Mercedes driver dies in Pasir Panjang crash

A Mercedes driver was killed in a car accident on Pasir Panjang Road yesterday.

John Frazier, 47, Asia Pacific director of U.S. investment bank Hogawny Flinch, lost control of his car and smashed into a utility pole. He had been speeding, going at xyz above the speed limit. He was not wearing a seat belt and was killed instantly.

Police spokesman Herman Wong said: “The impact crushed the whole front of the car. Frazier was thrown through the car’s windshield. He landed on the pavement some 20 feet away.”

Two pedestrians walking a dog were injured by the impact. The two suffered light bruises and the dog suffered a fractured leg.

Why time flies as we get older

Oho! This time-flying feeling actually has some sort of a scientific explanation to it. Hmm.

It reminds me - perhaps unrelatedly - of how people are anxious to put scientific labels on every condition, e.g. ADHD for kids who just can't seem to sit still



Anyway, Jeremy just said to do a profile, so I have to somehow link the above rambling to um, me. I'm fidgety, so that works.

About me. I studied in NTU, School of Communication Studies.

Never let me go - Kazuo Ishiguro.

From the start, the novel deliberately confounds. What's all this reference to donations? Bit by bit, things become clearer and not so clear, just like how the students in the book are, I eventually realise. I don't want to spoil this for you, so I won't give it away as well, like what I feel the author intended.

So in short, this is about a reflection, a flashback, on Kathy's (the narrator) life as a student back at the Hailsham boarding school, and thereafter. The technique is reminiscent of 'The remains of the day', Ishiguro's more 'famous' book, where the butler is the narrator. I enjoyed this book more than 'Remains' though.

The book does force you to take a look at certain hard issues, one of which is (argh trying not to be a spoiler) - exactly how important art is, or why we choose to be cultured, civilised. Why should we? There are other things to think about, of course. But they are too central to the plot to bring up now. This question of culture is a tough one. It...completes us? Nourishes our soul? Challenges us intellectually? But, so what? What is all this for?

Garhh. Oh well. Just read it la. Someone read it so I can discuss it properly. heh. Oh I caught Pirates 3. Johnny Depp! That guy totally rules.

Two ends of the spectrum.

Yup I've been lazy to update this blog, so now I shall do two books at one go! I are smart.

One's Prozac Nation, and two is Dave Barry's 'Money Secrets'. I couldn't have picked two more contrasting books to read one after the other. Prozac Nation, Tianwei felt, was damn whiny. He couldn't finish it. And I know what he means, it's a girl being trapped in her own mind, getting lost in the civil war where her thoughts are fighting each other. It's not an easy terrain to manouevre at all. And I doubt I could've stood it if I didn't understand pain and loneliness. Fortunately I'm waaaay out of her league, as in I'm still thankful for each new day that arrives.

As for Dave Barry, it's a must-read for everyone! Okay I don't wanna oversell, so I shall just say that he's... quite funny. Oh what the heck, he's fricking hilarious! I can't stop giggling on the MRT. I love people who are ridiculous.

All about good ol' love.

Title: The Time Traveler's Wife
Author: Audrey Niffenegger

Favourite quote in the book, "One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And Death shall be sitting in the kitchen in his underwear at three in the morning, doing last week's crossword's puzzle -"

Certainly puts things in a different perspective. Borrowed this book off Bean, and didn't have time to read it till this weekend at home. Bulldozed through it, I love it! Very readable, and I could pick up where I left off a month ago from page 72, fell back into the plot right away, no problem at all.

This is essentially a book about love, its good, bad and ugly. Its intensity upon finding The One, the frustration of living together and apart.. every relationship does have its own complications, so it was easy to identify with the characters' feelings, even though the couple's problem is more complex than the norm. Tenderly written. Can't help loving the characters, and am glad the ending made sense and left me feeling wistful.

because this is particularly appropriate right now.

Title: Changing Planes
Author: Ursula K LeGuin

A mostly sci-fi author, I got to know her name from Neil Gaiman's blog, which is really a treasure trove for information, besides being an entertaining read. Through him, I've read Jonathan Carroll (White Apples, Land of Laughs), Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell) and now LeGuin, and I've enjoyed all their books.

Changing Planes is about how you can travel to other planes while waiting in airport lounges, because you need an obscene amount of boredom to be able to do so. She highlights some of these planes so it comes about in a series of short stories. One of my favourites is the plane where some people sprout huge wings during adolescence and become 'fliers'. It isn't particularly cool and it can seriously impede your career, so there is a certain kind of warped prejudice towards fliers, who are sometimes treated as handicapped. It's an oddly realistic situation and I feel a clever parody on many different things in life that different people are prejudiced towards.

Some stories speak to me more than others, which is to be expected of course. The book I'm reading now is The Time Traveller's Wife, which Bean lent to me. So far so good.

Reading a Dame's work.

Yes I ripped the blog address off NLB's commendable exercise, so let me take half a minute to express my heartfelt appreciation for the institution. Without it, my mind would never have been able to travel to so many sunny resorts and collapsing dungeons. Nor would I have been able to learn the existence of words like 'erstwhile' and 'flummoxed'.

Welcome to those who've stumbled on this record of my reading list. It is for me to remember what I read and what it was about, because the capacity of my memory embarrasses me. And I know it can be useful to have a direction-pointer when you don't know what to read, so I hope you will find something that eventually makes your list of 'Top Ten Best Reads'. Have a good trip.



Title: Aiding and abetting.
Author: Muriel Spark.

Finished it a few days ago, and really enjoyed it. Was pointed to her books by Lorna Landvik's "Angry Housewives eating Bon Bons", which I've mentioned somewhere else. My apologies for being repetitive. Anyway, it's where I picked up several threads, including Spark's "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie".

If you're looking for a bit of dark entertainment, you might like this. Did not expect it to confuse but it did, in a good way though. Kept the tempo up. The ending is typical of Brit humour novelists (think Wodehouse), in that it is a happy one. You may not totally agree if you are a pure kindhearted soul, but it definitely made me smile especially when I envisioned Spark's glee at writing Lucan's fate.

Okay that's all I can think of, for now.