THE BEST COMEBACK LINE EVER

Marine Corps General Reinwald was interviewed on the radio and you'll love his reply to the lady who interviewed him concerning guns and children. Regardless of how you feel about gun laws you gotta love this!!!! This is one of the best comeback lines of all time.

It is a portion of National Public Radio (NPR) interview between a female broadcaster and US Marine Corps General Reinwald who was about to sponsor a Boy Scout Troop visiting his military installation.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: So, General Reinwald, what things are you going to teach these young boys when they visit your base?

GENERAL REINWALD: We're going to teach them climbing, canoeing, archery, and shooting.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Shooting! That's a bit irresponsible, isn't it?

GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see why, they'll be properly supervised on the rifle range.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: Don't you admit that this is a terribly dangerous activity to be teaching children?

GENERAL REINWALD: I don't see how. We will be teaching them proper rifle discipline before they even touch a firearm.

FEMALE INTERVIEWER: But you're equipping them to become violent killers.

GENERAL REINWALD: Well, Ma'am, you're equipped to be a prostitute, but you're not one, are you?

The radio went silent and the interview ended. You gotta love the Marines!

Decisions Decisions...

hey all!

this is a notice to all those who *might* be able to join us on a mini holiday from the 10th - 13th of July (Tues - Sat). Since it's really such a short trip, Samui has been voted out of the picture. Jason can tell us more about that when he gets back from his honeymoon! These are the places which we're now planning to go.

First up, BALI!

"The word paradise is used a lot in Bali, and not without reason. The combination of friendly, hospitable people, a magnificently visual culture infused with spirituality and (not least) spectacular beaches with great surfing and diving have made Bali Indonesia's unparalleled number one tourist attraction. Eighty percent of international visitors to Indonesia visit Bali and Bali alone."


Now, the main aim of the bali trip would be to SURF! But of course, the things you can do there are comparable to Samui... So, it's definately worth considering. Cost: Hotel might working up to $25/person/night. (assuming 4 of us make it) Airfare: ~$300.




Secondly, we have Mount Kinabalu!

"Mount Kinabalu is South-East Asia's tallest mountain. You can climb to the top of Low's Peak (4,095.2m above sea level) but the height of the mountain is often given as 4,101m. Mount Kinabalu is known to be one of the most accessible in the world. No specialized mountain climbing skills are required to ascend it. However, how much one enjoys the climb depends strongly on how fit you are and how well you acclimatise to the thin air at the higher levels. Nevertheless, the mountain can be a dangerous place, especially during the rain or when there is mist. On average, every year one person gets into severe difficulty out of the estimated 20,000 people who attempt the climb. The higher slopes can be very slippery when it rains and dense fog reduces visibility to a few feet."

Trekking up to the peak of Mt Kinabalu should be fun! Camping style, out in the wild, yah da yah da.. You get the picture. Think army times in Mt Biang, and you should be itching to go! Cost: Airfare ~$400. Climbing permit: RM$100. Hotels: No fu**ing idea. But you get the picture. It would be more expensive than bali, but potentially more fulfilling.

So then, let me know SOON please!

Letter of the Day

Leon's kinda thing

Do you have this comic Leon? Seems pretty your kind of thing. And Garth Ennis wrote Constantine, so the storyline should be pretty good!

Singapore bands getting more recognition overseas and at home

Monday June 18, 9:17 PM

SINGAPORE: Singapore bands have been getting more recognition overseas and at home in the past decade.

Some have even been selected to perform at major international music festivals. But generally, more are venturing from the garage to recording studios to put out an album for sale.

Nonetheless, many still find it challenging to break into the mainstream, dominated by American and British bands.

Sixteen homegrown bands rocked over a 12-hour concert – the first-ever held as part of the Singapore Arts Festival. Such gigs have increased over the years and helped raised the profiles of many Singapore bands and musicians.

Saiful Idris, Musician, The Great Spy Experiment, said: "Avenues like the internet portals 'MySpace' has helped a lot. Radio stations are definitely more willing to play local music now. Even MTV has come on board. So the support is there."

Edward Neubronner, CEO, Recording Industry Association of Singapore, said: "It's not unheard of for local bands to have a fan base of 2,000 people. 2,000 may be small but it’s very good for Singapore. These youths actually see the music they play as niche music that is not only fun, but it also gives them a sort of identity. We have more and more young people who feel that way."
Unlike many of the Southeast Asian countries where local bands are very much part of local mainstream music, Singapore bands are usually part of the indie scene.

A majority of musicians here are playing music part-time, managing their bands on their own and doing everything from producing music to marketing. It is mainly through gigs that they are able to reach out to an audience. The bands earn their keep from ad-hoc performances, getting between S$500 and S$3,000.

Bands like The Great Spy Experiment put their earnings into producing an album, which costs about S$40,000. Much of it is spent on making sure the album sounds as good as those that are released internationally.

The band is also in the midst of discussing a distribution deal with a record label. Saiful Idris said: "We all grew up listening to all these foreign bands. Now there's more interest in local bands, which is good. But in terms of finding the definitive Singaporean sound, it's still quite a challenge. For me, the way we try to do this is through the lyrics and the subject."
Neubronner said: "A lot of local artists and bands get pretty good recognition from local establishments. Not enough, but I think a lot more than 10 or 20 years ago."

And that is reason enough for many Singapore bands to play on.

There is hope for KD...

Monday June 18, 8:46 AM

SingTel unit gets funding for Australian broadband plan

SINGAPORE/MELBOURNE, June 18 (Reuters) - Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. said on Monday its Optus unit has secured A$958 million ($807 million) in funding from the Australian government for its broadband joint-venture.

The joint venture with Futuris Corp Ltd. unit Elders will build new networks to extend broadband coverage to rural and regional areas. The government funding comprises A$600 million from the previously announced Broadband Connect Infrastructure Programme and an additional A$358 million in funding to further extend high-speed affordable broadband services to rural areas, a joint statement from Optus and Elders said.

The government funding is a blow to larger rival Telstra Corp. Ltd. , which also hoped to win some of the infrastructure grants to extend rural broadband coverage.

Under pressure in an election year, the Australian government is expected to set up a review panel soon to examine building a separate, high-speed fibre optic broadband network, which will be put to an open tender.

Australia's existing broadband network is slow compared with other nations, but a stalemate between Telstra and the industry regulator over pricing has delayed plans to build a fibre network. ($1=1.187 Australian Dollar)

New Zealand, bloody beautiful!

This is where i went for my grad trip. The place is gorgeous! But it's not for the faint hearted. If you like mountains / scenary / sheep / hiking / camping / physical activities / adventure / more sheep / lots and lots of sheep / lots and lots of mountains too, then NZ is puuurfect.


One of the mountains that we climbed to the top! Bloody took 2 hours!

We could have taken a helicopter to the top of the snow-capped mountains to ski! bloody ex though...

Best bloody steak in the world. Imagine melting in your mouth! In fact, best bloody fish&chips, lamb chops, calamari, salads, pizzas etc etc.

Haha, this is my picture of the trip. Nuff said. =)

Amazing that places like these exist sia.