Yesterday was my House Warming plus Family Gathering plus my very early birthday celebration (almost 2 weeks in advance!) Actually my mom was using my birthday as a reason/excuse to invite all my family people down la... hehe
well it was truly a happening evening... 3 generations in the house: My grandma and my granduncles, my uncles and aunties and my cousins... all from my mother's side... it lasted into the night... 3am plus i think... haha... and i think i've learnt quite a lot of stuff...
1) Kids nowadays are very familiar with computers
My bro was hogging the computer outside in the living room with his warcraft games and stuff... so naturally the guys were hanging outside as well.. in the meantime, the youngest cousins (a pair of twins who are 9 this year) were in my room and they knew pretty well how to handle my laptop (should have turned it off man.. haha) they were looking for games on my desktop, browsing the internet for their game sites (whose URLs they keep in their wallets)... amazing... maybe i should hang out a bit more with the younger kids... so different from us back then =)
2) Moms are always watching the backs for their kids
My mom was sitting around the dining table talking to my uncles and aunties over beer... there was still food left from the buffet catering and no one really wanted to eat anymore... i went into the kitchen to find my grandma rummaging through our cupboards looking for pots and containers to keep the leftover food... so that when the caterer comes to collect the stuff, they won't take all the food back as well she says... and all the while my grandma's kids (my uncles and aunties) were chatting over beer... =) yeah man.. Mom's watch our backs for us...
3) Frankness is good... but too rare in our generation...
My mom grew up in a family of 8 siblings.. last night, my 2nd uncle, his wife, my 3rd aunt, my youngest aunt and my parents sat around and talked about all sorts of things over beer... they talked about their marriage, about their childrens, about the past, about each other's personalities... it was frank... but everyone was comfortable.. i was impressed... there should be this kind of frankness among siblings... not some unspoken rift and political correctness we see more often nowadays...
4) As much as they trust us, they still worry
After my cousins and i got bored with mahjong, we were "invited" to join their table and conversation.. and the topics that came up were about boyfriends and girl friends, getting a driving license to drive parents home (especially after drinking sessions.. heh), about lesbians and gays and how open they are today comparatively, about us not being feminine or masculine enough (haha)... yeah.. they trust us a lot.. but parents will be parents.. they worry too =)
all in all, i think my family rocks... they brought us up to be independent, to be close among the couins in our generation, to have that kind of frankness and honesty with our parents that not every youth in Singapore has nowadays...
They rock.. =)
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Self defence mechanism??
Today is 25th June 2005, Saturday...
I have a few deadlines to meet by 1st July 2005, a few more meetings to attend till 1st July, and what seems to be quite a lot of things to settle by Mid July as well...
Strangely, things seem to be going quite ok... maybe is a self defence mechanism.. some people freak out when they have lots to do... some get so stressed and pissable at almost any little thing... some get aggressive, some get depressed...
What about me? hmmm... I don't really know... but it seems that when things start to pile... I get a bit more relaxed (if that is even possible.. ) I imagine this invisible shield around me that's protecting me from the many pissable things around us in life... and all over the shield all these words "when there's already that much to do, anything else adding on to the list won't make much difference anymore"
i dunno... so weird....
I have a few deadlines to meet by 1st July 2005, a few more meetings to attend till 1st July, and what seems to be quite a lot of things to settle by Mid July as well...
Strangely, things seem to be going quite ok... maybe is a self defence mechanism.. some people freak out when they have lots to do... some get so stressed and pissable at almost any little thing... some get aggressive, some get depressed...
What about me? hmmm... I don't really know... but it seems that when things start to pile... I get a bit more relaxed (if that is even possible.. ) I imagine this invisible shield around me that's protecting me from the many pissable things around us in life... and all over the shield all these words "when there's already that much to do, anything else adding on to the list won't make much difference anymore"
i dunno... so weird....
Friday, June 24, 2005
Friday, June 17, 2005
The real deal on being 'real'
Nov 14, 2004
The real deal on being 'real'
By Janadas Devan
THE 'real' as an adjective is puzzling. Whatever do people mean when they say 'real world', 'real life', 'real thing', 'the real McCoy' and so on? Why are we so anxious about the 'real'? Surely, the real, if it is real, ought to strike one as obviously real. Does our anxiety about it suggest a certain uncertainty about the realness of the real?
Let's begin with 'the real McCoy' because there really was a real McCoy - a Joseph McCoy, to be precise, a rancher in the American Wild West in the mid-19th century.
Ranchers in those days butchered their cattle primarily for local consumption. McCoy decided to do something nobody else had thought of doing: He drove his cattle across hundreds of miles to railway stations, from where they would be transported to cities in the east, to be butchered and consumed there. McCoy, not surprisingly, became a very rich man.
And not surprisingly too, he soon had competitors. Rustling cattle on horseback is not rocket science. If one cowboy can do it, so can others. In desperation, McCoy began calling himself 'the real McCoy' so as to distinguish himself from his imitators.
Coca-Cola adopted a similar strategy in the cola wars of the 1960s, when it took to calling itself 'the real thing'. 'The real thing' was merely imitating 'the real McCoy' - who of course was not unique either, for he turned out to be eminently imitable.
This provides one clue as to why we are anxious about the 'real': Market economies are wondrous mechanisms for churning out a multitude of the same. If a new product proves economically successful, it is bound to elicit imitators; if a new fashion in clothing catches on, it is bound to create knock-offs. Our anxiety about the 'real thing' is a reaction to the sameness that characterises life in industrialised societies.
The other examples of 'real' - 'real world', 'real life' - cannot be so easily explained. Teachers often tell their students of the 'real world' they will face when they leave school. Businessmen are often scornful of academics because they allegedly know nothing of 'real life' and have never been 'in the trenches'. And soldiers in war - literally, not metaphorically, 'in the trenches' - often refer to civilian life as the 'real world'.
(And not only in war, I might add. I remember hearing this phrase, 'real world', during national service in Singapore. There we would be, camped in some soggy and dank field, slapping mosquitoes, trying to keep the rain from seeping through our ponchos. It's not possible to get closer to reality than that, one would think. And yet, at precisely those moments, someone would pipe up about his plans in the 'real world' after leaving NS.)
What makes working life more real than school life, economic life more real than intellectual life, and civilian life more real than military life? Why is the 'real world' 'always being defined as where we are not', as Harvard University don Barbara Johnson once asked.
Her answer was that 'these differing perceptions of the real are nothing other than perceptions of the boundaries of institutions. Whether one is in the university or in the army, the real world seems to be the world outside the institution'.
Institutions, she theorised, created boundaries between the unreal and the real so as 'to assure docility, paradoxically, through the assumption of unreality' within institutions.
Students, listen up, the real world is a frightful place, so you had better concentrate on your lessons, otherwise you are going to founder in the real world. Soldier, listen up, the real world's rules don't apply here, this is a different world, you must abandon all your civilian delusions.
There is considerable truth in Professor Johnson's reading, but I'm not sure it is sufficient. Consider that strange phenomenon, the television 'reality show' American Idol (and its spin-offs).
The show's formula is simple: Ordinary people are given a shot at stardom. Judges assess each singer, and viewers vote two performers off the show each week until only two remain for the final competition. It can be a very cruel process - and for precisely that reason, exhilarating to watch - as faults are enlarged and blemishes exaggerated. It is also thrilling, for some remarkable talents have emerged - the 'real things'.
But a strange thing happened during last year's show. One William Hung - a Chinese-American nerd, a totally untalented singer, the most awkward, stiff and robotic personality ever seen on TV - emerged as the star. He became so popular, he now travels the world to show off his lack of talent. His website describes him as the 'Real American Idol'.
The Los Angeles Times thought Hung's sincerity was the quality that elevated him above the rest. The lesson to be learnt from his unlikely popularity, the paper said, was 'that talent is far less critical to winning Americans' hearts than honest effort'.
That surely is an exaggeration. How many Hungs will America take to its heart? Would America abandon its current stars for the galaxies of bad singers and bad actors out there? Surely not.
And yet, for a brief moment perhaps, Hung became the marker of the real. Not because the 'real' is always something else, as Prof Johnson put it, but because he failed so clearly to be that something else.
Perhaps we are so anxious about the real because modern society makes such incessant demands on us to be so many somethings.
The real deal on being 'real'
By Janadas Devan
THE 'real' as an adjective is puzzling. Whatever do people mean when they say 'real world', 'real life', 'real thing', 'the real McCoy' and so on? Why are we so anxious about the 'real'? Surely, the real, if it is real, ought to strike one as obviously real. Does our anxiety about it suggest a certain uncertainty about the realness of the real?
Let's begin with 'the real McCoy' because there really was a real McCoy - a Joseph McCoy, to be precise, a rancher in the American Wild West in the mid-19th century.
Ranchers in those days butchered their cattle primarily for local consumption. McCoy decided to do something nobody else had thought of doing: He drove his cattle across hundreds of miles to railway stations, from where they would be transported to cities in the east, to be butchered and consumed there. McCoy, not surprisingly, became a very rich man.
And not surprisingly too, he soon had competitors. Rustling cattle on horseback is not rocket science. If one cowboy can do it, so can others. In desperation, McCoy began calling himself 'the real McCoy' so as to distinguish himself from his imitators.
Coca-Cola adopted a similar strategy in the cola wars of the 1960s, when it took to calling itself 'the real thing'. 'The real thing' was merely imitating 'the real McCoy' - who of course was not unique either, for he turned out to be eminently imitable.
This provides one clue as to why we are anxious about the 'real': Market economies are wondrous mechanisms for churning out a multitude of the same. If a new product proves economically successful, it is bound to elicit imitators; if a new fashion in clothing catches on, it is bound to create knock-offs. Our anxiety about the 'real thing' is a reaction to the sameness that characterises life in industrialised societies.
The other examples of 'real' - 'real world', 'real life' - cannot be so easily explained. Teachers often tell their students of the 'real world' they will face when they leave school. Businessmen are often scornful of academics because they allegedly know nothing of 'real life' and have never been 'in the trenches'. And soldiers in war - literally, not metaphorically, 'in the trenches' - often refer to civilian life as the 'real world'.
(And not only in war, I might add. I remember hearing this phrase, 'real world', during national service in Singapore. There we would be, camped in some soggy and dank field, slapping mosquitoes, trying to keep the rain from seeping through our ponchos. It's not possible to get closer to reality than that, one would think. And yet, at precisely those moments, someone would pipe up about his plans in the 'real world' after leaving NS.)
What makes working life more real than school life, economic life more real than intellectual life, and civilian life more real than military life? Why is the 'real world' 'always being defined as where we are not', as Harvard University don Barbara Johnson once asked.
Her answer was that 'these differing perceptions of the real are nothing other than perceptions of the boundaries of institutions. Whether one is in the university or in the army, the real world seems to be the world outside the institution'.
Institutions, she theorised, created boundaries between the unreal and the real so as 'to assure docility, paradoxically, through the assumption of unreality' within institutions.
Students, listen up, the real world is a frightful place, so you had better concentrate on your lessons, otherwise you are going to founder in the real world. Soldier, listen up, the real world's rules don't apply here, this is a different world, you must abandon all your civilian delusions.
There is considerable truth in Professor Johnson's reading, but I'm not sure it is sufficient. Consider that strange phenomenon, the television 'reality show' American Idol (and its spin-offs).
The show's formula is simple: Ordinary people are given a shot at stardom. Judges assess each singer, and viewers vote two performers off the show each week until only two remain for the final competition. It can be a very cruel process - and for precisely that reason, exhilarating to watch - as faults are enlarged and blemishes exaggerated. It is also thrilling, for some remarkable talents have emerged - the 'real things'.
But a strange thing happened during last year's show. One William Hung - a Chinese-American nerd, a totally untalented singer, the most awkward, stiff and robotic personality ever seen on TV - emerged as the star. He became so popular, he now travels the world to show off his lack of talent. His website describes him as the 'Real American Idol'.
The Los Angeles Times thought Hung's sincerity was the quality that elevated him above the rest. The lesson to be learnt from his unlikely popularity, the paper said, was 'that talent is far less critical to winning Americans' hearts than honest effort'.
That surely is an exaggeration. How many Hungs will America take to its heart? Would America abandon its current stars for the galaxies of bad singers and bad actors out there? Surely not.
And yet, for a brief moment perhaps, Hung became the marker of the real. Not because the 'real' is always something else, as Prof Johnson put it, but because he failed so clearly to be that something else.
Perhaps we are so anxious about the real because modern society makes such incessant demands on us to be so many somethings.
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Once there was a giving tree who loved a little boy.
And everyday the boy would come to play
Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade
Laughing all the summer’s hours away.
And so they love,
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
But soon the boy grew older and one day he came and said,
"Can you give me some money, tree, to buy something I’ve found?"
"I have no money," said the tree, "Just apples, twigs and leaves."
"But you can take my apples, boy, and sell them in the town."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
But soon again the boy came back and he said to the tree,
"I’m now a man and I must have a house that’s all my home."
"I can’t give you a house" he said, "The forest is my house."
"But you may cut my branches off and build yourself a home"
And so he did.
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
And time went by and the boy came back with sadness in his eyes.
"My life has turned so cold," he says, "and I need sunny days."
"I’ve nothing but my trunk," he says, "But you can cut it down
And build yourself a boat and sail away."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
And after years the boy came back, both of them were old.
"I really cannot help you if you ask for another gift."
"I’m nothing but an old stump now. I’m sorry but I’ve nothing more to give"
"I do not need very much now, just a quiet place to rest,"
The boy, he whispered, with a weary smile.
"Well", said the tree, "An old stump is still good for that."
"Come, boy", he said, "Sit down, sit down and rest a while."
And so he did and
Oh, the trees was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
And everyday the boy would come to play
Swinging from the branches, sleeping in the shade
Laughing all the summer’s hours away.
And so they love,
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
But soon the boy grew older and one day he came and said,
"Can you give me some money, tree, to buy something I’ve found?"
"I have no money," said the tree, "Just apples, twigs and leaves."
"But you can take my apples, boy, and sell them in the town."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
But soon again the boy came back and he said to the tree,
"I’m now a man and I must have a house that’s all my home."
"I can’t give you a house" he said, "The forest is my house."
"But you may cut my branches off and build yourself a home"
And so he did.
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
And time went by and the boy came back with sadness in his eyes.
"My life has turned so cold," he says, "and I need sunny days."
"I’ve nothing but my trunk," he says, "But you can cut it down
And build yourself a boat and sail away."
And so he did and
Oh, the tree was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
And after years the boy came back, both of them were old.
"I really cannot help you if you ask for another gift."
"I’m nothing but an old stump now. I’m sorry but I’ve nothing more to give"
"I do not need very much now, just a quiet place to rest,"
The boy, he whispered, with a weary smile.
"Well", said the tree, "An old stump is still good for that."
"Come, boy", he said, "Sit down, sit down and rest a while."
And so he did and
Oh, the trees was happy.
Oh, the tree was glad.
Makes you wonder...
Opened my school email just now to find this in the inbox... Must say it's a very very interesting request...
makes u wonder doesn't it? Do our "winners" win because they have the talent, or do they win simply because they have more people behind them? People who don't even know them, but judge based simply on an impression through email, TV, newspapers, SMS even...
I wonder if a certain polytechnic did something like this during our Singapore Idol finals...
p.s. I deleted the name of the 'star' from the email, just so I don't do any publicity for this person by accident...
_______________________________________________________
Dear MAE Students, Alumni and Colleagues,
I reckon you may have heard and watched the trailers on the Channel U “Project Superstars”. It is a chinese singing competition, akin to Singapore Idol, with its sms and call-in voting format broadcasted over Channel U. One of our students, XXX, chinese name: XXX has emerged as one of the top 12 guys (there're top 12 gals as well), after 3 rounds of auditions from over 4000 contestants.
His first performance will be broadcasted on 22 June (precorded on 15 June) and the voting line (or SMS) will be open then.
The contestants will have many people rooting for them. As part of the MAE family, I am writing to encourage you to support our very own “star” XXX. Turn on the TV Channel U on 22 June and register your support!
Thanking you in advance!
Sub Dean (Alumni)
makes u wonder doesn't it? Do our "winners" win because they have the talent, or do they win simply because they have more people behind them? People who don't even know them, but judge based simply on an impression through email, TV, newspapers, SMS even...
I wonder if a certain polytechnic did something like this during our Singapore Idol finals...
p.s. I deleted the name of the 'star' from the email, just so I don't do any publicity for this person by accident...
_______________________________________________________
Dear MAE Students, Alumni and Colleagues,
I reckon you may have heard and watched the trailers on the Channel U “Project Superstars”. It is a chinese singing competition, akin to Singapore Idol, with its sms and call-in voting format broadcasted over Channel U. One of our students, XXX, chinese name: XXX has emerged as one of the top 12 guys (there're top 12 gals as well), after 3 rounds of auditions from over 4000 contestants.
His first performance will be broadcasted on 22 June (precorded on 15 June) and the voting line (or SMS) will be open then.
The contestants will have many people rooting for them. As part of the MAE family, I am writing to encourage you to support our very own “star” XXX. Turn on the TV Channel U on 22 June and register your support!
Thanking you in advance!
Sub Dean (Alumni)
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now...
My very first NY Student Coucil Invesititure Song... never fails to inspire.. and bring back great memories...
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
By Jefferson Starship
Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I've found is too good to be true
Standing here beside you
Want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you
Let them say we're crazy
I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand baby
Don't ever look back
Let the world around us
Just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart
Chorus
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us now
I'm so glad I found you
I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes I will stay here with you
Take it to the good times
See it through the bad times
Whatever it takes here's what I'm gonna do
Let them say we're crazy
What do they know
Put your arsm around me Baby
Don't ever let go
Let the world around us
Just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us... ooooh...
All that I need is you
You're all that I ever need
And all that I want to do
Is hold you forever, and ever and ever
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us now
Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now
By Jefferson Starship
Looking in your eyes I see a paradise
This world that I've found is too good to be true
Standing here beside you
Want so much to give you
This love in my heart that I'm feeling for you
Let them say we're crazy
I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand baby
Don't ever look back
Let the world around us
Just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart
Chorus
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us now
I'm so glad I found you
I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes I will stay here with you
Take it to the good times
See it through the bad times
Whatever it takes here's what I'm gonna do
Let them say we're crazy
What do they know
Put your arsm around me Baby
Don't ever let go
Let the world around us
Just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we're heart to heart
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us... ooooh...
All that I need is you
You're all that I ever need
And all that I want to do
Is hold you forever, and ever and ever
And we can build this thing together
Stand this storm forever
Nothing's gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We'll still have each other
Nothing's gonna stop us, Nothing's gonna stop us now
Am I psychotic? =)
Some songs my classmates and I made up in primary school... is it disturbing? hmmm... hahahha
My Bonnie (Original)
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me
My Bonnie (Sharon's version)
My Bonnie looked into the gas tank
It was dark and she couldn't see
She lit a match to help her
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me
Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonnie to me, to ME!!
Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonnie to me!
Clementine (Original)
Oh my darling
Oh my darling
Oh my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Oh my darling Clementine
Clementine (Sharon's version)
Build a bonfire
Build a bonfire
Put the teachers on the top
Put the principal in the middle
Then let's light it from the top
Barney's Song (original)
I love you
You love me
We are one big family
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you
Won't you say you love me too
Barney's Song (Sharon's version)
I love you
You love me
Homosexuality
People think we're ordinary friends
Actually we're lesbians
My Bonnie (Original)
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
My Bonnie lies over the sea
My Bonnie lies over the ocean
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me
My Bonnie (Sharon's version)
My Bonnie looked into the gas tank
It was dark and she couldn't see
She lit a match to help her
Oh bring back my Bonnie to me
Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonnie to me, to ME!!
Bring back, oh bring back, oh bring back my Bonnie to me!
Clementine (Original)
Oh my darling
Oh my darling
Oh my darling Clementine
You are lost and gone forever
Oh my darling Clementine
Clementine (Sharon's version)
Build a bonfire
Build a bonfire
Put the teachers on the top
Put the principal in the middle
Then let's light it from the top
Barney's Song (original)
I love you
You love me
We are one big family
With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you
Won't you say you love me too
Barney's Song (Sharon's version)
I love you
You love me
Homosexuality
People think we're ordinary friends
Actually we're lesbians
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