Note to commentors on my blog:
- No, I really don't want the laptop cover for my birthday, if that's what you meant. :p I want other things, like a wireless-enabled PDA, the new Nokia L'amor phone, a graphics drawing tablet, and why not throw in a new car while you're at it? >D
- Meeting his parents is NOT a direct precursor to marriage. Trust me, we're far, far, faaaaarrrrrrr away from that goal.
- Yes, I will wait till 2008 to receive my ang pow. >D
Now back to regular blogging:
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Freedom... Or peace?
Sometimes it really seems as if the two are on opposite ends of a scale. And I especially felt that way after seeing the two following articles:
European press enters fray over Mohammed cartoons
and
Blair under pressure after defeats in Parliament
[read the two articles to make more sense out of this blog entry. Hey, a little current affairs won't kill ya :p]
It seemed to me that the common thread between these two articles were the fight between freedom of speech, and potential offenses to the Muslim communities in each country.
It also seemed to me to be a pretty dumb thing.
Ok, freedom of speech is a great thing and all, but surely there have to be limits?? You publish cartoons you know will offend just about every Muslim in the world, and you insist on your freedom of speech rights, then you cry and scream Murder and Anarchy when these JI-types decide to bomb a few buses in your country.
Granted that terrorism is NEVER the solution, but in cases like these, I feel there is a tinge of 'they asked for it'. Citing "freedom of speech" as their excuse to communicate highly flammable messages like this...... Well, it's like going up to the local bully, [who weighs about 400kg more than you do] calling him a yellow-bellied girly wuss, and then stating that to do so is your right to freedom of speech.
Please lor! Sure kena whack one what!
IF you already know that relationships between the Western world and the global Muslim community these days are not quite at their best, then why, why, why on heaven's sake do you keep on insisting on keeping your 'personal rights' at the cost of the society around you?
This I think is the one biggest flaw of the Western world. Their insistence on democracy, and especially their personal rights.... they seem to think that their personal views and preferences prevail over the safety of society at large, even if what they say could potentially hurt and kill those close to them indirectly.
Most tragically comical was the quote I read in the article about Blair's bill:
" But after the 90-day proposal was rejected, the Lords had inflicted a series of defeats on the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill in a bid to safeguard freedom of speech.
It notably put in an amendment restricting the new offence of inciting religious hatred to threatening words and behaviour, rather than a wider definition also covering insults and abuse.
The Lords also required the offence to be intentional, and specified that criticism, insult, abuse and ridicule of religion, belief or religious practice would not be an offence."
Do you know what these could mean in ordinary terms?
- It is ok to scold someone, "You dog!", but illegal to shout, "I'll kill you, you dog!"
- It is ok to laugh, and call someone, "Hahaha!! You fucking dog!" or tell someone "Your fucking religion sucks! Hahaha!" AS LONG AS it wasn't intentional [hence the "Hahaha!" to indicate humour]
- It *might probably be* ok to write long lengthy blog posts on why you think Muslims/Catholics/Christians/Buddhists/Jews/Mormons/Aum worshippers are all muthafucking dogs AS LONG AS your blog is based in the UK.
[to S'porean Internet Watchdogs... please read the context of my blog carefully... and don't haul me to court for inciting racial hatred]
What kind of blardy weirdo rule is this that allows a person to criticise, insult and abuse another person's religion in the name of free speech?? And "unintentional"??
"Hahaha! You fucking dog! Hey! Why'd you hit me for? I didn't mean it when I called you a fucking dog, you blardy muthafucker! Take that!"
There are so many things wrong with that. How can you legally prove the person's intent was malicious? How do you prove in court that the person called you a fucking dog intentionally to cause you hurt, or to threaten your life?
These rulings are so ludicrous it's a wonder the Western world survived this long....................
Not to say freedom of speech is a bad thing. It can be a very good thing, especially when you are trapped in a communist dictatorship state and your people are starving by the dozens and your leader seems to have a great fondness for luxury and nukes. It is in these circumstances that we need people to speak out against injustice, so as to make life better for all, and to push that crazy leader off his missile.
Sometimes, you can change things just by speaking out.
But people now seem to be taking this as their god-given-no-one-can-take-away right. And the worst part is that they don't seem to care about the consequences of their words, as long as they are allowed to say exactly what they like. And that is the problem: That people either have no idea of, or do not care about the consequences. To them, their personal freedom is more important to them than civility, good manners, or, other people's feelings. Which in itself is actually a very selfish action.
*sigh* This is one crazy screwed-up world........ crazy ang mohs........
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Laptop Covers
Uhm, I don't really care about the boring, standard black colour of my laptop, I really don't, but my lapy just keeps insisting she wants this totally cool and hot cover on her. [cool and hot?]
Yea, um, I'm really not too tempted by it...... Really, I'm not......
And erm, just in case you guys are interested, which I definitely am NOT, the covers are made by a company called Skyn that specializes in these laptop covers. It's not so much a cover, but more of an adhesive cover that you can stick on to your laptop and peel off as well. [think removable gmask] Not only that, but they can do custom skins as well.
But I'm not tempted. Really! I"m not! I'm...... not.
Yea, um, I'm really not too tempted by it...... Really, I'm not......
And erm, just in case you guys are interested, which I definitely am NOT, the covers are made by a company called Skyn that specializes in these laptop covers. It's not so much a cover, but more of an adhesive cover that you can stick on to your laptop and peel off as well. [think removable gmask] Not only that, but they can do custom skins as well.
But I'm not tempted. Really! I"m not! I'm...... not.
Monday, January 30, 2006
The Night After...
CNY Day 2, and the DF and I do the family rounds.
Afternoon was a dimsum lunch with my family where we ate lunch, and I watched my dad roll his eyebrows at a couple of things he said. Generally, my family has decided that he's just like one of my uncles. Eats [too] healthily, doesn't drink, sleeps in early and stays at home a lot... yea, that's him.
Despite the differences in interests though, [my dad likes kayakking and blading and him.........] they bonded over the one thing that most guys of legal age have in common.
"So... which camp are you in?"
And that was that. Cue my mom and I sighing and helping ourselves to the dimsum while the men talked army.
Well, at least he managed to keep up a decent conversation running with my parents. Which is more than I could say for me and his family. X(
We had planned to go to his grandma's house for dinner, only HE hadn't told a single soul about it aside from his parents! So we went there [ahead of the rest of his family], they got curious, asked, and "This is my girlfriend."
Cue the raised eyebrows, and the mental ah-ha...... going on in everyone's minds...... which also made for a coupla wisecracks later: ^_^!!!
Overheard when lao-ing yusheng:
"May the eldest grandson get married soon!" [guess who] "and may we see great-grandchildren soon!"
When his grandma gave me an ang pow:
"Here's an angpow from ma-ma wishing you good luck in life and career!" Ma-ma? I thought my ma-ma passed away years ago but apparently I have a new one....... -_-!!!!!!!
His aunt started laughing, and "Here's one from gu-ma as well!!" and continued laughing uproariously.
I didn't know what else to do but to hide my face by burrowing in his back while the entire extended family enjoyed the joke at my expense........ -_-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But well, at least with the shuang qing meeting [did i get the name right?] it's sorta like we reached another stage of "officiality" with each other, now that both sides are aware of each other.
Though it still feels weird when I spend CNY with his family instead of mine. Like I'm still trying to find a place to fit in this family that's been going along just fine before I came along. And now I gotta find the missing spot in this jigsaw for me to fit into.
*Haiz* Oh well, at least it didn't seem like they hated me on sight.......... Let's see how it goes till the next CNY....... ;)
Afternoon was a dimsum lunch with my family where we ate lunch, and I watched my dad roll his eyebrows at a couple of things he said. Generally, my family has decided that he's just like one of my uncles. Eats [too] healthily, doesn't drink, sleeps in early and stays at home a lot... yea, that's him.
Despite the differences in interests though, [my dad likes kayakking and blading and him.........] they bonded over the one thing that most guys of legal age have in common.
"So... which camp are you in?"
And that was that. Cue my mom and I sighing and helping ourselves to the dimsum while the men talked army.
Well, at least he managed to keep up a decent conversation running with my parents. Which is more than I could say for me and his family. X(
We had planned to go to his grandma's house for dinner, only HE hadn't told a single soul about it aside from his parents! So we went there [ahead of the rest of his family], they got curious, asked, and "This is my girlfriend."
Cue the raised eyebrows, and the mental ah-ha...... going on in everyone's minds...... which also made for a coupla wisecracks later: ^_^!!!
Overheard when lao-ing yusheng:
"May the eldest grandson get married soon!" [guess who] "and may we see great-grandchildren soon!"
When his grandma gave me an ang pow:
"Here's an angpow from ma-ma wishing you good luck in life and career!" Ma-ma? I thought my ma-ma passed away years ago but apparently I have a new one....... -_-!!!!!!!
His aunt started laughing, and "Here's one from gu-ma as well!!" and continued laughing uproariously.
I didn't know what else to do but to hide my face by burrowing in his back while the entire extended family enjoyed the joke at my expense........ -_-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But well, at least with the shuang qing meeting [did i get the name right?] it's sorta like we reached another stage of "officiality" with each other, now that both sides are aware of each other.
Though it still feels weird when I spend CNY with his family instead of mine. Like I'm still trying to find a place to fit in this family that's been going along just fine before I came along. And now I gotta find the missing spot in this jigsaw for me to fit into.
*Haiz* Oh well, at least it didn't seem like they hated me on sight.......... Let's see how it goes till the next CNY....... ;)
Caves and Clubs
Read in Subnixus, the blog of a professional blogger:
“The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave. His fetters fall… freedom and slavery are mental states. - Gandhi”
How true, how true.
Although if you read his entry, I'm not too sure whether you can reasonably live in Singapore with USD$640 a month considering that the rental on a room in a HDB flat could cost u around $300 [without Internet] the last time I checked, but hey, least in Singapore, food's cheap. :p
But can any of us ever do that?
Because we're not talking about just living cheap here. We are talking about completely shackling off the rat race and living on a meager lifestyle in order to pursue whatever it is one wants to do. It means not earning a safe salary every month into your bank account, it means not going to work with the rest of the corporate rats, and also a lot of embarrassing scenarios at festive seasons when relatives ask you "so exactly what are you working as?"
Trust me, I've been there. And it's not something you should take up lightly.
But yet, so many of us get caught in this rat race. We become convinced/persuaded/fooled into thinking that we need that new car, that house, that home entertainment set with surround sound [ok, maybe I go too far here] in order to live. And it makes sense in a Darwinian sort of way.
Turtle the other way was griping about how materialistic women were in Singapore. They would never go for a guy with an 'ok' salary, and with no career aspirations, even if they didn't have any themselves. They always went for the guy who was 'confident and outgoing' and focused in his career development, and who could provide them with a measure of material security, which in his opinion, was much higher than was necessary for living.
His conclusion was that most of these girls were superficial and materialistic. [something which I agree with him to a certain extent]
But from the standpoint of evolution it makes sense. We women are most vulnerable during the 9months of pregnancy, and that's when the biological need for security developed. I think somewhere along the way, some cavewomen decided that the caveman with the bigger cave and the bigger club could take better care of more of her children than the guy who was sleeping under the open sky. And all of womenhood followed suit.
And once all of womenhood followed, the guys had no choice but to follow. In order to get a mate, they had to prove that their cave was better, or they were better at clubbing animals for food, literally bringing home the bacon.
Skip forward a few million years of evolution and here we are.
But where are we?
Still looking for that bigger cave. *sigh* But now your cave comes made of brick and mortar, and comes with running water and decent toilets.
Sometimes I get so sick of it, I wonder why I even signed up into this system in the first place. Like, why should I put myself through this grief if my other life wasn't going too badly.
But sometimes I guess I just have to remind myself: Freedom is a state of mind. If I believe that I am free to pursue whatever it is I want to, if I believe that the only limits exist only within my own mind, then nothing can ever really imprison me.
Nothing.
“The moment the slave resolves that he will no longer be a slave. His fetters fall… freedom and slavery are mental states. - Gandhi”
How true, how true.
Although if you read his entry, I'm not too sure whether you can reasonably live in Singapore with USD$640 a month considering that the rental on a room in a HDB flat could cost u around $300 [without Internet] the last time I checked, but hey, least in Singapore, food's cheap. :p
But can any of us ever do that?
Because we're not talking about just living cheap here. We are talking about completely shackling off the rat race and living on a meager lifestyle in order to pursue whatever it is one wants to do. It means not earning a safe salary every month into your bank account, it means not going to work with the rest of the corporate rats, and also a lot of embarrassing scenarios at festive seasons when relatives ask you "so exactly what are you working as?"
Trust me, I've been there. And it's not something you should take up lightly.
But yet, so many of us get caught in this rat race. We become convinced/persuaded/fooled into thinking that we need that new car, that house, that home entertainment set with surround sound [ok, maybe I go too far here] in order to live. And it makes sense in a Darwinian sort of way.
Turtle the other way was griping about how materialistic women were in Singapore. They would never go for a guy with an 'ok' salary, and with no career aspirations, even if they didn't have any themselves. They always went for the guy who was 'confident and outgoing' and focused in his career development, and who could provide them with a measure of material security, which in his opinion, was much higher than was necessary for living.
His conclusion was that most of these girls were superficial and materialistic. [something which I agree with him to a certain extent]
But from the standpoint of evolution it makes sense. We women are most vulnerable during the 9months of pregnancy, and that's when the biological need for security developed. I think somewhere along the way, some cavewomen decided that the caveman with the bigger cave and the bigger club could take better care of more of her children than the guy who was sleeping under the open sky. And all of womenhood followed suit.
And once all of womenhood followed, the guys had no choice but to follow. In order to get a mate, they had to prove that their cave was better, or they were better at clubbing animals for food, literally bringing home the bacon.
Skip forward a few million years of evolution and here we are.
But where are we?
Still looking for that bigger cave. *sigh* But now your cave comes made of brick and mortar, and comes with running water and decent toilets.
Sometimes I get so sick of it, I wonder why I even signed up into this system in the first place. Like, why should I put myself through this grief if my other life wasn't going too badly.
But sometimes I guess I just have to remind myself: Freedom is a state of mind. If I believe that I am free to pursue whatever it is I want to, if I believe that the only limits exist only within my own mind, then nothing can ever really imprison me.
Nothing.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Holiday Syndrome Strikes...
I've got at least one assignment to do for every module, 2 of which are due on the wed and fri just after CNY. I'm up to my shitassload in work,
and in true Holiday Syndrome style, I can't be bothered to touch an inch of work. Bleah.
At least this CNY it's been relatively calm. We went for dinner, did the usual visiting, and ended up at KFC for dinner because, well, half of Singapore is closed.
This aspect of CNY is always the most fascinating to me. The idea that a single holiday can cause just about the entire Singaporean [and now China] economy to come screeching to a halt for 2 and a half days [including the reunion]. The idea that for 2 days, the streets will be empty, save for the red-clad visitors, the stores will be closed, and the whole place will resemble some post-nuclear-apocalyptic scenario.
Yea, I imagine too much. :)
Anyway, this has never caused a bother to us, because usually we sponge off some relative for lunch and dinner, or we eat either fast food or muslim for 2 days. This year, it's slightly more troublesome because the family is meeting the DF for the first time, and are therefore obliged to bring him somewhere nice for dinner, I think in part because his family brought me somewhere nice.
So my parents have been wracking their brain to think of all the possible 'nice' places that could be open during CNY and we ended up booking a place for 5 at a dimsum place that would be open. [miracle of miracles!]
So the lunch is tomorrow, wish him luck, especially since some of the stuff I told my dad about him has been making my dad roll his eyeballs. The only consolation is that 1) He doesn't stop me from doing dumb stuff, even if he doesn't do it himself [case in point being the drinking] 2) If ever we go to a drinking hole together [hahahaha! Yea right!] he's definitely the designated driver.
Anyway we see how tomorrow goes.......
and in true Holiday Syndrome style, I can't be bothered to touch an inch of work. Bleah.
At least this CNY it's been relatively calm. We went for dinner, did the usual visiting, and ended up at KFC for dinner because, well, half of Singapore is closed.
This aspect of CNY is always the most fascinating to me. The idea that a single holiday can cause just about the entire Singaporean [and now China] economy to come screeching to a halt for 2 and a half days [including the reunion]. The idea that for 2 days, the streets will be empty, save for the red-clad visitors, the stores will be closed, and the whole place will resemble some post-nuclear-apocalyptic scenario.
Yea, I imagine too much. :)
Anyway, this has never caused a bother to us, because usually we sponge off some relative for lunch and dinner, or we eat either fast food or muslim for 2 days. This year, it's slightly more troublesome because the family is meeting the DF for the first time, and are therefore obliged to bring him somewhere nice for dinner, I think in part because his family brought me somewhere nice.
So my parents have been wracking their brain to think of all the possible 'nice' places that could be open during CNY and we ended up booking a place for 5 at a dimsum place that would be open. [miracle of miracles!]
So the lunch is tomorrow, wish him luck, especially since some of the stuff I told my dad about him has been making my dad roll his eyeballs. The only consolation is that 1) He doesn't stop me from doing dumb stuff, even if he doesn't do it himself [case in point being the drinking] 2) If ever we go to a drinking hole together [hahahaha! Yea right!] he's definitely the designated driver.
Anyway we see how tomorrow goes.......
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