T, whom I had seeked as a temporary vetter on my first possible Ooostage article, said I should leave out this first introduction part, and I thought that since it was a little personal (and maybe a little inappropriate for the article), I could just put it up here, and/if there is a need be, I can re-include it into the article from here – a simple copy+paste. I am genius; I am shameless!

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I am beginning this first article with confessions of my very own, so please pardon me:-

a) as I am writing this, I am actually bottled up with excitement, but am also trying to sound composed and poised at the same time;

b) prior to this, I have never been to the district of Dempsey;

c) upon getting randomly lost twice prior to the event, I was actually late for about 10 minutes into the stated 9pm timing. Luckily, it has yet to start.

Of course, I left out the part that this is also the first time I have ever heard of Amberhaze, but that will be truly inappropriate.

(John Doe took this picture; whoever he is, if he is displeased with me using it, I will take it down)

The full article may be up shortly. So shameless plugging, click away to http://ooostage.com!

A Black Redstart eating grapes from a vine at Castle Ditch Lane in central Lewes yesterday (Nick Ostler, via SOS).

Newhaven Harbour - still from video on Flickr by pete pick (click image to view)

In Friston Forest, a couple of Firecrests with “even rarer, a single Goldcrest” seen by Bob Edgar (SOS).

Yesterday at Arlington Reservoir reports of 40 dead gulls along the northern shoreline (Tim Godby, SOS) – weather-related fatalities? – plus a couple of male Goldeneyes.

As in most places, both birds and birders probably hunkering down – but in between squalls, still one or two Lesser Redpolls around the cricket pitch at Firle, and increasing numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings around the village.

“Welcome to Ooostage! “

The message read.

My mind and heart float.

I am/may be writing there – http://www.ooostage.com. Do drop by, say ‘hi’, show a little support.

This could be the start of something, as what Scott Simons sang.

And I will be off to Dempsey House shortly, for the first time, (yes, very un-Singaporean and very un-hippy to be doing so for the first time), to work it out. Hope everything runs smooth; hope this works out.

Wish me luck, yeah.

He is fussy, but he has got great sparkling wine (or whatever it is one calls them);
he does the dramatic and wore a trench coat in tropical island Singapore;
he dismissed non-iPhone users, and I threw a wet straw and missed;
he does radio DJ-ing, but can he impress the pants off the live artsy audience?

Dates: 27 November – 6 December, 2009
Venue: Play Den
Website: www.theartshouse.com.sg
Showtimes: 3pm/8pm
Tickets: SGD20/28

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‘The Devil’s Encore’ is a jazz theatre piece that presents a bitter-sweet meditation on the duality of life and death, love and loss, against a haunting medley of jazz standards.

BENEFIT SHOW FOR MIKE YANIRO (of Twin Stumps)

Friday, December 4th

Sightings
York Factory Complaint (with special guest Genesis Breyer P-Orridge)
Pink Reason
White Suns

DJ set by Sean Ragon (Cult of Youth)

Death By Audio
49 S. 2nd St
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford

Mike was mugged and brutally attacked. Unfortunately he has no medical insurance and a mountain of medical bills. All proceeds will go to help with these bills!! Learn more here: http://mikeyanirofund.wordpress.com/

++ event was organized by Kevin of White Suns, Alessandro of Twin Stumps, Rachel Pop Jew & Tina Under Aurora ++

found outside south station.  what an incredible personality must have acquired this collection of objects. i don’t know if it’s a mobile installation or actually someone’s possessions, but it certainly speaks to the fine line between art and accident.

Finally decided it was time for me to post something… Here are some interesting things I saw in the last couple of weeks. Enjoy =D

Who knew pharmacists also catered =P

The little plant is growing on top of the bus stop booth roof… que cute =D

Doesn’t the indention in this tree resemble a rabbit? Noticed it yesterday and I’ve been going to this bus stop for 1.5 yrs…

ok… that’s enough excitement for one night. I’m gonna go pass out in my warm and fluffy bed now… see you when I see you XD

RIP, Hemisphere.

I didn’t know how long you were since gone, as it was a while since I had dropped you a little visit of my own, be it a solo personal moment or as a group affair – I am sorry, I think I have been preoccupying myself.

*

It was a Saturday; the streets were filled with people, endless traffic flow of crowd streaming to their destination choices. Not wanting to sound like a complete sadist, but I have this love-hate relationship with crowds and people – one part of me loves to be with the crowd, be it to be there at the moment when things happened, whatever they may be; and the other part of me dislikes the crowd, ever moving and seemingly without any grace, patience, acceptance of any people that may deemed to have fallen behind, just because they are slightly a little weaker than the average. Of course, then there are the ugly Singaporeans as well – or, in general, ugly humans (not in terms of appearance).

A cancelled out shopping meet with high school friends (A + S) resulted in another solotripping within just two weeks short, but I had a goal; and it was completed at about 2000 hours sharp. Before heading for a neighbourhood dinner (A + S), I wanted to spend some quality time sipping root beer float, lazily on an armchair that probably wasn’t cleaned ever since day #1 of operations, but guess what – I am dirty like that, and I like that. My legs were beginning to feel enlightened – it was a hard day of endless walking and browsing, and they deserved a good damn break. Towering city buildings were everywhere, and after escaping Centrepoint, OG stood there, bright lights everywhere. I glanced up at the building, hoping to catch a glimpse of anyone dining there, in Hemisphere.

Darkness; fears. Damn.

I rushed up the steps, the escalator, hoping that it was untrue. But it was; from the remains of the local design section of the department store to just the well-hidden cafe hangout, it was now dominated by children’s merchandise. The entrance to the cafe now led to hollowness and emptiness, with no sign of belongings, of life beyond the restricted area to the secret of the city; my secret of the city.

Half of me wanted to do the ridiculous and dramatic of jumping over the barrier to have a glimpse of what was the remains of it all, but the realistic half of me got the better. After trying my hardest to see that this was not a joke, and it wasn’t, and that people weren’t just hiding behind the corner/pillar to the dining/seating area in a secret thrill to surprise me, I turned and left, with the disappointment of:- (a) losing a good spot in the city to the everchanging and developing city; (b) not having my root beer float; (c) not getting to laze, furthermore, outside, like I wanted to.

You gave me breathing space; you gave me a place to rest my weariness. You gave me an opportunity to laugh at the big majesty city; you offered me comfort and disillusion, a chance to fall back and still manage a soft landing. You were like a city’s best kept secret (to me, in a small scale basis), and yet a secret to most you will forever be.

Thank you, and I miss you and I will miss you.

Just some of the few people who may/may not just miss you, as well:
(I don’t know you but I hope you don’t mind)

http://orionstar76.blogspot.com/2008/01/lunch-with-isabelle-at-hemisphere-cafe.html

http://food-for-your-thoughts.blogspot.com/2006/10/hemispheres-cafe.html

http://cafediaries.livejournal.com/

And some everlasting memories (A + S inclusive):

November 17, 2009: Stephanie Pratt (The Hills) hanging out at Villa Blanca in (of all places) Beverly Hills.

Video by Rick Williams

*EXCLUSIVE* November 16, 2009: After a little over a year of sobriety, Kirsten Dunst is seen hanging out with friends at Hundson Bar in West Hollywood. Was she drinking 7-Up?

Video by Rick Williams

Clint was here….and said, “It’s that house!”  He knows stories about my house!  Spectral images waking the homeowners from their sleep.   A little girl tugging on their covers, “Please, please!!  Help my daddy out of the trunk!!”  On New Year’s Eve, cabinet doors would get opened and items would be moved.  The residents knew for certain that no family members moved these things.  Some of the stories are BAD…with strong emphasis on BAD.  Not exactly ready to know yet, so I didn’t push for more.

At the family skating party, Laci told me her sighting story again, this time in person.  She felt no fear when she saw the apparitions.  There was a man in the kitchen and a girl on the stairs.  She’ll ask Tisha today if she has any stories to share.  I hope she remembers.

So I’m back to a little bit scared.  Still thinking Robert conned me, but wondering again who lives here with me.

I thought this photo would be the perfect introduction to this blog.  Here is a man selling colorful Sunday hats in a public space at Central Square, Cambridge, MA.  There are so many reasons why I had to snap this photo.  First, I am fascinated by informal economies and enjoyed seeing this unique example.  Second, this small plaza on Central Square is always host to interesting happenings: last week some folks were dishing out free food and giving away organic veggies, and often people congregate in this area to chat and pass the time.  But what I love most is the visual juxtaposition of the bright hats and the drab brick plaza, which is often dirty and littered.  To me, a city is about all three of these aspects of the photo: it is a place of informal economies and casual relationships that cannot be quantified; it is a place of unexpected gathering and a constantly changing fabric of uses and happenings; it is a colorful, surprising, world of opposites.  In a word, what I love about a city is how everything is unexpected.  It just requires you to take a moment to enjoy what’s happening around you, and fully appreciate the unique and spontaneous moments happing at every street corner.  I’ll be collecting these moments and sharing them with you, as well as documenting some of my favorite city moments past.

Myself and a friend were waiting in for this amazing promo by Digi, where they are promoting the BlackBerry Curve 8900 for only Rm99 and RM58 per month for the BerrySmart plan.. which is darn worth it! (link here)

The problem is this… Digi should have anticipated the largeness of the crowd and hype over this along with other of its promotions, especially from it’s first 2 days of experience they should have expected a crowd for the weekend and should have sorted out a system where it is only fair for those who wait in line to be able to wait and queue..

My friend and I were the first to come at 7:45  pm to queue up and the line later grew to 20 and 30 people and naturally we were told to leave there at 10:30 since 1U was going to close.

So we came up with a system where we had a list where those who came first and those following in at later times were to put our names on a list of paper where we know who came first, as we thought it would only be fair. We waited outside behind the FlyFm stage…

The security guards told us that we had to wait for them to open at 6 am which we did.. when it reached 6 pm  we had 92 people on the list who have waited.. but all hell broke loose, as there were a bunch of guys who just ran in and caused people to get hurt.. my friend suffered the worst.. she was really the one who deserves the standing O since she first came up with the list idea and got assaulted by a guy who pushed her and she got whipped lashed and hit the back of her head and got her arms hurt and was pushed and shoved by the same guy.. wth??? He hit a girl!! I was really really proud of how though she was.. and she did well as she managed to hit the guy in the face.. and thank God there were others who pinned the guy who assaulted her to the walls and another trouble maker was also stopped by new friends that we made…

When we reached back in to the malll.. they had shutters down at the Oval… it was a first time in a long time 1U had shutters down at the oval in awhile since i work on recces and events.

We were shocked to see others there waiting as well.. i guess there were definitely over 200 people in total including those who were with us..so we just waited by the shutters and it was so packed like a can of tuna that I had to stand.. good thing my friend could have enough space to grab a seat… it was quite  scary to see her hand shake so much from adrenaline rush.. when she was smsing on her phone… after the commotion with the assault…I have really realy painful limbs rite now… even as i write this …. I am aching all over….

According to one of the promoters who were  lining up with us for friends.. she was told that the Digi people were trying to think of a solution to manage the “overwhelming response” … what in the world??? Such a big telco company and they did not anticipate and preamp the possibility of this happening… great… well done…

When the Digi people came… they came up with a decision that everyone had to disperse and get off the ground floor so that Digi can set up and open the shutters and discuss how they were to handle the situation with the security of 1U… Digi told us that they will let everyone line up when everyone dispersed from the Ground floor.. we though obviously it will take a long time because people did not disperse… some hid in the toilets behind evelyn and crabtree, some were obedient and went to the floor above.. myself we were obedient and we were outside of chatter box.. and we sent one person in consistently to check on the situation. then we a drink at Kluang station so that in case we did not hear the call from Digi..

To my shock… there was already a line waiting at the Digi shutters where there is the entrance into the queue behind the shutters, and the digi people and the security discussing in the Digi event floor area on what to do.. and the dispersing obviously was not effective as they did not get people to really disperse…

When the Digi people and the security have finished their discussion.. the Digi guy said: ” OK! the line starts here.” I was like.. what the hell???? He pointed at the line infront of him which had 30 plus people…

I was like.. wth???? people were not suppose to line up yet and there was not suppose to be a line???

We all rushed to the lines along with 200 plus other people and we were lined up pretty close enough for contention for the 44 Blackberry Curve which was the one that we wanted…

Then to my freaking shock.. the dude said.. “Priority is  DIGI CUSTOMERS FIRST” Everyone in the line were freaking shocked and angry as it did not state anywhere that Digi customers had first priority!

Shoudn’t Digi open the lines as it is where there are others who were from Maxis and Celcom, Potential NEW Customers, who are willing to trade and SWITCH to DIGI.. I have been a Maxis user for 5 years since coming back from Overseas… and I was willing to pledge my allegiance to DIGI!

I saw bunches and bunches of people leaving and I saw tears streaming down this lady and she mumbled that it was not fair that she lined up for over 10 hrs and being treated like this .. what customer service is this??

TO make matters worse….. My 2 friends, one who came in the morning.. were in front of me, one was a digi customer for 11 years and he was so he was happy and my other friend who was with me for 14 hrs, were right behind 3 people who went in and when they announced that the 44 blackberries were finished!

And the guy who was in charge of the line said that we could not go in, and we could only go in to buy a HP Mini NetBook.

So they guy told us to get off the line. The Digi people were super rude not just the main guy but also his other staff..

What we found out later was that there were a few people who were blacklisted and also did not want the blackberry curve in the end… I was freaking furious! I was like.. If we were not told to get off the line.. we would have got our Blackberry! The dude freaking shooed us off and told us u can’t go in. you have to buy the HP mini then u can go in. WTH????

I found out from one of the promoter girls later that at the start of the queue for those who managed to enter beyond the shutters… that they just ticked what the people wanted… that’s how they determine what people wanted thats how they came up that 44 blackberries were finishd!

WTH??????

DIGI should have checked the phone numbers on the spot whether there were blacklisted or those who are outstanding !!

If they did that we would have been in line for the blackberry and not being freaking shooed off!

We were freaking complaining and there were others too who was complaining….

I was surprised to see my dad in 1U and i told him the torture that i went through.. and he was furious and shelled at the the digi managers (or whoever the person incharge is).  Apologies are not enough…No matter how Apologetic they try to look…  as the saying goes.. Sorry No Cure….

My friend who has been a loyal customer for 11 years, has decided to switch camp to another telco.. So Digi might have gaind more loyalty from their existing DiGi clients… BUT they definitely lost a lot of potential new Digi users the last few days… bad reputation… word of mouth does spread like a disease…

I can imagine the competitors looking at this as a big joke and a potential advantage point for them to pounce with a new promo of some sort… Wonder if it will hit the papers 2mr.. hint.  saw a journalist there… Knew he was a journalist since he was the one that talked to me!

Blogs will definately be filled with an event like this…

to view my rants on twitter to Digi Telco @Dannyboy242 click here.

For a big big company like Digi, I am really shocked at bad event management, customers treated badly by the staff and yelled at…. and did not have a system..

Bottomline is.. my friends and I should have gotten a Blackberry if they had checked the registrations at the line itself… to see if people were blacklisted or had something outstanding… 4 people were blacklisted from the line in front and 3 did not want a blackberry in the end… we were next inline right in front.. when the guyed told us to go away…

Digi’s Tweeter Bio says:

“At DiGi, your needs are at the centre of everything we do. Whoever you are, wherever you go and whatever your needs may be, we’re there for you!”

This is such a contradictory statement from Digi as myself and definitely others who did not feel that. I was not treated like Digi was there for me, and definately did not feel that customers are not the centre of everything that they do.. as evident from this ghastly nightmare of an event that happened…

I wasted my time 14hrs, I’m aching all over, I was cheated.. and thrown aside like some rubbish.. thats how Digi treat customers?

The only compensation I will settle for the least is for the BlackBerry Curve 8900 that I came for, after my friend complained. Digi is getting one for her later during the week..

I want the same …. its only fair.. for what I have been through..

Here are 2 other bloggers who also have their accounts of what happend..

Joshua OngYS (click here)

Satkuru (click here)

I was on the WoW Test realm, a realm which tests the forthcoming patches (in this case, patch 3.3).

There was this 2 hour period on Friday in which the Blizzard GMs came online to try the new PUG feature in the patch.

Some of the bored GMs decided to wreck havoc on Orgrimmar by unleashing bosses from the different eras in WoW.

Here’s some of the screenshots capturing the madness. =P

After meeting an eBay seller for a Revoltech that I bought, I was able to discover a new budget bookstore in Market Market called Pick a Book.  So I checked out the books that they have, and lo and behold, I found a copy of The Historian in mint condition and for only P220   I have waited for a long time to buy a copy of The Historian in Book Sale since a copy costs around P300 to P400 in National Book Store, but to no avail.  Good thing I discovered this new book store.

Two weeks ago, SM Fairview had a mall show where you can meet and greet The Dark Knight.  I was actually waiting for this even since I’m a big fan of The Dark Knight.  But it somewhat slipped my mind and while we’re having coffee in SM last Nov. 2nd, a voiced boomed out in the Annex Atrium that The Dark Knight meet and greet will be starting soon.  Sadly, I didn’t have my dSLR with me.  So my wife took my picture with The Dark Knight using my cellphone cam.  It’s not as good as a dSLR pic, but hey, it’s better than none.  So it was a surreal moment for me as I’ve finally met & greeted my favorite superhero of all time, Batman aka The Dark Knight.

A Short-eared Owl reported today by Barrie Norman at Bo Peep, Alciston (from Firle Birds).

Yesterday, a Woodcock at Frog Firle (Alfriston) seen by Bob Eade, who also had two Firecrests in his garden in Seaford (via SOS).

This is what happens when our main tankers have problems logging into WoW.

Points and prizes will be given to those who can spot the number of guild members in the photos.

  I know the belief in such things as mermaids ended centuries ago, but I was surprised to read online last night that ‘sightings’ of the mythical creatures are still being reported. In August this year in Kiryat Yam, a town in Israel, a reward of US $1 million was put up for anyone who could prove the existence of a mermaid off its coast after dozens of people reported seeing one leaping from the sea. Traditionally Mermaids are said to be half woman half fish. It has since been said that sightings of sea manatees were actually what sailors and others saw when they thought they had seen a mermaid. I don’t know exactly how this can have been when sea manatees look about as far away from the traditional mermaid as it’s possible to get. I first became aware of mermaids when I saw the film ‘Splash’ in 1984 starring Tom Hanks, John Candy and Daryl Hannah, and the sight of her as a mermaid is not one you soon forget. The first mermaid stories began in Assyria around the year 1000 BC. In this country Sandwood Bay in Sutherland was an area once known as ‘The Land of Mermaids’ due to the high amount of sightings that were reported there. In the 19th Century well-known showman P.T. Barnum exhibited what has since become known as a famous hoax when he first exhibited the ‘Fiji Mermaid’. Leased from a friend of his for $12.50 a week, the creature, promoted as the mummified remains of a mermaid was actually the top half of a monkey stitched together with the bottom half of a fish. (See pic below right). Although such things are obvious myths and fairy stories, I do think that perhaps the world was a more interesting place when there were still mysteries about such things. Thanks for reading.

The first Brambling of the winter seen at Firle yesterday morning, with a group of Chaffinches at Place Farm.

Walk up through the village, past the church and onto the Old Coach Road, then view the yard with the straw bales and metal barn on the left, opposite the horse paddocks and just before the track turns sharply left.

Plenty of other common bits and bobs at this spot too recently, including Grey Wagtail, Fieldfare and Little Owl.

Also Lesser Redpoll heard daily around the cricket pitch in recent mornings.

Det är något särskilt med hemmagjorda skyltar.
Öl tagen vid Time på Nobelvägen.
Boo’s thai massage tagen i Haverdal utanför Halmstad.

A 1st winter Red breasted Flycatcher found by Jon Curson in Harry`s bush at Seaford Head/west side of lower Cuckmere valley late morning  proved quite flighty and difficult to follow as it flitted up, down and through the branches of a couple of sycamore trees mostly in the shade, only occasionally standing still to give good views, therefore only a rather poor ` record shot` was obtained. An excellent find though.