the bloody thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving? If you really need to take it out on the country, take it out on the citizens, not the foreigners. Life goes on...

Visuals courtesy of Reuters

the shitty bank

The crisis is finally hitting closer to home. Too close, infact.

What could possibly save Citi. The 20% expense cut, the axing of 52,000 workers, the $25b capital injection from the government, the capital raising exercise of a further $50b, the Saudi Prince's increase in stake. All that couldn't stop Citigroup's shares from plunging to 1994 levels. To put things in perspective, think of a company with market capitalization of $270b shrinking to just a tenth of that - in the vicinity of $25.7b.

Too big to fail? I sure bloody hope so. But the Treasury Secretary has refused to say anything except that "nobody should be so big". What's that supposed to mean?

If this mammoth bank goes under, I'd probably suffer a stroke. And die a poor man.

the launch

So it was the album launch at the Esplanade and i thought the vocals were just SPLENDID. Mitwa was awesome. Drums were spectacular. Percussion was more than brilliant. Keyboards, as usual, the humble show-maker. I'm sincerely surprised it wasn't full house. Dumb Singaporeans don't know a star when they see one.

Afterparty was decently wild as I recall. Cuban Libre. Empire. Bollywood Dhoom. Good, clean fun. The way it's usually been.

Amidst all that, I managed to squeeze in a chat with a headhunter about my predicament. He assured to me, in his highness, that a finance degree was one of the best qualifications to have and mentioned that he had connections that could help me. I found that really reassuring. And that was enough to forget the alcohol that I had purchased. What's a housepour of red worth anyway??

Happy birthday, YOU! New experiences for a new you. :)

Bulldogs are here to stay :(

the color GREEN

i'm getting sick of people who project their displeasure of my friends on me.

but i guess one more enemy wouldn't hurt.

the call

"...And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta . She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

Tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham , a bridge in Selma , and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "We Shall Overcome." Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin , a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America , through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America. "

Barack Obama
44th President-elect
The United States of America

the election results

I prefer Clinton to Obama, but I'd pick the latter over McCain any day. A pity he didn't win by a large voter margin, though. To think that half the country still believe in Republican policies of weaponry muscle and small government after all that's happened.

And I thought that 65% of Americans not being able to spot Britain on the world map was bad.

Visuals courtesy of msnbc.com