Praised by the Wise

"Never in the history of the world had such a scheme been put forth, so free from any superhuman agency, so independent of so even antagonistic to the belief in a soul, the belief in God, and the hope of a future life."

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

Democracy

after 54 years in power, Japan's LDP finally lost control of the Diet this year.

in neighbouring Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional coalition is crumbling after leading the nation since 1955.

on a sidenote, this is how a Westminster parliament should be like.



Singapore holds the (dis)honour of having the longest-ruling elected party in the world. when is it our turn? when will we finally see some democracy like that?

i like motion pictures

Rules of Engagement (2000)

the lure of this military/legal/political film is the central question of right vs wrong, blurring that thin line under extreme conditions, a frequent issue in the military. very much in the same vein as A Few Good Men. i must admit i didnt come in expecting too much, due to its lack of fame, but i must say i came away satisfied and enthralled. Tommy Lee Jones was the standout, blowing us away with his performance as the average soldier, average lawyer, but with values hard as hell. Rules Of Engagement also pits the hardcore battle-worn soldier against the high-flying scholar, and explores to what length is the rulebook a bible, when hard but morally ambiguous decisions have to be made.

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Guy Pearce plays Maj Biggs, the prosecutor.

Maj Biggs: Sir, if I may say something? I accepted this assignment... 'cause I believe in the merits of the government's case. I am not gonna stack the deck against this guy. I will try this case on good evidence only.

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Maj Biggs: This guy is the warrior's warrior. A Navy Cross, two Silver Stars for composure in battle. He has no wife, no kids, just the Corps. He was our best. That's why he was sent. He's not on trial for the good service he gave the country, but for what he did in Yemen, period.

anonymous Marine officer: Major, nobody wants to say it, but it occurs to me we're trying to set an example here. So let's set it and show the world we mean business. The first charge supports the death penalty, and I say we go for it.

Maj Biggs: No more death. I'll see that he never gets another command and I'll put him in jail, but I will not seek death for a man who served his country honorably.

---

Maj Biggs: What do you think would happen if a Yemeni killed 83 Americans? He'd have a trial that would last for one day, and they'd take off his head.

Lt-Col Hodges: Major, do you know what the life expectancy was for a second lieutenant... dropped into a combat zone in Vietnam in '68?

Maj Biggs: I don't have time for 20 questions, sir.

(later, to himself, solemnly) Two weeks. Life expectancy of a second lieutenant... in combat in Vietnam was two weeks.

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Lt-Col Hodges: Were your men annihilating that platoon of marines?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Did Colonel Childers force you to call your men off?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Do you believe his actions were calculated to save the lives of American marines?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: Would you have done the same thing Colonel Childers did if the situation had been reversed? Colonel Cao, would you have shot a captive American radio operator in the head if you thought it would persuade Colonel Childers to spare the lives of your own men?

Col Cao: Yes.

Lt-Col Hodges: No more questions.

---

Lt-Col Hodges: I'll make you a deal. If you can tell me right now what the life expectancy was for a second lieutenant dropped into a hot LZ in Vietnam in '68 I'll tell you everything I remember about Ca Lu.

Maj Biggs: One week.

Lt-Col Hodges: Negative. Sixteen minutes, Major. Sixteen fucking minutes. And that's all I remember.

---

and the final scene. i saw it coming and waited for it to happen in the courtroom. but the best was saved for last. Col Cao and Col Childers saluting each other, eyes filled with respect, though once war enemies, yet understanding that what had to happen, happened, and they did what they had to. war is never about right or wrong. it's about each fighting for his own right.

but. drawing from this film's wiki entry, i hate its guts for what i vaguely felt while watching it. it is seriously an immensely racist film.

Praised by the Wise

"True Buddhism is not the worship of Buddha as God; it is rather a following of the Buddha into a sphere of simplification where there is no need of God."

G K Chesterton, English novelist and journalist

the adhocs of the 16th

foc: a song for viola
outside ntu.
maintained the precedent of high attendance.
groundbreaking films made for the camp.

dnd: old tales of hollywood
out at sea.
for one night, the school, a family.
a committee, a commitment, and an enterprise like no other. respect.

paparazzi: the concrete skies
weathered storms.

an original script.
a senior-junior collaboration.

i must say, im really very proud of you guys. you're like my kids, just like your projects are your babies.

long live, 16th ci club. let's wish the future can outdo us.

from what i see, it'd be a hell of a job for them to do so.

SBS buses to stop at wherever you want!

win.

another milestone for ntu.

students hijacked e shuttle bus bus stop at SBS (School of Biological Sciences) and turned it into an SBS (Singapore Bus Services) bus stop for just one minute.

I wonder if somebody will come up with a Fake Bus Stop pack were we can create a bus stop on the fly, getting the bus to stop where we want!

Source: themediaslut.com

Praised by the Wise

"Whether the Westerner who first approaches the Buddha's teachings be accustomed to modern scientific or to Christian terminology, he should always bear in mind that the Buddha was not interested in the existence or non-existence of a Supreme Being or any other abstract philosophical proposition. He was interested only in the Way, the practical way, by which suffering may be ended, both here and hereafter."

Marie Byles, the first practicing female solicitor in New South Wales, and a mountaineer, explorer, conservationist, feminist and writer

10 things after he departs

there has been much talk in recent months. SPH just published its epic Men In White. Thusitha talks about it in class every week.

what happens to Singapore post-Lee Kuan Yew?

i badly want the answer. and i seem to be looking forward to this day. it wont be nice, but i guess that's the only way to get the answer.

10 things we can see with our founding father's departure

1. Hsien Loong will cry before he smile for the next International Event. Perhaps there will be a movement to gather 4 million cries.

2. Cabinet has one less mouth to feed, and that means more money for the people. Quite a hefty sum we all know.

3. Yusof Ishak's photo on the currency notes will be replaced by Kuan Yew's face.

4. Lee Kuan Yew Mausoleum will be erected near the Civilisation III IR, and that means another avenue and revenue for the Singapore Tourism Board.

5. When SIA has another internal strife, no one more capable than Kuan Yew can handle.

6. Ho Ching will have no worries in how she manages Temasek Holdings.

7. Pity JBJ is gone. Chee Soon Juan might appear again for some sort of protest.

8. The giant statue of Father Lee Kuan Yew will replace Sir Stamford Raffles.

9. People start to address Lee Kuan Yew as "Papa Lee" like the way Ho Chi Minh was addressed as Uncle Ho by the people of Vietnam, Mao as Chairman Mao by the people of China etc.

10. Singapore will be renamed Lee Kuan Yew City. That also means that when we fly, the luggage tags will be labelled not SIN but LKY.

sooner or later, the Cabinet should prepare for this moment of truth. can Singapore shine without the true commander-in-chief? only time will tell.

and perhaps at the funeral, her majesty Queen of England might appear for the last time to say goodbye to Harry.

life has to go on for the people, even though we have lost a great man.

Source: Internet

of names, stage-names, and something called teh peng.

i happened to get a copy of an old NTU publication and it featured the annual alumni awards, including its recipients.

funny lah. these are some of the winners whom we know much better than their names suggest.

1. lu rui en
2. ser siew yien, diana
3. peh wei siew, joanne
4. dr ng king kang
5. sng ee tze, stefanie

i dont especially love my common name in school, "teh peng", but it does fine. i was given that name (i think it was zak) during my foc, coz chinese names are sick and hard to remember. then a year ago i decided to assume that name fully while running for school president. i reckoned "teh peng" has a much stronger identity. and it worked. so although i probably prefer people calling me thiam peng or tianping, that was a shrewd move. lol.

back to the alumni awards.

funny thing even a certain michelle alicia saram could be mentioned. someone who screwed up her studies during her time here (in WKWSCI some more!). take this, she's recognised in e same category as teo ser luck. meritocracy or postmodern meritocracy, you decide. lol.

a scintillating tribute

i cried today.

the culprit was MTV VMA's Michael Jackson tribute before the show began proper. they decided to piece together a medley for him. what's different is. nothing showy, nothing commercial, nothing fake, and no celebrities to front someone they can never live up to.

it was just Madonna opening it with a simple anecdote of her relationship with the King. a plain Madonna, on an empty stage. the story told of how human Jackson was, and more so, a child. she then openly ripped apart the world, who tried all they could to ruin him.

ordinary dancers took over, in front of the giant screen, showing Jackson's greatest dance hits. Thriller, Bad, Smooth Criminal. it was a pure celebration of his exhilarating, ecstatic hits. the dancers onstage mimicked his moves.

then Janet took over.

i cried. the kind that you didnt have to force. it just came naturally. from tearing it became hard crying.

harder when you looked into her eyes and saw how hard she was going, to put in a perfect performance of Scream.

i think the world felt her, empathised with her. i cried because it must have been hard for her to do it. to perform a song meant for two, one that reminds her for the whole time onstage that her beloved brother is gone.

once again, thank you, Michael.

Praised by the Wise

"The recent evolution of man certainly begins with the advancing development of the hand, and the selection of a brain, which is particularly adept at manipulating the hand. We feel the pleasure of that in our actions, so that for the artist the hand remains a major symbol; the hand of the Buddha, for instance, giving man the gift of humanity in a gesture of calm, the gift of fearlessness."

Jacob Bronowski, British mathematician and biologist

"My name is Tan Thiam Peng and there's something wrong with your government."

23 years of life as a Singaporean. from the day i was born i was taught Singapore is PAP. founding father is Lee Kuan Yew. economic success is proof of the ruling party's capabilities. political opposition is bad. vote PAP, vote the good people.

PAP has controlled the government since 23 years back. in fact, it has been the only ruling party in independent Singapore's history.

i went to PAP kindergarten. i remember i was proud to call it school, proud of that blue uniform.

but today i ask why are all neighbourhood kindergartens affixed with the party's logo? why cant Singaporeans make peaceful public demonstrations? why are there so many taboos? why is there no significant opposition voice in parliament? why did Barisan Socialis quit? why did Operation Cold Store happen?

many people yearn to come face to face with the supreme leaders of the state and question them.

i care.

im politically conscious. i know it.

shixiong, the former president of wkwsci, is a PAP diehard supporter. LKY is his idol. at the Ministerial Forum 2 years ago, he almost had his chance to talk to the great man during QnA.

LKY is probably the holy grail. with that said, his son should suffice as the next in the firing line.

tomorrow is Ministerial Forum 2009. no LKY, but we've got the PM. and ive been shortlisted among the Student Council, together with Yuhong, Layling, Yongxi, Samuel, Ruiyang, to fire at him during the QnA, and also meet the man in person at a closed door reception.

and for all the political and social fervour bubbling in me for the last few years, i could not think up a credible and effective question. and im not sure what to say when i meet him.

this is an extraordinary and uncanny emotion.

as portrayed in the film Frost/Nixon, David Frost, for all his preparations and the maverick in him, froze and capitulated in awe when he finally met the US President. James Reston Jr, a strong critic of Nixon, swore never to shake the man's hand, but when the shamed president appeared, he gave in humbly as well.

who knows.

legacies

as my time come to an end, i would like to reflect in a post long overdue on this blog.

deep, heartfelt thanks to shixiong, zak, phoebe, zixin. even to marcus, jen law, say heng, dunstan. and all other seniors who made a difference to life and leadership in wkwsci.

many people have come to me to congratulate the 16th on a job well done. they said i pushed the school to greater heights. they said i made a difference. they said i nurtured CI Club into a force to be reckoned with, or at least a credible school committee.

some shining milestones are the three adhocs of foc, dnd and papa, which i strongly feel outdid their immediate predecessors.

i cant be any prouder.

to my detractors, i challenge you to prove your own worth. i suggest you see the circumstances i started in. i dare you to look at your own legacy and shout that you were better.

anyway, on that, as much as i have already said it, the 15th made a difference too.

your circumstances were worse than mine. but you worked doubly hard, never shying away from a fight. if you - shixiong, zak, phoebe, zixin - went into a different era, you probably would have made a bigger mark than me.

im standing on the shoulders of giants.

thanks, again.

now that has become past tense.

i am done. two years of my life, my time in ntu and wkwsci. i know i sacrificed a lot for all these, and many of my friends know it. i hope people know i did it coz i love the school. two years of my most important time in university, the formative years.

Praised by the Wise

"Christ's message, which is love, is the more exhilarating, but the Buddha's lesson, which is compassion, is more realistic."

Andre Comte-Sponville, French philosopher

The Merchant of Venice and Nazism had something in common.

make the link yourself. haha.