Journal

New Days And Singaporean Writers

All Over Again

So begins the new semester in a flurry of activity that involves all the usual elements of timetable messes, tutorial balloting, textbook fencing and the dread that usually comes with the acknowledgement that it will bring with it the tests, tutorials, projects and examinations.

I see it as a good thing in the sense that apart from all the school work, I’ll no doubt be compelled to be fulfulling all my other obligations, like that query letter sitting alone in the dark right now. There’s this strange illness where at some point during the holidays you accept that you just can’t do all of these duties anymore and you have to wait till the work (from school) piles up and you are somehow motivated to make your life miserable by piling on the extra commitments. I don’t think it can be treated. However, it does imply that I can finally get some of that work done.

Looking ahead, it looks like a difficult semester, but I’m relatively unfazed. The subjects are definitely not to my tastes, but sometimes you do what you want to and sometimes you do what you must. (I think that came off Sandman. I just finished the Absolute run.) I think I can eke out some okay results. On the other hand, there is quite a bit of uncertainty with the writing, but I’ll get that sorted out. I have no doubt that it’ll make some sort of progress during the term so I’m not entirely concerned.

Oh and friends. Yes, got to sort some things out. Though it’ll mostly be work for these three months, and the three months after that, and then it’ll be the next term!

I would sigh hear but you wouldn’t be able to hear me.

Prizes

I saw a report in the Sunday Times yesterday about how Singaporeans are still waiting on their writers to win a first international prize. If memory serves, it seemed to refer to our recent Olympic heroics. To me, it seems to miss the point because it puts an unhealthy emphasis on prestige and glory when art cannot thrive on those things. And art is nothing like competitive sports, and that reference was poor. That the article was published in our main English paper makes it all the more sad because it shifts the attention of the public away from art and onto the prizes.

You know, the bathroom singer might be a less successful artist than a lit prize winner, but he is no less an artist, and he might even be a more capable one.

Handy Links

Lovely Doctor Who figurines. [via Forbidden Planet] I think there are fifteen of them. (Click around.) You should get them. I shouldn’t because I have neither money nor space for them. Though I want to. So very much.

New SDXC cards to go up to 2TB in storage. [via The Online Photographer] I read this as good news not because I’m going to be using them but because it means that the prices of my camera cards should be going down.

Useful links to sites that deal with books. [via Mashable] Speaking of which, the Web Walrus sent me a link to Reading Trails [via Reading Trails], which looks intriguing. It’s a social site of sorts, as far as I can tell. I was supposed to read more about it and try it out but I haven’t got to it.

Handy WordPress things. [via Smashing Magazine]

And onwards to the new semester.

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© 2009 a modest odyssey.