i.am.such.a.bizarro

work-life balance

2011-04-23T09:33:00.002+08:00

If you're looking at work-life balance, I don't really think you can find a correlation that says the company is more productive or more profitable the longer and harder people work. I don't think that's true. You can find correlations between the quality of life within a corporation and the productivity of its employees. It may sound simple, mundane or pedestrian, but I believe that happy employees are more productive employees than those who are always tired and dragging. We encourage an appropriate work-life balance and wellness in the workplace. We spend a lot of time and attention on that: we have constructive websites to suggest to people that they take care of themselves personally and mentally as well as physically. Certainly, a large part of the mental component is making sure you have appropriate relationships with friends and family.

When we talk about work-life balance, I think I learned that lesson the hard way. I probably have a little guilt that I'm living with, particularly when I spend time with my granddaughter and I ask myself whether I devoted this much time and attention to her mother. But fortunately she grew up well and she's a productive, contributing member of society. She's happy and she's presented me with a great granddaughter, so hopefully I didn't do too much damage in that relationship. But if I had to do it over again, I would spend more time with my children than I did.

- Erroll Davis, Jr

the perfect servant

2010-01-27T21:40:00.001+08:00

I'm the perfect servant; I have no life.

- Mrs. Wilson in Robert Altman's Gosford Park (2001)

fences

2009-09-18T18:48:00.001+08:00

Before you pull down any fence, always find out why it was there in the first place.

- G.K. Chesterton, writer.

not always right

2009-08-06T11:03:00.002+08:00

I'm willing to admit that I may not always be right, but I am never wrong.

- Samuel Goldwyn, American film producer.

a lost love letter

2009-07-28T23:16:00.002+08:00

After reading the following news, I hope someone would make a good movie out of this true love story.

A British man and his Spanish former sweetheart have finally married 16 years after they drifted apart, reunited by a love letter lost behind a fireplace for over a decade, reports said on Monday.

Steve Smith and Carmen Ruiz-Perez, both now 42, fell in love 17 years ago when she was a foreign exchange student in Brixham, southwest England, and got engaged after only a year together.

But their relationship ended after she moved France to run a shop in Paris.

A few years later, in a bid to rekindle their love, Smith sent a letter to her mother's home in Spain. It was placed on the mantelpiece, but slipped down behind the fireplace and was lost for over a decade.

The missing missive was only found when builders removed the fireplace during renovation work.

"When I got the letter I didn't phone Steve right away because I was so nervous," Ruiz-Perez told the Herald Express local newspaper.

"I nearly didn't phone him at all. I kept picking up the phone then putting it down again.

"But I knew I had to make the call."

When they were reunited, it was as if time had stood still, said Smith, a factory supervisor.

"When we met again it was like a film. We ran across the airport into each other's arms. We met up and fell in love all over again. Within 30 seconds of setting eyes on each other we were kissing.

"I'm just glad the letter did eventually end up where it was supposed to be," he said, after the couple married last Friday.

- Lost love letter reunites couple after 16 years

chinese don't get sick?

2009-05-11T23:51:00.001+08:00

Foreigners have illness, Chinese people don’t have illness, Chinese pigs even more don’t have illness.

- Gao Hongbin, China’s vice minister of agriculture.

secrets of success

2009-05-09T15:54:00.000+08:00

We suck less!

- JP Morgan's CEO Jamie Dimon at Harvard Business School centennial conference

God's family

2009-05-03T12:58:00.001+08:00

There is no joy like God's joy. There is no family like God's family.

- Gary Thomas, Sacred Parenting.

journey thru the wilderness

2009-03-11T10:50:00.001+08:00

Often, we ask God “why” we are compelled into the wilderness. We grumble and complain in our lament and try to hurry our way into the Promised Land by forcing our own way or by seeking to return to Egypt to meet our needs in our time and through our own methods. The journey of all Christ-followers is a journey through the wilderness towards the Cross. We cannot escape it, nor can we go around it. And yet, the wilderness, the Cross, and the ultimate resurrection of Jesus all demonstrate that no matter the wilderness we find ourselves in, God will bring us through to life on the other side. We will not be delivered from the suffering of the wilderness, but with God’s help we can indeed be transformed by it.

- Margaret Manning, The Journey Through the Wilderness, Mar 10 2009.

need...sleep...

2009-03-02T22:15:00.001+08:00

The unarguable demands that our bodies make for sleep are a good reminder that we are mere creatures...

- Lauren Winner, Books & Culture, January/February 2006, Vol. 12, No. 1.

not about what you want

2009-02-20T14:56:00.002+08:00

Son, life is not about what you want...It's about how you cope with it there and then...

- Lo Wing Ee, 1952-2009

Well said, Mr Lo. Though I don't know you personally but these words shared by your son really taught me something. May God continue to bless and watch over your family.

baby donkey

2009-02-20T14:54:00.001+08:00

If you come across an adorable baby in Turkey, you are to say that the baby looks like a donkey! This may sound ludicrous, but you are actually paying the baby and its mother a major compliment. This custom is rooted in the belief that there are evil spirits all around, which may grow jealous and cause bad things to happen to the little one. Hence to avoid bad luck, you deceive the evil spirits by uttering the opposite of what you mean.

- I’Ching Thomas, Attentive Eyes, 19th Feb 2009

Easiest Major

2009-01-17T11:44:00.003+08:00

I majored in psychology, but only because it was the easiest major...

- Gene Weingarten, a humour writer for Washington Post Magazine.

How many other things are we missing?

2009-01-17T11:17:00.003+08:00

"What do We Choose to See?"

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Seems like the experiment really took place and more details of the newspaper article could be read over here.

Feeling sorry...

2009-01-13T00:18:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday morning, I was awaken abruptly by a dream. I felt rather disturbed by the dream and not too sure why. Just couldn't go back to sleep. The dream went like a flash and I couldn't make out clearly what took place but could only remember pieces of it. My heart felt heavy when I reached church. Then during the worship practice, somehow the dream made sense.

I thank God for showing me my sins and I know I did wrong.

I thank Him for loving me too.

Golf and fatherhood

2008-12-30T16:49:00.001+08:00

AN OLD golf pro once told me that fatherhood has a huge impact on many professional players. According to him, something about having a baby calms a man down, makes him more focused, relaxed and ready to bring home the big prize.

- S Murali, The New Paper, Bundle of joy helps you get bundles of cash?, Dec 30, 2008

Letting go

2008-12-27T01:08:00.002+08:00

Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. One of them said, "My lord, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was there with me. The third day after my child was born, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one in the house but the two of us.

"During the night this woman's son died because she lay on him. So she got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side while I your servant was asleep. She put him by her breast and put her dead son by my breast. The next morning, I got up to nurse my son—and he was dead! But when I looked at him closely in the morning light, I saw that it wasn't the son I had borne."

The other woman said, "No! The living one is my son; the dead one is yours." But the first one insisted, "No! The dead one is yours; the living one is mine." And so they argued before the king.

The king said, "This one says, 'My son is alive and your son is dead,' while that one says, 'No! Your son is dead and mine is alive.' "

Then the king said, "Bring me a sword." So they brought a sword for the king. He then gave an order: "Cut the living child in two and give half to one and half to the other."

The woman whose son was alive was filled with compassion for her son and said to the king, "Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don't kill him!" But the other said, "Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!"

Then the king gave his ruling: "Give the living baby to the first woman. Do not kill him; she is his mother."

- 1 King 3:16-27

The above passage has somewhat answer what has been bothering me. Rather let it go than see it torn apart before my eyes. Lord, I thank You for showing me the story...

Gandhi

2008-12-18T00:09:00.004+08:00

Just want to share something written by Philip Yancy who had shown me what it means to 'turn to him the other [cheek] also'.

The movie Gandhi contains a fine scene in which Gandhi tries to explain his philosophy to the Presbyterian missionary Charlie Andrews.

Walking together in a South African city, the two suddenly find their way blocked by young thugs. The Reverend Andrew takes one look at the menacing gangsters and decide to run for it. Gandhi stops him.

"Doesn't the New Testament say if an enemy strikes you on the right cheek you should offer him the left?" Andrew mumbles that the thought of the phrase was used metaphorically. "i'm not so sure,"Gandhi replies.

"I suspect he meant you must show courage - be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show you will not strike back nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that and I have seen it work."

- Philip Yancy, The Jesus I Never Knew.

You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

- Matthew 5:38-39

Ben and Jerry

2008-12-14T21:12:00.004+08:00

Since I like eating Ben and Jerry ice-cream (probably influenced by my wife), I went searching on Facebook for a group which gathers the BnJ ice-cream lovers. I found some amusing groups created for Ben and Jerry instead. :P

A Miracle

2008-12-13T10:11:00.004+08:00

As I read the following article, was quite amazed by how God managed to provide for those who earnestly seek Him...

Perhaps as you look at our world today you wonder if God is still at work in such a way. I want to encourage you that He is, for in my work and ministry I have seen his provision.

Having been involved in Bible smuggling in China, I was intrigued to learn of a man named Chris who had gone out from the UK to do the same. Every three seconds someone in China becomes a Christian, but there’s a real lack of the Word of God there.

This is what happened to Chris: he and his team stood at the pickup point in China where they were to meet their contact, who would utter a password, and they would deliver their Bibles. They arrived with only minutes to spare, but the contact didn’t show up. Knowing they were being watched, the team started walking towards the edge of town as though leaving.

Hot and tired, they stopped at a nearby park for a drink of water, rest, and prayer. It was hard to understand why after all the difficulties God had brought them through that something had gone so wrong. They had looked to Him for provision and direction, and yet their mission had seemingly failed.

Soon the team became aware of three very ragged and dirty men under a tree behind them. Chris felt the Lord leading him to go over with some water. When he offered it, one of the men suddenly spoke the password very clearly in English. The rest of the team hurried over in amazement and pieced together the men’s story from the little Chinese that they knew.

Two years earlier, God had given a word to these Chinese men in one of their services that they should plan for this trip. He would lead them to this park, on this date, and have Bibles ready for them, which would be brought by white men from far away. Since they were all poor farmers, it had taken a long time for them to save the money for food and shoes for the trip.

The men had walked for two and a half months, mostly at night to keep from being arrested. Coming from the far north of China near Mongolia, they had climbed a range of snowcapped mountains, traveled through the desert, and crossed several rivers without a compass or any knowledge of the country. All they could explain was that God had shown them where to go.

How did they know the password? How could they speak it in English when they knew no English? How did they survive the heat and the snow without protective clothing? It could only be God.

When the men saw the Bibles, they cried and praised the Lord for a long time. They had brought cloth bags with them to carry the Bibles home, and inside each one was a small watermelon that they had carried all those miles as a gift of appreciation. Even though they had been without food for several days, they didn’t eat a single watermelon.

The team exchanged clothes with them and Chris explained what an honor it was to put on those dirty rags. The shoes were completely worn out, but the team chose to go barefoot and give up their own shoes, which fit the others perfectly. Apparently God had chosen each group member based in part on their shoe size. Many tears were shed as the team prayed for the Chinese and sent them back home with food and money for their journey.

- Amy Orr-Ewing, A Slice of Infinity (1825): Behold! Dec 4, 2008

Promotion

2008-12-01T23:36:00.002+08:00

"There is no greater promotion than motherhood..." Mediacorp tv series, Sayang Sayang.

...and I repeat it to my wife. :P

I learnt a new word...

2008-11-01T14:33:00.002+08:00

I'm actually a subscriber to 'Word of the Day' from Dictionary.com. Was checking my mails last Monday and I learnt the following new word to use in reverence of God...

genuflect \JEN-yuh-flekt\, intransitive verb:

1. To bend the knee or touch one knee to the ground, as in worship.
2. To be servilely respectful or obedient; to grovel.

Genuflect is from Late Latin genuflectere, from Latin genu, "knee" + flectere, "to bend."

I am tagged

2007-05-06T17:06:00.000+08:00

I'm tagged by Emay!

Rules of the game:

Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself.
People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly.
At the end you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names.
No tagbacks!

Okay, here goes...

One. I have a habit of squeezing pimples on my scalp.

Two. From Sec4 till J2, I would wash my face whenever I go toilet.

Three. Had walked from my house to my primary, secondary and JC school early in the morning. Had a weird idea of taking morning walks to school that I study in. There was once JC Econs teacher drove past me and afforded to give me a ride but I just walked on. I think I was carrying a guitar then...

Four. When I was in Primary One, I couldn't get a bus back home because the bus didn't stop for me. Had to call my mum to fetch me. Later did I realised I had to flag for the bus.

Five. I missed one period of GP lesson because I was too engrossed reading a comic book that I forgot about to go for that last lesson of the day.

Six. I hardly answer my house phone because most probably the person is not looking for me.

Seven. During secondary school days, I used an old typewriter as a dumbbell to train my arms.

Eight. I used to fantasize about martial art moves while trying to get to sleep.

Nine. I have knocked a secondary school classmate's head on the table and his nose bled.

Ten. I have never cried at my grandparent's funeral...

People I want to tagged: funkygroovejive, taoying, Mic, Perlyn, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

a love story

2007-04-25T18:24:00.000+08:00

Falling in love again after being struck with amnesia

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Is it possible to find the same love twice in a lifetime? Jeff Ingram and Penny Hansen were about to find out. If they were going to stay together, they would have to get to know each other all over again. For Jeff, there was no past.

But Penny knew Jeff in another life - before he went missing and wound up on a downtown Denver street with no memory.

"Dissociative fugue," doctors called it, a rare form of amnesia caused by stress or trauma that can influence people to travel far away from their homes.

Jeff was found, but he had no idea who he was, much less who Penny was.

Now he hunches over the countertop and peers at the foreign words in the Betty Crocker cookbook. One-and-a-half cups of egg whites. He should know this. He used to bake so much that he had a special cake platter to display his creations. Today he moves about the kitchen a bit unsure of where the ingredients are kept.

He shoots a puzzled glance to his girlfriend. "I haven't shown you yet how to separate an egg," she says as she cracks the egg and gently demonstrates how to toss the egg between the two shells to separate it.

He and his girlfriend, Penny, brush by each other. They exchange flirtatious smiles, like a couple in the first bloom of romance.

To Jeff, she is as new in his life as angel food cake.

When Jeff and Penny met for the first time in 2005, the connection was instant. Jeff joked that he should just kiss Penny immediately and get it out of the way. They had talked on the phone every other night in the year since they connected on an Internet game site.

Never mind that he lived in Canada, where he worked in a mill, and that she lived in Olympia, Wash., where she worked as a state transportation and policy analyst. The 988 miles were little hindrance, and finally Jeff moved to join her.

Relationships hadn't worked out for either in the past. But now, at 40, they were in love.

She did not blanch when he told her he had once suffered amnesia in 1995 - that he had turned up in Seattle, nine months after disappearing from his home in Slave Lake, Alberta. Where had he been? How did he get there? He did not know, and he never regained memories of his life before he vanished.

It was just a medical condition, she thought, a small matter compared with all of Jeff's fine qualities - his kind and gentle way, his sense of humility, his nurturing soul.

Last summer, Jeff proposed, and Penny accepted.

Then, on Sept. 6, 2006, Jeff said goodbye and walked out of their tidy green house. It was 7:30 a.m. and Penny was crying. She wouldn't see him again for a month.

Jeff planned to drive to Canada to visit a dying friend in the hospital. He had been meticulous in his planning, lining up a job there and renewing his driver's license.

"This isn't a goodbye," she told him. "If you miss me, I'll be right here," and she touched her heart.

But Jeff never called. He never answered his cell phone. He never made it to Canada.

Something horrible had happened, she was certain.

Penny didn't know it, but Jeff did surface four days later.

Only it wasn't Jeff - it was someone so confused he didn't know who he was. He remembers picking himself off the street in downtown Denver, a place he had never been before, and somehow finding his way to a hospital.

He didn't have a name, so a Denver Health hospital worker wrote "Alpha 74" on his chart.

Jeff underwent a battery of tests. He was hypnotized, given an IQ test, fingerprinted and had spinal fluid drawn. He was tested for drugs and scanned until it was determined he was the healthiest person in the hospital.

He was sent to live at a transitional housing facility. He spent time going to church and visiting with some Denver police officers he'd come to know; they suggested a plea on national television, and on Oct. 22, his face appeared on news stations all over the country.

"If anybody recognizes me, knows who I am, please let somebody know," he said.

In that vast television audience, someone did recognize him: Penny's brother. And though Jeff had shaved off his mustache and goatee and was wearing different glasses and a hat she had never seen, Penny knew him instantly.

Jeff was waiting in a room at the Denver police station when a detective walked in and tossed some pictures down in front of him.

"This is Penny," the detective said, as Jeff stared at her picture.

Beautiful, he thought. Absolutely beautiful.

Penny was pacing and crying at the airport.

Forty-six days has gone by since Jeff had left their home that morning. She had been searching the sides of highways, checking hospitals.

And now they would see each other again.

To him, it would be for the first time.

To her, it was a homecoming for the man she loved.

"Welcome home," she whispered in his ear.

That night, Penny showed him where his clothes went and then offered to sleep on the couch. She didn't want to force the relationship.

But Jeff said no.

He needed her. He needed to know he was loved and missed.

They laid in bed and held each other. And they cried.

But he didn't know her any better than he knew a stranger. He didn't even know who he was. What would become of them? Could they fall in love again?

Jeff was home again, but nothing felt quite right. Coming home was just the beginning of his struggle to find out who he was. Penny became his guide.

But to Jeff they were just empty memories. They meant nothing to him. Looking at his own photographs was like looking at someone else. There were no emotions behind the images.

In the beginning, Penny had to show him the most basic tasks - how to put detergent in the washing machine, how to make a scrambled egg, how the shower works. He relearned the names of states and got reacquainted with movies like "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter."

They went to visit old friends. As they drove, Penny explained the relationship Jeff had with them. "You were good friends," she said.

But what's missing was their history. Did they ever have a fight? Did he truly like the person? What kinds of things did they do together? How close were they really?

Jeff Ingram was home, but he really was just an observer to his own life.

"I want to be who I was," he said. "That's what I think about every waking moment. I want it all back."

His mother and stepfather came down from Canada to visit. Conversation was awkward and there wasn't much to say. He doesn't remember Canada. He doesn't remember family holidays or if he was close to his mother.

Sometimes Penny, without meaning to, bombards him with information. At times it is too much, and he has to tell her to stop. It sends his mind into overload.

He has a constant, throbbing headache that won't go away.

"He is the same person," Penny said optimistically. "He just can't remember he is."

But she keeps her own feelings to herself. She doesn't want to burden him with her struggle. She is hurting, too. Their relationship as she knew it is no more. He politely smiles and nods when she talks about holidays they celebrated, places they went.

"I'm just extremely sad," she said, tears welling. "I'm sad for him. I'm sad for what we had. It's heartbreaking."

---

The old Jeff hated green peppers and turnips. The new Jeff loves them. His likes now are based largely on food he ate in the hospital. He used to build with Legos, but now isn't quite sure what to do with them.

He still smokes though, just as much as he did before. Penny jokes that she wishes she could have told him he never smoked.

He likes the song "Roxanne," new to him though it came out in 1978. Pop culture is almost overwhelming and, at times, confusing. "William Shatner is Captain Kirk," Penny tells Jeff.

Thoughts swim around constantly in his head, with no permanent home.

Experts say there are three types of memory: emotional, motor and intellectual, which includes long-term memory. Jeff's motor memory, the ability to know things automatically, such as a burner being hot, was intact.

But not much is known about this rare form of amnesia. It is usually triggered by a stressful or traumatic event. Jeff believes that his friend's cancer in combination with his sensitivity to the anniversary of 9/11 most likely caused it. There is no way of knowing when, or if, he will get his memory back.

Penny, fun-loving and constantly smiling, has been his teacher and comfort, always reminding him of who he was and how much she cares. She took time off work to be with him.

Weeks after his return, Penny was walking through their house when Jeff blurted out: "You know what? I love you."

She started crying.

He still was getting to know Penny, but his heart knew.

"There's a reason we're together. It's bigger than us," Penny said. "Even though he doesn't know me."

---

On Dec. 31, 2006, a few friends and family gathered at the home of Penny's brother as the sun beamed in through the windows.

Inside, the couple, smiling and holding hands, recited their vows.

"You are my friend, my lover, my hope and my happiness ... ," Jeff told his bride. "You never gave up on me when others might have. We were meant to be together forever."

Then it was Penny's turn.

"Jeff, I fell in love with you not once, but twice. Everyone wishes for a miracle in their lives and you are my miracle. I love the way we both can finish each other's sentences. I love that we can play like kids. I love how we hold hands and walk together in a comfortable silence. ... But most of all, I love your unconditional love for me."

Their lives are not untroubled. Jeff is working on regaining memories that may never come; he still mourns the loss of who he was, and he is afraid, as is Penny, that he will disappear again. He worries that he'll go out for a cigarette and not return.

But for now they are newlyweds - laughing at the same jokes, settling into a comfortable routine. And every Dec. 31, as the world celebrates the new year, they will celebrate their anniversary and the chance they were given to fall in love all over again.

They picked that day, they say, so they would never forget.

-13 Feb 2007 , ANGIE WAGNER, Associated Press

Valentine's Day statistics

2007-02-15T18:31:00.000+08:00

Percentage of women who claim that if their dog was a man, they'd want him as their boyfriend: 34
(Source: American Kennel Club)

Percentage of married mothers who'd rather spend Valentine's Day alone than with their husbands: 51
(Source: Momjunction.com)

Percentage of people who judge a prospective date by his or her cell phone: 6
(Source: Cingular Wireless)

Percentage of people says that it's okay for two people who just met to have sex so long as they "know each other's last name": 11
(Source: Virgin Mobile USA)

Number of condoms used per second in America on Valentine's Day: 87
(Source: LifeStyles Condoms)

in theory

2007-02-13T19:11:00.000+08:00

US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright recalled the inscrutable comment of a French diplomat about the interaction of the various European organisations: "It will work in practice, yes. But will it work in theory?"

- Jonathan Fenby, France on the Brink

good ideas

2006-12-22T15:03:00.000+08:00

Good ideas can resist the toughest CD, escape the massacre of the AE, evade your brainwashed boss and survive the trampling of the client — if you believe in your unbeatable creativity." In other words, it's about having the confidence, he says, "to see if your idea is good enough to laugh to the very end.

- Zhang Feng

And all men are at home...

2006-12-22T14:59:00.000+08:00

The House of Christmas

A child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home:
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost--how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.

To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.

- G.K. Chesterton

throw an egg

2006-09-20T09:56:00.000+08:00

Throw the bread into the water

2006-09-04T15:34:00.000+08:00

My mother, Yona Avidar, would always say, 'Nina, you must be a giver -- give, and you will receive back from your giving. Don't be afraid to throw the bread into the water. It will come back to you.'

- Nina Weiner, International Sephardic Education Foundation (ISEF) President.

YouTube

2006-09-04T08:54:00.000+08:00

Chance upon YouTube's blueprint while clicking on a link. Cool.

The Unique Combination

2006-06-01T13:05:00.000+08:00

My mother would say, 'You can be whatever you want to be - there will always be someone smarter, and perhaps prettier, but only you have a unique combination.'

- Nancy Ruddy, co-founder and managing principal of Cetra/Ruddy Incorporated, one of New York's top 10 architectural firms.

ScholarShip

2006-06-01T12:38:00.000+08:00

Floating campus offers 16-week study cruise

FIRST, it was distance learning, then online degrees. Now, there's a 'floating campus' on the high seas.

From next year, as many as 1,400 undergraduates and postgraduates will get to spend 16 weeks on a study cruise around the world. The cost is US$19,950 (S$31,920) per person, about $10,000 more than the average annual local university fees.

Undergraduates who complete the course will receive a Certificate in Intercultural Leadership and postgraduate students get the Certificate in Intercultural Knowledge Management. Students will also gain credits, which they may transfer to their universities. The ship, backed by Royal Caribbean Cruises, sets sail on its
maiden voyage in September next year to eight countries, including Singapore. Thereafter, there will two voyages a year - in January and September - for 600 to 700 students each.

This programme is a joint initiative of Macquarie University in Australia; the University of California, Berkeley in the US; Peking University in China; Al Akhawayn University in Morocco; Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico and University of Ghana in West Africa.

- Straits Times, 1 Jun 2006.

outsourcing

2006-05-30T22:28:00.000+08:00

What kind of slacker are you?

2006-05-26T20:51:00.000+08:00

American Idle

In his new book, Doing Nothing: A History of Loafers, Loungers, Slackers, and Bums in America, author Tom Lutz chronicles the history of American sloth with surprising industriousness. That's what the blurbs on the back of the jacket say, anyway. Rather than actually read a 320-page book, we called Lutz for the CliffsNotes version. He was kind enough to break out modern American slackerdom into the following five categories:

The Comic Slacker: "This is the guy who gets by without having to work. All our deepest fears and greatest fantasies about doing nothing are wrapped up in this figure. He's a tramp, but it doesn't seem to get in his way." Example: Peter Gibbons from Office Space

The Closet Slacker: "Someone who seems to represent an inordinate amount of wheeling and dealing, but they're always managing to show up at tons of sporting events and parties." Example: Donald Trump

The Closet Workaholic: "This is the flip side of the workaholic. They try to present themselves as people who don't have to work for a living, but in real life they're working incredibly hard, especially on their presentation as slacker icons." Example: Kevin Smith

The Accidental Achiever: "A born slacker that ends up with a great résumé. John D. Rockefeller in an interview in the 1920s said he looked good on paper, but had been a slacker most of his life." Example: George W. Bush.

The Tragic Slacker: "This is the classic lottery winner. However much we think we want a life without work, this figure reminds us we need something to do." Example: Anna Nicole Smith.

- Men.Style.Com, 25 May 2006.

Nike+iPod

2006-05-25T13:30:00.000+08:00

Nike and iPod present shoe that gives feedback

Nike has announced that it will make running shoes that will tell the wearer how far and how fast he or she has run and how many calories they have burned. The instant information will come from a miniature iPod, made by Apple Computer, and a new wireless system called Nike+iPod.

Nike shares rose more than 2 percent after the announcement Tuesday that it planned to capitalize on the popularity of iPod portable digital music players with runners, 75 percent of whom already listen to music while they exercise.

The Nike+iPod Sports Kit, which is expected to sell for about $29, will use miniature versions of the iPod to provide audio data on time, distance, pace and calories burned through an attachable receiver that will get the data from a sensor embedded in the insole of special Nike shoes.

The new Air Zoom Moire line of running shoes - priced at $100 - are the first to have space for the sensor, but others will follow, Nike said. The removable sensor, about the size of a piece of chewing gum, can be used with any compatible shoe.

In 2004, Adidas-Salomon introduced a "smart shoe," with an embedded computer chip and a motor that constantly adjusts the shoe's cushioning to suit the runner's needs.

But the chief executive of Nike, Mark Parker, said such a shoe would not be able to provide relevant data until after the run was finished and the shoes had been removed.

"We realized making a smart shoe wasn't really smart enough," Parker said at an event for his company's new product in New York, attended by the chief executive of Apple, Steve Jobs; the Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong; and the marathon record holder Paula Radcliffe.

Nike, the world's biggest maker of sports shoes and apparel, also introduced a line of performance clothing, including jackets, shirts and shorts, that are designed to hold iPods and keep their wires untangled and out of sight.

"We share the same types of consumers" with Apple, said Trevor Edwards, Nike's vice president of global brand management. "We know that these two brands work really well together."

A deal made in 2002 between Nike and the Dutch company Philips Electronics, which resulted in a portable digital music player that tracked time and distance, fizzled, Edwards said, because of differences between the consumer bases of the two companies.

Apple came to Nike after it separated from Philips, Parker said. "We both had a mutual interest in pursuing opportunity in this area," Parker said. "Not for Nike to get into the MP3 market per se but for Nike to establish an opportunity with somebody who is really leading in that area."

Apple, which has shipped more than 50 million iPods, controls 77 percent of the U.S. market for portable digital music players, according to the market research firm NPD Group.

John Shanley, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, said the Nike+iPod product was innovative but would not appeal to the company's core base of teenage boys.

"Is it going to move the needle in terms of them selling more footwear?" he said. "Probably not."

But investors and sporting goods retailers were encouraged by Nike's move to supplement its performance apparel business, since sales of that line have been outpaced by the growing Under Armour brand.

The connector kit will be available in both Nike and Apple stores within two months, the companies said, adding that Nike would also sell Nano iPods but that Apple would not sell Nike shoes.

Apple will also include a Nike Sport Music section on its iTunes music store, which will feature playlists by well- known athletes like Armstrong, the companies said.

The Nike+iPod system will let runners call up a favorite song instantly as well as upload their workout information to a Web site, www.nikeplus.com, where they can share the information with their friends.

Nike shares closed up $1.01, or 1.3 percent, at $78.99 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Apple shares fell 23 cents to $63.15 on the Nasdaq.

- International Herald Tribune, 24 May 2006.

True Friend Wanted

2006-05-25T00:44:00.000+08:00

Recently, I've been thinking about people who can't seem to find the one after some attempts in dating. Especially guys who don't score with girls. Maybe they are shy or seems insecure or behave strangely.

I thought, would it be easily if they look for that special someone through pen-pals?

They are some guys who can't seem to say the right thing to girls and sometimes they are being over-shadowed by other more popular guys among them. Perhaps through letter-writing, the shy ones can learn to express themselves better? Maybe they have nice characters just that girls don't really notice it at all.

I used to be quite fascinated by knowing girls through those pen-pal columns in those Teen magazines and even Teletext. Maybe I was getting too desperate. Can't remember how I got into this pen-pal thingy. There was once my secondary sch classmates came up with this silly plan to get some of us to write to the same girl and see who gets the most reply.

Somehow I didn't stick long enough making friends through this medium. Heh. I guess it's also tiring because you might end up sending to lots of people and maybe end up with one person who is willing to continue the friendship through such medium.

By the way, anyone looking for a true friend?

water water we love water

2006-04-07T00:19:00.000+08:00

won the polls but still have to step down

2006-04-05T14:34:00.000+08:00

Thai PM Thaksin says he'll step down

BANGKOK : Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra announced he would step down to reunite the country, following weeks of mass protests demanding his resignation and a controversial election which the opposition boycotted.

The former telecoms tycoon made the announcement in a 10-minute televised live statement just hours after meeting the nation's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej and after his political rivals rejected any compromise.

"I will not accept the post of prime minister when the parliament convenes," said Thaksin.

"My reason for not accepting the post of prime minister is because this year in an auspicious year for the king, whose 60th anniversary on the throne is just 60 days away," he said.

"I beg all Thais to sacrifice for the king. I apologise to my 16 million supporters that I cannot take the post of prime minister."

Thaksin said he would carry on as caretaker until a successor was chosen, and would remain a member of parliament and leader of the Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) party.

He hugged his daughters and wept on their shoulders after the statement.

Protests demanding Thaksin's resignation began in February after his family made 1.9 billion dollars tax free from selling their shares in Shin Corp., the telecoms firm he founded before entering politics.

Tens of thousands demonstrated against the sale, alleging corruption and abuse of power, in near-daily rallies in the capital Bangkok.

A key protest leader declared victory moments after the announcement.

"This is our victory. If we had not helped each other (in the protests), today would not have happened," Chamlong Srimuang said, although it was unclear whether the resignation would bring an end to the crisis.

Parliament cannot confirm a new prime minister until all 500 seats are filled pending by-elections in 39 districts where candidates were either disqualified or failed to get 20 percent of the vote, promising weeks of further uncertainty.

Chamlong's People's Alliance for Democracy had vowed to launch fresh protests if Thaksin did not quit, indicating the premier's gamble on early elections had failed.

"The election has proved his popularity has gone down. His legitimacy was greatly affected," said Panitan Wattanayagorn, a visiting professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University.

Thaksin called the election three years early to head off the street protests against his rule. However, the opposition boycott undermined the credibility of the polls and ensured a huge protest vote against the premier.

The more than 16 million votes he claimed fell a long way short of the 19 million people who gave him a landslide election win just one year earlier.

And an estimated 10 million people cast "no votes" or abstentions including a majority in Bangkok.

"The result of no-vote ballots, particularly in Bangkok, was a big surprise to him. It was too high and that could create a major crisis," Panitan said.

The leader of the Mahachon Party, which boycotted the polls, hailed Thaksin's decision.

"I am glad and I praise him for it. I wanted to hear this for a long time. Now everything will be solved," Sanan Kachornprasart told Thai television.

But the spokesman for the leading Democrat Party, Ong-art Klampaiboon, said more needed to be done to heal the political divide.

"It will help the current political deadlock on a certain level, but not entirely, because the situation has dragged on for some time," he told Thai television.

The protracted crisis has cast a cloud over one of the region's most dynamic economies. The government has already adjusted economic growth forecasts and the stock market has taken a hit.

Business leaders welcomed Thaksin's move.

"Now he can step down with dignity. It's the right decision for the economy that the uncertainty would be relieved somehow," said Kiatphong Noijaiboon, a vice chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.

- Channel NewsAsia, 4 Apr 2006.

i'm a such party animal. growl

2006-03-21T13:52:00.000+08:00

Your travel type: Party Animal

The Party Animal always wears sunglasses during his vacation. He likes a good hotel, with a swimming pool and room service. A couple of drinks at night, maybe see a show, maybe roll the dice, that's the way to spend the evening.

Culture? A museum? The others can go while the Party Animal stays in bed. You'll find him by the side of the pool when you get back with a martini to get rid of the hangover.

top destinations:

Las Vegas
Acapulco
Ngorongoro

stay away from:

Darien Gap
Ciudad Perdida
Cairo

get your own travel profile

Centaur Warchief

2006-02-27T18:02:00.000+08:00

Centaur Warchief
You scored 75 Support, 12 Sneak, 57 Cheap!

All hail the Warchief! You're an absolute monster-- everyone wants to be the guy you're covering, and nobody wants to have to stand in your way. You plow through problems like a fat man through Twinkies! You might hear that you're too good at what you do-- but others should learn to hate the game, not the player. You're only playing to your strengths!

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 90% on Support

You scored higher than 0% on Sneak

You scored higher than 45% on Cheap

Link: The Which DoTA Hero Are You? Test written by Daem on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

ham sandwich

2006-02-14T18:30:00.000+08:00

Spotted this silly comic at Dan's site. Haaaaaa.

M600i. Damn cool.

2006-02-14T18:08:00.000+08:00

Staying connected has always required a certain measure of personal sacrifice: sore thumbs, neglected and not-happy-about-it dinner companions, the lines of a nice suit ruined by a Treo or Blackberry. Sony Ericsson's just-announced M600i may fix that (the last part, anyway).

Its elegant proportions and monochromatic tones (it's available in black and white) make it as much a departure from its chunky cousins as the first iPod was from the MP3s of its day. Nor has Sony skimped on function: The M600i comes loaded with gadgety goodness, including a QWERTY-style keyboard, a touch screen with handwriting recognition, and tri-band GSM/GPRS capabilities, which means you can use it everywhere but mainland China (they get their very own version, the commies). And, despite being only 15 millimeters thin and a mere four ounces light, the device sports a 2.6-inch, 262K-color screen that can handle 30-frames-per-second video.

On the downside, deals have yet to be signed with American mobile carriers, so you'll have to snag one directly from Sony Ericsson and supply your own SIM card. Sure, that means no rebate, but hey, your suit will thank you.

Available directly from Sony Ericsson this spring; MSRP has not been set, but expect to pay several hundred dollars.

— Chris Kaye

sounds familiar

2006-02-09T12:43:00.000+08:00

In France, where are the jobs?

PARIS French unemployment, a scourge that has haunted successive governments, is on a downward trend, slipping to its lowest level in almost three years at the end of last year.

But as ministers welcomed the decline as a sign that recent labor-market measures were showing early results, economists pointed to a conundrum: Unemployment might be down, but there was little sign that jobs were being created.

"Where are the jobs?" asked Laure Maillard, an economist at Ixis CIB in Paris. "It's one thing to lower unemployment and quite another to create work - and by extension economic growth."

After peaking at 10.2 percent in May, France's jobless rate has been falling steadily every month, dropping to 9.5 percent in December.

In the second half of the year the number of registered job seekers declined by a monthly average of 24,800 people. But an average of just 300 jobs a month were created in the private sector in the third quarter, the latest for which figures were available, according to the French statistics office, Insee.

That suggests that the decline in the jobless toll is the result of a growing number of people coming off unemployment benefits as the government tightens access and, maybe more significant, of a decline in the working-age population as the first wave of baby boomers begins to retire, economists said.

Unemployment and job creation used to be two sides of the same coin, said Philippe Waechter, an economist at Natexis Asset Management in Paris. No longer. "The link between the two is in the process of weakening and that means unemployment statistics are less meaningful," Waechter said. "It is much relevant to look at job creation figures and participation rates."

On that count business surveys do not bode well. The latest quarterly survey of French executives, published on Monday, showed that companies did not plan to increase their payrolls in the coming quarter.

A number of government measures announced in recent months might have helped persuade some executives to step up hiring, giving hope in Paris that job creation climbed in the fourth quarter. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has established tax breaks for companies that recruit apprentices and subsidies for recruiting temporary staff in the nonprofit sector. He also created a new work contract for small companies that prolongs the probation period to two years from six months, effectively making it easier for employers to cut jobs.

According to Nicolas Sobczak, an economist at Goldman Sachs in Paris, the recent measures were unlikely to have made a big impact. But, he said, they could prove an important step in tearing down psychological barriers to reform in France.

"By showing people that reducing job protection in some areas does not lead to higher unemployment, they might make it easier to broaden the reforms to all companies later on," he said.

- International Herald Tribune, 1 Feb 2006.

teamwork

2006-01-24T10:26:00.000+08:00

toys

2006-01-23T13:47:00.000+08:00

8,000 toys for kids in tsunami-hit countries

AFTER opening up their wallets to help those affected by the tsunami over a year ago, members of the public have again shown that they care - this time by donating more than 8,000 soft toys.

The soft toys were collected in a Singapore Red Cross (SRC) event, Share Joy, Bring A Toy, in just five days - from Dec 26 to 30 last year - at the tsunami photo exhibition in Tampines.

These were sorted yesterday by SRC volunteers and will be dry-cleaned free by laundrette Crusade Services before they go to non-governmental groups and voluntary welfare organisations for distribution to children in tsunami-affected areas of Aceh, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Accompanying the toys are notes of encouragement, penned by the children who donated them.

- Straits Times, 23 Jan 2006.

I think the people over in tsunami-affected areas need their shelter and food more than toys.

We live by faith, not by sight.

2006-01-07T13:13:00.000+08:00

The Evidence of Faith

The fields were parched and brown from lack of rain, and the crops lay wilting from thirst. People were anxious and irritable as they searched the sky for any sign of relief. Days turned into arid weeks. No rain came.

The ministers of the local churches called for an hour of prayer on the town square the following Saturday. They requested that everyone bring an object of faith for inspiration.

At high noon on the appointed Saturday the towns-people turned out en masse, filling the square with anxious faces and hopeful hearts. The ministers were touched to see the variety of objects clutched in prayerful hands – holy books, crosses, rosaries.

When the hour ended, as if on magical command, a soft rain began to fall. Cheers swept the crowd as they held their treasured objects high in gratitude and praise. From the middle of the crowd one faith symbol seemed to overshadow all the others: A small nine-year-old child had brought an umbrella.

- Laverne W. Hall

a worshipper

2006-01-03T21:53:00.000+08:00

some say this, some say that; nobody says this, everybody says that. HE SAYS THIS!

some say tok more
some say dun tok so much,

some say scold them
some say dun scold them,

some say explain the song
some say leave the preaching to preacher

some say sing new songs
some say dun sing new songs

some say sing rock
some say sing jazz
some say sing pop
some say sing blues

some say sing in C
some say sing in A,

some say too high
some say too low,

some say bright colours too distracting
some say somber colours too boring,

some say dress more formal
some say look casual,

some say play more
some say you play too much

some say play louder
some say play softer

some say keep it simple
some say its boring

some say this
some say that

nobody says i'll choose to worship God
everybody says be perfect and I'll worship God

nobody says i'll choose to worship God
everybody says i'll worship if you sing my favourite song

nobody says i'll choose to worship God
everybody says i'll worship if you sing it in my style

nobody says thank you
everybody says you should have done better

He says He has a plan, a special plan, a loving plan

He says i should please Him, not men

He says just worship me

and He's got the last say.

- princess_soaps

there's something about christmas

2005-12-23T14:02:00.000+08:00

I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.

- Charles Dickens

pillows

2005-12-20T11:49:00.000+08:00

Pillow talk

PILLOWS are essential for a good night's sleep. Top-tier hotels keep a wide range to suit the various preferences of guests.

The choices available on request extend beyond the regular foam, feather and polyester. They come in a variety of sizes too.

Here is a list of pillows offered by the Shangri-La Hotel and Swissotel Merchant Court:

Bolster pillow: long and cylindrical to conform to the shape of the body

Natural buckwheat hull pillow: made of cleaned and processed hulls, it helps relieve tense muscles and ease back and neck pain

Contour pillow: made of natural latex and contoured to fit the shape of the head

Snore reduction pillow: made of polyester fibres, it keeps the head and neck aligned to prevent snoring

Herbee pillow: filled with polyester and a mixture of herbs, including lavender, rose petals, oregano, rosemary, peppermint, sage, marigold and lemon verbena

Linear gravity pillow: filled with blended fibres, it reduces stress and muscle tension in the neck

Cherry stone thermal pillow: filled with cherry stones, this pillow helps to alleviate stiffness in shoulders, soreness in the back and general aches.

- Straits Times, 20 Dec 2005.

frosty the snowman

2005-12-20T00:09:00.000+08:00

Fenfen and I had started making some bookmarks as christmas presents. Was quite impress with the bookmarks I came up with! I like it! :P

national hero

2005-12-10T05:08:00.000+08:00

Requiem: Devan Nair speaks out, March 26, 1999

A serious threat of closure faces the Worker's Party led by Mr. J. B. Jeyaretnam because of failure to pay the forbidding damages awarded against the Party by a court in Singapore. One hopes against hope that this might be avoided at the last minute. It is a slim hope. The world has come to assume, rightly or wrongly, that the political tactics used by the PAP against opposition politicians have for some time come to include suing their pants off, forcing them into bankruptcy and losing their seats in parliament as a result. Now the same device is resorted to against opposition political parties themselves, as registered institutions. The onus of proof is on the government of Singapore, not on global public opinion.

Nothing that smacks of opposition seems safe in Singapore any longer. Singaporeans must sooner or later come to realise the harsh truth that nobody in Singapore is truly saved unless all are seen to be saved. The post of no return has long passed for Singaporeans, and one fears they will perforce learn this lesson the hard way. In the ultimate analysis, this is probably best. The more painful the price paid to learn basic human lessons, the more firmly might they become embedded in the national fibre. A free Singapore will arise and justify the sacrifices and efforts of undaunted Singaporeans, now including the courageous Chee Soon Juan, who had immolated themselves on the altar of freedom. Phoenix-like, their dreams will rise once again from their ashes. Were this process not true, the world would have come to an end long ago.

It is just as well that I release this Requiem now. If not timely yet, it will be soon enough. Here goes, for good or ill to myself.

Some months after I was kicked upstairs to the presidency of the republic of Singapore in October 1981, there was a by-election in the parliamentary constituency of Anson, which I had held prior to my ill-fated elevation. I had won that seat with a comfortable majority of some 80 percent of the votes cast. My opponent was the Worker's Party leader J.B. Jeyaretnam.

Today, looking back, I realise that it was not the PAP that had won that seat with such a thumping majority, but I myself who had won it almost entirely in my personal capacity as the unchallenged leader of the free trade union movement in Singapore (no longer free). True, I had persuaded the trade unions to cooperate with the government in its attempts to ensure that the economy of Singapore was kept on an even keel. They overwhelmingly voted their approval, because I had successfully convinced them that the organised greed and reckless disregard for the social good represented by British style trade unionism of the day would clearly not do for a small island state like Singapore with absolutely no natural resources of any kind to boast of apart from God's own fresh air. In doing so, my members knew that I had not surrendered an iota of the institutional independence of the NTUC (National Trade Union Congress). Indeed they knew that at every Delegates Conference of the NTUC they had unanimously endorsed a firmly worded resolution I had introduced from the platform reiterating what they most highly valued - the institutional independence of the labour movement.

These days, you won't find a single reference in any of the resolutions passed by the NTUC to the priceless oath of institutional independence a few colleagues and I had entrenched in our founding constitution. Let me make it clear. The PAP had no hand in the founding of the NTUC.

Be that as it may, a by-election had to be called in Anson. The PAP's candidate was a faceless civil service appointee of Lee Kuan Yew who had been seconded for service to the NTUC, while the Workers Party put up J.B Jeyaretnam. To the consternation of the PAP, Jeyaretnam won.

The day after the by-election verdict was declared, I had lunch with the Prime Minister (Lee Kuan Yew). I was amazed at how he fretted and fumed like a caged fury. As I saw it, Jeyaretnam constituted no threat at all to the PAP whether in parliament or outside it. For one thing, despite Jeya's courage, he displayed a woeful lack of economics. He clearly never knew at any point of time how Singapore clicked economically. And it was as plain as a pikestaff to me that in five years of free performance in parliament against the likes of Dr Goh Keng Swee, Mr Lim Kim San et al, he would stand exposed in public for his abysmal ignorance of economics.

In truth, if I had to cope with J.B Jeyaretnam as a hostile delegate at regular NTUC Delegates Conferences, I would have given him all the rope and more he wanted to hang himself with. And after free and open arguments over three days of conferencing, I would have beaten him hands down at the ballot box. I knew this, as did the workers. For they knew that in the colonial days, Jeyaretnam had never stood on a picket line. I had, not once but several times, not only stood on picket lines, but also bedded down for the night on the gravel with the workers whom I led.

I told all this to Kuan Yew. Nothing I said sank in. He fretted about a potential critical percentage drop in PAP votes across all the constituencies that could eventually bring the PAP government down, and he wouldn't stand for it. Only later did I realise that this was the moment that started his formidable brain box ticking away furiously at the fecund gerrymandering schemes he was to introduce later to ensure that all opposition parties would be put in a Gordion bind that would make it impossible for them to ever achieve control of parliament, unless an Alexander came along. Such a possibility appears impossible now, unless it takes the awesome shape of shattering geo-political circumstances already building up around Singapore.

Immediately, however, Kuan Yew's attention was concentrated on how he would deal with J.B Jeyaretnam in parliament. I was quite alarmed at some of the things he told me at that lunch. "Look," he said, "Jeyaretnam can't win the infighting. I'll tell you why. We are in charge. Every government Ministry and department is under our control. And in the infighting, he will go down for the count every time." And I will never forget his last words. "I will make him crawl on his bended knees, and beg for mercy."

Jeyaretnam was made of sterner stuff. To his eternal credit he never did crawl on bended knees, or ever begged for mercy. And it is to Lee Kuan Yew's eternal shame that Jeyaretnam will leave the political scene with his head held high, enjoying a martyrdom conferred on him by Lee. Lest I be misunderstood, let me state that Jeya more than deserves the crown of the martyr for his indomitable courage and dignity in the face of the vilest persecution.

Even greater human spirits than Jeyaretnam had refused to bend their knees to Lee Kuan Yew. It is my considered view that the greatest human being living in Singapore today is one who declined to surrender to the intimidation of prolonged incarceration and restrictions imposed on him without trial for a total period which exceeds that suffered by Nelson Mandela. And here was the mark of true greatness. He emerged from the experience like a god unembittered. His name is Chia Thye Poh. And it is Lee Kuan Yew who emerged from the episode as the knave and fool of his own mindless vindictiveness, while the real conqueror smiles benignly - unnoted, of course, by the local media. For only sound waves from the Istana Annexe are picked up and regurgitated by His Master's Voice.

There is no political justification for obliging the Workers Party to close down. And not a shred of moral justification. What lies behind the move is among the most brazen vindictiveness ever shown in the political life of Singapore. It merely adds one more nail in the coffin of the PAP's reputation when the true history of the party will be exposed to the world, as it surely will be one day in the coming decades of the third millennium. As mankind accelerates to the abyss, the shining memories of the past will certainly not include Lee Kuan Yew and the department store dummies he boasts today as his acolytes. He clearly does not possess the foresight to avoid such a fate.

I gladly salute J.B. Jeyaretnam and the Worker's Party at this highly deserved requiem, even if I never once had shared their platform.

I learn something new from Mr Wang today!

optimism

2005-12-08T01:02:00.000+08:00

This.is.so.fun.ny.ha.ha.ha.ha.

guilty

2005-12-07T21:23:00.000+08:00

What?!

Hey, I'm the owner of this blog! Who says I'm not authorized to view it????

Hmm...I tried logging in to blogspot. It seems fine.

Did I say anything wrong on my blog that they shut down my site?

Just as I was about to grab my passport, my luggage bag filled with singlets and shorts, and run to Malaysia, my blog came back on as per normal. It looks as fine as before.

What the heck.

man has no life

2005-12-06T21:40:00.000+08:00

...Like what they say...a man has no life...without a wife.

- Mr Kholi in 'Bride and Prejudice'.

life is sacred

2005-11-30T10:49:00.000+08:00

...life is not made sacred by going to a place of worship; life already is sacred and that is why it moves to a place of worship.

- Ravi Zacharias.

hangman part II

2005-11-30T10:07:00.000+08:00

Few Aussies against Nguyen hanging, says addict's dad

AN AUSTRALIAN whose 40-year-old son and daughter-in-law are drug addicts has e-mailed Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo supporting Singapore's decision to hang Nguyen Tuong Van on Friday.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, described the anguish his family faced due to his son's drug habit, and expressed anger at those who showed sympathy for drug peddlers like Nguyen.

His e-mail, coming amid criticism from human rights and other activists, suggests ordinary Australians hold a different view and back Singapore.

The writer said as much: 'Most of the objections are coming from people who obviously have never had to go through, and continue to live with, the devastation that drugs cause to thousands of people in this country.'

Describing his son's addiction as a 'curse' and a 'nightmare', he said he took his son and daughter-in-law into his home for four years to provide stability and prevent their four children from being taken away by social services.

'It was the most emotionally draining four years of our lives. I have had the heartbreaking experience of dragging my son from our toilet with a needle in his arm, and he had stopped breathing. If it hadn't been for his wife knowing what to do, he would have died.

'Unless anyone has experienced this, they would not know what it is like to worry yourself sick every time your child goes to the toilet, is late home from wherever, or your grandchildren don't know where their parents are.'

He also criticised proposals for a minute's silence when Nguyen is executed: 'I travel extensively around Western Australia and I can tell you I have not met one single person who believes this man should not be hanged for his crime.

'If politicians proposing this ... think for one minute the majority of Australians agree with their thinking, they had better get out into the real world and listen to the people.'

He believed few Australians disagreed with the execution decision and few would be observing a minute's silence.

- AsiaOne, 30 Nov 2005.

After reading this article, I searched around Google trying to see what's the general response for the hanging of Nguyen.

Herald Sun
Should Singapore execute Tuong Van Nguyen for drug trafficking? (Nov 18)

Yes: 1024 (53.2%)
No: 898 (46.8%)

Think Centre
Death Sentence for Nguyen Tuong Van is cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment, for a non-violent crime like drug possession.

Commute death sentence: 1
COMMUTE to life sentence: 120
NO to death sentence: 295
YES to death sentence: 102

Interactive Opinions
Should the Singapore government allow physical contact between Nguyen Tuong Van and his mother before his execution on Friday?
Yes: 88%
No: 13%
Don't know: 0%

Will you boycott Singaporian products and services in protest against the Singapore governments planned execution (by hanging) of Australian man, Nguyen Tuong Van?
Yes: 24%
No: 66%
Don't know: 10%

AsiaOne
Do you think the planned execution of an Australian drug-trafficker will affect Singapore?
Yes: 21.0%
No: 54.2%
Only time will tell: 19.5%

If the 'Herald Sun' and 'Interactive Opinions' represents the majority of Australians out there, seems that the hanging of Nguyen is not much of an issue to them.

Like Chicken Little, I believe in second chances too. But too bad he had committed such a crime in Singapore that he has not much of a chance to survive. It would take a miracle for him to escape the noose.

the perfect Mee Pok Man

2005-11-29T09:36:00.000+08:00

Finding the perfect Mee Pok Man

My brief was to be a fussy customer and check out what kind of sterling service you can get from foodstall holders who are on their feet more than 10 hours a day, seven days a week. I chose four mee pok stalls featured in local food guide Makansutra and the newspapers, and at each, I adopted a different persona. At one, I confronted the stall holder about his dirty trays. At another, I pretended not to understand Mandarin while ordering from two hawkers who could speak nothing but Mandarin. My aim was to be a pain, the customer from hell. This is what happened.

Stall #1: Ang Mo Kio
Who I was: I put on my best manners and ask for noodles in perfect English.

Service standards: Weekday. Noon. A bad time to be a fusspot. The stall assistant is not the friendliest.

I order. 'Mee pok, a little chilli, packet.'

The cook starts to cook my noodles and pours in vinegar for flavouring.

'No vinegar please,' I cry out in mock alarm.

The assistant replies gruffly in Hokkien: 'Xiao liao lah' and mumbles something to the cook. I later discover it means 'already gone crazy'.

Cook dumps the vinegar and assistant hands me my noodles. No 'thank you'.

Five minutes later, I return to the stall. 'I want to eat my noodles here. Can you help me, please?'

Assistant cries out: 'You ah' and mutters to the cook that I have changed my mind.

His sentence ends with 'mati liao' or 'die already'. He hands me a bowl and walks off.

Stall #2: Upper Cross Street
Who I was: Office worker spouting Hokkien-accented Mandarin.

Service standards: A young woman fronts the stall and is one of the few hawkers who does not wear a grumpy frown.

I order. She nods. And prepares the noodles.

I ask for more bean sprouts. She doesn't use them, she replies.

I say: 'No vinegar then.'

'Orgh' is her reply, signalling she has heard me.

The customer behind orders mee gia or thin noodles.

I immediately say: 'You got mee gia, can you give me mee gia instead?'

She complies right away. As the cook prepares my noodles and adds what looks like soya sauce, I tell him not to add any vinegar.

He grunts: 'This is not vinegar.'

My noodles are served on a dirty tray and I complain.

The cook retorts: 'This is lunchtime, we don't have enough manpower to clean the trays.'

I shoot back: 'But don't you know that hygiene and cleanliness is very important in the food business.'

The cook keeps mum. His assistant looks nervous.

She hands me my noodles with a thank you. I appreciate the gesture. Few hawkers here bother to thank you for keeping them in business.

Stall #3: Toa Payoh Central
Who I was: A youth who can't understand a word of Mandarin.

Service standards: The cook says hello as I approach.

I ask for a bowl of mee pok with more chilli please.

As the cook pours vinegar, I say I don't want any. She nods and reaches for a fresh bowl.

As she's preparing the ingredients, I say: 'No pork, please.'

She gestures to the fishcake and mushrooms and I nod.

Ten minutes after I get my mee pok, I return to complain loudly in English: 'It's too hot!'

Cook and assistant look at each other blankly, obviously not understanding.
A customer translates.

The assistant exclaims angrily in Mandarin: 'She said she wanted more chilli at first, now she complains it's too hot.'

Even Ms Friendly Cook shakes her head in disappointment. She dumps my noodles and prepares a fresh bowl, and plonks the sambal chilli on the side instead.

Her assistant hands me my noodles with a glare. Wow, that's one chilli padi.

As I wolf down my noodles, she walks past and glares again. And a third time. Scary!

Stall #4: Another outlet in Upper Cross Street
Who I was: Cocky customer nattering in Mandarin and Hokkien

Service standards: This stall was singled out by Makansutra as one of the country's 'legendary' stalls . So if the food's legendary, how about the service?

A stern-looking helper in her 50s takes the orders.

I order. She says: 'We don't put bean sprouts in our noodles.'

I say: 'Okay, but go easy on the vinegar.'

Thirty seconds later, I say: 'Oh, and I don't want any pork oil or fats in my noodles.'

She maintains her poker face. She breaks into a faint smile when I comment that business is good.

But no 'thank you' when I pay.

- Straits Times, 29 Nov 2005.

the economist

2005-11-28T22:42:00.000+08:00

I didn't know the people at The Economist are such creative and humorous bunch! Haaaa! Anyway there are many things I do not know. Found these ads on Abdul Rehman's site.

truck art

2005-11-28T22:27:00.000+08:00

More painted trucks at Rhino.

moved to eBay

2005-11-28T22:26:00.000+08:00

books

2005-11-28T21:54:00.000+08:00

My father-in-law and I often spoke wistfully about fine used bookstores that we have visited. He told one story, however, that has all the others soundly beaten.

He was in a sophisticated bookstore in Toronto that caters to the academic community, a bookstore rich in classical tradition. Suddenly, in came a roughshod man in greasy overalls, who bellowed to the owner, "How much does it cost to buy 128 feet of books?"

Obviously bewildered by this request, for never before had he sold scholarly works by the foot, the owner replied, "Uh… what exactly did you have in mind?" Meanwhile every customer within earshot had paused from reading, ears pinned for some new enlightenment.

It turns out the buyer had been sent by a group of trade union leaders who were hosting their educated counterparts in management in an effort to break a deadlock in some highly volatile negotiations. So, the union leaders decided to decorate their offices with the length of books. Why? To convey the intimidating air of being ideological heavyweights, and to terrify the opposition!

Funny I think. Don't you?

- Ravi Zacharias

in a world of my own

2005-11-28T18:05:00.000+08:00

That's me practising MCQ questions for the exam in 11 days time. Fenfen must have thought that I look rather cool in this posture. Haaa.

mixed feelings

2005-11-28T14:43:00.000+08:00

Regatta Race 2005

Was having mixed feelings when I heard that our dragonboat team came in third placing. Glad that the team's hard work and coach's teaching are not gone down to waste as we managed to get at least a medal after this seaon's of rowing and training. At long last! The sad part was I wasn't rowing for the team due to my lack of commitment for the practises.

Hopefully we can get a gold medal for next year's race. All the way!

weird dreams

2005-11-26T08:43:00.000+08:00

Recently I've been having some really weird dreams. Not long ago, I dreamt of my ex-worship director chatting with me in church. That was really strange cos I hardly had any proper conversation with him. Not long after that, my ex-Pastor came up to me for a chat. I could remember we had a good laugh over something as we wore smiles on our faces throughout the conversation. I think I woke up feeling pretty good. Perhaps I miss them.

Just last night I had a dream that I was walking rather aimlessly in a huge hall and trying to figure out where I was. I went and check out several doors but found no one inside. I felt like Alice in that Wonderland. Somehow somewhere and something happened in that whole hall and I was holding my own head in my hands. Seems that my head got chopped off or something.

Next I was in a place where I saw people doing dangerous stunts with motorbikes. Soon, I was in the midst of some discussion on how to do the next shot: getting my head chopped off or something. Can't remember what took place and it seems to flow really fast so before I knew it, my head was in my hands! I was holding my own head and examining it. Quite fascinating and amazing. An idea struck me: I want to take a picture of my head with my camera phone and blog it!

When I woke up, I was quite amused with myself for wanting to blog about my decapitated head. Haaa.

an unusual carpenter

2005-11-24T18:56:00.000+08:00

A Christian teacher once visited a secondary school in one of England's cities. It was at Christmas time; so he thought it appropriate to remind the young people at the assembly about the most wonderful story ever told, the story of the birth of Christ.

The pupils were remarkably attentive and seemed to enjoy his account of the dramatic virgin birth. Afterwards a boy of about twelve came to say how much he had enjoyed the story.

To the teacher's shock he said that he had never heard it before and had a question about it: "Why did Jesus' parents give him the name of a swear word?"

wrong job

2005-11-23T23:44:00.000+08:00

Getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.

- Hal Lancaster, reporter.

springtime

2005-11-23T20:06:00.000+08:00

that's my brand

2005-11-20T21:21:00.000+08:00

I'm anti-racism, anti-sexism and everything else. But I'll always tell the truth without exception. That's my brand.

- Neil French, who said his 'woman are crap' remark was taken out of context.

demand for chinese language

2005-11-20T21:11:00.000+08:00

Demand for Chinese language courses in US soars

WASHINGTON : From well-to-do families hiring Mandarin-speaking nannies for their tots to students in crammed Asian studies programmes, demand for Chinese language instruction is booming like never before in the United States.

In a country that has never prioritised teaching foreign languages, demand is difficult to meet given a serious shortage of qualified instructors, said Michael Levine, who handles education at the New York-based Asia Society, which works to support cultural ties between the United States and Asia.

Clifford Greenhouse, who runs the Pavillion agency specialising in household help, said he gets more and more requests from "very wealthy families" seeking nannies who speak Mandarin, in the hopes their offpring will grow up bilingual. He can't always deliver.

"Mandarin-speaking people in New York tend to look down upon this work; they see it as being a servant," he said.

Leon Furchgott, 17, a freshman at prestigious Princeton University, grew up eating Chinese - from the age of 10 months throughout his childhood in Bethesda, Maryland, an expensive Washington suburb.

"My mother likes to say that my first word was 'bu yao', which means 'I don't want,'" said Furchgott, who now speaks fluent Mandarin thanks to nannies and two hours of Chinese classes per week.

"When I was little, it was not difficult," he said.

Though Chinese has not yet reached the ranks of more traditional foreign languages, it is red hot in Pacific coast cities such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.

But it also has seen a surge in interest in cities such as Chicago, Philadelphia and Houston, and in more rural states such as Kentucky and Kansas, the Asia Society says.

The interest is "coming from the heartland as well as from the big cities," said Levine. He said that behind the focus on Chinese was interest in doing business with China.

"Part of the demand comes from families who want to maintain their heritage, but in Chicago it comes from middle class families who see that as an advantage for their children", said Levine. "That's why demand is growing so rapidly."

Just about 50,000 US students are learning Chinese in public schools, and another 50,000 are studying it elsewhere, according to Asia Today.

"If we wanted to have five percent of all high schoolers in America learning Chinese, we'd need to have 25,000 qualified Chinese teachers" and not the current 1,000, Levine said.

To help deal with the teacher shortage, US philanthropists and corporate foundations are beginning to chip in to support instruction in Chinese, he noted.

At the university level as well, demand for Chinese instruction is on the rise; it is now in seventh place among foreign languages behind Spanish, French, German, Italian, sign language, and Japanese. It places ahead of Russian and Arabic in terms of post-secondary students.

The latest data, from 2002, showed 34,153 university students were learning Chinese, up a sharp 20 percent from 28,456 in 1998.

At Yale, beginner Chinese class enrolment soared by 68 percent at the start of the school year compared to last year.

The Modern Language Association sees Chinese as the "new Russian" referring to the Cold war period when campuses saw higher interest in Russian language coursework. That interest since has waned.

- Channel NewsAsia, 20 Nov 2005.

mental dih-TRYE-tus

2005-11-19T08:27:00.000+08:00

detritus \dih-TRYE-tus\ noun
1 : loose material (as rock fragments or organic particles) that results directly from disintegration
2 a : a product of disintegration, destruction, or wearing away : debris *b : miscellaneous remnants : odds and ends

The blog originated ... as a catch basin for mental detritus, for the kind of stuff not good enough for print, but too good to waste on casual conversation.

- Joel Achenbach, The Washington Post, 21 Aug 2005.

getting weaker

2005-11-18T21:24:00.000+08:00

For these two weeks, I'm going to gym more often to get myself prepared for the Regatta race. I haven't been down for dragonboat practise for many weeks and I hope that I don't drag my team down. Can't be help as I wish to spend more time on my studying and dragonboat is just for leisure.

As I haven't been going to gym as often, I get tired out very easily. Usually I can still do a cardio exercise after sets of pumping iron but now I have to do my cardio before doing sets. Got to train on my stamina to last during the race.

I used to be quite concern about how my body looks but not anymore. Keeping fit is more important than the looks. Getting 200 bucks for passing my IPPT with Silver is better than looking like a beefcake. Not as if I'm going for some manhunt contest or model shoots. Anyway what are the chances of a pretty girl noticing how good I look on the inside?

'Hey, wanna check out some great abs over here?' *starts to exhibit my hard abs while gritting my teeth*

noodle venture

2005-11-18T10:14:00.000+08:00

S'porean's noodle stall to open in London

Chicken rice, other local favourites to feature in S'pore-style foodcourt

NOODLE stall operator Stella Wong had never thought about going to London, for work or leisure. But when she was invited by British property developer Rosewheel to open a stall in the Singapore-style foodcourt it is building in London's Chinatown, she leapt at the chance.

'Although I have just three stalls, since the opportunity came knocking, I thought I will give it a try,' the 36-year-old said in Mandarin. Her three Singapore stalls are at Suntec City, West Mall and IMM Building.

She plans to be in London in the first three months to oversee the opening of her handmade noodle stall. Once the business is up and running, she plans to return to Singapore and hire staff in London to look after the stall.

'If it is successful, well and good. If not, I shall just take it as a learning experience.'

Miss Wong is one of three Singaporean food vendors who have rented a total of five stalls in the foodcourt. Select Food Management and Lerk Thai, which are under the same management team, will take up one unit each, offering Thai food and Chinese mixed rice. Gourmet Cuisine is taking up two stalls for hot plate dishes and Hainanese chicken rice.

Rosewheel managing director Robert Borne fell in love with Singapore's foodcourts when he visited earlier this year and wanted to import the concept to London. He hired former Kopitiam employee Ellen Chew to advise on the construction of the foodcourt and to woo local operators over.

Select and Lerk Thai executive director Jack Tan said he had never thought of expanding beyond the region because he had few contacts. But Rosewheel provided an opening. He estimates his investment to be $100,000.

The foodcourt is the centrepiece of Rosewheel's £50 million (S$145 million) revamp of the five-storey Newport Sandringham building. It will occupy a third of the 80,000 sq ft shopping mall. It is expected to be open by March next year, with 18 food stalls over three levels, and seating for up to 400, said Rosewheel spokesman Horatio Cheng.

He estimates up to 15 of the stalls will be run by Singaporean operators. 'We want to offer something that is different from the normal London menu.'

Singaporean food and beverage companies' forays overseas have been on the rise in recent years, said Mrs Tan Li Lin, director of the lifestyle and business services division of IE Singapore, the government agency that helps local companies expand overseas.

However, most ventures are into regional markets such as Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. So Mrs Tan was pleased with the Europe move.

'Singapore's reputation as a food paradise is well known,' she said. 'We hope more Singapore-based companies will use this reputation to propel themselves into established markets, including European countries.'

- Straits Times, 18 Nov 2005.

kiddie rides

2005-11-17T22:43:00.000+08:00

Mcdonald at Great World City

Decided to take this photo when I realised that I could capture the nostalgic picture of a child in a airplane kiddie ride on the wall and a kiddie ride in the background. Such a contrast.

Later on, while fenfen and I was there, I also noticed a pair of young American children playing with the kiddie ride. They appear to look like sisters and their mum was not in sight. Though it was not moving, they still had tons of fun with it. They simply climbed on top of it!

If the kids are Singaporeans, the most probable reaction from their parents would be to tell them to come down right now and smack a few times on their butt or something.

What happens if I'm playing with the kiddie ride when I was young?

I would sit quietly in it and wait for my parents to slot a coin in.

Seems that the developer wants to make the toilets a bit more special so they decided to have themes for toilets on different levels. One of the theme is the Safari. Interesting.

What?! I just peed into the gorilla's mouth????

WCG 2005

2005-11-17T10:33:00.000+08:00

700 gamers to do battle for share of $744,000 pot

STARTING today, 700 gamers from 67 countries will begin the battle of their lives as they attempt to race, kick and shoot their way to glory and a share of the US$435,000 (S$744,285) prize pool at the World Cyber Games grand finals.

The world's largest computer games tournament and digital entertainment festival opened with a bang yesterday at the Suntec Convention Centre.

Considered the olympics of cybergaming, the tournament will see more than 1,000 matches played over the next four days in the eight official games, which include popular strategy games StarCraft: Brood War and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, as well as renowned shooting game CounterStrike: Source.

Officially opened amid a blaze of pyrotechnics by Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan, the event will also feature cultural performances such as a hip-hop dance competition and trade events like the WCG 2005 Game Conference for games developers.

The games are expected to generate more than $53.5 million in tourism revenue.
Fans of South Korean star gamers have flown here to support their idols. South Korea, known for its top cybergamers, is fielding a team of 26, the largest national team this year.

Other star gamers include the world's number one WarCraft III player, 19-year-old Dutchman Manuel Schenkhuizen, and the United States' most decorated CounterStrike team, Team 3D, which earns so much in sponsorship they can afford to fly business class to international competitions.

Top Chinese CounterStrike team, wNv, are attempting a comeback after their disqualification for cheating in the Cyberathlete Professional League world tour CounterStrike tournament held here last month.
In his opening address, Dr Balakrishnan said the cyberathletes would 'display the many winning qualities of sportsmen, such as dexterity, determination, exceptional sensory coordination, decisiveness and team-spiritedness'.

Said the minister: 'The number of professional gamers in Singapore is growing. Some of them will compete alongside the world's best in this competition and that will go some way in helping us achieve our vision of developing Singapore as a hub for the games industry.

'We are already home to major digital entertainment studios like Koei, Genki and Lucasfilm where Singapore creations will be made for global consumption.

'We hope in the next few years, you will be playing some of our very own games in international gaming tournaments.'

- Straits Times, 17 Nov 2005.

Maybe we can come up with our very own Phu Chu Kang game!!!

naruto drawing

2005-11-16T20:31:00.000+08:00

Saw this cool picture in friendster. Absolutely cool. Wish I could have that kind of hair, man.

childless couples

2005-11-16T08:18:00.000+08:00

Singapore's childless couples come to India

Singapore, Nov 15 -- A ban on surrogate motherhood in Singapore is driving childless couples overseas to rent wombs - in India, the US and Russia, doctors said in a published report Tuesday.

Cheng Li Chang, medical director of the Thomson Fertility Centre, told The Straits Times that he has seen several patients going abroad.

He cited an Indonesian couple in their early 30s. The wife was not able to conceive, but they found a surrogate mother in the US and are now the proud parents of a child.

Ministry of Health guidelines forbid assisted reproduction clinics in Singapore from carrying out surrogacy procedures.

In another case, a childless couple in Singapore searched the Internet for a surrogate mother. They found a fertility physician at the Dr. L.H. Hiranandani Centre for Human Reproduction in Mumbai.

The surrogate mother is now more than nine weeks' pregnant with a foetus conceived from the man's sperm and his wife's egg. The woman carrying the child will be paid 5,850 Singapore dollars (US $3,461) for carrying the pregnancy to full term, with all her medical expenses covered.

The couple, in their mid-30s, had tried in-vitro fertilisation five times in Singapore without success.

Halimah Yacob, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Health, warned of several complications with surrogacy.

"It may sound easy just to get a surrogate mum and then implant fertilised eggs in her," she was quoted as saying. "But any woman who has carried a baby to full term will form strong emotional bonds with it."

A gynaecologist told the newspaper about a woman who wanted a child and had no medical problems, but refused to become pregnant.

The woman, a professional in her 30s, was seeking to rent a womb because she "wanted to enjoy life", he said.

- Hindustan Times, 15 Oct 2005.

If I could choose my Member of Parliament

2005-11-14T21:57:00.000+08:00

My vote goes to Arnold!

He's tall, beefy and suave. Okay, he might have gotten old and slacken with his body building but he still looks good in suits.

I like his cheesy lines in his movies. I'm sure kids, women and beefcakes would agree with me that he would make a good MP in Singapore. He is such a good role model for us to emulate. He fights terrorist. With his bare hands!

"Hasta la vista, baby"

outsourcing

2005-11-14T21:45:00.000+08:00

What a great idea to cut costs!

christmas tree

2005-11-13T21:15:00.000+08:00

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) building

My favourite holiday of the year is coming.

I think I should be spending much lesser on christmas presents compared to last year since most of my church friends have left...haiz.

it's 3:03am

2005-11-12T04:04:00.000+08:00

The Night Rider bus is taking me home...

There are unbelievably many cabs on Orchard Road at this hour. If you want to do a taxi drivers consensus whatever, NOW IS THE TIME! Just closed your eyes and throw a stone, you'll definitely hit a taxi. A slight hand movement to scratch your head can cause the oncoming taxi to stop for you. Even standing by the road can cause the cabs to slow down for you.

All the cabs out there in Orchard Road desperately wants a passenger.

changing church

2005-11-04T15:52:00.000+08:00

Those who are considering changing church can try visiting this Lego Church. No church politics, different doctrines, loud worship, boring hymnals, dry sermons or pretenses. Nobody falls asleep in there! Just that the congregation are very plastics and you might have a problem fitting in because the church is so so small.

Looks very peaceful indeed.

hangman

2005-11-04T15:46:00.000+08:00

Singapore known as Asia's hangman

SINGAPORE, Nov 4 AAP - When the Changi Prison executioner loops a noose around the neck of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van, Singapore will be living up to its reputation as the hangman of Asia.

The tightly controlled city-state - governed uninterrupted by the People's Action Party since 1959 - is ranked by human rights group Amnesty International as having the world's highest per capita execution rate.

Between 1991 and 2000, 340 people were hanged in Singapore, according to official figures.

Some years are busier than others. For example, 50 people were hanged in 1996, meaning the gallows were used almost once a week.

Death sentences in Singapore are mostly imposed for drug trafficking, such as in Nguyen's case.

But it's also handed down for murder, kidnapping and some firearms offences.
Tradition dictates that hangings are always set for the early hours of a Friday.
Although criticised abroad, Singapore's tough capital punishment policy is broadly supported at home.

Opinion polls periodically show hanging is backed by around seven out of ten Singaporeans.

But there are a handful of people who disagree.

"Drug addiction cannot be solved by hanging a few people, and these are normally the small-timers ... not the masterminds," said human rights activist Sinapan Samydorai.
Sinapan, a spokesman for the group, Think Centre, is one of a few dozen people set to protest against Nguyen's impending death at a rare vigil planned for Monday.
Melbourne salesman Nguyen, 25, was arrested at Changi Airport in 2002 as he was about to board a flight to Australia.

He was carrying 396 grams of heroin; enough, Singapore authorities say, for 26,000 individual doses.

The final avenue for appeal appeared to have been exhausted.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has received a letter from his Singapore counterpart, George Yeo, rejecting any last-minute bid for clemency.

The city-state has a responsibility to prevent Singapore from becoming a conduit for the trafficking of illicit drugs, Yeo's letter to Downer said.

It added that the final decision to take Nguyen's life was debated by cabinet and had not been taken lightly.

Singapore argues that the noose has helped keep it safe from serious crime, especially drug trafficking.

"The Singapore government makes no apology for its tough law and order system," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a written defence last year of capital punishment.
"The death penalty is a just punishment for those who knowingly and intentionally commit serious crimes, which threaten the lives of others," the document said.

"The death penalty, because of its finality, is more feared than imprisonment as a punishment."

Most of those hanged are Singapore citizens, and the majority are condemned for drug-related crimes.

But official figures also show that the system is more likely to be used against the jobless or low-skilled.

According to the 2004 document, Singapore executed 138 people in the five years to 2003.

Of those 37, or one-quarter, were foreigners.

This figure tallies almost exactly with the proportion of non-Singapore nationals who are resident in the city-state.

Of the same group of 138, one hundred and ten were executed for drug-related offences.

And over the ten years to 2003, fifty one per cent of those hanged were either unemployed or working as unskilled workers, labourers or cleaners.

In the same period, 64 per cent of those hanged were either educated only to primary school level or had no schooling.

Opponents of the death penalty fire back that executions do not make Singapore safer, and violate what they regard as a sacrosanct right to life.

On it website this week, Singapore's Think Centre asked: "If this inhumane practice is really a deterrent, how come we after 40 years of executions still have the highest per capita execution rate in the world with the greatest known proportion of these executions small-time drug mules?"

As Nguyen is a foreigner, the authorities will inform his next of kin and the Australian High Commission of the chosen date between seven and 14 days in advance compared with the four days notice usually allowed for locals.

Nguyen will then be allowed visits from relatives of up to four hours during his final few days.

His execution will be witnessed by a doctor and his body will be handed back to his family.

- Australian Associated Press General News, 4 Nov 2005.

I was early

2005-11-03T22:10:00.000+08:00

I was early in Suntec City today. So early that most of the shops were not even open yet. It was quiet and different from the busy weekend when I'm usually there so I decided to snap the sleepy look of Suntec.

*Yawnzzzz. Morning...*

*AAAAAAAHHHHHH! I haven't put on my make-up yet! Come back later. Shoo. Shoo.*

Was there to do my studying because my exam is due in about a month's time. Can't wait for it to be over.

hubba hubba

2005-11-02T22:11:00.000+08:00

Spotted this "hot air balloon" at Ad Hunt.

saw 2

2005-11-02T21:56:00.000+08:00

What a branded saw I saw at the Spunker!! I can imagine using it as the prop for the movie, Saw II and having Paris Hilton as the lead cast.

some parts are missing

2005-11-02T20:24:00.000+08:00

I got this magnet from my colleague who was sent to Sydney for training.

can't sleep

2005-11-01T23:00:00.000+08:00

is it worth it? YES!

2005-11-01T22:50:00.000+08:00

Is it worth it?

Despite all denials of truth as a category, people still hunger for it and the real question that haunts us is not whether truth exists, but whether it is worth it at all.

On August 7, 1961, a twenty-six year old Soviet cosmonaut named Gherman Titov became the second Soviet to orbit the earth and return safely. Some time later he recounted his experience while speaking at the World's Fair. In triumphalistic tones Titov declared that on his excursion into space, he looked for God but didn't find him. Someone humorously quipped, "Had he stepped out of his spacecraft, he certainly would have." Titov, of course, had moved beyond the discipline of technological gain to draw theological blood. One great step for science became an immensely greater leap in philosophy.

Years later on Christmas day, 1968, three American astronauts were the first human beings to go around the "dark" side of the moon. They saw earth rise over the horizon of the moon draped in a beauteous mixture of blue and white, garlanded by the glistening light of the sun against the black void of space. Captured by the awe of the moment, they echoed the only words that seemed fitting. Those words were from the first line of the bible: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…"

Two similar experiences of awe and splendor, yielding two diametrically opposed conclusions. These two incidents carried off into space the most debated question on earth: Does God exist? The answer to that question has a greater bearing on your life than anything else. Personal and national destinies are inextricably bound to this issue. Our entire human frame of moral reference is determined by whether or not God exists. Our purpose in life is determined by that, whether we are here by design or whether we are the accidental collocation of atoms. Who we are and why we exist logically flows from the question of God’s existence.

The question, therefore, is not whether the pursuit of truth is worth it or not, for it is the only thing that is ultimately worth it. Winston Churchill said the most valuable thing in the world is the truth; so valuable that it has often been barricaded by a bodyguard of lies. But we might ask, "What's wrong with a lie?" For one, we would think it is morally wrong, would we not? But how can we be morally wrong unless this is a moral universe? And how can this be a moral universe unless it is created by God? The intelligibility in this universe and the immense capacity of the moral law point us to God.

What is more, we don't have to go into outer space to find Him. He comes to you in your inner space, the inner space of your life. Jesus said, "If any man comes to me, I will in no wise cast him out." In knowing Him, you find truth and life. That is worth it.

- Ravi Zacharias, 1 Nov 2005.

how Eskimos build their homes

2005-11-01T19:25:00.000+08:00

harley

2005-11-01T10:56:00.000+08:00

freaky hands

2005-11-01T10:47:00.000+08:00

bark like a dog

2005-11-01T09:56:00.000+08:00

hooked online

2005-11-01T09:41:00.000+08:00

Leg Arteries

2005-11-01T09:38:00.000+08:00

Tiny Razor Cleans Out Leg Arteries

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Doctors using a razor the size of a grain of rice are shearing ribbons of yellowish sludge from inside clogged leg arteries. It's the latest therapy for a hard-to-treat disease that slowly chokes off blood flow in millions of people's legs.

And the shavings it extracts are more than icky evidence of illness: A drug giant is buying this plaque for research on how to keep arteries from clogging in the first place.

Peripheral artery disease, or PAD, afflicts at least 12 million Americans as their leg arteries stiffen and narrow. Eventually, the lack of blood flow to muscles causes an aching pain while walking, called claudication. In severe cases, patients can hobble no more than a block or two.

Worse, PAD leads to about 150,000 amputations a year as arteries become completely blocked.

More than mobility is at stake: Having PAD increases the risk of a heart attack or stroke sevenfold - if leg arteries are clogged, other blood vessels almost certainly are, too.

Yet trouble walking often is wrongly considered a sign of aging instead of disease, meaning too few patients seek help early.

Clogged legs can be harder to alleviate than clogged heart arteries. Balloons threaded inside arteries, called angioplasty, to push aside the plaque and the use of scaffolding-like metal stents to hold arteries open don't work as well in the legs, where "restenosis" or reblockage with scar tissue or new plaque can occur quickly. The final option is a leg bypass, open surgery to reroute blood flow around the blockages.

Two new technologies offer the hope of better alternatives:

-The tiny razor, called the SilverHawk, is threaded in a catheter through patients' arteries to the blockages. Then the blade emerges and begins shaving; plaque collects in the device's tip for extraction.

In a registry tracking 335 patients for a year so far, 79 percent have needed no further treatment of the shaved-out areas, lead researcher Dr. Roger Gammon of Austin, Texas, announced at a major heart meeting last month. The razor even is credited with saving some particularly severe patients from imminent amputation.

-Cryoplasty is essentially an angioplasty on ice. Doctors inflate the angioplasty balloon with freezing nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas. The cold is thought to inhibit cells in the artery wall from forming scar tissue, as well as make the plaque easier to push aside.

A study tracking 102 patients found that almost three years after their cryoplasty, 73.5 percent needed no further treatment - blood is still flowing well through treated areas, Dr. John Laird of the Washington Hospital Center reported at last month's Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics meeting.

Neither option has been directly compared to older treatments to prove how long the effects last, cautions Dr. William Gray, a PAD specialist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center.

"Both of these devices are promising. The kicker is long-term durability," Gray says.

More intriguing, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. is buying some SilverHawk patients' extracted plaque, in a $9 million contract with razor manufacturer FoxHollow Technologies that, if the collaboration pans out, could generate up to $31 million more.

Why? Cholesterol and blood pressure are among the risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but they're not the only determinants: Some heart attack sufferers seem healthy right until they're stricken. Understanding what causes different kinds of plaque to form, at a genetic level, could lead to better ways to prevent atherosclerosis, whether it occurs in the legs or the heart arteries.

Plaques "are tissue deposits that have their own little biological drivers," explains FoxHollow founder Dr. John Simpson, a California cardiologist.

In addition, Merck sees the potential of recruiting SilverHawk patients for drug studies - allowing analysis of plaque removed from one leg before taking a medication and from the other leg after taking it, to see if a drug directly affects the buildup.

"This is a real opportunity to advance the science of understanding plaque biology," says Dr. Richard Pasternak, Merck's vice president of clinical research.

- AsiaOne, 31 Oct 2005.

extra fine cotton

2005-10-31T23:04:00.000+08:00

Right click to save target as...

the grandmaster

2005-10-31T15:37:00.000+08:00

The late M Oyama, the karate grandmaster who was known for killing a bull with his bare fist, was afraid of cockroaches.

- Wong Liang Ming, Singapore National Taekwondo coach.

flogged yet they rejoice

2005-10-30T21:54:00.000+08:00

...They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

- Acts 5:40-42

matching colours

2005-10-30T21:26:00.000+08:00

Kinokuniya at Liang Court

Saw this book which provides numerous combinations of colours that you can match with your furniture and the colour of your room. So tempted to get one.

birthday girl

2005-10-29T22:09:00.000+08:00

Today is my cousin, Jianing's birthday! She's turning five this year. She's adorable and loves to dance and sing for us. Almost wanted to buy the para para dance mat as her birthday present.

She has this barbeque party near where she invited her friends over for dinner and fun. Was feeling dead beat after all the running and play catching with those kids. I need enormous amount of energy to keep up with them. They are so lively and they like to run all over the place. They don't seem to get tired of playing catching!Anyway, it was fun playing with them. Haaaa. They are all very lovable kids.

We got her this Barbie Cali girl with a horse for her. (But where's Barbie????)

Alrightey, time to call it a day. Will get to play with the kids in church tomorrow.

i.am.such.a.bizarro

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throw an egg

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Nike+iPod

True Friend Wanted

water water we love water

won the polls but still have to step down

i'm a such party animal. *growl*

Your travel type: Party Animal

top destinations:

stay away from:

Centaur Warchief

ham sandwich

M600i. Damn cool.

sounds familiar

teamwork

toys

We live by faith, not by sight.

a worshipper

there's something about christmas

pillows

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WCG 2005

naruto drawing

i'm a such party animal. growl