I was most impressed to learn that the HC JC choir got a score of 93.50 in the World Choir Games 2008 for the mixed choir category, earning the title of category champion, with a second gold in Folklore.
Mind you this wasn't some crappy competition where half the world wasn't attending like what happened in Xiamen. I looked at the results list -- it was extremely well represented, which makes the score all the more amazing. This was the 4th highest score in the entire competition.
It's important to also note that the score is higher than VJ's category champion score a few years back in the same category.
What's also important is to note the crappy performance of VJ Choir in the recent Llangollen choir competition, which, after watching the video performance online, was well deserved. It's a miracle they weren't bordering on silver. Lacklustre and at times out-of-tune singing. Terrible song choices (I mean, come on, POTONG PADI???). Boring. And to think they thought of winning the title of Choir of the World. Be realistic, please. The songs were overused, overplayed and heard in just way too many competitions. And really. POTONG PADI. My god.
Why is this? A few years back, HC Choir was NOTHING compared to VJ and VC. They needed alumni help to compete, and even then, their scores were somewhat miserable. How have they risen from the ashes and emerged the top scoring Singaporean choir of all time?
In my opinion this is just further proof of what I said a few months back. (I'd pause to add something here about 2 certain individuals, but decided to leave it at that). It all boils down to one factor. Lack of musical direction and attention from the top. How else can one explain it? There can't be any difference in how hard the 2 JC choirs practice. It must be the same.
The difference is this: one is hungry, the other has lost the hunger. The hunger for success. Without hunger one cannot strive for better things. The proof is in the pudding. And god does it piss me off to see this happen.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Quote
This quote really tickles me:
“Blogging is like masturbating into a mirror while you videotape yourself so you can watch it later while you masturbate.” - Lewis Black
“Blogging is like masturbating into a mirror while you videotape yourself so you can watch it later while you masturbate.” - Lewis Black
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Ubin
I've been buying a whole bunch of bike stuff in preparation of going off-road cycling. Bike rack (to take my bike to M'sia in my trusty and crappy Getz). Helmet (in matching colours of course). Bike gloves.
Wah. like pro liddat.
So anyway yesterday my friend and I decided that we were obese and needed to do something about it.
Cycled all the way to Changi Jetty, crossed to Ubin, did some offroading and came back.
I have to say it was really quite fun, though the cleaning at the end was kinda shite. The best part is going down the track at what seems like breakneck speed, wondering if you're going to crash into a tree. Talk about adrenaline rush. The front suspension fork was working very hard supporting my weight, and I sort of glided over the little potholes and stuff. VERY VERY FUN and highly recommended to everyone.
Like the geeks that we were my friend decided that his suspension fork wasn't good enough and we went exploring for new ones. I had no idea they could cost from S$800 onwards. I think I'll stick with mine for now.
I'm rather upset 'cos I scratched my bike, of all places, at SHELL station while I was trying to pump my bike's tires. The bike dropped onto the concrete. SIGH.
Wah. like pro liddat.
So anyway yesterday my friend and I decided that we were obese and needed to do something about it.
Cycled all the way to Changi Jetty, crossed to Ubin, did some offroading and came back.
I have to say it was really quite fun, though the cleaning at the end was kinda shite. The best part is going down the track at what seems like breakneck speed, wondering if you're going to crash into a tree. Talk about adrenaline rush. The front suspension fork was working very hard supporting my weight, and I sort of glided over the little potholes and stuff. VERY VERY FUN and highly recommended to everyone.
Like the geeks that we were my friend decided that his suspension fork wasn't good enough and we went exploring for new ones. I had no idea they could cost from S$800 onwards. I think I'll stick with mine for now.
I'm rather upset 'cos I scratched my bike, of all places, at SHELL station while I was trying to pump my bike's tires. The bike dropped onto the concrete. SIGH.
Smitten
I'm absolutely smitten by the new Golf 1.4 TSI 7 speed DSG. Test drove it today. If it weren't for the fact that the fucking salesman had such a black face, I would have considered buying it. Fella probably thought I wasn't good for my money.
After that we headed to the Hyundai showroom to try the i30. It's no different from previous Hyundai cars -- their design is getting better and better, but underneath it, the engine is still like shit. Course. Underpowered. Sluggish. Crap. They have so much to catch up with before they reach even Japanese standards. And yet the car is priced at S$60k. What a joke.
After that we headed to the Hyundai showroom to try the i30. It's no different from previous Hyundai cars -- their design is getting better and better, but underneath it, the engine is still like shit. Course. Underpowered. Sluggish. Crap. They have so much to catch up with before they reach even Japanese standards. And yet the car is priced at S$60k. What a joke.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Goose Pimples
While I was out getting drunk on Friday, the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony was playing. I had no idea what I missed until I saw the photos here.
My god, I have never felt so enthralled by pictures before. I actually had goosepimples just marvelling at the pictures. The grandeur and scale of the show is simply mind boggling. I feel so proud to be of Chinese descent. I'm STILL having goosepimples now after closing the window.
Wow, wow, WOW!
It is so unfortunate that Singapore's national day parade took place just one day after. One can't help but compare -- it just paled so badly in comparison. But I guess it's not really fair to compare. After all, Singapore only has 3+ million citizens. China has about 350 times more, so one might expect a show 350 times better....
My god, I have never felt so enthralled by pictures before. I actually had goosepimples just marvelling at the pictures. The grandeur and scale of the show is simply mind boggling. I feel so proud to be of Chinese descent. I'm STILL having goosepimples now after closing the window.
Wow, wow, WOW!
It is so unfortunate that Singapore's national day parade took place just one day after. One can't help but compare -- it just paled so badly in comparison. But I guess it's not really fair to compare. After all, Singapore only has 3+ million citizens. China has about 350 times more, so one might expect a show 350 times better....
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Debauchery Part Deux
I haven't blogged for a while. No impetus. But thought I'd give everyone an update of my pursuit of hedonistic pleasures, revolving mainly around drinking, singing and women, in that order.
1. The week after Debauchery Part 1 my boss decided that we needed to get the colleague properly drunk, and thought it might be fun to do it via a wine tasting session. So 8 of us trooped down, and between us polished off 8 bottles of very naissssss wine. Now since some (i.e. me and a few others) drink more than the rest, it necessarily means some of us had more than 1 bottle between us. Which is a lot. The wines were all very tasty, I was quite grateful that er the boss picked up the tab. I think it ran into 2k or so. Still, it doesn't beat those 3 bottles of 10k wines (Petrus?) that she had at her client's house. I need to find myself some clients like that.
2. The week after that, my colleagues then decided it was time to induct me into the world of Karaoke. And mind you, not the K-Box, Party World nonsense -- PROPER karaoke, with the works. I should've known something was wrong when the taxi driver gave me a look when I told him I was headed to Club Jaguar. My colleagues had promised me it was a "high crass" place. Crass indeed.
At the entrance, 3 scantily clad women stared me up and down. I called my friends to save me from the sleaze, and she led me into this dark corridor full of more scantily clad women with dresses so short and low cut that if they bent over, their boobs would pop out, and the butt would just pop out of the dress. It's like a scene out of some porn flick.
We got into a room, the 6 of us, and were entertained by a hostess who would pour drinks for us. I can totally understand the draw of these venues -- if you were a lonely man with nothing to do on a Friday night, you could just head down to one of these places and be assured of a good time, minus the specials, which are extra. The hostess is fairly friendly. Could speak English, play silly games with you, and sing with you. Of course the fact that I can outsing all of them adds somewhat to the fun (thank god I'm a tenor and not a bass hurhurhur -- try asking a bass to sing Air Supply or U2....). In the spirit of debauchery I also picked up someone's half smoked cigarette and smoked it all. Gosh did I feel naughty or what.
I was told later on that the whole system works pretty much like how you get free samples in the supermarket. You know how you walk down the aisle, and they go: "Sir, try some cheesels? You like? You want to buy? Buy 2 get one freeeeee". You taste it, and if you like it and were so inclined, you'd buy the whole packet of food home.
It's the same here. I'm told you can just invite any girl into the room (the venue was higher class in the sense that they were forbidden from entering the room unless invited by the guest). The girl would pour drinks for you (the point of it being to make you buy more overpriced liquor from the club), and engage in idle banter. If you like the "free sample", then you might be inclined to take one home for the works. If you didn't like it, then you'd pay her some nominal tip, and get rid of her. I'm told one of my friends paid one to simply shut up, stop singing and go away, 'cos she sang so terribly.
IT'S ALL SO INTERESTING AND WHAT AN EYE OPENER!!!
But I digress. At 3 am, the club closed, but in my drunken state I decided I just HAD to sing Making Love Out of Nothing At All from Air Supply, and so they put it on just for me. It seems I do the part which goes: "Everytime I see you all the rays in the sun...." rather well. To be honest, I was so drunk I wouldn't know if I was singing in key. But I do recall chiding someone for singing off key haha. Talk about sectionals all over again.
I digress again! We then decided to head down to Zouk / Phuture. One of the colleague's boyfriend drove down half drunk. We sped past a police car. It was quite scary and thrilling at the same time, but on hindsight probably not such a great idea especially since I was in the middle backseat without a seatbelt. Still. We only live once.
At whereever it was, Zouk / Phuture, we got in free due to connections and had more to drink. In my drunken state, I recall groping someone and thinking: "gosh, this is so EASY! I should be here all the time." I just don't recall who or what I groped. I only hope it wasn't a colleague. The fact that I didn't get slapped must have meant that I got away with it. BAD, BAD boy.
I finally stumbled home at around 5 am. What a night.
My friends say (and I also tell them) that I'm going through a phase.
TO BE CONTINUED!
1. The week after Debauchery Part 1 my boss decided that we needed to get the colleague properly drunk, and thought it might be fun to do it via a wine tasting session. So 8 of us trooped down, and between us polished off 8 bottles of very naissssss wine. Now since some (i.e. me and a few others) drink more than the rest, it necessarily means some of us had more than 1 bottle between us. Which is a lot. The wines were all very tasty, I was quite grateful that er the boss picked up the tab. I think it ran into 2k or so. Still, it doesn't beat those 3 bottles of 10k wines (Petrus?) that she had at her client's house. I need to find myself some clients like that.
2. The week after that, my colleagues then decided it was time to induct me into the world of Karaoke. And mind you, not the K-Box, Party World nonsense -- PROPER karaoke, with the works. I should've known something was wrong when the taxi driver gave me a look when I told him I was headed to Club Jaguar. My colleagues had promised me it was a "high crass" place. Crass indeed.
At the entrance, 3 scantily clad women stared me up and down. I called my friends to save me from the sleaze, and she led me into this dark corridor full of more scantily clad women with dresses so short and low cut that if they bent over, their boobs would pop out, and the butt would just pop out of the dress. It's like a scene out of some porn flick.
We got into a room, the 6 of us, and were entertained by a hostess who would pour drinks for us. I can totally understand the draw of these venues -- if you were a lonely man with nothing to do on a Friday night, you could just head down to one of these places and be assured of a good time, minus the specials, which are extra. The hostess is fairly friendly. Could speak English, play silly games with you, and sing with you. Of course the fact that I can outsing all of them adds somewhat to the fun (thank god I'm a tenor and not a bass hurhurhur -- try asking a bass to sing Air Supply or U2....). In the spirit of debauchery I also picked up someone's half smoked cigarette and smoked it all. Gosh did I feel naughty or what.
I was told later on that the whole system works pretty much like how you get free samples in the supermarket. You know how you walk down the aisle, and they go: "Sir, try some cheesels? You like? You want to buy? Buy 2 get one freeeeee". You taste it, and if you like it and were so inclined, you'd buy the whole packet of food home.
It's the same here. I'm told you can just invite any girl into the room (the venue was higher class in the sense that they were forbidden from entering the room unless invited by the guest). The girl would pour drinks for you (the point of it being to make you buy more overpriced liquor from the club), and engage in idle banter. If you like the "free sample", then you might be inclined to take one home for the works. If you didn't like it, then you'd pay her some nominal tip, and get rid of her. I'm told one of my friends paid one to simply shut up, stop singing and go away, 'cos she sang so terribly.
IT'S ALL SO INTERESTING AND WHAT AN EYE OPENER!!!
But I digress. At 3 am, the club closed, but in my drunken state I decided I just HAD to sing Making Love Out of Nothing At All from Air Supply, and so they put it on just for me. It seems I do the part which goes: "Everytime I see you all the rays in the sun...." rather well. To be honest, I was so drunk I wouldn't know if I was singing in key. But I do recall chiding someone for singing off key haha. Talk about sectionals all over again.
I digress again! We then decided to head down to Zouk / Phuture. One of the colleague's boyfriend drove down half drunk. We sped past a police car. It was quite scary and thrilling at the same time, but on hindsight probably not such a great idea especially since I was in the middle backseat without a seatbelt. Still. We only live once.
At whereever it was, Zouk / Phuture, we got in free due to connections and had more to drink. In my drunken state, I recall groping someone and thinking: "gosh, this is so EASY! I should be here all the time." I just don't recall who or what I groped. I only hope it wasn't a colleague. The fact that I didn't get slapped must have meant that I got away with it. BAD, BAD boy.
I finally stumbled home at around 5 am. What a night.
My friends say (and I also tell them) that I'm going through a phase.
TO BE CONTINUED!