Update on Conservation of Argonath

The studs of my Argonath have gone too far off the base of the statues (see https://akbywerk2.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/toys/). This is pretty amazing. I’m still waiting for some Geophysics lovers to enlighten me.

I think if the radiation is so strong, I should have harnessed sufficient energy right now to repel all my work.

Info Overloaded Train of Thoughts

I like the angsty paragraph where he talks about getting all the employees to squeeze into the train. It’s hilarious, yet purposeful. Finally such a letter’s made it to the Forum page!

Jan 23, 2010

Relook passenger limits on peak-hour trains

SMRT’S reply on Wednesday, ‘How commuters can help in peak-hour crush’, citing figures for average train loads – 1,200 compared to the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) current operating standard of 1,600 – deflects attention from the discomfort of train commuting.

As a nine-to-five employee, I am caught in the crush of crowds when I board the train at 6pm.

SMRT would have us believe that spreading the commuting crowd in a train will help. Well, not once have I experienced a situation where the crowds are standing near the doors and the cars are empty in the middle over a trip that makes 15 stops and lasts as long as an hour.

Perhaps SMRT or the LTA could get 1,200 to 1,600 of their employees to board a train from Marina Bay and travel non-stop to Jurong East to determine if this benchmark is deemed comfortable enough.

As for indication of an increase in train frequency, what I observe is that the information screens now block out the next train arrival if it is six minutes or longer. Timings longer than six minutes were previously shown.

Tham Kwok Keong

Breaking rules II

Marvellous this M1 Singapore Fringe Festival ’10 has been so far. I love the theme: Art and the Law. Actually I’ve only been to one so far–Phillip Toledano’s “America the Gift Shop” in ION Orchard. There’s another one (“Last Meals” by Jonathon Kambouris) at Citilink-Esplanade Tunnel which interests me (and it’s free too) and I hope to make it in time to see how the law can be challenged creatively and positively in yet another way.

Toledano’s is not as straight-forward as its abstract says on the website, as regards the theme of this year’s Fringe. The way I see it, the Law is contravened as the art(ist) takes it into his own hands, reinterpreting the injustices in the world.

(Abu Ghraib coffee table and Abu Ghraib Bobble-heads)

First of all, the location fits the title totally–kudos for ION for being sporting. Malls could easily reject such a project as it undermines what malls stand for: consumerism.

Toledano deals with multiple themes here and I think it’s a job well done. Public interest, American ideology, terrorism, consumerism, tourism.

The exhibition didn’t really feel like one at the beginning: the first work to greet you was a neon sign on the wall facing the customer service counter. As you walked towards the gallery, you still couldn’t quite tell if it’s a shop or an exhibition space because of the presence of a reception table, (real) receptionist included. Well, maybe this wasn’t intended, but I can’t help concluding that she’s part of the whole experience. At the end of the exhibition, she got us to fill up a survey form, and I couldn’t help but notice the sign on the table which informed visitors that the souvenirs are for sale. Of course, I had to ask. And ask I did. But her response was rather unexpected; I think she took it real serious, and even let me know that prices range from $25-ish to $2500 when I asked in jest. She was still half-hoping that I bought something even as I declined the offer. Poor girl!

The things are probably for sale by any chance. Artists do sell their works (we do need to eat), and the act of purchasing an item off the exhibition would show that you support the artist’s cause. It will also serve as a reminder to you about the images you saw and the experience you had at the gallery–very much what souvenirs are for. Like what Toledano alluded to on his website, we all need some form of reminder of the events that happened in the past. Such mementos serve the purpose.

From this perspective, it doesn’t matter if the item is repulsive or attractive (to sadists perhaps). Consumerism turns things into a stock exchange where values are traded. Gratification is of utmost importance. If you feel like you want it, you buy it. The messages and histories attached to the item are secondary. So to some, the act of buying these souvenirs can be seen as a blatant disregard for the artwork and its creator, which ironically is one of the implicit messages of the artwork, that consumers don’t bother beyond the peripheral.

On the other hand, if you don’t buy anything, are you guilty of being the bane of the tourist industry? Are you one of those who fight for the cause, sacrificing personal enjoyment for the greater good? The wars that the USA waged seemed trivialised as time passes, and as they became commercialised via product sale, they became trivialised further. The works mock the people who make such purchases, the people who are directly responsible for the sufferings of those in the wars, the culture we live in that almost catapulted until the bailout.

Well, of course, I’m not expecting the part-time receptionist to think about all these, and I feel bad about antagonising her a little!

And of course, having said that, I did in fact (and perhaps) commit a faux pas at this exhibition: I took pictures of the exhibits.

Breaking rules

I can’t believe the Small Claims Tribunal doesn’t follow rules–grammar rules: