Life's A Bitch

I am done cooling off. Lemme vote already.

2011-04-30T22:10:00.030+08:00

Ok... I haven't blogged for what may seem like a gazillion years. So I am a bit rusty. This might all sound incoherent but oh well... I will try my best to rearrange my paragraphs and stuff. And I do believe it will take me at least a week to write down this 'essay'... all the stuff I've been hearing, digesting and then thinking, along with the emotions that comes with this... 'fever'.

Yes, I have been hit with the election fever... really badly... I was already feverish long before they announced the nomination day and polling day... when I was supposed to be working on my thesis. And now that I'm supposed to be concluding with my 5,000 words thesis report, here I am giving this entry my top priority. I can't help it. This election fever is infectious. And once infected, you are just longing for that one fateful day to get the results back; whether you will get better or be... doomed.

And don't write me off as another one of those noobs who are only vocal come elections. Those who will suddenly show so much interest in politics but in actuality knows jack....

Ok, neither am I saying I know every damn thing about the political situation here... If I did, I would have known how much we have in the reserves and I would have saved the late Dr Ong a whole lot of time prying the figures from the government.

But back to what I know. Singapore's political arena has never been this exciting since Independence. So much excitement and hype surrounding us - the people of Singapore. We are being wooed, being manja-ed... left-right-center. With promises to 'love-us-long-time' and 'deep-deep'. And of course not forgetting the occasional below-the-belt jibes at the other party wooing us.

PAP VS Oppositions.
82 out of 87 seats contested. Only one GRC walkover (a 35 second blunder of the century).
Possible 2-3 GRCs going to opposition parties.
Possible incumbent government losing many of the seats.

I'm sorry but 'incumbent' somehow sounds pretty negative to me... like 'incompetent' somehow... and I actually thought that was what 'incumbent' really meant until recently (oh snap, there goes my political 'credentials'). But then again, many of you would argue that the incumbent government has also been inco......... ehem....

Allow me to try to be neutral and not biased. Key word here is 'try'. I will try really really hard. Really hard. It is a no-brainer who I'm rooting for (note, key word here is 'root' not 'vote'. I would like to exercise my rights to keep my vote confidential).

So I've talked to friends; locals, foreigners, pro-PAP, pro-opposition, as well as watched the bias news on TV, read the bias papers which in turn made me turn to the net to read articles (courtesy of 'liking' The Online Citizen and not-to-be-one-sided-here, I've also 'liked' the PAP pages on Facebook), just trying to comprehend all these politics stuff and be updated up-to-speed. So what I have been seeing are arrows and spears flying across between these two camps and I am right underneath them.

Ever so patriotic.
Its true what Mr Tony Tan said, Singapore has been divided into two. But at the same time, strangely, Singaporeans have never been this united in the sense that we are extremely damn patriotic now. Each of us has an opinion (just ask your taxi driver next time for his). And each of us has probably never felt so strongly for this country, and neither have we felt ever so belonged and all of us suddenly want to be heard (via FB status, twitter and even the resurfacing blogosphere). Its like the past 40-er-something National Days all compressed into one. Saying the National Pledge has never been so meaningful to some until the past few days.

But like I've said, I have tried to be neutral. Hear both sides. But one thing that really annoys me is people who are really apathetic (to the extent, its really pathetic)... Statuses like "Why must my GRC be contested? Now have to go polling booth... Sianz" or "I know I should be patriotic and stuff... but there goes my plans on Saturday". Oh boo hoo. If you don't want to vote then give me your voting rights so I can double mine.

Another group that irks me is those who follow the crowd and have no opinions of their own. I say to this people, grow your own f*cking brains and decide. Do a bit of research before coming to a conclusion. You want to believe in some random blogger/singer/model/actor/eyebrow plucker with dipshit for brains, by all means.

Ball-less.
Then there are those who are convinced that their votes are not secret. So? "Oh, they are gonna find out whom I voted for, there goes my job/house application/promotion/bonus/(freedom?)". Again history is important, go learn what 1963 Operation Coldstore and 1987 Operation Spectrum is all about. Still relevant to these times? No, I don't think so. If it was, a lot of the 'oppositions' would be in prison by now.

Ask yourself this then, if you are so afraid of this people (or maybe you simply feel you would be inconvenienced in the future), then what does it say about who you are voting for? What does it say about the future you want for yourselves and your children's future? Should we all be living under this so-called fear for the rest of our lives? So ask yourself, what does it say about you?

Contradictions, contradictions.
Then there is another group who argues and argues until the cows come home, sleep, wake up, wander around again, get milked, then come home... again... without all the right facts and information. I get extreme joy from rebutting every single one of their arguments (sorry ah, but especially the PAP supporters. Yes, fine... I'm biased. But then again, I will always jump at any chance at a rebuttal when I see a contradiction). Like how they will first say to give Tin Pei Ling a chance to prove herself and in the same breath say the oppositions do not have any experience in 'running the country'. *scratch head*

So I say to this people, listen to yourself first before you open your mouth. Unless there are no contradictions, then you would just be helping me shoot your arguments down.

Another group which annoys me (again... sorry ah pro-PAP supporters) are those who have this mentality: 'Don't bite the hand that feeds you'. Firstly, I am not a dog. So to use that proverb is really insulting and plain stupid. Secondly, that is just simply saying that these opposition-supporters are ingrates and it is un-Singaporean to not support the PAP. Get this right, PAP is not the government. And no, the government will not crumble if we let anyone else in. Are we clearer now? And please do not confuse the first generation of PAP leaders to those we have today. The PAP then had laid the foundations to what Singapore has become today, yes, that I agree, very much.

FYI also please learn your (unbiased) history before you give all the credit (every single last one) to Mr Lee Kuan Yew. With all due respect, he was not the only PAP founder, nor was he the only person who revolutionised and dreamt and built every single thing that is in Singapore today; like reclaiming the marshlands of Jurong to get what we know today as Tuas for example... or the MRT train system... or botanical gardens (I was watching Martha Stewart 'in Singapore' one day and the STB guy kept saying LKY did this, this that...). The man is a man, a very smart and resourceful man, but he is still a man. Not a God. So please, give credit when it is due. And I also urge you to listen to both sides of the story, apparently this man, is no saint either.

Track Records
I feel it was necessary to have these 'iron-ruling' leaders for a nation that needs to not just be steered to a particular common direction but also to be stirred to wake up and progress. Yes, that 'patriarchal' form of governance back then was suitable. Now, it is completely irrelevant. People are convinced that the now elitist and arrogant PAP has been too detached from the rest of us 'mere mortals' while they throw lightning bolts from their Mount Olympus.

Which brings me to the next point. Some argue, the PAP has a proven track record. Well, yes, but again... DO NOT confuse the first few generations of PAP with the current one. They are different, even PM Lee admitted that himself. So pick a year, say from the 2001 or 2006 elections when most of the current ministers came into power. And compare their performance, solely their performance, and not the accumulated performance of generations after generations of PAP. I leave it to you to decide.

And please, the only reason why we say they have a good track record compared to the opposition is simply because..... the opposition doesn't have one... at least a substantial one to date. So how? Give them a chance lor. Vote them in, then five or ten years later you want to compare track record, then it would be fairer right? If they sucked then sack them lor. If not then their track record is better no?

And this is where the pro-PAP will immediately spring up and argue, 'how can we let our future be in the hands of these people then, just so we can test them out?' Well, I say, isn't it same for the new PAP candidates? *BAM! In your face!*

And if the next argument they bring up are the qualifications of the oppositions, "Are you so sure they are qualified?". Then I would be more than happy to slap their faces with all the combined degrees and resumes of the opposition which is substantially thicker than the PAP's candidates'. Get this straight, the oppositions today are just as capable and qualified as the PAP's candidates, some even more than some of the PAP candidates. Check their qualifications first before you make the sweeping comments. Besides, who says good academic results always equates to good leaders (this applies to both PAP and opposition teams)?

And then they ask, "But what can they do? It's all talk what! Why should I give them a chance? They only make promises and not explain how they are gonna keep it."

Read the f*cking manifestos. It is all in their manifestos. Numbers, quantities and details. Not pictures, not colours and definitely not brief statements.

Considerations, considerations.
So I've been to many rallies around Singapore, from as far as Serangoon Stadium to nearby ones at the Chinese Garden. And I have listened to both sides... (wait... it should be multiple sides). I am still partially undecided. I would say it would be an easy choice for me if I were to stay in Aljunied but alas I don't. I stay in Jurong GRC and its one of those boring GRCs if you ask me. More boring than West Coast GRC (at least they have JBJ's son). So why am I torn? Firstly, because Tharman, Halimah and gang (I dunno the rest but Lim Boon Heng was once part of the team here) have done a good job here AND in parliament. I have not seen any boo-boos from them. Plus, the opposition team being fielded here by NSP is a bit blah... On the other hand, there is the expectation (from myself, not anyone else) that there should be more opposition in the parliament.... so I am torn. See, I don't just follow blindly, I am actually deliberating.. really hard.

But to those who live in Aljunied GRC, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC and Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC, I think its a no-brainer... at least to me. So why am I feeling the way I am right now? About the PAP and the opposition? Hear me out.

Accountability
Ok, if you have been to enough opposition rallies, the points that they all keep bringing up (without fail) are the mistakes that the PAP have done. This is a good tactic, but its a lil' bit shallow if you ask me. Just listing out the long list of mistakes done by the PAP simply suggests (to me) that you only want to make the crowd angry and all riled up. But it should go deeper, some opposition speeches that have been outstanding to me, are those that do... and they brought up this thing called 'accountability'. Yes, people make mistakes. And mistakes can be forgiven.... but if and only if you know why you are forgiving the person. So, sorry right back atcha PM, your apology may have swayed some voters but to me (it kinda did...) but no, I will stick to my guns and demand to know why. Cause I do not believe in a government that is not transparent (it shows more humility rather than to accept blame, and it also shows respect because you are including Singaporeans in the 'loop').

So that said,
Dr Vivian should man up and explain why and how the YOG budget tripled. Yeah sure, you didn't have precedence for your initial quotes, but tell me why though the size of YOG was only one third of the Beijing Olympics but yet it was a mere 10% less than the latter? Didn't Beijing build huge stadiums and all?
DPM Wong Kan Seng should explain himself why and how Mas Selamat escaped.
Mr Yaacob Ibrahim should explain why and how there were floods in Singapore. And instead of blaming us first, or saying we aren't 'stoic' enough, couldn't you have done better damage control? I want to see you say that face-to-face to those who faced hundreds or thousands of dollars of damages.
Why am I going to pay close to half a million dollars for an HDB when HDB flats are now mostly prefabricated by HDB itself and tenders for construction is usually given to the lowest bidder? So what is the cost breakdown? Land is expensive and limited? Then why is SLA (which is under the government) selling it high? Who is losing money and who is making money now?
Can someone please explain how and why billions of Singaporean taxpayers' money are lost in investments - in government-owned corporations Temasek holdings and GIC? Why are there affiliated corporations in the first place?

The list goes on... and on it does.

Let's face it... A handful of the ministers and ministries have disappointed us with their lacklustre performance over the past few years. Yes, they have basically screwed up. Yes, they have made 'honest' mistakes. But is it easy to move on? When there were no explainations and apologies (not on their behalf but directly from them) put forward? Where is the accountability?

I don't demand their heads on the chopping block and their resignation (just like most oppositions who seem to be playing on the crowds' distrust and disgust with these ministers). I am simply asking them to explain themselves. What happened? I want to know. If their explanations make sense, then all is forgiven... truly.

Like in the case of Wong Kan Seng and the Mas Selamat fiasco, of course I don't demand him to step down simply because the most dangerous terrorist in Singapore ran out (slash that... hobbled out) of the supposedly most secured prison in Singapore. That is just plain silly. You don't prosecute a king in his ivory tower just because his lowly guard allowed a prisoner to escape.

Of course not, all that I am asking is, WHY? and HOW? Have the questions been answered? Not really... Am I satisfied with the answers? Hell no. There should be transparency and accountability and no details should be spared. We, Singaporeans, should know.

While still on this topic, he should definitely fire his advisers who 'advised' him to comb jungles and coastlines instead of putting his family members under surveillance. *facepalm*

The government had a good opportunity to prove themselves (with all of us Singaporeans behind them) when that Ionescu hit-and-run case fell into their laps. What has happened since then? I dunno... Swept under the rug is my guess.

So please, consider this, if you have the same bugging questions as me, who are the ones who are gonna ask them on your behalf? But if not the opposition? Yes, I do have notable examples of some PAP ministers who are not asleep in parliament and ask hard-hitting questions. For example, Dr Lily Neo, she is (in my opinion) the PAP minister with the biggest heart. Unfortunately for her, and Lim Boon Heng, their opinions are swallowed by the majority. No groupthink? Think again Mr Lim. Partially the reason the you cried is probably because you were helpless then... and many more ministers like you who think and say otherwise will also be helpless now.

Foot-in-the-mouth Disease.
All the PAP ministers seem to have this. And its very infectious... Even Mr Lee Kuan Yew has it (and he isn't sorry that he has it. He stands corrected). Why are they shooting their mouths off especially before the elections? All their past 'mortals', 'hawker centre, food court or restaurant', 'once in 50 years' and 'maids in other countries' comments are really facepalm-worthy. These basically show how much these ministers are so out-of-touch from the rest of us.

Speaking as a minority, a Muslim-Malay-raised individual, the comments that many ministers have said have been downright insulting. George Yeo's "Christians are less likely to riot" comment, Yacob's "Malay should be a foreign language" comment and Mr LKY's 'hard truths' are hard to swallow. But are they true? Give me stats then I will shut up. But no matter what it is still insensitive and insulting to bring it up. And what is up with all this generalising? Haven't they heard of the word 'some'? 'Generalising' is instant fail. Just ask my General Paper teacher.

It is already enough that there is unspoken but blatant racism in the army. You want me to integrate? Then stop marginalising me and "my kind".

(On a side note: if I were in parliament, I will fight to remove 'race' from our identification cards. Its not relevant anymore. I am Singaporean first, more than anything else. I will also fight for lower defense budget... Look, wars are almost irrelevant in today's time. We should look at Costa Rica for precedence. Yes, they are surrounded by many unstable south American nations - with military juntas and coups, but do you know they do NOT have an army? Instead, the money that could have gone to their military expenses, they directed it to preserving their share of the Amazon rainforests and other nation-building expenses. Learn from that.)

Apologies, apologies.
I just have one more question now, I just to need to know why you are apologising... now. Why were you not apologising back then in 2006? During the past five years, mistakes after mistakes. Why are they suddenly u-turning policies very unpopular with us Singaporeans? Why are the issues only addressed today? Why not then? Housing policies, immigration policies and transport issues. Any more? Feel free to add.

We were unhappy back then. We showed our displeasure. But why now? You are suddenly scared of us? You need a strong mandate from us?

Heat.
Are you feeling the heat of the election fever?

I can't help but feel really sorry for Mr George Yeo; he is definitely in the hottest seat ever (but we keep forgetting he has other khakis to share that hot seat). General consensus is that it would be a pity to lose one very good Minister to usher in WP's A Team (if that happens). This is the flaw of the GRC system, isn't it? A damn good example if you ask me.

GRC should be removed. It is nothing but gerrymandering. Unworthy candidates riding on the coattails of senior politicians. Bullocks. I want you to be my MP, not the other 3 or 4. And if minority candidate for the PAP Michael Palmer wins his SMC, I hope they think twice about making excuses that GRCs are needed only because minority candidates will have no chance contesting in SMCs.

Did you know JBJ still won his seat in his majority-Chinese-populated Anson SMC? And since then, PAP's 'big loss', GRCs were implemented? Did you know the number of minority representatives in parliament has been more or less the same before and after GRC's implementation? And there was even a year (after the implementation) that the number of minority representatives dipped below the lowest number of minority candidates pre GRC-implementation? Go look that up. And remove GRCs, please. Your reasons for it are bullocks.

I think this 'cooling off' day is aptly named. We need to cool off and think.
I suggest you list down all the pros and cons for both parties contesting in your ward. I just did.

Thank you for spending the time to read this entry of mine. I don't wish to sway your votes, nor do I intend to force my opinions down your throat. They are just my humble opinions and like the thousands of Singaporeans around, I want these opinions to be heard. I cannot keep quiet anymore.

Disclaimer: So I kinda did contradict myself at the beginning when I said I would try to be neutral but I am sorry if it hasn't, I have come to my own conclusion. The tribe has spoken.

Peace.

Mortal Kombat, my way.

2010-11-26T16:25:00.006+08:00

Its been a while since I've blogged and frankly, I haven't felt the need to. Plus, blogging isn't cool anymore. Who gives a fuck about what is happening in your life anymore? We have Twitter for that. Even that, the people who 'follows' you won't give a rat's ass about your dumb poems, where you are or what you are doing (unless its 'who you are doing').

But recently, I've been feeling overwhelmingly frustrated and disgusted with the world around me. And I just have to blog about it.

Woah... so angst-y.

But seriously... what is wrong with the world right now? Has it become increasingly violent and morbidly inhumane or has it always been the same but since the world is now connected and you can find basically anything on the web that we are being exposed to all these callous and perverted shit?

For the record, I am not against the fact that with the Internet we can share and be exposed to this shit, in fact, I'm glad cause without these videos, blogs, sites or whatever, we wouldn't know such atrocities exist.

Yes, as you may already have an inkling, I'm talking about the videos and pictures of Chinese women stomping, crushing and dismembering cute furry bunnies or kittens with their stilettos.

That is just probably the tip of the iceberg, I've seen thumbnails of other videos (no guts to watch any of them) of dogs being stomped on, cats having their eyes gorged out with the stilettos and bunnies being beheaded or having their ears snipped off with scissors. What is wrong with these people???

I can't even stomp on a cockroach or snail knowingly! Even if I did accidentally crush a snail, I would take about 15~30 mins apologising and mourning for it (depending on the size). How could they be so heartless?

Don't even get me started with that shock video which leaked early this year on the Internet, "3 Men and a Hammer"; 2 Ukrainian 19-year-olds who tortured and killed a helpless man with a hammer and screwdriver.

They smashed his face in with the hammer, stabbed him in the eye and stomach with the screwdriver and mutilated his body beyond recognition! All this recorded in the video and all this happened right beside the road. And they were so 'cool' about it. (They have been charged with 21 other murders, some of the acts filmed too).

Oh, I didn't watch it. I felt faint just listening to the audio for a few seconds (had my eyes covered)...

To laugh and smile while killing and torturing someone (or something) really takes a lot of sickness in the head. Seriously.

Fucking. Fucking. Sick. In. The. Fucking. Head.

Even here in Singapore, with all these street gangs suddenly resurfacing and slashing each other with parangs (machetes) and stuff over the most mundane reasons! Please lah, it seems that any Tom, Dick or Harry can be in the secret societies nowadays. What happened to all the 'gang decorum' and 'initiation rituals' of yesteryear? At least there was a certain 'honour' and 'tradition' in those gangs.

As reported in the newspapers, the murderers of Darren Ng were laughing away as they slashed at him with their parangs. So we charge them with murder (but they are probably not going to get hanged anyways...).

But instead of being a deterrent or warning to potential gangs and their activities, more slashings have occured at Bukit Panjang, Teck Whye and across Singapore, all less than 2 months since Darren Ng's death.

Like seriously?

Have the youths or the world today (in general) been THAT desensitised to violence? We don't even give a flying fuck about someone's life or (for crying out loud) the consequences.
Have we become THAT inhumane?

This is so vexing. So frustrating. So disgusting. So perplexing.

So allow me to offer a solution to all these violence. We should counter all these violence with MORE violence. I mean, nothing really deters a thief from stealing than having his hands cut off, right?

We should have a tournament made for these sick people. A tournament with all these fight-to-the-death matches. And I, as the umpire, will start the tournament with the stiletto-wearing Chinese tramps and parang-welding gangster-wannabes.

As you would have already predicted, the scrawny welding-arms of the gangster-wannabes are no match for the sharp heels of the Chinese tramps (probably cos all the cheap-looking tattoos weighed them down) and they have their eyes gorged out.

Next match, these tramps go against the sick duo from Ukraine. But alas, their heels are no match for the duo's hammers which pounded their faces all the way down to their asses.

The two Ukrainian boys will now have to face off each other to be the ultimate champion of this tournament. They will have to slice/chop off the most amount of flesh from their own bodies in a sixty-second face-off ala Saw (I forgot which one...).

The winner (and eventual survivor) would be the ultimate champion and he would be rewarded with a dildo stuffed up his you-know-what (no, not back there; but ala 'Kids in Sandbox'). And he will have all the sex he wants with a huge hung horse.

Until he dies of exploded internal organs. And then we drape his coffin with one of the swimming trunks of Singapore's water polo team.

The end.
Now, who is with me?

PS: I have NOT linked this entry to any of the violent videos I have mentioned above but its not hard to find it on the Internet. And if you do find these videos, I should NOT be held responsible for your vommiting (or arousal, if you are THAT sick). Peace.

Questions from childhood answered.

2010-04-10T15:23:00.002+08:00

As I sat on the bus, on my way to school, I was suddenly self-conscious that my long hair was making my head look big.

That made me have a flashback from many eons ago right after my circumcision. A conversation between my dad and the doctor went something like this:

Dad: So when is the 'ring' going to come off?
Doctor: It would take a couple of weeks or maybe more... His head is big.

And there I was lying on the clinic bed, wondering why the hell did the size of my head mattered at all.

And ever since then, I have always been self-conscious that I have a very big head which I never really could see...

And then it dawned on me. I broke into a huge grin.
Now it makes more sense!

*slaps forehead*

Happy Birthday Orked Alesha

2010-01-07T16:44:00.002+08:00

Today marks my niece's second birthday.

Due to my laptop's premature demise today (always happens when school is about to start... dammit), Uncle Izan does not have pictures to upload now...

But don't let that blemish your special occasion, my beautiful Alesha, uncle Izan is very grateful to have you in his life and will always love you forever and ever.

Have a wonderful day (as you always do, with me... hahaha).

Loving you unconditionally,
Uncle Izan

2009 Boomz and Shingz.

2009-12-31T23:59:00.022+08:00

I intentionally had this entry published on this day. I won't be in Singapore on the 31st (by the time you read this) so this entry would be pre-written and scheduled to be published then (or today...hmmm...)

31st December marks the anniversary of this humble blog of mine. It has been 4 long and wonderful years. Not only that, this entry marks the 400th entry. So that is a hundred entries per year (kinda... I didn't really blog much this year). So to make up for my absence for a whole chunk of this year, I will try to squeeze in 2009 into one entry.

This is my annual 'People & Events of the Year'!
I thought I would expand my list this year to the Top 25 (instead of just 10 like the past 3 years). So here goes, MY very own list:

25. Let's start with our very own pride and joy, Taufik Batisah. Taufik's boo boo singing the National Anthem wrongly at the F1 event just proves to show that regardless of race, language or religion, you CAN sing the national anthem wrong.

24. Still in Singapore, number 24 goes to the S Factor 'Babes'. I have to use the word 'babes' loosely this time round... unless your idea of a 'babe' is someone who can shoot electricity out of her eyes or give 'seductive' eye contact. *cue for crickets* Even the finalists were rather un-babe-lious. Like 'siriously', what did the 'S' stand for? Stupid? Sucky? Slutty?

23. Next up is Miley Cyrus... Rich, famous and young. Can't blame her for having a little bit of racist fun, right? The Asian dude is so not game... 22. After 398 days since he hobbled out of Whitley Road Detention Centre, Singapore's number one fugitive, Mas Selamat, has been caught on the 1st of April in Johor. The only 'April' fool that emerged out from this whole mess is the Singaporean government when the Malaysian authorities not only refused to hand him over (indefinitely), but had not informed their counterparts for almost 6 weeks that they had him in detention. "Singapore government knew that Mas Selamat had been arrested", yeah, yeah right... 21. From the number one fugitive we move on to the number one man who was on my list last year, Barack Hussein Obama II. Undoubtedly the busiest man of 2009, he signed a $787 billion simulus package to curb the financial crisis, extended an outreach to the Muslim world, overhauled the entire US health care system and last but not least, won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize (that despite deploying additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan)... You would think he wouldn't have the time to hit the beach.

20. Blame E.T. (Entertainment Tonight) for drilling into my head the choice for number 20; Jon and Kate from 'Jon & Kate Plus 8'. I don't care that they are divorced, or which one of them had been unfaithful first, or who is the one stashing away money or whatever...

I just feel sorry for the 8 kids for having parents who are such media whores (same goes for the dad of the 'balloon boy'). And you think it would have been the eight kids who would be the attention seeking ones...19. Number 19 is the foulmouthed Christian Bale. He 'delivered' an expletive-radden rant at a crew member during the filming of the new Terminator movie when the crew member 'trashed' his scene by walking into his 'line of sight'... Sheesh.... D.I.V.A.

18. Technically, 'Nobody' was so last year... But it only got super uber popular beginning of this year. From its very catchy dance steps in the MV to the even more catchy lyrics, the Wonder Girls' 'Nobody' caught the world by storm - from Thai prisoners to a bored Korean air-traffic controller. An English version to the song was released in June this year but it came out too late and the song's popularity had already died down, not to mention it was sooooo CRINGE-worthy. 17. From the Wonder Girls to the 'Wonder Women'. Who can forget the drama that centred around AWARE? From the calculative takeover, to the all-Christian and all-Chinese 'new' exco, and to the $90,000 spent within weeks of the new exco, a lot of people in Singapore were outraged... And in a show of solidarity or you can call it new-age 'mob behaviour', the new exco (headed by Josie Lau) was ousted after a vote of no confidence during the 6-hours long EGM.

16. He was almost crowned American Idol 2009 but lost out to the less controversial and BORING Kris Allen (plus his rendition of 'No Boundaries' totally kicks Kris's ass), he is Adam Lambert. His performance at American Music Awards is precisely the reason why he didn't win - because we are not ready for him...

Yes, we know you are as gay as Bruno's crotch in Eminem's face...

15. Now back to Singapore, number 15 is Reverend Ming Yi. He is the founder and former CEO of Ren Ci Hospital. What's with all the controversy? Well, firstly he loaned his assistant $50,000 (from Ren Ci's fund) when Ren Ci Hospital is supposedly thriving on donations and stuff... To make it even more controversial, the monk owns race horses... Like seriously, what the hell? I wanna be a monk like that...

14. Sezairi Sezali, our third Singapore Idol. He had all the odds stacked up against him. Another Malay male Singapore Idol? Even I had wanted to vote for Sylvia initially but after hearing how biased the judges were (Ken especially) and feeling that Sezairi nailed all 3 songs that night, we switched camps and voted for him. Sezairi Sezali was eventually crowned Singapore's third Singapore Idol on 27th December to the dismay of Ken Lim... Sorry Sylvia, Ken made me do it.

13. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab is at unlucky number 13. The Nigerian Muslim had wanted to detonate plastic bombs hidden in his underwear on Christmas en route to Detroit. He instead burned his pants off and was subdued by passengers and crew members. Not only did he put the spotlight on aviation security system, he singlehandedly made us Muslims look bad... again...

12. Closer to home, Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen, made headlines by proclaiming that chicken rice, nasi lemak and chili crab (to name a few of the dishes) were Malaysian dishes and that other countries (we wonder who...) were hijacking them... If Singapore and Malaysia were ever to go to war, it will be all about food. And lady, you took the first step.

11. At number 11 is Queen Beyonce Knowles. Her song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, giving Beyonce her fifth number one single in the United States. Its MV won the 2009 BET Awards Video of the Year. In addition, it was nominated for a total of nine awards at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and ultimately won the award for Video of the Year. And that is just for that one song and its 'simple' MV.

In October, Beyonce was honored with Billboard magazine's "Woman of the Year" award. Beyonce also leads the 52nd Grammy Awards, receiving 10 nominations.

10. Just making it to top 10 is Taylor Swift. The poor girl had Kanye West raining on her parade at the MTV Music Awards when he ran onto the stage and embarrassed her by saying Beyonce should have won instead. Stupid Kanye West and his drunken tirade; this is not his first time being a sore loser too. But our sweet Taylor Swift had the last laugh when she snagged Jacob, yes THE Jacob from Twilight. 9. Next on the list is pilot C.B. 'Sully' Sullenberger.

Who? He is the hero who saved hundreds of lives when he landed his malfunctioning plane on the Hudson River (Manhattan) saving the 155 passengers on board. Its inspiring and heroic stories like this amidst the gloom and destruction that is really worth highlighting. 8. At number 8 is Rihanna. Poor girl had her battered face all over the front pages of newspaper worldwide. The abuser, then-boyfriend Chris Brown, was thrown in jail for assault charges. She recalls what happened in an interview with Diane Sawyer:

"I was bleeding. I was swollen in my face. So there was no way of me getting home, except for, my next option was to get out of the car and walk ... start walking in a gown, in a bloody face? So I really don't know what my plan was."

By the time the police came, she was already "battered" and when asked what caused the fight initially, she would only say that her boyfriend lied to her. So shouldn't she be doing the battering?

7. At number 7 is David Hartanto Widjaja, the final-year Engineering NTU student who leapt to his death after allegedly stabbing his professor with the latter's knife. Just why he did all that is still a mystery. And his professor is keeping mum. Mystery unsolved. Sheesh...

6. Speaking of unsolved mysteries... Number 6 goes to the 'unknown' driver of the hit-and-run case at Bukit Panjang on December 15th (yeah right... we sure as hell know who he is...). 3 victims - one died (3 weeks after his wedding for God's sake, his life support unplugged on Christmas some more!), one seriously injured and one discharged. Can the driver be caught already??? Oh wait, he flew back to his country like a coward shit. And that was after creating a whole string of lies. We have two witnesses. Isn't that enough? Jail his ASS NOW.

Us Singaporeans are not stupid and most of all, I believe the authorities are not corrupt.

Before I go into the Top 5, here's a look at 20 notable events in 2009:

20. Miss Gibraltar was crowned Miss World 2009 on 12th December. All together now, Miss Whaaa-t?

19. The cricket team from Sri Lanka was attacked on the 3rd of March by 12 gunmen while in Pakistan. 6 of the players were injured and 6 policemen and 2 civilians were killed.

18. In July, a series of violent clashes erupted between Uyghurs, Chinese state police, and Han residents in the city of Ürümqi resulting in at least 197 deaths and scores injured.

17. Mas Selamat was recaptured on 1st of April. Collective sigh of relief...

16. Dubai finally 'succumbs' to the global financial crisis. On 14th December, neighbour Abu Dhabi gave Dubai US$10 billion to clear Dubai World debt...

15. Singapore's very own Merlion had a bald patch after being struck by lightning on 28th February. So suay...

14. Sri Lankan civil war officially ends on the 17th of May after more than 2 decades of war with the defeat of LTTE.

13. Starting from the 13th of June, protests followed the 2009 Iranian presidential election against alleged electoral fraud and in support of opposition candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi.

12. The longest solar eclipse ever recorded occurred on the 22nd July this year.

11. Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled commercial flight from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 crew members.

10. NASA found water on the moon on 24th of September after crashing a rocket. Talk about lucky...

9. North Korea launches 7 missile launches into the Sea of Japan on the 4th of July (talk about defiance) and conducted underground nuclear tests in May.

8. 8.3 magintude near Samoan islands triggered tsunamis on September 29th; with 189 people killed, it was the largest earthquake of the year.

7. Gaza strip ground invasion ended on 18th January. Between 1,166 and 1,417 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the Gaza War.

6. Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan on the 7th of August, leaving 461 people dead and 192 others missing, most of whom are feared dead and roughly NT$110 billion in damages.

5. The rojak food poisoning in Singapore in March-April killed 2 women in Singapore and over 140 cases were reported. 4. 7.6 magnitude Sumatran earthquake occurred on September 30th, with confirmed 1,115 dead, 1,214 severely injured and 1,688 slightly injured. 3. Typhoon Ketsana hits Philippines on 25th September; with at least 464 deaths officially reported of which at least 86 people were reported dead in landslides and floods.
2. The 2009 United Nations Climate Change in Copenhagen was held between 7th - 18th December. There was so much hype about it, even nicknaming it Hopenhagen. But all we got was more bad news. We are doomed. We are going to die. Brace yourselves. 2012 is probably going to happen. 1. Swine Flu also known as H1N1 tops the list. First detected in April, it has since gone on to claim 12,220 lives worldwide. If pandemics don't kill us, global warming will.

Now back to the People of 2009:

5. Top 5 now and at number 5 is media darling, Susan Boyle. Her video in YouTube drew 83 million viewers! That is like more than 16 times the population of Singapore! Why her popularity? Blame it on our prejudice that someone that looks like her can't sing something like that... Fugly talented underdogs worldwide rejoice!

4. My favourite singer of 2009... Lady Gaga is at number 4. Some hate her, some 'don't get' her but I totally worship her. Gimme some of your Bad Romance....

Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah! Mum-mah-mum-mum-mah! GaGa-oo-la-la. 3. In top 3, I know, some of you would disagree but its our very own Ris Low!!! The dethroned Miss Universe Singapore first embarrassed herself (and us Singaporeans) when she was interviewed by RazorTV! Who are we kidding? Some Singaporeans do sound like that.

But I have to admit, as much as I hate her initially, I now love her to bits. She is shameless and her pronounciations kinda endearing. Plus, who can hate someone who is a klepto, is bi-polar and have an unsound mind? She was even named one of CNN's 25 Influential People in Asia! We just love our criminals, don't we? 2. Coming in second is a tiger in bed, as much as he is on the golf courses; he is of course, Tiger Woods. 14 lovers and counting. He once had that squeaky clean and faithful husband image but that is all bull. He's 'lion' to his wife and he is a 'cheetah'. Yeah, I'm sick of that joke as well.

WDF Tiger? You cheated on that hot wife of yours? Please keep your little 'tiger' in your pants... Plus Rihanna should learn a thing or two from your wife about dealing with infidelity, smash your (soon-to-be) ex's prize possession (in this case, his car) with another one of his prize possession (in this case his clubs). But not before you whopped his ass, of course.

1. 2009 was a year with so many stars who died so suddenly and tragicly. Stephen Gately, Brittany Murphy, David Carradine, Farah Fawcett and Patrick Swazye died way too soon. But of course, the number one person on my 2009 list has to be the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. June 25th, the whole world stood silent and in shock as they watch the video footages of the King being wheeled into a hospital. And later, the world cried buckets when his death was confirmed. The King of Pop was gone.

To some he was a great entertainer, an idol and even a 'god'. He was the true inspiration to all of us.

R.I.P. Michael.

This is it! 2009 had been a great year! Or should I say a boomz year.

My Hope for Copenhagen.

2009-12-17T03:37:00.004+08:00

I hope that we will live in a world with less convenience.
A world where a can of Coca Cola costs not just a dollar but a thousand dollars.

Why a thousand dollars?
Simply because that would be the actual cost of a can of Coca Cola.

Not convinced?

Firstly, about half of the cost would go to the extraction of that volume of aluminium you find in an aluminium can from some African country or Indonesia.

That could possibly pay for trees which were felled per square metres to extract that volume of ore; for the loss of habitat of some species and/or the land of the natives per square metre; and for the endangering or extinction of some plant or animal species (costs depending on the size or 'usefulness' of the species).

Another 50 dollars could also possibly cover the medical fees of the worker who had to extract the ore from sulphur gas-filled volcanic environment. Surely, that money would also have to cover the worker's pay sufficiently so that he won't be 'exploited', right?

Oh, don't forget, we also have to pay for the ingredients for the Coca Cola itself. We have to plant cocoa plants and sugar cane (for the sugar.. duh...). So we need to clear more land and harm more habitats. We also have to extract Kola nuts from the fragile South American rainforests. Add a few hundred dollars to pay for all that.

We need to be paying for the transportation of the ore/ingredients (we need to clear more forests for roads) to the factories (more land cleared, more workers who shouldn't be exploited).

About another couple of hundred dollars should be spent on the actual energy and pollution costs from the burning of fuel during extraction to transportation and finally to the whole process of production that can of Coca Cola (that is very energy intensive, FYI).

Spare a few fifties to pay for water wasted and/or polluted during the whole production. Don't forget the energy consumed when that can of Coke leaves the factory and into your hands.

Did I miss anything? Maybe I did, but I hope you can get the picture.

If this is really going to happen, I hope that there would be recycling bins that would pay you back about a thousand dollars for recycling. Only then would we understand the value of recycling, no?

Fortunately that hasn't happened yet. A can of Coke doesn't and will never cost a thousand dollars.

But all the other things I mentioned earlier have happened and are happening now to bring that can of Coca Cola into your very hands.

So take the value of money out of the equation and look at everything else that matters: life.

HOPEnhagen!

2009-12-11T18:08:00.003+08:00

Sign the petition. News from Hopenhagen:

The UN Climate Change Conference is underway in Copenhagen. At the opening sessions on December 7th, the Danish Prime Minister announced that "for the next two weeks, Copenhagen will be Hopenhagen." This message of optimism and hope has been reported by media around the world as global citizens look to the talks to yield a positive outcome for our planet.

As we now enter critical days in the conference, here are some good ways to stay up to date on what is happening on the ground.

With editorial partner TakePart, the Hopenhagen Blog is covering news and events at the conference from various points of view. Our guest blog entries just this week have included Al Gore and Bill McKibben.

Starting today, we are launching a series within our blog from David Kroodsma, our Hopenhagen Ambassador. David was chosen for this job by the Hopenhagen community, and we could not be more proud to be sending him to Copenhagen to represent us and report back.

The Hopenhagen Facebook group and Twitter feeds are very active with posts from our team on the ground and discussions amongst fans.

And if you're in Copenhagen this week, visit HopenhagenLIVE for a list of events, including Earth Hour Hopenhagen on December 16th. Come to the Messages of Hope Pavilion in City Hall Square to share your video message of hope.

Check back often to the Hopenhagen Blog for the latest updates, and if you haven't already, join us on Facebook and Twitter.

Let's turn Copenhagen into Hopenhagen!

Mission accomplished (well, for now)

2009-12-01T00:58:00.012+08:00

I have a confession to make. I am a travel addict.

I caught the travel bug only a few years ago, so I admit I was a late bloomer. I used to be contented with staying in Singapore but now, I can't help myself but to leave Singapore as often as I can once my school semesters end.

Don't ask me why. But its that indescribable feeling of being in unfamiliar places meeting strange but wonderful people along the way that thrills me. Its the feeling of independence and freedom to travel around that is both so liberating and exhilarating. And yes, that awe you get when you see something new or something that you have seen in books or TV that makes me hook to travelling even more than anything else.

My beautiful niece has this colouring / sticker book. It has pictures ranging from fruits to animals. There are even drawings of buildings and monuments around the world. And they are my inspirations - drawings of the Statue of Liberty, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Sydney Opera House, the Pyramids of Giza and finally the Eiffel Tower. Amateurishly drawn and printed in black ink, waiting to be coloured (or defaced by my niece, lol).

These six monuments have always been on my own personal list of the greatest things to see and places to be at. Ever since I was little, I had thought that these six things were really really cool. That is how I got into studying Architecture in the first place. And now I finally have the chance to see beautiful masterpieces of architecture - past and present, and experience the space, culture and history of the place.

I am 2/3 done, thanks to the last couple of years, Alhamdullillah.

I can't help but to feel extremely grateful and fortunate.
Because I think for me, I don't have the luxury of some people to indulge in travelling on a whim with fat wads of cash.
Thank you God for giving me all the opportunities to see what I grew up wanting to see.
And I am even more thankful to you God, for revealing before my own eyes some of your awe-inspiring and sometimes surprising wonders of nature that are scattered across the world (just not so much in Singapore, lol).
Lastly a big thank you to all those who have made all these possible.
I have been humbled and glad to see that my dreams are slowly but surely being realised.

But God willing, I want to complete my list.
Insyallah.

2009, you have been great.

Countdown to China.

2009-10-31T21:41:00.003+08:00

Countdown To China
Less than 2 weeks to Ching Chong land.
Will be blogging here when the time comes.

But do enjoy my last blog to India and Dubai here.

The bias. The occupation. The missing report.

2009-10-27T14:07:00.004+08:00

You cannot call it self defense if its an occupation.

Why fast?

2009-09-20T00:18:00.003+08:00

A friend of mine asked me a question and I was stumped.
He had taken a module on world religions and for his essay, he researched and wrote on Islam.

So the question he asked that had me perplexed momentarily was, "Why do you Muslims fast?"

Well, the obvious reason was that it is one of the five pillars of Islam along with performing the daily prayers, performing the pilgrimage a.k.a. the hajj, paying the zakah (contributing to charities) and lastly the Shahada or the profession of faith. Fasting is not just abstaining from eating and drinking from dawn to sunset, it also means abstaining from smoking and having sexual intercourse. All that and also to avoid cussing and thinking lustful and/or evil thoughts. That said, we are encourage to 'up' our prayers and devote ourselves to God by doing good deeds like reading the Quran etc...

After that I explained to him my personal reasons for fasting.

1. To experience (maybe just briefly) the hunger faced by many of those who are less fortunate than me.
2. To symphatize with those who do not get to eat and drink as bountifully as me.
3. To cleanse myself a.k.a. detoxification.
4. To feel good, to feel closer to God (when I say 'good', I mean 'less guilty').
5. To control my desires (not only to eat and drink, but also to cuss).

6. And lastly after a month of fasting, it sure makes celebrating the end of it very much worthwhile.

So to all my Muslim friends, Eid Mubarak Greetings.
Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.

The Little things.

2009-09-11T01:28:00.004+08:00

People who survived 9/11

The head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
his turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
because of an auto accident.

One of them
missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
time to change.

One's
car wouldn't start.

One went back to
answer the telephone.

One had a
child that dawdled
and didn't get ready as soon as he should have.

One couldn't
get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
took the various means to get to work but before he got there,
he developed a blister on his foot.
He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today.

Now when I am
stuck in traffic,
miss an elevator,
turn back to answer a ringing telephone,
all the little things that annoy me,
I think to myself,
this is exactly where
God wants me to be
at this very moment.

Next time your morning seems to be
going wrong,
the children are slow getting dressed,
you can't seem to find the car keys,
you hit every traffic light,
don't get mad or frustrated;

God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
with all those annoying little things
and may you remember their possible purpose.

I wonder...

2009-08-29T15:37:00.006+08:00

Ever wondered how you would look like if you were not born of your 'current' race?

Well, I have. And I have also wondered how I would look like 40 years from now (that is, if I have that long a life, God willing).

Wonder no more, I stumbled onto this awesome website that can transform you from a baby to an elderly, from black to white, from a manga character to an ape-man! Click here.

Awww... so cute as a baby:

Me still young...:

Me as a teenager:

Me as a an elderly:

This is me as a girl (not very pretty I admit):

This is the overly masculine me:

This is me if I were born a Caucasian man:

Somewhat an intermediate:

This is me as an east asian man:

Me as a south/west asian man:

This two are variations if I were African/Carribean:

And this is me as a Manga charactor:

Have some perspective.

2009-07-20T10:54:00.000+08:00

H1N1: How I Noe 1?

2009-06-26T22:51:00.003+08:00

H1N1 has hit a little too close for comfort. Why oh why must I be working in school? Why or why must there be the SDE camp? And why oh why must I have gone into that room? The room which was rumoured to house the 2 quarantined students from the camp?

Why? Why must this happen to me when I was already so excited to fly off next week?

Now I think I have a sorethroat... I think.

Gone too soon.

2009-06-26T10:21:00.011+08:00

Dear Michael,

I am not exaggerating when I say that your music have molded me into the person I am today.
Why?

You were my childhood idol and I can't help it but to feel devastated. Apparently its not true that Heaven can wait for you this time around.

Even now that I am all grown up, you have made me look at that man in the mirror and reflect. We are all not that invincible and unbreakable after all. Blame it on the boogie.

But I smile when I remember the time I first heard your song 'Ben'. Who is it? I asked, barely 4 years old and I could already get it. It was the way you made me feel so inspired and important with the messages through your song, that we were the world. Since then I have learnt so much growing up with your music.

I learnt how to jam as I rock with you along with Billie Jean, the thriller and the smooth criminal.

I have learnt from you that racial discrimination is a dangerous reality and we should neither discriminate nor care if you and I are black or white.
I have learnt of the reckless disregard humans have for our environment and other human beings singing the Earth Song but its not too late as long as we keep the faith.

I learnt that there are bad people out there and they don't care about us.
But at the same time you have taught me that human nature can be equally as good.

Because Michael, you are not alone, because of your songs you have made many people happy and inspired to work and come together so that one day in our small way we could heal the world. We're almost there, thanks to you.

Tell me I'm not dreamin' that you have passed on because its still has not sunk in. I never can say goodbye. Because Michael, you are like a comet blazing across the evening sky, gone too soon.

With a child's heart,
sHa-Z

R.I.P. Michael and Farrah

2009-06-26T07:42:00.002+08:00

I'm actually really sad that Michael Jackson has died.

He was my childhood idol way back before all the scandals and accusations. Since then, the media and paparazi has not been too kind on this softspoken singer.

People who are destined for greatness never live long. Rest in peace, Michael.

The has-been.

2009-06-22T11:16:00.004+08:00

Architecture is a subjective 'subject'.

That 'mantra' is the only one that is keeping me from resigning to the attitude that I might have become a 'has-been'. The attitude I have seen so many promising prodigies throw in the towel and have now become average.

I am not average. I am still a genius. What is a grade but a number/letter?

Love thy mother... (and kill off thy father?)

2009-06-06T17:05:00.003+08:00

It all started innocently when I was watching an episode of the Simpsons (wait... Simpsons? innocent?). There was a passing comment about this Greek legend, the story of Oedipus, who according to legend, fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father, who was also the king, and marry his mother. Sounds really incestuous, huh? Not unless you learn of his 'story'.

So anyways, story goes that before he was born, his parents consulted some 'fortune reader' who foretold that their unborn child would kill the king and marry the mother. So they gave him away to a shepherd who gave him away to another king of a distant kingdom. When he grew up, he travelled back to his former kingdom to flee from some conflicts in the kingdom.

At a crossroad, he had a dispute with (unknown to him at that time) his birth father. There, a fight ensured and he ended up killing his father. As he travelled further, he encountered a sphinx, which blocked the road to the kingdom and it would kill anyone who couldn't answer its riddle. Oedipus, being the awesome man that he was, oozing with awesomeness, solved the riddle. The sphinx, in awe of his awesome awesomeness, threw itself off the side of a cliff (gee... allowing him to pass through would have been easier).

So the people of his former kingdom was so thankful that they made him king and married the newly widowed queen (who was unknown to him at that time was his mother). They bore kids and they lived happily ever after.

NOT.

Plagues hit the kingdom, crops failed and women were not bearing children. To cut long story short, the plagues could only end when the killer of the former king was executed, Oedipus who wanted to so desperately be the hero to alleviate his people from their sufferings, went to investigate and he ended up realising that it was he himself. His mother/wife killed herself and he gouged his eyes out with pins found on her dress.

The end.

Singapore's first H1N1.

2009-05-27T22:18:00.003+08:00

About time Singapore has its first case. Who are we kidding? It is I-N-E-V-I-T-A-B-L-E.

People travel abroad, mingle with people, catch it and bring it back as a souvenir. It is bound to spread to every major city in the world. And we shouldn't be holding our breath as we wait for it to spread to Sierra Leone or East Timor.

Look on the bright side, this shows Singapore is what she claims to be; a truly cosmopolitan city where people from all across the globe gather to share knowledge, skills, expertise and now, diseases.

Underdogs RULEZ!!!!!

2009-05-21T10:05:00.002+08:00

YAY Kris!!!

Fitrah

2009-05-09T00:31:00.005+08:00

In Heaven, you will bloom.
Our Angel Baby is who you are.
You left us too soon.
We will always love you, Fitrah.

Amin.

2009-05-08T01:45:00.003+08:00

"The Prophet (salAllahu alayhi wasalam), peace be upon him, said "The miscarried child will pester its glorious and mighty Lord for His entering its two parents into the Fire until it is told, 'O miscarried child that pesters its Lord! Enter your father and mother into Paradise.' By her in whose Hand is my life, the miscarried fetus will drag her mother and father towards the paradise, with her navel string if they had shown the patience for the sake of reward from Allah."

Save AWARE!

2009-04-28T14:10:00.005+08:00

The Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) has been taken over by a group of people whose values are opposed to what AWARE stands for. This group of newcomers (who have joined AWARE for 5 months or less and have not volunteered a single hour of work) are linked to fundamentalist churches.

Petition:

AN OPEN LETTER IN SUPPORT OF GENDER EQUALITY FOR ALL

As Singaporeans overseas and at home, we are very concerned about the take-over of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) on 28 March 2009 by a group of people, whose values are opposed to what AWARE stands for. For nearly 25 years, AWARE has worked to advance gender equality for all women in Singapore, regardless of race, religion, or sexuality.

Through its many contributions, AWARE has significantly enhanced women’s capacity to make informed choices over their bodies and their lives.

We support the Save AWARE Campaign (http://www.we-are-aware.sg) on the following grounds:

1. Media reports indicate that the newcomers, now on AWARE’s new Executive Committee, are, at best, ignorant of AWARE’s mission and, at worst, ideologically opposed to this.

2. There are clear indications from media reports that the take-over was by a group with affiliations to known fundamentalist organisations – notably, Church of Our Saviour and Focus on the Family (as well as possibly Liberty League and Exodus International). As reported in the Straits Times (18 April 2009), six of the eleven current Ex-Co members attend the Church of Our Saviour, which has publicly stated its position on women’s role and status. In the document ‘God’s Order for the Family’, posted as a resource on the Church’s website , it is openly stated that ‘the wife is in subjection to her husband’ and ‘women [are] to continually deny themselves and yield the rule to men’. This document states: ‘feminist movements…are not according to God's order’. Rather, ‘His will for a young women is to do four things: (1) marry, (2) bear children, (3) guide the house, (4) not be a reproach to her husband.’

It is highly unlikely, to say the least, that members of a church promoting such values would champion gender equality for all women in all spheres of life. Rather, it is more likely that this fundamentalist group would engage in an exercise of defining who qualifies as a ‘woman’ and who does not. If so, this would be diametrically opposed to AWARE’s inclusion of all women as having the right to gender equality, be they gay or straight, married or unmarried, mothers or not, employed or not, Christian or not.

3. Various blog writers have pointed out that this hostile take-over is a warning sign of fundamentalist ambitions that may extend far beyond AWARE. The question has been raised several times why fundamentalists have been motivated to take over a secular organisation like AWARE. Is it to ‘confuse others into believing that these agendas are supported by an organisation which is concerned with women’s best interests from a feminist and humanist point of view, rather than a Christian fundamentalist point of view’? (http://www.glass-castle.org) Is this the thin end of a wedge that may subsequently affect other secular civic organizations and perhaps even beyond?

4. The new Ex-Co has not communicated with the rank and file membership of AWARE, despite the public controversy that has broken out, leaving members to learn about AWARE from media reports. It has sacked all the current heads of the AWARE sub-committees, including the summary dismissal of Braema Mathi, Chairperson of AWARE’s CEDAW Committee. (CEDAW is the UN Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women.) It has refused to disclose specific plans, despite repeated questioning by journalists.

The recently elected President, Claire Nazar, resigned after 11 days, because of what she described as the new Ex-Co’s ‘Stormtrooper tactics’ (The Straits Times, 19 April 2009). All these acts and omissions are symptomatic of the duplicity and disingenuousness that underlie this take-over by stealth.

5. This was confirmed in the recent letter to AWARE members written by the Immediate Past President, Constance Singam, who noted that ‘although the team [the new Ex-Co] had publicly said that they would honour Aware’s founders and build on the good work of past members, their private behaviour suggested otherwise.’ ‘In private meetings, the exco showed a complete lack of respect for me, ignoring my advice and keeping me out of an exco meeting when I had the right to be there, as stated in the Constitution,’ she wrote (The Straits Times 19 April 2009).

We, the undersigned, support the Save AWARE Campaign as a collective endeavour to reclaim AWARE as a vehicle to advance women’s rights to gender equality and individual choices. We call on the fundamentalist group who have taken over to respect AWARE’s vision of ‘gender equality for all’ and its mission ‘to identify areas for improvement in gender equality, encourage positive change; and support women in realizing their highest potential.’ As reported by The Straits Times (10 April 2009), when this new group was asked at the recent Annual General Meeting if they believe in equality, ‘they kept repeating they were there to support women and to make sure they got ahead and got all the opportunities given to them.’

We call on this group to quit AWARE as soon as possible, if they cannot uphold its foundational vision and mission. We call on all Singaporean citizens and permanent residents concerned with the continuing existence of a secular civil society in Singapore to support the Save AWARE Campaign.
Sign the petition

The Save AWARE! Gender equality for all! petition to Singaporeans overseas and at home (only citizens & permanent residents please) was written by Gender Equality and is hosted free of charge at GoPetition.

Note:
AWARE's Extraordinary General Meeting (EOGM) will be held on the 2nd May 2009 (2-5pm), when members can vote on whether they have confindence in the current ex-co.

EOGM venue: First Choice Auditorium, 3 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-01 HSR Building Singapore

Sign up first as a member of AWARE and encourage your friends to join here.

My missing tip.

2009-04-26T22:50:00.005+08:00

I had an accident a week back with my cutter. I was working on my model on the day before my model submission in studio when the blade went over my steel ruler and through my finger tip.

And there it was, a big pinkish part of me (below, between the cutter and ruler). Surprisingly there was no blood, until 5 seconds later when tissues after tissues were insufficient to stop the flow. So I went to the clinic in the company of good friends (did I say 'good', I meant 'great'). And the nurses initially told me I needed stitching. I was like, "Oh f*ck." But, they cleaned the wound and saw the mess... and said, "Ermm... actually there is nothing left to stitch."

And I went, "oh f*cking great."
Left the flesh on the table back in school. Smart move.

My finger is fine now... well almost. I have always known that I had regenerative powers like Wolverine... or maybe I am Wolverine, with no recollection of my past at all.Now it looks like that Sauron's eye from Lord of the Rings...

RIBA

2009-04-05T18:28:00.002+08:00

I will be back like two weeks from now.

Busy, busy, busy.

Wish me luck.

I have voted Earth, why didn't you?

2009-03-29T01:07:00.005+08:00

So I was in school for Earth Hour (would have been uneventful if I were alone at home since the family was out) and for that one hour I was going around my school turning off the lights with my 'sidekick'.

It was fun and it felt fulfilling, you know? Small an action as it was, it was still some contribution I could give for that one hour.

But, of course there were some who thought I was being a 'nuisance'. Think what you want, tsk-tsked as much as you want or complain as much as you want, I did my part and I am not embarrassed. If you couldn't have worked in the dark for one little hour or taken a break instead and walked outdoors to enjoy the cool fresh air, then I should be the one tsk-tsking you.

If I were such an 'inconvenience' in this one little hour, think of how much inconvenience future generations would feel when your 'shortsightedness' warms the Earth's temperature tenfold and they couldn't have enjoyed walking out and about at nights such as this without a protective suit.
Think about it.

I Vote Earth!

2009-03-24T13:45:00.004+08:00

8.30pm Saturday March 28, 2009 Lights-off to see your world in a new light.

Join us and spread the word by:

Adding earthhour@live.com.sg for updates on the Earth Hour initiative and be connected with other supporters.
Viewing the Earth Hour 2009 video here to find out more about the importance of global action on climate change and how your participation can make a difference.
Adding “I support Earth Hour 2009” or “I Vote Earth!” to your Windows Live Messenger name field.
Registering at http://microsoft.msn.com/Key=26337.Qj55.Q.CY.M5wNRr and switching off your lights for an hour on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 8:30 pm.
Inviting your family, friends and colleagues to do the same by letting them know that you are participating in Earth Hour and that they should as well.

Show us your support and see the difference you can make.

Give me a pencil and I will give you the world, give me Sketch Up and I will do this...

2009-03-19T22:57:00.001+08:00

Click here if you can't view.

Self-indulgent entry again.

2009-03-11T01:15:00.002+08:00

Try it! http://www.quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

Your view on yourself:
You are intelligent, honest and sweet. You are friendly to everybody and don't like conflict. Because you're so cheerful and fun people are naturally attracted to you and like to talk to you.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You like to flirt and behave seductively. The opposite sex finds this very attractive, and that's why you'll always have admirers hanging off your arms. But how serious are you about choosing someone to be in a relationship with?

Your views on education
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:
You have plenty of dream jobs but have little chance of doing any of them if you don't focus on something in particular. You need to choose something and go for it to be happy and achieve success.

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:
You are afraid of having no one to rely on in times of trouble. You don't ever want to be unable to take care of yourself. Independence is important to you.

Who is your true self:
You are full of energy and confidence. You are unpredictable, with moods changing as quickly as an ocean. You might occasionally be calm and still, but never for long.

Stress.

2009-03-10T15:06:00.003+08:00

I sat down beside him, listening to his monotonous and disparaging remarks.

I sat down beside him, listening to his dull and condescending tone.

I saw my cutter on my table, blade not retracted.

I sat down beside him, listening to him speaking in jibberish now.

I sat down beside him, bloody scenes playing in my head.

I sat down beside him, listening to him so full of himself and at the same time bringing me down.

I picked my cutter up, I paused.

And I retracted the blade before putting it back.

I sat down beside him, smiling.

You don't need to read a book or watch a movie to know that he's just not into you.

2009-03-08T02:30:00.012+08:00

February is usually the unofficial month for love... and vomit-inducing public displays of affection. But strangely all I see around me last month were break-ups and heart-breaks. And usually the females are the ones who are left in the lurch.

So allow me to dedicate this entry to you ladies out there. And trash talk my kind - boys or men depending on their age or level of maturity. Yes, I will blog about the gender with twice the heads but half a brain. God's rough draft before the improved copy.

Being a single guy has its perks: listening to girls complain about their boyfriends or exes and hearing how loser-ish they really are.

Gone are the days when I envy attached guys. Cause they are mostly a bunch of immature dumba**es who do not know how to treat their girls right. But of course there are a handful who have been truthful and loving to their other halves. And those are the ones I admire... but not envy.

Its hard to find someone who brings a smile to your face just thinking about that person. And boys will be boys, will get sick of something or someone very easily. And that smile will eventually turn into subconscious resentment and exasperation.

Take it from me who have heard it one too many times; boyfriends getting sick of their girlfriends. While its easy for me to tell the girls, move on, he is just not into you anymore, that is frankly all I can say.

Move. On.
And of course I will add the, that guy is a jackass to begin with.

He has the maturity and attention span of a 2-year-old toddler. You do not want to take care of a big baby like him. Heck, even Cate Blanchett was wise enough to let Brad Pitt go. So unless your boyfriend is Brad Pitt, let that emotional-retard go.

The biggest male role model in my life is my Dad. And I will follow in his footsteps how he treats the most important woman in his life, my Mum - with respect. He helps around the house instead of waiting to be served. And I have never once seen him raise his voice at my Mum, even when she nags and nags.

That is how a man should treat any lady. With respect.

But I have heard of my friends' boyfriends abusing them.
Either verbally or physically or both.
I think the former is just as bad the latter.

Whoever said 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me' is definitely wrong. While the external bruises and scars will eventually go away, its the verbal abuse that scars the spirit and heart, for a really long time. You doubt yourself, your abilities and your self worth.

Take this friend of mine, (a model, mind you) who has a boyfriend who picks on her every little flaws and magnifies them tenfold. She thinks she is fat and ugly.

Another friend has a boyfriend who 'took her in' because he feels pity for her and he never fails to constantly remind her of her 'situation'.

Or another friend whose ex-boyfriend repeatedly compared her to this other girl... whom he eventually went out with after their break-up.

Guys are jerks.
We have huge egos and we want to slap it in your face whenever we can.

These guys definitely have esteem issues and they are taking it out on you. They don't want to lose and by making you feel small, they feel bigger.

Its them you should be pitying. Never yourself.

Lastly, guys who physically abuse women - be it their girlfriends or wives, mothers or sisters; a man is the protector, never the aggressor. And guys who hit women are f*cktards. Bloody cowards who are the scums on this earth.

There will never be an excuse to hit a woman. Ever.

I was really appalled when my female friends were narrating how their ex-boyfriends used to hit them (don't let me see them again, I'm going to personally kick their ass). This is just so inexcusable.

Not a push or a shove. Not even a strand of hair should be pulled, let alone an ear be bitten.

Chris Brown really deserves jail time.
Lets see how he likes it when someone or some people in prison hold him down in a headlock and munch on his ears.

8th March 2009

Something to make you smile... at work.

2009-03-08T00:45:00.003+08:00

Laugh out loud, I sure did.

Workplace Dares

ONE-POINT DARES
1. Ignore the first five people who say 'good morning' to you.
2. To signal the end of a conversation, clamp your hands over your ears.
3. Leave your fly open for one hour. If anyone points it out, say,"Sorry,I really prefer it this way".
4. Walk sideways to the photocopier.
5. While riding in an lift, gasp dramatically every time the doors open.
6. When in the lift with one other person, tap them on the shoulder and pretend it wasn't you.
7. Finish all your sentences with "In accordance with the prophecy...
8. Don't use any punctuation.
9. Interrupt your conversation with someone by giving a huge dejected sigh.
10. Use your highlighter pen on the computer screen.

THREE-POINT DARES

1. Say to your boss, "I like your style", wink, and shoot him with double-barrelled fingers.
2. Kneel in front of the water cooler and drink directly from the nozzle.
3. Shout random numbers while someone is counting.
4. Every time you get an email, shout ''email''.
5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once everyone has got over his or her caffeine addictions, switch to espresso.
6. Keep hole punching your finger. Each time you do, shout,"dagnamit, it's happened again!". Then do it again.
7. Introduce yourself to a new colleague as "the office bicycle". Then wink and pout.
8. Call I.T. helpdesk and tell them that you can't seem to access any pornography web sites.

FIVE-POINT DARES

1. At the end of a meeting, suggest that, for once, it would be nice to conclude with the singing of the national anthem (extra points if you actually launch into it yourself).
2. Walk into a very busy person's office and while they watch you with growing irritation, turn the light switch on/off 10 times.
3. For an hour, refer to everyone you speak to as "Dave".
4. Announce to everyone in a meeting that you "really have to go do a number two".
5. When you've picked up a call, before speaking finish off some fake conversation with the words, ''she can abort it for all I care''.
6. After every sentence, say 'Mon' in a really bad Jamaican accent. As in: "The report's on your desk, Mon." Keep this up for one hour.
7. In a meeting or crowded situation, slap your forehead repeatedly and mutter, "Shut up, damn it, all of you just shut up!"
8. At lunchtime, get down on your knees and announce, "As God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again!"
9. Repeat the following conversation 10 times to the same person: "Do you hear that?" "What?" "Never mind, it's gone now."
10. Present meeting attendees with a cup of coffee and biscuit; smash each biscuit with your fist.
11. During the course of a meeting, slowly edge your chair towards the door.
12. As often as possible, skip rather than walk.
13. Ask people what sex they are. Laugh hysterically after they answer.
14. While a colleague is writing, grab their pen and throw it out of the nearest open window.

Courtesy of a friend, of a friend, of a friend.

Read this before you decide to get married.

2009-02-18T14:59:00.005+08:00

An extract of an article, written by Rabbi Dov Heller, M.A. (sent via email by a friend)

Read it before you decide to get married. If you are already married, read anyway to see if your approach to your present marriage needs a little tweaking.

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with rising divorce rates, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding.

If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll say: "We're in love." I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date.

Choosing a life partner should never be based on love (alone). Though this may sound not politically correct, there's a profound truth here. Love (alone) is not the basis for getting married.

Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone. You need a lot more.

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner.

QUESTION #1: Do we share a common life purpose?
Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone.

What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose.

Two things can happen in a marriage. You can grow together, or you can grow apart. 50 percent of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life – bottom line -and marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION #2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?
This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of having good communication is trust! i.e. trust that I won't get "punished" or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings.

A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION #3: Is he/she a mensch?
A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person.

How can you test? Here are some suggestions.
i) Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis?
ii) Are they serious about improving themselves?

A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right thing". "So, ask about your significant other: What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic?"

Usually, a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. There are essentially two types of people in the world: People who are dedicated to personal growth and people who are dedicated to seeking comfort.

Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION #4: How does he/she treat other people?
The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure.

Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self-absorbed? To measure this, think about the following:
i) How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as
waiters, bus boys, taxi drivers, etc?
ii) How do they treat parents and siblings? Do they have gratitude and
appreciation?

Do they show respect? If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything, you cannot expect that they'll have gratitude for you – who can't do nearly as much for them!

iii) Do they gossip and speak badly about others? Someone who gossips cannot be someone who loves others. You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly will eventually treat you poorly as well.

QUESTION #5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married? Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve" them after they're married.

As a colleague of mine puts it, "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage ... for the worse!" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you aren’t ready to marry them.

In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues.

Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself in trouble because you didn't do your homework.

Subject: HOW WILL I KNOW IF I'VE MET THE PERSON I SHOULD MARRY?
The choice of a marriage partner should not be based on "I get a warm, wonderful feeling whenever we're together and I want to have that warm wonderful feeling forever, so let's go get married".

Feelings, as we have discussed, have no logic on their own. They need to be acknowledged, of course, but they need considerable assistance from your brain.

Marriage means choosing the person you will spend the rest of your life with. This, as you may have guessed, is a very long time to spend with one person. This person will live with you, eat meals with you, sleep with you and go on vacation with you. More important yet, this person will share your children.

You need to choose wisely. The decision should not be made based on feelings alone. You need to ask yourself some tough questions. The decisions have to be made on solid considerations. Will this person be a good partner? Is she mature enough to put her own selfish desires aside to look out for what is best for the family? Is he prepared to be a good provider? What is his track record? Is he responsible enough to get a good job and keep it?

Will this person be a good parent? Can you stand the thought of your children turning out exactly like this person? They will, you know. Children spend a lot of time with their parents and consequently pick up many or most of their parents' character traits. You had better like your spouse's traits a lot because you will be seeing them again in your children.

If something were to happen to you, would you completely trust this person, alone, with the task of raising and forming your children? This is not a pleasant thought, but it is an important consideration. Not everyone dies at a ripe old age with great grandchildren gathered around the bed. Sometimes a parent dies and leaves young children in the care of the other parent. If you feel that you would need to be around to correct or lessen this person's influence on your children, then you are considering the wrong person.

Does this person share your faith in God? God does not give us children so that we can mould them into the coolest, most popular people in school. Our job is to get them to heaven. To do that, we need to raise them believing in God. It is tough to do that if only one parent believes.

Saying "This is right and that is wrong, and I want you to ignore Mommy until you are thirty-five" does not work. Small children ask about eight million questions in a single day. The answers to those questions go a long way toward forming the kind of adults they will become. Who will be answering those questions for your children?

Does this person you are marrying have sexual self-control? Single people sometimes have this idea that marriage is just some kind of lifelong sex festival and that as long as they have each other, they will never be tempted by other people.
Wrong!

There are many times in every marriage when one partner or the other is sexually unavailable - illness, the last months of pregnancy, travel. There are also times when spouses, just get on each other’s nerves. At times like this, other people can seem very appealing. That can be dangerous, because there are plenty of very attractive people out there who are willing to make themselves available to married men and women.

Do you want someone who has never said "no" to sex? If he is not good at saying "no" at eighteen, it won't be different at forty. Do you want to worry about whether or not your spouse is being faithful?

These are very important questions, and if you are not comfortable with all of the answers, you should definitely not marry this person. None if this is to say that feelings play no role at all in a marriage decision. You don't have to say, "Well, I suppose that you would make a good spouse and parent, so even though I don't particularly like you I guess I'll marry you'.

You need to be happy and excited about the prospect of spending your life with someone. Your brain however must acknowledge that this person as a good choice.

Don't listen to your heart alone nor your head alone.

Wait until your heart and head agree.

Finding the ugliness that works for you.

2009-02-15T00:48:00.005+08:00

I have to say this. I hate reading blogs of good-looking people. As much as blogs of those who travel a lot. Lagi worst if the blogs are of good-looking people who travel a lot.

Or even worst, good-looking lovey-dovey couples who travel together... That has to be the worst...

But back to what I wanted to blog about. How good-looking people can both irk me and fascinate me.

Both good-looking guys and girls can attract my attention. No, I'm not bi, but its... just intriguing. How their lives are most probably easier than looks-challenged folks like us. And its always interesting and coincidental how well-to-do they are too...

My theory is that their parents are probably good-looking folks themselves who have it easy in life cos of their looks too, and they later become successful. Which in turn makes their kids more good-looking and more fortunate financially...

My second theory is plastic surgery. Rich ugly folks who transform into rich beautiful beings.

Good-looking people have it so much easier it makes me want to puke. Fine, I'm jealous. There, I said it.

I'm jealous when a friend of mine had his own fan club in secondary school.
I'm jealous when a friend of mine got stopped on the streets to pose for some magazine.
I'm jealous when some friends I know got to be models on TV commercials, on some runway or on some cellphone advertisement posters.

I'm JEALOUS. Or maybe... I should stop hanging out with them and hang out with ugly people... Now, that's a thought.

But there are still 'ugly' people who I still consider good-looking. Either they have a disposable wardrobe and they are geniuses at grooming or they have that ugliness that works for them. You know, like how America's Next Top Model's contestants are always never perfect? In fact some look downright ugly. Eyes that are too large or noses that are too sharp or jawlines that are too pronounced.

You get what I mean. They have that uniqueness that makes their overall appearance palatable. And they look stunning.

I even dare to say that Brat Pitt and Angelina Jolie are freakishly ugly. But they have that 'thing' going on for them.

Sigh...

Beautiful people...

God, I need to find that ugliness that works for me.
I want to have my own fan club anytime now.

Lost identity. Part 2

2009-02-15T00:30:00.000+08:00

Continued from Part 1.

So back to that conversation we had during lunch after the excursion, when the conversation meandered from the fabricated fantastication of Arab Street to the colonial whitewashing of the multi-cultural Kampong Gelam and then finally to the colonial romanticised 'invention' of the Malay identity. The latter troubled me. How the whole idea that my race, my identity, was primarily based on a creation. And that there was no clear geographical boundary or genetical distinction that the other races like Indians and Chinese could fall back on. Some would argue that the Malay Archipelago is a clear enough geographical boundary, but that is already flawed to begin with, cause it was again the European's coinage. Genetically, natives to the archipelago are distinct too, as further exemplified in the case of China and India.

So what makes a Malay person Malay?

By definition (again, a colonial-acquired one), a Malay person is one that practices Malay traditions (whatever that means...), speaks the Malay language (again, you see this word 'Malay' pops up) and practices Islam as his or her religion. The word 'Malay' itself is a questionably comprehensive definition. It can be an umbrella for race, tradition and language all at once. Instead of giving a clearer understanding of the denotation, it opens up more room for questions!

Like what makes the tradition Malay? Or what makes the language Malay?

We all know that the Malay language is a branch of Austronesian languages. So Malay speakers are categorized under Austronesian speakers which inadvertently means Malays are loosely categorized as Austronesian peoples. Other Austronesian peoples include Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia (and Singapore), the Philippines, and Madagascar; New Zealand; Micronesia; Melanesia; and Polynesia (source Wikipedia).

Am I comfortable with that? Maybe, if I were pure Malay. But I am not.

So one of the heritage-enthusiasts suddenly turned his attention (and probably obsession) to me. You mean, your paternal grandfather wrote on his identification card application 'Malay' instead of 'Indian'?

'Yes, I believe he had Indian ancestry. But because of that 'mistake', it benefited his children and his children's children.'

(Well, maybe more so for my Dad and his siblings, because prior to 1990, education was free to Malays, or in the eyes of the British, the 'natives' to Singapore)

And this is where it started to frustrate me as he probed more on my ancestry. Frustrating because, the more he asked, the more questions I had. Don't get me wrong, its not because I had no idea who and what my ancestors were, it was more because I felt like the stories on my ancestors were... more like 'stories' than facts. I have sat down with my parents and investigated myself on where my grandparents and their parents before them originally came from. Like how my maternal grandfather was a fisherman from Terrenganu ( and my Mum has pride... or maybe delusion in narrating this) with some Arabic ancestry. My maternal grandmother was an orphan from young so hers was rather blurry. My Mum insisted she was Bugis (with her smaller eyes and light skin) but I suspect she was a Chinese orphan raised in a Malay family. Its not uncommon for that back then.

My paternal grandfather had Indian ancestry but there are many varitions to as what he exactly was; the more commonly accepted 'story' was that he was an Indian Peranakan also known as Chitty (vastly living in Malacca). Chitty's were originally Dravidian Tamils who migrated to Malaya and adopted local Malay culture and attire but not the Islamic faith (more commonly, but in my case, I think my late grandfather's ancestors converted). My paternal grandmother had her ancestry traced back to Javanese Sri Lankans. There is a romanticised 'history' of how many centuries ago family members and followers of a paticular Javanese royalty were forced into exile from Java and they then settled in Sri Lanka.

At the birthday party of my niece, I had the pleasure to 'introduce' my friend to my whole extended family.

"See, the Indian-looking ones are from my dad's side and the Chinese-looking ones are from my mum's side."

Simple.

Yes, but not to me.

25 disgusting things about me.

2009-02-13T22:19:00.002+08:00

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

1. About time someone tagged me. 7 people to be exact. Cos I love talking about me, me and me. And that is stomach churning-ly disgusting sometimes. Sometimes.

2. I love my niece. A lot. More than life. I go goo-goo gaa-gaa when I am with her.

3. I love my parents. I am a Mummy's boy without a doubt. I have no qualms about showing affection to my mum. And I cried buckets when my dad had a heart attack more than a year ago.

4. I am the youngest child in the family. Very typically spoilt, bratty and rebellious. I get my way most of the time.

5. I have very hairy feet. My friends who saw them once called me 'hobbit'. I sometimes have to trim them. Otherwise you can braid the hairs on my toes.

6. I have very hairy legs too. Just below the knee onwards. My friends called them 'leg pubes'... But I love my hairy legs. Once in Alaska, when my friends decided to go fishing, I was wearing only berms that day. Though it was freezing at the jetty that time (early spring in Alaska is as good as winter), I felt fine... same can't be said for my upper body even with a sweatshirt on...

7. My right nostril is more blocked than my left. I can breath normally but when I inhale deeply, I notice that only my left side of my nose 'deflates'. I would like to have a corrective surgery done on that... a small sharper nose would not hurt too... LOL.

8. Speaking of surgeries, I once had a growth removed on my lower lip. The doctor initially thought it might have been cancerous or something... But it was just a swelling salivary gland.

9. I think I might have slight dyslexia. Huge chunks of word give me headaches. Or maybe I am just 'cock-eyed'.

10. I have to keep saying the alphabet to find the letter I want in the dictionary. I somehow cannot remember the sequence of the letters without saying them out loud.
11. I have poor memory. I used to drink all kinds of sickening herbal soups or tonic drinks like there was once I drank a bottle of seahorse essence i.e. seahorse semen every night.

12. I wash my hair once in 2 days. After everytime I do, I would immediately wear a cap to 'keep' the aroma on.

13. I have a 'No-smoking' sign on the back of my door which I find very ironic. I hate the smell of smoke too... again, ironic.

14. I have been trying to weigh above 60kg. Even when I do, I would lose that few kilos almost immediately. Don't hate me but its easier for me to lose weight.

15. I wanna travel around the world. For free... I plan to go on a half-a-year trip around the world next year. To the States again (Western U.S.) and then Europe.

16. I call people I love around me names. If you have a nickname from me, you should be flattered. My three closest buddies are Asshole, Moron and Idiot. They call me Bitch.

17. I punched a guy once. Because he was plain irritating. Been a while since I vented my anger out like that. I have a fiery temper... its surprising, even to myself.

18. The most injury-prone part of my body is my left middle finger. From having it crushed under a boulder in Canada to having paper cuts to having numerous mishaps with the cutter, it has been through a lot.

19. I am in NUS architecture. I feel so frustrated sometimes that I think I would feel better slashing myself with the cutter.

20. I love playing with fire. I am the official BBQ-fire starter. I once started a small fire at the corridor of my late grandmother's house and played with it for hours.

21. I have a habit of turning a group of people against one particular person be it because he or she is lazy or just plain irritating. I see that as creating group dynamics.

22. I read somewhere that I might have a one-in-a-million condition. I sneeze when I have some you know...... sexual thoughts.... So the next time I sneeze, its probably cause I'm horny. Don't ask me the exact science behind this but I think its because the 'wires' in my brain would get crossed and my body reacts by sneezing.

23. Another bodily function that is like clockwork would be how I pee before and after I take a dump. Without fail. Its useful cause I know when the curtains come down on the 'show'.

24. Another thing about me is that I am heaty. That's why you see me drinking green tea or 'gui hua' most of the time. Otherwise... I would bleed from my... not nose... but ass. Like seriously bleed... profusely. More like gush out. I would feel very moody after that cause of the soreness... Sounds familiar? It used to happen monthly or bi-monthly too!

25. I am a very direct sort of person. I might sound bitchy but I say what is on my mind. Of course, I say it with humour (more like sarcasm)... So that is why people think I am sorta 'wild'.

But I still think I am a good boy.

That's it.

Complaint letter about Mr. Shaziran Bin Shahabdeen

2009-02-13T21:51:00.002+08:00

There are three talking points that no reasonable letter about Mr. Shaziran Bin Shahabdeen can possibly ignore:

Simple-minded fribbles are undeniably the lowest form of human life.
Whenever Shaziran finds himself confronted by the law, he insists it needs reforming.
It scares the bejeezus out of me to know that Shaziran might glorify purblind, namby-pamby potlickers before the year is over.

With this letter, I hope to inculcate in the reader an inquisitive spirit and a skepticism about beliefs that Shaziran's sycophants take for granted. But first, I would like to make the following introductory remark: At this point in the letter I had planned to tell you that I am undoubtedly horrified by Shaziran's devotion to the idea of a benevolent dictatorship of a self-appointed elite. However, one of my colleagues pointed out that one task that rests on all of our shoulders is to protect the interests of the general public against the greed and unreason of dotty know-nothings. Hence, I discarded the discourse I had previously prepared and substituted the following discussion in which I argue that it's debatable whether it is everyone's right and need to understand how judgmental and fastidious Shaziran has become. However, no one can disagree that no matter what else we do, our first move must be to educate everyone about how his campaigns are a pitiful jumble of incoherent nonsense. That's the first step: education. Education alone is not enough, of course. We must also chastise him for not doing any research before spouting off.

Take it from me: If we can understand what has caused the current plague of fickle thieves, I believe that we can then challenge Shaziran's pertinacious assumptions about merit. Shaziran claims to have data supporting his assertion that he is a martyr for freedom and a victim of gangsterism. Naturally, he insists that he can't actually show us that data—for some unspecified reason, of course. My guess is that he's hiding something. Maybe he's hiding the fact that he says that he needs a little more time to clean up his act. As far as I'm concerned, his time has run out.

While Shaziran insists that he is a man of peace, reality dictates otherwise. Actually, if you want a real dose of reality, look at how one does not have to abridge our basic civil liberties in order to expose all of Shaziran's filthy, subversive, and destructive activities. It is an ultra-insidious person who believes otherwise. He is the hands-down, flat-out, bar-none most wild varmint I have ever seen. Enough said. Let me end by saying that I know that what I have written in this letter will send many readers (especially any who are big fans of Mr. Shaziran Bin Shahabdeen) into a tizzy or a tantrum. I am sorry, but I remind them that Shaziran fully deserves the bitter fruit of the fury of his persecutors.

http://www.pakin.org/complaint

An open letter to Obama.

2009-02-03T01:04:00.001+08:00

Click here if you can't view.

Lost identity. Part 1

2009-01-31T23:55:00.008+08:00

I am frustrated.

Yesterday I tagged along with this particular someone to this excursion around Kampung Gelam. It was interesting how I felt like a tourist even though it was the second time I went for that particular excursion and it was like my millionth time in that area. Guess all that traveling I did last year made me crave for that experience again - snapping pictures, admiring the architecture and 'feel', exploring the history, culture and such, you know... going all tourist-y.

So after that interesting walkabout, we had lunch with our tutor and a couple of other heritage enthusiasts and we began talking about (how do I put this all in a word?)... generally about 'us', the concept of Asian-ness, not the race per se, but about everything, about our identity. How there is no clear definition, how the idea of race is more intangible than tangible as we chose to believe. It is overwhelmingly mind-bending to delve into that concept of identity. And how ignorant we can get, and not forgetting complacent too about where we came from, how we came about, and eventually what we actually are.

Are we really what we are according to what is written on our identification cards?

Why have we allowed ourselves to be governed into being categorised strictly under Indian, Chinese, Malay or others (don't even get me started on that concept of 'others'). Some might argue that the idea of identifying racial groups are redundant to begin with and on the other end others would argue that we need this racial profiling because it gives us the identity. But to the latter, have you ever wondered that if you really need to be 'bestowed' this individual racial awareness and 'identity', why are the categories not further elaborated into sub-categories?

What makes an Indian man Indian? Is it because of the fact that his ancestors were from India? If that is so, would that make south Indians and north Indians the same? It is known for a fact that genetically the north Indians are much more similar to the Europeans than those in the south. So why would a Singh and a Tamil be classified the same - an Indian? I began to ponder on this after I saw on the bus a beautifully sari-dressed Sikh girl with jasmine flowers in her hair; she was presumably on her way back from the Chingay parade and she probably participated in the 'Indian' dance section of the the parade. Do you see where I'm getting at?

This is the thing about Singapore, how easily we allow ourselves to be instituted into 'our' conventional culture, race and religion; how clear the lines are drawn for us. Even in religion it is never clear, Taoism and Buddhism are always a mishmash for some Chinese here. Yet for indentity sake, they are forced to 'pick a side'.

The homogenized Chinese culture and the liquidation of dialect identity in Singapore are much credited to the government's 'Speak Mandarin' campaign decades ago. Though initial intentions were notable, basically to create a sense of unity and common communication medium amongst the Chinese here, it has since brought an undesirable lost of identity (especially for the youth). Any local youngster here can speak in their own dialect - be it Hokkien, Hakka or Cantonese (vulgarities do not count)? Few, maybe even none.

It is disheartening to know that a vast majority of the Chinese here have unwittingly embraced the delusion of their identity as that of Han-Chinese when the majority of them are in fact south Chinese. Which again, genetically the Chinese scattered across China from Tibet to Taipei, Inner Mongolia to Hainan, are as diverse as it can be.

Even the traditions of Chinese New Year celebrations across the regions in China are as diverse. I am very surprised that a vast majority of local Chinese here thinks that the staple new year's dish, yusheng (or lo hei) and the whole ritual of tossing the ingredients is a very 'China-Chinese' thing-to-do, when actual fact, most mainland Chinese have no clue what it is about. Started from humble beginnings in colonial Malaya, the modern version of yusheng was invented by a shrewd restaurant owner in Singapore back in the 1960s!

Continued to Part 2

First Black Prez...

2009-01-31T01:15:00.002+08:00

Click here if you can't view.

新年快乐, Happy 'Niu' Year!

2009-01-23T23:15:00.006+08:00

Happy Year of the OX!

Have a laugh this Lunar New Year.

TRADITIONAL CORPORATION

You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called 'Cowkimon' and market them World-Wide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows. Both are mad.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch..

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5,000 cows and none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION

ou have two cows. You have 300 people milking them.. You claim full employment and high bovine productivity. You have the newsman who reported on the numbers arrested.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You worship them.

A MALAYSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You signed a 40-year contract to supply milk at RM0.06 per litre. Then midway through, you raised the price to RM0.60 or you cut the supply. When the buyer agrees to the new price, you change your mind again and now want RM1.20. The buyer decided you can keep the milk and they go look for milk that comes from recycled cows or the cow urine instead. Your two cows retire together with the Prime Minister.

And last but not least,

A SINGAPOREAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. One cow-peh and one cow-bu.

'My daughters, they killed them': Doctor shows Israelis horror of war.

2009-01-19T23:32:00.003+08:00

By Ben Lynfield in Tel Hashomer, Israel
Monday, 19 January 2009

Like the shellings of UN-run schools and a major hospital in Gaza City, the Israeli public might have regarded the deaths of his three daughters as just more collateral damage in an ugly but justified war, if they noticed it at all. But Dr Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish is a gynaecologist at Israel's Shiba Hospital near Tel Aviv, and is well known among Israeli medical colleagues and journalists.

During the 22 days of Israel's military onslaught on Gaza, the Palestinian doctor and peace advocate who speaks Hebrew fluently had helped the Israeli media cover the war by giving phone interviews from inside Gaza.

But on Friday night, Dr Aboul Aish's scheduled live interview with Israeli Channel 10 television was conducted minutes after three of his daughters were killed by an Israeli shell. His raw anguish forced Israelis to take their first real glimpse of the suffering and death caused to Palestinian civilians.

Shlomi Eldar, the Channel 10 correspondent, his own voice choking with emotion, repeatedly noted Dr Aboul Aish's connection to Shiba Hospital as he held out his mobile phone, allowing viewers to hear the physician cry and sob: "My daughters, they killed them, Oh lord, God, God, God."

"I want to save them but they are dead," Dr Aboul Aish said. In a video of the interview, available on YouTube, the physician can be heard imploring for help while a shaken Mr Eldar pleads on air for anyone in the army who might be viewing to let ambulances reach the Aboul Aish home in the Jebalya refugee camp. "Maybe something can still be saved," he said.

Because of the publicity, another of his daughters and a brother were evacuated quickly to Israel for treatment. Other Palestinian civilians have gone without medical care for days.

But it was not just the death of his three daughters, Bisan, Mayar and Aya, 20, 15 and 12 respectively, that left Dr Aboul Aish in anguish yesterday. It was the feeling among some Israelis that he, like many other Gazans who have suffered in the violence, is being blamed for his own tragedy. At Shiba Hospital near Tel Aviv, where a surviving daughter, Sheda, 17, is being treated for shrapnel in the eye, the doctor repeated yesterday that there were no Hamas gunmen firing from his house, as the army suggested yesterday, when two shells hit a bedroom. The army is also saying the UN compound and the hospital were used by gunmen or they were nearby.

"I had left the room seconds earlier. How would gunmen have reached the roof? From where would they have entered?" he asked. The physician, who did his residency at Soroka Hospital in the Israeli city of Beersheba, was adamant he had not allowed his house to be a Hamas firing position. "I have never done anything wrong in my life. If you don't believe Palestinians, ask Israelis who doctor Aboul Aish is. They should just admit they made a mistake. There is no shame in making a mistake, but don't deceive the nation," he said in Hebrew.

An Israeli colleague, Carmi Z Margolis, director of the medical school for international medicine at Ben Gurion University, said: "This is a man known as a man of peace for many years. It's a terrible tragedy. I don't know if there was a sniper but I know the man. It needs to be investigated why they shelled the home of a man of peace in Gaza."

The preponderance of civilian casualties among the more than 1,200 Palestinian dead is only now being gently questioned in the Israeli mainstream media, which has generally accepted at face value the army's explanation that Hamas uses civilians as human shields.

The general lack of interest in Palestinian civilian casualties stems from Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel, says Yossi Sarid, former head of the liberal Meretz party. He believes public opinion is unlikely to change despite Dr Aboul Aish's tragedy.

"The window has been opened narrowly to the other side. But support for the war is overwhelming. People were tired of watching the towns in the south be shelled, so there has been almost no critical view of events."

Gaza: Time for Peace.

2009-01-19T23:13:00.004+08:00

Message from Avaaz.org:

Gaza is dying -- the battle is moving into its cities, jam-packed with 1.5 million civilians lacking food, medicine or water. President Bush undermined Thursday's United Nations ceasefire resolution, and almost 1000 people are now dead. The borders remain closed -- journalists can't get in, and desperate civilians can't get out.

But the global movement to end this war is building -- our petition is at 430,000 signatures and rising, it has been delivered to top leaders at the EU, UN and Arab League, our US members are flooding their representatives with phone calls, and Avaaz members worldwide have donated over $120,000 to an ad campaign in key newspapers.

The pressure is working -- so we're ratcheting it up with hard-hitting US ads pressing Barack Obama personally for an immediate change of tack, face-to-face petition deliveries to European leaders this week to get them to act, and working with Palestinians and Israelis to plan bold actions on the ground. But every one of these actions becomes stronger as more of us join the campaign. We need to reach 1 million signatures this week -- sign the petition now and let's forward this email to all our friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

Voices for a ceasefire are finally being heard in the Israeli cabinet
and media, Hamas is signalling it could accept a deal including Turkish forces and EU monitors, but the sides are too far apart to end this themselves.[3] That’s why action by world powers is critical to break the deadlock -- and global citizens’ voices can make all the difference if we raise an unstoppable voice calling on incoming President Obama, the EU and Arab and Muslim states to guarantee a fair and lasting ceasefire.

This week we are lobbying European and Muslim states for a more effective international initiative to end the violence, protect civilians on all sides and make normal life possible again in Gaza, while reaching out to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who is in the Middle East working for a deal (we met him last year to deliver our food crisis campaign). Meanwhile we’re challenging contacts on both sides to think creatively and accept a fair, internationally-overseen agreement.

We've already run member-funded ads in the influential Washington Post and Roll Call, the US Congress newspaper -- on the day of his inauguration this coming Tuesday, we will press Barack Obama to abandon Bush’s failed policies and act immediately to end this war, using his own words alongside hard facts to make the case in ads, US media debates and directly lobbying his team.

It's amazing what we can do when hundreds of thousands of us come together arond the world -- and if we raise our efforts to another level this week, we could help to finally end the Gaza horror. Follow the link below to take the first step by signing the petition, then spread the word so others can do the same:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_time_for_peace

With hope and determination,
Paul, Graziela, Alice, Ricken, Luis,
Brett, Ben, Iain, Paula, Veronique, Milena and the whole Avaaz team

Proportionality.

2009-01-19T22:46:00.007+08:00

A rock. A missile.

A person. A buildozer.

David. Goliath.

Are these the faces of terrorists?

Good God, what are we doing?

Why are we allowing this to still happen?

I am anti-zionist. Not anti-semitist, there is a difference you know.

2009-01-08T16:19:00.000+08:00

I was doing the daily browsing on my Facebook homepage when I saw a couple of my friends joined a group called "Free Palestine! Stop all the senseless killings! Jews are terrorists!". I was about to join that group myself until I read the last sentence.

A group that preaches an end to the violence but also hate? I see the irony in that.

Not all Jews are evil. The same as not all Muslims are terrorists (I remembered seeing 'Muslims are terrorists' vandalized onto the back door of some toilet cubicle; and I remembered how hurt and angry I was). People can be so ignorant and dumb. I am neither enlightened nor non-judgmental myself so I would spare you all the preaching. But let me share with you a little bit of what I came across.

(If you do want to join any 'hate' or liberation groups, boycott any products or join in mass protest somewhere, it doesn't hurt to learn a bit more about the history and such.)

From http://www.serendipity.li/zionism.htm:

Zionism represents itself as a political movement concerned principally with the establishment of a state in Palestine to be controlled by and for Jews. It began in the late 19th Century and attained its stated objective with the creation in 1948 of the state of Israel by the United Nations (at the insistence of the United States and without the agreement of existing Middle Eastern states). Subsequently Israel doubled the amount of territory it controlled by means of its illegal occupation of the West Bank in the 1967 and 1973 wars.

In its current form Zionism seeks to dominate all of Palestine and the Middle East by means of violence and the threat of violence (using weapons manufactured and purchased with billions of dollars of "aid" supplied by the United States at taxpayer expense) and to maximize its influence in world affairs and in world history, principally by means of control of the government of the USA (primarily by blackmailing its many corrupt politicians), at the expense of the social wellbeing not only of the Palestinians but of the peoples of all lands.

Zionists claim that Jews have the right to possess all land between the Nile and the Euphrates because (they say) this land was given to them by some entity they call "YHWH" as claimed in the Old Testament (Genesis 15:18). But this would not be the first time that documents written by humans were used to justify land grabs. (And this "YHWH" appears, from accounts in the Old Testament, to be a particularly repulsive entity, vain, jealous, given to fits of rage and directing his followers to massacre civilian populations — an entity who, if he existed, would be quite unworthy of the devotion of anyone with a sense of justice and morality.)

Zionists also lay claim to Palestine because this was territory controlled by two Jewish mini-states, Judah and Samaria, until their destruction by the Romans in the 1st C. CE. To which may be replied: If Zionist claims to a Jewish "homeland" in Palestine, based on Jewish occupation of that area 2000 years ago, are accepted as valid then the claims of North American Indians to their former homeland (all of the United States) and the claims of Australian Aborigines to their former homeland (all of Australia) should also be accepted as valid, and those homelands returned. Not to mention the descendants of the inhabitants of countless mini-states which have risen and fallen over the course of thousands of years of human history. Jews have no more rights than anyone else.

Zionists are not content with having acquired a state of their own in Palestine, they also want this state to be for-Jews-only, thus the desire and intention to expel from Israeli-controlled territory all the indigenous inhabitants (a practice sometimes known as ethnic cleansing, a concept derived from the Nazi practice of "cleansing" areas of all Jews so that those areas are then Judenrein).

The idea of transfer had accompanied the Zionist movement from its very beginnings, first appearing in Theodore Herzl's diary. In practice, the Zionists began executing a mini-transfer from the time they began purchasing the land and evacuating the Arab tenants.... "Disappearing" the Arabs lay at the heart of the Zionist dream, and was also a necessary condition of its existence.... With few exceptions, none of the Zionists disputed the desirability of forced transfer — or its morality. — Tom Segev, One Palestine, Complete : Jews and Arabs under the British Mandate, quoted at http://www.thornwalker.com/ditch/snieg_conc1.htm

The Palestinians, being Arabs, are Semites. By their open contempt for, and racist persecution of, the Palestinians the Israelis show that it is they who are the real anti-Semites, and their accusations of anti-Semitism (and the accusations of their American and European coreligionists) cast at all who criticise Jews or Israel amount to no more than blatant hypocrisy.

Xymphora has some revealing quotes from Zionists, including these:

We came here to a country that was populated by Arabs and we are building here a Hebrew, a Jewish state; instead of the Arab villages, Jewish villages were established. You even do not know the names of those villages, and I do not blame you because these villages no longer exist. There is not a single Jewish settlement that was not established in the place of a former Arab Village. — Moshe Dyan, 1969

Everybody has to move, run and grab as many hilltops as they can to enlarge the settlements because everything we take now will stay ours . . . Everything we don't grab will go to them. — Ariel Sharon, 1998

The Princess turned one.

2009-01-07T13:15:00.000+08:00

My baby girl has turned one now.
Happy Birthday Orked Alesha.

2009.

2009-01-01T00:11:00.000+08:00

Happy 2009.

2008.

2008-12-31T15:39:00.032+08:00

I have been looking forward to doing this entry for one whole year cause I was having so much fun doing it last year. And now the time has come. My People of 2008.

Like any other lists, there are bound to be people who almost made it but didn't. So here are those who are bubbling under.

Lindsay Lohan. She replaces Britney this year in the chart (well, almost). Blonde but originally red-haired, beautiful, rich and not without her strings of controversies, she is the only bitch on this list we all love to hate. This year she added another jotting to her 'resume': LESBIAN. Her relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson certainly got tongues (and another part of the anatomy I can't mention here) wagging. As quoted from her interview: Bisexual? "Maybe." Lesbian? "No."

Hmm... Confused? Definitely...

Another blonde on the 'out' list, and possibly another lesbian with all that kissing other girls on stage, is the much older and much less desirable Madonna. Please Maddy, Lindsay=lesbian=hot but Madonna=lesbian=eyesore. She recently fell on stage (after kissing a female back-up dancer... what's new?). She just got divorced from her husband Guy Ritchie and was reportedly having an affair with Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez (who also broke off from his wife around the same time...). She is obsessed with some cult religion. She is dieting and exercising so much she looks like what you hang up on the door during Halloween. She is what Hollywood is all about. But can someone please tell her that anorexia with wrinkly skin was and will never be 'in'?

Next (not on the list) is Jennifer Aniston. She has gotten almost everyone's sympathy votes when her hubby was snatched away from her in 2005. She garnered more support when that very home wrecker commented she fell in love with her ex while they were on the set of Mr & Mrs Smith.

"Not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love."

Jennifer's 'cool' reply to Angelina Jolie?:

"There was stuff printed there that was definitely from a time when I was unaware that it was happening. I felt those details were a little inappropriate to discuss. That stuff about how she couldn't wait to get to work every day? That was really uncool."

Brad Pitt then later came out to say he too fell in love with Angelia during the filming of the movie. Aniston's reply to Brad Pitt? :

Another Jennifer (who almost made it to the list) is Jennifer Hudson. The third season of American Idol alumni has to be one of THE most successful idol to have been churned out from the franchise and this was even though she didn't win the competition. The singing (and acting) sensation has won numerous awards for her role in the 2005 movie, Dreamgirl, and was nominated for 4 Grammy awards. Things seemed to be perfect for this talented diva until October 24, 2008, when Hudson's 57-year-old mother, Darnell Donerson, and her 29-year-old brother, Jason, were shot to death inside Donerson's home, in Chicago, Illinois. Her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was later found dead after being reported missing for 3 days.

At home, this man shocked the entire nation of Singapore when he jumped into the white tigers' enclosure in the Singapore Zoo on 13th November. Mr Nordin Bin Montong, a contract cleaner from Sarawak, was fatally mauled by the three resident white tigers in front of many shocked onlookers. Two videos surfaced, capturing every second of the man's death, from him wading 'willingly' to where the tigers were and to his final moments when one of the tigers was pulling his limp body into the bushes with its jaws. And not to mention disturbing pictures of the huge tigers looming over the cowering man were splashed on every local newspaper for days.

Last but not least is Sufiah Yusof. She is a former mathematics prodigy from Britain (born of Pakistani and Malaysian descent) who at the age of 13 back in 1997, gained entry into St. Hilda's College, Oxford University. However in March 2008, a reporter working undercover for the News of the World found her advertising as a high profile escort under the name Shilpa Lee, quoting a rate of £130 an hour. She had reportedly been under extreme pressures from her parents since young to perform academically, this is definitely a way of expressing her rebellion. What a shame.

And now lets see who has made it to my list for 2008.

10.

Just making it on the list is Thomas Beatie. Just who is that? He is the pregnant man that the whole world almost thought was a myth (well actually, he was born Tracy Lagondino, a 'woman'). Technically Thomas, 34, didn't have male organs to begin with; he had kept his female reproductive organs to one day have children with his wife, Nancy (who is also his body-building partner). Thomas had to stay off testosterone two years beforehand for this pregnancy (and according to his interview on Oprah, the testosterone actually transformed his clitoris into a small penis!). He gave birth to a girl on June 29. Beatie is reportedly pregnant again.

Number 9 is Yip Pin Xiu, the 16-year old with muscular dystrophy, who has made sure that Singapore took notice about the Paralympics as much as the Olympics. Yip not only won the gold medal in the 50m backstroke and the silver in the 50m freestyle in Beijing 2008 Paralympic, she broke world record for the former (during the heats).
Not every success story is without its controversy, there was public outcry when it was found out she was only presented with $100,000 from the governtment and that the women's table tennis team, which got second place in the Beijing 2008 Olympics, received much more - $400,000. Where is the fairness? Or the equality? Apparently to Singapore it only applies to religion and race...

At number 8, all hail THE man, Edison Chen. He has bedded almost every single starlet that is 'bed-able' in Hong Kong (14 stars... but who's counting?) which included actresses Gillian Chung, Bobo Chan and Cecilia Cheung. And he has over 1,300 pictures to prove it! Of course he didn't intentionally leak the pictures out; they were most probably leaked out when Chen's "Cotton-candy Mac" computer was sent in for repairs and that the pictures may have been accessed and secretly copied by one or more of the shop's employees. But man... all I can say is "Wow!" Of course I have seen them, who haven't? He promised to leave the Hong Kong acting industry indefinitely but he did appear in Batman Returns this year in a minor role as a security guard (after being dropped from the larger role as the corrupt banker from Hong Kong)... And... yeah... the videos and pictures... yeah... wow...

Lucky number 7 goes to unlucky lady Sarah Palin. Lets face it, one of the many (and most obvious) reasons for the Republican John McCain's defeat is her. No one has faith in that Alaskan governor. She is one heart attack away (and that's John McCain's) from becoming the President of the United States (John McCain could have made history too, for being the oldest president to ever be elected at 72). No one wants Sarah Palin to hold that responsibility; I mean she is no Hilary Clinton. She has a tonne of controversies surrounding her; from the conservative Republican candidate's pregnant teenage daughter to ethical questions over her firing of the Alaska public safety commissioner (and other top law officials who were supposedly not loyal to her) to her bumbling interview with Katie Couric to name a few. And not forgetting Tina Fey's impersonation of her as the dumb ex-pageant queen. Simply hilarious and spot-on.

6.
Number 6 on the list is the most-wanted man in Singapore, Mas Selamat. Since his escape from the nation's Internal Security Department's detention centre at Whitely Road on 27th February, the Singaporean government has launched the largest manhunt in the country's history. Why so much hoo-hah? The man is said to be the head of the Singapore branch of militant group Jemaah Islamiah (JI). And it was alleged that he had planned to crash seven bomb-filled trucks at various locations around Singapore. Finally he was suspected of plotting to bomb Singapore Changi Airport in 2002 by crashing a plane into it. How could he have escaped so easily if he was such a dangerous man? Try an open toilet air vent window. And oh yeah, the f*cked up security. It has been 10 months since the fugitive's escape and we still have no news of him. Has he fled the country? Probably. But maybe someday someone will find his decomposing body floating down the canal. Maybe...

5.
Next on the list is Heath Ledger. The promising and talented actor passed away early this year on the 22nd January. He has acted in movies like '10 things I hate about you', 'The Patriot' and 'Monster's Ball'. Of course he was one half of the gay duo on 'Brokeback Mountain'. The Australian-born actor's final role as the Joker on 'The Dark Knight' sent shivers down my spine. A pity he never got to see the film, nor would he be in person to collect any of the awards he was nominated for (movie critics are raving about his performance!). On the day of his death, he was found unconscious in his fourth-floor loft apartment at 421 Broome Street in the SoHo neighborhood in Manhattan. Coroner's report showed he died of acute intoxication of a cocktail of drugs. The next joker has huge shoes to fill (OMG, pun totally unintended).

4.
Lo Hwei Yen, 28 year-old-lawyer, wife, daughter and Singapore's first victim in a terrorist attack. Her passing united the nation in mourning. She was one of the 164 killed during a series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai from 26-29 November. She had been in the Indian city to attend a business seminar, when terrorists attacked the Oberoi Hotel where she was staying in and took her hostage. She was shot twice during the 60-hour siege and subsequent rescue operation. While she might have led an ordinary life, her tragic and senseless death shook the nation. While Singapore is generally safe and have been blessed so far to not have this misfortune on our shores, her death is sort of a reminder to us that not everyone can be safe, not in Singapore and certainly not overseas. Terrorism came too close to us Singaporeans in a way, not physically but certainly emotionally and psychologically. She may not have been a martyr, 'giving' her life to terrorism (like what certain people have made her to be), she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I am sure she should be remembered more than just as Singapore's first terror victim, she was also a great wife, daughter and friend to many.

But before we go into the top 3, lemme digress to go quickly through the top 10 events that happened in 2008.

10. November 25th marked the start of an over week long protest in Thailand. Protesters from the People's Alliance for Democracy party stormed into Suvarnabhumi Airport and blocked flights from taking off. More protesters seize control of Don Mueang Airport the following day.
9. Melamine-tainted milk (and milk products) caused 11 infant deaths in China and nearly 300,000 children sickened in China alone. Many China-made food products have since been removed from shelves in supermarkets worldwide.
8. Singapore Flyer opened on the 11th February. But on 23 December 2008, the wheel stopped moving and trapped 173 passengers for about six hours. The breakdown was caused by a short circuit and fire in the Flyer's wheel control room, which cut off the air-conditioning in the wheel. Eleven passengers were evacuated via a sling-like device from a few of the capsules, and those stranded were given food and drink. The wheel restarted nearly seven hours after it stopped and two people had to be hospitalised. The Flyer has been shut down indefinitely.
7. Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics starting from August 8 to August 24. A total of 10,500 athletes competed in 302 events in 28 sports.

6. Singapore hosted the first-ever night race for the F1 Grand Prix on 29th September with World Champion Fernando Alonso coming out tops after a drama-filled race.5. November 26th-29th - A series of terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, killed 164 (including one Singaporean), and injures at least 250.

Tied in 5th place is the senseless retaliation by the Israel forces on Gaza Strip. The air strikes on 27th December has killed 360 Palestinians and 1,600 injured. STOP this senseless killing!
4. 56th U.S. Presidential elections. The most historical and definitely memorable presidential election in history. Obama won the presidency over McCain with 53% of the popular vote and a wide electoral college margin on the historic 4th November.
3. The nineteenth deadliest earthquake of all time, the 2008 Sichuan earthquake which measured at 8.0 on the scales occurred on May 12 in Sichuan province of China, killed at least 69,000.

2. Cyclone Nargis made landfall in the country of Myanmar (previously known as Burma) on May 2nd causing catastrophic destruction and at least 146,000 fatalities with thousands more people still missing.
1. The economic recession of 2008. It became prominently visible in September 2008 with the failure, merger or conservatorship of several large United States-based financial firms. It rapidly evolved into a global crisis resulting in a number of European bank failures and declines in various stock indexes, and large reductions in the market value of equities and commodities worldwide.... blah blah blah... I just copied and paste all that chunk, all I know is that the world's economy is in recession. And that is bad.

Now back to the top 3 People of 2008.

3.
In third place is Michael Phelps (which ironically I think he was never in third place in his entire life!). The swimming sensation from the United States is MY AGE (gasp!), and that is all for the similarities... He has won 14 career Olympic Gold medals (and me, zero), the most by any Olympian. As of 2008, he also holds seven swimming world records (again, me zero). And at this Beijing Olympics, Phelps made history for winning the most gold medals in a single Olympic Game. With this record of 8, he surpassed American Mark Spitz, who was also a swimmer and had held the previous gold medal total with the seven that he won at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. And me again... zero...which makes me a 23-year-old loser.

2.
I dunno who or what the Lehman Brothers are but they seemed to have started the earth-shattering economic recession. Lehman Brothers Holding Inc. was a global financial-services firm that did business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales, research and trading, investment management, private equity, and private banking (don't ask me what's what, I copied and pasted). On September 15, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. Immediately following the bankruptcy filing, an already unstable market began an uncontrollable tailspin. What resulted was what many have called the “Perfect Storm” of economic distress factors, from Wall Street layoffs to a spike in durvexity, and eventually led a $700B bailout package.

1.
The number one spot goes to.... *drumrolls*...
Barrack Hussein Obama II. He is THE MAN of 2008. He will be the first African-American President of the United States of America come 20th January next year. And the 44th President of the U.S.A. I am somewhat pleasantly surprised by the Americans. Surprised because they have not only accepted but embraced change (and such a drastic one at that). Speaking as an outsider, Barrack Obama has the face and the determination to right any wrong and mess that his predecessor has created. He is the best man for the job.

"This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes we can."

So that's it for my list of the People of 2008.
But the one who is truly number one on my list?

My niece. :)Bless her heart.

Thank you 2008. It has been a blast.

3 years wiser: The silver lining.

2008-12-27T00:00:00.000+08:00

I have this bench which I love to sit after I go to the gym. Its at this park beside my neighbourhood and the park surrounds a canal.

Nothing fancy about that canal the bench faces. The water is gross and murky-green. Smells unpleasant on certain days (Note: I said 'canal'. Singapore has no river... just concrete-laid canals; even the Singapore 'River' cannot pass off as a river... its more like a stream... a concrete-laid stream that is).

But back to that park. Nothing special about the park too; there is the playground with noisy kids and equally noisy maids looking after them, or the occasional joggers (detached from the world by their iPods) running past and retirees taking their excruciatingly slow stroll.

I just love to sit on that bench. And not to observe these people, oh no no, neither do I sit to admire the heavily-polluted canal, I sit down there just to imagine.

They say most people have somehow lost their imagination by the time they become adults. Even the word 'imagining' itself I feel has been replaced with a very condescending substitute: 'daydreaming'. Call it whatever you want but I sit on that green heavily-vandalised bench to imagine I am in the most beautiful of beautiful places, breathing the freshest air and admiring in awe the most spectacular sights.

I try to imagine that I am once again surrounded by snowy Alaskan peaks or that I am on top of one of those peaks feeling the cool fresh breeze. I try to imagine that the horrendous canal is the bluest lake I have ever seen in Canada or one of the beautiful beaches along the Great Ocean Road.

I try to recall, I try to imagine. And I try to see them once again, even if its all in my head.

Many things I have seen this passing year and some of these I swear are unbelievably gorgeous and unforgettable. Which is why I sometimes use that time on the bench to imagine these great sights once again... Its a pity if all you have are just photographs of these places and not the memories of how they look, smell or feel real to you.

Speaking of smells, I will never forget the smell of my primary school. Its not actually the physical smell of the school per se, its just a combination of everything: the smelly kids, the canteen food, the fresh textbooks, the smell of correction fluid and smudged ink, the freshly cut grass on the field...

And all it takes is one sniff of that 'smell', to bring back all the memories in an instant. It transports me back to a time when I couldn't even tie my own shoelaces. It feels so real, so wonderful that memory. And if one takes time to sit down to imagine, to think and reflect, the memories come to you. These good, beautiful memories.

I have been blessed to have so many of the beautiful memories cramped into this single year. But never once did I not think about my family. I missed my family the whole entire time and I feel sorry that they missed out on all these. I stop to wish that it would not take 23 years before my beautiful niece see a single snow flake. That it would not be too 'old' for her to make her first snow angel or catch a snow flake with her tongue.

Speaking of my niece...

What a perfect gift God has graced me with this year.

Have you ever loved someone so much you cry tears of happiness just looking at her beautiful face? Have you ever loved someone so much that when you kiss her, you never want to let go? Have you ever loved someone so much, it doesn't matter if she loves you back as much?

I have never loved someone as much as I love my niece. And I never imagined in a million years that this year would be the year I have someone I truly truly love.

Thank you God for her.

And thank you God for the people I have met and befriended the past year. For the people I have come to love and miss so much. The memories I have are not just of the places but of these people. The people who have made those places more beautiful and memorable than they already are.

The people who have welcomed me into their lives. And shared a part of them with me. I am truly happy to have met every single one of them.

Every single one of them.

:)

So back to that bench which I frequently sit on. I would look up to the sky too as I 'daydream'. Cos the sky is the only thing consistent in all the memories of these places. The vast sky is everywhere, no? Plus looking at the sky always reminds me how small I am, or how big the world is. I know that kinda sounds cliche but its true.

Somewhere in another part of the world, someone else is looking at that same cloud or that same shinning star. Another person on another side of the globe is admiring that same moon or feeling the warmth of that same sun. And all these at the same time contradictorily makes you think how small the world is.

No matter how far you are away from that person, separated from the huge vast oceans or continents, the sky is the one thing that connects us. I have to admit that I always sleep with my windows open and I position my bed under that window so that sometimes, when I'm missing someone or someplace, I would look up to the sky and know that I still have something in common with the people I have left behind.

Its nothing to be ashamed of to be thinking of these sappy 'theories' and neither is it embarrassing to cry buckets when you miss someone. Its how we cope with this. And this year I have cried as much as I have laughed (well almost). Cried when my niece was born, I cried when I left my family to go the States, I cried when I left my 'family' in the States to come back home. I cried for so many reasons.

But I am not going to cry over how bad my grades are, oh no no. What is there to cry about? There are a million things in life worth crying for. Moreover, I have seen so many beautiful things, met so many wonderful people, to have this one speck of failure to ruin this perfect year.

Or worst, I could start blaming people and myself for this misfortune. I could blame the f*cked up education system, how there is a lack of creativity pulsating in the school's curriculum and that I am one of the uninspired students under uninspiring tutors.

But have you ever stopped to think that you yourself is in the system? How you yourself is contributing to the f*cked up-ness of the system with your self-pitying f*ck-care attitude? I'm not talking about the education system per se, I'm talking about in general, in life. How sometimes you think, oh boo hoo, poor me, when all you do is nothing?

Stop, smell the rose and move on.

That is why I need that time on the bench to escape.
To sit down and run away.

To be alone with no one else.
But the shadow to accompany me. Yes, I said my shadow. The forgotten companion who is always behind you rain or shine (or in front, depending on the light's direction... or when it gets completely dark and you can barely make out your hand in front of you.. but that's a different story).

Lemme ask you this question, when was the last time you looked at your shadow?

For years I have not thought about it until I was left stranded alone at some airport. The sun was perfectly angled and I happened to look down... and I broke into a smile. For the first time in years I noticed my shadow. And believe me when I say this I instantly felt not alone anymore. I felt so foolish that after all these years, noticing my shadow was making me laugh... (Gosh... this entry is making me sound incoherent and probably senile...)

I know I sound like I'm spewing hogwash, but all these things go through my head when I think, when I'm imagining. And I hope that if you can connect to certain things I have said, you have done my babbling justice.

So today, there I was on the bench, looking up to the sky. It had just stopped raining and the sun was peering behind some of the dark menacing clouds, that's when I saw it. A relatively small dark cloud with a perfectly glowing outline.

It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. But this time time I didn't have to imagine it. It was right there above me. And it would have been a shame if I was the only one to have noticed it, to have admired it. Just imagine, a dark storm cloud with the sun's rays radiating around it. How poetic is that?

While every other cloud around it might not have a silver lining, I found mine.

I found my cloud with a silver lining. And I hope that all of you who are going through some difficulties in your life will find yours too.

Thank you for accompanying me the past three years with this ol' blog of mine.

PS: If you go down to the park often, maybe you might be accustomed to seeing this lonesome guy sitting on this bench, looking up into the sky, inhaling deeply the stench from the nearby canal while all that time grinning at his shadow.

That guy is most probably me.

Bush is Zohan in real life?

2008-12-15T09:25:00.002+08:00

Hilarious...

One of the Iraqi journalists threw not one BUT two shoes at him. And Bush astonishingly duck both times.

Guess the security guys will only take a bullet for him, not shoes...

Hebitch Down Under

2008-12-01T22:16:00.002+08:00

Hebitch blogging here now.

Don't forget the lyrics... Forget Gurmit.

2008-11-27T20:52:00.003+08:00

Please give us all a break.

No more Gurmit hosting TV game shows please.

No more "Ladies and Gennelmen..."
No more him trying to act young, saying "Jude..."

He is not funny and he needs to annunciate his words correctly. The way he sounds is still so PCK-ish and his 'impromptu' jokes always fall flat.

Yucks, as much as I hate the smug Daniel Ong, I would still prefer him to be the host to Gurmit.

Singapore's Jokes. That JC and lightbulb one.

2008-11-21T13:49:00.002+08:00

Q: How many RJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: 4 whole faculties. One to design the new bulb, one to manufacture and test it out, one to write a proposal on it and one to market it.

Q: How many HCJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. To compete with RJC.

Q: How many VJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: The whole school. One student to screw it in and the rest to cheer and wave flags and banners to give him/her support.

Q: How many NJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They can study without the lights on.

Q: How many AJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They're too busy trying to be one of the top 5 JCs.

Q: How many ACJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They'll rather use all their money to employ YJC to do it for them.

Q: How many YJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Only one teacher to tell them what a light bulb is in the first place and to demonstrate how to change the light bulb.

Q: How many CJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They prefer it to be darker.

Q: How many JJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Their physics is so bad that they made their macho male physics teacher cry.

Q: How many TPJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. Would they even bother?

Q: How many SAJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They believe in praying for it.

Q: How many NYJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are still using oil lamps.

Q: How many SRJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Huh, what litebarb?

Q: How many PJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: Heck the light bulb lah, the principal would do something about the rightbarbs. Let's do 300 jumping jacks for not wearing the proper school attire.

Q: How many MJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are too busy trying to get promoted.

Q: How many IJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They are Innovians. They'll find ways out of the dark.

Q: Who wrote all this?
A: A TJCian.

Q: How many TJC students does it take to change a light bulb?
A: None. They think they are already very bright.

Mauled: Not attacked, not killed but handled roughly.

2008-11-20T14:28:00.011+08:00

About time I blogged about that man who was mauled by the white tigers in Singapore Zoo.

Notice I said 'mauled', not 'attacked'. Cause if it was 'attack' then it would have implied that the tigers were at fault.

And yes, I feel that the tigers were entirely not at fault.

Course if they had 'attacked' him, it would have meant there was no provocation involved.
It would have meant the tigers escaped from where they were and pounced on him.
It would have meant he was food for them. And that would have meant he was mauled beyond recognition.

So it was the man who jumped into the enclosure and provoked the animals.
It was him who waded to where the tigers were instead of swimming away. It was him who swiped the the first blow.

The pictures are disturbing (probably not as much as seeing it happening before your very eyes); 3 large tigers looming over a cowering man. His last minutes captured frame by frame.

Seeing the face of a man who is facing death. No one is to be blamed but him. What were his reasons for doing so? No one will ever know cause he brought it to his grave.

I do feel intensely sorry for his family back in Sarawak but I am a firm believer in the idea that the man is responsible for his own life, for how he chooses to live it (or how he chooses to die).

The white tiger exhibition should not be closed down; same logic as to why we cannot shut down the MRT system just because of the many suicides that had happened.

And lets face it, these tigers are wild animals. Just because they live in the Singapore Zoo all their lives do not make them any less dangerous or any more domesticated.

But the ironic thing is that the tigers reacted in a more predictable and rational way than the man himself. They reacted by 'toying' with the new 'discovery', by chewing and pawing instead of gnawing like they would with their feed.

This is a national tragedy. Not only because someone had to die in a horrible meaningless way in our pride and joy that is our zoo but also because everyone now see the tigers as man-eaters instead of beautiful rare animals they really are. And this is all because someone chose to end his life in the worst bloodiest possible way.

Whatever it is, I offer my deepest condolences to his family and hope that he may now find his peace and solace from what was troubling him in his life.

PS: 23rd November is the anniversary of another national tragedy one year ago; the deaths of the five dragonboaters. RIP dudes.
See more pictures of the man's last minutes here.

MOE, you disgust me.

2008-11-20T01:20:00.006+08:00

At first glance, it looks like a really sweet commercial.

Ex-students thanking teachers who have touched their lives. Moulding them to become who they are.

"The difference a teacher makes is long felt after the class is over..."

Aww....

BUT, someone who has a keen eye, will notice something else.

The Chinese guy who has a problem writing legibly becomes a doctor.
The Indian lady who was a shy student becomes a lawyer.
The Chinese lady becomes a 'passionate' teacher.

And the Malay guy who found the teacher too nag-gy?
He probably dropped out of school, had a shotgun marriage and is now a stay-home dad baking cookies with his daughter.

What the hell? Would it have been so unbelievable for the Malay guy to be portrayed as a doctor or lawyer?

Disgusting.

Heavy Love, My Heavy Love.

2008-11-20T00:10:00.005+08:00

I haven't had a decent long sleep in a long time. Its always been quick naps here and there for me; an hour's nap in the afternoon, a couple more from 8pm to 10pm and then the 'sleep' from 3am to 10am.

And coincindentally my afternoon and evening naps coincide with my niece's. Its really tiring looking after a growing baby... the attention needed, man, its really draining.

So on one of my late nights I was watching Tyra Banks and man, it was really.. how do I put it in words... interesting.

Squashing.
Big women squashing men...
Really really interesting.

At first it was disturbing to me.
I admit, I thought it was freakish.
"They are freaks."

One word, "Gross."

But as the show went on, the big woman in that video spoke and something in me clicked. She said that she had always grown up with a low self esteem, felt unloved and different but now she has finally found someone who loves her for who she is. The guy in the video is her husband fyi.

Why is it that skinny women (skinnier than average) be more 'acceptable' if they were to do the same thing (not necessary squashing but posing nude, providing other sexual favours, striping etc.)? Why then would a large woman posing in an underwear evoke a disgusted reaction?

Why is skinny sexy?
Why is fat not sexy?
Why is fat not healthy?
Is skinny healthy?
Is anorexia?

So the whole show went on with the big women defending themselves against skinnier models who were calling them unhealthy role models, exploited and FAT. Like hello? Isn't that the same for the case of skinny models? They are often too skinny and unhealthy themselves. They too are bad role models for many women, much more influence than the larger women can ever have.

And being exploited? Come on, they too pose nude or in underwears for men to lust and drool after...

So why are guys who love big women called freaks?
Why are porn addicts more acceptable?
Is a paedophile in the same category as a guy who likes big women?

Of course paedophilia is wrong; because like rape, there is no consent. The paedophiles are worst than animals.

Men who like big women are not freaks, so too are men who like skinny women and men who like men. There is mutual consent. And there has to be love somewhere in that equation (to make it more acceptable I suppose).

Cause if there are no men who loves big women, what about the big women?

Hebitch Down Under.

2008-11-16T03:04:00.003+08:00

Hey all!
Since its less than two weeks before I fly off to Australia (to meet the bestie), this hebitch is definitely going to have his own blog specially for the outback.

Hebitch Down Under.

Since its still empty for now, check out the other travelling blogs...

Feeling like the least favourite child - from Straits Times , 10 Aug 2008

2008-11-14T01:05:00.003+08:00

Bloggers Note: Not written by me. But yeah, nice...
Though I think I could have also written an equally straightforward 'observation', but till then, enjoy reading this:

"As a Malay, I've always been told that I have to work twice as hard to prove my worth. When I was younger, I always thought of myself as the quintessential Singaporean. Of my four late grandparents, two were Malay, one was Chinese and one was Indian.This, I concluded, makes me a mix of all the main races in the country. But I later realised that it was not what goes into my blood that matters, but what my identity card says under 'Race'.

Because my paternal grandfather was of Bugis origin, my IC says I'm Malay.

I speak the language at home, learnt it in school, eat the food and practice a lesser Singaporean than those from other racial groups.

I grew up clueless about the concept of national service because my father was never enlisted. He is Singaporean all right, born and bred here like the rest of the boys born in 1955. He is not handicapped in any way. He did well in school and participated in sports.

Unlike the rest, however, he entered university immediately after his A levels. He often told me that his schoolmates said he was 'lucky' because he was not called up for national service.

'What lucky?' he would tell them. 'Would you feel lucky if your country doesn't trust you?'

So I learnt about the rigors of national service from my male cousins. They would describe in vivid detail their training regimes, the terrible food they were served and the torture inflicted upon them - most of which, I would later realise, were exaggerations.

But one thing these stories had in common was that they all revolved around the Police Academy in Thomson. As I got older, it puzzled me why my Chinese friends constantly referred to NS as 'army'. In my family and among my Malay friends, being enlisted in the army was like hitting the jackpot. The majority served in the police force because, as is known, the Government was not comfortable with Malay Muslims serving in the army.
But there are more of them now.

Throughout my life, my father has always told me that as a Malay, I need to work twice as hard to prove my worth. He said people have the misconception that all Malays are inherently lazy. I was later to get the exact same advice from a Malay minister in office; who is a family friend.

When I started work, I realised that the advice rang true, especially because I wear my religion on my head. My professionalism suddenly became an issue. One question I was asked at a job interview was whether I would be willing to enter a nightclub to chase a story. I answered: 'If it's part of the job, why not? And you can rest assured I won't be tempted to have fun.'

When I attend media events, before I can introduce myself, people assume I write for the Malay daily Berita Harian. A male Malay colleague in The Straits Times has the same problem, too.

This makes me wonder if people also assume that all Chinese reporters are from Lian he Zaobao and Indian reporters from Tamil Murasu.

People also question if I can do stories which require stake-outs in the sleazy lanes of Geylang. They say because of my tudung I will stick out like a sore thumb. So I changed into a baseball cap and a men's sports jacket - all borrowed from my husband - when I covered Geylang.

I do not want to be seen as different from the rest just because I dress differently. I want the same opportunities and the same job challenges. Beneath the tudung, I, too, have hair and a functioning brain. And if anything, I feel that my tudung has actually helped me secure some difficult interviews.

Newsmakers - of all races - tend to trust me more because I look 'guai' (Hokkien for well-behaved) and thus, they feel, less likely to write critical stuff about them.

Recently, I had a conversation with several colleagues about this essay. I told them I never thought of myself as being particularly patriotic. One Chinese colleague thought this was unfair. 'But you got to enjoy free education,' she said.

Sure, for the entire 365 days I spent in Primary 1 in 1989. But my parents paid for my school and university fees for the next 15 years I was studying.

It seems that many Singaporeans do not know that Malays have stopped getting free education since 1990. If I remember clearly, the news made front-page news at that time.

We went on to talk about the Singapore Government's belief that Malays here would never point a missile at their fellow Muslim neighbours in a war.

I said if not for family ties, I would have no qualms about leaving the country. Someone then remarked that this is why Malays like myself are not trusted. But I answered that this lack of patriotism on my part comes from not being trusted, and for being treated like a potential traitor.

It is not just the NS issue. It is the frustration of explaining t non-Malays that I don't get special privileges from the Government. It is having to deal with those who question my professionalism because of my religion. It is having people assume, day after day, that you are lowly educated, lazy and poor. It is like being the least favourite child in a family. This child will try to win his parents' love only for so long.

After a while, he will just be engulfed by disappointment and bitterness. I also believe that it is this 'least favourite child' mentality which makes most Malays defensive and protective of their own kind.

Why do you think Malay families spent hundreds of dollars voting for two Malay boys in the Singapore Idol singing contest? And do you know that Malays who voted for other competitors were frowned upon by the community?

The same happens to me at work. When I write stories which put Malays in a bad light, I am labelled a traitor. A Malay reader once wrote to me to say: 'I thought a Malay journalist would have more empathy for these unfortunate people than a non-Malay journalist.'

But such is the case when you are a Malay Singaporean. Your life is not just about you, as much as you want it to be. You are made to feel responsible for the rest of the pack and your actions affect them as well.

If you trip, the entire community falls with you. But if you triumph, it is considered everyone's success.

When 12-year-old Natasha Nabila hit the headlines last year for her record PSLE aggregate of 294, I was among the thousands of Malays here who celebrated the news. I sent instant messages to my friends on Gmail and chatted excitedly with my Malay colleagues at work.

Suddenly a 12-year-old has become the symbol of hope for the community and a message to the rest that Malays can do it too - and not just in singing competitions. And just like that, the 'least favourite child' in me feels a lot happier.

Each year, come Aug 9, my father, who never had the opportunity to do national service, dutifully hangs two flags at home - one on the front gate and the other by the side gate.

I wonder if putting up two flags is his way of making himself feel like a better-loved child of Singapore ."

Obama.

2008-11-06T00:57:00.001+08:00

Tuesday, November 4^th, 2008

Chicago, Illinois

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled – Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

I just received a very gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he’s fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine, and we are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him and Governor Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the Vice President-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last sixteen years, the rock of our family and the love of my life, our nation’s next First Lady, Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia, I love you both so much, and you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, my chief strategist David Axelrod, and the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics – you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to – it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington – it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.

It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth. This is your victory.

I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor’s bills, or save enough for college. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

What began twenty-one months ago in the depths of winter must not end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek – it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers – in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America – that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing – Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that “We Shall Overcome.” Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves – if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time – to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth – that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people:

Yes We Can. Thank you, God bless you, and may God Bless the United States of America."
-Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America... the 1st President of the Free World.

It's time for Change.

2008-11-04T00:49:00.000+08:00

What the Devil?

2008-11-02T00:36:00.003+08:00

Anyone caught News on Channel 5 just now?

Two Caucasian guys interviewed earlier had worn telekungs* stained with blood... and they finished their 'costumes' off with devil horns.

A 'telekung' is the white cloth(s) used by Muslim women during Islamic prayers. Also known as the hijab or burqa.

What the fuck?

Seriously, what the fuck?

The Bully.

2008-10-26T21:56:00.003+08:00

I am the snob who sniggers at those skinny newbies.
I am the jackass who laughs at those who fall off the treadmill.
And I am the jerk who scoffs at those who overestimate their bench press weight.

I am the gym ~~bunny~~ bully who does all of that.

I can't help it. I AM the Hebitch. And besides, I certainly had my share of abhorrent stares when I first started out.

No matter who or what you are, being inexperienced is still being inexperienced. And especially if you are a newbie, your every mistake is magnified.

Sara Palin as the Vice President is a joke.
Please for the love of God, don't.
She is no Hilary Clinton.

The world has sniggered at that misinformed old bat who called Obama an Arab.
The world has laughed at Sara Palin's straying in her attempt to debate with Joe Biden.
And the whole world will scoff...
At your decision.

Change. We need change. After this current inexperienced whackjob, we don't need another inexperienced whackjob, this time, in heels.

No prizes for guessing which side I would vote for if I were American...

If you are still clueless about what is the scariest costume to dress up for any Halloween party, may I suggest a Sarah Palin beehive and a red Armani power suit... and hang a Vice President tag around your neck.

Ohhh... scary...

Baby-bitch.

2008-10-26T14:16:00.005+08:00

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No inspiration still. So I let my niece blogged about what's on her mind.

How cute is that?

One month break?

2008-10-22T22:25:00.002+08:00

Shit man, one month of not blogging and I feel so obligated to blog.

So many things have happened. Firstly, Hari Raya. Kinda forgot to wish everyone that. My bad.

Anything else? Been swamped with school work and that's all, I guess. Not much of an entry but maybe just maybe when I get the inspiration, I would blog more. Maybe.

Errmm....*twiddles thumb*...

One more month to Australia; I suppose that's the most interesting thing in my life right now.

Errr... That's all for now. *slaps forehead* Man, I lost the bloggin' touch.

Branding yourself.

2008-09-24T23:34:00.001+08:00

I am taking this major lame-ass module in Business.... Don't ask me specific details but I think its vaguely about management and working with people.

But the topic these past weeks have been rather interesting. Its about knowing who you are and how you present yourself to people i.e. caring about what people think of you. At last, a subject that lets you talk about no one but yourself.

Strange how ever since I came back, people have been telling me that I looked different when I have not even tried looking different.

I have tried so hard to look different after each holiday... to look better (lah then?). New haircut, new clothes or wadeva. But this year, had no time for that. Even had to let my hair grow and skip the hair cut.

Surprisingly, it didn't grow into a fro like what I expected it to be.

I know, another narcissistic entry, but have you ever wished you had a huge makeover? *Heck*
Everyone succumb into that 'Ugly Betty' feeling sometimes...

Congrats Pin Xiu.

2008-09-17T23:56:00.004+08:00

Oh man... I know I am slow BUT I just realised that Yip Pin Xiu, the only Singaporean gold medalist in Beijing Paralympics, is my friend's younger sister.

Congrats to Alvin Yip and his family. His sister has done the whole of Singapore proud. She is one special kid, you must really be beaming with pride.

Job well done.

....

Though I still think its so bullshit that she is only $100,000 richer and the second in place 'Singaporean' table tennis team received $400,000. Total BS.

I know its not all about the money BUT where the hell is the fairness? You think its easy to break a world record? You think its easier to swim with half your body failing on you?

What justifies her getting lesser prize money? Is it that the Paralympics is any less an important sports event than the Olympics? The Chinese people apparently do not think so, look at how equally spectacular the opening and closing ceremonies are.

Is it because those participating in the Paralympics are not as fast or as strong as the able-bodied athletes in the Olympics? Amputate Usain Bolt's legs and slap on him prosthetic legs, would he be able to run as fast? Or crush Michael Phelps's freakish long limbs and throw him into the pool, could he have gotten all those 8 gold medals?
Errmm... A bit on the dark side but you get my picture. Where is the fairness in all that?

These Paralympic athletes train equally as hard, if not HARDER, than able-bodied athletes. In fact, I think they could put more than half of the entire world's population to shame with how much faster, stronger and more determined they are. I certainly am.

They have been admirable. They have been inspirational.

And to see Pin Xiu getting 'second-class' treatment is especially saddening. She deserves better. She deserves more.

Especially since she is a bona fide true-blue Singaporean.

There I said it. I am not being xenophobic here but lets face it. I was beaming with pride when I saw her mouthing the Singaporean anthem as our flag was raised (speaking of which, it is the FIRST time that that has ever happened in a sporting event as grand as this). Do you think any of the table tennis players could have done the same? They could be singing in gibberish for all we know...

It is the first gold medal that Singapore has won in a global sporting event like this.

Olympics or Paralympics.
Able-bodied athletes or not.

It is all the same.
The spirit of the game is the same.

So should the rewards.

Happy Birthday to me.

2008-09-11T00:46:00.003+08:00

Its my birthday today. Goodness..
It sooooooooo doesn't feel like a birthday. Had no anticipation, had no plans of celebrating it, in fact, I had no idea it was today.

What a day it is starting to be... its midnight and I am in school, preparing for studio tomorrow. Its so miserable...

Sigh... Happy 23rd Birt-...

OH MY GOD, I am 23!!! WDF.

WDF.
WDF.
WDF.

Life to return to. And more bitchings to resume.

2008-09-08T23:19:00.003+08:00

I'm back!!!
Full swing baby.

Firstly, I have to say this, the HUMIDITY here sucks. I hate the weather, I hate the rain and I especially hate the sticky, oily feeling you have when you are outside.

Now that I've gotten that off my back. I hate my life.

I want a place to call my own. Seriously. I need to have my own space.

When I came back, I came back to a room that is not my room anymore. The bed and TV (new TV some more) had been rearranged and half the stuff there is my niece's. Don't get me wrong, (I love my niece... a lot)... its just that feeling you have when you sleep in the place, arrange your stuff (or rather your mess), like how you know where everything is, how everything is within reach from your bed, all your memorabilia (as my Mum would call them, 'crap') on your walls and floor (I don't have a table... poor me...); you have all that attachment to that place, to your room.

And when I came back, zilch. Zero. Kosong.
My room looks like a room but it is not my room.

And now, I even have to sleep on the floor or in another room cause every night there would be some reshuffling in the house cause of the baby and my sister (when she sleeps over).

I mean, seriously, I will never know where I would be sleeping every night...

And school...
OMG. School.
It is so alien to me, this concept.

Shit. Where are all my friends when you need them? Oh yeah, on exchange... in Korea.
I am so lonely...

I should have gone to Korea with them. Dammit, at least I would have my own room again...

And studio work this semester is group work. Oh how I hate doing group work. You can have on one end of the spectrum, the 'Indian chiefs' - you listen to me and only me; and on the other end, you have the missing-in-action (MIA) ones. I can't be bothered with all these personalities. I have enough from my spilt-personality syndrome.

Sheesh... Why can't everything remain the same?

So ronery. :(

2008-09-08T22:54:00.003+08:00

How does that song that Kim Jung Il (of course, the dummy... not... oh wait, both are dummies...) sang in Team America go?

Oh yes,

"I'm, so, ronery
So ronery
So ronery and sadry arone
There's no one
Just me onry
Waiting to kiss me back home
I work very hard to be number one guy
Stil there nobody who rite up my rife
Seems that no one takes me seriorousryyyy
And so..
I'm ronery
A rittle ronery
Poor ritter me..

There's nobody
I can rerate to
Feer rike a bird in a cage
It's kind of sirry, but not rearry
Because it's firring my body with rage
I rork rearry hard to stay nice and fit
But none of da women seem to give a shit
When I rure da world, maybe dey'll notice meeee
Until den..
I'll just be ronery
Sigh.. a rittle ronery
Poor ritter me..

I'm .. so.. ronery"

Yes, poor ritter me is ronery.

The people I have come to love (and miss... a lot).

2008-08-29T17:37:00.002+08:00

Thanks for everything.

I cannot put into words how grateful and honored I am to have known you all. I love you and will always miss you all.

Keep in touch.

Back in Singapore.

2008-08-28T08:14:00.003+08:00

I have been back here for more than a week now.

I have so many things to do but yet I haven't even lift a single finger to do anything.

School is just a mess.
My room is just a mess.
My luggage is still unpacked.
My storeroom is still cluttered.
And my friends are still uncontacted.

Am I concerned?
The old Shazi would be pulling his hair out by now looking at the state his life is in.

I can't be bothered.
And what is this bullshit about the 'old Shazi'?
Maybe this is me all along.

Unconcerned. Unbothered. Zen...

Ahh... This is life.

Still blogging at Hebitch in the US of A though. That is how outdated and slow I am.

Hebitch in the US of A.

2008-05-17T11:22:00.002+08:00

I'll be blogging here for now.

Hebitch in the US of A.

Please Help.

2008-05-07T00:52:00.003+08:00

With 22,000 (and probably more) dead in Myanmar after Nargis Cyclone hit the nation and possibly 1 million made homeless, the people of Myanmar need our help more than ever.

Here's how those of you in Singapore can help:

You can personally come down to the following places to donate*:

Peninzula Plaza near City Hall MRT Singapore, 1st Floor
Lin Lyet Trading, 2nd Floor
Sin Myanmar Air Ticketing, 3rd Floor
Ta Pyay Nu Trading, 4th Floor
Guidance Star Myanmar Library, 5th Floor

Or if you want to know more, please contact them directly.

Se Thu Aung @ 81681121,
Daw Soe Soe Aung @ 92986743,
Ye Thway @ 91084611

*Disclaimer: These places might not be authorised donation collection points and donations done would be at your own risk.
Addresses and contacts courtesy of http://tinmghtay.blogspot.com/.

In short, FUCK you.

2008-05-06T18:23:00.003+08:00

To whom it may concern,

My name is Mohamed Shaziran Bin Mohamed Shahabdeen (case number: 08***/***/*). I need to check my application status for my VISA.

I have emailed once personally and the organization sending me there, Speedwing, has also checked with the embassy. On all those occasions I received the same computer generated email (attached below).

I need to know the exact status. I am supposed to fly off on the 11th May (this coming Sunday).

Please. I understand the situation. And I believe there is more that you can do to check on the status.

I have also sent a letter from my Minister to the the embassy. Speedwing, which sent the letter on my behalf last week on the 29th April, told me that the embassy would reply to me but I have yet to receive any updates.

This is really important to me. I have invested all my savings into this trip and I have been looking forward to this since last year. And I really find it strange that this "background check" is taking way longer than I think it should.

I am local (Singaporean). I am 23 years old. I am an NUS student. I am a Malay-Muslim. I have served National Service. I have sufficient savings in my bank for the trip. And I have been to truthful regarding my other particulars on the forms such as which countries I have been to, etc...

My conscience is clear.

Please. Help me.

Shaziran
(Shazi)

Dear Uncle Sam,

2008-05-04T00:55:00.007+08:00

Dear Uncle Sam,

Its been months since my VISA interview and exactly one week from now I should be on a plane, eager to escape the hot temperatures of Singapore, and visit your beautiful and cooler state of Alaska. I was hoping to work my ass off and earn big bucks over there. Heck, I would take a second job if I have to.

And after that I was hoping to be traveling around your vast country, from the west side, along California, to the east side, the Big Apple and DC.

You can call it 'living my American dream'.

But, my VISA is still not approved, Uncle Sam.

Have you ever had something that you wanted so badly to be dangled in front of your face, out-of-reach?

This is something that is supposed to be making me happy and excited; preparing, shopping for new clothes, going out with family and meeting up with friends...

But, instead, the past few weeks I have been on a rollercoaster of emotions. From shock to anger to anxiety and now, Uncle Sam, I am feeling indifferent.

Screw you.

Last I heard the second last guy to get his VISA approved a few weeks ago is also a Malay-Muslim.
Well done.

What do you want me to say?
That I am only a Muslim on paper and an atheist in life?
You want me to denounce my religion, Uncle Sam?

Cause right now, you are no different than that director of 'Fitna'.

You are making me feel ashamed.

Ashamed because being a Muslim is a hindrance to being accepted into your country.
Ashamed because the 'Mohamed' in my name brings suspicion instead of honor.
Ashamed because the colour of my skin is the reason for ridicule and fear (just like Kumar's situation in 'Harold and Kumar'... love that show! ehem... ).

Ashamed because I feel ashamed of my religion.

So thank you, Uncle Sam.

That said I would still be waiting for that VISA.
And till that day when it comes, my American dream now is to have the VISA wiped along the entire length of my ass crack (ala 'Harold and Kumar').

Sincerely,
sHa-Z.

PS: Even my MP letter didn't make a difference? Oh come on, you didn't have to be that pompous right?

May Day! Celebrity Special.

2008-05-01T10:55:00.007+08:00

What does a psychic, a witch and a cult-leader have in common?
They are all featured in this entry.

First off, the psychic, Paula Abdul. I am sure those who caught American Idol yesterday didn't miss the stoned Paula's future prediction of Jason's performance.

Notice how she single-handedly silenced the whole theater.
Everyone was clearly baffled.

"Jason, first song, I loved hearing your lower register, which we never really hear, um...." Abdul began.

"The second song, I felt like your usual charm wasn't — it was missing for me. It kind of left me a little empty."

"The two songs," Abdul went on, "made me feel like you're not fighting hard enough to get into the top four."

Pointing to Castro, Randy Jackson finally spoke up: "That was just on the first song. Just on the first one."

"Oh my god, I thought you - I thought you sang twice!" Abdul said.
She claimed she got confused by looking ahead at the notes for David Cook.

Cracked Seacrest, "You're seeing the future, baby!"

In a later interview, she said, "I got lost in my notes, and that is as simple as it was," she said. "It's so confusing. "We were all discombobulated," she added. "It was just crazy, that's all.

No Paula, you are the one who is crazy. (But we all love you nevertheless).

Next up, the witch. The new-bodylicious Mariah Carey.
With her new hit song, "Stop singing my part now (bitch)".

The first part of the song sounds kinda off cause the background track wasn't in sync. And I can't help but to laugh out at her "Stop singing my part now" around the 0:46 part. See how threatening she looks as she zooms in on her prey (I mean...) back-up singer behind her.

No prizes for guessing what happened backstage. Back-up singer stew anybody?

And lastly the cult-leader. Miley Cyrus.

I really don't get why she has such a cult following in the States.
Number 1, she ain't that pretty.
Number 2, she has a weird tone to her voice (heard her sing 'live' on "Idol Gives Back"?)
And Number 3, "Hanna Montana" is so lame...

The Disney Channel, which airs Cyrus' TV show "Hannah Montana", had this to say, "Unfortunately, as the article suggests, a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."

That is just so hypocritical! I think they are just pissed off cause someone else was manipulating the girl.

"Err.. hello, Kettle? This is Pot calling..."

Hi. I am Orked Alesha.

2008-04-30T00:56:00.010+08:00

Hi. My name is Orked Alesha.
I will be 4 months old this coming 7th of May.

This is me all dolled-up. I like to play dress up as you can see.
And I also like to pose for pictures.

Other hobbies of mine include reading as you can see in my (awesome-est) uncle's previous entry.

I like to laugh and play. And I can get very noisy at times...
I love to play in the tub and splash water around!

My favourite toy is (believe or not) any plastic bags. I like to make noise with them.

I really like to go out with my family and go for a ride in the car.

I like to stand up (with someone's support of course) or pretend that I am Supergirl flying around.

My least favourite thing to do is to put on a top or to have my face powdered. I get really really pissed off.

My favourite food is my left fist and sometimes when my left hand is occupied, my right fist.

Did I mention I like to blog too? Here's my blog.

Hehe... This is fun...

Ermm... Mummy... I'm falling!!!

Eww... Mummy I think I made a poo poo.

2 seconds.

2008-04-21T21:21:00.013+08:00

Let's imagine that the entire duration of planet Earth's existence is crammed into one year.
In other words, 4.54 billion years 'equates' to a year.

12,602,240 years would be reduced to a day.
525,740 years would tick in an hour.
8,752 years would be gone in just one minute.
And 146 years would flash in a second.

So let's say the first of January is when the Earth is born and our present time is New Years' eve.

So for the first couple of months, there would be no signs of life. But only in March would one-celled microbial life exist. And they would be the only lifeforms to exist for roughly six more months (i.e. 2 billion years).

More complex lifeforms would only appear in August and September.
And the larger multi-cellular organisms would make an appearance only in November.

Dinosaurs would make a brief appearance on the 13th of December (only to be extinct 13 days later). The first mammals appear on the 15th of December.

The genus Homo (our very first ancestors) appear on the 31st of December at 19:15.

The Homo sapiens, modern Man i.e. us, would only appear 11 minutes before midnight.

The first civilisation would begin one minute before midnight.
One average human lifetime is less than half a second.
That is how short our lives are. As fast as lightning.

And in that one minute when humans roam the Earth, the last two seconds are the industrial era.

"During that era, humans have used up and scattered a large proportion of the resources in the earth's crust, altered and exploited ecosystems to serve strictly human needs, held all other species at their mercy, and driven many species to extinction."

(adapted from Milbrath, 1989, Envisioning a Sustainable Society: Learning Our Way Out)

Think about it, all it takes is 2 seconds for us to start destroying the Earth.

2 mere seconds.

Happy Earth Day everybody.
And treat the Earth well.

"It was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children." -Kenyan proverb

I had a dream.

2008-04-18T22:29:00.002+08:00

I was reading a friend's blog and he was blogging about dreams he had had.
Peculiar dreams.
Like end-of-the-world type.

And that made me remember the dream I had yesterday. The sleep leading to that dream wasn't really much, it was more like a nap (less than an hour or so) but I remember the dream so vividly.

It was a strange but happy dream. Almost all my friends were in it. And it was weird.
Friends who I haven't seen for months, some for years even.

Good friends. Great friends I had lost touch with.

They were all living in this hostel and everyone knew everyone and I was there visiting. They brought me into their rooms, chatting and catching up with me.

The entire dream was so moving, I teared (read: sleep-cried). It was so strange...

Strange but happy.

I dunno. Maybe its to compensate for me not being able to see them before I go off.

Maybe...

Sigh... I just found out that I am the last one to get my VISA out of the whole population of students going for the programme.

The only other guy who had his VISA application held back got his yesterday.

I am the only one left.

Please God, lemme go.

My own little child prodigy.

2008-04-17T13:35:00.007+08:00

Let the pictures speak for themselves.
She is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo precious.

Speaking of child prodigies, here is my two cents worth on that Sufiah Yusof person: that is... probably the smartest thing she has ever done in her life.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist (in her case, a maths genius) to know that prostitutes earn more than mathematicians. Like duh...

Oh, and the thing about her being under some black magic spell? Come on, get real lah people.

She was obviously abused by her dad as a child (be it under tremendous pressure to perform or otherwise) and she is clearly rebelling in the worst imaginable way.

Black magic? So who is the insane one now?

Wondering.

2008-04-11T11:15:00.003+08:00

My niece just turned 3 months old a few days back.
3 months of pure joy since she came into our world.

And so much has happened in those three months.
She has cried her first tears, smiled her first smile and laughed her first laugh.

She is really smart, I can tell you that. She has made a number of little accomplishments; little feats we take for granted now. Like turning her little head herself, rolling on the bed on her own or cooing back at the person cooing over her. She knows her little routine now; when she should be sleeping, bathing or feeding.

3 months.

Now, that's a long time.

As long as my stay in the U.S. starting from next month.
Woah... I would be gone for three months; I've never really thought about how long that actually is.

Well sure if you measure those three months like you normally would, according to the semester or by project datelines, that would be mere peanuts... but for my niece those three months would be a very long time - imagine the number of other accomplishments she could make.

And I won't be around to see them this time.

PS: My VISA is still being processed by the America embassy. Exactly one more month before I'm due to fly off and of course I'm worried shit. Please please please go well.

Dear Architects, I am sick of your shit.

2008-03-29T23:28:00.001+08:00

Ouch.

Found this in my friend's blog who found it in a random blog.
It can either make you (archi students) self-reflect or quit.

Well, I had my reservations when I first took architecture as my undergraduate course.

Sure, we work long hours. Sure, we don't sleep much. And sure, when we work, we get paid peanuts.

That said, if you are in it for the money, then being an architect is definitely not the career for you.

But if you live, breathe or sleep architecture, then I say get a life.

Even I get sick of our shit sometimes. So read the letter and please comment. (I sure hope I don't do things like that to my non-archi friends when we go out, do I?)

Dear Architects,
I am sick of your shit.
Once, a long time ago in the days of yore, I had a friend who was studying architecture to become, presumably, an architect.
This friend introduced me to other friends, who were also studying architecture. Then these friends had other friends who were architects - real architects doing real architecture like designing luxury condos that look a lot like glass dildos. And these real architects knew other real architects and now the only people I know are architects. And they all design glass dildos that I will never work or live in and serve only to obstruct my view of New Jersey.

Do not get me wrong, architects. I like you as a person. I think you are nice, smell good most of the time, and I like your glasses. You have crazy hair, and if you are lucky, most of it is on your head. But I do not care about architecture. It is true. This is what I do care about:

* burritos
* hedgehogs
* coffee

As you can see, architecture is not on the list. I believe that architecture falls somewhere between toenail fungus and invasive colonoscopy in the list of things that interest me.

Perhaps if you didn’t talk about it so much, I would be more interested. When you point to a glass cylinder and say proudly, hey my office designed that, I giggle and say it looks like a bong. You turn your head in disgust and shame. You think, obviously she does not understand. What does she know? She is just a writer. She is no architect. She respects vowels, not glass cocks. And then you say now I am designing a lifestyle center, and I ask what is that, and you say it is a place that offers goods and services and retail opportunities and I say you mean like a mall and you say no. It is a lifestyle center. I say it sounds like a mall. I am from the Valley, bitch. I know malls.

Architects, I will not lie, you confuse me. You work sixty, eighty hours a week and yet you are always poor. Why aren’t you buying me a drink? Where is your bounty of riches? Maybe you spent it on merlot. Maybe you spent it on hookers and blow. I cannot be sure. It is a mystery. I will leave that to the scientists to figure out.

Architects love to discuss how much sleep they have gotten. One will say how he was at the studio until five in the morning, only to return again two hours later. Then another will say, oh that is nothing. I haven’t slept in a week. And then another will say, guess what, I have never slept ever. My dear architects, the measure of how hard you’ve worked and how much you’ve accomplished is not related to the number of hours you have not slept. Have you heard of Rem Koolhaas? He is a famous architect. I know this because you tell me he is a famous architect. I hear that Rem Koolhaas is always sleeping. He is, I presume, sleeping right now. And I hear he gets shit done. And I also hear that in a stunning move, he is making a building that looks not like a glass cock, but like a concrete vagina. When you sleep more, you get vagina. You can all take a lesson from Rem Koolhaas.

Life is hard for me, please understand. Architects are an important part of my existence. They call me at eleven at night and say they just got off work, am I hungry? Listen, it is practically midnight. I ate hours ago. So long ago that, in fact, I am hungry again. So yes, I will go. Then I will go and there will be other architects talking about AutoCAD shortcuts and something about electric panels and can you believe that is all I did today, what a drag. I look around the table at the poor, tired, and hungry, and think to myself, I have but only one bullet left in the gun. Who will I choose?

I have a friend who is a doctor. He gives me drugs. I enjoy them. I have a friend who is a lawyer. He helped me sue my landlord. My architect friends have given me nothing. No drugs, no medical advice, and they don’t know how to spell subpoena. One architect friend figured out that my apartment was one hundred and eighty seven square feet. That was nice. Thanks for that.

I suppose one could ask what someone like me brings to architects like yourselves. I bring cheer. I yell at architects when they start talking about architecture. I force them to discuss far more interesting topics, like turkey eggs. Why do we eat chicken eggs, but not turkey eggs? They are bigger. And people really like turkey. See? I am not afraid to ask the tough questions.

So, dear architects, I will stick around, for only a little while. I hope that one day some of you will become doctors and lawyers or will figure out my taxes. And we will laugh at the days when you spent the entire evening talking about some European you’ve never met who designed a building you will never see because you are too busy working on something that will never get built. But even if that day doesn’t arrive, give me a call anyway, I am free.

Yours truly,
Annie Choi

5 seconds of my life.

2008-03-28T11:17:00.002+08:00

Been extremely busy the first half of the week.

Had a submission, a crit and an exam three days back to back.

Sigh... the amount of hours of sleep I had in those few days and days prior to that when added is even lesser than what a normal human would sleep in a day.

...

I would always synchronise the beginning of my favourite song ('I'm yours' by Jason Mraz) in my IPOD in full blast as I step out of the lift and walk my way to cross the road.

With the sun's rays on the skin and the morning breeze blowing the hair,
The white apartment flats in the background,
And the vast green field under the great blue sky before me,
That fleeting five seconds would be worry-free.

Just the five seconds would be enough to make me smile for the rest of the day.

Just the five seconds will do.

Liquid stone.

2008-03-20T22:37:00.010+08:00

I've been busy with one of my modules: 'Architecture Construction'; for which we had to make a concrete sculpture. Here's what we did:

We poured the concrete into this wooden framework. And left it to dry for 4 days.

The framework was lined with cling-wrap and duct tape to 'engrave' the texture onto our concrete surface. So after the four days we pried the wood planks apart.

We had blue foam as the interior framework to have the inner hollows rotating as well.

We had to dig the foam out. (I'm obviously faking it in this picture)

My group looking really cheerful at 3 a.m.

And... Finally our baby is born!!!

Concept: 3 seemingly distinct cubes stacked on top of one another but they are in fact created by using one singular framework and one pour of concrete. The 3 cubes rotate anti-clockwise and the inner hollow of the three cubes rotate clockwise. Also the textures of the 3 cubes vary with the density of duct tape taped onto the framework. In addition to that, we used grout to stain the concrete a homogeneous black.

We had the submission cum exhibition on Tuesday.
And... my group got the top prize.

From left: Naiyan, Anusha, Shazi (me), Shen Yeow, Hui Loh.

Tiny terracotta army of experimental models.

Other interesting works.

Its nice to have your efforts finally paying off.
It really is.

Holiday?

2008-03-16T00:25:00.010+08:00

Thanks to all those who have showed concern to me over the past week. Though it was only an MSN nick, some true friends sensed something amiss and chatted me up.

So thanks.

Yes, I am stressed. No I won't actually slash my wrist.

My workload has since tripled but I know that I am not alone. I am not the only archi student going through this crap. Datelines looming closer but what else can I do but work, no?

I came back from Tioman last weekend to many unfinished projects and piling workload.

Speaking of which, lemme show you some pictures from Tioman, Malaysia, taken with my new camera (pictures had to be compressed cause they are too huge).

Pristine beaches, crystal clear blue water.
Let the pictures speak for themselves.

Went there with my parents, sister (taking picture) and baby niece; not forgetting my cousins, their kids, my uncle and aunt.

And lastly my favourite picture from the trip (no photoshop-ing done):

Picture turned out really nice; can grace some magazine cover I think.
lol...

For more pictures click here.

F**king Beasts.

2008-03-07T08:54:00.006+08:00

There is no excuse to snub out a life, much alone a poor defenceless being's.
Certainly not for stress, frustration nor 'insanity'. Especially not for amusement.

The following people are worst than animals.
Cos' while animals kill to feed, these beasts kill just because.

Blogger's Warning: The following links are to some pictures and videos that are extremely disturbing. I urge those who are kitten-lovers, puppy-lovers or are easily traumatised for days after looking at anything gruesome and disturbing to NOT look at the video/pictures. This is NOT a reverse psychology thingy where I'm actually arousing your curiosity to go see, cause I really think its that disturbing.

An article found in Stomp:
In a nutshell, a video of a woman in China, who crushed a kitten to death with her heels, was circulated in the Internet and caused a lot of furore. Reasons for doing the senseless and inhumane act, she was recently divorced and going through depression.

F**king bitch. I wouldn't even crush a snail intentionally and she mercilessly did this repeatedly with heels digging into the kitten's head and all. The very bloody video has since been removed but the gruesome pictures can still be found here.

The Puppy-Marine Saga:
A video of a Marine, who was posted in Iraq, throwing a puppy of a cliff, found its way into Youtube. The video (videos, after many other copies where posted) drew a lot of controversy in the US because of the obvious disregard for life and that the one doing the deed was a Marine.

But the authenticity of the video has been questioned, cos' the dog was unusually motionless and silent as it was held by the scruff of the neck in the beginning and that the yelps heard as it was thrown over the cliff could have been dubbed.

Click here and you be the judge yourself. The video might not be as bloody as the first but its just as mean...

I heard that the video was in fact real and that the Marine was sent to prison. Mindless dick. You deserved that.

Why? Why? Why?:
Reports said that the woman was not remorseful initially, but under the pressure of the media and animal rights activists, broke her stand and apologised for her actions.
The Marine is allegedly not remorseful to date.

I don't get how these people can feel no guilt for doing all these.
Just proves to show that some humans can be extremely inhumane, void of sympathy or remorse.

They can be beasts.

They are beasts...

"Selamat Datang"

2008-03-07T08:17:00.010+08:00

Insider news:

Intelligence have reasons to believe that terrorist Mas Selamat Kastari has escaped to Johor Bahru. Because at the checkpoints in Johor Bahru, there were signs saying "Selamat Datang".

Hirk.

*'Selamat Datang' means 'Welcome' in Malay.

And 'datang' on its own means 'come', 'came' or 'coming', depending on its usage.

More lame stuff.

Courtesy of TalkingCock.com and some other very creative people.

Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng better find him, otherwise, he'll have to step down and be forever known as Mr Wong Kan Find.

No wonder the security laspse.

Inspired by my favourite television series:

Random Note: Prison Break 3 is awesome!!! Watch it here. They're now having a mid-season break, a few epsiodes after they just had their mid-mid-season break. Hopefully, with the end of the Hollywood writers strike, more American TV series can finally kick start their engines. Like come on, enough with the season, mid-season and quarter-season breaks already!