Just days after writing that long rant about inconsiderate MRT passengers who behave like gonorrhoea-infested babboons, a piece of news came out recently dealing with a related topic. Basically, SMRT is going to step up patrols on its trains and issue on-the-spot summons to passengers who eat or drink the trains.

Depending on how recalcitrant the offender is, the fine could range from $30 for first-time offenders to $500 for repeat offenders.



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'Think Twice Before Sipping', TODAY, July 16 2009


Now, some might expect me to run around in joy in the knowledge that some of these inconsiderate morons are going to get their comeuppance. However, I find that this piece of news somehow fills me with sadness in two ways.

Firstly, once again, it reflects the poor state of our society. Simply put, we suck. Big time. This piece of news only serves to bolster the claim that we are a society of morons who simply cannot behave appropriately in public if there are no penalties for inappropriate behaviour.

Come on, people, do you really need to be fined just so that you can learn that munching on that burger in a crowded subway train is plain bad manners?


Secondly, I was very, very disturbed at reading this part of the article:


'...... a nurse in uniform, escaped with a warning - She spotted Mr Jamaludin [an SMRT staff] and his colleague just before she took a sip of water.'


On my part, I don't have a problem with going after bozos who eat durian puffs or sambal belacan on the train and stink up the whole cabin. Ditto those who eat ice cream and risk spilling it all over the floor. Since the actions of these people reinforce the aforementioned negative perception of Singaporeans, they fully deserve to have their wallet lightened as a punishment.

But if I read the above sentence from the article correctly, does it mean that if I have a headache and took some Panadol with a swig from my water bottle, I'm gonna get fined?


If I'm feeling faint out of dehydration, I have to step off the train first before I can drink up?

So.... I really have to think twice about sipping water on the train, no matter how much I'm really gonna need it?



Recently, a so-called courtesy campaign on our public transport system was launched. Its main purpose is to basically educate passengers on some really difficult courtesy traits such as 'giving way to alighting passengers', 'giving up your seats to the elderly', and so on and so forth.

And who else did they enlist for this campaign....... but the esteemed Phua Chu Kang.

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Oh, and a highly-acclaimed rap video was made to drive home the message.




Sarcasm aside, I find that this whole campaign is a really sad reflection on the state of our society currently. If an all-out public campaign is actually needed to educate our people on basic etiquette while on public transport, then seriously, we suck. Big time. One would have thought that simple things like 'give way to alighting passengers' and 'give up your seats to old/pregnant/handicapped people' are positive traits that should have been taught and reinforced by our parents.

But then again, with some of the incidents I've come across while on the train or bus, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are nincompoops out there who still just don't get it and still persist in acting like filthy gonorrhoea-infested baboons.

Why do I call them that? Well, it's obvious that humans don't do these sort of things, and even baboons who do them are almost certainly afflicted with some kind of venereal disease out of screwing everyone else.


1. To those idiots who refuse to move in to the rear of the bus and the middle of the train carriage: are there ghosts in those regions which I somehow cannot see? Do my glasses require changing?


2. To those morons who sit on the outer portion of bus seats even though the bus is already crowded: there's another ghost sitting next to you, right?

If so, why are you knowingly sitting next to a ghost? You should call the Ghostbusters!

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Who are you gonna call?

3. To those savages who try to push your way into the train even though people are trying to get out:

If I'm trying to get out, and you try to push your way in at the same time, then in the end, I cannot get out, and you cannot come in.

It's a very obvious concept, isn't it? Do you need a superhero to swoop in and tell you what to do?

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Obviousman. No duh.


4. To those nincompoops who pushed me from behind while trying to board the packed train at City Hall:

Try to use those two round objects embedded in the front of your head. Those thingamajigs are called 'eyes'.


The whole purpose of those 'eyes' is to help you see that the train is already fully-packed.

These 'eyes' transmit that information to this grey-coloured matter in your 'skull' called the 'brain'.

And this 'brain' should then process the information and issue this command to your limbs: 'Screw it, let's just take the next train instead of shoving this bloke in front of me.'

If your 'brain' fails to issue that command, then please apply Newton's Second Law against your 'skull' to help reboot it. I recommend either a baseball bat or a brick wall for the purpose.

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Sledgehammers work well too!


5. To the fella who shoved in my chest me just as I was leaving the platform for the escalator:


I know you are in a rush, but that gives you no right to shove me into my girlfriend, dammit.

And in the end, you still missed your train! You also had to contend with one extraordinarily-pissed-off Fudgester marching up to you and growling at you on top of that!

So, really, what was the point of shoving people and pissing them off?

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Fudgie's Thousand-Watt Glare (TM)


6. And worst of all..... (I think you guys will agree with me when I say this is the worst of the lot).....

To the makcik who recited 'Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim' (translation: In the name of God, the Most Merciful, and the Oft-Forgiving).......

...... did you have to shove me from behind right after saying that while boarding the train?!?!?!

Do you have any idea what it means to invoke the Name of God before doing a pretty unholy act of shoving someone from behind just because you're too lazy to simply wait for the next train?!?!?!

Sheesh!


26

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My name is Muhammad Fadzli.
You may call me the Fudgester.


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That would be me.
It could only be me.
Short yet lanky.

Not worth much to look at.

Hardly a sight for one to behold.


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Yes, this is me.

Not too much to comment on.

Not exactly the big man around.

A laughable list of attributes.

A mockery to those who dare walk

In the pantheon of the warriors of the written word.


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Yet, this is indeed.... me.

The only person I can ever really be.

For I can be no other.
I've seen things I don't ever want to see.
I've been through things I don't ever want to go through.
Yet this is the life that I want to live.




So.... why should I be me?

Some may say that it sucks to be me.

And I can't quite say that I disagree.

This scrawny little kid trying too hard

Wearing clothes too big for himself

While desperately trying to appear to be accepted.


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I won't lie.
It's not easy being me.

But in the end, this is who I have to be.

If anything, this is who I want to be.

My name is Muhammad Fadzli.

You may refer to me as the Fudgester.

And this is my Web.


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And today..... I am 26 years old.



Okay, I've put off talking about my Sundown Night Marathon experience long enough.

The short version of my epic run would be..... near-EPIC PHAIL. Where I was aiming to finish it within 5 hours, it took me 6 hours 15 min instead. Where I was aiming to complete the full 42.2 km non-stop without a single walk break or stretching break, I was forced to walk much of the way after the halfway mark.

That's right. I started getting cramps after the 21 km mark. They were initially minor enough for me to cope with after I took a short time-out to stretch my calves and hamstrings properly. I could still run for most of the next seven kilometers, albeit with a couple of short walk breaks in between.

At the 28 km mark, though, my cramps were so bad that I just had to take an extended time-out to really stretch my legs and wait for some of the cramping to ease. Even then, I couldn't run for much of the rest of the marathon.

By then, it was as though virtually everyone around me had cramping of some sort. At various points from the halfway mark onwards, I started seeing people just trying to stretch their legs in a bid to ease their cramps. In a nutshell, while nighttime running is literally far more cooler than running in the day, the extremely humid conditions tend to promote too much sweating. Even though I must have chugged down 2 liters of 100 Plus throughout the run, my body was still screaming for electrolytes throughout.

Strangely enough, at the 30 km mark (the so-called threshold of human endurance), I somehow started to feel as though I could fly. I started running at my near-peak training speed and overtook quite a few people along the way. Alas, the magic lasted for just two kilometers before the cramps brought me back to earth.

The final ten kilometers was pure absolute hell, with me walking around eight of them. It was extremely sucky that I had more than enough juice in my systems to run at full blast all the way, but with my legs in such a bad shape I knew that I would stumble and fall well before the finish line.

But hey, even if my self-imposed 'timing' and 'run all the way ' objectives were not met, I still managed to finish it in one piece. And 6 hours still ain't too bad for a first-timer whose previous longest run was just 25 kilometers, no?

And I did suffer for it, okay?!?!? I lost two full kilos of weight (mainly water) throughout the run!

The next upcoming long-distance event that I'll be taking part in is the Army Half-Marathon in August. I'm aiming to better my 2:14 personal best for the half-marathon. Hell, I'm shooting for a sub-2 hour timing.

And as for the marathon..... will I run it again through all that sweat and pain?


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Hell yeah, baby.

I'll be signing up for the Standard Chartered Marathon in December as soon as they declare it open for applications. Anyone wanna join me?



This picture should be able to speak a thousand words:

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The full story of my first-ever marathon is coming up soon.



I stand just over 24 hours away from the toughest physical activity I've ever done in my civillian life. I say 'civillian', because what I did in the Army was, by its very nature, exhausting no matter what.


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My attire for tomorrow night


It'll be 42 kilometers of pure absolute hell, and I'll be doing this in the knowledge that I've never actually managed to run more than 25 clicks at one go. Actually, I wanted to go further, but a severe bout of leg cramps stopped me.


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My Mizuno running shoes and iPod/Nike pedometer (arrowed)


I'm actually not afraid that I may run out of energy. I've been carbo-loading on pasta over the past week, and I'm make sure that I bring along a few energy gels with me on the run. It doesn't hurt to bring along two small bottles of water just in case I get thirsty and the next water point is a long way ahead.

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Adidas hydration belt + iPod Nano (2G)


In the end, I'm only aiming to finish this marathon in one piece. If I can finish it within five hours, then it's a bonus. It's not unachievable (my personal best for the half-marathon is 2 hrs 15 min), but it won't be a walk in the park, either.

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The MOST important thing of all.

Wish me luck, guys. I'm gonna need it.

Oh.... and do vote in the following poll if you can.


Do you think that the Fudgester can finish the 42km Adidas Sundown Marathon 2009 ?
Of course you can! You are the Fudgester! I believe in you, brudder!
Wahahahahaha! You gotta be kidding me, right?
Apa ini 'meh-ler-torn'? Can eat arh?
Free polls from Pollhost.com



I would often go to Youtube to listen to music. Let's face it: it's basically the el cheapo way to listen to music on demand in a completely legal way. There's always the radio, of course, but you can't just call up Glenn Ong and tell him exactly what songs to play in the next few hours, no?

I came across a few music videos which are (unauthorised) mashups of pretty well-known songs. Since I always say that you should share some of the best things in life, here I present to you (in ascending order) some of the best mashups I've ever come across on Youtube.


5. Norwegian Recycling - 8 Become 1



Songs in the mashup:

Black Eyed Peas - Where Is The Love
Savage Garden - Crash And Burn
Maroon 5 - She Will Be Loved
James Blunt - You're Beautiful
Atomic Kitten - It's Ok!
U2 - With Or Without You
Billie The Vision & The Dancers - Summercat
Remy Zero - Fair

As far as I can tell, Norwegian Recycling is the moniker taken up by some 24 year old fella in Norway who enjoys mashing up several songs together as a pastime. 8 Become 1 is one of his better efforts (in my opinion), and no, in spite of the name, Spice Girls' 2 Become 1 is not part of it.

It's a highly-commendable effort, and the songs blend in seamlessly into each other. The only possible problem I can see is that..... there are just too many songs. I mean, going from Savage Garden to Maroon 5 to James Blunt to Atomic Kitten.... you get the point.


4. Norwegian Recycling - How Six Songs Collide

(No embedding, but you can find the link here.)

Songs in the mashup:

Jason Mraz - I'm Yours
Howie Day - Collide
Five For Fighting - Superman
Boyzone - All That I Need
Three Doors Down - Here With You
Angela Ammons - Always Getting Over You


Another fine effort from Norwegian Recycling. I would say that this is a better mashup than 8 Become 1, if only because there are fewer songs in the mashup, and the transitions seem somewhat smoother.

And yeah, putting in Mr A-Z is always a fine thing.


3. Britney Spears/ Linkin Park - Faint/Toxic



Songs in the mashup:
Linkin Park - Faint
Britney Spears - Toxic

Linkin Park fans are gonna kill me for adding this blasphemy to this list, considering that it has been mashed up, with all things - Britney Spears!


But if you can get past that, it's a surprisingly solid mashup which actually blends in very well with each other.


2. Marc Cohn/ Cher - Walking in Memphis



Songs in the mashup:
Marc Cohn - Walking in Memphis (original)
Cher - Walking in Memphis (cover)

Yep, Marc Cohn is the original singer of this song, and Cher covered it a few years later. They both sing with virtually the same tempo, allowing this schweet, schweet mashup to be made.


1. Coldplay/Sum 41 - Pieces of the Scientist



Songs in the mashup:
Coldplay - The Scientist
Sum 41 - Pieces

It has been noticed by quite a few people that Coldplay's 'The Scientist' and Sum 41's 'Pieces' have basically the same chord progression. You guys have to admit that there's no other way that these two songs can meld together so well in their entirety.

Heck, I go so far as to say that the lyrics actually blend in very well together.

Well, there you go, guys. Five of the best unauthorized mashups I've ever seen on Youtube.

There's actually one more brilliant (and very well-known) mashup called 'Boulevard of Broken Songs', which is a mashup of Oasis, Green Day, Travis, and Eminem.

Unfortunately, it seems to be difficult to find any video for that these days. Dang.


About me





PROFILE

Full Name: Muhammad Fadzli Bin Hassan
Age: 26
Date of Birth: 25th June 1983

    My full profile can be found
  • here




The Original Blog:
The Web of Fudge

Other Blogs:
Dela Cruz
Diana
Elizabeth
Ian Finian
Jon
Kynn
Maygalai
Mr Loba-Loba
Penelope
Phaedre
Stephanie
The Dean
Yana
Zara