European Escapade

Labels: uk

posted by adree at 05:59 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments

RAWR

I am tired, but I cannot sleep. I am under tremendous pressure and stress, my mind cannot stop working. I am so frustrated, irritable and extremely impatient. Productivity has been horrible, and there are just so much incompetence around. It is extremely frustrating. There should be more descriptive words for such emotions.

Blogger takes such a f**king long time to load that only makes me more pissed off.

I need an outlet to get out all the steam. Somebody is going to be really unlucky to be on my receiving end of my pressure valve.

RAWRRRRRRRRRRRR!

Labels: rants, uk

posted by adree at 07:54 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments

Social Media - Blogs - Politics

What is really capturing my attention lately is the Malaysian elections, and how the bloggers, has such a MASSIVE influence over it.

As in the news, the Malaysian govt has lost its 50+ year 2/3 majority in parliament in the recent election. And its people has voted a blogger into parliament. It is probably the first anywhere in the world.

Why am I so interested? It is because I can see many similarities between what happened in msia, and what could possibly happen in singapore politics in a few years time. There is this growing... rumbling online about displeasure about what the govt has done lately. A lot of this anger is showing because of the MSK incident.

hmm im getting lazy to type this post, coz it will be a very long long one coz of many points to bring up and lay out my argument. But I need to sleep la, my submission is 13 days away and im blogging. tsk. What got me writing this post is how this blogger got charged yesterday for sedition, for implying the DPM and his wife of Msia of murder, how he refused to bail, and how the online community in a RM$1/person campaign donated at least RM$24k(some say RM$32k(paypal)) towards his RM$5K bail. That says A LOT for the support of the blogger against the govt.

In summary, what is happening in msia now, seems like what could possibly happen in singapore politics in the future, with a massive influence from blogs/bloggers, who are the alternative voice, when the mainstream media outlets(there are only 2 in singapore) keep the tone of what is happening in singapore very chirpy and pro-govt, and the politicians seem to be slowly losing what the people on the ground are feeling.

Or it could be I am just too massively influenced by these blogs/alternative viewpoints.

Or being overseas has broaden my perspectives on things back home.

(I do read ST, CNA and alternate viewpoints from Singapore, daily)

Labels: rants

posted by adree at 06:38 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments

Nerd? Geek? Loser? No life?

In one of my minuscule discoveries about different cultures, here in Europe, or maybe specifically UK, the British do not seem to instant message(IM) as much or often as Asians do on the other side of the world. Such activity, chatting online, spending too much time infront of a computer, addicted to playing computer/online games, is someone who has no life, a nerd, a geek, and/or a loser.

There seems to be this stigma that the Internet, or being online all the time, or knowing your way around computers is bad. 'Only people with no social life spend all their time online'. I think the British are missing the boat, the web2.0/social media/enterprise etc shit. Apparently the inventor of the WWW is a British guy, when I always thought it was an Amercian. Maybe because the British invented it, they got bored of it, and it is like a byproduct of the yesteryears? Its hard to find any British blogs, or any online community other than stuff like myspace to promote their obsession into music or anything else that does not relate to not having a social life. Facebook is a main reason why many are online now, updating their 'real life social life' online, because, well, you know how facebook is.

What is strange is that their 'nightlife or entertainment' here is really boring. Shops close at 5, and the ONLY places opened after 5pm are pubs/clubs, and fast food places to feed the drunk, no, high revelers. All there is to do, on any night in town is to go to a club, or pub, and get pissed. And if sitting around a table for a pint, and catching up got a little boring or unexciting after awhile, these drunk, no, high revelers, will be all up to mischief.

But who cares what I think? I am an anti social hermit! I am the social outcast. heh.

I also noticed that the British seem to be lagging behind in technology. One good indicator is the price of broadband, its speed and accessibility. Another indicator is how adapted the youth are to it. Maybe I am not experiencing a broader spectrum of youth. I thought mixing with media students would be a strong enough gauge. But I have not been impressed with anything interactive/multimedia/IT/web/online/etc from here. Even the student work here in that particular field is questionable. YET my views could all be one sided because I have not seen enough, or not looking hard enough. But if its that good, it'll stand out from a million miles away, and none has caught my eye.

Yet another interesting thing is probably noticing how APPLE advertises its products in Europe. They seem to advertise more in the US and ASIA, but when it comes to advertisements on computer products like the imacs or whatever, there is very little of it. Even the professional range of products like creative suites and all that, there seems to be a huge lack of interest in Europe. One case when Final Cut Studio 2 was having a world tour to give talks and such to FCP users, all the cities listed where the conference was going to be, was everywhere BUT Europe. Does APPLE know something I don't about the demograph ?

Sometimes I question my decision to come to the UK, instead of the US to pursue a media degree in an increasingly technological internet and media savvy world. Well I did know, and wanted to pursue my studies in the US, however, its all about circumstances. The UK is still better for stuff like engineering/medicine/law/etc. i think.

Labels: rants, uk

posted by adree at 06:04 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments

Revamp

The tagboard's failed
the blogging is slowing down
The pictures are ancient
the writings has degraded

Who bothers what I rant about anyway?

Its been 4 years, time for a revamp and redesign and something new?

web 2.0; social internet and shit.
but I am stuck in web 1.0
posted by adree at 05:52 SGT (GMT +08)| 2 comments

English...

... language.

Always thought that my english was above average(B3; average?). But coming here has made me realise that my perceptions are bad. I can't pronounce, enunciate and articulate myself as well as I think I could in my mind. Can't speak or write properly! All that singaporean english, mixing all that different languages and not speaking properly, and all that amercian television! So I am a confused sounding English(british)-educated(singapore education system)english-speaking-sounding-amercian-sometimes(tomayto, tomahto; its the tv)-whose-pronunciation-is-screwed-by-singish(singapore!).

Even what I write here has full of mistakes. Can you spot them?

Labels: rants, uk

posted by adree at 05:41 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments

50 hour journey

It's been more than one and half months since, that I made it to Brazil and made it back to the UK in about 50 hours. That uh-mey-zing trip was not as amazing as it should have been.
2 hours to Heathrow, 3 hr check in, 12 hr flight to San Paulo on route to Rio de Janeiro. Never got to Rio, denied entry at immigration because as a Singaporean, I needed one no matter the purpose of the visit, tourist or otherwise, when the brazilian airline I flew on told me I did not need one.
Frantic 6 hours trying to enter the country (was suppose to help a uni mate shoot a documentary; he shot it in the end), pulling strings, considered plans to go to Buenos Aries to do a round robin and get a visa in, but decided against it (language, unknown, time, money). 10 hours waiting in a 'restricted area' with someone watching me all the time in case I made a run for it. 2 hours waiting at the gate to get back my 'airline impounded' passport and airticket before the 12 hour flight back to london.
A moment of feeling relieved at being back in the UK(which is weird for me), 45 mins at Heathrow immigration queue, 5 mins of sympathy and advice by the UK immigration officer(I had a strong case), 30 mins of giving my mind to the assistant station manager of the airline that put me on a 24 hr roundabout flight, and 18hrs in an airport (tiny, in comparison with tom hank's character).
1 hour typing an email making my case against the airline. 3 weeks of haggling and negotiating.
2 weeks of getting documents in place.
'7 working days' to get a proper full refund of the airticket, as well as expenditure and expenses incurred to make that 50 hour 'holiday' to literally set foot and go on the south american continent. I could have traveled home!

Labels: brazil, uk

posted by adree at 05:16 SGT (GMT +08)| 0 comments