Victoria's Secret

1977 vs 2003

See how the modern Victoria's Secret catalogue has moved on since 1977. I remember hiding one away in my bookshelf when I was in high school. Shhh...

Metamorphosis

Brad Pitt always seems to morph into a likeness of his current paramour!

Brad Pitt is a chameleon

Down with animal rights extremism

I'm glad people have come out in force to support animal testing at Oxford University's new biomedical research centre and speak out against threats by the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) to conduct reprisals against builders at the site and anyone helping the progress of the facility, including university students.

Animal testing in medical research is key to scientific advancement. Animals deserve to be treated humanely and I agree such testing should be strictly regulated and monitored, but some of these animal rights activists are downright unrealistic.

Where does it stop? What about the millions around the world who consume meat everyday? Some of these animal lovers seem to live in a misguided utopian world of their own, one where they prance in evergreen glades amongst their animal friends.

The ALF is particularly disturbing; they actually advocate violence and terror to stop animal testing. Indeed the research labs should be kept in check, but surely there are more peaceful avenues for them to achieve their aims. Threatening the general populace in Oxford just means they're no different from common thugs.

Animal lab supporters go on march
Animal rights group threatens builders over new Oxford labs

Herd mentality

Researchers at Columbia University have found people are more likely to give a song a higher rating if it's been downloaded more often. Isn't this so true? It shows how social pressure plays in a part in our listening habits.

I haven't the patience to listen to all the new songs coming out. Apart from recommendations and accidental finds, I usually pick out new music from charts and most downloaded lists.

No Recipe for Superstardom
Take part in the Music Lab survey and get free song downloads.

Dashboard blogging

Wow, finally a widget for Blogger. Now I can post direct from Dashboard. This is so sweet.

The art of book binding

Master architect Le Corbusier had a rather disquieting side to him; he actually bound a favourite book of his in the hide of his dead pet dog. Would you see this as an act of love or sadism? I wouldn't want fleas interfering with a good book.

“He did bind one of his favourite books, Don Quixote, allegedly in leather made from the hide of one of his dogs, “Pinceau”, but the macabre bizarreness of such an act goes beyond the conventional fetishism of lovers of fine books."

The long wait for summer

Having my parents over for the past five days has been really great. I miss the comfortable familiarity of family and home so badly now. For me, the summer holidays can't come soon enough.

Ride it good

护身。健美。乐趣。Osim's iGallop, off mrlim.

Watch the TV ad

Me love you long time

So damn funny! Nerdy protagonist Andy Stitzer from The 40-Year-Old-Virgin with the infamous line "Me so horny, me love you long time!". Hahaha.......



Originally coined by a Vietnamese hooker in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, she doesn't do it quite like Steve Carrell. If you haven't caught the movie, you're missing out on a great comedy!

The 40 Year Old Virgin Wavs - Movie Sounds Central

Mother Russia

Click to enlarge

This is a beautiful shot of the statue of Mother Russia in Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad). The hill upon which it stands was the site of a titanic battle between Axis forces and the Red Army in the struggle for Stalingrad.

Its grandiose style and sheer scale are typical of Stalinist architecture, which is a unique and remarkably interesting architectural style in its own right.

There's always a first

A program declared in some quarters as the first ever virus for Mac OS X seems to have emerged. I'm sure many Windows users are hoping this breaks the self-assured smugness (me included) of most Mac users when it comes to viruses and security.

Graffiti tags

Dropdrop presents The Book of Tags, an exploration with collaborators from around the world of the urban art form that is graffiti writing.

A little Singapore on Little Britain

If you've watched Singaporean drama series Growing Up before, you'll probably recognise actor Steven Lim, who played the role of David Tay.

I was surprised to see him as a Thai waiter in a recent episode of Little Britain; his faux Thai accent had a rather heavy Singaporean tinge to it! A friend of mine spotted him downtown several weeks ago, I think he's freelancing here in London at the moment.

The Optimus keyboard

Russian design studio Art. Lebedev has conceptualised the Optimus keyboard, a prototype keyboard with OLED display keys that can dynamically change to allow for a virtually unlimited number of layouts. It may never materialise, but the Optimus' sublime design is something to admire.

Can't get it out

Have you ever listened to a song and found you can't get it out of your head? Shakira's La Tortura has been repeating itself in my head all day. Can't stop myself humming the chorus again and again and again...

Edit:
A Gmail web clip has just led me to an article on why songs get stuck in our head. How uncanny is that? Germans call these songs 'ohrwurms', or earworms. It seems they make our brains 'itch' and the only way to scratch that itch is to repeat the tune in our minds.

Back to Bedlam

Given our disgruntlement at having to make our way to Bethlem Royal Hospital out in Bromley for psychiatric teaching, Kevin has just informed me that it is in fact the world's oldest psychiatric hospital. Among its notable patients was Hannah Chaplin, mother of a certain Charlie Chaplin!

The word bedlam, long used to refer to lunatic asylums in general and later to describe a scene of uproar and confusion, originated from this hospital. James Blunt's album is titled 'Back to Bedlam'.

We've got to catch the early morning shuttle to get to Bedlam :(

My New Year weekend

Well it hasn't exactly been an enjoyable start to the Chinese New Year for me. I felt these sudden pangs of yearning for home when calling my family and having to study for a Spanish test over the weekend was a real bummer too. Got that out of the way yesterday and I think I did alright, considering just weeks ago I realised I didn't know how to say 'hello' in Spanish!

I was feeling rather depressed for the whole of last week, culminating to an absolute low during the last weekend. I think it was the hectic pace of this rotation and the pain in the neck of a Spanish test at the back of my mind that nearly drove me mad. It seemed I could never focus all my attention on medicine, because I was getting constantly distracted by the spectre of this test.

The depression got so bad, I actually felt intense anger within when anyone spoke, even friends, for no apparent reason. I never externalised this anger, because I knew it was senseless, but nevertheless this anger always seemed to well up within. Then strangely enough, I woke feeling absolutely euphoric on Tuesday. Perhaps the prospect of the test on Wednesday and the idea of getting it over and done with excited me.

Utter depression followed by euphoria. Bipolar disorder? Haha, or medical student syndrome? Whatever it is, I'm just glad I'm feeling better now. There are still 10 days left to enjoy the festive New Year mood!

Chinese New Year celebrations in London