____T.H.E. .P.A.S.S.

01:30
Friday, September 23, 2005

____Violet UK, I can't wait...

Yoshiki

If Micheal Jordan is to Chicago Bulls as Yoshiki is to X Japan, then Hide to X Japan is like Scottie Pippen is to Chicago Bulls. I've linked websites of the 2 talented musicians to my site for you all to check out what it means by music transcends language.

Ever since Wilson introduced X Japan and Yoshiki's works, I've been hooked on to it. Violet UK - Yoshiki's latest work originally planned for release on 22 Sept has been postponed again to the 27th. Really cannot wait to check it out.

At the core of the Violet UK project is the music. It blends digital drum-loops, a touch of classical piano and strings and noise guitar. Female vocalists finish off this radical new sound.

The above excerpt from www.yoshikinet.com was written about Violet Uk being a mix of genres of music. Totally exciting! It's hard to imagine what sort of recipe Yoshiki is going to cook up next.

Next Wed's Hall One Jam Band at Zodiac Bar. Sadly they're only going to give Greenday covers - or so I heard. But will be looking forward to it nonetheless!!

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19:13
Saturday, September 17, 2005

____Youth is Wasted On Youths

Many a time somebody makes an "if" statement, and such statements are normally time related such as "if only I have chosen to study medicine instead of law" - and the completion to that thought would probably go "I would be earning big bucks now." An "if" statement tend to have a cause and effect relation.

But how many times do we make a similar statement, realise the oppurtunities and time lost, and then do something about it? Rarely. Why and how, then, do we try to maximise the available time made to us? Why do some people "have things easier"?

I believe it is the realisation of the importance of time from an early age, where the crucial period is during one's teenage years. It is the stage when growing is fastest and personal opinions related to worldly matter can be achieved. As compared to the age of the universe, the time an average person spends alive is minute. How then, does he make an impact? Or to quote a phrase I saw from an msn nick, "what makes a man if he doesn't make a difference?"

Today I helped out in the fund raising for Hall Ball by invigilating the HSK exam. While, I noticed that most of the secondary 3 students were pretty decent, it was, alas, sad for me to realise the sad fact that "youth is wasted on youths". My observation is based on a few girls who had neoprints stuck onto the picture of their student card which hindered the certification of their identities. Stupid, dumb, foolish or what ever you may call it but I see it as an influence by "all things pop". They are probably the bunch who go around chasing boybands like 5566.

While "youth is wasted on youths" seems generalising and a little harsh on the kids, I beg to differ simply for the fact that I was also into "all things pop". It is yet another vicious cycle in the modern society that cannot be ceased by academic education. Vicious cycle because "pop" is a culture embraced by teenagers and sometimes, they go right into the young adult stage largely influenced by this particular culture. And academic education cannot solve this problem because wisdom comes with experience and only when something hard hits them would they realise the waste of their boundless teenage energy.

Antagonists of the pop culture find it hard to accept its influence over youths. I believe it has something to do with finding one's place in the society and trying to fit in. Being refreshingly different doesn't come to their young minds yet. One cannot deny the vast influence of pop. It is not only all about music. Besides the pretty faces of the teenagers' idols and their talentless music making, pop culture comes along with a whole lot of other junk such as poor mannerisms, unrealistic roles that they play in their movies, amplification of the ideal sweet innocent love, "gung-ho" violence, and the "I wanna thank my fans" quotes that pull an even larger crowd into the culture trap.

Many take a long time to swim out of the dark waters and start to embrace other good qualities such as the patriotism and steel of the ancient Chinese or maybe appreciate the works of the great philosopher Socrates. Even learning to appreciate the art of stage musicals and orchestras would be so far away from the young minds.

"How then do we maximise our time?" is a difficult question to answer because some of us can use our daily allocated energy to the maximum. There are such people who excel in almost everything that they do. Just think about the RJC student who excels academically, is well-read, athletic, and even plays the flute. He doesn't spend time like the many of us slacking away. Nor does he indulge in video games. Plus, he is not the average nerd. Sounds impossible?

Check out his daily timetable then. Lessons in the morning, practice the flute after lunch, joins the rest for track training, then returns home for dinner, study and 10pm news.

It takes sheer brilliance to pull off such a timetable in just a single day, let alone in the entire of one's teenage - but it can be done. Instead of telling others how good our results are in primary school, reminiscing the happy times we had in secondary school, or feeling bad about some relationship that didn't work out, we could spend the time doing something much more constructive. Move on, and efficiency is achieved. History is for experience and learning, not reminiscing.

But why put oneself through such torture? Reason is as simple as trying to visualise the lifestyle you want to lead in the future and the route to getting there. Hardships will always be there to be experienced but it is a matter of coming out of it with the experience and being tougher than before.

At the end of the examination, amidst all the rushing, and tiredness, I wondered if there was any means to help the next generation. How to instill the ability for everyone to possess an opinion on a worldly topic? How to apply knowledge? How to teach creativity?

How do we save the population?

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01:23
Sunday, September 04, 2005

____I Just Wanted My Dinner...

There's something wrong with me lately. I get pissed easily now. But I find legitimate reasons for being so.

Disney BBQ was much of a success if not for some people who couldn't make it. The only qualms I had was people passing snide remarks about how the fire isn't started by the time they arrived. Come on, it's raining, and the pit is wet. The weather is cold and by the way, you all weren't helping.

Haven't had a decent dinners for a long time too. School ended late on Thursday, Siqiang and I had to packet Macs from Canteen A. Friday was BBQ. Planned to have a decent dinner soon. But everything spoiled do to some inconsideration. In my disgust, I had to pack Macs again. Basically my week ended on a poor note.

Had a decent conversation with Siqiang though with regard to Christianity and religion. Wasn't very comfortable with over-zealous Christians in the past. I suppose they are the ones giving Christianity such a poor image. But in this conversation I wasn't persuaded by Siqiang to join them. I was rather more interested in knowing how a religion helps a person in terms of his well being and psychological stability. Siqiang shared some of his examples of how a religion helps him in coping with various situations and conflicts within himself - quite insightful.

Maybe I should pick up a religion. I've always maintained that football is my religion, but now after being out for so long and feeling rather lost at times, religion might get me somewhere. Or maybe I might even find the answer to "What is the meaning of life?".

But don't get me wrong and start pounding on my door, telling me about what your religions can do. It's just a consideration...

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