Just in case. If we ever say something stupid, please note that said stupidity is ours, and ours alone. Our stupidity! You can’t have it!
//Saturday, July 17, 2010 10:51 AM
You can take the man out of the street, but you can never take the street out of the man
Sorry for missing out in action for so many months. Work has taken a toll on our bodies and mind.
It is no secret that the three contributors of this blog, Kurt, John and me, became fast friends through skateboarding. It still remains the social thread that binds us together so tightly all these years.
The best times we've had still remains those days when we were more innocent, younger, poorer and without the pressure of meeting month end targets, client proposals or research. When i look back on those days i wonder if any of us had, for a second, imagined the profession we had joined in the end.
I know i didn't.
It seems that over the years, as more responsibilities and deadlines invade our live and calendars, the less time we have left for skating. This is a shame, when you consider the fact that this may be the only avenue we have left for any form of exercise.
Running is a bore, the gym is a chore and swimming?...... What's the fun in that?
During those impressionable days, i remember a pact being made one night after the wheels stopped spinning and the perspiration began to evaporate from our brow. Kurt and me, made a friend called Mel through one of such skate sessions. At the time, Mel and friends were about the age we are now. And most of them were working and drove cars. Something that seems far off for us at that age.
The most important thing about Mel and friends were, they were ripping the spot.
Although leading their busy work life, they still managed to practice the craft that probably brought them together in the first place. It was at this point that impressionable Kurt and Kenny decided that even when we started working, we would find the time every weekend for a skate session.
We may have sealed the deal with a shake.
Over the years, our careers have brought us further and further away from this deal. My job made me want to go out and get drunk when the weekends approach. Kurt's job took him halfway around the world to London. John's job made it essential for him to study overseas for the past few years.
When it seems that all hope of ever seeing any of us on a skateboard again is fading away, destiny intercedes.
Justin and Chloe, bought a pair of roller-blades earlier last week with the intention of staying healthy. They promptly initiated a blading session along East Coast Park, since it was a walking distance for me, i decided to join them. Not with blades, but with my retiree skateboard.
Skating was obviously more exhausting and draining than blading, so i was distanced from the pack in a matter of minutes. Pushing my board alone, hearing the distinct sound the wheels made as they rolled across the bumps and dirt on the concrete, popping the tail up for a few seconds of manual time, feeling the breeze fumble my shirt, tickling my face, it re-ignited a fire deep down beside me.
It made me remember those times we had running away from cops, skating from one spot to another in the cool night air.
I decided then, that i should start skateboarding again, alone if that's what it takes.
And so i did, I made a trip down to the new East Coast Skatepark two days later immediately after work and skated alone till the lights went out.
And this evening i got invited to join some guys at Bedok for a short session with their home-made fun-box.
That one session i had alone at East Coast, made me feel young again, for a few hours, the stress of deadlines and targets were lifted completely off my chest. Instead, the only pre-occupation that persisted was the desire to land the next trick.
First things first. To get on a skateboard, stand to the right of the board. Keep your right leg on the floor by the front right wheel, and step your left leg on to the board. Position it over the front bolts, foot facing forwards.NB. These instructions suit most right-handers - switch sides if you're left-handed or don't feel comfortable
Step 2
Step your right leg up on to the board, positioning it over the back bolts, facing outwards. Bend your knees and get your balance - holding your arms out should help
Step 3
To move, simply push along the floor with your back foot. Keep pushing to build up speed, or bring your foot back on to the board to cruise along
Step 4
To turn, keep your weight on your back foot and gently lift the front of the board, replacing it on the ground in the direction you want to go
So we have just found out that Ubisoft is teaming up with snowboarder Shaun White on a skateboarding videogame.
Why Shaun White? Who is Shaun White? Isn't he a snowboarder? Does he belong to a team? Is he some upstart that only just appeared in the last few years?
I finally hit the holy grail. Clocked 140 hours this week. My body has turned to mush, and I am officially earning less than minimum wage.
It was all worth it though; the counterparty actually told us they wished they had some brains on their side. Clearly, their lawyers paled in comparison.
It has been a long time since I had time off work.
So today, being the third day of 2010, I decided to post some new pictures of my nice shoes.
I seldom own Nikes, apart from the occasional Jordans, so these are a first for me.
The material is leather and denim, which I quite like. The denim, I hope, will be hard-wearing. The leather, I am quite sure, is hard-wearing.
As you can tell from the photos, the detailing is top-notch. Among other things, the tongue is made of red synthetic mesh, and at the tip of the tongue is a beautiful strip of white herring-bone. On the front of the tongue, there is a small square of brown leather emblazoned with the Nike swoosh.
In terms of comfort, this is pretty standard. I would say, however, that the shoes suffer from not being entirely true to size. I bought this at size 11, but it fits more like a size 10.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, 'I am very rich. Marry me!' That's Direct Marketing
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a gorgeous girl. One of your friends goes up to her and pointing at you says, 'He's very rich. Marry him.' That's Advertising.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and get her telephone number. The next day you call and say, 'Hi, I'm very rich. Marry me.' That's Telemarketing.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and straighten your tie; you walk up to her and pour her a drink. You open the door for her, pick up her bag after she drops it, offer her a ride, and then say, 'By the way, I'm very rich 'Will you marry me?' That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a gorgeous girl. She walks up to you and says, 'You are very rich, I want to marry you.' That's Brand Recognition.
You see a gorgeous girl at a party. You go up to her and say, 'I'm rich. Marry me' She gives you a nice hard slap on your face. That's Customer Feedback. posted by Ken The Man at
10:09 PM
//Saturday, November 28, 2009 7:22 AM
Christmas Came Early - My Brown Suede Shoes
I figured out that this Christmas is probably going to be a pretty boring one, so I decided to lay my hands on this pair of sexy Fenchurch Chukkas as a consolation.
I dont really have time to write a long review, but here is what i thought of them. Basically, its sexy and it compliments my humble wardrode. Secondly, its fully clothed in suede with a neatly stitched toe cap. (Need I say more? its always cool to have a pair of suede shoes)
In terms of colour and style, it's quite a refreshing alternative from my usual white low-top sneakers. Despite the price being a little steep at 65 quid, I couldnt be more happy with this pair, therefore i'm gonna give it a score of 8/10.
It is ballsy to drink a bottle of tequila in 13 minutes and 32 seconds.
posted by Kurt Kinky at
11:41 PM
//Friday, October 23, 2009 7:57 PM
Adidas goes 'Boating'
Since Kinky has not been reviewing shoes lately, I have decided to do one for the blog. My taste in shoes varies from Kinky and Ken, I dont really fancy hi-top sneakers (maybe because I can't really carry it well), and would rather opt for a pair of low-tops classic sneakers any other day.
This pair of Adidas Summer Deck Shoes is my one and only purchase for this academic year, and seeing how I don't usually buy shoes, I think it is worth a review too.
I am not a huge fan of Adidas, and I have never owned a single pair of Adidas other than the Superstar 2G in high school. To be frank, Adidas trainers were never appealing, at least to me. However, Adidas' 'deck shoes' simply surprised me. I fell in love with this pair the moment I saw it online.
This pair is a fusion between your classic canvas sneakers and the infamous deck shoes. For many of you who do not already know, the 'deck / boat shoes style' has been in fashion over summer. If you take a walk down Oxford Circus, you could see local 'fashionistas' wearing them with fold-up jeans.
The good thing about Adidas' variation of the deck shoes, is that it isn't as flamboyant as its cousins. (or what Ris Low may describe it as "boomz, you know boomz?". Yes, and it does not shout 'me', you know? 'me'?). The shoes aren't made of leather, and in fact, it's clothed fully in canvas. The front is handstiched, and the soles are manmade, (whatever that is).
The light cream colour fits nicely with the blue linings, however, the style has been somewhat compromised by the long ugly laces.
In terms of comfort, the shoes fit nicely, and it feels like you are wearing a pair of canvas Jack Purcells. But because of the nature of the material, the thickness of the sides have been compensated. Which simply means that my feet would not get their well needed protection during the long dreaded winter.
Lastly, taking into account that it is light showers mode most of the time in UK, I would probably not see myself wearing the shoes out often, due to the tendency in returning home in a brown coloured pair instead of its original cream.
All in all, i spend about 55 quid inculsive of delivery. But since I got some bursary money from the school, I thought i should reward myself for last year's hardwork. I am pretty happy with this pair, so I am going to give it a score of:
Ok. I managed to squeeze some time out of my 90-hour workweek to write this for the blog.
A few interesting things happened over the course of October, but I think the most interesting thing was my visit to this restaurant called the Meat and Wine Company. I decided to write about the restaurant because the manager said it might be setting up a branch in Singapore soon.
Anyway, the place (unsurprisingly) served lots and lots of meat. Ribeye, t-bones, tenderloin, mignons, flanks, shins, ears, noses and everything in between. Clearly, the restaurant also served lots of wine. I wasn’t very interested in the beef though. I thought the Meat and Wine Company was good mostly because it served game, and anyone who knows me knows I love game and the taste and flavour of gunpowder and broken pellets.
So I had some springbok (which is essentially a gazelle) and some kangaroo, which Australians love in their burgers, and topped it all off with two bottles of Malbec. I was pretty smashed when it was over. But I had a great time. And if the Meat and Wine Company does decide to set up shop in Singapore, I would recommend we all go get wasted on some blood-red meat and wine.
A couple of friends went for a roadtrip to a paradise island resort for a 6 day getaway. They rented a jeep to drive along the long arduous country roads that would eventually take them to their holiday destination. After driving 4 hours without sight of any civilization along the winding road, the group began to question the direction they were heading.
After arguing for several minutes, the group decided to stay on course and ask the first villager they come across for directions.
Driving along the winding roads they came upon a barren farmland with a lone farmer toiling the fields. The group headed over to ask for directions only to find that their worries were in vain as they learnt that the first road-sign pointing them to the resort was pass the farm.
Getting back into their jeep full of hope and refreshed enthusiasm, the group pitied the farmer.
"Poor man, the field is so barren, the farmer must be experiencing a bad harvest."
After driving for another hour, the group arrived at the resort and spent the next six days basking in the sun.
On their way back, the group came upon the same farmland, only this time, the fields were filled with lush stalks of corn as far as their eyes could see.
"Wow, this farmer must be rich, look at the amount of harvest!"
. . . . . .
Many times in our journey through life, we tend to lose sight of our goals. If the group had succumbed to negativity and turned around or changed course, they would never arrive at the resort.
Many a times, our view of our goal is flooded with doubts and questions. The weak will always succumb to negativity and change their course in life, eventually losing sight of their goals. The strong and influential, is always the one who will insist on sticking on their course and asking for directions.
Just because we are not able to see our destination, it does not mean that the destination does not exist. Many a times, we are afraid of asking for directions, but directions are really what we need in life.
People always tend to judge us based on the results we have achieved, but what they don't see is the hard work the farmer had put in to toil the fields while the group was away having fun.
Seeing as to how I have been working 90-hour weeks with no reprieve, I decided to reward myself with some online shopping.
In terms of comfort, this is good. The ankle cut makes the Skytops fit like a sock. If I were a girl, I might say they fit like a pair of hollowed out Uggs. However, I am not a girl. Also, this pair of Supras doesn't achieve the level of comfort that the Globe Chet Thomas series did. I still believe the Globe CT IVs were the most comfortable skate shoes ever made.
In terms of design, I really like the detail and the palette. The armadillo texturing is sexy, and purple is hands-down the best colour in the world. Nonetheless, I do find that the front of the shoe, being an unstitched roundcap, feels somewhat naked. It lacks the additional detailing of the newer Supra Vaiders. I do freely admit, however, that a stitched toe-cap is a personal preference. In any case, I chose this over the Vaider because I wanted the original Muska pro model.
All in all, this is good for the price (I paid approximately 280 SGD). Score wise? I would say 7.5 / 10
I remember being seven and walking around in my diapers (toilet training took a while) and holding a Betty and Veronica double digest in my greasy baby hands. In those days (the underrated 1980S), the double digest was a true behemoth, unlike the skinny, insubstantial comic they publish under the double digest label these days.
So imagine my utter surprise when this happened:
Why in the world would Archie want to marry Veronica? Yes, this is absolutely true. It happened in issue 600. Archibald Andrews proposed to Veronica Lodge. They are getting married. I am shocked, confused, and feeling somewhat robbed of my childhood. What about Betty? Is Jughead getting married to Ethel next? Is Moose going to beat Midge to an uninterested intellectual pulp? Is Dilton Doiley really straight?
Seeing as to how I am really a lot more used to the kind of situation below, let's hope this new story line is only fleeting:
Sometimes your ideas make you appear brilliant, other times you wonder if you should have just kept your mouth shut. When it comes to drinking games, I'm proud to say i know enough, but sometimes, even i surprise myself.
So i received a call last night just as i was settling down in the lecture hall. Not wanting to disrupt the professor's incessant praises about Breadtalk (Sometimes i wonder if he has a share in the business), i decided to reject the call.
A missed call alert appeared instantaneously on my home screen, i clicked on it to find that the caller was Denny. On a Tuesday night at 7.30pm, it could only mean one thing. I asked him via SMS where the party was at and made plans to drop by Acid Bar after classes.
By mid-break, my brows were twitching and i was getting restless, i couldn't stop my legs from shaking and everything the professor said reminds me of alcohol.
Prof: Strategic Leadership is the ability to anticipate, envision, maintain flexibility... My Brain: Oh.. like having the foresight to know which club is happening.
Prof: Strategic Leadership needs to understand and manipulate human behavior... My Brain: Oh.. Knowing how much someone can drink before puking.
Prof: Strategic Leaders seek corrective feedback from others... My Brain: Ok guys, Chivas or Vodka?
Prof: Strategic Leaders make candid, courageous and pragmatic decisions... My Brain: Ok guys, come 5-10 now!
As the lecture drew on, i felt time slowing down to a steady creep, the ticking of the second hand on my watch seems to be taunting me. I tried not to look at my watch for 30 mins to divert my attention. I tried taking down notes, but the lecturer was hopeless, i could understand the subject better from reading the textbook.
The lecturer gave some examples which didn't seem to make sense. I fight the urge to look at my watch. Someone dropped his pencil case on the aisle, i run to pick it up for him. I fight the urge to look at my watch. I discuss our group assignment with my mates. I fight the urge to look at my watch. I flip through the textbook reading the case studies. I fight the urge to look at my watch.
OK its been a long time since i last looked at my watch. It must have at least been 30 mins. I fight the urge to look at my watch. It should be fine come on just a glance. I fight the urge to look at my watch. Ok ok just a glance.
"FUCK ONLY 5 MINS!!"
I slumped back into my seat in pure desolation. Then the words of the Messiah sounded from beside me.
Mate: Fuck this lecturer, im going home to read on my own... Me: Yay, me too, this lecturer sucks! (Secretly high-five'd myself)
I got back into my car and raced down towards Acid Bar, ignoring traffic rules and weaving through slow traffic reaching Cairnhill from Clementi in 13 mins flat. If Bernie Ecclestone had seen me drive, i would be the first choice to replace Felipe Massa in the Ferrari F1 team.
I arrived to find Justin, Cynthia, Chloe, Denny and Ben chilling on the sofa with half a bottle of Vodka remaining. The first glass of Vodka, eased the twitching in my brows, the second shot, stopped the quivering in my legs, the third shot, lifted my spirits, i realised if i went on, i would have a cure for cancer.
Understandably, half a bottle wouldn't last long with us. In no time at all, we were left with an empty bottle of Vodka as we slumped reeling in the excitement of drinking games. Then an idea hit me like a freight train, i look back on this and torture my brains for coming up with games like that.
Since the bottle was gone, drinking games lost its appeal. However if we substituted the forfeit to something funny, something painful the excitement would instantly multiply itself by 55. The bottle was gone and the mixers too, so what we have left is the bucket of ice with some water created through a weird process called melting.
So essentially, we can continue playing 5-10 with the 6 of us but now the loser will have to dunk his entire hand in the bucket of ice until a new loser could be found thereby relieving the previous loser of his misery. GENIUS!
My idea met with disgust from the guys, but they were still willing to give it a shot.
I didnt lose the first few rounds but Cynthia had her hand in the bucket for at least 5 rounds without anyone else losing. Because i haven't dipped my hands in the bucket i did not understand the suffering they were going through and everything was funny.
Next round, i lost, when Cynthia removed her hands it was all red and numb, i realised this wasn't funny anymore. With bravado and some cheering, i dunked my hands deep into the icy water to find myself trapped in an icy cavern of glacial scale.
Pain shot through my arm as soon as my hand touched the water. I felt my skin contracting around my bones and my blood slowly crystallizing. The blood crystals seem to be firing away in ridiculuous fashion spreading their way at breakneck speeds up the sleeves of my shirt allowing my shoulders to share the pain that is lost to my numbing fist and the next round hasn't even started yet.
I begged the guys to call the next number and prayed someone else lost. My hand must have been in the bucket for 3 rounds before Ben lost. I quickly retrieved my hand and laughed menacingly at Ben.
Me: HAHAHAHAHA YOU'RE FUCKED!!
By the time i removed my hand, i had lost all feeling in all my fingers and my hand no longer feels like it belongs to me.
