[star wars]
caught the last installation of star wars a long long time ago in a far away galaxy....

okay... i was kidding...

i caught star wars episode III: revenge of the sith one day before it opened in theatres....

and yup... i was facinated by those powerful stuff they wield in the show... oh yah.. they are called lightsabers...

and so in the light of star wars heat, i decided to take the challenge and see what is the colour of my lightsaber...


You've made a yellow Lightsaber

Yellow is the color of Honor and Loyalty. It symbolizes caution and foreboding in either direction of the blade, meaning that the owner is relatively cautious but should also be cautious of them. Since Yellow stands for both Honor and Cowardice, one should always think twice before attacking someone with a Yellow Saber.

What Colored Lightsaber Would You Have?
brought to you by Quizilla

eugene sure did have the force with him... before we went into the theatre, he even attempted to take a photo of the star wars movie ticket...



so much for having the force... okay... i'm getting crappy here...

[sporting icons]
have you ever seen our community development, youth and sports minister playing table tennis? no?



at the launch of the book documenting 10 of singapore's sporting icons, dr vivian balakrishnan gamely pitted his skills against team singapore athlete tan paey fern.... and he's pretty good at it...



and i've got a copy of it and i've finished reading the first interview with bodybuilder simon chua.... perhaps i'll do a review for fullstop?

by the way, i've got a few copies of the book which i will pass to fullstop editor... unless of course he doesn't want them....

hmmm.... if he doesn't want them, i shall pass a few copies to you readers.... how's that? a free book for reading my blog... sounds cool huh? stay tuned...

[gladiators in town]
close to 65 sp freshmen had a wet and wild time at orchard during the weekend....

and they were trying to stop the wall from falling in one of their impromptu performances beside paragon....



help!! help!! the wall is falling!!! (or so they were told)...

[addicted]
apart from the two falls that i had on saturday - one was at orchard road during the spsu gladiators challenge (more on that tomorrow).... i don't know if it was caused by my nike trainers but i still kindof love them...

and here are two that i would love to own... cool sia...



outrageous orange and red... looks a little bengish....



and army print nike trainers.... cool....

[i am in]
kindof excited as i'm selected to do media support for the international olympic committee...

the 117th IOC Session, which will be hosted by Singapore will be held from 2 to 9 July 2005... and this is the first time in the history of Singapore sports that a meeting for the highest level of sports administrators is held in Singapore....

two important decisions will be made at the 117th IOC Session... come July, we will know the host city of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and when it will be held... the committee will also decide the 28 sports to be held at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games....

and there'll be over 1000 journalists from all over the world at the ioc press centre...

so it will be an eye-opener...

[what a flurry]
i am not amused...

there seems to be a flurry of posts after my letter to the straits times... and no... i did not mean that i wanted to get the government to solve our every problem...

and every other person has spoken...

han, the wannabe lawyer wrote:
"Another interesting discovery, is that not all stupid people are journalists. Ephraim Loy for example, has quite a serious 'womb complex', that is, he thinks he's still living in his mummy's tummy. SingaporeAngle and Singapore Ink seem quite astounded. I, for one, am not."

this was what was quoted:
"While blogging encourages one to speak up - which is a good thing and what the Government advocates - there has to be a limit. Bloggers should be educated on ethical blogging methods to prevent them from inadvertently breaching the laws. Perhaps the authorities can address this issue, to prevent other such cases? It's time Singaporeans took a responsible approach to blogging."

and this is wannabe lawyer's reply:
"Yes yes, good ol' authorities. Why stop at blogging? Why not just ask them to direct every single decision we make in our lives? We can always trust them to tell us what we can or cannot do. Yup, no point living life if there’s no one telling us how to live it, no? As long as we slavishly obey everything that we are told to do, we will always be safe, secure, and warm, just like in our mother's womb."

i'd like to clear the air here... i do not have a serious 'womb complex'... haha... now what theory was that?? ok... he said sorry so i won't sue him...

what i meant was that we should be informed of how NOT to get into trouble with the law... people, if you do have a GOOD point to make, go ahead but support it with FACTS... else everyone ends up with defamatory suits and heads to the courtroom...

this is what i found on From a Singapore Angle:
Associate Professor Ang Peng Hwa, Dean, School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, and Director, Singapore Internet Research Centre makes a special post on The Internet in Asia, published by the Singapore Internet Research Centre at Nanyang Technological University.

He points out something that bloggers - and everyone else in fact - should always keep in mind, especially when talking about the powerful: "the law of defamation is technical and not intuitive. That is, it is not always obvious what is defamatory". Given this state of affairs, it is this "understandable" that "inexperienced bloggers" might get into trouble at times.

and so how do we prevent this? through knowing the laws and not to cross the border...

and no... i did not mean that i wanted the government to intervene... and we won't need to have a government regulator to regulate our blogs... what they need to do is perhaps to educate... that's all... learn how to save your ass... in crude terms...

so fellow bloggers keep blogging and blog responsibly.... my two cents worth...

[meeting mr president once more]
you will know that the president in the vicinity when you see hoardes of performers dressed in colourful attire...



and our dear media friends....



and where the president goes the crowd follows.... even his minders had a hard time controlling the crowd as he went on to stretch out his hand and mingled with the kids present... the crowd just got larger and larger...



it also showed the cheapskate side of singaporeans over at the sports hall - as if i do not get enough of them at work everyday.... people started queuing for goodie bags half an hour early for the allotted distribution time... so duh...



and that was what happened at the inter-constituency telematch yesterday.... here's channel news asia's take on the event:

SINGAPORE : Some 4,000 people have taken part in an inter-constituency telematch, which also saw S$250,000 added to the President's Challenge coffers.

There were 84 teams made up of residents from all the constituencies in Singapore, and at least two thousand more supporters at the Yio Chu Kang Stadium.

In all, 13 sports were played, ranging from children's soccer to tossing games.

The participants took part in gladiator-style battles, jigsaw puzzle races and balancing acts on horizontal ladders.

And while they had fun, they also raised funds.

Cheques for a quarter of a million dollars were presented to President S R Nathan.

The President's Challenge is an annual charity drive made up of a series of community events to raise funds for about 50 beneficiaries.

The People's Association, which organised the telematch, has raised at least a quarter of a million dollars each year, for the past three years. - CNA

[be responsible for what you blog]
this is the unedited version of the letter to the straits times last week:

Your story “Blogger faces threat of law suit” on May 7, has shed more light on blogging issues especially how easy it is to get involved with the law.

In recent years, blogging has become a phenomenon and has taken Singapore by storm and it is not surprising that even NTUC Income CEO Tan Kin Lian blogs.

I too, have a blog where I pen my thoughts on issues that Singaporeans face.

However, it seems that a majority of Singaporean bloggers are not aware of the laws that govern the Internet and even copyright issues while they blog.

Bloggers who are mostly young, tend to over express themselves using profane language – some do that to attract readership.

Others insult celebrities straight in the face not knowing that what they write could really make them go in the wrong direction – to the courtroom.

In Singapore, where newspapers follow the Social Responsibility Theory, journalists are reminded that they have to be responsible for what they write.

And bloggers are somewhat like journalists as they are gatekeepers of their own blogs – they choose what to present to the audience, what to write.

But how many of them know the implications when they hit sensitive topics?

Chua Cheng Zhan’s racist comments on his blog nearly cost him dearly.

So while blogging encourages one to speak up – which is a good thing and what the government advocates – there has to be a limit to that.

And bloggers should be educated on ethical blogging methods to save them the trouble should they breach the laws.

Perhaps the relevant authorities could address this concern to prevent other such cases?

It’s time Singaporeans take a responsible approach to blogging because you are responsible for what you write.

[artistic clubbing]
apart from the loud music and smokey surroundings of the club or pub that i hate... the things that i like are the lights and the photographic effects that i can achieve...

so during jon's birthday party, i whipped out my camera and got a few cool shots...



blurry just like a drunk guy...



aren't the shots artistic??

[wierd encounters]
i'm pretty afraid to answer phone calls now...

guess what? i was on the phone with an old auntie at work moments ago...

and it was horrendous...

initially, i called her to tell her that my manager had reserved tickets for her for a tour to batam...

then she continued to tell me about the activities in other community centres and which one has the friendliest staff and power-packed activities... then she talked about which community club has the best tour packages... i wonder what she does everyday... perhaps she's so free and does tele-coversations for a living...

how i wished i had a tape recorder to tape down the conversation... it would have been hilarious hearing her dominate the conversation and going on and on and on....

so she kept me entertained for a whole 20 minutes.... but past records still rule - others have had conversations with customers hitting a whole hour!!!

[who strips wins]
warning: long post.... pole dancers included...

thanks to the guys at power98, we are going to have a butt-licious time for this entry...

the kind folks were so power that they gave out vip passes for their event at newsroom bar last night...



and it proves the point that who strips wins... however, not to that extent though...

six contestants were competing for the titles of singapore's sexiest buns... and temperatures soared to 98 degrees in the chilly bar....



mohd noor, who gamely took off his top while pole dancing, scored with his butt poses and sexy grooves while red hot music played on...



the girls, however, were not too bad either...



the six contestants taunted the hungry wolves at the event with a series of catwalks and pole dances.... i thought i spotted a monkey when one contestant hopped from pole to pole and perked his butt out.... and up... and down...

in the female category, joyce, who wasn't one of the hot favourites emerged as singapore's hottest female with the hottest buns....

for me, i felt they were pretty cheeky seeing them trying to win votes on the stage with their ass-ets.... these butts will be remembered for a long time to come.... until of course, the guys at power98 start their annual butt scouting session again next year...

[missing]
the productions 5 crew from mediacorp popped in at my work place for a shoot today...

the story? it's season 2 of the programme missing... and it is the story of a poly student who went, you guessed it, missing in 1999....



they did a shoot in the classroom and another one at the foyer...



there were no stars though... as you know, well, it's not like heartlanders or my sassy neighbour... perhaps some other time...

[busy lately]
i've been really busy lately... late nights... long days... sleep deprived...

but i'll still survive...

went for interview to be part of the ioc media support committee...

then was dj at my church's community day... and another embargoed project that is kept secret at the moment....

life is pretty fun.... and i really hope that i'll get into uni else i go into doing full-time volunteer work.... and community work.... and perhaps even grassroots work...

lots to consider... lots to ponder... life's like this....

anyway... i'll also take this opportunity to let you people know that i was featured in i-s magazine... the story was about volunteering in team singapore...

volunteer work is really fun... the satisfaction is great when you reach out and help...

more stories soon....

[birthday pyramid]
pardon the title because i don't really know what title to use... really...

anyway, i checked out this new club somewhere near tanjong pagar and it has quite exquisite decor... it looks like a pyramid inside with all those old writings on the wall... and it's cool... more photos on the pyramid soon...

although i don't really club, i was there for jonathan's birthday on friday night....

and i had an enjoyable time... except for the near fight outburst and police checks that scared me stiff...



the drinks were on him too... so i had quite a lot of fun...



and so here's wishing you a happy birthday... take care bro!!! and thanks for the treat...

[wedding bells ring]
dear clement and serene,

i loved your wedding two weeks ago...



hope you are enjoying yourselves now at your honeymoon...

your wedding car looked cool too... so cute...



God bless you and your lovely wife...

regards,
ephraim

[goodbye dr wee]
Singapore's former President, Dr Wee Kim Wee, died on Monday morning at his home, from complications due to a relapse of prostate cancer.

Many people remember him as a president "who was very close to the people".

What was interesting was his past, however.

He started out as a clerk in The Straits Times and then started to cover sports news five years later. Then in 1941 he left to join United Press International. 18 years later, he returned to The Straits Times and was appointed deputy editor (Singapore) and chief of editorial operations.

He was also the first journalist to interview quirky people like a Sulu pirate chief.

But it was in 1966 when he got his scoop in an interview with Lieutenant-General Suharto who ascended to power after a coup.

Interestingly, his scoop was splashed over The Straits Times front page on May 2, 1966. The story was headlined "Peace: The sooner the better".

Fast forward to 39 years later, he finally found peace when he left this world on May 2, 2005.

And as a mark of respect, the State flag on all Government buildings will be flown at half-mast from Tuesday to Friday.



Through the various stories and anecdotes, we can truely say that Dr Wee Kim Wee was indeed a very people oriented person who would go down to their level to talk to them. This personality trait endeared him to the common man and it is outlined and shown in his approachable style and humility.

One thing for sure: he's even more admirable than any of the Singapore Idols.