Dead Poets Society

This is one movie that has made my top ten best movie to watch list... so yes it's in the list alongside others such as the Shawshank Redemption, Remember the Titans, The Usual Suspect, Gattaca to name a few..

Set in 1959 in an extremely traditional prep school in the US, it tells the story of how an English and Poetry teacher (played by Robin Williams) inspired and forever changed the lives of a group of his students... by means of unorthodox methods of teaching, this teacher challenges all that the boys knew about life... I won't spoil the story for you in case you want to watch it or read the book... but here are some lines from the movie that will surely give you a taste of how artfully written the story was...

"Carpe Diem - Seize the Day"

"Did they wait till it was too late? to make of their lives just one iota of what they were capable of?

"Only in dreams are men truly free"

Really really inspiring movie about life, opportunities, finding who you are, and challenging perspectives... Watch it if you can!

Nature in Singapore

There's a lot to be said about how adaptable animals are and how easily they keep up with the many additions that human beings make to the so-called 'natural surroundings"

So here's the evidence of the latest urban resident of Singapore...

Animal Name: The Singapore Cat
Natural Habitat: in the lower racks of display shelves outside NTUCs and provision shops


The Singapore Cat is a highly evolved urban creature. Unlike the traditional wild cat species which shun and are highly independent of human beings, it prefers the artificial, dry and cosy environment created by snuggling among packets of human-processed food. The Singapore Cat shows a high resemblence to particularly famous cat by the name of Garfield, especially in terms of its unexplained liking for potato chips.

My latest read...

I am currently reading a book titled "Jihad - The rise of militant Islam in Central Asia".

It is written by Ahmed Rashid, who is a journalist based in Lahore, Pakistan and is the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review and the Daily Telegraph. He also writes for The Wall Street Journal.

It's been an interesting read so far, and has gotten me quite intrigued in the history of Central Asia. It's also rekindled the interest I had in Islam from the days of doing research in undergraduate days for a Sociology professor...

More thoughts after I am done with the book...

Update on FBI Game

Dey has kindly enlightened me further on how this game should be played! It needs to be asked in real-time, such as face to face, or on MSN, Skype etc... The idea is not to give that person a lot of time to think before answering!

so if you still wanna play, drop me a note somewhere on MSN or in a comment :)

In response....

This is a reply to the comment of the previous post... hehe...
Thanks Nicholas for the 3 questions!! as much as it's less than 10, it's better than none! hahahah

1. What do you see in your future - maybe 5 years from now.
this question reminds me of applications.. for AI, for TNs etc etc hahaha...

Career wise: I'm interested in going into Business Process Management.. it's a field that presents itself in many job titles in the market, ranging from consultancy to risk analysis to information system to business strategy and so on. I think I'm just quite hooked on working with diverse brains to understand bigger pictures, to identify gaps and to create and implement solutions that help the bigger picture :)

social wise: I dunno about getting married by then but at the very least... have a boyfriend... I imagine my mom will be getting more and more anxious as the years go by... typical haha...
am still thinking which form of martial arts I'll be keen in by 5 years later... for now, I feel like I'm still exploring and finding a style that fits...

2. Is what you have done in the past 2 years in line to what you want to achieve for the next 5?
(Something less serious)

I think I found what I wanted to do in the next 5 years within the past 2 years... which make sense really cos part of my motivation for doing MCP full time was to have more working time to travel, to attend meetings and networking events, to understand what's happening out there, to talk to more people... and from those experiences, plus the thrill of doing all that was done in the term really helped me decide that "Yes! this is where my passion lies, and that regardless of my academic background, it is something I can achieve if I work hard at it!"

3. What is the one movie that you want to watch?
I just had a conversation with my brother that the new movies showing right now aren't attractive at all... I'm quite sure there's a list of must-watch movies that I have heard from friends but I can't remember any right now...
so the only answer that stands out in my head at this moment is... Wall-E by Pixar :)

the FBI Game

I came across this on Dey's blog (http://allingreen.blogspot.com/)

The FBI Game ~
You Have 10 Questions.
You Ask One By One And I Answer One By One with TOTAL Honesty.
You don´t have to answer any questions.
Unless you want me to ask you as well after I have answered all yours.
My goal is to get to recognize myself better through my answers to your questions.
And get to know a bit more about your perception of me through your questions.


Now isn't that quite an interesting concept? really forces you to come to terms with who you are... and it's definitely much deeper than spotlight (since that game usually just focuses on relationships)

I think I don't mind playing this... so.. who wants to ask? :)

Random thoughts

I was out of the house yesterday and just wanted to do a collection of some thoughts that popped into my head when I saw or heard certain things...

upon seeing women's underwear with butt padding (to make ur butt look bigger and perkier)...
"If someone with not much of a butt wore that and sat for a long time, will the pad get dented when she stands up? that will be an interesting sight"

upon seeing a lesbian couple on the MRT...
"I wonder if their parents know and what their parents think.. I wonder how the other passengers will react if they start PDA-ing (PDA = Public Display of Affection)

upon seeing devotees in the Guan Yin Temple asking for divine lots...
"Does it happen that someone shakes the container and ends up dropping a bunch of lots? Does it happen that someone shakes for a looong time and nothing ever drops out?"

upon seeing a random cat on the streets...
"what would cats say if they could speak?"

Writings from the past

Found this article that I had written (just for fun) in 2004 after finishing Junior College...

INERTIA AND FORCE

Inertia (noun): the reluctance of an object to stop moving when it is in motion or to start moving when it is stationary.

It is strangely coincidental how a word so commonly used in the study of physics is actually so predominant in our daily lives. Yet it is highly ironic that while so many of us may be able to identify this occurrence when answering physics questions, so few of us really recognise how much impact it has in our social lives.

Imagine this scenario: you are flipping through the pages of your secondary school autograph book when you suddenly come across the page contributed by a very close friend of yours. As the memories flood back into your mind, you realise how long it has been since you spoke to this friend of yours. Yet, you hesitate to give him or her a call. A little voice at the back of your head says, “it’ll be so awkward” or “maybe next time when I have more time”; and you obey that voice.

That voice, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, is inertia at work. So often, we get caught up in the nitty gritty details of our hectic lives. We unknowingly become so used to rushing around and getting things done that we are reluctant to stop and focus on something that is very much closer to our hearts: friends.

The very people with whom we once played catch, the people who stood by us when we felt low and vulnerable, the people with whom we shared so many highs and lows, happy and sad, wacky and crazy times. I think it is such a pity that so many friendships casually die off because inertia becomes too powerful to overcome. I feel sad that even during gatherings, some people cannot turn up or do not bother to because inertia is so overbearing in their lives. It’s like driving on an expressway without wearing a seat belt: we become aware of inertia only when the driver is thrown through the windscreen upon a sudden stop. Similarly, by the time we become aware of this inertia in our social lives, more often than not the damage is already done.

But as in physics, inertia can be overcome by the introduction of a force in the correct direction. A force is a push or a pull exerted to change the state of an object. If exerted on a stationary object for example, the force can allow the object overcome its reluctance to move.

I have a lot of respect for those who are able to create this force and propel themselves to overcome inertia. They are able to gain strength from the thought that the goodness which comes out of maintaining that friendship is worth the extra effort. They try continually, ever so determined to bring back remnants of those good old memories. I salute them for their tremendous efforts and their faith in the human spirit.

We tackle physics questions concerning inertia and forces with apparent ease. Let us one day be able to tackle our social problems regarding these same two concepts with that same kind of ease. Let not a simple misstep on our part tear down years of friendship and love.

Ties that bind...

Yesterday was the Mid Autumn Festival celebration in my Junior College... this photo shows people from at least 5 generations of members from the Wushu club... says a lot about the kind of experiences we had in our 2 years in wushu...

I have no life....

Songs...

You know how there are just some songs that trigger memories of people or places? Just randomly came across my mind...

Everything I do I do It for You by Bryan Adams - Julie and Vietnam
Tong Hua by ... (I forgot his name!) - Anisha
My Wish by Rascal Flatts - AP MCPs 0607
My Love by Westlife - Phayao, North Thailand
Fixing a Broken Heart by Firehouse - Huimin from Wushu
Nothing's gonna stop us now by Starship - NYGH Council Sec 2
When We Believe - NYGH Council Sec 3
At the Beginning - NYGH Council Sec 4
Wu Ding by Jay Chou and some woman (haha) - HCJC Wushu and climbing the rooftop

there's a whole bunch of others... but they're not triggered at the moment...

Poem that intrigued

Saw and heard this from a Channel News Asia advertisement.. will reveal more of its meaning shortly...

I saw a peacock with a fiery tail

I saw a blazing comet drop down hail

I saw a cloud with ivy circled round

I saw a sturdy oak creep on the ground

I saw a *pismire swallow up a whale *[ant]

I saw a raging sea brim full of ale

I saw a Venice glass sixteen foot deep

I saw a well full of men’s tears that weep

I saw their eyes all in a flame of fire

I saw a house as big as the moon and higher

I saw the sun even in the midst of night

I saw the man who saw this wondrous sight

‘A Person of Quality’, Westminster Drollery (1671)

The stories we haven't heard

Singapore has won the first ever Olympic medal ever since our independence in 1965. Thanks to the table tennis trio, we've broken the 48 year wait for this medal...

As usual, there's a lot of discussions about being Singaporean and Singapore citizens, about importing sporting talent and all that...

yet I'm sure a lot lies behind each of their decisions to come to Singapore... and this was actually covered in a China CCTV program that interviewed Li Jia Wei and Feng Tian Wei and traced their table tennis journeys right from their childhood...

http://tieba.baidu.com/f?kz=426895254

very inspiring... and definitely makes me wonder that despite all the glory they have brought back, we as Singaporeans have never seen this side of their stories...

To each his own...

In this century, most of us will find it normal that in so many aspects of our world, numbers make the difference... the numbers are the indicators for success, for winning, for being Number One in the family, the company, the economy, the country, the world...

which makes it amusing to see so much happening now on deciding which is the REAL way of tallying the medals won at the recent Olympics in Beijing...

There is of course, the reputation of being the world's largest and most powerful sporting country at stake.. but well see for yourself:

1) Gold Medal Won
This list ranks countries by the number of Gold Medals won, since the Gold Medal is indicative of being Champions in the sport. By this list, China leads hugely with a total of 51.

2) Total Medals Won
The USA ranks top in this list, coming in with a total of 110 to the 100 by China. This ranking is done in the USA.

3) Total Points Gained
The following is taken from an article on The Straits Times

The New Superpower, 25 Aug 08

"the US Olympic Committee, by paying US$25,000 (S$35,000) for a gold medal, US$15,000 for silver and US$10,000 for bronze, provides a fairer gauge: 25 points for gold, 15 for silver, 10 for bronze.

By that method, China have 1,870 points and the Americans 1,830."

4) the REAL Olympic medal tally
This tally does not include sports where the final results are entirely decided by referees and judging (e.g. diving, gymnastics, tae kwon do...) The final total medal tally puts US ahead of China 76 to 48.

5) Medals per capita
This takes total medals won divided by total national population and thus ranks US and China way back in the list.

I'm sure a further search on the internet will reveal more methods...
Now that the Games are over, the sports war is done...
Let the numbers game and statistics war begin...

Life and How to Survive It

Fantastic convocation speech at the NTU Convocation 2008 for the School of Communications and Information.

For original, please visit here -> http://mrwangsaysso.blogspot.com/2008/08/life-and-how-to-survive-it.html


Life and How to Survive It

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.

And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.

You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they’re wrong.

The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.

I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

You’re going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there’s no life expectancy.

Lazy Singaporeans?

Read more at http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_261297.html July 25, 2008
Tray Return initiative at Suntec food court struggles
Food Court drive to get diners to clear their trays and dishes is ignored by patrons
By Elizabeth Wilmot
AN effort to get patrons at a food court to return their trays has had dismal results so far. Launched two weeks ago, the Tray Return Movement at Suntec City's Fountain Food Terrace has left even one of its organisers disappointed. The drive was spearheaded by property consultants Chesterton International Property Consultants, a subsidiary of Suntec Investment, which owns the food court. It is supported by the Singapore Kindness Movement. So far, though, little has changed. Many customers still leave their trays piled on tables, leaving cleaners with more work, and inconveniencing other diners. Said Mr Ricky Sim, managing director of Chesterton International: 'Of course it's discouraging seeing people not returning their trays. It is an uphill task we're facing.' He added: 'It's not easy. There are a lot of problems because people's habits do not change overnight.' When The Straits Times visited the food court yesterday for an hour-long lunch-time check, only a few customers were spotted returning their trays and used crockery voluntarily - and all but one did so simply to free up space on their tables. This was despite the presence of eight tray return points and posters promoting the movement everywhere. Even patrons seated directly in front of the tray return carts ignored their presence.

Out of town

Will be in Vietnam from 8th to 22nd July...

Why I love my job

In 1 year of doing AIESEC full time, counting 1st July 2007 till 4 August 2008 (when I officially finish as per my service terms), I will have

Visited 9 countries

• Taipei, Kao Shiung, Tai Dong, Taiwan - July 07
• Istanbul, Capadokya, Turkey - August 07
• KL, Malaysia - October 07
• Skopje and Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia - February 08
• Sophia, Bulgaria - February 08
• Tokyo, Japan - March 08
• Guang Zhou, China - May 08
• Jakarta, Indonesia - June 08
• Next stop: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam - July 08

9 moments of amazing conference experiences

• Chair, Taiwan SNCF 2007
• Delegate, International Congress 2007
• Facilitator, Singapore Jump Start! Induction Conference 07
• Facilitator, Asia Pacific HEROES Conference 07
• Facilitator, Singapore NLDS 2007
• Delegate, International Presidents Meeting 2008
• Facilitator, Asia Pacific Exchange Leadership Development Seminar 2008
• Chair, Asia Pacific EVOLVE Conference 2008
• Facilitator, Asia Pacific Member Committee Transition Camp 2008

Managed

• budgets that are in 5 figure amounts (SGD for some, Euros for some)
• projects that have impacted more than 2000 youths from Singapore and around Asia Pacific
• to attend enough company meetings and networking events to give away more than 150 of my name cards
• to build a network of friends from more than 103 countries and territories in the world
• to gain hands-on experience in project management, team management, budget management, external relations and marketing, PR, strategic planning and governance, coaching, website management and programming, talent management
  

Presented

• A 2 hour discussion on "Youth Opinion in South East Asia" to a room of 30 HR professionals from companies around Singapore
• Opening Address to a room of 40 youths and professionals at the "Business Leaders in ASEAN" Alumni Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia
• Opening speech at AIESEC Singapore Gala Dinner, attended by 120 members, alumni and partners
• Opening speech at EVOLVE Gala Dinner, graced by Mr. Baey Yam Keng, Minister of Parliament, and 100 other guests (members from Singapore and Asia Pacific, alumni and partners)
• As part of panelist in a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia alongside Mr. Hermawan Kartaja (one of 50 World Marketing Gurus, President of World Marketing Association, 5 times co-author with Philip Kotler)

all this at the age of 23 and 24 years old... what more can one ask for? :)

Travel again...

Will be jetting off to Jakarta, Indonesia at 4pm today to attend



























Will be back on Monday about 3.30pm..

The Displacement of Reason

This is an amazing article written by Alex Au, owner of Yawning Bread (http://www.yawningbread.org/) for a forum titled "A Christian response to same-sex attraction"

Fantastic article and very thought-provoking argument...

http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2008/yax-888.htm