Stuff you must read today (Sat, 14 Nov 2009)

  • Goh Chok Tong: The pioneer bond-breaker?
  • “…the circumstances seem to suggest that the young Goh Chok Tong in 1965 could have very well been one of the first few – if not the first – to have broken a civil service bond in Singapore.”

  • Stop the exploitation of workers
  • “While my colleagues and I have never objected to foreign talent – and let me be on record that we are in need of such talent – the truth is that the Foreign Talent Policy has much to do with foreign but little with talent.”

  • PR Buys HDB Flat for $653,000
  • “This is the story of how young Singaporeans are being squeezed out of the housing market. The PRs are squeezing them out. One account does not tell the whole story, of course, but you know who has the full figures, don’t you. And that’s why you will also never know the full story.”

  • Decriminalise consensual underage sex
  • “Instead of repealing Section 376A altogether, because it serves a valuable purpose in protecting minors against abuse from sexual predators, perhaps a better solution is to introduce a legal exception for consensual sex between underage participants, with the issue of ‘consent’ between the minors to be proved as a question of fact.”

  • the papers must roll out
  • Eisen gives a blow-by-blow account of this year’s Straits Times National Schools Newspaper Competition:

    “4pm: Ok, whenever I see fishes now I think of sushi and sashimi.

    4.05pm: Whenever I see stingrays I think of Chomp Chomp, Newton Circus and barbequed stingray.

    I decide against joking about this to the Underwater World PR lady. I don’t think she will take that joke very well.

    4.15pm: HUNGRY. WANT SUSHI.”

Potential concert set lists that The Killers might use.

You can find them here. Just click on the link on the right-hand side of each row.

P.S. I know you might think this ultra-nerdy, and I make no bones about the bookishness of this exercise.

From past experience, however, ‘mugging’ for concerts does have its payoffs. If you can remember the lyrics to all the songs, you can sing along/mosh while the band plays. It’s a heightened experience, and it gives you more bang for your buck. And with ticket prices in the three-digit range for this particular gig, I’m sure you’ll want as much bang for your buck as you can get.

In between days.

Things I have positive feelings toward:

  1. The Cure.
  2. “In Between Days” by The Cure.
  3. Ukeleles.

Imagine my surprise + adulation when I saw this video:

(Link here for those who can’t see embedded videos.)

Amanda Palmer rocks. Why didn’t anyone tell me about her? Nevertheless, I totally want a ukelele EVEN MORE now.