Homesick

And a heaven in a wild flower

For some strange reason when I picked up this fallen flower this afternoon, I was suddenly reminded of the Botanic Gardens in Aarhus. That triggered a stream of memories ending with my evening walks on the beach, watching the sun set at 10pm; the smell of the sea, the sound of the sund, the Baltic breeze cold and refreshing. Is this what Blake meant by Infinity and Eternity; All within?

Reflections

No Reproduction. A rebellion against reflection.

All that we know, we perceive.
What happens when our senses fail us?
We turn our backs on it;
Inwards.

Chinoiserie

Chinatown Belle.

This photo reminds me of a holga shot I took in Shanghai 2 years ago. I like these little triggers that remind me of the past. Talking about the past, the last time the world was so China-centric was in the 1800s. The outcome of that, we all know, was the colonial exploitation of China. I have a feeling that this round of China-centricity will yield a much different outcome.

Gardener

Inside out, with a swirl.

Taken with my Lensbaby, yet another one of my numerous impulse buys. I do like its Impressionist ability to make the ordinary, look different. The exams begin tomorrow. I wish I could say something about it but there really isn't much to say. It starts tomorrow, ends on the 7th of December, and I need to pass it.

Reflections

Glass tower in a Glass Case under a Glass roof; Play on.

Checked out the Neues Bauen Exhibition at the National Museum this afternoon with Dad. For a free exhibit, it is pretty decent. As it was a spur of the moment decision after lunch, I didn't have a proper camera with me. But as they say, the best camera is the one you have with you and I suppose the N73 had to do (who needs a hasselblad or leica rite...Rite.). I like this photo of Mies van der Rohe's 1922 Glass Skyscraper because only the lower half of the skyscraper is distinct. The upper half of it is lost to the reflections of the modern extension of the museum; like how the works of the Neues Bauen architects continue to subtly influence our present environment. There are hints of the past in everything modern. I like reflections, I probably have a million blog post titled that, because to a certain extent, almost everything is a reflection of or reflects something. I thumbed through my Mies van der Rohe book just now and came across this quote which i think is quite appropriate,

"My experiments with a glass model helped me along the way and I soon recognized that by employing glass, it is not an effect of light and shadow one wants to achieve, but a rich interplay of light reflections."

Liz

Sick in bed

Lizzy has been sick for the past few days and tomorrow I'm bringing her to the vet again. Although she is way over her vet estimated life expectancy, it still pains me to see her like that. I brought her for a short 'carry' round the block, in place of her evening walk because she's still too wobbly. She looked slightly better after that. Even dogs need a change of air.

Present

I was there

Although sometimes I forget; like how the fields of gold fade and time's shadow blurs. I take photos to remind me that I was at a certain place at a certain time. I take photos driven by fear. The fear of forgetting frightens me. I am insecure like that. Although I know that I should and that I must forget somethings, I never want to. All that I remember makes me who I am, in the present.

Glance

Eye contact

A glance can say so much,
but its absence,
sometimes says more.

Moment

tete-a-tete

I remember this moment, caught by my little contax. It was a cold spring evening and we were out having a drink before the exams. We eschewed the crowded clubs in favour of a little French brasserie, near the old quarter. We ordered our beers, it is still Denmark, got warm and chatted till the shutters came down. The French speaking Danish owner allowed us to stay on and even gave us a round on the house. Yanis and Steph began talking fondly about their hometown, Lyon, and soon the conversation trailed off into French. They had this look of fondness in their eyes, as they glanced at each other, as if to confirm their experiences of home. It was just a split second's glance, but it said so much.

Rearrangement

Runic Rearrangement

Rearrangement, a word I have not heard or used for a long time. My little mac dictionary defines it as "move (something) into a more acceptable position or state". I must be getting the meaningful half. I bought these little rune stones from an artist colony in Orkney, an island off the Scottish coast. The lady who sold me the stones told me that they came from a beach next to the colony, where there were a handful of big Norse rune stones, a magical and sacred place. I smiled when she said that but I bought the stones because I am a sucker for stones. It is like bringing a piece of the country back with you. I am insecure like that. The runic characters on the stone represent a quality or trait and one is suppose to pick up 6 stones from a bag to see what fate has lined up for you. Tonight, I took hold of fate and chose 6 stones that I need the most; Cold comfort. If only a life was so easily rearranged.

Delight

An Autumn Affair

Tea cups by tealights and a checkered tablecloth that bore a delightful spread. Kudos to the chef(s) and wonderful host.

Balcony

"Santiago leaned against the cold, hard iron railing and mused to himself that life would have been better had his support always been this cold, this hard. He drew deeply on his cigarette, feeling the smoke rush into his lungs, bringing forth that warm fuzzy feeling that glazed his eyes and his soul. 'These things will kill you, true, but there are many things in life that will kill you, yet never provide a second's solace' he thought to himself. Below him the square was filled with the weekend crowd. The whole city seemed to have congregated at the square below. Families were out in full force, with their legion of offspring in tow; fathers chasing after kids who were running around with ice cream cones, as if they were jousting lances, hoping to crash them against an unsuspecting and unwilling champion, whilst mothers fussed over the ones who are still too young to take flight. Couples strolled, hand in hand and as they reached the fountain in the heart of the square, the male species would attempt to toss the female into the cold pool. The fairer species would feigned resistance and the male would magnanimously hold back at the very last second, beaming a smile of cheap chivalry. Different couples, the same routine, over and over again. Santiago wondered if that was the formula to sealing human relationships, play acting and a superficial smile, both enough to distract from the truth until the children arrive, providing another long distraction. Santiago took a drag on his cigarette and a question crept up on him, 'Why can't I be happy like those...' his question was lost to a busker in the square who began singing a sappy love song, a song that will fill his guitar case but leave the refrain empty. 'Where do all the solitary figures go on a weekend? Ah yes, they spend time with their shadows.' Santiago loved his balcony. It was a bridge to a world he did not quite understand. Whenever he had too much of it or when he finished his cigarette, he would withdraw into the shady comforts of his domain."
~ The Balcony, Mies Paimio

Piggy

Who let the Gini out of the Piggy?

As I grow older, I find myself feeling more undeserving of my comfortable upbringing. Perhaps its the travels to developing countries that I relish so much, or perhaps its just cynicism that comes with age. Not that I despise my upbringing and yet I constantly find the need to remind myself that inequality will always exist. Alas, a prick on the conscience is nevertheless just a prick, no more, no less.

Inequality will always exist, and it seems to be widening in Singapore. The Gini Coefficient (a measure of income inequality) for Singapore has been increasing in spite of it being somewhat statistically suppressed by hand-outs such as progress packages etc. Recent articles in the papers have reported a rise in conspicuous spending and indirect reports on inflation. The lower income groups are always the least inflation insulated. Rising commodities prices across the globe has also led to the rising cost of daily necessities. Although this has not resulted in stampedes at Carrefour, like in China, it is worrying. Yet the discussion of late has revolved around religion (vis-a-vis homosexuality), racial harmony and secularism, ideals that we claim are fundamental to the maintenance of the social fabric of Singapore. All fine and good, but inequality must not be ignored. Lest we forget how materialistic a bunch of people we are, with our 5Cs and all; envy and a false sense of competitiveness will aggravate any feelings of inequality. Compounding this problem is the upcoming IR and marina lifestyle for the rich that we are trying to create. Perhaps wealth or its unequal distribution will succeed, where race and religion have thus far failed, in destroying our social fabric. Such is the power of wealth.

Unplugged

Unplugged, yet still tangled.

Enough Nietzsche, enough Sartre. I do not need to know the reason for existence. I have my own way, my own truth and my own light. I wish things were more clear cut, black and white; more honest. For in honesty there is truth, one that is not masqueraded. But what good is The Truth if it is not believed?

Half

The Empire of Light, Halved.
The darker half; light is dark,
Yet threefold bright.

Two

Two souls in one body, Light and Shadow.

Leitz

Purely Subjective; Studium and Punctum.

I love books, more than anything. There is a wonderful relationship. In a book, you can pause at a page and look at it for as long as you like, and there's a certain kind of privacy.

X-Legs

Perspective; Crossed Legs.

Rhythmic visuals echo from the past;
Through play of light and dark,
Opacity and transparency,
Shaping the present.

Rush

Oil is the problem, Cars are the solution

The last I checked, oil was at $96 a barrel and my Shell 98 was costing me 1.98 per litre. The stone age did not end for lack of stone and our oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil. The reason for this is quite simple, technology. And we are now at a technological milestone, or at least close to it. I think oil will peak at $120-130pbl and when that happens, it will be interesting to see whether the dam will break in favour of renewable fuels or in favour of carbon intense fuels made from tar sands, shale or coal. Both alternatives are the offspring of technological advancement.

I say 'peak' because after this price range, it will not be economically rational to use oil as a staple fuel. Having said that, I do not believe that we will run out of oil in my lifetime, although many oil pessimist claim otherwise. History has shown that such 'Malthusian' predictions are often wrong; the world did not run out of food, or any other resources and it is unlikely that it will run out of oil anytime soon. The flaw back then, as now, is that such forecasts are often just straight extrapolations that do not take into account any positive feedbacks. In the real world, scarcity and crisis breeds substitution and innovation. Development and human progression is dynamic, and straight line trends rarely go on forever in one direction. Technological advancement has helped to prolong the life of existing oil wells and the 1970s crisis has brought about North Sea Oil.

Technology has gotten us this far along in the oil age, the question is will it bring us into a new green age or into another carbon age. It is ironic that at this juncture, the power to buck the oil age and move on to a green age lies in the hands of large developing countries such as India and China, who are also big polluters. And they can do this through the use of the car. Car ownership has grown tremendously in China and India. Everyone wants to own a car, as a symbol of social progression and also as the suburbs develop and there is a greater need to commute. Having the requisite critical population mass bringing forth tremendous economies of scale, these countries can pioneer, develop and implement green cars that will result in a green standard platform; One standardized green fuel, one standardized green engine. And thanks to the lobbying of the oil majors in the developed world, the developing countries do not lack very far behind in terms of green technology R&D. Currently the world is torn between solar, geothermal, electricity and hydrogen fuel cells. If these developing countries were to adopt one single green fuel source as their working platform and sell one such car to every household back home, they would have outsold the number of non-green cars in the world. And there will always be a need or want to have more than one car per household. Imagine the potential market loss if the rest of the car manufacturing countries do not adopt this green platform. It is this free market trend albeit probably state initiated that will dictate the new age of man. The car of the future will determine how long a future our planet has.

Dark

I am as constant as a northern star
Constant in the dark

Hjerte

Star struck by shadows and light.

I love Brassai's photos of Paris at night.
Kobenhavn is no Paris but it has its own charms.
The night reveals secrets that the day conceals.

Passe

Going, Going, Gone.

I played tour guide again this weekend, bringing my childhood friend from the UK around Singapore. I brought him to his old house in Andrew Road, just like how he had driven me to my old house in Chorleywood; a virtuous cycle fulfilled. Its amazing how much one remembers of their childhood. I also drove him around the CBD showing him the new office buildings that are sprouting up like wild grass, One Raffles Quay, One Marina Boulevard, One George, One Shenton, One Too Many. All of them almost identical; tall, green and glassy. Whatever happened to individualism?

It would be more tolerable if green and glassy + clean lines was a new concept, but it really isn't very novel. Just round the bend from these glass towers sits Afro Asia Building, with similar clean lines and rows of green glass windows. Of course they lacked the technological know how to bend and shape steel then, so thick heavy concrete was the medium of choice, inadvertently dating it. Nevertheless, it was modern in spirit; pushing the zeitgeist forward. Afro Asia Building looks kind of incongruous now, surrounded on all sides by towering office blocks with another behemoth rising from the ground just across the road. And soon, I am sure, this little architectural gem and milestone will be demolished, replaced by a clean lined, green-glass skyscraper. Perhaps, it is a little conspiracy on the part of all the new "Ones", to reclaim their architectural novelty by suppressing any hint of a lineage. Perhaps, I should move with my zeitgeist, and embrace its re-birth. But how does one embrace a re-birth with no memory of the birth?

"Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has one been born, will always reappear in new form" - Alvar Aalto

Fjord

Hillside Houses; Nordic Nostalgia

I know its not right to live in the past;
But how about taking short vacations there?

Pride

Flags of our Mothers,
Uniquely Singapore.