me, tv and indian trains
i watched TV for the first time in half a year.. i mean, of course i haven't been consciously avoiding the tv set all these few months.. what i mean is, i do glance at it occassionally while i'm going to and from the kitchen, to casually see what my mum (or whoever) is watching and may stick around for about 10 mins or so .. but to actually turn on the TV to watch a show from start to end is really something i haven't done in a long long time..
in an attempt to recover from that tedious essay paper we finally handed in today (the 2000 worder to analyse a kid's psychosocial development), i flipped on the TV set just now and watched 10 mins of "F.r.i.e.n.d.s" (which wasn't half as funny as i thought it would be) and the episode of "The Practice". wow, The Practice is really a pretty good show - the plot is intriguing and the acting was definitely a joy to watch.. wonder if this will finally break my long spell of not watching the tele.. umm...
anyway, the point is, i do often wonder what i'm missing by not watching television.. is there something that surfing the net, listening to the radio, and reading the papers and the economist cannot replace?..
i found this The Importance of Watching TV article online just now but it's for people trying to "improve their English listening skills and accustom themselves to American life.".. then i found that most of the other articles were in fact about the dangers of watching TV to health or something similar to that.. e.g. "Being Sedentary, Such as Watching a Lot of TV, Increases the Risk for Diabetes" or this one that says: "HOW TO PREVENT NEWS FROM INFECTING YOUR MIND WITH PESSIMISM" (this was the same philosophy a friend of mine used to have as well! :p).... i guess i haven't missed much then.. haha..
on a scary note, i was surfing the net just now for train tickets from New Delhi to Calcutta (now called Kolkata) and top on the list of Google was this bleak news dated September 10, 2002 .. scary!!! :O
maybe i should fly instead?...
Sunday, 26 October 2003
Erik Erikson's views on psychosocial development
Famed psychologist, Erik Erikson argued that development is a lifelong process, from conception until death. He argued that we go through eight stages, the first in infancy and the last in old age. At each stage there is a crisis that we must deal with. The most famous crisis that Erikson proposed is that which we experience during adolescence: the identity crisis.
During adolescence, the crisis is identity. We must figure out who we are. Erikson argued that in order to come to a sense of identity, teens must engage in exploration. They must try out new ways of thinking and behaving. Erikson would explain the many 'phases' that teens go through as their attempts at exploration. They explore with new ways of looking, new ideas, new groups of friends, new styles of music, with everything. Only after exploring a variety of options should teens commit to an identity.
Erikson argued that there are two potential outcomes to the identity search process: identity achievement or identity diffusion.
The identity achieved person is one who has come to a firm sense of self after engaging in a long search full of exploration. He or she tends to have high self esteem, is socially skilled, and does well in life.
The opposite end of the spectrum is the identity diffused person. This is one who at the end of adolescence or beginning of adulthood has not achieved a sense of identity. Perhaps he or she never explored or explored and never committed. Erikson argued that the person who is identity diffused will have difficulties successfully resolving the later crises in life. The diffused person is likely to have low self esteem, have trouble making friends, and be much less successful than the identity achieved person.
Because each of Erikson's stages build upon each other, the person who is identity diffused, or who has not successfully resolved the identity crisis, will have difficulty resolving the crises to come. For example, in young adulthood, the crisis is regarding intimacy– to find someone to share your life with. How can you do that if you don't know who you are?
this is me taking a chunk of what i have just read and dumping it onto my unsuspecting blog audience .. hahahaha... btw, this is Stage 5 of the 8-stages i described earlier.
enjoy and ponder!
Famed psychologist, Erik Erikson argued that development is a lifelong process, from conception until death. He argued that we go through eight stages, the first in infancy and the last in old age. At each stage there is a crisis that we must deal with. The most famous crisis that Erikson proposed is that which we experience during adolescence: the identity crisis.
During adolescence, the crisis is identity. We must figure out who we are. Erikson argued that in order to come to a sense of identity, teens must engage in exploration. They must try out new ways of thinking and behaving. Erikson would explain the many 'phases' that teens go through as their attempts at exploration. They explore with new ways of looking, new ideas, new groups of friends, new styles of music, with everything. Only after exploring a variety of options should teens commit to an identity.
Erikson argued that there are two potential outcomes to the identity search process: identity achievement or identity diffusion.
The identity achieved person is one who has come to a firm sense of self after engaging in a long search full of exploration. He or she tends to have high self esteem, is socially skilled, and does well in life.
The opposite end of the spectrum is the identity diffused person. This is one who at the end of adolescence or beginning of adulthood has not achieved a sense of identity. Perhaps he or she never explored or explored and never committed. Erikson argued that the person who is identity diffused will have difficulties successfully resolving the later crises in life. The diffused person is likely to have low self esteem, have trouble making friends, and be much less successful than the identity achieved person.
Because each of Erikson's stages build upon each other, the person who is identity diffused, or who has not successfully resolved the identity crisis, will have difficulty resolving the crises to come. For example, in young adulthood, the crisis is regarding intimacy– to find someone to share your life with. How can you do that if you don't know who you are?
this is me taking a chunk of what i have just read and dumping it onto my unsuspecting blog audience .. hahahaha... btw, this is Stage 5 of the 8-stages i described earlier.
enjoy and ponder!
pain & suffering (Part Deux)
adding to the wonderful quote i posted two days ago...
(continuing two days later)
i wrote the quote two days ago mainly to remind myself that while no one (well, almost no one, i guess) chooses pain, suffering is very often a matter of choice, relatively speaking, whether or not most of us are willing to admit to it .. the fact remains that most of us carry years of guilt, shame, low self-esteem, anger, hate... largely unreasonably and unthinkingly ("unscrutinized")... and at the end of life's journeys will surely find no one left to blame for the negativity we feel.. except ourselves..
it's really scary when i think about it this way.. it seems then that coming to a resolution about many of the so-called "issues" in our lives seem the most intelligent thing to do. and very urgent too...
quoted from Yoda:
"...But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
"“"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to s u f f e r i n g....!!!”
a friend of mine once told me, quoting from Krishnamurti, that the two greatest forces driving a man (or person) are Love and Fear.. i remember finding that a little bit unbelieveable, but on reflection, i see the truth of it.. Test this out on yourself first. Think of something you are angry about, something you hate, or something you are suffering over and follow it back until you figure out what you are fearful about (fear that people won't understand, fear of acceptance, fear of not being normal, fear of failure, afraid it won't work, afraid of what will happen next, etc. etc..)
even for educators like myself, according to Krishnamurti, you have to understand the implication of fear, how fear comes about. Just as you know about other subjects, you have to know something of fear. Society is doing everything to inculcate fear by laying down standards, religious ideals, class distinctions, ideas of success, the sense of the inferior and the superior, the rich man and the poor man. Society is doing everything possible to breed distorted values.
fear, pain, suffering.. life is indeed a long learning journey...
adding to the wonderful quote i posted two days ago...
(continuing two days later)
i wrote the quote two days ago mainly to remind myself that while no one (well, almost no one, i guess) chooses pain, suffering is very often a matter of choice, relatively speaking, whether or not most of us are willing to admit to it .. the fact remains that most of us carry years of guilt, shame, low self-esteem, anger, hate... largely unreasonably and unthinkingly ("unscrutinized")... and at the end of life's journeys will surely find no one left to blame for the negativity we feel.. except ourselves..
it's really scary when i think about it this way.. it seems then that coming to a resolution about many of the so-called "issues" in our lives seem the most intelligent thing to do. and very urgent too...
quoted from Yoda:
"...But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they. Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
"“"Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to s u f f e r i n g....!!!”
a friend of mine once told me, quoting from Krishnamurti, that the two greatest forces driving a man (or person) are Love and Fear.. i remember finding that a little bit unbelieveable, but on reflection, i see the truth of it.. Test this out on yourself first. Think of something you are angry about, something you hate, or something you are suffering over and follow it back until you figure out what you are fearful about (fear that people won't understand, fear of acceptance, fear of not being normal, fear of failure, afraid it won't work, afraid of what will happen next, etc. etc..)
even for educators like myself, according to Krishnamurti, you have to understand the implication of fear, how fear comes about. Just as you know about other subjects, you have to know something of fear. Society is doing everything to inculcate fear by laying down standards, religious ideals, class distinctions, ideas of success, the sense of the inferior and the superior, the rich man and the poor man. Society is doing everything possible to breed distorted values.
fear, pain, suffering.. life is indeed a long learning journey...
Saturday, 25 October 2003
The Importance of Friends (& Possibly Lovers?)
i'm doing an educational psychology assignment now and it involves analysing a teenager/adolescent (I interviewed last month during my one week "School Experience") in terms of his/her psychological development and formation of what we call a "self concept".
in my research, i found this bunch of findings by this guy called Erik Erikson, who says (among many other things) that the period of "early adulthood (approximately 18 years old to 35 years old", which is actually Stage 6 (Intimacy vs. Isolation) of his 8-stage theory, is critical for developing "true and intimate relationships" and the virtue of "Love". This is presumably the stage that most of us are in now...
It is not meant to be limited to romantic, sexualized relationships, but friendships as well. He describes that it is necessary to "drop ego-boundaries" in this process in order to "resolve any crisis" that we experience at this stage (note that crisis/conflict resolution is critical for mastering each stage as well). He also says that it is "vital to this phase that a solid sense of identity precede it" - which means that the individual should have developed/established an amount of "certainty" regarding his or her identity in the previous stage (i.e. Stage 5) before he/she can successfully "navigate" this phase..
However, what is most critical about his theory is that, according to Erikson, "those who are unable to achieve this (i.e. those who never know this intimacy", in this stage of their lives, will develop a sense of isolation and self-absorption and tend to avoid relationships with others and make commitments!
Worse still, failure in this phase may lead to "Schizoid Personality"!!!
grrr... make friends! make lovers!
i'm doing an educational psychology assignment now and it involves analysing a teenager/adolescent (I interviewed last month during my one week "School Experience") in terms of his/her psychological development and formation of what we call a "self concept".
in my research, i found this bunch of findings by this guy called Erik Erikson, who says (among many other things) that the period of "early adulthood (approximately 18 years old to 35 years old", which is actually Stage 6 (Intimacy vs. Isolation) of his 8-stage theory, is critical for developing "true and intimate relationships" and the virtue of "Love". This is presumably the stage that most of us are in now...
It is not meant to be limited to romantic, sexualized relationships, but friendships as well. He describes that it is necessary to "drop ego-boundaries" in this process in order to "resolve any crisis" that we experience at this stage (note that crisis/conflict resolution is critical for mastering each stage as well). He also says that it is "vital to this phase that a solid sense of identity precede it" - which means that the individual should have developed/established an amount of "certainty" regarding his or her identity in the previous stage (i.e. Stage 5) before he/she can successfully "navigate" this phase..
However, what is most critical about his theory is that, according to Erikson, "those who are unable to achieve this (i.e. those who never know this intimacy", in this stage of their lives, will develop a sense of isolation and self-absorption and tend to avoid relationships with others and make commitments!
Worse still, failure in this phase may lead to "Schizoid Personality"!!!
grrr... make friends! make lovers!
Kill Bill
just back from a midnite showing of Kill Bill and i tell you, this is one amazing movie!! wow! blew our minds! LOVE IT!! it's a close contender for my personal Movie-of-the-Year definitely!
it was so.. so.. darn, i can't put it into words~! beautiful? classic? weird?? AWESOME???
lest i accidentally introduce some spoilers here, all i will say for now is that it was Japanese anime meets classic Quentin style meets Kurosawa meets Chinese swordfight serial... my movie companion tells me it reminds him of Wong Kar Wai's "Ashes of Time".. maybe it's a movie from the same genre.. should go find it and watch it too then - since it's got Maggie Cheung in it as well!! hooray!
in short, the movie was Awesome with a capital "A"! i can't imagine anyone wanting to miss this for anything!!
and btw, don't "wait for the VCD" - a movie like this deserves to be seen on the big screen for the FULL EFFECT!! :D
you may also wanna check out the ultracool website in the meantime.. some awesome flash animation to go along with the show, anyone?? :)
just back from a midnite showing of Kill Bill and i tell you, this is one amazing movie!! wow! blew our minds! LOVE IT!! it's a close contender for my personal Movie-of-the-Year definitely!
it was so.. so.. darn, i can't put it into words~! beautiful? classic? weird?? AWESOME???
lest i accidentally introduce some spoilers here, all i will say for now is that it was Japanese anime meets classic Quentin style meets Kurosawa meets Chinese swordfight serial... my movie companion tells me it reminds him of Wong Kar Wai's "Ashes of Time".. maybe it's a movie from the same genre.. should go find it and watch it too then - since it's got Maggie Cheung in it as well!! hooray!
in short, the movie was Awesome with a capital "A"! i can't imagine anyone wanting to miss this for anything!!
and btw, don't "wait for the VCD" - a movie like this deserves to be seen on the big screen for the FULL EFFECT!! :D
you may also wanna check out the ultracool website in the meantime.. some awesome flash animation to go along with the show, anyone?? :)
Friday, 24 October 2003
Thursday, 23 October 2003
Thank God for good friends
Thank God for friends who speak to us and through their words, they knock sense into us, breaking us from the bondage of self-denial and self-delusion, as well as the artificial feelings of self-importance and self-righteousness...
friends like these are more precious than all the jewels of the Earth..
This day, i learnt something important about Life because i listened to a friend of mine and i'm all the better for it..
thank you... :) ... you know who you are..
Thank God for friends who speak to us and through their words, they knock sense into us, breaking us from the bondage of self-denial and self-delusion, as well as the artificial feelings of self-importance and self-righteousness...
friends like these are more precious than all the jewels of the Earth..
This day, i learnt something important about Life because i listened to a friend of mine and i'm all the better for it..
thank you... :) ... you know who you are..
Wednesday, 22 October 2003
lomo bashing
there is a thread going on now in the popular Clubsnap forum (see ClubSNAP - LOMOGraphy is.....) in which some pro- "serious photography" folks are slamming Lomography as a cheap, “over-hyped, non-artform”.. wow, pretty scary how vehement some of them are.. calling it everything from “a disease” to “con job” and even “vulgar”..
to me, it’s just something fun .. a little like what scanner photography and pinhole photography can be.. silly, random, pointless but nevertheless fun.. and sometimes, it can be “artistic” too, especially if I’m trying to make a statement about something with an effect that I achieve with the camera..
while I don’t have much of an opinion regarding the argument that it may not be entirely “ethical” to take a cheap, Russian-made camera, make it into a cultural icon, and then price it up accordingly to sell to the world through some elaborate business model, I'm afraid that what makes most of these people upset may be just that these two guys have been tremendously successful in what they are doing and the whole world appears to be gullibly “taken in” by this big "scam".. me? I don’t think people are really all that gullible.. it’s always a choice, no? so, in my opinion, a lot of it may be just jealousy.. which isn’t a good thing to have, I think..
anyhow, it’s clearly just great marketing at the end of it.. like how popular plastic toys like Bearbrick have become, or nike, or any of the big brandnames that people are willing to pay a premium for... and we ourselves sometimes just enjoy paying for it for the "feel-good" factor, right? nothing much to it.. no need to make a fuss about it..
there is a thread going on now in the popular Clubsnap forum (see ClubSNAP - LOMOGraphy is.....) in which some pro- "serious photography" folks are slamming Lomography as a cheap, “over-hyped, non-artform”.. wow, pretty scary how vehement some of them are.. calling it everything from “a disease” to “con job” and even “vulgar”..
to me, it’s just something fun .. a little like what scanner photography and pinhole photography can be.. silly, random, pointless but nevertheless fun.. and sometimes, it can be “artistic” too, especially if I’m trying to make a statement about something with an effect that I achieve with the camera..
while I don’t have much of an opinion regarding the argument that it may not be entirely “ethical” to take a cheap, Russian-made camera, make it into a cultural icon, and then price it up accordingly to sell to the world through some elaborate business model, I'm afraid that what makes most of these people upset may be just that these two guys have been tremendously successful in what they are doing and the whole world appears to be gullibly “taken in” by this big "scam".. me? I don’t think people are really all that gullible.. it’s always a choice, no? so, in my opinion, a lot of it may be just jealousy.. which isn’t a good thing to have, I think..
anyhow, it’s clearly just great marketing at the end of it.. like how popular plastic toys like Bearbrick have become, or nike, or any of the big brandnames that people are willing to pay a premium for... and we ourselves sometimes just enjoy paying for it for the "feel-good" factor, right? nothing much to it.. no need to make a fuss about it..
photomarathon winners
the winning entries for the Photo Marathon Contest are up!
check them out.. :)
in the meantime, i continue to put up those futile attempts of mine on my fotolog.. haha.. :p enjoy...
the winning entries for the Photo Marathon Contest are up!
check them out.. :)
in the meantime, i continue to put up those futile attempts of mine on my fotolog.. haha.. :p enjoy...
Tuesday, 21 October 2003
Nationalism, Globalisation and Borderless Worlds
i'm getting a buzz doing my Economics assignment on International Trade.... haha.. which is great since it's Homework (with a capital 'H') after all.. been sort of keeping an eye on this issue since the collapse of the WTO trade talks at Cancun (Mexico) about a month back and it's really quite interesting to read about the issue from the perspectives of both the rich as well as developing nations..
i realised that both sides can actually see the value of having freer trade but the deadlock is really because neither side is willing to budge, especially the rich US and EU countries.. grr... personally, i don't see a way out of this impasse as long as both sides are so intent on their own agendas and have little regard for the other..
coincidentally, i'm trying to find time, as soon as possible, to read these two fantastic books on my table: Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson (which i borrowed) and Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and its discontents (which i bought today from Kino).. Benedict Anderson's book is particularly intriguing, investigating the reason for "What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name?".. he describes nations as "imagined communities", existing primarily on the basis of loosely defined "cultural roots" and "imagined" deep, horizontal comradeships.. i'm still on Chapter 2. i'll see what else i come up with once i read further..
non sequitur: Ho Kee Pau Kopitiam at the corner of Geylang Rd and Sims Avenue is an excellent place for dinner.. their specialty is the chicken noodles and you can order a selection of dim sums to go along with it... sedap sekali! :) .. ate dinner here with two friends today while discussing the great notion of nationalism as well as (what i think is) its diametric counterpart: senseless crossborder wanderings.. hhaha.. anyway, it's a nice and relaxing place for an evening teh peng, if you are ever in the mood..
i'm getting a buzz doing my Economics assignment on International Trade.... haha.. which is great since it's Homework (with a capital 'H') after all.. been sort of keeping an eye on this issue since the collapse of the WTO trade talks at Cancun (Mexico) about a month back and it's really quite interesting to read about the issue from the perspectives of both the rich as well as developing nations..
i realised that both sides can actually see the value of having freer trade but the deadlock is really because neither side is willing to budge, especially the rich US and EU countries.. grr... personally, i don't see a way out of this impasse as long as both sides are so intent on their own agendas and have little regard for the other..
coincidentally, i'm trying to find time, as soon as possible, to read these two fantastic books on my table: Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson (which i borrowed) and Joseph Stiglitz's Globalization and its discontents (which i bought today from Kino).. Benedict Anderson's book is particularly intriguing, investigating the reason for "What makes people love and die for nations, as well as hate and kill in their name?".. he describes nations as "imagined communities", existing primarily on the basis of loosely defined "cultural roots" and "imagined" deep, horizontal comradeships.. i'm still on Chapter 2. i'll see what else i come up with once i read further..
non sequitur: Ho Kee Pau Kopitiam at the corner of Geylang Rd and Sims Avenue is an excellent place for dinner.. their specialty is the chicken noodles and you can order a selection of dim sums to go along with it... sedap sekali! :) .. ate dinner here with two friends today while discussing the great notion of nationalism as well as (what i think is) its diametric counterpart: senseless crossborder wanderings.. hhaha.. anyway, it's a nice and relaxing place for an evening teh peng, if you are ever in the mood..
Monday, 20 October 2003
How Erotic a Lover are You?
Subtle
You like it when eroticism has been built up to
such a level that it only takes a sexy look to
make you feel weak at the knees. Sexual games
really appeal since, for you, good sex happens
in the brain.
The subtle lover is a master of eroticism because a
subtle mind can take hold of fine nuances of
suggestion and allow them to develop into
something creative and different. You are
fortunate in having such a distinctive
imagination linked with the ability to understand
your unique and special sexual impact.
The downside is that as a subtle lover
you may come to require elaborate fantasies for
total satisfaction. A major task in life,
therefore, is to discover a partner whose
inventiveness and imagination match up - a mind
and personality that compliment your own. This
will not always be easy, but it's definitely
worth holding out for the right person.
Together you can explore an exciting world of
luscious sensuality and pure eroticism that
most couples desire but never attain.
(brought to you by Quizilla)
don't freak out just because i do a quiz like that, ya?
Subtle
You like it when eroticism has been built up to
such a level that it only takes a sexy look to
make you feel weak at the knees. Sexual games
really appeal since, for you, good sex happens
in the brain.
The subtle lover is a master of eroticism because a
subtle mind can take hold of fine nuances of
suggestion and allow them to develop into
something creative and different. You are
fortunate in having such a distinctive
imagination linked with the ability to understand
your unique and special sexual impact.
The downside is that as a subtle lover
you may come to require elaborate fantasies for
total satisfaction. A major task in life,
therefore, is to discover a partner whose
inventiveness and imagination match up - a mind
and personality that compliment your own. This
will not always be easy, but it's definitely
worth holding out for the right person.
Together you can explore an exciting world of
luscious sensuality and pure eroticism that
most couples desire but never attain.
(brought to you by Quizilla)
don't freak out just because i do a quiz like that, ya?
new toy
came back and found my NIMSLO 3D 35mm camera waiting for me on the floor - fresh from it's long voyage across the Pacific! bought it for a steal off eBay some time back and got it sent to a dear friend in the US who forwarded it to me..
thanks Ken! you're a dear!! :)
i even found the full manual online! :) for the uninformed, this funny antique (no longer produced, apparently) little thing takes 4 half frame images that are slightly offset so when you view them, they actually come out looking a bit "3D" --- remember long long time ago (btw, i'm talking only to people of MY generation.. hahah..), you watched the Jaws 3D movie and they gave you those funny cellophane plastic & paper glasses that made the movie extra scary cos the Great White Shark literally jumps out at you?? this is a little bit like that! they call it stereo photography or something..
great!! gonna have lots of fun with this once i figure out how to use it.. :)
i think i cannot expect superb results though.... just read: The Nimslo camera didn't catch on widely. It was difficult for the average person to get consistently good results.. and the 3D effect was limited .. see first lor..
Update: Just found out: "There's only one place in the world which offers 3D lenticular prints from the Nimslo and Nishika four lens cameras, the i3Dx division of Orasee Corporation".... aahhhhhhhh :O ....... is the camera doomed to a lifetime of sitting on the shelf??? the only alternative is to convert it into a nimslo panoramic camera.... umm... sounds fun too...
eh?? * suddenly recalling** wasn't that my original idea?? ** looks around confused**
came back and found my NIMSLO 3D 35mm camera waiting for me on the floor - fresh from it's long voyage across the Pacific! bought it for a steal off eBay some time back and got it sent to a dear friend in the US who forwarded it to me..
thanks Ken! you're a dear!! :)
i even found the full manual online! :) for the uninformed, this funny antique (no longer produced, apparently) little thing takes 4 half frame images that are slightly offset so when you view them, they actually come out looking a bit "3D" --- remember long long time ago (btw, i'm talking only to people of MY generation.. hahah..), you watched the Jaws 3D movie and they gave you those funny cellophane plastic & paper glasses that made the movie extra scary cos the Great White Shark literally jumps out at you?? this is a little bit like that! they call it stereo photography or something..
great!! gonna have lots of fun with this once i figure out how to use it.. :)
i think i cannot expect superb results though.... just read: The Nimslo camera didn't catch on widely. It was difficult for the average person to get consistently good results.. and the 3D effect was limited .. see first lor..
Update: Just found out: "There's only one place in the world which offers 3D lenticular prints from the Nimslo and Nishika four lens cameras, the i3Dx division of Orasee Corporation".... aahhhhhhhh :O ....... is the camera doomed to a lifetime of sitting on the shelf??? the only alternative is to convert it into a nimslo panoramic camera.... umm... sounds fun too...
eh?? * suddenly recalling** wasn't that my original idea?? ** looks around confused**
Sunday, 19 October 2003
Which SUNSET are you?
You are not a sunset. You can't remember the last
time you saw the sun. The sun is evil.
You relate with the moon on a deeply profound
level. That, or you're just a text-book
hermit.
You're self conscious- but you needn't be. You are
actually strikingly attractive.
You would never even want to be a sunset
anyway, and you don't know why you took this
test in the first place. Sunsets might be
overrated, but at least you can feel good by
the fact that you're constant. A sunset is so
flippant and noncommital. You are an
individual, and proud of it.
this stupid test was brought to you by Quizilla
You are not a sunset. You can't remember the last
time you saw the sun. The sun is evil.
You relate with the moon on a deeply profound
level. That, or you're just a text-book
hermit.
You're self conscious- but you needn't be. You are
actually strikingly attractive.
You would never even want to be a sunset
anyway, and you don't know why you took this
test in the first place. Sunsets might be
overrated, but at least you can feel good by
the fact that you're constant. A sunset is so
flippant and noncommital. You are an
individual, and proud of it.
this stupid test was brought to you by Quizilla
Saturday, 18 October 2003
computer-times/canon digital photo marathon 2003
firstly, no, i didn't win anything... :p .. there were admitted many more "pro" amateurs (oxymoronic??) in this photo marathon with their amazing SLR digital cameras, tripods, filters etc and most importantly, that single-minded resolve to win.. . i willingly concede defeat... :)... have to admit some of those photos they had taken were pretty darn impressive.. as you know, i was out there to have fun and to be part of this "first-ever" event so... i mean, of course it will be nice to win, but... oh well.. .. at least i had my thasevi prata, kaya roti, free macdonald's meals (tried the new fish macdippers), and tons of sightseeing along the way (saw a long line of people in SengKang queuing in the sun for "Immediate Occupancy HDB flats" and they were mightily irritated by my presence there with my camera).. :)
secondly, while i didn't walk away with any of the pretty canon photo printers, cameras and apple ipods, this event will surely go down in my memory as one of the most hilarious events i have ever participated in..
you see, having taken part in weekly online photo submission projects before (such as Theme Thursday and Photo Friday), i am not unused to taking pictures based on a theme... e.g. "Body", "Interior", "Windows" etc..
However, the 3 themes they gave us (over the course of the day) left us laughing hard and uncontrollably in the lecture theatre every time and, even after that, for pretty much the whole day.. they were (the bullet points were "prompt questions" they included, apparently to guide us along):
Assignment One: Feelings
- What are feelings?
- What emotions come to mind?
- What emotional moments can you capture to tell a story?
Assignment Two: Colours of Life
- What role do colours play in your everyday life?
- What are the colours you come across in Singapore?
- What do colours mean to you? (**this is my favourite!!! hahaha)
Assignment Three: City of Lights
- What are the bright lights of Singapore? (note What, not Where)
- Where can you find lights that sparkle like a galaxy of stars?
- What is the beauty of Singapore at night? (???)
haha.. we were convinced they had "arrowed" someone in the office to come up with the themes as well as "prompt" questions in one night.. anyway, i shall be putting up a series of the photos i have taken for the Photo Marathon on my fotolog over the next couple of days..
check out the first one --> it's quite funny as long as you don't find it offensive in any way.. cos it isn't really at all...
firstly, no, i didn't win anything... :p .. there were admitted many more "pro" amateurs (oxymoronic??) in this photo marathon with their amazing SLR digital cameras, tripods, filters etc and most importantly, that single-minded resolve to win.. . i willingly concede defeat... :)... have to admit some of those photos they had taken were pretty darn impressive.. as you know, i was out there to have fun and to be part of this "first-ever" event so... i mean, of course it will be nice to win, but... oh well.. .. at least i had my thasevi prata, kaya roti, free macdonald's meals (tried the new fish macdippers), and tons of sightseeing along the way (saw a long line of people in SengKang queuing in the sun for "Immediate Occupancy HDB flats" and they were mightily irritated by my presence there with my camera).. :)
secondly, while i didn't walk away with any of the pretty canon photo printers, cameras and apple ipods, this event will surely go down in my memory as one of the most hilarious events i have ever participated in..
you see, having taken part in weekly online photo submission projects before (such as Theme Thursday and Photo Friday), i am not unused to taking pictures based on a theme... e.g. "Body", "Interior", "Windows" etc..
However, the 3 themes they gave us (over the course of the day) left us laughing hard and uncontrollably in the lecture theatre every time and, even after that, for pretty much the whole day.. they were (the bullet points were "prompt questions" they included, apparently to guide us along):
Assignment One: Feelings
- What are feelings?
- What emotions come to mind?
- What emotional moments can you capture to tell a story?
Assignment Two: Colours of Life
- What role do colours play in your everyday life?
- What are the colours you come across in Singapore?
- What do colours mean to you? (**this is my favourite!!! hahaha)
Assignment Three: City of Lights
- What are the bright lights of Singapore? (note What, not Where)
- Where can you find lights that sparkle like a galaxy of stars?
- What is the beauty of Singapore at night? (???)
haha.. we were convinced they had "arrowed" someone in the office to come up with the themes as well as "prompt" questions in one night.. anyway, i shall be putting up a series of the photos i have taken for the Photo Marathon on my fotolog over the next couple of days..
check out the first one --> it's quite funny as long as you don't find it offensive in any way.. cos it isn't really at all...
Friday, 17 October 2003
busy
been so busy i can't find time to blog...
trying to finish 3 assignments, fulfill a bunch of personal obligations and have to prepare myself mentally and physically for the Canon Photo Marathon tomorrow... have decided with my friend (haha! we have a CAR!! :)) that it will be a makan cum sightseeing cum photo taking day so we don't kill ourselves running around and surviving on snickers' bars.. (err.. do people STILL eat Snickers' bars these days?? :O gosh.. this sounds like one of those "You know you are old when... " kind of stuff that you get in email boxes.....oh dear.. :p ....
here's something a little bit more relevant for us.. "50 things Singaporeans aged20 (almost) 30 something would identify with"..... not to kid ourselves... when you see the stuff you grew up with selling in dusty piles along Clark Quay flea market on a Sunday afternoon, you know you're old... sigh...
anyhow, the great singapore duck race is on 16 nov .. here's a scanner photo of my rubber duckie... haven't thought of a name for it yet.. wish my duckie good luck! REMEMBER ID: 093551 (or at the least go buy 4D.. sure win one..)
go help charity by adopting a racing duckie too, for $10... you can do it online..
hee hee.. *rubs hand in glee*... if my duckie wins, i'll win a Hyundai Accent 1.3!! hahahah.. durrh... as if....
been so busy i can't find time to blog...
trying to finish 3 assignments, fulfill a bunch of personal obligations and have to prepare myself mentally and physically for the Canon Photo Marathon tomorrow... have decided with my friend (haha! we have a CAR!! :)) that it will be a makan cum sightseeing cum photo taking day so we don't kill ourselves running around and surviving on snickers' bars.. (err.. do people STILL eat Snickers' bars these days?? :O gosh.. this sounds like one of those "You know you are old when... " kind of stuff that you get in email boxes.....oh dear.. :p ....
here's something a little bit more relevant for us.. "50 things Singaporeans aged
anyhow, the great singapore duck race is on 16 nov .. here's a scanner photo of my rubber duckie... haven't thought of a name for it yet.. wish my duckie good luck! REMEMBER ID: 093551 (or at the least go buy 4D.. sure win one..)
go help charity by adopting a racing duckie too, for $10... you can do it online..
hee hee.. *rubs hand in glee*... if my duckie wins, i'll win a Hyundai Accent 1.3!! hahahah.. durrh... as if....
Wednesday, 15 October 2003
online confessions
think this could start a whole new cyberculture??
grouphug.us // let it all out ..
confession: i tried it out too.. hahahaha.. but you wouldn't know which confession's mine!! wahahaha :D
think this could start a whole new cyberculture??
grouphug.us // let it all out ..
confession: i tried it out too.. hahahaha.. but you wouldn't know which confession's mine!! wahahaha :D
what's happening tonight..
a bunch of us teacher trainee folks are at home practicing hard to to speak in a way that will be barely understood by our students when we finally leave and go out into the "real teaching world"..
for example:
lingerie.. we say LAND-jer-ree
revolution.... we say rair-ver-LU-sion
wednesday.. we say WENZ-dee
holiday.... we say HOL-lee-dee..
prowess... we say PRAOssssss
towel.... we say TAO.....
jaguar... we say JAG-yooo-wer......
absurd.... we say urb-ZURD..
algae... we say EL-geee...
opportunity... we say op-per-TUI-ner-ti...
vehicle... we say vee-ee- kurl..
renaissance.... we say ree-nay-sens....
amongst others...
yes, tomorrow, we will be tested on our abilities to speak with British accents for a selected list of "troublesome words", while at the same time maintaining our usual Singaporean accents for the other words that we read in a passage..
we will sound so weird, as we have been doing everytime we practice... but what to do... what to do...
a bunch of us teacher trainee folks are at home practicing hard to to speak in a way that will be barely understood by our students when we finally leave and go out into the "real teaching world"..
for example:
lingerie.. we say LAND-jer-ree
revolution.... we say rair-ver-LU-sion
wednesday.. we say WENZ-dee
holiday.... we say HOL-lee-dee..
prowess... we say PRAOssssss
towel.... we say TAO.....
jaguar... we say JAG-yooo-wer......
absurd.... we say urb-ZURD..
algae... we say EL-geee...
opportunity... we say op-per-TUI-ner-ti...
vehicle... we say vee-ee- kurl..
renaissance.... we say ree-nay-sens....
amongst others...
yes, tomorrow, we will be tested on our abilities to speak with British accents for a selected list of "troublesome words", while at the same time maintaining our usual Singaporean accents for the other words that we read in a passage..
we will sound so weird, as we have been doing everytime we practice... but what to do... what to do...
Do you know the reason why each person that you know is in your life?
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to and end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a season, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. they may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your joy is to accept the lesson, love the person/people anyway; and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of you life. It is said that love is blind but, friendship is clairvoyant. Do you know the reason why each person that you know is in your life?
got this from enzymed's forum - which has got tons of great stuff.. go check it out! :)
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.
When someone is in your life for a reason, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to and end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a season, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. they may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
Lifetime relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your joy is to accept the lesson, love the person/people anyway; and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of you life. It is said that love is blind but, friendship is clairvoyant. Do you know the reason why each person that you know is in your life?
got this from enzymed's forum - which has got tons of great stuff.. go check it out! :)
Tuesday, 14 October 2003
Friend of the Environment
as part of our preparation for the YEP eco-tourism/community service trip to Sikkim at the end of the year, a group of us visited the Singapore Environment Council today to find out a little more about what they did so we could share it with the folks at Kangchendzonga (world's third highest mountain after Mount Everest (Chomolungma,Goddess Mother of the World) and K2) Conservation Committee.
while we were there, we met these two really nice people, Uma and Grant, who told us about what they did in their jobs - Uma speaks to schools and organisations about how they can play their part to help the environment while Grant is the Head of the Green Volunteers Network, which is made up of volunteers who help in the various environmental projects that they organise in Singapore (Bukit Timah, Pulau Ubin, etc) and around the region. Though it was a hard struggle to push for environmental causes in a society very much concerned with economics and other such practical concerns, their determination never faltered. they were folks who believed that things were getting better, albeit slowly, and every little success was worth celebrating..
i recalled how I used to be so passionate about Environmental Protection, some 10 to 12 years ago.. speaking to my family and friends about what we could all do in our daily lives to reduce the damage that is going on, making trips to the library to read up books on various related topics, and filling volumes of my diary with what the future could look like.. in my own small way, i always thought i could one day change the way the world handles trash, toxic waste, recycling, animal cruelty, sport hunting, etc.... pages of my diary were written my "prophecies" about the year 2010, when everything will be recycled and fish will no longer be caught from the seas but harvested from aqua-farms..
i even had a certificate made for myself that said i was a "Qualified Trash Attacker"!
but sadly, since i entered the working world and got myself a licence and started driving, all these idealism started to disappear, even without my being aware of it... i've become part of the very group of people i used to speak harshly against... the people who were so caught up with their day-to-day existence and so concerned with convenience that they didn't care about the environment and how it was slowly getting damaged through the inconsiderate actions of human beings like themselves..
by the time i left the SEC office, i had signed up to be a volunteer with The Green Volunteers Network...
it's time i return to what i used to believe it..
as part of our preparation for the YEP eco-tourism/community service trip to Sikkim at the end of the year, a group of us visited the Singapore Environment Council today to find out a little more about what they did so we could share it with the folks at Kangchendzonga (world's third highest mountain after Mount Everest (Chomolungma,Goddess Mother of the World) and K2) Conservation Committee.
while we were there, we met these two really nice people, Uma and Grant, who told us about what they did in their jobs - Uma speaks to schools and organisations about how they can play their part to help the environment while Grant is the Head of the Green Volunteers Network, which is made up of volunteers who help in the various environmental projects that they organise in Singapore (Bukit Timah, Pulau Ubin, etc) and around the region. Though it was a hard struggle to push for environmental causes in a society very much concerned with economics and other such practical concerns, their determination never faltered. they were folks who believed that things were getting better, albeit slowly, and every little success was worth celebrating..
i recalled how I used to be so passionate about Environmental Protection, some 10 to 12 years ago.. speaking to my family and friends about what we could all do in our daily lives to reduce the damage that is going on, making trips to the library to read up books on various related topics, and filling volumes of my diary with what the future could look like.. in my own small way, i always thought i could one day change the way the world handles trash, toxic waste, recycling, animal cruelty, sport hunting, etc.... pages of my diary were written my "prophecies" about the year 2010, when everything will be recycled and fish will no longer be caught from the seas but harvested from aqua-farms..
i even had a certificate made for myself that said i was a "Qualified Trash Attacker"!
but sadly, since i entered the working world and got myself a licence and started driving, all these idealism started to disappear, even without my being aware of it... i've become part of the very group of people i used to speak harshly against... the people who were so caught up with their day-to-day existence and so concerned with convenience that they didn't care about the environment and how it was slowly getting damaged through the inconsiderate actions of human beings like themselves..
by the time i left the SEC office, i had signed up to be a volunteer with The Green Volunteers Network...
it's time i return to what i used to believe it..
infernal affairs II
this show is certainly not your usual, run-of-the-mill triad flick..
other than some obvious eye candy in the form of Edison Chen and Shawn Yue (between which I got a little confused along the way), there was also solid acting from veterans Eric Tsang and Carina Lau, a nice smooth plot with enough action to keep the interest going, almost lomo-esque filming (to a certain extent) and surprisingly nice music and sound effects..
it's definitely worth watching..
and i can't wait to go catch the sequel (i.e. the first of the trilogy) on DVD once my holiday starts in some 2 weeks time! :D
this show is certainly not your usual, run-of-the-mill triad flick..
other than some obvious eye candy in the form of Edison Chen and Shawn Yue (between which I got a little confused along the way), there was also solid acting from veterans Eric Tsang and Carina Lau, a nice smooth plot with enough action to keep the interest going, almost lomo-esque filming (to a certain extent) and surprisingly nice music and sound effects..
it's definitely worth watching..
and i can't wait to go catch the sequel (i.e. the first of the trilogy) on DVD once my holiday starts in some 2 weeks time! :D
Monday, 13 October 2003
globetrotting congee
i discovered this gem of a photo in a CD rom just now, broken up into 6 parts, taken by a good friend of mine whom I travelled with some 2 years back. We had travelled together, with another friend of ours, to this beautiful island of Flores (Indonesia) in 2001, and I got this pic in a CD Rom he gave to me in exchange for a CD rom of my own pictures from the same place.
With the new Photostitch software I got free with my recent purchase of a Canon G2, I stitched the parts together and got this..
this stunning landscape is Keli Mutu - or the Three-Coloured Crater Lakes - featured once in National Geographic..
it struck me how many beautiful places i have indeed had the good fortune of seeing these past 10 years... :) ...
but not quite as many as this chap here (!) whose link was given to me by someone via email today.. this guy has certainly taken a road less travelled.. pretty impressive.. he took a year out and has so far seen 107 countries! wow..
i discovered this gem of a photo in a CD rom just now, broken up into 6 parts, taken by a good friend of mine whom I travelled with some 2 years back. We had travelled together, with another friend of ours, to this beautiful island of Flores (Indonesia) in 2001, and I got this pic in a CD Rom he gave to me in exchange for a CD rom of my own pictures from the same place.
With the new Photostitch software I got free with my recent purchase of a Canon G2, I stitched the parts together and got this..
this stunning landscape is Keli Mutu - or the Three-Coloured Crater Lakes - featured once in National Geographic..
it struck me how many beautiful places i have indeed had the good fortune of seeing these past 10 years... :) ...
but not quite as many as this chap here (!) whose link was given to me by someone via email today.. this guy has certainly taken a road less travelled.. pretty impressive.. he took a year out and has so far seen 107 countries! wow..
Sunday, 12 October 2003
colour quiz
i really really like green.. but this doesn't sound like me at all, eh?
i really really like green.. but this doesn't sound like me at all, eh?
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The Great Didactic: The Whole Art of Teaching
while doing my assignment, i found out about this amazing educationist called Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670)..
he wrote this book called the Didactica Magna, or in English "The Great Didactic".. this book explores "how people learn and how they should be taught from infancy through the university and beyond. Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Comenius believed that human beings were born with a natural craving for knowledge and goodness, and that schools beat it out of them."
this powerpoint slideshow talks a little bit more about him... he also believed in "travel" as part of education and wrote a little about the finer points of teaching:
"If we take a jar with a narrow mouth, for to this we may compare a boy's intellect, and attempt to pour a quantity of water into it violently, instead of allowing it to trickle in drop by drop, what will be the result? Without a doubt, the greater part of the liquid will flow over the side, and ultimately the jar will contain less than if the operation had taken place gradually. Quite as foolish is the action of those who try to teach the pupils, not as much as they can assimilate, but as much as they themselves wish."
pretty cool to hear it from some 17th century guy instead of some modern day book.. sometimes, i, too, wonder if we are cramming our next generation with too much for them to handle.. Even where i am now, there is little mention of the "philsophy of teaching and education", only what we hope to achieve through our education system, namely equipping the next generation with the "right" skills for the future etc etc..
though some may argue that the line between the two is thin and hardly worth arguing over, i personally am more enthralled by the thinking of education as an artform,with its own certain philosophy, and not as a grinding and urgent task and mission, and worse, as an inevitable "evil" to ensure children are adequately equipped to meet future challenges..
oh well, so much for an idealist.. i still got to do my assignments.. :p
while doing my assignment, i found out about this amazing educationist called Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670)..
he wrote this book called the Didactica Magna, or in English "The Great Didactic".. this book explores "how people learn and how they should be taught from infancy through the university and beyond. Contrary to the popular belief of the time, Comenius believed that human beings were born with a natural craving for knowledge and goodness, and that schools beat it out of them."
this powerpoint slideshow talks a little bit more about him... he also believed in "travel" as part of education and wrote a little about the finer points of teaching:
"If we take a jar with a narrow mouth, for to this we may compare a boy's intellect, and attempt to pour a quantity of water into it violently, instead of allowing it to trickle in drop by drop, what will be the result? Without a doubt, the greater part of the liquid will flow over the side, and ultimately the jar will contain less than if the operation had taken place gradually. Quite as foolish is the action of those who try to teach the pupils, not as much as they can assimilate, but as much as they themselves wish."
pretty cool to hear it from some 17th century guy instead of some modern day book.. sometimes, i, too, wonder if we are cramming our next generation with too much for them to handle.. Even where i am now, there is little mention of the "philsophy of teaching and education", only what we hope to achieve through our education system, namely equipping the next generation with the "right" skills for the future etc etc..
though some may argue that the line between the two is thin and hardly worth arguing over, i personally am more enthralled by the thinking of education as an artform,with its own certain philosophy, and not as a grinding and urgent task and mission, and worse, as an inevitable "evil" to ensure children are adequately equipped to meet future challenges..
oh well, so much for an idealist.. i still got to do my assignments.. :p
Photo Marathon Contest
just found out from Terence that i've been selected as one of the 200 people to take part in the Canon Photo Marathon Contest!!
yippee!!! :D
this should be sooooooo fun!!! :)
this is the pic i submitted.. glad they found it interesting enough.. :)
just found out from Terence that i've been selected as one of the 200 people to take part in the Canon Photo Marathon Contest!!
yippee!!! :D
this should be sooooooo fun!!! :)
this is the pic i submitted.. glad they found it interesting enough.. :)
Saturday, 11 October 2003
The Cave
Imagine a cave. Prisoners are chained facing its far wall. They’ve been kept there all their lives and their heads are held fixed so that they can ‘t see anything except the wall of the cave. Behind them there is a fire and between the fire and their backs a road. Along the road various people walk casting their shadows on the cave wall; some off them carry models of animals which also cast shadows. The prisoners inside the cave only ever see shadows. They believe the shadows are the real things because they don’t know any better. But in fact they never see real people.
They one day one of the prisoners is released and allowed to look towards the fire. At first he is completely dazzled by the flames, but gradually he starts to discern the world around him. Then his is taken out of the cave into the full light of the sun, which again dazzles him. He slowly begins to realise the poverty of his former life: he had always been satisfied with the world of shadows when behind him lay the brightly lit real world in all its richness. Now as his eyes acclimatise to the daylight he sees what his fellow prisoners have missed and feels sorry for them. Eventually he becomes so used to the light that he can even look directly at the sun.
Then he is taken back to his seat in the cave. His eyes are no longer used to his shadowy existence. He can no longer make the fine discrimination between shadows that his fellow prisoners fine easy. From their point of view his eyesight has been ruined by his journey out of the cave. He has seen the real world; they remain content with the world of superficial appearances and wouldn’t leave the cave even if they could.
Adapted by Nigel Warburton, based on excerpt from Plato’s The Republic (pp 239 - 242)
According to Plato, the majority of humankind is, like the prisoners, content with a world of mere appearance. Only philosophers make the journey out of the cave and learn to experience things as they really are; only they can have genuine knowledge.
Sounds rather arrogant, I know.. but there is a certain amount of truth in it, no?
this remains one of my all-time favourite passages...
Imagine a cave. Prisoners are chained facing its far wall. They’ve been kept there all their lives and their heads are held fixed so that they can ‘t see anything except the wall of the cave. Behind them there is a fire and between the fire and their backs a road. Along the road various people walk casting their shadows on the cave wall; some off them carry models of animals which also cast shadows. The prisoners inside the cave only ever see shadows. They believe the shadows are the real things because they don’t know any better. But in fact they never see real people.
They one day one of the prisoners is released and allowed to look towards the fire. At first he is completely dazzled by the flames, but gradually he starts to discern the world around him. Then his is taken out of the cave into the full light of the sun, which again dazzles him. He slowly begins to realise the poverty of his former life: he had always been satisfied with the world of shadows when behind him lay the brightly lit real world in all its richness. Now as his eyes acclimatise to the daylight he sees what his fellow prisoners have missed and feels sorry for them. Eventually he becomes so used to the light that he can even look directly at the sun.
Then he is taken back to his seat in the cave. His eyes are no longer used to his shadowy existence. He can no longer make the fine discrimination between shadows that his fellow prisoners fine easy. From their point of view his eyesight has been ruined by his journey out of the cave. He has seen the real world; they remain content with the world of superficial appearances and wouldn’t leave the cave even if they could.
Adapted by Nigel Warburton, based on excerpt from Plato’s The Republic (pp 239 - 242)
According to Plato, the majority of humankind is, like the prisoners, content with a world of mere appearance. Only philosophers make the journey out of the cave and learn to experience things as they really are; only they can have genuine knowledge.
Sounds rather arrogant, I know.. but there is a certain amount of truth in it, no?
this remains one of my all-time favourite passages...
Friday, 10 October 2003
Thursday, 9 October 2003
pondering & philosophising
mind {Gk. nouV [nous]; Lat. mens}
“That which thinks, reasons, perceives, wills, and feels. Philosophy of mind is concerned with explaining the characteristic features of mental events, the proper analysis of conscious experience, the relation between mind and body, and the moral status of persons.”
after a pretty intense past 3 to 4 weeks of mulling over a varied scope of matters, as well as a good half of this year spent in ad hoc deep self-pondering over some topics of great personal interest (much of it alone with my dog-eared notebook in random cafes around our little island), i think i've finally come really close to some kind of personal "enlightenment" about earthly human life.... i think i've finally figured out what (almost) everything is really about.. i shy to mention here any of them lest i drive some of you nuts and annoyed.. and besides, who am i at this (not young but not quite “sagely”) age to say that i know for sure what Life is about?
but i think i've suddenly found some clues... really eye-opening, liberating clues… and I had the good fortune of being able to bounce some of these thoughts around with a good long-time friend of mine last night, over satay and teh ping, who understood perfectly what I meant. This friend was even able to explain my feeling of “emotional detachment” over the past week before I came to my very recent “lit lightbulb” experience, and empathise with my closeted listening of Stefanie Sun’s mournful singing to relax and as a form of unplugging of my thinking.. in some ways, this friend of mine has come to some pretty similar conclusions as well, which made me realise how much more remarkable my whole enlightenment experience really is....
I think it is not inconceivable that one day, thinking so much about philosophy might just drive me mad.… grr…
anyhow, if you are interested in what I came up with, drop me a note.. I’ll try to share with you my thoughts the best way I can..
mind {Gk. nouV [nous]; Lat. mens}
“That which thinks, reasons, perceives, wills, and feels. Philosophy of mind is concerned with explaining the characteristic features of mental events, the proper analysis of conscious experience, the relation between mind and body, and the moral status of persons.”
after a pretty intense past 3 to 4 weeks of mulling over a varied scope of matters, as well as a good half of this year spent in ad hoc deep self-pondering over some topics of great personal interest (much of it alone with my dog-eared notebook in random cafes around our little island), i think i've finally come really close to some kind of personal "enlightenment" about earthly human life.... i think i've finally figured out what (almost) everything is really about.. i shy to mention here any of them lest i drive some of you nuts and annoyed.. and besides, who am i at this (not young but not quite “sagely”) age to say that i know for sure what Life is about?
but i think i've suddenly found some clues... really eye-opening, liberating clues… and I had the good fortune of being able to bounce some of these thoughts around with a good long-time friend of mine last night, over satay and teh ping, who understood perfectly what I meant. This friend was even able to explain my feeling of “emotional detachment” over the past week before I came to my very recent “lit lightbulb” experience, and empathise with my closeted listening of Stefanie Sun’s mournful singing to relax and as a form of unplugging of my thinking.. in some ways, this friend of mine has come to some pretty similar conclusions as well, which made me realise how much more remarkable my whole enlightenment experience really is....
I think it is not inconceivable that one day, thinking so much about philosophy might just drive me mad.… grr…
anyhow, if you are interested in what I came up with, drop me a note.. I’ll try to share with you my thoughts the best way I can..
dirty pretty things
[ go underground ] - great movie!
it made me think about London in the way i never did before..
[ go underground ] - great movie!
it made me think about London in the way i never did before..
Wednesday, 8 October 2003
"How dirty is your money?"
amongst the many random pieces of news my mother hurled my way as i walked in through the door a few minutes ago was this one on dirty Chinese currency.
apparently, "most consumers don't know their wallets and purses may be teeming with bacteria" and (get ready for this..) "One Chinese banknote tested was carrying 178,000 different types of bacteria and had 9,500 organisms from the e-coli family"!!
:O how disgusting can that be??
this being the case, one additional piece of item i definitely need to add to my travel packing checklist next time i go to China will be a box of disposable gloves!!
.. or maybe we should just go to North Korea, where, according to the report, "strangely enough, banknotes from the secretive and impoverished communist state of North Korea were almost bacteria-free".
the other pieces of news my mother told me were:
- Arnie gets elected
- Semon Liu declares bankrupt (so Andrea de Cruz might not get her money after all..)
- her friend Auntie Ah Lan not turning up this morning for their regular morning swimming session with the "unacceptable" excuse that her freckles were getting worse.. (durrh..??)
my mum is amazing in the slick way she peppers her "news broadcasting" with her nagging .. for example, "wah, that Hollywood man.. the one who plays the robot? he.. eh, are you having dinner at home? huh? how come not again? where are you going? .. ya, that man.. you know? that one lah! ya, he got elected.... eh, who are you going out with? don't come back so late, hor??"
durrh....
amongst the many random pieces of news my mother hurled my way as i walked in through the door a few minutes ago was this one on dirty Chinese currency.
apparently, "most consumers don't know their wallets and purses may be teeming with bacteria" and (get ready for this..) "One Chinese banknote tested was carrying 178,000 different types of bacteria and had 9,500 organisms from the e-coli family"!!
:O how disgusting can that be??
this being the case, one additional piece of item i definitely need to add to my travel packing checklist next time i go to China will be a box of disposable gloves!!
.. or maybe we should just go to North Korea, where, according to the report, "strangely enough, banknotes from the secretive and impoverished communist state of North Korea were almost bacteria-free".
the other pieces of news my mother told me were:
- Arnie gets elected
- Semon Liu declares bankrupt (so Andrea de Cruz might not get her money after all..)
- her friend Auntie Ah Lan not turning up this morning for their regular morning swimming session with the "unacceptable" excuse that her freckles were getting worse.. (durrh..??)
my mum is amazing in the slick way she peppers her "news broadcasting" with her nagging .. for example, "wah, that Hollywood man.. the one who plays the robot? he.. eh, are you having dinner at home? huh? how come not again? where are you going? .. ya, that man.. you know? that one lah! ya, he got elected.... eh, who are you going out with? don't come back so late, hor??"
durrh....
ipod
saw the mac ipod up close for the very first time today (i'm a bit of a laggard in this regard) and have to admit it looks really cool...
nonetheless, i don't think i'll be buying it, at least not in the next few months.. the whole idea of carrying my whole music collection around with me sounds a bit unnecessary.. for the moment, i still don't mind spending a couple of minutes everytime before running out of the house deciding what my mood is for that day and which two CDs i will be bringing out with me for the day (yes, i don't even have an MD player, if you know what i mean)..
it would be something really cool to carry on holiday though.. ummm.. imagine going for a long driving holiday and being able to play all your favourite music as you go.. umm...
i have, however, managed to fool two people so far into thinking i have an ipod just because my sony fotopia earphones happens to be sleeky white as well.. haha.. :p oh well, cheap thrill ... durrh...
saw the mac ipod up close for the very first time today (i'm a bit of a laggard in this regard) and have to admit it looks really cool...
nonetheless, i don't think i'll be buying it, at least not in the next few months.. the whole idea of carrying my whole music collection around with me sounds a bit unnecessary.. for the moment, i still don't mind spending a couple of minutes everytime before running out of the house deciding what my mood is for that day and which two CDs i will be bringing out with me for the day (yes, i don't even have an MD player, if you know what i mean)..
it would be something really cool to carry on holiday though.. ummm.. imagine going for a long driving holiday and being able to play all your favourite music as you go.. umm...
i have, however, managed to fool two people so far into thinking i have an ipod just because my sony fotopia earphones happens to be sleeky white as well.. haha.. :p oh well, cheap thrill ... durrh...
Tuesday, 7 October 2003
Which Season Are You ?
brought to you by Quizilla
You're Most Like The Season Winter ...
You're often depicted as the cold, distant season. But you're incredibly intelligent, mature and Independant. You have an air of power around you - and that can sometimes scare people off. You're complex, and get hurt easily - so you arely let people in if you can help it. You can be somewhat of a loner, but just as easily you could be the leader of many. You tend to be negative, and hard to relate to, but you give off a relaxed image despite being insecure and secretly many people long to be like you, not knowing how deep the Winter season really is.
Well done... You're the most inspirational of seasons :)
umm... there is a certain amount of truth to this one.. especially the scare people bit.. :(
brought to you by Quizilla
You're Most Like The Season Winter ...
You're often depicted as the cold, distant season. But you're incredibly intelligent, mature and Independant. You have an air of power around you - and that can sometimes scare people off. You're complex, and get hurt easily - so you arely let people in if you can help it. You can be somewhat of a loner, but just as easily you could be the leader of many. You tend to be negative, and hard to relate to, but you give off a relaxed image despite being insecure and secretly many people long to be like you, not knowing how deep the Winter season really is.
Well done... You're the most inspirational of seasons :)
umm... there is a certain amount of truth to this one.. especially the scare people bit.. :(
Monday, 6 October 2003
powerful connections
Terence is right! Our SM Lee Kuan Yew is on Friendster! :O
in fact, i've got 3 connections to him!
"You are connected to Kuan Yew through:
You => Lynn => Dex => Kuan Yew
You => Jia Ying => Sophia => Kuan Yew
You => Peggy => Junsheng => Kuan Yew "
wah.. don't pray pray hor.... :p
you need to be on Friendster too to be able to access his profile..
Terence is right! Our SM Lee Kuan Yew is on Friendster! :O
in fact, i've got 3 connections to him!
"You are connected to Kuan Yew through:
You => Lynn => Dex => Kuan Yew
You => Jia Ying => Sophia => Kuan Yew
You => Peggy => Junsheng => Kuan Yew "
wah.. don't pray pray hor.... :p
you need to be on Friendster too to be able to access his profile..
Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ?
brought to you by Quizilla
this test doesn't say much and it's hard for me to agree with the results.. but it was easy to complete.
(via Carpe Diem and BadPupPiE's KeNneL)
brought to you by Quizilla
this test doesn't say much and it's hard for me to agree with the results.. but it was easy to complete.
(via Carpe Diem and BadPupPiE's KeNneL)
essential life skills
reading my blog title above may give you the idea that I am about to expound on one of my numerous random (chim*) theories again..
truth is, the idea for my blog entry today really stemmed from a much more basic and mundane incident (though honestly speaking, most of my other blog entries tend to as well, even if I seldom say so..) I was hungry and I was looking for food. Standing in front of the racks of groceries and shelves of canned food in NTUC Fairprice this evening, it dawned on me that I had seriously limited ability when it came to cooking.
Because of my mother’s superb culinary ability (which many of my close friends can attest to, having been to my house for one of my casual festive get-togethers), I seldom find myself in any real need to cook anything, other than the occasional packet of instant noodles, cup-a-soup and fried egg or fruit salad. My last real cooking experience was way back half a dozen years ago, while I was in London studying and had to take care of myself else I starve to death or survive on yucky Chinese takeaways everyday.. then, I could cook up curry chicken, hainanese chicken rice, fried noodles, spagetti, rojak, and even soups with the finesse of a cook’s apprentice.. my flatmates and i even threw parties inviting other home-sick Singaporeans to try out our cooking.. Yet, this evening, I stood in front of the shelves and didn’t know what to do… what to cook, how to cook.. I realised how useless I was.. after all, isn’t cooking an essential life skill?
I came back and decided to find out what others thought of this concept, typing “essential life skills” into Google.. here’re some interesting ones..
Someone wrote:
- Reading at a level that permits following directions (e.g. recipes, prescriptions), reading contracts (e.g. leases), and generally interacting with the world at large without having to request the help of another person to read for you.
- Writing at a level that fulfills the minimal needs of an adult such as signing contracts, writing a simple note.
- Enough math to use money and determine whether you are paying a fair price for goods and services.
- Sufficient social skills to interact with other adults on a level expected by people one must come into contact with in order to provide for basic needs such as food, shelter, and employment.
- And the skills to find your happiness while maintaining satisfying fulfillment of physical needs.”
Another wrote:
“Enough critical thinking skills to be able to make relatively independent and intelligent decisions.”
And yet another summarised:
“Caring. Common Sense. Cooperation. Confidence. Courage.Creative and Critical Thinking. Curiosity. Effort. Flexibility. Focus. Friendship”
and this very very comprehensive one breaks it down in terms of skills that schools need to teach students (teachers: find PowerPoint here.. very much like what our Education Ministry is trying to do now....Digital Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication and High Productivity)
for me personally, the main ones I consider "essential" are:
- ability to swim, to cycle and to drive
- ability to cook
- read & write (level depends on how much enjoyment you want to derive from these activities)
- communication (listening and speaking)
- socialising & teamwork
- selling
- basic financial and business skills
- adaptability and flexibility (i.e. survival or crisis-coping skills)
guess the list would vary from person to person. What are yours?
*for the uninformed and unsingaporean, this is pronounced as 'cheem', it means profound or difficult to understand
reading my blog title above may give you the idea that I am about to expound on one of my numerous random (chim*) theories again..
truth is, the idea for my blog entry today really stemmed from a much more basic and mundane incident (though honestly speaking, most of my other blog entries tend to as well, even if I seldom say so..) I was hungry and I was looking for food. Standing in front of the racks of groceries and shelves of canned food in NTUC Fairprice this evening, it dawned on me that I had seriously limited ability when it came to cooking.
Because of my mother’s superb culinary ability (which many of my close friends can attest to, having been to my house for one of my casual festive get-togethers), I seldom find myself in any real need to cook anything, other than the occasional packet of instant noodles, cup-a-soup and fried egg or fruit salad. My last real cooking experience was way back half a dozen years ago, while I was in London studying and had to take care of myself else I starve to death or survive on yucky Chinese takeaways everyday.. then, I could cook up curry chicken, hainanese chicken rice, fried noodles, spagetti, rojak, and even soups with the finesse of a cook’s apprentice.. my flatmates and i even threw parties inviting other home-sick Singaporeans to try out our cooking.. Yet, this evening, I stood in front of the shelves and didn’t know what to do… what to cook, how to cook.. I realised how useless I was.. after all, isn’t cooking an essential life skill?
I came back and decided to find out what others thought of this concept, typing “essential life skills” into Google.. here’re some interesting ones..
Someone wrote:
- Reading at a level that permits following directions (e.g. recipes, prescriptions), reading contracts (e.g. leases), and generally interacting with the world at large without having to request the help of another person to read for you.
- Writing at a level that fulfills the minimal needs of an adult such as signing contracts, writing a simple note.
- Enough math to use money and determine whether you are paying a fair price for goods and services.
- Sufficient social skills to interact with other adults on a level expected by people one must come into contact with in order to provide for basic needs such as food, shelter, and employment.
- And the skills to find your happiness while maintaining satisfying fulfillment of physical needs.”
Another wrote:
“Enough critical thinking skills to be able to make relatively independent and intelligent decisions.”
And yet another summarised:
“Caring. Common Sense. Cooperation. Confidence. Courage.Creative and Critical Thinking. Curiosity. Effort. Flexibility. Focus. Friendship”
and this very very comprehensive one breaks it down in terms of skills that schools need to teach students (teachers: find PowerPoint here.. very much like what our Education Ministry is trying to do now....Digital Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication and High Productivity)
for me personally, the main ones I consider "essential" are:
- ability to swim, to cycle and to drive
- ability to cook
- read & write (level depends on how much enjoyment you want to derive from these activities)
- communication (listening and speaking)
- socialising & teamwork
- selling
- basic financial and business skills
- adaptability and flexibility (i.e. survival or crisis-coping skills)
guess the list would vary from person to person. What are yours?
*for the uninformed and unsingaporean, this is pronounced as 'cheem', it means profound or difficult to understand
Sunday, 5 October 2003
Picasso stories
i just learnt that Pablo Picasso's full name is: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paulo Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Crispin Crispian Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.
and i also just discovered how funny he was.. hahah... here are some stories i found:
1. Picasso being interviewed by a lady magazine writer is asked about what he and all the artists of the Post Impressionist and cubists movements would talk about when the gathered in cafes during the evenings in Paris. What grand ideas would be exchanged?
Picasso's reply: "We used to talk about where to get the cheapest turpentine."
2. There is a story of Picasso being accosted by a stranger who asked him why he did not paint things as they really are.
Picasso looked puzzled, "I do not really understand what you mean," he replied.
The man produced a photograph of his wife. "Look," he said, "like that. That's what my wife really looks like."
Picasso looked doubtful. "She is very small, is she not? And a little bit flat?"
i just learnt that Pablo Picasso's full name is: Pablo Diego Jose Francisco de Paulo Juan Nepomuceno Maria de los Remedios Crispin Crispian Santisima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso.
and i also just discovered how funny he was.. hahah... here are some stories i found:
1. Picasso being interviewed by a lady magazine writer is asked about what he and all the artists of the Post Impressionist and cubists movements would talk about when the gathered in cafes during the evenings in Paris. What grand ideas would be exchanged?
Picasso's reply: "We used to talk about where to get the cheapest turpentine."
2. There is a story of Picasso being accosted by a stranger who asked him why he did not paint things as they really are.
Picasso looked puzzled, "I do not really understand what you mean," he replied.
The man produced a photograph of his wife. "Look," he said, "like that. That's what my wife really looks like."
Picasso looked doubtful. "She is very small, is she not? And a little bit flat?"
2 Quotes
"If you take your eyes off your goals, all you see is obstacles." (via tangoquebec)
"A reasonable man adapts himself to suit his environment.
An unreasonable man persists in attempting to adapt his environment to suit himself.
Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
- George Bernard Shaw
"A reasonable man adapts himself to suit his environment.
An unreasonable man persists in attempting to adapt his environment to suit himself.
Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man."
- George Bernard Shaw
Saturday, 4 October 2003
Sri Mariamman Temple
chanced upon an interesting temple ceremony while walking by the Sri Mariamman Temple earlier this evening..
deepavali is coming..
chanced upon an interesting temple ceremony while walking by the Sri Mariamman Temple earlier this evening..
deepavali is coming..
Thursday, 2 October 2003
for teachers
"Sure, teaching isn’t for everyone. Finding that out may be difficult, but the awful truth that drives many out of the classroom, screaming, is even harder tolern learn. Sarah Hepola was a teacher."....
read the whole article at The Morning News
bleak....? :O
(via krisalis>
"Sure, teaching isn’t for everyone. Finding that out may be difficult, but the awful truth that drives many out of the classroom, screaming, is even harder to
read the whole article at The Morning News
bleak....? :O
(via krisalis>
end-of-the-year plans
since we have no exams, i just need to face another 11 assignments and then i'm done for the year! :) that's great! for some of my more hardworking classmates, they have even fewer than that left!
David Tao is playing in the background and putting me in an amazing mood.. i'm feeling strangely exhilarated.. guess it's partly also because i stayed up till 3 plus 4 last night chatting online while doing my IT project.. phew.. and now i'm mistaking the high from a mix of fatigue plus wine-over-dinner plus my mum's lovingly boiled herbal soup with the high from happiness... oh well, doesn't matter.. :)
missing my sister who's on a 21-day Annapurna Circuit trek to Nepal now.. but i'm really glad for her that she has a chance to go on this trek...she's been training hard all 2 months before this walking up and down 25 storey HDB flats with 12 kg loads, running 35 minutes and swimming 20 laps of the pool every few days .. she also deserves all the fun she's having after working hard for these past few years, abused and underappreciated as a staff nurse (yes, the stories of abuse by patients and their families is appalling.. :( definitely beats even my experiences when i was running the retail art shop (where customers come with the preconception that salespeople are "unfriendly, unhelpful and stupid").. sometimes, i wonder why people have the mindset that service people are "below them" and then start to treat them accordingly.. it's terrible, particularly for the impression they create for themselves.. grr... wonder if they ever stop to think how bitchy it makes them look.. or maybe they don't care??)
anyway, i'm looking forward to my own 6 week trip to India come November.. :) 3 weeks doing my Sikkim Project and then another 3 weeks in picturesque Rajasthan (plus Delhi and Agra - to see the Taj Mahal!) for photography, food, architecture, deserts and fun fun fun...... phew.. if things go right, i'll be spending both christmas and new year (and maybe even my birthday) out of the country..
everything always seems tolerable when there's something exciting to look forward to...
since we have no exams, i just need to face another 11 assignments and then i'm done for the year! :) that's great! for some of my more hardworking classmates, they have even fewer than that left!
David Tao is playing in the background and putting me in an amazing mood.. i'm feeling strangely exhilarated.. guess it's partly also because i stayed up till 3 plus 4 last night chatting online while doing my IT project.. phew.. and now i'm mistaking the high from a mix of fatigue plus wine-over-dinner plus my mum's lovingly boiled herbal soup with the high from happiness... oh well, doesn't matter.. :)
missing my sister who's on a 21-day Annapurna Circuit trek to Nepal now.. but i'm really glad for her that she has a chance to go on this trek...she's been training hard all 2 months before this walking up and down 25 storey HDB flats with 12 kg loads, running 35 minutes and swimming 20 laps of the pool every few days .. she also deserves all the fun she's having after working hard for these past few years, abused and underappreciated as a staff nurse (yes, the stories of abuse by patients and their families is appalling.. :( definitely beats even my experiences when i was running the retail art shop (where customers come with the preconception that salespeople are "unfriendly, unhelpful and stupid").. sometimes, i wonder why people have the mindset that service people are "below them" and then start to treat them accordingly.. it's terrible, particularly for the impression they create for themselves.. grr... wonder if they ever stop to think how bitchy it makes them look.. or maybe they don't care??)
anyway, i'm looking forward to my own 6 week trip to India come November.. :) 3 weeks doing my Sikkim Project and then another 3 weeks in picturesque Rajasthan (plus Delhi and Agra - to see the Taj Mahal!) for photography, food, architecture, deserts and fun fun fun...... phew.. if things go right, i'll be spending both christmas and new year (and maybe even my birthday) out of the country..
everything always seems tolerable when there's something exciting to look forward to...
Wednesday, 1 October 2003
emotional boycott
much to my amazement, i've realised today that i'm feeling emotionally like a sack of rice because I've CHOSEN to feel like a sack of rice! it's a funny feeling..
while i was trodding along the pavements of Orchard Rd alone this evening, avoiding the crowds and trying to drown out the cacophony of traffic and human noise around me, with the music blasting into my ears from my CD player, a reflective thought suddenly floated across my mind and i realised that, for some time now, i've been subconsciously shielding myself from feeling emotionally close to anyone - ranging from strangers, to friends, to colleagues, and even to family.
in actual fact, i would much rather be alone than share a heart to heart chat with anyone, even close friends. it's like i don't really feel like "connecting" in the way i used to enjoy..
anyway, i've got these 5 new CDs that i can listen to now in my moment of solitude.. :) 2 that i bought today and a few more frommy friend BadPupPiE (who "arfs" at me annoyedly after his name was left out in my earlier posting of this entry! SORRY!!...:p.. you know i am "emotionally blank" now what!!). i'm sure my "human-ness" will return after a while.. no need to hurry such things, i guess..
btw, i'm selling these non-Sigg aluminium sports bottles (600ml) for S$12 each to raise funds for my YEP project to Sikkim at the end of the year - please email me if you are interested in purchasing them. They look exactly like the real Sigg ones except that they are plain (red/silver/blue) and come with free pouch and cap.. real ones are a lot more expensive..
i'll try to deliver them free, if possible.
click here to take a look !
much to my amazement, i've realised today that i'm feeling emotionally like a sack of rice because I've CHOSEN to feel like a sack of rice! it's a funny feeling..
while i was trodding along the pavements of Orchard Rd alone this evening, avoiding the crowds and trying to drown out the cacophony of traffic and human noise around me, with the music blasting into my ears from my CD player, a reflective thought suddenly floated across my mind and i realised that, for some time now, i've been subconsciously shielding myself from feeling emotionally close to anyone - ranging from strangers, to friends, to colleagues, and even to family.
in actual fact, i would much rather be alone than share a heart to heart chat with anyone, even close friends. it's like i don't really feel like "connecting" in the way i used to enjoy..
anyway, i've got these 5 new CDs that i can listen to now in my moment of solitude.. :) 2 that i bought today and a few more from
btw, i'm selling these non-Sigg aluminium sports bottles (600ml) for S$12 each to raise funds for my YEP project to Sikkim at the end of the year - please email me if you are interested in purchasing them. They look exactly like the real Sigg ones except that they are plain (red/silver/blue) and come with free pouch and cap.. real ones are a lot more expensive..
i'll try to deliver them free, if possible.
click here to take a look !
Tuesday, 30 September 2003
C A M P
CAMP was a way-cool show! i always love walking into a movie theatre with no expectations, only to be pleasantly satisfied by the time i come out..
this show is about a theater camp filled with many diverse teenagers with an equally diverse range of problems. In fact, every one of them is a social misfit of some kind. The fact that they are teenagers somehow makes them much more interesting than the average cynical adult with the usual adult issues (whatever they are). The story deals with betrayal, deceit, pain, anguish, joy and hope, and i enjoyed the numerous moments of subtle and not so subtle humour...
great soundtrack (definitely will buy CD), great acting and singing, funny and moving storyline, and refreshing new faces (all never seen before), including this amazing picture-perfect boyband looking guy Vlad (Daniel Letterle) (who, believe it or not, is my desktop wallpaper for the next few days.. wahahahaha..) :p
oh well, go see it.. it's not a high-profile show (in Singapore, at least) but a refreshing change :).. if you need to find out more about the storyline, click here
CAMP was a way-cool show! i always love walking into a movie theatre with no expectations, only to be pleasantly satisfied by the time i come out..
this show is about a theater camp filled with many diverse teenagers with an equally diverse range of problems. In fact, every one of them is a social misfit of some kind. The fact that they are teenagers somehow makes them much more interesting than the average cynical adult with the usual adult issues (whatever they are). The story deals with betrayal, deceit, pain, anguish, joy and hope, and i enjoyed the numerous moments of subtle and not so subtle humour...
great soundtrack (definitely will buy CD), great acting and singing, funny and moving storyline, and refreshing new faces (all never seen before), including this amazing picture-perfect boyband looking guy Vlad (Daniel Letterle) (who, believe it or not, is my desktop wallpaper for the next few days.. wahahahaha..) :p
oh well, go see it.. it's not a high-profile show (in Singapore, at least) but a refreshing change :).. if you need to find out more about the storyline, click here
Emoticons
i think i need more emoticons in my online conversations..
if you happen to have chatted online with me before, or exchanged a casual email or two, you would have realised that i am only capable of these four:
:O
:)
:p
:D
hahaha.. just realised how limited it is ... doncha think so??
i just found this to add to my repetoire of online feelings...High-Tech Dictionary Emoticons
Read also: The Art of Conversation
i think i need more emoticons in my online conversations..
if you happen to have chatted online with me before, or exchanged a casual email or two, you would have realised that i am only capable of these four:
:O
:)
:p
:D
hahaha.. just realised how limited it is ... doncha think so??
i just found this to add to my repetoire of online feelings...High-Tech Dictionary Emoticons
Read also: The Art of Conversation
Which tree are you?
try here
Fir Tree:
"Mysterious Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it, rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable. "
umm...
i know i've been putting up a whole bunch of personality tests on my blog lately.. i don't really know why.. maybe it's because i just happen to come across more of them.. or maybe subconsciously i've been drawn to them because of the endless streams of uncleared thoughts in my head..
anyway, i found this bloginality: weblogger personality thingey just now - looks like i'm not alone.. :p
try here
Fir Tree:
"Mysterious Extraordinary taste, dignity, cultivated airs, loves anything beautiful, moody, stubborn, tends to egoism but cares for those close to it, rather modest, very ambitious, talented, industrious uncontent lover, many friends, many foes, very reliable. "
umm...
i know i've been putting up a whole bunch of personality tests on my blog lately.. i don't really know why.. maybe it's because i just happen to come across more of them.. or maybe subconsciously i've been drawn to them because of the endless streams of uncleared thoughts in my head..
anyway, i found this bloginality: weblogger personality thingey just now - looks like i'm not alone.. :p
Monday, 29 September 2003
Henry Park relics
Lynn just emailed me to inform me of this news:
School notes - SEPT 29, 2003:
"HENRY PARK SEEKS ITEMS FOR ITS MUSEUM
HENRY Park Primary wants the old school uniforms, photographs and textbooks of its alumni. It intends to use these in the Heritage Centre it is setting up in the school. Former students can drop off items at the school in Holland Grove Road on Saturday during its first Alumni Day, between 10am and 4pm. Teachers past and present will be there, and there will be a lunch reception. "
i dug around my cupboard and realised i no longer have any of the old HPPS stuff i thought i had.. must be because of all the nomadic activity my family has been engaged in these few years.. moving 3 times in 7 years is no joke, believe me..
but i managed to find my old report book and some of the remarks read:
Primary 1: "A very well-behaved girl" (hahha...)
Primary 1: "A conscientious and hardworking girl." (wah... industrious from a young age...haha..)
Primary 2: "A quiet and well-behaved pupil."
Primary 2: "A hardworking gril and a good leader." (wahh..:))
Primary 3: "Tends to be careless" (oops.. )
Primary 3: "A good pupil" (way too vague ....no? either that or nothing else to say..)
Primary 4: "A quiet and well-behaved girl" (i guess it must have been true then..)
Primary 4: "Huiiling is a nice girl. Should try to be more responsive during class discussions" (err... i think now the problem is just the opposite..)
Primary 5: "A well-behaved girl." (for lack of anything else to say??)
Primary 6: "A cheerful and helpful girl." (:))
Primary 6: "A steady worker. Shows enthusiasm in her work" (steady leh... :p)
Lynn just emailed me to inform me of this news:
School notes - SEPT 29, 2003:
"HENRY PARK SEEKS ITEMS FOR ITS MUSEUM
HENRY Park Primary wants the old school uniforms, photographs and textbooks of its alumni. It intends to use these in the Heritage Centre it is setting up in the school. Former students can drop off items at the school in Holland Grove Road on Saturday during its first Alumni Day, between 10am and 4pm. Teachers past and present will be there, and there will be a lunch reception. "
i dug around my cupboard and realised i no longer have any of the old HPPS stuff i thought i had.. must be because of all the nomadic activity my family has been engaged in these few years.. moving 3 times in 7 years is no joke, believe me..
but i managed to find my old report book and some of the remarks read:
Primary 1: "A very well-behaved girl" (hahha...)
Primary 1: "A conscientious and hardworking girl." (wah... industrious from a young age...haha..)
Primary 2: "A quiet and well-behaved pupil."
Primary 2: "A hardworking gril and a good leader." (wahh..:))
Primary 3: "Tends to be careless" (oops.. )
Primary 3: "A good pupil" (way too vague ....no? either that or nothing else to say..)
Primary 4: "A quiet and well-behaved girl" (i guess it must have been true then..)
Primary 4: "Huiiling is a nice girl. Should try to be more responsive during class discussions" (err... i think now the problem is just the opposite..)
Primary 5: "A well-behaved girl." (for lack of anything else to say??)
Primary 6: "A cheerful and helpful girl." (:))
Primary 6: "A steady worker. Shows enthusiasm in her work" (steady leh... :p)
feeling "blank"
should this site be just about sweet, wonderful things that happen to me?
should i constantly write only things that are uplifting, inspiring, philosophical or, at the very least, meaningful so the people who stumble onto my site walk away feeling all fuzzy and happy?
honestly, i'm feeling a bit blank and "zonked out" right now.. worst still, when i thought about some real, "emotional" issue just now, i found myself strangely un-moved and unaffected.. that's when i realised i've become somewhat "emotionally detached/dead".. i've become as "emotionally alive" as that terracotta pot of cactus that's sitting on your window sill .. the one that needs watering cos it's looking a wee bit parched..
oh well, guess maybe i'm physically fatigued as well.. let's see how things go.. don't really like to be so "unemotional".. feel more like a sack of rice than a walking, breathing human being..
and here's something really strange i just found online..
"Microsoft Announces Ads for BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death)".. pretty absurd how pervasive advertising is.. besides, i question how successful this form of advertising can be when people see it in the midst of being frustrated with a "hung" computer! :O
another shocking revelation: "10 percent of Windows machines crash every day, or any given machine will crash about three times a month ".. which makes it.. "70 million crashes every 24 hours"??? :O
damn those Windows machines!
should this site be just about sweet, wonderful things that happen to me?
should i constantly write only things that are uplifting, inspiring, philosophical or, at the very least, meaningful so the people who stumble onto my site walk away feeling all fuzzy and happy?
honestly, i'm feeling a bit blank and "zonked out" right now.. worst still, when i thought about some real, "emotional" issue just now, i found myself strangely un-moved and unaffected.. that's when i realised i've become somewhat "emotionally detached/dead".. i've become as "emotionally alive" as that terracotta pot of cactus that's sitting on your window sill .. the one that needs watering cos it's looking a wee bit parched..
oh well, guess maybe i'm physically fatigued as well.. let's see how things go.. don't really like to be so "unemotional".. feel more like a sack of rice than a walking, breathing human being..
and here's something really strange i just found online..
"Microsoft Announces Ads for BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death)".. pretty absurd how pervasive advertising is.. besides, i question how successful this form of advertising can be when people see it in the midst of being frustrated with a "hung" computer! :O
another shocking revelation: "10 percent of Windows machines crash every day, or any given machine will crash about three times a month ".. which makes it.. "70 million crashes every 24 hours"??? :O
damn those Windows machines!
Sunday, 28 September 2003
52 projects
This "52 projects" thing sounds really fun, especially when some of the "projects" suggested seem, on the surface, actually quite "pointless" but take on a deeper meaning when you are willing to think about them for a while... at the very least, i can imagine how they can help to break the monotony of daily existence..
have you ever come up with a list of "Personal Projects" that you wanted to do? I remember (now that we are at the tail-end of this year) that around January this year, a group of close friends and I sat down for dinner and we wrote out some "personal projects" that we each wanted to do in the course of calender year 2003..
i can't remember why we didn't want to call these ideas "New Year's Resolutions".. anyway, we called them "Projects" and they included stuff like "setting up a PC", "learning web designing", "having an exhibition", "cataloguing our collection of books", "writing for a magazine" etc.. none of these are "mega-projects" (like writing a book etc) that can take a whole lot longer to complete... maybe a 3 to 5 year time frame??
anyhow, i'm quite looking forward to getting together with this bunch of friends again soon to see how much each of us have accomplished this year.. *gulp* and also to hear what excuses we have for not getting around to doing some of these projects.. i sure have a few i know i never got around to doing..
p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n ? or just distracted??
This "52 projects" thing sounds really fun, especially when some of the "projects" suggested seem, on the surface, actually quite "pointless" but take on a deeper meaning when you are willing to think about them for a while... at the very least, i can imagine how they can help to break the monotony of daily existence..
have you ever come up with a list of "Personal Projects" that you wanted to do? I remember (now that we are at the tail-end of this year) that around January this year, a group of close friends and I sat down for dinner and we wrote out some "personal projects" that we each wanted to do in the course of calender year 2003..
i can't remember why we didn't want to call these ideas "New Year's Resolutions".. anyway, we called them "Projects" and they included stuff like "setting up a PC", "learning web designing", "having an exhibition", "cataloguing our collection of books", "writing for a magazine" etc.. none of these are "mega-projects" (like writing a book etc) that can take a whole lot longer to complete... maybe a 3 to 5 year time frame??
anyhow, i'm quite looking forward to getting together with this bunch of friends again soon to see how much each of us have accomplished this year.. *gulp* and also to hear what excuses we have for not getting around to doing some of these projects.. i sure have a few i know i never got around to doing..
p r o c r a s t i n a t i o n ? or just distracted??
Saturday, 27 September 2003
Pathways to Peace
this "Pathways to Peace" presentation was a joy to receive in my email box this morning... it's worth those few minutes watching through it.. click on the on/off bit at the bottom to turn on the soothing music..
a dose of hope, peace, charity, kindness and more can't do any harm, eh?
this "Pathways to Peace" presentation was a joy to receive in my email box this morning... it's worth those few minutes watching through it.. click on the on/off bit at the bottom to turn on the soothing music..
a dose of hope, peace, charity, kindness and more can't do any harm, eh?
"Chew On It!"
what a gem: found the Chew On It! website..
one of those truly Singaporean things... like, er.. Newater?? :O
what a gem: found the Chew On It! website..
one of those truly Singaporean things... like, er.. Newater?? :O
Friday, 26 September 2003
stress factors
i spent part of this afternoon in a foodcourt sipping iced coffee reflecting on the events of the past week.. initially, i didn't want to post about this as it is somewhat private. but then, i realised that this "methodology" i came up with for analysing the stresses in my life is actually pretty cool (pardon me for the unabashed self-praise.. :p) and i should share it 'cos it really helped me to see where i am now..
what i did was as follows:
1. I sat down with a sheet of foolscap paper and a pen and wrote down all the "significant events, people and thoughts" that i encountered this week. I came up with a hefty 25. I define "significant" as what i can recall, quite easily, off the top of my head.
2. On another column, i put a tick for those events that either (a) clearly caused me stress or (b) could potentially create feelings of stress in me..
3. Similarly, in the same column, I put an "O" for those events that, on the other hand, gave me either (a) support or (b) confidence
4. I totalled up the ticks and the "O"s.
5. Guess what? The ticks exceeded the Os by 1. I had 13 ticks and 12 Os... no wonder I am "under considerable stress" and yet "able to exert control"... almost a tie, with the stresses winning a little..
umm...
anyhow, i thought this week's "Theme Thursday" theme was really good: "All Is Good".. i submitted this sunrise panorama I took this morning as my participation entry.. :)
i spent part of this afternoon in a foodcourt sipping iced coffee reflecting on the events of the past week.. initially, i didn't want to post about this as it is somewhat private. but then, i realised that this "methodology" i came up with for analysing the stresses in my life is actually pretty cool (pardon me for the unabashed self-praise.. :p) and i should share it 'cos it really helped me to see where i am now..
what i did was as follows:
1. I sat down with a sheet of foolscap paper and a pen and wrote down all the "significant events, people and thoughts" that i encountered this week. I came up with a hefty 25. I define "significant" as what i can recall, quite easily, off the top of my head.
2. On another column, i put a tick for those events that either (a) clearly caused me stress or (b) could potentially create feelings of stress in me..
3. Similarly, in the same column, I put an "O" for those events that, on the other hand, gave me either (a) support or (b) confidence
4. I totalled up the ticks and the "O"s.
5. Guess what? The ticks exceeded the Os by 1. I had 13 ticks and 12 Os... no wonder I am "under considerable stress" and yet "able to exert control"... almost a tie, with the stresses winning a little..
umm...
anyhow, i thought this week's "Theme Thursday" theme was really good: "All Is Good".. i submitted this sunrise panorama I took this morning as my participation entry.. :)
Hwa Chong is tops!
the news
hooray!
nuff said.. :)
non-sequitur picture:
i always thought the fine was a little, er, extreme??
the news
hooray!
nuff said.. :)
non-sequitur picture:
i always thought the fine was a little, er, extreme??
Linguistic humor, The English lesson
We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
If I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be named kese?
Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead; it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat;
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Or dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose,
Just look them up, and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Why, man alive,
I'd learned to talk it when I was five,
And yet to write it, the more I tried,
I hadn't learned it at fifty-five!
it ain't so funny if they make you say this in "Use of English In Teaching" lesson.. that's what we did today.. haha..
We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes;
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?
The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
If I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth, and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?
If the singular is this and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be named kese?
Then one may be that, and three may be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose;
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim!
So our English, I think, you all will agree,
Is the craziest language you ever did see.
I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you,
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?
Well done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word,
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.
And dead; it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat;
They rhyme with suite and straight and debt.
A moth is not a moth in mother,
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there,
Or dear and fear for bear and pear.
And then there's dose and rose and lose,
Just look them up, and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.
And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.
A dreadful language? Why, man alive,
I'd learned to talk it when I was five,
And yet to write it, the more I tried,
I hadn't learned it at fifty-five!
it ain't so funny if they make you say this in "Use of English In Teaching" lesson.. that's what we did today.. haha..
Calcutta
think City of Joy.. think Mother Theresa.. Rabindranath Tagore.. and in-your-face type of human existance...
suddenly, "Calcutta" sounds like an almost romantic place to go to..
i can almost visualise the photography i will be able to do there.. the sights, the sounds, the smells.. the experience..
i can't get it out of my head.. i have the chance to spend a week or so in Calcutta at the end of the year, after my YEP community service trip to Sikkim, or to go to somewhere else.. maybe less overwhelming, like Nepal or something..
but somehow, grimy Calcutta has this magnetic hold on me at the moment.. umm.. but i know it is going to be so hard to find a travel companion who would want/is quirky enough to want to extend the trip by spending it in this city with me...
*ponder ponder*...
they're gonna say i'm nuts...
think City of Joy.. think Mother Theresa.. Rabindranath Tagore.. and in-your-face type of human existance...
suddenly, "Calcutta" sounds like an almost romantic place to go to..
i can almost visualise the photography i will be able to do there.. the sights, the sounds, the smells.. the experience..
i can't get it out of my head.. i have the chance to spend a week or so in Calcutta at the end of the year, after my YEP community service trip to Sikkim, or to go to somewhere else.. maybe less overwhelming, like Nepal or something..
but somehow, grimy Calcutta has this magnetic hold on me at the moment.. umm.. but i know it is going to be so hard to find a travel companion who would want/is quirky enough to want to extend the trip by spending it in this city with me...
*ponder ponder*...
they're gonna say i'm nuts...
Thursday, 25 September 2003
Colorgenics Personality Test
My Colorgenics Personality test just revealed:
"You are under considerable stress and you are almost about to 'blow your top' but you are fortunate enough to be able to exert control. Control is the name of the game and it is so good to realize that whatever the situation may be at this time - it will pass. You need to get away from everything for a while and if you do, you will find that, strangely enough, it will seem that most of your problems and situations will seem to wash away, just as the sea may wash away 'footprints' in the sand.
Being a likeable person you get on well with neighbors and friends. You don't need anything to 'Rock your boat'. You want to 'love' and to be loved'.
Loneliness is soul destroying and at this time you feel lost and lonely, perhaps it is because you feel so frustrated that you are prepared to go out of your way to become emotionally involved with someone who could accept you for what you are. You are egocentric, antagonistic and quick to take offense, although it must be said, you can control your pent-up up emotion and thus avoid open conflict.
Matters have not gone well for you. You are experiencing severe stress trying to guard yourself from further disappointments. It would seem that all of your hopes and dreams have not been realised and you are now beginning to doubt yourself. You no longer wish to be further advised by anyone and you insist on going it alone - to control your own destiny. Even though deep down you doubt whether things will "
wow.. pretty negative... :O time to examine my subconscious??
My Colorgenics Personality test just revealed:
"You are under considerable stress and you are almost about to 'blow your top' but you are fortunate enough to be able to exert control. Control is the name of the game and it is so good to realize that whatever the situation may be at this time - it will pass. You need to get away from everything for a while and if you do, you will find that, strangely enough, it will seem that most of your problems and situations will seem to wash away, just as the sea may wash away 'footprints' in the sand.
Being a likeable person you get on well with neighbors and friends. You don't need anything to 'Rock your boat'. You want to 'love' and to be loved'.
Loneliness is soul destroying and at this time you feel lost and lonely, perhaps it is because you feel so frustrated that you are prepared to go out of your way to become emotionally involved with someone who could accept you for what you are. You are egocentric, antagonistic and quick to take offense, although it must be said, you can control your pent-up up emotion and thus avoid open conflict.
Matters have not gone well for you. You are experiencing severe stress trying to guard yourself from further disappointments. It would seem that all of your hopes and dreams have not been realised and you are now beginning to doubt yourself. You no longer wish to be further advised by anyone and you insist on going it alone - to control your own destiny. Even though deep down you doubt whether things will "
wow.. pretty negative... :O time to examine my subconscious??
English Tests
Spelling Test:
"You have 11 from 15 questions correct.
Absolutely fascinating! You probably knew you were going to get a good score! Some of those were a little tricky, yet you got a next-to-perfect or (probably) perfect score! Amazing! Count on winning the spelling bee! Grade:A"
umm.. was it THAT good?? oh darn, SPELLING BEE?? i think this refers to Grade 3 kids??
Grammar Test:
"You have 20 from 25 questions correct.
Excellent! You can now pass the eighth grade."
what??? darn! only the Eighth grade?? i thought i'm supposed to be TEACHING them?? :O
Spelling Test:
"You have 11 from 15 questions correct.
Absolutely fascinating! You probably knew you were going to get a good score! Some of those were a little tricky, yet you got a next-to-perfect or (probably) perfect score! Amazing! Count on winning the spelling bee! Grade:A"
umm.. was it THAT good?? oh darn, SPELLING BEE?? i think this refers to Grade 3 kids??
Grammar Test:
"You have 20 from 25 questions correct.
Excellent! You can now pass the eighth grade."
what??? darn! only the Eighth grade?? i thought i'm supposed to be TEACHING them?? :O
Wednesday, 24 September 2003
classroom faux pas
I committed what some people will describe as “classroom faux pas” on Monday.. now, you must be wondering what this can possibly be.. especially in an “open”, “exploratory” institute like the one I am in now.. Let me explain:
you see, I tickled a cow.. yes, not just any cow, but someone’s “sacred cow”.. after months of studying in this place, I figured that since we were at the forefront of education and educational research, and with all this talk of critical thinking, necessity for changes in teaching, and being open and all, I could afford to be vocal in class and to express some of the real-life challenges I see for teaching. Deep in my heart, I believe that it is only with the open, honest discussions that we have in class, without fears and concerns, while we are in the protected environment that we have now, that we can “dissect the theories and models” we have in front of us. This is the time we can figure out which methods are practical and which are not, and finally bring our own learned conclusions to the classrooms and “mould” the future.
Although this thinking and vocalizing of my views was well-received in most other classes, little did I know that, along the way, I actually came close, in this particular Monday class, to being condemned as “slaughtering someone’s sacred cow”... you see, after my wonderful school experience last week, I came back with the feeling that some of the things that we were being taught now in the institute, had in reality limited practicality in a real-life classroom setting, for various reasons. After I vocalized this in Monday’s class, I was quickly cautioned, privately, by a few of my classmates that this teacher may not be pleased with what I said as I brought up one of her “pet” research topics in my sharing..
fearing that I may have offended her, I sent her an email and got a somewhat strongly worded reply back. In her own words, she said she was “taken aback” after hearing what I said. She told me that she was “rattled” by my remark, worse still because the class appeared to “give me much support” (err… did she try to figure out why that was the case??).. as a result, she felt that she “had fallen many steps back”.. I was shocked that she had taken my remark so personally, and in some ways, was disappointed that she felt that I was “attacking” what she was teaching rather than that I was just “discussing”, since that was the angle which most classmates felt I was coming from… an innocent remark meant to generate discussion.. i even thought this feedback and empirical evidence i had for her would have been invaluable for her own academic research in this area.. but i guess she didn't see it this way..
we managed to have a private chat today where I articulated to her more clearly where I came from. Hopefully, the message got through to her.. At the end of the day, however, I guess it left me thinking and slightly sad... I know there is a lot of work still needed to be done to move towards improving the education system.. and this single event could be the very first hurdle I will face, even before I step out there..
wow, this could be a big challenge after all.. :| .. lucky i'm not one to give up so easily..
I committed what some people will describe as “classroom faux pas” on Monday.. now, you must be wondering what this can possibly be.. especially in an “open”, “exploratory” institute like the one I am in now.. Let me explain:
you see, I tickled a cow.. yes, not just any cow, but someone’s “sacred cow”.. after months of studying in this place, I figured that since we were at the forefront of education and educational research, and with all this talk of critical thinking, necessity for changes in teaching, and being open and all, I could afford to be vocal in class and to express some of the real-life challenges I see for teaching. Deep in my heart, I believe that it is only with the open, honest discussions that we have in class, without fears and concerns, while we are in the protected environment that we have now, that we can “dissect the theories and models” we have in front of us. This is the time we can figure out which methods are practical and which are not, and finally bring our own learned conclusions to the classrooms and “mould” the future.
Although this thinking and vocalizing of my views was well-received in most other classes, little did I know that, along the way, I actually came close, in this particular Monday class, to being condemned as “slaughtering someone’s sacred cow”... you see, after my wonderful school experience last week, I came back with the feeling that some of the things that we were being taught now in the institute, had in reality limited practicality in a real-life classroom setting, for various reasons. After I vocalized this in Monday’s class, I was quickly cautioned, privately, by a few of my classmates that this teacher may not be pleased with what I said as I brought up one of her “pet” research topics in my sharing..
fearing that I may have offended her, I sent her an email and got a somewhat strongly worded reply back. In her own words, she said she was “taken aback” after hearing what I said. She told me that she was “rattled” by my remark, worse still because the class appeared to “give me much support” (err… did she try to figure out why that was the case??).. as a result, she felt that she “had fallen many steps back”.. I was shocked that she had taken my remark so personally, and in some ways, was disappointed that she felt that I was “attacking” what she was teaching rather than that I was just “discussing”, since that was the angle which most classmates felt I was coming from… an innocent remark meant to generate discussion.. i even thought this feedback and empirical evidence i had for her would have been invaluable for her own academic research in this area.. but i guess she didn't see it this way..
we managed to have a private chat today where I articulated to her more clearly where I came from. Hopefully, the message got through to her.. At the end of the day, however, I guess it left me thinking and slightly sad... I know there is a lot of work still needed to be done to move towards improving the education system.. and this single event could be the very first hurdle I will face, even before I step out there..
wow, this could be a big challenge after all.. :| .. lucky i'm not one to give up so easily..
Tuesday, 23 September 2003
Swimming Pool
i wish i could figure out what Francois Ozon's French/English movie Swimming Pool is really all about, at a deeper level.. watching the exciting trailer, one could get a rather different picture than what the movie is (i think..).. that single-dimensional view that somehow seems frustratingly inadequate.. umm.. at the very least, the movie was almost surrealistic, if you know what i mean.. after a while, you wonder if you are watching what is actually happening, or only what is in the actors' minds or imaginations or fantasies..
still, i find it quite interesting to walk out of a movie theatre with a whole bunch of questions to ponder on, as well as self-reflections as to why some of the scenes had the ability to create a definite sense of "unease" in me, for whatever reason..
as the New York Times Review says: "The movie is alluringly insubstantial, like the light and air of the Luberon. You can't hold onto it, but it lingers in your senses and plays tricks with your memory."
aptly put.
good show nonetheless. worth watching.
Update: I found this particular review (mind you, it's full of spoilers) that really analyses the movie thoroughly.. quite well done. take a look if you watched the movie and was left as puzzled as i was..
i wish i could figure out what Francois Ozon's French/English movie Swimming Pool is really all about, at a deeper level.. watching the exciting trailer, one could get a rather different picture than what the movie is (i think..).. that single-dimensional view that somehow seems frustratingly inadequate.. umm.. at the very least, the movie was almost surrealistic, if you know what i mean.. after a while, you wonder if you are watching what is actually happening, or only what is in the actors' minds or imaginations or fantasies..
still, i find it quite interesting to walk out of a movie theatre with a whole bunch of questions to ponder on, as well as self-reflections as to why some of the scenes had the ability to create a definite sense of "unease" in me, for whatever reason..
as the New York Times Review says: "The movie is alluringly insubstantial, like the light and air of the Luberon. You can't hold onto it, but it lingers in your senses and plays tricks with your memory."
aptly put.
good show nonetheless. worth watching.
Update: I found this particular review (mind you, it's full of spoilers) that really analyses the movie thoroughly.. quite well done. take a look if you watched the movie and was left as puzzled as i was..
Monday, 22 September 2003
exam wishes
hey, to all those of you "stressed-out" folks who are taking your 'O's, 'A's, promos, prelims, or whatever exams soon, ALL THE BEST and HANG IN THERE!! these dreadful exams will be over before you know it! then it'll be PARTY TIME! :)
it always seems really hard at this time but when you look back years later, you'll be glad you put in your best effort at this time - whether or not you may be wondering now if these exams will really matter many many years from now.. (i know 'cos now i am "looking back" at what happened those many "years ago", when i was in your shoes .... er hmm.. (feeling old-ish.. :p ).. i guess putting in our best effort at every stage of our lives (as long as we don't burn out) will always be worth it, especially for those who believe in living life to the fullest..
carpe diem! (*Seize The Day!*)
don't waste it on procrastination, indolence or apathy.. do what you can so you don't live to regret!
on a rather unrelated note, someone just sent me this disturbing pic:
it begs the question: is this for real?? :O (gasp!!!)
hey, to all those of you "stressed-out" folks who are taking your 'O's, 'A's, promos, prelims, or whatever exams soon, ALL THE BEST and HANG IN THERE!! these dreadful exams will be over before you know it! then it'll be PARTY TIME! :)
it always seems really hard at this time but when you look back years later, you'll be glad you put in your best effort at this time - whether or not you may be wondering now if these exams will really matter many many years from now.. (i know 'cos now i am "looking back" at what happened those many "years ago", when i was in your shoes .... er hmm.. (feeling old-ish.. :p ).. i guess putting in our best effort at every stage of our lives (as long as we don't burn out) will always be worth it, especially for those who believe in living life to the fullest..
carpe diem! (*Seize The Day!*)
don't waste it on procrastination, indolence or apathy.. do what you can so you don't live to regret!
on a rather unrelated note, someone just sent me this disturbing pic:
it begs the question: is this for real?? :O (gasp!!!)
"nowhere in africa" & more mbti balderdash
caught Nowhere in Africa this evening - last year's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. it's a movie based on "the extraordinary true tale of a Jewish family who flees the Nazi regime in 1938 for a remote farm in Kenya... abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany,"
i was stunned by how beautiful the movie was - the pace, the storyline, as well as the realistic protrayal of human strength, weakness, adaptability, fear, love, lust, friendship and trust...
though the show was no less than 3 hours long, rarely does a gem like this come along - go watch it soon before it disappears..
and from terence's page, i got this link that gave me a bit more information about us ENTP types..
ENTPs are interested in and talk about everything that is new and unusual even if it is not in their main field of knowledge. It is as if they are magnetised by all brand new theories and are fascinated by all phenomena that can not be explained with logic or reason, for example: ESP, telekinesis and UFO's. They cannot logically explain their ideas as they are always intuitive and vague. Most people cannot fully comprehend their concepts, they simply believe or do not believe. (hahahaha.... ufos.. hahahaha..)
The main peculiarity of ENTPs behaviour is an incredible absent-mindedness. They usually leave items where they used them and have a tendency to constantly lose smaller objects. ENTPs work place and personal belongings are often kept in disarray. They invariably forget what they have already done and what they need to do. However, they are quick and shrewd in day to day matters, taking advantage of every opportunity that arises. Because of this others may consider them to be crafty or shifty. ( oops... ex-colleagues please do not comment on this... :p)
The other main peculiarity of ENTPs behaviour is the ability to mobilise in extreme conditions. If somebody puts pressure on them they immediately counterattack, often with more than equal force. They also like to give people advice on how to extricate themselves from difficult entanglements, often proposing the most radical solutions. (hahahaha.. anyone remembers the weird advice i've given you???)
One more peculiarity is the element of chaos and destruction that ENTPs bring to every field of their activity. This is especially noticeable in well established institutions where strong discipline is commonplace. However, they implement this chaotic element creatively, generating reform from the destruction. Because of this quality ENTPs often become leaders. (heh heh.. watch out world... :p)
caught Nowhere in Africa this evening - last year's Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film. it's a movie based on "the extraordinary true tale of a Jewish family who flees the Nazi regime in 1938 for a remote farm in Kenya... abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany,"
i was stunned by how beautiful the movie was - the pace, the storyline, as well as the realistic protrayal of human strength, weakness, adaptability, fear, love, lust, friendship and trust...
though the show was no less than 3 hours long, rarely does a gem like this come along - go watch it soon before it disappears..
and from terence's page, i got this link that gave me a bit more information about us ENTP types..
ENTPs are interested in and talk about everything that is new and unusual even if it is not in their main field of knowledge. It is as if they are magnetised by all brand new theories and are fascinated by all phenomena that can not be explained with logic or reason, for example: ESP, telekinesis and UFO's. They cannot logically explain their ideas as they are always intuitive and vague. Most people cannot fully comprehend their concepts, they simply believe or do not believe. (hahahaha.... ufos.. hahahaha..)
The main peculiarity of ENTPs behaviour is an incredible absent-mindedness. They usually leave items where they used them and have a tendency to constantly lose smaller objects. ENTPs work place and personal belongings are often kept in disarray. They invariably forget what they have already done and what they need to do. However, they are quick and shrewd in day to day matters, taking advantage of every opportunity that arises. Because of this others may consider them to be crafty or shifty. ( oops... ex-colleagues please do not comment on this... :p)
The other main peculiarity of ENTPs behaviour is the ability to mobilise in extreme conditions. If somebody puts pressure on them they immediately counterattack, often with more than equal force. They also like to give people advice on how to extricate themselves from difficult entanglements, often proposing the most radical solutions. (hahahaha.. anyone remembers the weird advice i've given you???)
One more peculiarity is the element of chaos and destruction that ENTPs bring to every field of their activity. This is especially noticeable in well established institutions where strong discipline is commonplace. However, they implement this chaotic element creatively, generating reform from the destruction. Because of this quality ENTPs often become leaders. (heh heh.. watch out world... :p)
Sunday, 21 September 2003
personality test galore
i know this is going to show how distracted i am, but hey, look at these personality tests i just took (via puppylove)
A: Enneagram
Take Free Enneagram Test
i'm not entirely sure what this "Enneagram" thing is all about, though i've heard of it before.. sounds a bit new agey.. anyhow, i found the results above rather inaccurate (for reasons i shall not disclose here), so i decided to take the online free Myers Briggs Type Indicator test instead..
B: Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Extroverted (E) 61.11% Introverted (I) 38.89%
Intuitive (N) 65.71% Sensing (S) 34.29%
Thinking (T) 51.43% Feeling (F) 48.57%
Percieving (P) 52.78% Judging (J) 47.22%
Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test
amazingly, these were the same results i got 10 years ago! :O i've done the test three times in my life so far (including this one) and the results have always been almost identical (except for the first test where i was more introverted.. seems like i have shifted slightly to the right since..haha.. durrhh.. maybe i am a virtual extrovert but a introvert in real life?? :O)
C: Word Association Test
and these are some things i have issues with, apparently (i enjoyed a good laugh after this - it's hard to decide if it is accurate.. could be a really subconscious thing afterall) ..
Take Word Association Test
D: The Big Five Test
and finally, the most popular The Big Five i- apparently the most accepted personality model in the scientific community at the moment. The Big Five emerged from the work of multiple independent scientists/researchers starting in the 1950s who using different techniques obtained similar results. Those results were that there are five distinct personality traits/dimensions.
Take Free Big 5 Personality Test
Details on each dimension:
Extroversion results were high which suggests you are very talkative, optimistic, sociable and affectionate but probably not very reflective.
Friendliness results were high which suggests you are very good natured, trusting, and helpful but probably too much of a follower
Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, reliable, neat, and ambitious.
Emotional Stability results were high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, unemotional and probably too unobservant of your feelings.
Intellectualness results were high which suggests you are very creative, original, curious, imaginative but probably not very practical.
Overall, you scored highest on Intellectualness and lowest on Orderliness.
gosh, it's 10am! i really need to get started on my essay!! :O
i know this is going to show how distracted i am, but hey, look at these personality tests i just took (via puppylove)
A: Enneagram
Conscious self | Overall self |
 |  |
i'm not entirely sure what this "Enneagram" thing is all about, though i've heard of it before.. sounds a bit new agey.. anyhow, i found the results above rather inaccurate (for reasons i shall not disclose here), so i decided to take the online free Myers Briggs Type Indicator test instead..
B: Myers Briggs Type Indicator
Extroverted (E) 61.11% Introverted (I) 38.89%
Intuitive (N) 65.71% Sensing (S) 34.29%
Thinking (T) 51.43% Feeling (F) 48.57%
Percieving (P) 52.78% Judging (J) 47.22%
| ENTP - "Inventor". Enthusiastic interest in everything and always sensitive to possibilities. Non-conformist and innovative. 5% of the total population. |
amazingly, these were the same results i got 10 years ago! :O i've done the test three times in my life so far (including this one) and the results have always been almost identical (except for the first test where i was more introverted.. seems like i have shifted slightly to the right since..haha.. durrhh.. maybe i am a virtual extrovert but a introvert in real life?? :O)
C: Word Association Test
and these are some things i have issues with, apparently (i enjoyed a good laugh after this - it's hard to decide if it is accurate.. could be a really subconscious thing afterall) ..
| I have issues with... |
| genetics weather nature destiny money |
D: The Big Five Test
and finally, the most popular The Big Five i- apparently the most accepted personality model in the scientific community at the moment. The Big Five emerged from the work of multiple independent scientists/researchers starting in the 1950s who using different techniques obtained similar results. Those results were that there are five distinct personality traits/dimensions.
| The Big Five Personality Test |
| Extroverted | |||||||||||||||| | 68% |
| Introverted | |||||||||| | 32% |
| Agreeable | |||||||||||||||| | 70% |
| Aggressive | |||||| | 30% |
| Orderly | |||||||||||| | 46% |
| Disorderly | |||||||||||||| | 54% |
| Relaxed | |||||||||||||| | 60% |
| Emotional | |||||||||| | 40% |
| Intellectual | |||||||||||||||||| | 72% |
| Practical | |||||| | 28% |
Details on each dimension:
Extroversion results were high which suggests you are very talkative, optimistic, sociable and affectionate but probably not very reflective.
Friendliness results were high which suggests you are very good natured, trusting, and helpful but probably too much of a follower
Orderliness results were medium which suggests you are moderately organized, reliable, neat, and ambitious.
Emotional Stability results were high which suggests you are relaxed, calm, secure, unemotional and probably too unobservant of your feelings.
Intellectualness results were high which suggests you are very creative, original, curious, imaginative but probably not very practical.
Overall, you scored highest on Intellectualness and lowest on Orderliness.
gosh, it's 10am! i really need to get started on my essay!! :O
"The Great Prawn and Shrimp Debate"
long have i pondered, in the quiet of my room on a warm sunday afternoon, in the solitude of a long and lonely bus ride home, in the course of a corporate meeting that has dragged on too long, in the middle of a conversation with someone who clearly prefers monologues, this question: "Prawns and Shrimp: Are they Different? Or Actually The Same?"
i have heard many answers: "Prawns are big shrimps, or shrimps are small prawns". "We call them prawns, they call them shrimps"... etc..
finally, i've found the answer here at this site : "the only biological difference being that prawns have their second abdominal flap (counting from the head towards the tail) overlapping the first and the third.“ see the site again for the pic that shows the subtle difference...
so there IS a difference! there you have it! next time, before you tuck into your dish of drunken prawns/shrimps or cornflake prawns (Lynn's favourite) at that 10-course Chinese dinner, pause a little while, check that belly bit of the crustacean and eat in peace knowing that you KNOW what you are eating...
:p ... sunday morning madness.. sitting in front of the computer with a pile of unfinished assignments and surfing the net for "prawn" ... (aiyoh! not porn! prawn!! durrhh... hahahahaha...)
long have i pondered, in the quiet of my room on a warm sunday afternoon, in the solitude of a long and lonely bus ride home, in the course of a corporate meeting that has dragged on too long, in the middle of a conversation with someone who clearly prefers monologues, this question: "Prawns and Shrimp: Are they Different? Or Actually The Same?"
i have heard many answers: "Prawns are big shrimps, or shrimps are small prawns". "We call them prawns, they call them shrimps"... etc..
finally, i've found the answer here at this site : "the only biological difference being that prawns have their second abdominal flap (counting from the head towards the tail) overlapping the first and the third.“ see the site again for the pic that shows the subtle difference...
so there IS a difference! there you have it! next time, before you tuck into your dish of drunken prawns/shrimps or cornflake prawns (Lynn's favourite) at that 10-course Chinese dinner, pause a little while, check that belly bit of the crustacean and eat in peace knowing that you KNOW what you are eating...
:p ... sunday morning madness.. sitting in front of the computer with a pile of unfinished assignments and surfing the net for "prawn" ... (aiyoh! not porn! prawn!! durrhh... hahahahaha...)
Saturday, 20 September 2003
cut hair
just for the heck of getting a new experience (and of course saving money at the same time..:p), i went to QB House at Caltex House Raffles Place yesterday for one of those $10 Vending machine, super efficient, no-frills haircuts..
i was quite impressed by how the whole concept works. everything was planned to the minutest detail, including where customers can put their belongings and glasses, where staff can sweep the remnants of cut hair quickly and cleanly, the seating arrangements for waiting customers, etc etc..
despite my commitment to teaching for at least the next 3 years or so, i know a part of me still remains very much in the world of business and retail.. of selling, marketing, customer service, advertising, business models, financials, and training staff to sell and to serve...
oh well, we'll see what happens in the next few years.. :)
btw, i've uploaded some more of my photostitched digital panoramic pics.. take a look! :)
just for the heck of getting a new experience (and of course saving money at the same time..:p), i went to QB House at Caltex House Raffles Place yesterday for one of those $10 Vending machine, super efficient, no-frills haircuts..
i was quite impressed by how the whole concept works. everything was planned to the minutest detail, including where customers can put their belongings and glasses, where staff can sweep the remnants of cut hair quickly and cleanly, the seating arrangements for waiting customers, etc etc..
despite my commitment to teaching for at least the next 3 years or so, i know a part of me still remains very much in the world of business and retail.. of selling, marketing, customer service, advertising, business models, financials, and training staff to sell and to serve...
oh well, we'll see what happens in the next few years.. :)
btw, i've uploaded some more of my photostitched digital panoramic pics.. take a look! :)
stick people swordfighting sequence
this flash animation is amongst the best i've ever seen!
wow! pretty darn cool and funny.. hahaha..
this flash animation is amongst the best i've ever seen!
wow! pretty darn cool and funny.. hahaha..
walking right & walking left - online
someone sent me this online summarised version of Turn Left Turn Right.. the music is really nice - enjoy it.. :)
i was trying to put this up in Chinese characters but i don't have the software to do it.. anyone has any clues?? gatchaman?
someone sent me this online summarised version of Turn Left Turn Right.. the music is really nice - enjoy it.. :)
i was trying to put this up in Chinese characters but i don't have the software to do it.. anyone has any clues?? gatchaman?
blessed week
this has been a truly blessed week!
spent an enjoyable 5 days experiencing real school life at wonderful ACJC which happens to be a "missionary school" - it was definitely eye-opening to see how differently the teachers and students go about their daily lives and interact with each other when God was put at the centre of all their activities...
for one, the national athem every morning was sung in a "hymnal" style (no kidding! you can clearly hear "harmonisation" of the notes by the 10-member choir which led the anthem every morning - try to recall how Majullah Singapura sounded like during your own school days.. haha). then, staff meetings always start with prayer.. really strange cos i guess we always imagine meetings to be just "get-it-over-and-done-with" super secular, inevitable evils.. also, the helpfulness and rapport amongst the staff was just incredible and we had teachers coming up to us every day to say hi and to want to know about us (i know anyone could be cynical about this and say it was all "made-up" to impress us - believe me, i am quite perceptive and i really don't feel it)...in a dog-eat-dog world of backstabbing and office politics, this was Paradise...
and then, i also managed to pick up my new Canon G2 at a great price as well as a 256mb compact flash card yesterday at almost half the price i expected to pay.. watch the wonderful Turn Left Turn Right show on Thursday, and lastly, find a nice new home for my 128mb SmartMedia storage card (which i bought for my Olympus digicam which has since died) by giving it away to someone who really needed it but didn't have money to buy one..
nice fuzzy feelings... :)
school starts again next week.. grr.. assignments galore..
this has been a truly blessed week!
spent an enjoyable 5 days experiencing real school life at wonderful ACJC which happens to be a "missionary school" - it was definitely eye-opening to see how differently the teachers and students go about their daily lives and interact with each other when God was put at the centre of all their activities...
for one, the national athem every morning was sung in a "hymnal" style (no kidding! you can clearly hear "harmonisation" of the notes by the 10-member choir which led the anthem every morning - try to recall how Majullah Singapura sounded like during your own school days.. haha). then, staff meetings always start with prayer.. really strange cos i guess we always imagine meetings to be just "get-it-over-and-done-with" super secular, inevitable evils.. also, the helpfulness and rapport amongst the staff was just incredible and we had teachers coming up to us every day to say hi and to want to know about us (i know anyone could be cynical about this and say it was all "made-up" to impress us - believe me, i am quite perceptive and i really don't feel it)...in a dog-eat-dog world of backstabbing and office politics, this was Paradise...
and then, i also managed to pick up my new Canon G2 at a great price as well as a 256mb compact flash card yesterday at almost half the price i expected to pay.. watch the wonderful Turn Left Turn Right show on Thursday, and lastly, find a nice new home for my 128mb SmartMedia storage card (which i bought for my Olympus digicam which has since died) by giving it away to someone who really needed it but didn't have money to buy one..
nice fuzzy feelings... :)
school starts again next week.. grr.. assignments galore..
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