Matchmaking for 'educated people'

I was surfing around the government websites doing some research for a friend who's thinking of setting up a non-profit. Managed to somehow stumble upon this portal that contains all sorts of interesting links. One link says 'get married'. There's useful information on how to date people and be happily married. If you click 'find a soulmate', you'd be brought to a site that advertises the government matchmaking service. So far, so cute. Then the horror starts.

There seems to be two matchmaking services available. One's called SDU, the other's called SDS. It turns out that not everyone can join the SDU. In the membership section, it says that only uni grads are allowed to join. Also, if you're angry with your spouse and are temporarily separated, you can't join too. On the other hand, you can only join the SDS if you're not a uni graduate. I actually read the thing three times to convince myself I'm reading correctly. Has institutional discrimination even managed to sneak into something as innocent as a match-making outfit? Man, this is sick.

If I'm a uni graduate, why can't I join the other group? (And vice versa?) Why? Because ex Prime Minister Lee thinks (years ago, I'm not sure whether he still thinks this) that uni grads should marry uni grads so that their baby will be cleverer. You don't want to mix genes with less clever people, do you now? Hell, no!

So I looked at the two websites. Here and here. Tell me which is the one for the uni grad. Yes, the one with the nicer website design. I seriously don't get it. In this day and age? I can understand the membership restriction against married folk who are alone temporarily, but this is just getting too far. And then the myth gets propogated, and everyone starts to believe it...

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A great way to fly!

So I got this in the mail today.

From: "KrisFlyer"
To: jeffreyyen@gmail.com
Subject: Closure of KrisFlyer Account
Date: 20 Jan 2005 14:31:42 +0800

Dear Mr Yen,
We realise that we have inadvertently sent you a very brief email recently informing you that your account has been closed. KrisFlyer account number 8002269799 for Yen Jeffery has indeed expired as there has been no record of transactions in this account in recent months. We are also aware that there are other accounts that have your same email address and we like to confirm that these accounts are still active. Unfortunately, however, through an error on our part, we sent the earlier email to you, in its draft form, before we had completed it. We are mortified as the email appears extremely curt and dismissive. Please accept our sincere apologies for the confusion and unhappiness the unintended email must have caused you. If there is anything else that we can assist you with, please contact us at KrisFlyer Membership Services.

Yours sincerely,
Ms Yap Aye Wee
Manager Loyalty Marketing

And I decided to write back.

Dear Ms. Yap,
Thanks for writing, your forthrightness is indeed commendable; apologies accepted. Unfortunately, I did not receive the said email from your department. If you can be so kind as to forward me the mail again, that'll be great. I've never received a curt, dismissive, and draft reply from SIA before, and now that you've made me curious, I'd sure like to see one! Thanks!

Sincerely,
jeff

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Call the cops...

It's not often that I want to throw up after reading a news article. I nearly puked on my keyboard just now reading what the next Attorney General of the US (top policeman of the country) said about the torture that went on in Iraq.

Alberto Gonzales has asserted to the Senate committee... that there's a legal rationale for harsh treatment of foreign prisoners by U.S. forces. In more than 200 pages of written responses...Gonzales told senators that laws and treaties prohibit torture by any U.S. agent without exception. But he said the Convention Against Torture treaty, as ratified by the Senate, doesn't prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" tactics on non-U.S. citizens who are captured abroad, in Iraq or elsewhere.

The big issue is this. Who's really the good guy and who's the bad guy? Traditionally, in the best cop movies, it's often ambiguous. I'm afraid it's not very ambiguous in Gonzales' case. I think the guy should be thrown into jail...

Source: Knight Ridder, DailyKos

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Probably the best or second best dumplings in Singapore, at Westlake Eating House. They look really ugly, but they are big... We usually order 30, and once we tried 40, but the waiter doesn't want to believe it and keep on insisting we only want 10...

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Behind the railings...

A few years ago, a friend of dad came to visit us from the States. He had the impression that Singapore was this backward state in the middle of Asia, and asked us how come there were no destitutues and beggars on the streets. I thought then they must have been 'removed' somehow. Years later in anthropology class, I learnt that they call this a form of gentrification.

The social worker at the drop in centre I volunteer at does therapy at this enclosed community inside the government's mental health hospital; it's one of the places that 'destitutes' go to. So yesterday, I tagged along with her. Some of the residents here are affected by mental illness (the 'low functioning' kind), others by drugs or other forms of addiction. The community is like a holiday resort, very nicely decorated, with koi fish pond, lots of greenery; a really pleasant place. There's a barber, music room, art room, basketball courts, all managed by the residents. Technically speaking, the place is also a 'prison' where the residents cannot go outside. There is strict security, but of the 'soft' kind. (Like in the Singapore zoo where the barriers are almost always concealed by natural ornaments.)

At first I was quite alarmed. By what authority can people be put there against their will? A fellow volunteer told me there's a provision in the Penal Code or something, the cops have a legal right to do it; I'll confirm this later. But I guess the good thing is that at least the residents are getting support there, and they seem to be generally OK with the situation. Some, obviously, want to go home. Some, I think, don't really or can't form an opinion. Then again, it could be we who don't understand them at all. But at least they have a relatively pleasant place to stay, for all intents and purposes. I guess it could be far worse...

I was watching Ultraman just now; it was showing on the Malay channel. A similar thing happened when I once watched Oshin on the Malay channel. So she's wearing a kimono and speaking in Malay. My problem with Ultraman is the absolutely trivial plot for the first 25 minutes of a 30 minute episode. There'll be some sort of plot development among the guys and gals in uniform, and they're part of this organisation that's equiped with some fighter planes that are essentially useless against the monsters. Sometimes, the human bad guy is actually a monster in disguise. I don't really understand it.

In every episode, one or two useless fighter planes will be shot down, and that's when Ultraman appears. He will win, then lose, then win. That's it. So the first part of the show is quite unnecessary. Only the last five minutes contain some interesting combat sequences. Why do they still need to film the first 25 minutes? I don't know...

-------------------------
Update to the first story: It's actually not the Penal Code, but I found this act called the Mental Disorders and Treatment Act.

Order for detention of mentally disordered person.
Section 25. When upon any inquiry under this Part any person has been found by the court to be of unsound mind and incapable of managing himself and his affairs, the court shall either make an order for the person to be received into a mental hospital and send him in suitable custody, together with the order for his reception, to the mental hospital named in the order, or may, if any friend or relative of the person undertakes in writing to the satisfaction of the court that the person shall be properly taken care of and shall be prevented from doing injury to himself or others, make him over to the care of that friend or relative.

Apprehension of persons of unsound mind.
Section 32. It shall be the duty of every police officer to apprehend any person who is reported to be of unsound mind and is believed to be dangerous to himself or other persons by reason of unsoundness of mind and take such person together with a report of the facts of the case without delay to —
(a) any medical officer for an examination and the medical officer may thereafter act in accordance with section 34; or
(b) any medical officer at a mental hospital and the medical officer may thereafter act in accordance with section 35.

I don't understand everything that's in the Act, but I guess others have quite a bit of authority to do what they want to do with the people of unsound mind.

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Truth in advertising (and fund raising)

In a bold move, Doctors Without Borders asks people to stop donating to its Tsunami-specific fund and consider other aid agencies instead because it has enough money to finance its current projects there. That's really good stuff coming from an NGO; at least there're some who're not afraid to do something that it knows will make others a little uneasy.

I was at the Red Cross a few days ago. They have $18 million in cash, but I guess for an organisation like the Red Cross which can probably involve themselves in a wider and more dynamic job scope, the money is never enough. The problem I guess for all NGOs is to determine how and what to spend it on, and to make sure the money is spent on the folks who really need it and that it doesn't get waylaid by politics or corruption. The logistics considerations to do that effectively is very challenging...Yesterday I was at the Army Logistics Base packing and moving stuff. Hundreds of cartons of clothing collected by Singapore Polytechnic staff and students over the weekend are sitting in the warehouse; I think it's quite a phenomenal job those guys have done.

A friend in Perth once told me, the mechanisms to solve the world's problems are actually available, it's just a matter of will to make it happen. Big social structures like governments and personal ideologies like aspects of capitalism and the ownership of money makes solving world's problems an inherently difficult thing. So NGOs do their little bit with their limited budget. A disaster like this shows that funds need not be 'limited'. There is enough money going around to make a difference. Problem is, we don't want to because it would mean losing control, and that is a scary thing...

If you want to help out, donate to the Red Cross or volunteer here.

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Unplugged

The folks who designed the Outdoor Theatre at the Esplanade had considered the framing considerations of photographers in the positioning of the mesh shelter thingy; it's quite clever. The bottom pic shows the Corrinne May free concert held tonight. Electrico also performed before her set; they are gorgeous!

To those who wanted to hear a bit of the bootleg I recorded, the MD recorder that I used was quite unsuitable for the task at hand, as it turned out. The sound level was too high to get a good recording. Still, here's a sample of her new song from the album out next month, Safe In A Crazy World. New full length songs are now put up on her website.

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__ New Year

To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die...
A time to weep, and a time to dance...
~King Solomon/Ecclesiastes 3

It's hard to fill in the blanks this year. I was at the Esplanade last night and the contrast was evident. Party goers with party hats, horns, and confetti-expelling cans turned up by the thousands. 600 miles from where I am, 80,000 Indonesians are dead, many more elsewhere. Millions are displaced. It's difficult to make sense of things. Hope the new year will be better for everyone...

Corrinne May was great, I guess if she didn't exist, someone would surely put together the frequencies and invent the same voice, it's really quite special. I'm going again tonight...

More information about help needed in the disaster can be found here.

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Christmas in a barn

I suddenly thought of a reason why the roof of the church is painted red! So that it looks like a barn?! (think: barn, manger, farm animals...) The choir singing was great! We were still rehearsing until the last minute, literally, with the congregation already seated, it was actually quite funny... (they apparently knew the practice of coming early on Christmas; the seats were filled probably half an hour before the service started). But once the real thing started, everything fell into place, and it was quite wonderful. Hopefully the rest of the folks enjoyed it too and had a blessed Christmas service... Some pictures here.

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Silent night

Silent night, holy night,
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child.
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace.
~Mohr & Gruber

I'm not at Orchard Road wearing a Santa hat this year, figured it'll be more appropriate to stay at home and listen to Christmas songs and revising for tomorrow's morning choir singing.

Silent Night seems to be the only song I know that talks specifically about the humble circumstances of Christ's birth; it's so very different from the crowds, mad shopping rushes and stress that we usually feel at this time. If I've been at the zoo tonight, it probably would have felt more similar to what happened that silent night. Jesus was born in a stable (because all the hotels were full); there were farm animals, sheep and probably cattle. There were angels too, and the three wise men who appeared later. By the looks of the humble manger and animals, this seems quite a low-key affair, except to those who knew what really was happening; it was the most wonderful thing that happened... Merry Christmas!

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Writing slowly

I was just cleaning up my room and came across this homework for art class in secondary school. The teacher gave me 77%, then corrected it to 70%. It's 'calligraphy' on a folded A4 paper, and as I turn the next page, I think I know why she did that LOL. Very inspirational, hor, the first page. The second page says this :)

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Product endorsements

I enjoy reading product endorsements in print ads because most often than not, they're quite funny. The layout guy usually puts at least four things onto the page: the product (space-shuttle-technology swimming trunks), the picture of the person endorsing it (Ian Torpedo), the person's autograph (Ian's signature that can actually be used at the bank to withdraw money), and the person's claim to fame (Olympic Gold multiple-medal holder).

The byline is a hard thing to write. For example in a quarter-page ad in the newspapers a few days ago, Tan Kheng Hua (of UOR and PCK) decided to lend herself to Kenwood electronics (hifi and stuff), and her byline was Tan Kheng Hua - Celebrity.

And I was thinking, couldn't the copywriter have written something more substantial?! Like TKH - mother, theatre specialist, television comedy superstar etc. It is very cheesy, and things don't get better for other local 'stars'. I remember Ms Tan to be a kind lady; our school's video club organised an outing to attend a live filming of UOR many years ago, and Ms Tan took the time to explain things for us...

So sometimes despite the fact that the person is supposed to be famous, I have to read the claim to fame (hey it rhymes!) to understand what the fuss is all about.

Jennifer Testudo - national rower. Orhhhhh, so that's who she is. I think I'll have the cornflakes she's having, thank you. I'd like to row as fast as she does...lol

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Party hats

I don't think I'll be going to those huge new year countdowns that folks usually go to party the night away. I've just found out that Corrinne May is coming back to Singapore and performing for free at the Esplanade on new year's eve and day. So I'll be going to listen to her instead of joining the mass parties. Quite bizarre really, first she puts out her entire album on her website, and she's now letting people bootleg her live performance for free. The RIAA should raise a ruckus about that! Oh wait, maybe Ms. May understands that file sharing does not necessarily result in decreased CD sales... A little more about her voice, which I think have the rare quality of being 'bittersweet', I'm not sure of a better word to describe it. Like my favourite movie Lost in Translation and the Japanese Love Letter, punches you in the stomach and doesn't let go for days...

In other news, I've been spending most of my afternoons volunteering at a 'drop-in' centre for folks who are recovering from mental illness. The place really has improved quite a bit since last year, there seems to be more people dropping by; some whom I've known and others who have recently started going. One advice from the social worker: put aside your textbooks, for they don't necessarily apply always. I get to see a little of the real difficulties that they face daily, the effects of their medication and so on.

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Kangaroo on the tail

I was walking along Orchard Road with the others and the big screen on the wall at Heeren was showing Qantas' I Still Call Australia Home ad. But it's not the same as the first one, it's version two! And it's still as brilliant as ever. The first time I decided I liked Qantas was because of the ad, and they used the same song but didn't let the choir sing it. The marketing department has it easy. Just use this same song forever...

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Fundamental attribution catastrophic blunder

It's interesting when you return home from an overseas trip, once you disembark from your ship (or plane), the 'home country feeling' will come flooding your brain in less than 30s. At least it works for me. I've since learnt that there's research into a related issue, and I thought that if one is able to 'reframe' or reverse the process, the quality of life of that person can possibly be improved by a great deal.

So on my way to the airport I had a chat with the shuttle bus driver. Turned out that he was born in Singapore but had lived in Australia for decades. And the funny thing is everytime I have this 'on the way to the airport' chat with drivers (the previous one was a political refugee from Eastern Europe), they always tell me the same thing: "What makes your happy? Your destiny is in your hands." In other words, move to somewhere like Perth!

So naturally I asked him about my thought experiment, and he doesn't have much advice about that. But I've been wondering about this problem for years now, and practising the scenario for days. I've been staring into the Swan River and imagining that I'm not in Perth, but in Singapore. How do I achieve this state of mind anywhere in the world? I'm unable to tell you exactly how, but I think I'm making progress. But it has to do with the catastrophic blunder. It really helps. The other thing that helps is to let everyone board the MRT first before strolling slowly in. If it's filled, wait for the next train. That really helps too.

Anyway, I just signed up to sing with the church choir at Wesley on Christmas day. The ad mentions people who sing in bathroom and asks for people 'who can hold a pitch'. So I guess I could take a shot at it; there's nothing to lose, and I love hymnals and Christmas songs, which I usually sing in the middle of June. So during yesterday's first practice, a fellow newcomer asked me what choir I was from. And I said, the bathroom choir, I even hold concerts there. That probably made the newcomers become relaxed since some of them can't read music. And I said, no worries, just go with the flow, and your gut instincts. The choir director kindly asks the newcomers who are the one who don't know whether they're singing 'high' or 'low'. I was the only one to put up my hand. Later I remembered that my singing teacher told me years ago that I'm a tenor, so it should be 'high'. There were a lot more women than men, and the director remarked that it was only recently (actually, just a hundred years ago) that women were allowed to sing in the church choir, so it's probably 'pay back time'; I guess it's good that the church as progressed since that time. The practise was so fast and efficient, the guys separated from the ladies to do their respective parts; and it was quite wonderful when everything came together...

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Van diesel

Actually, it runs on unleaded petrol. I decided to be my own removalist and hired a 1 ton van for a day. If cars are too expensive, vans are a viable alternative! And if there's even a remote possibility that I get to own a car in my lifetime, it'll be a road bicycle, and a van will come in a close second, followed by a conventional car.

Too bad this particular Mazda on manual, and the first gear seems to be a little slow in picking up speed, but I guess it's supposed to work that way, not too sure...

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Meet the neighbours

I was just coming out of my bath and seconds later, someone was banging on the door. So I opened it, half expecting an Optus guy introducing their latest deals. Turned out there's a woman outside and she said through the grill, "Can I borrow a towel and use your phone? I'm locked out of my apartment." So I thought...hmm... that's a line I haven't heard before. If I opened the grill, was my apartment going to be robbed by this person? But she was in her undies, and it didn't appear that she was lying. So I let her in and gave her a towel to cover herself.

Apparently, she lived a few units down, and was cleaning the porch when the wind blew the door shut. None of the other neighbours seemed to be home. "What a way to meet the neightbours, isn't it?!" she said in a bubbly and cheerful-on-a-Sunday-afternoon manner. It was dead hilarious. Her boyfriend had another set of keys, but he was out because he had left his car keys in his car and was out settling it with the RAC. "See? We're meant for each other!"

She tried to remember her boyfriend's number to call him up and tell him what happened, and finally got it after many calling many wrong numbers. "Sorry for ruining your Sunday..." I said no worries, this is actually a bloody good story! The tip for today: don't clean the porch when there's a strong wind blowing LOL

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Pasta bottles

In my attempt to bring a little art to an otherwise empty dining table, here's my attempt at replicating Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup can paintings.

The idea, I think, is to make the point that at first glance, it looks just like a collection of similar objects. But there are little things that differentiate each, and it can only be discerned when viewed carefully. Warhol has 200 cans, I have 15 bottles. Oh well, it's a good start. And the pasta's delicious!

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Emu!

The emu is the second largest bird in the world. It's also flightless. Emu Draft is from Swan Brewery, so everything's ornithological today. The beer's good... just right and not too strong for a Friday night...

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Optional reading: Political blog dailykos has an interesting subject for Science Friday on how all of us are potential abusers and torturers. There's stuff from Milgram and Fiske. Click here.

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Funny Aussie traffic lights

Some road traffic lights on Perth streets turn from red to flashing yellow then to green; and cars are supposed to start moving when it starts flashing yellow. I never understood why there was a need for this. What's the problem with just going straight to green? What's the inside joke?

I was reading today the road rules because I'm driving next week, and found out that these lights are called pelican lights! It's really funny because the flashing lights mean PROCEED WITH CAUTION. You may proceed, but only if there're no pedestrians crossing. This is the sort of thing I find exceedingly hilarious, although I have no idea exactly why.

Pelicans are also my favourite birds; they are the most graceful when they use up the huge length of waterway for takeoff, and when they do their spirals in formation flying at high altitudes with their huge wingspans of I think more than 2 metres...

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Movie making

It's all coming together. I had originally wanted to make my flight simulator short film using Mary Chapin Carpenter's Why Walk When You Can Fly. Ms. May's Fly Away seems to be more apt, and the best thing is that there's already a screenplay embedded in the lyrics. The locations have been secured and it's gonna be in Canada; Calgary (Alberta) to Castlegar (British Columbia) based on Aeroworx's tutorial flight. And the clip is about four and a half minutes. So I'm thinking of this schedule:

Memorise song - couple of days
Visualising/storyboards - 2 weeks
Shooting - 1 week
Post production - 2 weeks

The only problem is actually starting. The other problem is whether the camera crew is able to do the necessary shots that I want. I still remember doing video editing some years ago when computer desktop editing didn't exist. Spending an hour to edit a 10s sequence was the norm then hahaa. Man, those were the days...

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This Singaporean singer might just break your heart...

I'm just now listening to this singer called Corrinne May, never heard of her before. Never heard of this voice before. With shades of Eva Cassidy, Joni Mitchell and Beverly Craven; absolutely beautiful.

For some strange reason, her website provides CD-quality, full length clips of the songs. But I'll get the CD soon enough...

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Seriously, it doesn't really matter who wins Australian Idol. Both of them will have no. 1 albums, so it's all good. What I especially liked was the totally interesting rendition of Waltzing Matilda. I hope it comes out as a single or something...

Optional reading: I just happened to stumble across the weblog of this person called Elizabeth, and feel as if I've been punched in the stomach. She cuts to the chase and tells it like it is; another one of those pages that I go through from the beginning. There just might be hope after all...

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All aboard!

Crowd dynamics seen in public transportation like trains fascinate me. Like I was mentioning to Sharon the other day, in Singapore, one can see a very strange phenomenon when the train stops and people want to get out, and some want to get in. I'm sure this is not exclusive to the MRT, the trains in busy cities elsewhere probably are similar.

The situation is like this. When the train stops, those that are outside should do what? They should stand aside and let the folks inside alight first, correct or not? But for some interesting reason, many do not, so the authorities draw yellow lines on the ground to emphasize that point.

So fair enough, people get the idea; and will try to stand away from the doors when the train stops. Then a second funny thing happens. Those that are outside will wait for some of the people inside to get out. And they will squeeze into the train before everyone has the chance to get out. If you're still inside, you need to push your way out! (Insert Batman punch!pow!wham! speech balloons here.) Assuming the width of a person to be one quarter the width of the door, two people doing this will mean that the volume of movement per unit time gets cut by 50%. Obviously, this is a serious matter that can't be ignored.

So I've thought about this for a long time. Why do people do this? Isn't it reasonable for someone outside to wait for the folks inside to get out first? What is the motivation for this?

My original feeling is that for the person outside, the rational thought process that tells us that's it's more efficient to wait is secondary to the primary objective: to get in first. Now why do people want to get in first? Well, maybe they want a seat.

I had the chance to observe a different setup a few days ago. I took the train back to Perth, and almost everyone alighted, and there were lots of people wanting to get in. So I decided to see if there's anything different. Firstly, there's a huge crowd outside, four lines deep, and they automatically parted like the Red Sea when the doors opened. I went out and stayed behind to watch. Do they try to get in before everyone got out?

Interestingly, they didn't. It was a smooth transition between the flow of people going out, and then going in. So the big question I have is again, why?! The crowd sizes in the two scenarios were both large. It was a weekday, not a unbusy weekend. So these two situational variables were quite similar. So what might have accounted for the differences?

I think it boils down to the motivation I mentioned. The whole idea is to get the seats. And the corollary is true: the probability of success in getting the seat is directly dependant on the aggressiveness of the fellow passengers! So it's actually a hard-fought struggle, against each other! That's why people wanna rush in before it's too late!

But why isn't that thinking seen in the Perth train? Because the motivation is quite different. It's not that urgent to get a seat, I think. The race just isn't quite there.

And this is related to another cultural difference: in Singapore, if there's a queue, just join it! Ask questions later. The idea is that if there's anything to be had (including train seats), grab it! There's this time I actually asked someone who's in this very long queue whether he knew what he's queueing up for, and he said he had no idea, so I can see how this can happen.

So what's the antidote for this? I'm not saying there's anything inherently wrong with rushing for seats since everyone has understandably very tired legs. But maybe everyone can have a better quality of life and be kinder to one another if those who don't need a seat let those who need it more have it, and to see it as an unnecessary race, if they can afford to. In reality though, it's very difficult to do. The situational forces will more than overide any sense of common sense...

Note that I only have a sample size of one, so this must be taken with a pinch of salt. I'd be interested in observations from places like say Japan where you can be in a train and everyone is squeezing you so tightly, the lateral forces are able to physically move you from place to place. Not exactly my idea of fun though...

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Rexed

Now this is an interesting dilemma. At 8.30, three interesting movies and a dog show will be showing at the same time on different channels. I don't think I've ever encounted this before. Strictly Ballroom should be superb because it's done by Mr. Luhrmann. And then there's Top Gun, nice plane (F-14 Tomcat) with nice actor Mr. Cruise in a b-grade movie. And then there's Training Day in which Mr. Washington won an Oscar for best actor. And then there's the dog show, Inspector Rex. Inspector Rex is a German police weekly drama. The main lead's partner is Rex, a German Shepherd. Rex is easily one of the best actors on TV today. And the show is crisp and intelligent.

I think I'll go with Training Day, with occasional switching over to the others...

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Somewhere down the road...

I was clearing my backlog of aviation entries yesterday; I'm currently in the Middle East, going to Europe next. As I was reseaching for the Jerusalem entry, it strikes me as deeply ironic and saddening that a region of rich religious traditions can be the site for some much death and hatred. The bizarre thing is that everyone has roots in the same place, often at the exact same geographical coordinates.

So what went wrong? Why have we stopped talking to each other? It's the saddest thing in the world, really. Love your enemy. But who's my enemy? Someone whom I hate. But why would I want to love my enemy? I suddenly realise it might be because I'm not that good myself, and the other person isn't really an enemy in the grand scheme of things...

So much pain and no good reason why.
Cried until the tears run dry.
Nothing else can make you understand.
The one thing that you held so dear.
Is slipping from your hands.
And you say.....

Why, why, why, does it go this way.
Why, why, why, and all I can say is.
Somewhere down the road.
There'll be answers to the questions.
Somewhere down the road.
Though we cannot see it now.
Somewhere down the road.
You will find mighty arms reaching for you.
And they will have the answers.
At the end of the road...
~Wayne Kirkpatrick/Amy Grant/Faith Hill

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Press release from the Information Minister!

Only in Singapore (and a few other countries) can one find such funny statements such as these from the Information Minister. Reminds me of Iraq's MSS, hope he's doing OK:

Singapore slams media watchdong for low ranking in press freedom
Singapore on Wednesday slammed a media watchdog for ranking the island in the same league as authoritarian North Korea and Myanmar in press freedom, saying outsiders shouldn't equate freedom with criticizing the government.

Tightly controlled Singapore placed 147th in the annual index put out by Reporters Without Borders - by far the lowest ranking of any developed country in the annual ranking - and just one notch above Iraq and 18 above Myanmar.

Information Minister Lee Boon Yang said the index imposes a standard that fails to take into account "special circumstances" in Singapore, where he said journalists contribute to the nation's development and are not necessarily adversarial. Lee said the Reporters Without Borders index "is based largely on a different media model which favours the advocacy and adversarial role of the press."

"We have a different media model in Singapore," Lee says.

Journalists contributing to the nation's development?! Journalism is about reporting news stories, not about public relations! Fantastic spin, and it's even quite attractively believable... :)

Source

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Another day, another destiny...

The exams are over. An anticlimax is quite an understatement...

May the good Lord bless you and keep you;
May the good Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
May the good Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. (Numbers 6:22)

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Someone wants to say sorry to you...

...actually, thousands of Americans want to apologise...

http://www.sorryeverybody.com

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Bad research topics

I was reading my Avantgo and there's this short review of the new movie on the author of The Kinsey Report. Coincidentally, the author's name is also Kinsey. He's a scientist who studies sexual behaviour. 50 years ago, he and his team wrote Sexual Behavior in the Human Male, and later, this, that make up the Report. When you do this sort of thing in the 1940s, really bad things happen to you.

Many saw Kinsey's work as a threat, and the response to it and to him was vicious and devastating. In Kinsey, [director-writer] Condon runs through the scientist's litany of misery: a loss of funding, ongoing ridicule, personal attacks, death threats and, most of all, the health effects of living under severe stress. Kinsey died, at 62, of a heart attack.

According to director Condon, "Having spent twenty years collecting over a million gall wasps, Kinsey discovered that not one of these tiny creatures was identical to each other. He took the biological concept of individual variation and applied it to human sexuality. It was Kinsey who first said that each person's sexual makeup is unique, and the term 'normal' isn't relevant when dealing with human sexuality. There's only 'common' or 'rare'. It's still a radical notion today."

I really admire people like him. Warts and all, they are the ones who bring us closer to the truth, whether we like it or not. But more than that, knowledge like this erases prejudice, one step at a time. It may not be a totally good thing, but I think it's a darn good start...

But Kinsey's life was a complex one, and Kinsey on the whole paints a revealing portrait of it. Kinsey's story reminds us of the liberating power of knowledge, and that sexual equality, like gender or racial equality, is a right that 20th-century heroes fought and suffered for. Anyone working in origins science, stem-cell research or global warming might find Kinsey especially timely -- it's a reminder that good science can set us free. --Wired News

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Tipping the scales...

I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry when I saw this. I'm simply stunned silent. One guy asks...

How can Iraqi deaths be made to matter?
As bad as losing our own soldiers is, I believe the deaths of Iraqi civilians is truthfully our biggest problem. As you suggest, the impact of each Iraqi death is to create further generations of hatred towards us. Only a society that sees the Iraqis as subhuman could fail to understand that 100,000 deaths will ripple out amongst 100,000 families, friends, and fellow citizens who will hate us forever. Yet making this point to the average American seems almost impossible.

How do we impress upon our fellow citizens the extraordinary damage we are creating?

Another guy answers...

Easy. We must somehow convince the right that the civilians dying in Iraq are actually fetuses.

Source

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Hua Mulan

Let's get down to business - to defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch I ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you
~Officer Donny Osmond

haha, Hua Mulan is on channel 7 now... so many punny lines. The Emperor just said, 'A single grain of rice can tip the scale; one man may be the difference between victory and defeat.' haaaha. Anyway, it's strange that Lea Salonga sings both today's and yesterday's songs. Ubiquitous!

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A little fall of rain

Don't you fret, M'sieur Marius
I don't feel any pain
A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now
You're here, that's all I need to know
And you will keep me safe
And you will keep me close
And rain will make the flowers grow.
~Les Miserables

I passed by the cinema and decided to watch a movie just now called Wimbledon. Not too bad; I seldom watch movies that has Ms Dunst, but the reviews refer to her as 'intelligent', so I figured I needed to see what an intelligent actress actually entails.

It was raining, and I decided to walk home and not take the bus. As I was telling a friend, nothing compares to walking in the rain in Perth. This is especially true at night, along deserted main roads, with the winds howling and sheets of rain falling so gently horizontally, vertically, and all over the place. That feeling, wet, but yet dry, cold, and yet sharp, and everything zooms into focus, like cleaning the lens of eyeglasses.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that raining is like God crying. Well if that's true, it was a darn good cry tonight...

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Altruism exists

I've been reseaching for the 'altruism doesn't exist, discuss' exam question, and I think the answer I'd give is 'it exists, but the extent of it is mediated by certain factors', and then use the theories to elaborate on the conditions when altruism's more/less likely to be displayed. Interestingly, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is mentioned in the textbook.

A lawyer wants to test Jesus, so he asks, "Sir, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

And Jesus says, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"

And the legal eagle says, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself."

Jesus agrees, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."

And the legal guy, apparently thinking he's done all of these things, probes further, "And who exactly is my neighbour? The guy living next door, perhaps?"

But Jesus doesn't answer the lawyer but tells a story instead. I shall paraphase in more contemporary, stereotypical, but quite accurate analogies. A man was going from Singapore to Johor Bahru, and he fell among some robbers who stripped him and robbed him and left, leaving him to die. Now by chance, a senior pastor of a nearby church walked past and saw the half-dead man, but he decided to pass by on the other side. Another reverend happened to walk by a while later. Again, he chose to ignore the dying man for some reason. But then, a Bangladeshi foreign worker passed by and had compassion for this man. He went to him, bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He then brought him to a nearby motel, and took care of him. Next morning, he told the front desk clerk, "Take care of him, I'll repay you when I get back."

Then Jesus asks, "Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?"

The lawyer says, "The one who showed mercy on him."

And Jesus replies him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:25-37)

Altruism, the kind that is motivated by empathy and compassion, is indeed possible. It's very difficult in reality, though.

Optional reading for today: Taking back Christianity

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Exploding egg

Just finished some note-taking; 4 more days to the next exam, go go Gomez!

On a lighter note, I was microwaving an egg this evening, started the stopwatch, but was distracted with cutting meat and forgot the time. And then suddenly, BOOM!!! The egg exploded, the hot air forced the egg holding apparatus to open up, and everything was a mess. It's actually quite a cool sound, that explosion.

On a heavier note, the Marines are preparing the largest combat operation since Vietnam to take over Falluja; there will be many soldiers and civilians killed. Any boom there is the last thing that anyone would want to hear.

'Your mileage may vary' reading for today: Views from a former Christian conservative

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A soldier's eloquent opinion on election results

4 more years America

If you voted for Bush, didn't vote, or voted no on gay marriage, I hope you get drafted.

I hope they stick you in my unit, and you go with me to Iraq when my unit goes back in September. I will laugh when you see what soldiers in that country face on a daily basis.

I hope you work with gay soldiers too. I did. One of them saved my life. Think he shouldn't have the right to get married? F*** you. He fought just as hard as I did and on most days, did his job better than me. Don't tell me gays don't have the same rights you do.

Think the war in Iraq is a good thing? I'll donate my M-16 to you and you can go in my place.

From Drew.

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Nation States

I just came across this free online 'game' called Nation States. You can create your own country in 5 minutes during which you answer a few questions about your prefered political leanings, and then everyday, you'll receieve a couple of 'issues' so that you can vote on what position your governement prefers to take.

Gradually, your country's profile will reflect your leadership. Would you like to be a left-wing, compassionate liberal, or a right-wing, neo-conservative, or even, none of the above? It's really quite fun. Do you support welfare? Or do you think the poor deserve it? Do you support the death penalty? Or do you think people behind the death penalty should be put to death as well?

My country is here.

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We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills...

John Kerry is in trouble as Mr Bush has got 51% of the popular vote! If the exit polls are to be believed, 2 things influenced the results: the war on terror, and moral values.

If moral values are indeed something that over half of Americans think are important, and these moral values are a derivative of Bush's faith as he interprets it, then on this day, I'm ashamed to be a Christian. I even want to get away from it as far as possible. If arrogance, warped ideology, aggression, pride, oppression, hatred, bigotry and killings are a reflection of our faith, I really don't want to have no part in it. :(

But tomorrow, I know the fight continues; it's a long struggle, and the race is long. We need to continue to turn this thing around with calm reasoning, education, awareness and wisdom, and to deal with others in moderation. I suspect a lot of these 'values' would be lost since the opposite will be seen to have received a mandate from the results.

But as Tim Allen said in Galaxy Quest, "Never give up, never surrender."

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John Kerry: One heck of a class act

The day of reckoning is upon us (or at least for the Americans). Governments, for better or for worse, are elected by the people. The reverse is also true. How the citizens of a nation think, feel and treat others is also very much influenced by how their leaders act. That's why I'm concerned about my own government. The position taken by the leaders of the US dictates so much our own attitudes towards our fellow men. Our cavalier attitude towards acceptable loss of collateral lives is only matched by our gross errors in the justification for war.

Mr. Bush has swept away the ideals of the founding fathers. He has waged war when he should have waged peace. He makes fun of the absense of weapons of mass destruction, when he should have apologised for the ultimate error. He has made ideology a key basis for his actions, when he should have looked at the facts and thought things through. He is simply not fit to be Commander in Chief, not of the United States, and not of the world.

John Kerry, on the other hand, seems to me one heck of a class act. He listens to diverging views, doesn't insult the intelligence of others,and brings moderation to the table when extremism is the order of the day. I think if he's not careful, he just might become one of the great American presidents. Too bad he has to pick up the mess that Bush created. That alone says a lot about the man.

The right man, for the right job, at the right time. Go Kerry!

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