Painful Songs

there are some songs that are too painful to listen to. there is a particular one that is exceptionally painful because it is so recent. and someone's singing it on tv now. fortunately, it is pretty badly mangled, so it has become physically painful to listen to it, which sure beats being in emotional pain.

i think kelvin (the one who is blind... i tried being politically correct... but let's call a spade a spade la har... like how i am stupid, arrogant, and foolish...) will lose the Project Superstar competition. he is talented, definitely has guts and it would be such a fairy tale if he won. alas, he just isn't there yet.

and you know that Singapore is truly multi-racial when after you have Singapore Idol, you have similar version in other mother tongue.

speaking of Singapore Idol, apparently, the Singapore Idol Final Results Show is one of the most watched shows. and it is one of 2 shows that was watched by a large proportion of all the ethnic groups. what does this say about Singaporeans? that music transcends language barriers? or Mat and Beng bring people of all ethnicity together? i'm open to suggestions.

the other show that is watched by a large proportion of all the ethnic groups is... NDP! but that is probably because that show flooded the airwaves, dominated every single channel and is the only show that you can watch at that point of time. so lan lan, bo pian, have to watch that. but i bet most people were just waiting for it to end so that they can watch Mat and Beng on Shooting Stars. more like shooting birds la.

ah well. on other news, i do hope that the Gaza pullout proceeds peacefully. and am glad that Aceh peace deal is signed. but concerned that Iran is restarting its nuclear programme and filling its Cabinet with hardliners. sometimes, it feels like we are moving 2 steps back for every step we move ahead.

National Day Rally this Sunday. i wonder whether there will be a plethora of goodies this year. perhaps more bonuses for civil servants? higher employer contributions to CPF?

argh!!! more silly Singaporeans fawning over President Nathan. don't get me wrong. i agree with Jasmipoopz that he is definitely qualified to be the president. but i wonder whether those whom you see on TV (i.e. those random people who are interviewed) actually know much about him, whether they have, as Jasmipoopz has, done their research on what President Nathan has done to deserve to be the President and worthy of praise.

i think the main problem with the entire Presidential Election issue is that, after all this while, the powers that be still doesn't trust us, the people of Singapore, to make enlightened choices. if Andrew Kuan is really such a rubbish candidate, then even if he goes for elections, i'm sure he would lose. and the same goes for any other candidates. but no. we, the people of Singapore, are not to be trusted to make such an important decision. i say, bollocks. i say that every Signaporean citizen, unless proven otherwise, should have the right to stand for election. and the people then decide who they want to be their president.

it is time that the powers that be start trusting the people. and if they don't trust the people, if they don't think that the people are enlightened to make that choice, then, rather than make the choices for us, it is time that they create conditions for the people to become enlightened. after all, as a very wise friend of mine said once, an enlightened populous is the ultimate safeguard of a society. so perhaps it is time that the government starts creating the conditions for us to become an enlightened populous.

but how? well... the best way to teach someone responsibility is to... give it to them! it's quite a catch 22 that the government will never get their head around.

right. i've rambled on long enough. sighz. pity. that song is actually a very nice song. ah well.