dissemination - even social mobilisation and marketing - requires time. A culture with its known parameters has to develop quickly as blogging is an unstoppable medium. This implies it can be misused.
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Porn? No, blogs bug me more
Carl Skadian , fatherhood
28 September 2005
Straits Times
English(c) 2005 Singapore Press Holdings Limited
With inaccurate and inflammatory postings on the Internet, how do we keep kids from believing everything they read?

THE past few weeks have thrown up another worry about children and the Internet, as if parents don't have enough on their hands.
I'm talking about blogs.
As a journalist, I'm naturally wary of blogs already, mainly because bloggers are wont to throw accuracy out the window.
That's because checking facts seems to be the last thing on bloggers' minds unlike, say, mainstream publications which, for the most part, do their darnedest to make sure what they publish is accurate.
For bloggers, saying what they feel like saying seems to be de rigueur, consequences be damned.
Now, blogs have generated much controversy, but what happened here about two weeks ago takes the cake.
Just in case you missed it: Three people were charged with making racist comments in their blogs. They allegedly made seditious and inflammatory remarks about Malays and Muslims.
In one particularly galling incident, one among the three allegedly admitted to being 'extremely racist' in one of his entries online.
That just about did it for me and blogs.

I'm glad the authorities hauled the trio to court. Hopefully, doing so will send a message to like-minded folk in cyberspace that they'd better start putting the brain before the mouse.
As far as I'm concerned, blogs are possibly the worst things about the Internet. Sure, pornography and other stuff rightly furrow the brows of parents, but the things some bloggers say go far beyond the pale.
I have read some of these comments, chiefly because some sane members of the public occasionally e-mail such views to us, to raise a red flag about what goes on out there.
Frankly, some of the blog entries just beggar belief. The amount of vitriol being spewed by some of these chaps will leave you speechless. And all the talk about self-regulating is just so much bull to me. You read about cases where people are forced to shut down their blogs because they get a stream of invective from folks who don't agree with what they say.
But there are many more blogs which encourage like-minded people to come forward and pour petrol on the fire.
Then there's the curiosity factor. The Sarong Party Girl blogger was one. She might have toiled in relative obscurity for a while, but once the word got out, the hits just kept on coming.
In the case of the three charged under the Sedition Act, there was worse to come.
After news of the charges broke, some members of the blogging community made comments that seemed far from the realm of common sense to me.
Here were three people charged with making inflammatory statements - in a society where being tolerant is constantly drummed into us, no less - and other bloggers were worried about what the incidents bode for freedom of speech.
They were alarmed that the arrests meant there was some campaign afoot to curtail what one could say online.
They had got to be joking. I wonder where it says that freedom of speech means one can go around irresponsibly taking potshots at everyone one dislikes, with a medium which has probably the widest reach of all.
Sure, you might have the freedom to say what you want, but it comes with responsibility and accountability. Many of the bloggers I have come across have neither.
As I said, blogging, to me, is the biggest danger out there. It's also given me more work to do when it comes to my children.
Now, I have to find a way to keep my kids from believing what they read when they come across such blogs.
My children are part Chinese, part Indian and part Eurasian. Plus, they have relatives whose faiths are a whole spectrum, from Roman Catholic to Muslim.
Already, they're asking some hard questions about the state of the world today, especially when it comes to acts of terrorism that have been committed since 9/11.
Sometimes, without thinking, they mouth certain things after reading or watching a news item that I then have to catch.


With all these influences around them these days, irresponsible blogs are not going to help.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

to the worried parents, regardless of the contents of the blogs, is your responsibilities to educate your children to judge what is right or wrong. And, is also your responsibilities to teach your children to become an ethical and responsible blogger.


夢裡的你

昨晚做了個自己在裡面很開心的夢,更開心的是我還能略略記得發生過什麼事.但願出現在我夢裡的所有朋友都也能在生活中開開心心.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

birthday

Your Birthdate: January 23

With a birthday on the 23rd of the month (5 energy) you are inclined to work well with people and enjoy them.
You are talented and versatile, very good at presenting ideas.
You may have a tendency to get itchy feet at times and need change and travel.

You tend to be very progressive, imaginative and adaptable.
Your mind is quick, clever and analytical.
A restlessness in your nature may make you a bit impatient and easily bored with routine.
You may have a tendency to shirk responsibility.
Very sociable, you make friends easily and you are an excellent traveling companion.


My fellow friends, what do you think about this?

Assessment ? ? ?

Well, is quite tiring actually.

Started from 8am and altogether i had accomplised 4 different tasks.

a) competency based interview
why all the employers like to ask these kind of questions? "give me a situation where you need to work in a team and achieve a goal", "give me a situation you handle conflicts" and bla bla bla. having not too much of real life experience, i still can manage the questions and satisfy them with various experiences during high school, university and work. Sorry to say that, come to a certain point i have to 老作 and come out with something.

b) case study
well, i am always not good in writing. even if you give me an hour to prepare for a new product launching proposal, my writing skills is still not superb.

c) presentation
turn yourself into a business consultant, recommend something to your client. 45 minutes of preparation time and 20 minutes of presentation. 口窒和詞窮的情況在所難免.

d) last but not least, group exercise
6 people having a round table meeting with 4 assessors sitting around you to see how you perform in a meeting. looks like putting up a show.

The whole process ended at 1.05pm with 1 or 2 five minutes break in between which was sufficient for me to grab some bites of sandwiches (they provided refreshments). there were 12 candidates in this morning session, adding the afternoon and the tomorrow sessions, at least i will have to compete with 47 candidates. well, i would say i am quite satisfy to reach this stage
and no doubt, i already gained such a good experience from here.

Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Next assessment

"You have been shortlisted for the next assessment activity which is scheduled on 22 September 2005 (Thursday) from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm.

The purpose of this 2nd assessment is to allow us to have a comprehensive view of your strengths and development needs in relation to our Programme.

As this is an important selection criteria for us, you are expected to perform your best. Your only preparation before the day is making sure that you are well rested, and able to focus your attention on the tasks at hand."

Monday, September 19, 2005

我和胡狼的約會

8 年前, 當我還未成年時, 你為你的事業創造了輝煌的這一頁. 在香港紅館上演了43場由你擔任主演及藝術總監的創意音樂劇<雪狼湖>, 引起了巨大的迴響. 香港演出之後, 這場風暴延伸至新加坡, 演了7場. 可惜當時我沒有這能力越過長堤來見證你的實力.

事隔8年, 你回來了, 而且覆蓋的版圖更大了, 確立了"有華人的地方, 都可以公演" 的目標. 為了不讓自己失望, 在未確定你會否到大馬公演之前, 就買了新加坡演出的票, 先看了再說. 因為之前廣東版的<雪狼湖>原聲大牒和< 不老的傳說> 專輯太深入我心了, 難免會害怕國語版的感覺會差一截. 所以在這段期間我都不讓自己去接觸那些歌, 避免自己會一邊看一邊作比較. 也因為這樣我把對<雪狼湖>的期望指數調到零的位置.

奈何, 當你開口唱第一句時, 我就知道我可以把廣東版放下, 完全投入你這一次的演出. 我從來沒有在一個室內的環境聽過你的聲音, 不懂是不是這個原因而給了我這種感動. 你的聲音就是這麼的有感染力, 滲透入每個人的心里.


雖然已對故事熟悉, 有時也知道下一首會唱什麼歌, 可是能親眼目睹曾經在腦海里想像的畫面, 那是無法形容的. 除了張學友, 其他演員當然也不可以忽視. 許慧欣的表現讓我忘了她是位偶像歌手, 正如張學友所說的, 她的外型上確實是比較接近 “寧靜雪”. 至於飾演 “寧玉鳳” 的陳松齡, 非常抱歉, 我真的無法控制自己把她和陳潔儀的歌聲作比較. 當然, 我並沒有懷疑過她的演技, 畢竟她在8年前就曾經擔任 “寧靜雪” 一角. 若真的要挑剔的話, 那就是她仍略帶廣東腔的國語吧. 分飾梁直和老狼的于毅, 和飾演寧母的杜鶴也有不俗的表現.

整個劇的所有事物如歌舞表演,舞台的設計, 燈光還有隱藏在台后的樂隊, 都互相配合得很好. 因為坐在control panel 附近, 所以我不時可以從電視螢幕看到音樂指揮杜自持先生. 雖然我不懂音樂, 可是每次都會很留意樂隊的陣容. 這次的演出, 我會把額外的分數加給這隊band.

不需太在意劇情是否make sense, 因為在一開始他就告訴了我們這是個傳說. 也希望這傳說可以永遠不老, 永遠流傳下去.

豪.巴

There are various of buses traveling between KL and Singapore and i think this is the most luxurious one. Of course the price is also the luxurious one. The ticket from KL costs S$39 (approx RM90) which is about 3 times higher than the cheaper ones. Whereas, the ticket from Singapore will cost at S$56. I only tried the KL-SIN way, not going to spend more on the same journey.

the bus


the route plan

the seat (with massage function)
the personal entertainment screen

the massage control panel & game controller
the bus stewardess
the meal - nasi lemak


Friday, September 16, 2005

damn it

Beacuse of a bloody faulty traffic light, i spent 1.5 hr instead of the normal 30-40mins on the road. I purposely made myself come into the office for this morning half to attend a client's presentation. Well, my collegue just had to left without me as i was not able to arrive on time. I would have just turn back home and prepare for my trip this afternoon.

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

讓梁祝輪迴再重生 讓音樂死去再活來

如果我有機會看<梁祝下世傳奇>的話, 我就不會在看之前聽這張專輯. 奈何, 我就無緣參與何小姐這次的舞台劇, 也就只能從這張soundtrack中看她的演出.

雖然曲目的篇排和劇的故事發展一樣. 但它是可以和舞台劇分開, 獨立當作一般流行專輯欣賞的. 和之前的<艷光四射>一樣, 製作陣容依然是青山大樂隊和hocc本人. 這次所有的歌詞都是出于黃偉文的手筆. 讓我覺得驚喜的應該是何秉舜(hobing乃是hocc的哥哥) 的出現吧. 他這次參與了幾首歌的編曲, 鋼琴和單簧管的演奏部分.

來, 讓你感染我所聽的梁祝吧.


01.<蛹>
02. <化蝶> Piano live version - Show “quali” 之作, 和鋼琴同步live 錄音.
03. <橘上>
04. <不是吟詩的時候> - 帶點神秘詭異, 有點嬌媚, sexy and 樂而不淫.
05. <長不大> - the rock begins
06. <汽水樽裡的咖啡> - 歌名就夠搶眼了, 用這樣的比喻來形容性別的錯摸實在夠有創意. 蕩氣回膓中帶有柔情的唱法, 和歌的內容不謀而合
.
07.<血肉之軀>
08. <十八相送> - 情竇出開, 有點young的感覺, 如小奧所說, 有點像at17
09. <勞斯. 萊斯> - 喜歡它的吉他, 中國味的笛子和管子. 還有, 勞斯和萊斯的故事.
10.<撲蝶>
11. <有人跟蹤我> - the rock and dance continued…..
12. <做好準備> - 除了之前就已經聽過<化蝶>, <勞斯. 萊斯> 和<汽水樽裡的咖啡>, 這首歌是在cd 1st play 時讓我留下最深刻印象的. 整首歌就只有hocc的vocal 和 hobing 的鋼琴, 無須聯想到舞台劇
, 也很有畫面. 唯獨我略嫌歌名不夠有型, 和其他的比較之下就顯得普通.
13. <小淇> - 哼唱之作, 劇中的小淇是由楊淇飾演的.
14. <樓台會> - 由<十八相送>衍生而來的節奏, 感覺一樣輕鬆自在.

15.<萊斯. 勞斯>
16. <化蝶> - 這無疑就是主題作品, 詞曲編都配合的那麼好, 當然這也是最重要的一場戲.
17.<蝴蝶結>

baileylatte’s rating: 5 twinkle stars (爆埋燈)

我覺得這次的選曲蠻多樣化, 有輕鬆小品, 激昂的, 溫柔的, 當然少不了搖滾.而這些也正是我那杯茶.

你說比起開演唱會和製作一般大碟, 籌備個舞台劇和製作一張和舞台劇掛勾的大碟所要花的時間心機精神是無可計算的. 可是就是因為你的任性與堅持, 你的夢想實現了.
英台, 辛苦了.

more on 梁祝下世傳奇

After Ten

在過去的兩年裡都很少一手拿著歌詞本一邊細嚼cd, 因為都是在駕車時聽的. 所以很多時候都不會太注意到歌中所要帶出的訊息, 甚至可以在聽了很多次後才會後知後覺. 可是這並不代表我不注重歌詞, 每次在聽新唱片之前, 我都會先看誰是製作班底, 要記得那些credits是屬於誰的.

After Ten收錄了黃偉文過去十年的精選作品, 要從900多首中挑選34首出來, 對於一位創作人來說那是多麼不容易. Wyman親自為其中一隻CD揀選其心頭好作品,另一隻CD則邀請一班音樂好友去挑選他們喜愛的作品。 我沒有他作品的full list, 所以也不知道會有什麼落網之魚. 對於這份選單我是滿意的, 不少還是我喜歡的單曲. 如果真的要挑剔的話, 我想就只有打頭陣的F小姐吧, 我對她真的沒什麼好感. 另外比較遺憾的就是因為版權問題而無法收錄到寫給容祖兒,梅艷芳和陳奕迅在英皇時期的作品.

專輯的一大賣點就是找來了趙學而和劉美君分別重唱了陳慧琳的<最佳位置>和陳奕迅的<大開眼戒>. 我沒有聽過Kelly唱的版本,可是趙學而淡淡的演繹感覺好像更能貼近歌詞的情懷. 趙學而本來就是位唱得之人, 也有過一段輝煌期, 只是後期有點懷才不遇而淡出歌壇. 我還蠻期待她可以重返歌壇, 讓我有機會可以見識她的實力. 至於劉美君我更沒有能力發表什麼意見, 因為generation gap 可以說不認識. 無可否認身為前輩的她演繹上是沒有地方可以挑剔的, 但我還是喜歡eason的version多一點.

心水詞 : 再見露絲瑪利, 燕尾蝶, 如何掉眼淚, 婦女新知, 垃圾.
baileylatte's rating : 4 twinkle stars
Track list-
Disc 1 01. 奇洛李維斯回信 - 薛凱琪 02. 相依為命 - 陳小春 03. 調情 (bossa mix) - 鄭秀文 04. 目黑 - 周國賢 05. 我不會唱歌 - 李克勤 06. 曼谷瑪利亞 - Shine 07. 可惜我是水瓶座 - 楊千嬅 08. 你唔愛我啦 - 李彩樺 09. 最佳位置 - 趙學而 cover 10. 再見露絲瑪利 -何韻詩11. 好心分手 - 盧巧音 12. 心急人上 - Cookies 13. 日與夜 - 林憶蓮 14. 燕尾蝶 - Shine 15. 野孩子 - 楊千嬅 16. 犯賤 - 陳小春 17. 如何掉眼淚 - 鄭秀文 Disc 2 01. 大開眼戒 - 劉美君 cover 02. 會過去的 - 車婉婉,許志安 03. 婦女新知 - 莫文蔚 04. 給我愛過的男孩們 - 彭羚 05. 反高潮 - 陳奕迅 06. 到處留情 - 張信哲 07. 垃圾 - 盧巧音 08. 傾城 - 許美靜 09. 第二最愛 - 古巨基 10. 小王子 - 黃耀明 11. 小玩意 - 彭羚 12. 有人喜歡藍 - 蘇永康 13. 一人分飾兩角 - 王菲 14. 這麼近那麼遠 - 張學友15. 吻感 - 鄭伊健 16. 你沒有好結果 - 李蕙敏 17. 活得比你好 - 李蕙敏

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

積少成多

我沒有攜帶硬幣的習慣, 得到的都會放在這些杯子裡. 公司抽屜裡有兩個小杯, 裝滿後就會轉移到家裡有分類的杯裡.

到我山窮水盡的時候它們應該可以派的上用場.





夠了

在過去的兩個星期裡, 我對樂壇作了以下的消費貢獻:

1. 愛 • 科學 - PixelToy
2. The Party - 達明一派
3. 十九樓半的夏天原聲大碟 (舊碟)
4. 林一峰游樂會2004 dvd (舊碟)
5. 梁祝下世傳奇 - 何韻詩
6. 黃偉文十年選
7. 張學友創意音樂劇 [雪狼湖]
8. 黃耀明滿天神佛攞命舞會03 (都是舊碟)

後四張今天才寄至府上, 還有待消化.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

時光倒流

普吉之一個人在途上.

愛 • 科學 Science of Love

PixelToy 由何山及胡詠絲(Candy Wu)於2001年暑假組成。二人為大學同學,因一次傾談下發現大家的音樂喜好類同,於是決定組成樂隊. PixelToy二人均有參與歌曲旋律創作工作, 何山主要擔任編曲及監製等工作, 而Candy則主力填詞及擔任樂隊主音.

我不知道應該則怎樣形容這張專輯, 從來沒有接觸這類的東西, 但慶幸, 我是喜歡的. 他們的音樂風格很電子, 很 digital, 利用電腦玩了很多效果. 可是感覺是舒服的, 不會過分的heavy. Candy的聲音很好聽, 即使唱不同的語言也有不同的味道. 我個人就喜歡她吟的<給蛀牙寫的一首詩>.

如果你聽厭了那些正規的流行曲, 這會是個不錯的選擇.

baileylatte's rating: 4 twinkle stars

01. Computer Data Only / Not Playable 02. 喘一口氣 Music Video 03. 媽媽不愛爵士樂 Music Video 04. 說說看 Music Video 05. 那個下午我在舊居燒信 Music Video 06. 喘一口氣 07. Good Morning 08. 說說看 09. 迴轉木馬 10. 媽媽不愛爵士樂 11. 一流 12. 啦啦啦啦啦 13. Winnie 14. 給蛀牙寫的一首詩 15. 什麼節快樂 16. 漂亮 17. Good Evening 18. 說說看(國) 19. 那個下午我在舊居燒信


Wednesday, September 07, 2005

盡地一煲

晚晚係度煲妙手仁心3, 流覽陌生人但有趣的部落(當中有醫生,護士,記者.....), 聽新唱片. 返工都唔見咁勤力 如果可以不用睡覺, 幾好.

Monday, September 05, 2005

減食....or 敢(敢去)食


位於我家附近的得福小廚賣的便宜蟹遠近馳名, 逢週末都會爆滿, 週日也有不少人光顧. 我的同事就因為這樣登門造訪. 除了例牌的酸辣蟹, 黑椒蟹, 還有芝士蟹, 芝士焗伊麵等等. 不會算一級好吃或特別, 但就勝在夠大眾化.


竹蚶@RM18



芥蘭@RM12

饅頭@RM3

酸辣蟹@RM18

Sunday, September 04, 2005

What type are YOU?

dynamic, active, extroverted

You are quite willing to accept certain risks and to make a strong commitment in exchange for interesting and varied work.

Routine, in contrast, tends to have a paralyzing effect on you.

What you like most is to be able to play an active role in events. In doing so, your initiative is highly pronounced.


link to have a try.

Thursday, September 01, 2005

好心一早放開我

有時我真的希望是你先放我, 那我就不用一直這樣拖拖拉拉. 我們的關係已經來到了岌岌可危的地步, 我已經不再對你有任何的興趣, 而你也給不到我所需要的. 我討厭 你每天會佔據我8小時的時間, 和你在一起時我總是心不在焉, 一直期待週末的來臨, 因為可以不用對著你. 那我 為何還要委屈自己留下來? 要離開總得先找到一個安穩的落腳處吧. 外面的世界風大雨大, 我又沒有一技之長, 那來這麼大的勇氣離開這個至少讓我豐衣足食的地方?

神啊, 請給我多一點勇氣.