Mr Flair

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Very apt description of the meaning of living.

recorded on vinyl @

1:06:00 PM

Monday, February 26, 2007

It's been 11 days since i last blogged ha. pretty long time huh? Ok ok sorry menreet lol. I got to talk to ya today! That's better ain't it? i didnt realise the lyrics had the war theme behind them til i really paid attention. here are the lyrics.........

are you going to scarborough fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
(a hill in the deep forest green)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(tracing of sparrow on snow-crested brown)
Without no seams nor needle work,
(blankets and bedclothes the child of the mountain)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
(sleeps unaware of the clarion call)

Tell her to find me an acre of land,
(on the side of a hill a sprinkling of leaves)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(washes the grave with silvery tears)
Between the salt water and the sea strand,
(a soldier cleans and polishes a gun)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.
(sleeps unaware of the clarion call)

Tell her to reap it with a sickle of leather,
(war bellows blazing in scarlet battalions)
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme;
(general order their soldiers to kill)
And gather it all in a bunch of heather,
(and to fight for a cause they've long ago forgotten)
Then she'll be a true love of mine.

Are you going to scarborough fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Remember me to one who lives there.
She once was a true love of mine.

Props for sending the mp3 and lyrics. it's pretty disturbing now to hear the echoey voices in the background singing lines such as 'war bellows blazing in scarlet battalions'. dont know what these fuckers are tryna do with their song. all some subliminal bullshit. disturbing and pretty sick. literally... oh well........

So i'd like to heave a sigh of relief after fund-raising yesterday at Christ the king church. we raised ALOT of money. Thanks to God. We'll be having another fund-raising event next week but i got a feeling it wont be as good unless we come up with something radical and unique. we'll see what our brains have to offer. in meantime, thanks to the excess folks for putting so much blood and sweat into our activities. God Bless you.

On a different note,
Now i'm stuck on office duty. and i've got 2 more coming up on thurs and fri. shit.
Today signals that i've got exactly 4 months left to go on the army road. It's been a long time, much has passed quickly, but there's still alot of colour yet to be seen i presume. The boon or bane of our existence, it's up to the soldier (male or female) to learn what he/she can from this 2 years of what i would call a lack of freedom. i've learnt alot, been through alot, thought about certain people alot, argued alot, smoked alot, reflected alot, praised alot and gained a whole lot more as a whole.
It has opened my eyes to the motherfucking world. to different faces each with signature behaviours. Recollected some memories not worth digging up, but hey when we all bring our woes to the table, the circle of friendship becomes stronger. conflicts make us stronger, for all who have given up their support for me, i don't blame you. For what is left, a group of renegades will rise to the occasion, and the ring of fire no longer becomes a drinking game. ha. sorry couldn't help myself :)

EXCESS, ROUGH DIAMOND INC, NUS baby. The future is ready to explode in my face.

recorded on vinyl @

6:09:00 PM

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Alright since i had nothing much to do i decided to check up on the song 'Scarborough Fair', as menreet suggested i checked it out lol....

Ok so i wikipedia-ed it and found some interesting facts and history of the song.

Background knowledge

During late medieval times the seaside resort of Scarborough was an important venue for tradesmen from all over England. It was host to a huge forty-five day trading event, starting August 15, which was exceptionally long for a fair in those times. People from all over England, and even some from the continent, came to Scarborough to engage in business.

The traditional 'Scarborough Fair' no longer exists but a number of low key celebrations take place every September to mark the original event.

Scarborough Fayre in Scarborough North Yorkshire originated from a charter granted by King Henry III of England on 22 January 1253. The charter, which gave Scarborough many privileges, stated "The Burgesses and their heirs forever may have a yearly fayre in the Borough, to continue from the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary until the Feast of St Michael next following"

According to old records, the 45-day Scarborough Fayre, was held annually from 15 August to 29 September and soon became internationally famous as a trading fayre. Merchants came to it from all areas of England, Europe, Norway, Denmark, the Baltic and the Ottoman Empire. Naturally, such a large occasion attracted a lot more than just tradesmen, they needed to be entertained and fed, therefore large crowds of buyers, sellers and pleasure seekers attended the fayre. Prices were determined by ‘Supply and demand’, with goods often being exchanged through the barter system. Records show that from 1383 Scarborough’s prosperity slumped.

In the early 17th century competition from other town's markets and Fayres and increasing taxation saw further collapse of the Fayre until it eventually became financially untenable. The market was revived again in the 18th century, but due to intense competition Scarborough Fayre finally ended in 1788.

Although the Charter for an official Fayre in Scarborough is no more, the local people try to organise events to take place in summer, composed of a week of events revolving around the towns medieval history with jugglers, jesters and musicians.

Scarborough Fair in July 2006 witnessed Medieval Jousting Competitions, hosted by English Heritage in addition to the usual attractions.

The Ballad

The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she completes these tasks he will take her back. Often the song is sung as a duet, with the woman then giving her lover a series of equally impossible tasks, promising to give him his seamless shirt once he has finished.

As the versions of the ballad known under the title "Scarborough Fair" are usually limited to the exchange of these impossible tasks, many suggestions concerning the plot have been proposed, including the hypothesis that it is a song about the Plague. In fact, "Scarborough Fair" appears to derive from an older (and now obscure) Scottish ballad, The Elfin Knight (Child Ballad #2), which has been traced to 1670 and may well be earlier. In this ballad, an elf threatens to abduct a young woman to be his lover unless she can perform an impossible task ("For thou must shape a sark to me / Without any cut or heme, quoth he"); she responds with a list of tasks which he must first perform ("I have an aiker of good ley-land / Which lyeth low by yon sea-strand"), thus evading rape.

As the song spread, it was adapted, modified, and rewritten to the point that dozens of versions existed by the end of the 18th century, although only a few are typically sung nowadays. The references to "Scarborough Fair" and the refrain "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" date to nineteenth century versions, and the refrain may have been borrowed from the ballad Riddles Wisely Expounded, (Child Ballad #1), which has a similar plot.

Alright, the LYRICS

Following is one (relatively recent) version of the song, arranged as a duet:

BOTH

Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me to one who lives there,
For she/he once was a true love of mine.

MAN

Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Without any seam nor needlework,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to wash it in yonder dry well,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never sprung water nor rain ever fell,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.

Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.

Ask her to do me this courtesy,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And ask for a like favour from me,
And then she'll be a true love of mine.

BOTH

Have you been to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Remember me from one who lives there,
For she/he once was a true love of mine.

WOMAN

Ask him to find me an acre of land,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Between the salt water and the sea-strand,
For then he'll be a true love of mine.

Ask him to plough it with a lamb's horn,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And sow it all over with one peppercorn,
For then he'll be a true love of mine.

Ask him to reap it with a sickle of leather,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
And gather it up with a rope made of heather,
For then he'll be a true love of mine.

When he has done and finished his work,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Ask him to come for his cambric shirt,
For then he'll be a true love of mine.

BOTH

If you say that you can't, then I shall reply,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
Oh, Let me know that at least you will try,
Or you'll never be a true love of mine.

Love imposes impossible tasks,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme,
But none more than any heart would ask,
I must know you're a true love of mine.

Symbolism of the refrain

Much thought has gone into attempts to explain the refrain "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme", although, as this is found only in relatively recent versions, there may not be much to explain. The oldest versions of "The Elfin Knight" contain the refrain "my plaid away, my plaid away, the wind shall not blow my plaid away" (or variations thereof), which may reflect the original emphasis on the lady's chastity. Slightly younger versions often contain one of a group of related refrains:

Sober and grave grows merry in time
Every rose grows merry with time
There's never a rose grows fairer with time
These are usually paired with "Once she was a true love of mine" or some variant. "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" may simply be the result of an attempt to fill in forgotten portions of one of the above.

In "Scarborough Fair" the herbs may be a veiled message for the girl where the man is explaining why she should come back to him (if she overcomes the five impossible tasks):

parsley: I'm yours.
sage: I'm dependable.
rosemary: Remember me.
thyme: I want to have children with you.

On the other hand, elaborate theories have been proposed concerning the symbolism of these herbs. Parsley, used to this day as a digestive aid, was said to take away the bitterness, and medieval doctors took this in a spiritual sense as well. Sage has been known to symbolize strength for thousands of years. Rosemary represents faithfulness, love and remembrance, and the custom of a bride wearing twigs of rosemary in her hair is still practiced in England and several other European countries today. Thyme symbolizes courage, and during the medieval era, knights would often wear images of thyme on their shields when they went to combat. The speaker in the song, by mentioning these four herbs, wishes his true love mildness to soothe the bitterness which is between them, strength to stand firm in the time of their being apart from each other, faithfulness to stay with him during this period of loneliness and paradoxically courage to fulfill her impossible tasks and to come back to him by the time she can.

Another theory considers the magical significance of the herbs. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme have all been closely associated with death and used as charms against the evil eye. In The Elfin Knight (of which Scarborough Fair is a version), an elf sets impossible tasks to a maid, and her replies determine whether she will fall into his clutches or not. Francis Child suggested that the elf was an interloper from another ballad, Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight, and that he should rightly be a mortal man, but as Ann Gilchrist points out, "why the use of the herb refrain except as an indication of something more than mortal combat?". Sir Walter Scott in his notes on Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border recalled hearing a ballad of "a fiend... paying his addresses to a maid but being disconcerted by the holy herbs she wore in her bosom", and Lucy Broadwood goes so far as to suggest that the refrain might be the survival of an incantation against such a suitor (which would fit well with the plot of "The Elfin Knight").

Ok so we now we have a good rough idea on the song, it's history and we know the lyrics.
Honestly speaking, it seems to me it's about a song of a man and a woman who are having a conversation about whether they would want to go to the scarborough fair, but much is left to discuss on the subtleties in it. I assume that there's an underlying meaning to what they say and how they say it. From my perpective it speaks about courtship. It depicts the expectations of a man and a woman of a relationship. What i expect from you in a relationship is that you give me this and you give me that. It's about expecting something from the other person which i agree with as long as the expectations are realistic. I quote "When he has done and finished his work, Ask him to come for his cambric shirt, For then he'll be a true love of min" , that's not true love to me...unless you see that stanza in a different light where it can also be portrayed as the woman's response to the man who's asking her to make a cambric shirt, which was nearly impossible in those days, thus implying that men always ask too much of a woman and that it's unfair for them to do so. Women too have their say in things. so yea, that's basically what i glean from reading what i found on wikipedia. Sounds like this song could be used as a discussion on discrimination against sexes. what is so often and commonly discussed is of course feminism. "Women can do everything" , and i support that argument, society doesnt need to be male-dominated. everyone can do his or her part for the betterment of society.
Overall i dont think the lyrics are creepy but it may be the way it sounds...
Menreet do you have an audio copy of the song? cos i dont have any with me and would like to hear the what it sounds like :)

recorded on vinyl @

3:01:00 PM

Monday, February 12, 2007

A barrage of words i wrote cos i had free time in camp. I put it here for record's sake.

A grenade explodes in the distance
Shellshocked, it seemed nothing shattered the silence
I'm a rapper but the sounds i'm destined to hear
Aren't music, i sing songs with soldiers, trudging in trenches
Bring my hand to my chest to calm the palpitations
So i'm stating my last wishes
While saying my last prayers
In my life, i wished i was more efficient
In fixing the glitches
'stead of fucking the bitches...
Wait... hang on a second while i take out my matches
Where's my ciggarette? fuck that
There's no time to savour what turns to ashes
The will to live has become a physical one
I'm telling comrades of the man that i've become
Writing love letters to my loved ones
Distribute assets before my life is done
I wana be a success, a phenomenon
But this war might just signal Armageddon
And the only impression i'll leave as of now
Are the footprints of my sole/soul left on this ground
I still dream of seeing the world
To chase skirts and to find the right girl
God, let me live so i can find the right words
To tell people of the true meaning of love
I wana bring health to patients
Lying on beds awaiting judgement
Tell them there's hope, call it salvation
But the devil's controlling the nations
Planting thoughts in heads of corrupted politicians
There's nothing more i want than peace
I don't need to know that humans can bleed
But guns go off like firecrackers
Noone ever bothers about the future
You say war is for the better, it's clear the result is quite the opposite
The reason for war in Ir*q is just a fucking made up prerequisite
Defence comes first... or so say our leaders
It's time that we saw a different set of fireworks.

Jerm and Drea sorry for being lost in space over the weekend, didnt have internet connection on my mac and i was busy doing fund-raising for the exhibition. And yes i copy-pasted my tag on both of your blogs lol. Yes meet up for coffee soon. Like real soon. I won't pang seh this time alright? ;)

recorded on vinyl @

12:59:00 PM

Monday, February 5, 2007

I've been surfing the net for a good 2 hours already lol.
For all who read this page, please support my crew & i, ROUGH DIAMOND INC. We have just set up our site at :

www.roughdiamondinc.proboards53.com

Rough Diamond Inc has been set up in hopes of promoting the local Hiphop scene(Singapore). Please sign up to our forums and show your support.

We have put in a lot of effort into the building of our infrastructure and we as an online community have a lot to offer to people of all tastes and preferences.

In addition, we also are into organising events (tournaments, battles, showcases). RDI will also be looking to expand in the entertainment industry.

Register, get active, start posting and be a part of an organisation that is obviously going places. In the near future, we will also be hosting online activities that include attractive prizes(cash and goods) as well as member privileges.

Note: you can click on the Rough Diamond Inc banner at the top right corner to access the forums. Feel free to browse around and give a shoutout, get involved and bookmark the page to remember us. Hope to cya there. Meanwhile, enjoy your stay when you're checking us out.

Head on down and get active at Rough Diamond Inc, the online community.
Thanks for your support.

recorded on vinyl @

3:16:00 PM

Sunday, February 4, 2007

Here's some lyrics i wrote for an upcoming collab with sam and matt on a beat i made. put it down just for the record.

Rocking cradles give birth to ideas
I'm a lighted candle in a room full of darkness//
I'm searching for me, a man lost in the sea
Riding the waves of a cold world, indulging in sin//
A man standing in the mirror, i take a look and discover
I see that it's me, and i still have a future//
My thoughts have spoken, my mind's blown open
Nothing matters more now than for me to believe//
Getting up on my feet, slow finding myself
Confidence rise a level, above what's hell//
I forged a symbol of love for myself in the past
Which didn't take off cos my life crumbled in parts//
I tried a new start, hoping life won't be as hard
But i toyed with myself, playing the game of hearts//
So i trudge on, still a warrior, still a fighter
Never letting up till the end of this battle//

recorded on vinyl @

11:49:00 PM

Friday, February 2, 2007

Ok so it's time to update. don't know why i couldnt view my blog on both my desktop and mac. WHY? shit. ha. damn. am i not destined to blog at home? lol.

Alright anyway, the game against Thailand wasn't as entertaining as the one where we played against Malaysia. oh and before i say anything, thanks to Miss Fam who managed to garner enough seats (macam parliamentary election like that lol)for the group to sit, AND it was a fantastic view. so props again to drea! we were facing right down the halfline of the pitch, somewhere near the middle row of seats. Luckily it didn't rain. the weather was just nice, perfect man know what i'm sayin'? Met up with Sebasssssst and TTTTTerence at the game. Saw Justin, Weehian and Max there as well. Haven't seen yall in ages. Damn.
How i met ttttterence was like fate bringing us together haha. I just got off the train when he called me, and he said he arrived not long ago and was at the bus stop. we brisk walked to the stadium and cut through traffic, jumping over fences. that was fun. like obstacle course lol. too bad i didn't get to do the one in army cos i'm a clerk ahahaha. i didn't imagine Sebast's family would be there. cool man.

The first few mins or should i say the whole match was quite disappointing. The start by both teams was extremely sluggish and painful to watch. The players from both teams were laid back while in play. Somehow the mood wasn't there. the atmosphere was not as pumped up as compared to the last time. The stadium was packed but not as crazily as the previous time. There were only two small pockets of Thai fans. As usual they were guarded heavily by singaporean policemen.

We then grabbed a goal, after repeated firing of the ball at goal. two shots got blocked and the third one went to "uh can't remember who", who shot and it went in. Terence quoted one of jeremy's famous lines, "out of 10 shots i don't believe none will go in". Can't put the exact words down but yea it was somewhere along those lines. Too bad you weren't there Jeremy! Guess what bro, Drea sat beside James!. Lol. if only that made the headlines for the straits times hehe. No offence drea lol. i'm just sure jeremy will love to hear that :)

alright alright so goes on the match, and it was still sluggish with none of the sides letting up on their oh-so-laid-back style of play, though i must say that the Thais are more agile and they looked much more natural on the field than our players. Fortunately our defence managed to fend off some of their threatening attacks. After a while they managed to equalise in the 2nd half. Then came the climax of the night. The thai players walked out of the game due to the referee's penalty call nearing the end of the match. that was definitely a show of poor sportsmanship. they were making all sorts of gestures to the referee signaling their unhappiness with his decision. According to jeremy who saw the replay on tv, there shouldn't have been a penalty, but on a previous incident one of our players got fouled in the box and the referee did not give us a penalty then. Well i guess it's all give and take. No one said refereeing was easy. The fans were stranded with nothing to cheer about for at least a good 20 mins. We saw a few men dressed in black suits come out to speak to the thai team. Don't know who they were though. Some moments later, the thais walked back onto the pitch to play the remaining minutes. Mustafiq rose to the occasion to take the penalty kick. The ball sailed into the top right of the goal and we all celebrated as if we won the championship lol. Thus the final score was 2-1. I hope we manage to hold our composure during the last leg and win the finals as Thailand already has an away goal in hand. I'm not sure about the safety of the singaporean fans though.

Was just chatting with my boss about the game and he says though in some games, the referee might make bad decisions, that's what makes football interesting and attractive. bad calls give rise to talking points, and the emotions fuelling the game make people go to watch them live and i find that's rather true. we go to the stadium for the atmosphere & ambience. though there aren't replays or commentary, it's just being part of the whole atmosphere that is fun, invigorating and exciting as compared to viewing a match at different angles on the tv screen.

Thanks to Terence's dad who drove drea to somewhere near her place, and ter and i for supper at al-azhar (azhar if you're reading this, typing "azhar" just made me think of you lol). i had my first taste of durian prata and that was the shit man. sweet, smooth durian (or was it durian paste?), coupled with the steaming dough was just saliva-inducing on a whole new level. Pardon the dramatics. it's not as if it's that good but it's worthy of praise.ha. Then we headed home. Not to mention somebody dropped a sweet in ter's father's taxi. okok i admit i also suggested leaving it there haha. So sway, ttttterence's father had to clean his taxi that night. i admit it was quite smelly in there. No offence though. anyways it was a good night after all.

Just bought this pair of US Army pants from the e-mart gift shop here at the camp, and it looks pretty cool with the digital camou all over. Olive green with brown and dark green. Good stuff (quoted from Ping lol.) It was just fun chilling with you guys by the pool, sharing jokes (possibly lame ones), talking about people who TRY to diss us (matt & gerrit more specifically), and just plain relaxing in the wind. Sam just emailed me over the com. One more way to keep in touch with the cashew fam. chea.

recorded on vinyl @

10:35:00 AM