Episode 58: Circus

Attended the reading at the Arts Centre by George Szirtes. I like the man's poetry, even though I've never heard of him before David Morley told us about him. That's the problem with literature today, the proliferation of writers. It's not a bad thing per se, since there are plenty of good writers coming out all the time, and that's the way it should be. It's just that you only get to hear about certain writers because they're heavily promoted, and in Singapore, only the big names tend to get that kind of publicity, and then usually only after they've won some big prize. So as much as I claim to prefer contemporary literature, I know only a fraction of what's out there. I really, really want to make time to read while I'm in university, which doesn't seem possible, given my complete inability to even keep up with my modules' reading lists. Yet I am all too aware that this is possibly the only time in my life when I'll have the leisure to be able to spend time just reading for its own sake! It's a shame, but as long as I have my books, I'll try my darnedest to always keep reading, both classic and contemporary stuff.

For the past few days, the only thing that I've been playing on my iPod is Britney Spears's new album, Circus. Specifically, the tracks 'Womanizer', 'Circus', 'Kill The Lights', 'If U Seek Amy', and 'Phonography'. Having listened to 'Circus' and 'If U Seek Amy', I now think 'Womanizer' is rather overrated in comparison. I suppose it was good enough for a first single, and releasing 'Circus' as the second single can only fuel the success of this second comeback album. In short, Circusis a self-consciously dirty and sexy album, the one that Blackout should have been, but somehow wasn't because it was too robotic. Not that this pop princess has abandoned digital manipulation on her latest album, but there's more humanity behind the vocal delivery this time around. It's rare for me to obsess about an album like this, but Britney's just one of those people whose music I grew up with, and in fact, I liked her music better after she became all skanky (because the virginal act on ...Baby One More Time was just ridiculous anyway). So yeah, welcome back, Britney, glad you could join the party.

It's getting colder here, and I might have to bring out the Ted Baker jacket before long, even though the French Connection one still takes the edge off the cold. I'm also getting annoyed with my hair, so I've made an appointment for Friday at Chaplins in Cannon Park Shopping Centre. It's going to cost me £12.50, but I really can't care less, and I told myself anyway, before I got here, that I would cut my hair in the UK regardless of the cost. It's just one of those things that I won't mind spending on. I am rather conscious of having spent more than I should have this term though, so I'm really looking to cut back in Spring Term. I think I would totally spend less if I started cooking regularly, so I'm definitely going to do that as soon as possible. Am wondering if I should splurge on the French Society's Christmas dinner at Le Bistrot Pierre next week. I know the food's going to be good, and I should get to know more people from the society since I'll be spending a weekend in Paris with them next term, but it's really quite pricey, even going by my liberal spending habits. Sigh...