You can speak in Tongues!

It's easy. Anyone can do it. Lots of people are doing it.


If you want to speak like that (and why won't you want to), but don't know how to, this is your lucky day! Why I have a YouTube video here to teach you how.


And if that easy to follow guide could not help you, have no worries! Because I have found you a Speak in Tongues in 5-Days or Your Money Back deal! It's guaranteed!

Just do it!!! ahunnnn moooarrr juuteeee nanoooo verrrrr bbbabbbababa oororor hhaahah!

Seriously, people actually do this stuff. Normal, intelligent and rational people.

Link to malaysian athesit article.

Life is brief. Fall in love, maidens...for those of you who knows no tomorrow.

Life is brief. Fall in love, maidens,
Before the crimson bloom fades from your lips,
Before the tides of passion cool within you,
For those of you who know no tomorrow.

Life is brief. Fall in love, maidens,
Before his hands take up his boat,
Before the flush of his cheeks fades,
For those of you who will never return here.

Life is brief. Fall in love, maidens,
Before the boat drifts away on the waves,
Before the hand resting on your shoulder becomes frail,
For those who will never be seen here again.

Life is brief. Fall in love, maidens,
Before the raven tresses begin to fade,
Before the flame in your hearts flicker and die,
For those to whom today will never return.

ゴンドラの唄(Gondora no Uta) Song of the Gondola
Composed by Shimpei Nakayama, lyrics by Isamu Yoshii
Link

Ikiru could be my best loved movie. More on this later.

Love's Philosophy

By Percy Bysshe Shelly:

The fountains mingle with the river
And the rivers with the ocean,
The winds of Heaven mix for ever
With a sweet emotion;
Nothing in the world is single,
All things by a law divine
In one another's being mingle --
Why not I with thine?

See the mountains kiss high heaven
And the waves clasp one another;
No sister-flower would be forgiven
If it disdain'd its brother;
And the sunlight clasps the earth,
And the moonbeams kiss the sea --
What are all these kissings worth,
If thou kiss not me?

This poem (beautiful by the way) and the last 2 movies I watched on my TV, Love Actually and You got Mail got me thinking about "Love" as a concept. Penn and Teller's Bullshit! have a show on The Business of Love, watch it here:



We are all familiar with shows with the "they live happily ever after" endings. It's always "they" isn't it? It seems that a single "he" or "she" could not live as happily as a "they". With all this "love at first sight" and "riding off into the sunset", could we have been taken for a ride? Does the real world really works that way?

In the study of Sociology, we know that social conditioning can have a tremendous impact on people's behavior. We can predict at what age a person of a certain gender and social upbringing would want to get married, how many kids he or she would like and even what sort of person he or she is likely to marry. "Love" in this sense seems to be a very socially constructed arrangement. For example monogamy, which is not always the norm, has been taken to be a sign or criterion of "true love". Not too long ago, in a different culture setting, this Hollywood's ending would have little to do with one's "love" for a person.

"What is love" has always been a difficult question to answer, and is therefore a perfect philosophical question. Perhaps we could examine it using evolution, where individuals find that having a fixed partner have an added advantage in the division of labour. We can see the same partnership in countless animals such as lions, penguins , various mammals, and so on. Can their partnership be considered "love"? Could our "love" simply be a romanticised concept of choosing an advantageous partner to pass on our genes?

Does "Love" somehow involves the "Soul" or is it simply a chemical change in the brain?

Could we be spending a tremendous amount of time and effort chasing after something that doesn't exist in the first place?
--

Pirates and Emperor

Well Sadam Hussein kicked the bucket, thanks to his old friend Uncle Sam. Is oil the reason?


History of Oil: WWI, Iraq war...



There are crimes so big, there are no law against them.

Singapore Dreaming

Just caught the movie with Adam, a really good show. What's stunning is that we watched it on a Monday afternoon, usually a quite time for cinemas, and the hall was packed to the first row. Wow.
Posted this message in my sociology class forum:

Hi, everyone. I just watched "Singapore Dreaming" today, and I would like to recommend it to you.
To quote from the website(http://www.singaporedreaming.com):
"Singapore Dreaming is a story about a family with big dreams, living on a small island."
...
"Singapore Dreaming is a poignant, yet darkly humorous story about a typical Singaporean family coming to grips with their aspirations. It weaves a layered and moving tale about a family dealing with loss, ambition and the search for what really matters in life."

Socially (and I guess you could say academically), the movie explores many themes that is worth looking into. The economic straggle of the working class, gender inequality, social mobility, class stratification, family structure...ect, all in a Singapore context.

But more importantly, you should see it because you are in Singapore. If you are a heartlander, you will see some of yourself, your family, and your friends in the movie. If you are not, well you would see Singaporean, as we are. To quote President Nathan: "It's life in its reality."

I urge you to examine the issues and questions raised in the movie closely. Too many of us, for too long, have been following the "Singapore Plan" too closely. In our chase for a better future, we have miss something? Perhaps?
Maybe you have friends who declares righteously that they will only take modules that they are confident of scoring in? Maybe some are switching to faculty that seems to offer more chances of scoring well?

Don't win the battle, and lose the war.
...than again, that's just me.

We seem to be feed a winning formula from young. Study hard, "good" school, "good" result, "good" job, "good" house, "good" marriage, 2 kids. Not forgetting the 5Cs. Once we have them, We're THERE. The movie points out ironicly that the 6th C, is coffin.

In the movie that's a girl from China who said: "you give up your dreams to do something you are unwilling to, for money. To get money, I am doing something I'm unwilling to, for my dreams."

I'm almost afraid to ask people around me, "do you have dreams beyond the 5Cs?"

The movie blog.
The essay that started it all: PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS

technorati tag:Singapore Dreaming singapore singaporean

Our nation, our home, our dreams, our hope.

National day is tomorrow and this will be my first time at the National Day Parade as a spectator. Adam has been luck enough to get tickets for the grandstand (damn, how did he do this? It's like $300 in ebay I heard) and is kind enough to invite me along to the show. Well I was there for 2 years as part of the marching contingent, but then I was in the middle for 2 years and didn't get much of a view.

You know, I like to hear national songs on the air and tv. It gives me this warm fuzzy feeling inside and brings back memories of my childhood. I could just close my eyes and imagine I'm in primary school again. I found this official sing Singapore version of "Count on me Singapore" on YouTube.


And then been the devil I'm, I've found a link to a unofficial lyrics here:

The first few lines goes:
We have a revision of pay tomorrow
Just release, just release
We have a poorer Singapore
We won't receive, we won't receive...[here]

Make no mistake, I love Singapore. I love her for her stability, for her security, for her accessible education, for her lovable people, for her economy, for her rich culture, for her teh tarik.

And because I love the land I grow up in, I feel that some things can be improved.
For example, censorship. Take a look at this (really, you must, its sidesplitting):





We cannot use local dialects on tv, cross dressing is banned. Our movies and shows are heavily censored. Ideas, concepts and themes are restricted. We sometime have to go oversea to watch Singapore made movies. Which is silly. And just a bit sad.

I just got news that the police had issued a warning to Martyn See who made "Singapore Rebel" about Chee Soon Juan, but decided not to prosecute him, ending the saga.[news] Having seen the show on google video I honestly do not know what all the fuss is all about. I'm bewildered.

After Singapore banned protests and outdoor gatherings for the coming IMF meeting, the world watches as IMF and World Bank request Singapore to allow people more opportunity to express their views in the coming meeting. The World Bank expressed that: "effective inclusion of the voices of civil society is key to ensuring that the annual meetings are a success." An official organisation asking for people to criticise and complain against it? An idea that is somewhat shocking in Singapore.

Recently, after I was disappointed and sadden by the lack of opposition coverage in our media, and the Mr Brown affair, have turned to oversea news site and papers to find out about things that are happening in Singapore. I wish I do not have to.

I believe that we ourself is the best censor. I will decide what to watch, when to watch, what is right and what is wrong. If I feel something distorted the truth, I won't believe it. And I certainly won't be distressed by all the information.

I look forward to a time where we can freely publicly debate issues in a health, mature fashion.

For example this news report:
"MCYS has formed a nine-member parents' workgroup to look into the financial security of children with special needs. President of Autism Resource Centre and MP for Jalan Besar Denise Phua has been appointed to lead it... it will recommend initiatives on how such parents may enhance the financial security of their children."
Is there something more we can do? Is there enough voices speaking up for those who cannot speak for themself? This should at least be discussed.

People with passion and ideas are not out to make trouble. Very often, its precisely because they love this country that they feel that they should speak up. People get involve in all these issues and discussion because they feel we have a stake in the country. Compare that with those scholars who migrate after serving their bond, who's the true patriot?

We're all on the same boat. From time to time, we fight over who should be the captain, who should be in charge. We may argue constantly over which direction the boat should go. But no one, no one will deny that this is an important voyage. We may rock the boat from time to time, but no one will want the boat to sink.

I look forward to a culturally and ethnically diverse society. Where everyone, regardless of race, language, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, education and income can come together proudly with our heads held high as Singaporean.

And with that I salute our nation on her 41st birthday, and wish her a smooth journey on the seas ahead.



technorati tag:
national day censorship singapore singaporean

4 million smiles outside, crying inside

In case you still do not know. Singapore wants you to welcome the world with smiles when the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group come to town in September.[see news report]
We are going to welcome the world with 4 millions smiles, literally. Singapore 2006, whatever that is, has set up a web site and is encouraging singaporean to send in pictures of them smiling.

We seems to have borrowed the idea from Thailand, traditionally known as the land of a thousand smiles, and not wanting to be outdone, have upgraded it to a staggering 4 millions smiles. I thought my primary school days of impelling courtesy champion like movements are over. Apparently not. Well, by jolly! If we need to smile at those ang mohs, we better learn to do it properly. Since we are going to hire native english speakers to teach us how to speak english, why not have native smilers teach us how to smile? Our more experience friends in Bangkok have been kind enough to share their experience with us.



--
Updated 14 July

I just found out that Singapore is the most unhappy nation among Asean and Asian nations.[see news report]
The Happy Planet Index ranked Singapore 131th base on our "relative success or failure of countries in supporting good life for their citizens, whilst repecting the environmental resource limits upon which our lives depend."
Well, we certainly need more reasons to smile.

technorati tag:
4 million smiles singapore singaporean

Fly Guy

U have got to check it out!
Strangely therapeutic.
http://www.trevorvanmeter.com/flyguy/