Happy New Year 2011!

Dear All,
May you have a truly blessed year 2011, filled with health, joy and peace.

(This is a auto-publish post. I'm on holiday abroad with the family right now)

Best wishes,
Josh

Merry Christmas

Best wishes for the season and the coming new year, everyone! I hope you're with your loved ones and are having lots of good times together.

Last Thursday, the day after I typed out this post, I found out my brother's eyes has cataracts and so they need surgery. Life has a funny way of throwing ironic spanners at you, doesn't it? It's probably linked with his Down's syndrome, and I'm not overly worried as it's only minor surgery, (apparently it just takes 15 minutes) but still, I can't imagine it being pleasant in any sense of the word.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks.

Also, I'll be off to Turkey with my family from next Tuesday night till early next year! 

Till I'm back, take care out there!

Dear Santa

The obligatory year-end contemplative post. (For last year's post, see here).

Recently, I drew up a Christmas wish list of stuff I wanted. Yet, as I thought about each item a little more carefully, I crossed-out those I did not truly want, until eventually almost nothing was left. Mind you, I was a little startled at what that exercise revealed to me.

There are undoubtedly a few things I would like: a Canon 550D, a 1TB external HDD, some DVDs and albums, a few more books (not that I don't have plenty already), some new clothes, a shinny tie clip, cufflinks and watch, etc. But I asked myself: "Do I want, really, really want these things?" No. They’re just things, objects. Any joy I would gain will be fleeting. I don't constantly think about or long for these or anything else.

Well, except maybe two things.

Click here to read more.

A Kurang Manis Christmas Songlist

Too many repetitions of over-the-top Christmas songs, symphonies, hymns, carols, choruses, canticles, duets, riffs, ditties, dingles and jingles can drive anyone a little mad (as if the ubiquitous tackiness isn't enough!).

As a little gift, I've curated a small selection of new and/or less-known Christmas songs that will not give your head diabetes. Well, except maybe the last one.

"Always in Season" by Pomplamoose

First up, from the talented duo of Nataly Dawn and Jack Comte, an original Christmas song which has plenty of sentiment without sentimentality. Check out their other songs!

"Put the Lights on the Tree" by Sufjan Stevens

Here's a cute little song by one of my faves, complete with cute video.

Incidentally, I have his Christmas album. 

"Christmas, Christmas" by Gerald Ko feat Jackie Kim

Another original by talented YouTube singers. Earnest, in a good way. Again, check out his other songs!

For amazing folksy covers of Christmas song, visit Caleb & the Caroling Caravan's page here, where you can download part of their 2009 album for free. "Christmas Don't Be Late" by Alvin & The Chipmunks is given a completely new (and amazingly good) spin by them, I could not imagine it was actually a cover! It's definitely worth a listen.

"Grown Up Christmas List" by Natalie Cole

Lastly, a song that is actually naive and sickly sweet. I didn't  like it when I first heard it, but it grew on me after hearing it being practiced a dozen times for my office's Christmas lunch show (I am proud to say that in the name of entertainment, I made a complete fool of myself singing the Wondergirl's "Nobody" with a band while 4 of my female colleagues danced the moves—ah, the things I do for my firm!). It was written originally by David Foster and has been covered by many from Clay Aiken to Michael Bublé, but Ms. Cole was the one who first popularised it.

Baby It's Hot Outside

My yuletide spirit got on a horrendous start this year (fiasco with the tree, long story). I thought: sod it, I am too old for any of this ridiculous Christmas schmaltz. 

Yet the past few days I've been buying prezzies for more people than I can afford, searching for mince pies, listening to songs about white snow and cold air (when instead it's blazing hot/raining cats and dogs outside) and generally getting into the spirit of spreading joy and love and peace and all those other year-end buzzwords.

Sigh, what is it about this time of year, so easy to hate, so easy to put down, so tempting to ignore, that still manages to creep up to us?

(For a very long Christmas post I wrote last year, see here. Warning: some things have changed since then!)

P.S. Oh, it's Human Rights Day today, well yesterday, so Happy Human Rights Day to all humans out there!

World Aids Day

It's not just about today. It's about tomorrow. Our tomorrow.
Spread the awareness people!

Click on the post title to visit the official website.

All Good Things

Roses fade,
Plays end their runs,
Coklat habis kena makan,
Long days out come to a close, 
Concerts stop after the encore,
And bank accounts eventually dry up...
but memories, well, they last a little longer, thankfully.

It was a good, nay, wonderful holiday.
I did much that I had wanted to do, although of course not everything that I had wanted.
Alack, tomorrow, I put on my rat suit again.
At least it'll be December, a (reputedly) relaxed month.
Christmas, then Turkey (the country, not the bird).
Must keep those things in mind. Must.

And here's a little musical distraction from my current indie It Girl Yuna.


Bon Nuit, peeps.