Praised by the Wise

"The East, however, was not burdened with the concept of a transcendent father - saviour in which the monotheistic religions expressed their longings. Taoism and Buddhism had a rationality and realism superior to that of Western religions. They could see man realistically and objectively, having nobody but the 'awakened' ones to guide him, and being able to be guided because each man has within himself the capacity to awake and be enlightened.

Buddhism helps man to find an answer to the question of his existence, an answer which is essentially the same as that given in the Judeo-Christian tradition, and yet which does not contradict the rationality, realism, and independence which are modern man's precious achievements."

Erich Fromm, German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, humanistic philosopher, democratic socialist and a Frankfurt School's critical theorist

a clockwork orange

as climate change takes a holiday and the freaking humid-cum-irregular season passes us, this little island welcomes back the other season it knows best - rain, wet, damp, i-so-want-to-sleep-in.

everyone rejoices. except one, i think.

my dad.

my room has lotsa windows. if it rains at night, it can get quite messy. there was once i left my mac exposed and i woke up to it wet. i almost cried. but anyway. so you see i need to get up and close the windows if it rains at night, but i seldom can. but they're usually in safe hands.

the past weeks, with that horrendous weather, windows were gaining cobwebs. now, the menace is back. of splashing rainwater. meaning sudden pours can be expected at the most unexpected of hours.

thanks, papa.

i like motion pictures

Paris, Je t'aime is just brilliant.

i had thought it was a full-length feature of a few short stories, but it was more hardcore than that. it's basically a collection of short films, made by 21 directors, presented by an ensemble cast that include Natalie Portman, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Elijah Wood. behind the camera were luminaries like Wes Craven, Gus Van Sant, Gurinder Chadha, Christopher Doyle, Alfonso Cuaron, Tom Tykwer and the Coen brothers.

and in a December which i saturate myself with films of every other genre, i felt disconnected with the idea of love/romance, and unsure if it would hit me the way it should. but Paris, Je t'aime being Paris, Je t'aime, is more than capable of anything. it is the benchmark. it is insane, yet incredibly simple.

if you haven't caught it, and if you're into short films, just imagine giving such renowned directors 5 minutes each to tell a story about love, each set in an arrondissement in Paris, the City of Love. simply mind-blowing. an omnibus homage to a city perfect for telling us about love, connectedness, strangers, boundaries and endless surprise.

these are my favs~

Montmartre
everyone seems to be in love around him, as he observes from his car. then everything he wished for fell into his arms.

Le Marais
the wonder of a stranger, a soulmate. undertones of gay love. brilliant ending.



Loin du 16e
about how circumstances control us, yet the agency of who we are can surprise us with its power.



Bastille
teaching us the wonders of love and how it never fails to twist and turn beyond our imagination, through a common denominator - pain.



Tour Eiffel
through the medium of mime, a love story about search and discovery unfolds.



Parc Monceau
intricately designed and filmed in a single shot, a bleak forbidden love surprises.

Place des fetes
age-old quandary of a love too late. this short also encapsulates one-sided love and how destiny can bring together the most unexpected.



Pere-Lachaise
using the ghost of Oscar Wilde to relate the fantastical nature of love. with his world-famous site of love as backdrop, an ordinary couple explores and appreciates their relationship.



Quartier Latin
a haunting and bittersweet portrayal of love grows old and becomes affection and respect.

14e arrondissement
a middle-aged American woman tours Paris alone, by choice and by circumstances. loneliness and contentment so powerfully existing in a single being. so in love with the city, and everything French, she narrates the whole way in rough French.

Neville Chamberlain: Sucking up to Hitler

Source: Cracked.com

Probably the most hilarious thing to come out of recent politics is an MSNBC news clip of a clearly crazy right-wing commentator screaming that Obama as president would likely be "an appeaser" just like that filthy Neville Chamberlain was in World War II... until he was asked what specifically Chamberlain did, then the man had to admit he had no idea.

The point is, the association of Chamberlain with spineless foreign policy is so strong that it's quoted by people who don't remember elementary school history classes well enough to know who he was. All because during the rise of the Third Reich, Prime Minister Chamberlain was sent to meet with the most sinister, evil man in all of history. Instead of returning shaken from coming so close to the true depth of mankind's depravity and demanding all of Germany be razed, he came back and declared that, in exchange for giving Hitler small chunks of Europe, there would surely be "peace in our time."

That's right: He met Hitler and came out of it thinking that, if anything, the man should have more control.

History would eventually prove Chamberlain to be "hilariously wrong" (or would have if there wasn't so much genocide involved), and his name is now invoked as a curse any time anyone ever suggests negotiating with an enemy rather than immediately bombing them off the map.

Not Remembered For: Everything Else He Did.

Before winning the Prime Minister position, Chamberlain was a successful MP, Postmaster General and Minister of Health. He was even Chancellor of the Exchequer twice (the second most important guy in British politics--like the American Vice President, except he does a bit more than just nod solemnly and give the occasional comforting neck-rub). He later passed the Factories Act, which improved the horrifying work conditions in factories and cut back on child labor. He was extremely popular and even made the cover of TIME in America.

If you're saying, "Sure, he was popular until he sold out to fucking Hitler!" you're wrong. After he made the deal in Munich his popularity shot up to 68 percent - 20 points higher than what Barack Obama gets right now in the USA. Above all else, the people did not want to get into another freaking war.

That's one thing some historians are trying to remind everyone about Chamberlain these days. Making the deal with Hitler looks bad now, because we know how the movie ends. Not so easy at the time, when Chamberlain was at the head of a country whose military was in no shape to fight, and the only ones who had offered to stand with him if he threw down against the Nazis were the freaking French. There were no good options on the table.

So instead, he came back home from making the deal with Hitler having bought a period of peace that he spent rapidly building the military that would eventually be strong enough to repel the Nazis. And by the way, the main reason they were able to mobilize so quickly was because of an earlier national program to modernize the nation's factories. A program put in place by... Neville Chamberlain.

The debate rages among historians (and will probably rage in the comments) but the guy probably deserves better than to have his name thrown around as the political equivalent of "pussy."

Source: Cracked.com

how many does it take to change a light bulb?

haha this is damn old school but reading it every time never fails to make me laugh. the light bulb joke, our JC version.

Q: How many RJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Four whole faculties. One to design the new bulb, one to manufacture and test it out, one to write a proposal on it and one to market it.
Q: How many HCJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. To compete with RJC.
Q: How many VJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. One student to screw it in and the rest to cheer, wave flags and banners to give him/her support.
Q: How many NJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They can study without light
Q: How many AJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They’re too busy trying to be one of the top 5JCs.
Q: How many ACJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They’ll rather use all their money to employ YJC students to do it for them.
Q: How many YJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Only one teacher to tell them what a light bulb is in the first place and to demonstrate how to change the light bulb. (So how do you think they’re able to change it for ACJC?)
Q: How many CJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They’ll prefer it to be darker. (hmm...)
Q: How many JJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Their physics is so bad that they made their macho teacher cry.
;Q: How many TPJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Would they even bother?
Q: How many SAJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They believe in praying for it.
Q: How many NYJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are still using oil lamps.
Q: How many SRJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Huh, what litebarb.
Q: How many PJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Heck the light bulb lah, the principal would do something about the rightbarbs. Let’s do 300 jumping jacks for not wearing the proper school attire.
Q: How many MJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are too busy trying to get promoted.
Q: How many IJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are Innovians. They’ll find ways out of the dark
Q: How many TJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They think they are already very bright

and the sequel for undergrad studies~

NUS FASS Department of Social Work
Q: How many social workers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: One, but first the light bulb must be willing to change.

Praised by the Wise

"There may be a great significance in the fact that Pythagoras in Greece and the Buddha in the Orient occur at the same time in the 6th Century BC. Both are powerfully, perceptively thinking and acting human individuals who, coming out of a past in which only mystically ordained kings counted and humans were omniexpendable pawns, produced mathematical tools and philosophies forever thereafter to employ."

Buckminster Fuller, American architect, inventor, philosopher and social engineer. The carbon molecule fullerene is named after him.

the day you're not the same man anymore

23 Dec, 2:45pm

Patient: Hi, doctor. Good afternoon.

Doctor: Ah, I see you're better, from the medication.

Patient: Yes, it helped. So..?

Doctor: The test results show you have it.

Patient: Oh.. ok.

Doctor: Which is why you could not find explanations to what have been happening to you. And it's been recurring for quite some time right?

Patient: Yea.

Doctor: Your levels in your blood are significantly higher than a healthy person. You need to take care.

Patient: Can it be cured?

Doctor: I'm sorry, but it cannot be. It's partly a genetic disorder. You can only keep it in control.

Patient: But why have I been ok my whole life, then now this? Was there any trigger?

Doctor: You never know. Much is still not known about the disease. Some people have been found to have very high levels but never developed the disease.

Patient: Thanks, doc.

the unpredictability of life

an amusing scene i witnessed on the highway while driving.

a zhng-ed Mazda 3 comes up beside me, all try-too-hard cool and shit. then an RX-8 comes up behind it, cuts in, overtakes and zooms off.

a while later, a Mazda 3 GT hatchback comes up. WTS. awkward abounds. the three Mazdas line up side-by-side.

finally, a Fairlady revs past on the fastest Lane 1.

the three latter cars fly off, while e zhng-ed Mazda 3 lags behind.

Murphy's Law (of combat)

the adaptation to our beloved Singapore Armed Forces.

1. You are not a superman.
2. If it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.
3. Don't look conspicuous. It draws fire.
4. When in doubt, empty your magazine.
5. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.
6. Remember: Your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.
7. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.
8. No plan survives the first contact intact.
9. All 5-second grenade fuses will burn out in 3.
10. Try to look unimportant. The enemy may be low on ammo.
11. If you are forward of your position the artillery will always fall short.
12. The important things are always hard.
13. The simple things are always simple.
14. The easy way is always hard.
15. If you are short of everything except enemy, you're in combat.
16. When you have secured an objective, don't forget to let the enemy know about it.
17. Incoming fire has the right of way.
18. If the enemy is in range, SO ARE YOU.
19. No combat-ready unit ever passed inspection.
20. Things that must be together to work usually can't be shipped together.
21. Radios will fail as soon as you need fire support desperately.
22. Anything you do can get you shot, including doing nothing.
23. Tracers work both ways.
24. The only thing more accurate than incoming enemy fire is incoming friendly fire.
25. Make it tough for the enemy to get in and you can't get out.
26. When both sides are convinced that they are about to lose, they are both right.
27. Professional soldiers are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs.
28. Murphy was in the army.

Praised by the Wise

"I think I am more a Buddhist than I would have believed... Christianity means signing up to a mass of protocols which don't make sense. Whereas with Buddhism, if you do your breathing exercises and yoga correctly, the states of mind you can achieve are all they promise. It is as honest as ice-cream."

Lawrence Durrell, India-born Anglo-Irish novelist, poet and dramatist

我是一只小肥猪
我每天吃不停
有一天我肚子爆炸
血肠撒满地

我手里拿着吸尘机把肠子吸回去
吸到一半肚子饿了
所以就放弃

i like motion pictures

ive long quoted great, lasting lines from films. recently i caught the TV-movie adaptation of Five People You Meet In Heaven, the bestseller by Mitch Albom. it would be a great disservice and dishonour to Albom if i quote from the film, since he wrote the novel. moreover, many of the film's lines probably come from the book. therefore i shall look at something else that has always captured me when i watch films - cinematography and direction.

dont get me wrong, im not featuring this film's cinematography because its lines are out-of-bounds to me. i wanted to feature this film purely for its cinematography. it is that good.

kudos to director llyod kramer and director of photography kramer morgenthau.

Praised by the Wise

"Buddhist or non-Buddhist, I have examined every one of the great religious systems, of the world, in none of them I have found anything to surpass, in beauty and comprehensiveness, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Truths of the Buddha."

Professor Thomas William Rhys Davids, British Oriental lexicographer and the first person to chair comparative religion in a British university.

Singapura

food for thought:

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index - 4th of 180, 1st in Asia

Reporters Without Borders' Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 133rd of 175, sandwiched between the African nations of Chad and Madagascar, and below countries like Gabon, Bangladesh, Colombia, Angola and Cambodia.

5th wealthiest country in the world by GDP (PPP) per capita, according to IMF.

The Economist's Democracy Index - 82nd of 167, under categories of Full Democracy, Flawed Democracy etc, guided by electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture; Singapore considered Hybrid Regime (democracy in name, but flouting significant standards); 51 countries are listed as Authoritarian Regime

Foreign Policy's Globalization Index - 1st of 62 in 2006

Economist Intelligence Unit ranked us the 10th most expensive city to live in, and 3rd in Asia after Tokyo and Osaka.

WSJ's Index of Economic Freedom 2008 - 2nd of 155

by the way do you know Singapore is ranked 222nd of 224 in fertility rate? an interesting trivia. further eye-catching stats are that the other countries of the last four are Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

Yong Vui Kong: remember this name

"According to Yong’s petition for clemency that was submitted to the President, the trial judge, Justice Choo Han Teck, had called both the defence and prosecution into chambers before the commencement of the trial and noted Yong’s relatively young age at the time of the offence.

Justice Choo then asked the Prosecution to consider reducing the capital charge to a non-capital one. The prosecution declined."

Source: TOC

it's times like this that pain me in the heart to call Singapore home. just like when i read about Iwuchukwu Tochi, i cried over this.

i'm not a Christian, everyone knows it. but in moments like this, which side you belong to no longer matters. we are one family of humans. a right to repent, a right to forgive, a right to live. and i'll end off with a prayer i found on someone's blog (i apologise for the non-credit):

Dear God,

I come to you with a heavy heart, burdened at the death sentence that was meted out to Yong, your son. Such a young man with so much potential, only to be dealt a short hand by his circumstances and the state. It pains me to hear that while he is sentenced to hang, the high-hitters and the drug lords are left to continue their evil activities.

My heart goes out to Yong and his family. I pray that they will find solace in this time of need, and Yong will find the courage to face his fate. May there be salvation in his heart, and peace in his soul. I ask that the governing authorities - the MPs and the Cabinet Ministers - open their eyes to the injustice happening right before them, and have the burden to act on this issue.

May there be lasting change in Singapore, and may love and compassion find its way into the hearts of its citizens.

Amen.