Crowds are not for me

I've only been to one big street party - Swing Singapore in 1988.  It was enjoyable because it was not so crowded at first, and when the crowd grew, my friends and I wisely left.

Don't like the LOUD noises they call music, or body-to-body squeeze.

But party-goes, by all means, continue to revel ... after all, our economy needs every boost it can get.

Notes to self from holiday 2010

Travelling with children is still restrictive, but it is great to see them able to walk farther and farther on their own.

Shocking to note that Virgin Megastore outlets are all closed in the USA - an apparent sign that US retail economy is still not recovered that there were significant empty retail space at Union Square in SFO.  Dang, I was so hoping to find bargain DVDs.  Can't explore and travel on my own when I'm with the kids.

TBC ...

The only problem with generous loan quota from National Library is ...

I borrow so many items for myself and the kids that I sometimes misplace the items ...

More than once, I reported an item lost, paid for it, and then, found it somewhere ...

Ark Hotel Construction time lapse building 15 storeys in less than a week

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101112/bs_yblog_upshot/chinese-workers-build-15-story-hotel-in-just-six-days

Surely they exclude the time taken for the foundation???!!!!

Littératures d'Extrême-Orient, textes et traduction mars 2008 - Réponse à la devinette

http://jelct.blogspot.com/2008_03_01_archive.html
Snowybeagle of CHF has been acknowledged ...

Wow, like many other surfers, I googled my own ID from time to time, and surprise finds do occur.

This time, it's on the blog of another Francophonic Sinophile ... wonder if it's anyone I know ...

Actual site : http://jelct.blogspot.com/2008/03/rponse-la-devinette-011.html

Reign of Assassins 劍雨

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Woo hooo!!!

This is one time when not-high-expectations helped - the movie did not disappoint.

There is a distinct absence of John Woo's trademarks, so if he did significantly advised the director Suo Chao-pin, he must have mastered the art of subtlety and impart the essence rather than the form.

Though other reviewers compared it to Face-Off, I thought the plot was more akin to old-school Gulong's workmanship - especially the theme of betrayals, lies, and unexpected twists.

Overall, I agree with another reviewer that there were distinct plotholes and an unreasonable measure of coincidence - which could have been addressed but were not.

The movie opened with textual narration giving the whole background of the story - whatever happens to the adage "Show, Don't Tell"???

During early Ming Dynasty (clearly shown on the tombtone indicating reign of HongWu, plus capital was at Nanjing), the body of the legendary Damo was stolen from the grave.

Suddenly, rumours became rife that the body contained secrets to ultimate martial prowess.

Kind of strange that it took more than a thousand years after the body was buried for someone to suddenly be inspired to think that it possessed a great secret worth stealing.

The poor body was subsequently broken into 2 parts, and became the object of bloody strife among pugilists for its possession.

Among the victims was the Zhang family. That the patriarch was a senior Court official seemed almost just incidental and presented absolutely no relevance to the movie. This is yet another glaring hole I cannot overlook.

The culprits of the massacre was the assassins' guild known as Black Stone (黑石). Again, the movie-maker missed another story-telling opportunity to draw out significance of the name. Seems like the name was chosen at random.

Fortunately, the epithet of the guild-leader, the Wheel King (转轮王), had its origins in some Buddhist texts of the underworld, or so the movie claimed.

Anyway, the assassin Drizzle (细雨) was among those participating in the massacre of the Zhang household, and she left after obtaining their objective - half of the copse.

She did not make it to the rendezvous with the rest of the assassins, having been intercepted by a monk who seemed intent on reforming her.

After months of altercation, the monk died in the process of revealing to her the vulnerabilities of her skills, shaking her so much that she decided to undergo surgery to change her appearance and lead a mundane life.

And that was how she ended up renting a big house to live by herself, in a big city, and took up hawking textiles along the street.

Being a single, not-so-young but still pretty lady (Hey, this was Miss Ipoh okay?), she received endless proposals from pleibeians. It was a young courier who won her heart though.

Their normal lives were disrupted when she was forced to reveal her skills to save their lives during a bank robbery.

Yet despite leaving no eye-witnesses, the guild managed to track her down, somehow seeing through her totally-changed appearances.

To stall for time, she had to agree to help the guild retrieve the other half of the copse and surrender her own half.

Up to here, it was nothing new, though there was a witty remark here and there.

I felt for Barbie Hsu who was acted as a girl who was recruited to replace Drizzle in the guild. Her role offered very little towards the story.

There was potential there - she was supposed to represent an alternative, a girl who was in the beginning helpless over her own fate, given a chance to stand on her own, embracing the very life that Drizzle had given up.

Shawn Yue too, was under-utilised in his role as the assassin Thunder, playing a man who wanted little more than be with his family and make noodles.

One thing that did not disappoint though was the revelation of the real secret of the Damo copse.

The acting was fine, the underlying plot was okay - it's just the story-telling could have done with a bit more polishing.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame 狄仁杰之通天帝国

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Mystery & Suspense

Man oh man, it's like reliving through the DGI RPG back in CHF ...

Tang Dynasty intrigues ... martial artists with cool moves and exotic weapons ... enigmatic allies who might turn against you without a blink ... and LJM babes who either want to kill you or bed you ... and when they're through, you still can't tell which ...

What spoils it all for the movie was not the colossal statue (通天浮屠) they supposedly built but making the (second) Imperial Capital Luoyang out to be port city with deep waters more akin to Canton ... and 3-masted East Indiaman (or man-o-war) ships sailing 1,000 years ahead of their time.

Hey, maybe the movie was not set in our Earth's historical China but in an alternate reality ... yeah, that'd work.

I did enjoy cameos by Richard Ng (吴耀汉) and Teddy Robin (泰迪罗宾) though ...

Okay, back to the movie itself.

Di RenJie (Dee) had been imprisoned for some 8 years for opposing Wu Zetian's assuming the regency.

As Wu prepared for ascending the throne, two of her courtier involved in inspection of a colossal statue outside the palace mysteriously burst into flames.

A talking deer ... some avatar of the Imperial Chaplain (who came up with *that* translation) ... spoke to her to rehabilitate Dee and assign him to investigate the case.

Dee who had been serving menial labour in charge of burning unwanted Court missives had managed somehow not only to pretend to be blind, but also to read all the missives all these years and kept in tune with development in the empire.

Just before Wu's emissary, Shangguan Jing'Er (上官静儿, a fictional character, modelled after the historical Shangguan Wan'Er), arrived, masked assassins came to kill Dee, who had somehow long prepared for this day - expecting that should he be summoned back to Court, he'd face attempts on his life first.

A brief moment of levity was presented from Dee's exchange with his old fellow prisoner, commenting that life outside would not be necessarily better.

Aided by two officials, Shangguan Jing'Er and Pei DongLai (裴东来, from Ministry of Justice), Dee followed the first clue to the murder, which ironically was provided by the second wave of assassins who came after him.

The trail led to the underground Phantom City (鬼市) beneath Sui-Dynasty built Luoyang ... supposedly built from ancient ruins of the original Zhou Dynasty city Luo which sank over the centuries. Cool, I can relate to that. Forgotten Realms from TSR also got the underground city of Skullport. Unfortunately, little was actually seen from the city - and the boatman was a total rip-off from the Greek Mythology Charon.

Next cool thing was the use of needles to distort facial muscles to present a totally new face ... which incidentally gave Dee another clue.

Snowylady made the connection there ... but I was still fuming over the harbour scene and didn't.

When DongLai found the clues to the reason for the mysterious murders, I thought I knew the answer ... the giant statue was going to act as a super-weapon, redirecting and concentrating the sun-rays into destructive beams.

Well, the truth was a little more prosaic, but I guess that'd work too. They'd need something to balance the "assault deers" ...

As for the unmasking of the mastermind, it was kind of a giveaway to those familiar with the actors ...

Overall, enjoyed the show, but just can't get over the stupid harbour scene which was put in to show how cosmopolitan Luoyang was during Tang but to me became the fatal weakness of the show.

The Highwayman

Rating:	★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author:	R. A. Salvatore

Hokay, I'm already familiar with Salvatore's world of Corona, having read the first couple of Demonwars books.

There, the Abelle Church, powered with magic from gemstones, dominated the realm of Honce, complete with Inquisitors etc., corrupt clergy and heavy abuse of power.

In this prequel series, the church was still in its early years, competing against an older religion, Shamhainism, but already demonstrating dogmatism, inflexibility and hypocrisy.

But that was not primary significance of the novel.

The premise of the novel was that an honestly devoute Abelle preacher went far south to the country of Bhest, where his people thought people lived like beasts.

Instead, Bran Dynard found a reclusive group of mystics living high in the mountains above cloud levels, who woved the spirituality they practice into their lives, into their exotic martial arts, complete with "chi" exercises.

Bran also found Sen Wi, a wife and a Jhest Tu martial artist.
His perspectives much broadened, Bran believed insights from the Jhest Tu would help his Church and painstakingly copied the sacred text of the Jhest Tu in their original language, with their blessings.

He expected resistance, but he had not imagined how much. He and his wife lost their lives in the process, leaving behind a crippled infant. His old friend Garibond was entrusted with the child and the Jhest Tu scripture. Taught by Sen Wi in a short period before she died after labour, Garibond taught the boy Bransen who grew up like "Forrest Gump" physically, the difference being the boy had a keen mind.

That the boy grew up to be the "Highwayman", robbing the rich to help the poor, a la swashbuckling Robin Hood and Zorro, complete with witty verbal repartee a la Spider-man, was not surprising. That is the expected staple, if one does not already get the hint from the cover of the book.

What made me want to throw the book down was that the boy overcame his deformities and slurring speech, all in secret, through the power of a magic gemstone and Jhest Tu mental and physical exercises which he learned from memorising the book (the book was later destroyed), and got his "chi" straightened out.

And last groan came because without guidance and prior sparring experience, he became an expert martial artists, taking on multiple inexperienced opponents the first time round, veteran soldiers and their seasoned commander the subsequent rounds.

*puke* *puke *puke*

I mean, these kind of stuff may be fine a few decades ago ... in Chinese wuxia novels and movies ... where the hero can become champion combatant just by reading manuals and practising alone.

Today ... it went beyond stretching the credibility and straight down into B-movie flicks ... or maybe C-movie.

Okay, Neo did it too in Matrix, but the audience was willing to let it go because the special effects were cool enough and they were more intrigued by the whole question of existentialism versus reality thingy.

But I cannot overlook this type of thing from an author like Salvatore who had turned out far better writings in the past.

Insiders, Lady S

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Several

A real treat for nostalia buffs like me.

It was many years ago I left Indonesia as a young boy. Even then, there was a proliferation of European comics such as those from Don Lawrence, primarily translated from their Dutch versions.

Unlike British or American comics at the time, European comics have a very wide genre, including those aimed at children like Tintin, and those at more mature youths and adults (and no, I'm not talking about porns).

It was very disappointing when I found in Singapore very few such comics available. The only kind that's found are mainly kidstuff like those by Herge, Gosciny and Uderzo.

Thankfully, a few years ago, Cinebook began republishing many of these titles, and even introduced new ones too.

Not having money to burn, I tried to recommend them to NLB a couple of years back, only to be informed the themes were unsuitable.

Fortunately, in recent months, some of the titles were reviewed and a couple of them have found their way to the shelves.

Lady S and Insiders brought me back to the European comics style I used to read as a kid, even though they are recent products and set in 21st century.

The artists used an even more realistic style of drawing, along with improved shading techniques. Can't say I'm an expert, but it might just be that they are still using manual drawing and colouring rather than using computers like what American comic artists are using.

Now, if only they bring in the rest just as fast.

Burning of scriptures ...

No, I'm not about to do it, but nor am I adamantly opposed to it either ...

No, I'm not against other religions or any religion in particular.

Knowing how throughout history and modern times, religious extremists have been using the scriptures to enslave, to kill, to steal, to teat families apart, I can well empathise with the strong emotions that drove people to publicly burn scriptures, be it the Quran, or the Bible, or something else.

Even in Singapore, such extremism or misled passions caused a family to alienate my friend for her sexual orientation. On a national level, it led a group of females to attempt a takeover of a secular social organisation for women.

I don't think of it as declaring war against the religion as much as the abuse of the religion at the hands of these extremists.

The *real* essence of the religious scriptures is not in the physical books but in their message. So to me, burning the physical copies of the scriptures do not inflict any damage against the scriptures nor their message, but it is a strike against the extremists who are unable to make such distinctions - the people who see the written words but not the message which they distort and use to justify acting cruelly against other human beings.

It is one of the ironies to me that in USA what is happening now.

One can burn the national flag to protest against the excesses or abuses of the government without being held as a traitor or the intent being misread.

One can burn the bible to make similar protest.

But when it comes to the Quran, the uproar smacks of nothing less than double standards.

The message from the uproar is that sensibilities of those who hold the national flag sacred and the sensibilities of those who hold the Bible sacred can be trampled upon - their tolerance taken for granted, but not those of the Muslims.

I'd still defend the scriptures I believe in, despite its abuse by others. I believe that a spring does not provide fresh water and salt water at the same time. So the misuse does not detract from the worth and value of the scriptures. Neither does burning of its physical copies lessen the message in any way.

So, by all means burn the books if you want to make a protest against how the scripture has been used, or rather, misused or abused.

As long as you're not calling to burn people.

The moment an ideology, a religious belief or scripture is made public, you got to be prepared for it to be scrutinised, questioned, criticised, challenged and even to be re-interpreted or distorted from what you thought it should mean.

The human mind is not a computer to receive unquestioningly programming by scriptures, though some people do act like that.

But in Singapore, it'd never be allowed.

Religious Harmony Act is here, not just to prevent unwanted proselytising, but also the egos and sensibilities of many religious people are too fragile to withstand frank criticisms of their scriptures or questioning of how the scriptures are interpreted.

Recently, the government asked the local Malays to be accepting of the non-Malay Muslim foreign arrivals.

When will there be the courage to ask them to be accepting of non-Muslim Malays ...

I don't image that Terry Jones quite share my perspective on scripture burning, but I don't see any arguments presented against him by public figures as being really valid either.

Maybe it's true that it'd endanger American troops and citizens world-wide. But if that is so, then not going ahead is a tacit admission that the Muslims got to be molly-coddled.

铁齿铜牙纪晓岚

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

This Chinese TV series which began in 2000 is now in its 4th installment. The comedic slant to court intrigues during the reign of Qianlong when Qing Dynasty reached its zenith was represented mainly through rivalry between the famed Qing humourist scholar Ji Xiaolan (Ji Yin) and the infamous corrupt official He Shen.

Sometimes caught between them, sometimes the driving force behind their activies, was the Emperor.

Throw in eye-candies of two female martial arts exponent of commoner background, the series managed to recapture some of the nostalgic memories from the 1960s-1970s Shaw Brothers movies on Emperor Qianlong and Liu Yong.

The problem when such stories are dramatised is that no dramatised fiction script could accomodate both historical figures Liu Yong and Ji Xiaolan - in terms of "stock character", they were too alike.

What is interesting about this series though was how it represents motivations and self-justification of the corrupt official He Shen for all his misdeeds.

It posed the questions
(1) Making the best use of corrupt officials as human beings are greedy by nature
(2) The emperor acknowledging that he needed to balance upright officials versus the rest - including He Shen who was instrumental in filling the imperial coffers through various means in the face of escalating state expenditure

After several arcs which saw conviction of various corrupt regional officials sentenced to be beheaded, a viewer like me does question how much does merely exposing these officials and executing them contribute to solving the perennial problem of graft in bureaucracy.

Under an autocracy, the accountability of these officials are not to the people they serve but to their superiors, and it was impossible for the man on top to ensure everything was done properly, not even with the help of honest officials.

When I thought of the underlying problem, the system itself cannot under the best of circumstances to work.

Expenses for the state are naturally high, tending towards extravagance in times of plenty but slow to cutback during times of famine.

It was not possible to pay officials generous wages to allow them not to feel inferior in some ways to tycoons in the private sector. Like it or not, even a high ranking prefect/governor who earns a pittance compared to the wealth of the merchants in his jurisdiction will find it hard to make them toe the line unless he is extraordinarily capable.

I am of course thinking of the million dollar salaries ministers of Singapore - no other country have such high wages for their elected public officials.

One quibble I have about the series is how it was editted - much loose ends or developments were not shown or accounted for explicitly, leaving viewers to make the connections themselves. While it is not much of a problem for veteran viewers of such genre, it can be very irritating and distracting to those who might be new to such shows.

The Chinese Challenge - Take Part in The Chinese Challenge

http://www.thechinesechallenge.sg
Challenge your knowledge of the Chinese language, literature, popular songs, music, history, geography, ancient scripts, modern net lingo, and South East vernacular.

PS : seems that only Singapore residents are eligible to participate.

A passing of a different kind ...

Today, my faithful Sony Ericsson K810 finally died on me ...

It has served steadfastly through the growing years of Snowylad, surviving being sucked in his greedy little mouth, but sustaining long-term impairment in the process, having its charge points corroded beyond repair.  Further internal damage could not be accessed, though the doctors ... I mean technicians ... gravely informed me that its performance would be erratic and it would suffer from sudden blackouts.

Well, that was more than 2 years ago and it has surpassed all expectations of early demise. What cause the breakdown was the battery ... I suspect now that the internal charging mechanism finally broke down to the point where it could not stop the flow even when the battery was fully charged, damaging the battery in the process.

Indeed, when I opened the casing, the battery was "hulked out" ...

Well, first thing first was to get a replacement.  I'd visit the SE service centre another time to see if I can borrow another battery to power up the old phone to salvage the data.

I've been eyeing Satio for a while, but just refuse to pay the exorbitant price. Well, the cost finally dropped to almost 50% of the original launch price, but the problem now is my attention got distracted by the newer model Vivaz.

While Vivas only got 8M camera compared to Satio's 12M, the former boast of HD video recording, and is S$170 cheaper.  Still, its flash is nothing special, and through the few minutes of indecision, Snowylady who accompanied me to the shop (to ensure I do get a new phone TODAY, no OR ELSE ...) managed to tell the salesgirl the whole sob story of how she, as the bride-to-be, saw my tailor more than her gown designer for the wedding ... all because of my fussiness and not able to make quick decision ...

But hey, unlike others ... I do use my phone to the "death" (as does Snowylady, but somehow, she managed to wear out hers faster than me ... but then again, she does talk more on the phone)

Anyway, what's cool is that I can also use the K810 charger, though the salesgirl reported that I couldn't.  Looks like I'll have to spend a bit more time at the SE service centre ...

Finally though, I got a Wifi phone.  Problem is my Wifi key is in the K810 ...  With the lack of manuals, I am still trying to figure out how to suspend its 3G internet access in favour of Wifi only ...

When a tree blocks the only road out my place

Notice how narrow the base area is ... barely enough for the trunks, let alone the roots.

9 days after last Wednesday's deluge that was supposed to happen "once in 50 years" (according to the Minister in charge), this morning saw the heavy rain and strong winds knocking down a tree and blocked the only road in and out of my residential estate.

Had to give up using the car and brave the rain together as a family to walk out the other way on foot. While Snowylady and Snowylass took the bus, I had to catch a taxi to send Snowylad to his kindergarten which was not near any bus-stop ... not an easy task on any wet morning.

And it is for that reason that I found myself on a Chrysler luxury cab with starting fare of S$5.00.

Returning home (I called the office earlier), I took some photos of the "evidence" to explain my lateness today.

I love trees. Given a choice, I will still live in an area with trees and the risk of falling trees rather than a treeless environment. Just hope the trees will be cared for properly.

Bécassine, le trésor viking - 貝卡莘之維京海盜的寶藏

An unexpected DVD find at the National Library - a French cartoon with French and Taiwanese Mandarin audios and subtitles ...

Seems interesting - they mixed very different artistic styles of early 20th century comics (Bécassine) with the drawing styles of later period (most of other characters).

Snowylad got scared at some of the scenes involving "bad guys" chasing after Bécassine.

Am wondering if I will have time to listen to the Taiwanese audio dubbing while reading French subtitles (or vice versa) ... just to expose to a bit more French ...

Severing decades-long relationship

Finally terminated my Readers' Digest subscription today.

Their quality had been in decline, but they did time and again managed to introduce something interesting.  But not even Nury Vuttachi's column can make me stay this time.

Procrastination was the main reason I hadn't cancelled it until now.

MT weightage not lowered after all ... but I don't really feel it was a victory

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_525192.html

I was opposed to any proposal of reducing weightage of MT ...

I came to Singapore at the age of 9 and had to learn Mandarin AND English from scratch.

I had no tuition, just endless rounds of practice and practice.

There were also Mandarin (dubbed & subtitled) dramas & films on TV from HK, Taiwan and Japan.  For a time, I was also following the TV weekly magazine to read up on the synopsis of series.

Of course, there were also 西游记 and 三国演义 - beginning with the comics versions of course, not to mention 金庸 ...

Like many others I think, I also heard my share of boogeyman stories about ethnic Chinese being disgraced and looked down by fellow Chinese and by other races for not knowing Chinese.

For a year in secondary school, I had a very encouraging Mandarin teacher (蔡老师，谢谢您!)who motivated us to speak and to write beyond the syllabus.  Twice, one of my class essay was included in the school Chinese essay publication, a proud feat if I may say so myself, given that the other essays selected were by champions in Mandarin or students from HK.

I continued to read Chinese books here and there, and then came CHF.

Last week, I received an email from GZ, sent to CHF'ers, urging us to join the petition against any reduction and write to the PM.

I must say while the decision announced today coincided with my desire, I do not feel any sense of victory that some have expressed online.

It's a bit of a déjà vu of the AWARE and CSE saga of 2009.

Battles were fought with strong sentiments from parties at extreme opposition to each other.

And in the middle, people like me who see valid concerns from all sides feel hollow even if the outcome was one that we preferred, because we saw that there was no mutual understanding and progress towards resolving real underlying issues.

Unlike some who are against the proposed weightage change, I do not feel so strongly that Chinese identity must be protected or is under siege as such.  I do not think the purpose of Chinese as 2nd Lang or even 1st Lang is to perpetuate the Chinese identity.

Nor do I think that it must be maintained just because subsequent generations will become hopeless in Chinese or lose their roots otherwise.

Not only do I think striving for such goals are futile, I do not think they are the right goals in the first place.  Such sentiments parallel the movements in France and Quebec Canada to protect the French identity and culture, but I disagree that identity and culture have to be protected in that sense and in such a way.

Ironically, it was through CHF that I broadened my perspective on what it means to be Chinese, and it goes beyond knowing the Mandarin.

While I do not think a person of Chinese descent who can't speak any Chinese language should be classified as a Chinese, I also don't think anyone should have their ethnic designation imposed upon them by the government.

As an ethnic identity, Chinese is first of all very broad, and historically, did not have a common language, only a largely-common written script.  Even then, many terms in various dialects cannot be written without customisation of the written script that would not be recognizable outside that dialect group.

Just as the concepts of Hua people, Han people, Tang people etc., evolved through history, so would the concept of Chinese.

One's ethnic identity is as much what one makes of it as it is defined/shaped by one's predecessors, but it should never be what is dictated by outsiders.

Constant review and modification to how Mandarin is taught in schools to pupils with different background, aptitude and grasp of the language is the right step - but while the theory is sound, I believe the implementation will be a lot harder to get right.

As of now, the teacher-pupil ratio makes it all but outright impossible for the teacher to cater to the vast spectrum of needs of the students.

Equipping the teacher is the other major challenge.

Ideally, I'd like Singaporeans to learn at least 3 languages in school, but being a husband of a teacher, I am all too aware of resource constraints in schools.

I feel languages that remain relevant will continue to thrive because it has something to offer, despite what detractors might say.

These detractors are like the detractors against religion, who had been insisting since the French Revolution that religion is irrelevant and will die out, unable to see beyond their own parochialistic view of the world.

What has happened in history clearly shows that abolishing institutionalised religion which was used as a tool for the elite will only facilitate the emergence of the original essence of the religion.

It is quite natural that when something seems successful, it will attract those with ulterior motives to try to make use of it.  Thus we observe corruption setting in in churches and other religious institutions around the world throughout history.

Putting aside the digression about religion, I feel that many sought to impose or demand certain rigidity about ethnic identity that is actually an anathema to what I think ethnic identity should be about.

Why would any Singaporean bring foreign visitors to food courts????!!!!

Having read Fiona Chan's entry in Sunday Times today, I can't help but think that any Singaporean who brings foreign visitors to food courts (as a first resort) must be utterly clueless.

What's wrong with food from food courts?

Let me count the ways ...

1. Open-air cooking beats cooking in air-conditioned enclosed space.

I have to admit though that so far, Japanese food town haven't done too badly, but again, their type of cooking differs from tropical cooking.

2. Prices - enough said.

3. Quantity - pathetic

The first place, if in Orchard Road, I'd offer to bring a foreign visitor, is Lucky Chicken Rice in Lucky Plaza.

There's a few other outlets in that old building that are not too bad either.

Killiney Road also offer some interest delights.

Sad day for Singapore when Cuppage Hawker Centre was demolished.

Okay, so I do fancy myself a gourmand when it comes to food.

Some "radical" ideas for Singapore's future

Singapore's government claim that they need to import new citizens to ensure population growth and sustain economic growth.

Woah now.

I know that's accepted as some form of truism, and even commentators commented Japan must revise its immigration policy or suffer.

But hey, the first thought that comes to my mind is that - isn't the world getting overpopulated?

Are the growing numbers of human beings consuming too much and too fast the natural resources of the world, be it in the developed countries or less developed countries?

Advances made in the last century has seen a diploma holder being able to do what used to require a university degree.

Can we not look into alternative ways to maintain our standard of living without resorting to the same old method of providing it?

Look at many modern corporations today. Gone are the pools of typists and clerks.
The modern jet passenger aircraft has for decades done away with the flight navigators.
Buses no longer employ conductors selling tickets.

Yes, many jobs still require people, but are we making the best use of the people we already have?

When I see increasing number of foreigners among service staff in stores, supermarkets and F&B outlets, I wonder where are the young Singaporeans working today?

Lo and behold, I see many of them working in the ubiquitous retail shops in just about every neighbourhood and shopping centre ... selling what ... mobile phones with flashing accessories? electronic games?

How many shops selling mobile phones does Singapore really need anyway?
How many times does a person really need to change his handset anyway?

It is a culture of waste, and many of the young Singaporeans are engaged in "economic activities" whose real economic productivity is zero, or even negative.

I am not in favour of a command economy, I just want to highlight that Singapore is doing a lot of wasteful activities, and all these cost money.



On the subject of income-ceiling for HDB flats and high COV - the government can tackle several issues at once by revising the rule so that they consider the income ceiling only for the highest income earner of the household rather than the whole family.

First, it makes more couples eligible to get cheaper flats directly from HDB, cooling the resale market and bring it to saner level.

Second, without heavy mortgage, couples will hopefully be ready to have a family, and one parent to be more ready to stay home longer to take care of the children until they are older. Not only will this help towards better upbringing (hopefully) of the children and less social problem in the future, it will also hopefully reduce demand for foreign labour - less need for domestic maids, less need for infant/childcare centres (which also employ foreigners), maybe less need to eat out.


Will a contracting economy be bad for Singapore? Not necessarily.
It all depends on which part of the economy contracts, and if the population of Singapore contracts even more.

So what if we have a smaller economy if it means Singapore becomes more enjoyable and Singaporeans actually get to enjoy life more?

We have the hi-tech and advancements, they just need to be put into the right place.

Capital Punishment - Amnesty's Strawman arguments

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT50/010/2007/en/f45ed09c-d3a2-11dd-a329-2f46302a8cc6/act500102007en.html

In opposing the death penalty, isn't Amnesty International showing disrespect for victims of violent crime and their relatives?
In opposing the death penalty, Amnesty International in no way seeks to minimize or condone the crimes for which those sentenced to death were convicted. If it were, then a majority of countries are currently apologists for violent crime, clearly a nonsensical suggestion. As an organization deeply concerned with the victims of human rights abuses, Amnesty International does not seek to belittle the suffering of the families of murder victims, for whom it has the greatest sympathy. However, the finality and cruelty inherent in the death penalty render it incompatible with norms of modern-day, civilized behaviour. It is an inappropriate and unacceptable response to violent crime.

AI claims it does not seek to minimise or condone the crimes, but AI chooses to say nothing about what message it wants to give to the victims.

If it were, then a majority of countries are currently apologists for violent crime, clearly a nonsensical suggestion.
Logical Fallacies here.
First, being lenient on violent criminal does not necessarily one is an apologist for violent crime.

Second, it is a bald assertion without any proof whatsoever that countries which do so much to protect criminals relative to how much they have done to protect the victims before the crimes were commited, and how much they do for the victims after the crimes were commited, must also not be apologists for violent crimes.

Isn't it necessary to execute certain prisoners in order to prevent them from repeating their crimes?
The death penalty as a method of preventing prisoners from re-offending is a blunt tool. By its very nature, the death penalty can only be carried out against a prisoner who is already imprisoned and therefore removed from society. Since that prisoner can no longer commit acts of violence against society, the death penalty is not needed as a method of protection.

Who can guarantee that once imprisoned, these criminals can no longer hurt members of society, both inside the prison and outside the prison?

Even the mere knowledge that the killer of their loved ones is alive while their loved one is gone is hurtful. Killers can still taunt the victims' families - e.g., through letters, or through interviews, exclusives with media.

They can escape. Or they can get paroled.

Will any AI or anti-capital punishment advocate be willing to guarantee with his/her life that the criminal will not hurt anyone else EVER?


Unlike imprisonment, the death penalty entails the risk of judicial errors which can never be corrected. There will always be a risk that some prisoners who are innocent will be executed. The death penalty will not prevent them from repeating a crime which they did not commit in the first place.

Judicial error is a separate issue. It is no more acceptable to allow it in the case of other punishments as it is in the case of capital punishments.

If the country's judiciary is prone to making mistakes in making wrong convictions, that's where the fix should be directed at.

...

In addition experience demonstrates that whenever the death penalty is used some people will be killed while others who have committed similar or even worse crimes may be spared. The prisoners executed are not necessarily only those who committed the worst crimes, but also those who were too poor to hire skilled lawyers to defend them or those who faced harsher prosecutors or judges.

Again, this is like trying to prescribe a cure for swollen ankle for someone who does not have a swollen ankle but a cut on the head - prescription does not fit the diagnosis.

No one should be wrongfully convicted of whatever crimes just because they do not have money to hire skilled lawyers.

Convictions should be a matter of evidence, not a matter of harshness or prosecutor or judges.

Countries where the rich get off from crimes, be it violent or non-violent, by being able to afford expensive lawyers, while the poor does not get their due rights in the courts, are countries which trample on human rights.

You Don't Have To Say You Love Me - Dusty Springfield

You Don't Have To Say You Love Me lyrics

When I said "I needed you",
you said you would always stay.
It wasn't me who changed,
but you,and now you've gone away.

Don't you see that now you've gone,
and I'm left here on my own,
then I have to follow you,
and beg you to come home.

You don't have to say you love me,
just be close at hand.
You don't have to stay forever,
I will understand.

Believe me, believe me,
I can't help but love you,
but believe me, I'll never tie you down.

Left alone with just a memory,
life seems dead and so unreal,
all that's left is loneliness,
there is nothing left to feel.

You don't have to say you love me,
just be close at hand.
You don't have to stay forever,
I will understand.

Believe me, believe me!

You don't have to say you love me,
just be close at hand.
You don't have to stay forever,
I will understand.

Believe me, believe me, believe me!

I only want to be with you - Dusty Springfield

I Only Want to Be With You


(ivor raymonde / mike hawker)

I don’t know what it is that makes me love you so
I only know I never want to let you go
’cause you’ve started something
Oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met
You’ve had a hold on me
It happens to be true
I only want to be with you

It doesn’t matter where you go or what you do
I want to spend each moment of the day with you
Oh, look what has happened with just one kiss
I never knew that I could be in love like this
It’s crazy but it’s true
I only want to be with you

You stopped and smiled at me
And asked if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didn’t stand a chance
Now listen honey
I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
’cause you’ve started something
Oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met
You’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you

Oh, oh, you stopped and you smiled at me
And asked if I’d care to dance
I fell into your open arms
And I didn’t stand a chance
Now hear me tell you
I just want to be beside you everywhere
As long as we’re together, honey, I don’t care
’cause you’ve started something
Oh, can’t you see?
That ever since we met
You’ve had a hold on me
No matter what you do
I only want to be with you
I said no matter, no matter what you do
I only want to be with you

Wishin' and Hopin' - Dusty Springfield

Wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreaming each night of his charms
That won't get you into his arms

So if you're lookin' to find love you can share
All you gotta do is
Hold him and kiss him and love him
And show him that you care

Show him that you care just for him
And do the things he likes to do
Wear your hair just for him, 'cause
You won't get him
Thinkin' and a-prayin'
Wishin' and a-hopin'

Just wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreamin' his kiss is the start
That won't get you into his heart

So if you're thinkin' heartbreak
True love is
All you gotta do is
Hold him and kiss him and squeeze him and love him
Yeah, just do it and after you do, you will be his

(You gotta)
Show him that you care just for him
Do the things he likes to do
Wear your hair just for him, 'cause
You won't get him
Thinkin' and a-prayin'
Wishin' and a-hopin'

Just wishin' and hopin' and thinkin' and prayin'
Plannin' and dreamin' his kiss is the start
That won't get you into his heart

So if you're thinkin' heartbreak
True love is
All you gotta do is
Hold him and kiss him and squeeze him and love him
Yeah, just do it and after you do, you will be his
You will be his
You will be his

A Princess of Landover

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Teens
Author:	Terry Brooks

http://terrybrooks.net/landover/princess.html

Finally, after one and half decade, Terry Brooks consented to publish another Landover novel.

I always found Shannara an enigma. Great story telling, but rather dark and depressing, like a never-ending cycle of dreams.

But Magic Kingdom, now that's a joy to read, with a hint of Christopher Stasheff in it.

In this novel, Brooks made things simple for himself by skipping the growing years of Mistaya from a child to a teenager, and present to the readers fait accompli of a rebellious/misunderstood teen - and a parents-child relationship that just cannot have proper communication.

That is not very encouraging to me who is a parent to a daughter who just started Primary 1. Actually, I do realise that time do seem to slip by when I can no longer watch my daughter grow day by day - demands of my job, demands of the younger son, demands of life. I am too painfully aware I am missing large chunks of my daughter's growth despite living under the same roof.

Nothing much seems to have changed in Landover in the intervening years between Witches Brew and the latest novel.

Well, more inhabitants (including Ben's father-in-law the River King) are acknowledging that Ben was a good king who genuinely tries his best.

That Ben did not choose to crush the resistance of the lords could be viewed that he did not think it right to impose revolutionary ideas from his original world, but strove to improve the lot of the people gradually.

I do question a few premises used by Brooks in the story though - the suspension of disbelief and credibility factor is stretched just a little too thin.

First of course, is about Mistaya's being sent to Ben's original world to learn more about the home world his father came from. I felt Brooks glossed over it too much. As a father, and as someone familiar with his own homeworld, I thought it would have been more credible if Ben had made better preparations for his daugther, orientate her more to the world, let his friend Miles be a better mentor, and reconsider if an exclusive elite private girls' school was really the best place to send his daughter for an education.

Predictably, while Brooks took pains to mention Mistaya learned to use modern technology, there was no accounting whatsoever about the choice of school.

It reminded me a little of one of Japan's anime favourite theme - a girl (or sometimes, a boy), with a mysterious background (sometimes an alien from another planet, or from another world/dimension), got enrolled into a school, in order to either (a) learn how "normal" people live, or (b) hide from an enemy.

In the anime or manga, the girl/boy possessed secret powers - which they are supposed to keep secret but never did.

What is different from the novel though is that in anime/manga, the new girl/boy did make genuine friends with one or more ordinary Earthlings, with whom knowledge of their secret powers/background is shared, and most of the time, they learned to adapt to live on Earth.

But as the main focus of Landover is ... Landover, by the end of first chapter, Mistaya simply packed up and leave after being suspended for her 3rd offence.

Brooks did have imaginative ideas about the 3 offences, but too bad they were merely described briefly, and showed only a rather one-dimension presentation of Mistaya - making her out to be rather obstuse, which she is not supposed to be.

Next, we see Mistaya back in Landover, and her parents trying to decide what to do with her. At Questor's suggestion, she was assigned to restore the Librisis, an institution originally conceived to be a public library to spread education to the people, but for little-explanation, apparently forsaked and deteriorated.

Questor and Abernathy knew of potential dangers in the Library, but it was not explained why they still recommended it to Ben, and chose to keep certain details from him.

That after being king for so long, there are places of potential significance in his kingdom unknown to him is also uncommented.

I suppose justifying everything would break the momentum of the story, but knowingly or not, Brooks had made the second half of the novel more like a girl's romance novel (think Twilight). Well, not so many eye gazings between the girl and the boy, but to my surprise, I realised I was more than three quarters into the book when I sensed the story to only start building up.

With so few pages left, I knew Mistaya would make short work of the problems before the book concluded - unlike the Shannara series, the Landover novels are traditionally self-contained.

I won't be surprise if the libraries classify this installment as a Young People's books or even J for Junior Readers.

Not to say I didn't enjoy it, but it really is a dessert rather than a proper main course.

蘇芮 酒矸倘賣嘸 (1988版) 侯德建

羅大佑 - 鹿港小鎮

羅大佑, 蔣志光, 皇后大道東

侯德健, 李建复,《龍的傳人》

羅大佑 - 東方之珠

李建復 - 歸去來兮

童年(罗大佑主唱——校园流行金曲)

Been on a nostalgic kick for Luo Ta You and Hou De Jian ...