Just realised I've posted my 1000th entry (below). Hurrah.
Anyway, VanPod II went brain dead on Monday, when iTunes hung while attempting to add my gazillion new Christmas photos. I rebooted the computer, and VanPod II displayed a sad icon with a link to the support site:
My website (and some other people's, hosted on my account) was down this morning.
Our web host suspended my account because trackback spammers pinged my trackback file too many times, causing the server's CPU to nearly overload.
Since its installation, Movable Type 3 has blocked 841 cases of trackback spam. In the last couple of days I received around 80 cases of such spam.
An analogy came to mind. Blog spam is annoying but inevitable (like mosquitoes in Singapore during the rainy season). I decided to let them be as long as most of it would be automatically blocked (using 'repellent') or deleted (relieving itches by applying balm).
However, when they start to affect the main system (spreading serious diseases like malaria or dengue fever), I am NOT happy.
Hotel Costes 8. This one has more House than previous volumes, but not really the type I like. However, it was salvaged by a very nifty track by Tosca called 'Heidi Brül'. Also, Demon Ritchie's 'Only In New York' had more trademark Costes glam with a dash of catwalk. Smooth E's self-titled track also retained some of the eccentricity I'm more familiar with. The final two tracks were also listenable. (My favourite Costes album is still Volume 3.) Overall: 3 stars.
Clementine - Made in France. I first heard her voice in a Costes album, then bought her other album, Avec, last month. If you like fresh happy voices like Lisa Ono's, you will like Clementine as well. Comment from That CD Shop dude: Clementine pronounces her words better than Ono. (I should hope so!) Overall: 4 stars.
Hotel St Tropez - another of those expensive box sets from yet another exclusive-sounding hotel. I like the first CD (overall: 4 stars), but not the 2nd (2 stars). The third CD contains music fit for playing in spas.
The Smiths - The very best of. Contains 23 tracks. Someone told me that I would like The Smiths/Morrissey. So in order to widen my listening repertoire, I bought this at the HMV sale - for only S$13.95. Still listening to it. Most songs are getting 3 stars in my iTunes ratings.
The Beach Boys - The very best of. 30 familiar-sounding classics for only S$14.95 at the HMV sale.
The Observatory's albums are worthy of a separate review, hopefully in a later post.
At work, some of us went a-carolling and I sang a solo item (view pic).
Today, boss treated us to some stollen cake (which I felt would go well with poached egg). I decided to play with our food, making Bambi bugger Santa Claus.
Tomorrow evening for pot luck, I will contribute a salad and some baked yam. And probably some evening entertainment - floundering at the piano.
The big match begins in two minutes.
Go, Arsenal!
Half-time update: Someone please knock some sense into the linesman and referee Rob Styles- Van Persie was onside. Also, could someone knock out Essien's two front teeth? A tooth for a tooth, considering what he did to Lauren. Essien is a brute - I'm sure Liverpool would agree. Some ex-Chelsea player commented before the match that Arsenal have never lost while this referee was in charge. That's an insinuation which could be reversed now.
Van Persie did not commit a foul while chesting the ball - but, he also should not have lost his temper which got him a yellow card.
Just out of sheer revenge, I hope Arsenal score two more back after half-time. I may not bother to watch on - I have a day job and need to sleep. I'll give the young Gunners a few more years with the new stadium before they make it back to No. 1 spot again in the Premier League.
My colleagues were at a presentation by a big ad agency today.
One of their proposals was blogging. They apparently listed some women bloggers' sites as examples. Including mine.
They had no idea I worked for the very company they were pitching to.
A couple of my colleagues, however, pointed out that it was my blog.
All in all, it was a very interesting story. I guess I should be honoured (assuming the blogs they cited were supposed to be good examples).
I am not sure if these same ad people stayed over after their presentation, because they came in to meet another colleague and stood very near my cubicle ... in fact, one guy wandered into my cubicle while I was away, reading the geek comics I had stuck on my wall :-P
Anyway, by that time it was very late and I just wanted to finish my work and grab my dinner. So I didn't stick around to chat or introduce myself (what if they were from another agency - how malu).
I spotted this amusing ad on page 71 of Saturday's New Paper.
So the draw has been made, and England are exuberant. It's still too early to start placing bets, because a lot of things can happen to a team's form in one year. Players will get injured while playing for their clubs. Other players who may not seem significant now, may rise to the occasion next year.
I was scanning through some country profiles on the BBC website. This paragraph on Japan was amusing, but knowing the civic-mindedness of the people in general, I was not very surprised:
Did you know: During France 1998, the stadium authorities were astonished to find the Japan fans' seating area cleaner after a game than before. On the final whistle, the supporters had picked up all the rubbish they could find before depositing it in the bins by the exit.
Well done, Japan. Teach them yobs a lesson!
Just saw this on the home page of BBC News. Apparently, Human Rights Watch has accused Singapore of maid abuse.
The maids' quotes at the end of this article are quite disturbing, though I've personally never heard of any similar stories. All the maids I've seen (working for family, friends and colleagues) seem quite happy, and some have stayed with their employers for a long time.
I was quite surprised to hear of HRW's report, as cases of maid abuse do get reported in the local papers, with their employers usually punished by the law. You could say it's just the tip of the iceberg, but surely the right message does get sent out when each case is reported. I recall an article in the Straits Times where model employers were featured with their maids. It was touching to hear of how a family sent their maid for classes so she could improve her career prospects.
Also, it's difficult to legislate on things which happen in the confines of a home, even if protection is extended to this group of workers. It's different from an employee in a company who files a complaint against his employer for abuse or non-payment of wages. The employee doesn't have to live with his boss, nor depend on him for food, shelter and safety.
Based on your personal experience, what do you think about the treatment of maids in Singapore?
Yes, I haven't been updating this blog lately. As a few of you know, I was quite busy with family matters and a backlog of work that hasn't stopped piling up since I got back from Vietnam.
Anyway, in the last week:
I coded my first XML podcast file, by hand. It will be officially launched soon, hopefully. I wonder if my organisation is gonna be the first in the industry to do this.
A month's hiatus from jazz piano actually did me some good, because I'm back in the studio producing music again. The bigger question, as always, is when I'm going to get off my ass and actually submit something to an A&R agency. (Friends are hereby allowed to nag and harangue me to no end, until this happens)
PC gave me a book written by a Singaporean Christian who lived in a haunted house for a year. I hope this will not be a bad case of deja vu for me. Haven't read it yet as I haven't had time. Also, it's not something you want to read when you come home late after work!
I attended an AIDS forum yesterday and it gave good insight into what's been going on in the region. By sharing our findings and and speaking frankly with each other, we can strengthen our own efforts in the battle against the disease. The same goes for almost any other topic (like the GBM).