I know I’m on holiday and I’m not supposed to be worrying my little head over what my stupid sunny island is getting up to, but it’s like 12.30am and I’m wide awake (because I stupidly dozed off a little - JUST A LITTLE I’m jetlagged okayyyy - during The Producers earlier this evening) and I just read some stuff which got the hairs on the back of my neck standing.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the Sayoni post about the Feedback Session at AMK somewhere or other:

1.

pleinelune: What two people do in their bedrooms, what happens between two mututally consenting adults, is really no one else’s business.
Ellen Lee: That’s where you are wrong.

2.

pleinelune: So what if two people have gay sex? Your typical Christian or Muslim family is not going to be affected if this happens. Their homes, their mortgages, their families, their careers, their salaries, none of this is affected just because two people have gay sex. So I do not see the logic of them trying to keep this law, when it does not affect them.
Indranee Rajah: You are right, it does not have a physical impact on them. But it is more of an emotional impact, and what kind of message we are sending by removing the law. We have to look at parents. They might be afraid that their children will turn gay, if they see other people being gay, and they think it is okay to be gay.

[Note: It should be highlighted that the above "quotes" were just taken from the author of the post's memory and may not be 100% replicas of what was said exactly. Also, names were changed by me, and emphasis in red is my own.]

Just three comments from me.

First, no wonder the PAP recruited so many lawyers into their team during this election. They were preparing to defend certain sections of the Penal Code which I’m sure they knew was due for revision.

Second, is it just me or does Indranee Rajah seem to think that the moment the law is removed all gay people are going to start having mass orgies on the streets?

Lastly, I can’t believe that Ellen Lee actually said that, and I also can’t believe that Indranee Rajah managed to imply (actually she outright declared) that people “turn gay” as a result of “[seeing] other people [be] gay”. In that case, I’m amazed all my friends are still straight - you guys must have very resilient DNA. (I also want to ask what “being gay” looks like, but I think we all know this is a futile effort.)

So no trip to New York can be complete without a mandatory touristy shot of the Statue of Liberty (I was vaguely contemplating linking the wikipedia site but I’m going to assume all of you know what it is since anyway if you don’t there’s a picture above) and I’m caving and posting my very warped picture of it not just on my flickr but also on my blog. Yes, that’s right, the torch is shining. They turned it on for me. Read the rest of this entry »

The bunny and I were still kind of jetlagged yesterday so we ended up waking up at about 5.30am and decided to wander down to the boardwalk and watch the sun rise.

What I certainly didn’t expect was to see the Manhattan skyline being crept up on from behind by such a furious red, and yet just before it was all but enveloped by it, the vermillion suddenly dissipated into clear blue skies, speckled with fluffy, cotton-wool-ly clouds.

So far, the Manhattan I’m seeing isn’t really the Manhattan I’ve imagined - yes, it’s my first time on the East coast - but it has already far surpassed my dreams. Until I venture into Times Square, I suspect the streets of this city will continue to be emptier than I had been prepared for, and the buildings will continue to loom higher than my neck can crane to see.

Right now, all I can say is this: Thank God I bought the 16-35mm. :p

So apparently I have a knack for making Manhattan look very empty, which is quite strange if you think about it, but hey - the streets really were quite empty today.

Covered quite a fair bit of ground, brunch in an European styled cafe, Union Square, Flatiron, camera-paraphernalia shopping, Empire State Building (no we didn’t bother to climb up), Grand Central Station, Chrysler Building. An early morning walk along the river on the New Jersey side, and trying my hand at some more b/w landscapes, and the day was capped off with a couple more sunset shots before we boarded the ferry home.

New York’s been very kind to us so far, what with the beautiful weather, the blue skies, the lovely hosts, and yummy food. I’m a happy camper. :)

For those who can’t wait, I’ve started a photoset, so you can keep refreshing that page to see when I’ve updated. I should be uploading most nights till the 18th, then I run out of computer and will have to wait till January to sort and upload. This way, hopefully I won’t completely bust my January upload limit. :P

Not that I’m agreeing to have a blog-off with you, especially since I’m sitting right next to you in your living room and watching LOTR (part 2) with you, but I can’t decide which is funnier - that the characters actually decided to speak elvish in the movie, or that you burst into laughter while trying to imitate them and then cackle at your computer screen.

HAH ok I beat you. :p

Don’t go outside to smoke when it’s 2 degrees over 0 in boxers. Stupid stupid stupid.

Well hello everybody back in sunny Singapore (and wherever else around the world you may be reading this from). Jetlag is a bitch. It’s like 7am here in bunny’s friend’s very lovely flat in New Jersey - I’m making a point of mentioning that I really do think it’s lovely also because I know she reads this haha - and I’ve been awake for two hours.

I heart the cold. And, more importantly, I heart my ski jacket. :p I can’t wait for the rest of the trip (in particular I can’t wait for the sky to become bright so it’s not freezing and I can go outside) and I’m altogether very excited.

Blogging will probably just happen from the apartment, i.e. until the 18th, then you guys will just have to hang tight till I get home. My 30D and my 1V are also raring to go (and sitting by the heater) so I’m gonna.. I dunno. Find some TV to watch.

/talking-nonsense

Ok I dunno what the title of this post has to do with anything, but it’s like 8am and I slept at 2-something ‘cos I’m supposed to sleep on the flight in order to prevent (too much) jetlag and I’m damn mabok now.

But anyway, I’m off to New York, and I’ll be back in time for NYE, so have fun and Merry Christmas to everyone while I’m there. I’ll attempt to upload SOME pictures while I’m there but I honestly doubt I’ll be able to do much.

Clothes, coats, ski-stuff, boots, many-pairs-of-socks, underwear, scarves, sweaters, 30D, 1V, 16-35, 100, cables, chargers, batteries, moleskine, pens, tickets, TICKETS TO WATCH AVENUE Q, tripod and a bunny - I think I’m packed. I hope so at least.

See you all next year!

PS: Just ‘cos I said “see you all next year” doesn’t mean I absolve myself of the right to blog from the airport ‘cos I just like doing that plus I’ll be more awake. Pffffffft.

the quarter final badminton match between singapore (xing ai ying?) and korea (hwang hye yeon) is DAMN EXCITING LA. ahhahaa.

I bought a shirt with a speech bubble that you can write whatever you want to write in it, and now I can’t decide what to write.

Nevermind, I’m sure after a pint or two someone will have some inspiration. Let the madness ensue!