Inspiration has been running dry recently. Inspiration has been running dry, and i seem to be favouring more of descriptive work rather than poetry. Changing tastes?
And the real problem i seem to have with myself is that i "tzer buay tiao". I cannot sit down and pen a complete piece of work in its entirety. It is part of the reason why i express myself using poetry- i am essentially lazy to write a whole piece. I have an inability to look beyond describing an event or two to craft a complete piece of writing. And this is a major problem. It seems that my laziness transcends more than just physical laziness. Mental laziness is a big problem. I need to cut with the catnaps and game breaks.
I just started watching Full Metal Alchemist yesterday. A series that has been ongoing for almost eternity and completed, but i have only just begun to watch. Just two single episodes and i am hooked. Having caught snippets here and there from my brother's viewing of the series back home, i was surprised that the narrative of the series uses a different approach from the typical direct narrative. It inserts us into the middle of the action, before relating to us the protagonists' origins and past. There are also very interesting themes brought out in the anime. The conflict between religion and science, for example, is a theme that is featured strongly in the series. The questions and taboos of playing god are brought out as well as issues of faith vs reality. Very interesting indeed.
A conversation with a friend some time ago made me realise some things. I have been living too much with the notions of going back home and missing Singaporean food, and other concerns that i am missing out on something. The reality of the present. And i guess it is very true. While we should always have goals and aims for ourselves, we should never never neglect the reality that is right in front of our eyes. We should never take for granted what what we have, at any given moment in time. That is why i will not stop whining about missing home and live in the present. To enjoy what it is that there is here and to make to most out of the experience. Ultimately i know i will have to go home- that is where i belong with friends, family (and of course food). But to deny the existence of the present will be to deny everything that has led to this moment.
But i am still not going to do a bungee jump!
Monday, 30 April 2007
Friday, 27 April 2007
Local students lose out when places go to foreigners in our varsities
Wrote in two days ago to the ST Forum, and my letter was published today in the online forum.
The link has expired, so here it is.
This article can probably be considered a censored follow up to the previous blog post.
The link has expired, so here it is.
This article can probably be considered a censored follow up to the previous blog post.
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
Too much emphasis placed on the value of foreign talents
Bravo! Another one stands up and expresses a sentiment that is just so prevalent in Singapore!
I refer to the letter written in by Ms Lin Jun Mei to the Forum.
More than three-quarters of my classmates are non-Singaporeans. I enjoy the diversity and interaction. However, this set me thinking why there are not more Singapore students as this is an institution in Singapore. Do we not measure up to the foreign students in getting a place in the institution?
I have not had the fortune of studying in a local university. But what i gather from my friends in some faculties in local universities is that the percentage of overseas students are way higher than that of local ones. By all means, these foreign students invariably do well because they are, obviously, scholars. Better than most of the locals, it seems. And this poses, in itself, to be a problem. Here you have local students struggling to keep up because the scholars and foreign students raise academic standards up to impossibly realistic levels. Of course, such competitiveness is good, but it is an unrealistic competitiveness.
I refer to the Minister Mentor's comments about rewarding those who stay in Singapore and those who contribute to the economy. Personally, i do not see how accepting so many foreign talents will contribute to this. They might do well undoubtedly, but the question is considering the long term implications of this situation. Will these scholars contribute to the Singapore's economy in the long run? Or will they end up going home to their home countries after finishing their contracts? Faced with such a situation, it is very possible that local students themselves might find themselves stricken with a stigma that these foreign talents are held in higher regard than themselves. Why should these locals be blamed, then, for desires of migration? After all, it is only human to seek greener pastures. Their dissolution with the education system is justified!
This issue has a far wider implication. As literacy levels rise, and the percentage of university graduates increase, the number of students qualifying for university will definitely increase. Are locals to be denied the chance because of this?
Where i am right now, is in a hostel with 60% or more Singaporeans. This goes to show how it is. There must be a reason why so many Singaporeans choose to come overseas. Labeling such people as quitters and people that 'cannot make it' is hardly fair.
More places should be opened in local universities for locals. I do not see any negative implications of doing this. Furthermore, more flexible criteria should be implemented to also give more student from polytechnics a chance. They, are after all, more versed in the practical aspect of certain fields, and certainly this is just as important as academics when it comes to entering the workforce.
This really shows the meritocracy effect of our society. I hope that the resource pool can be widened so that not only the best from Singapore and other countries but also the supposedly 'average' Singaporean has a little help in fulfilling their true potential.
I refer to the letter written in by Ms Lin Jun Mei to the Forum.
More than three-quarters of my classmates are non-Singaporeans. I enjoy the diversity and interaction. However, this set me thinking why there are not more Singapore students as this is an institution in Singapore. Do we not measure up to the foreign students in getting a place in the institution?
I have not had the fortune of studying in a local university. But what i gather from my friends in some faculties in local universities is that the percentage of overseas students are way higher than that of local ones. By all means, these foreign students invariably do well because they are, obviously, scholars. Better than most of the locals, it seems. And this poses, in itself, to be a problem. Here you have local students struggling to keep up because the scholars and foreign students raise academic standards up to impossibly realistic levels. Of course, such competitiveness is good, but it is an unrealistic competitiveness.
I refer to the Minister Mentor's comments about rewarding those who stay in Singapore and those who contribute to the economy. Personally, i do not see how accepting so many foreign talents will contribute to this. They might do well undoubtedly, but the question is considering the long term implications of this situation. Will these scholars contribute to the Singapore's economy in the long run? Or will they end up going home to their home countries after finishing their contracts? Faced with such a situation, it is very possible that local students themselves might find themselves stricken with a stigma that these foreign talents are held in higher regard than themselves. Why should these locals be blamed, then, for desires of migration? After all, it is only human to seek greener pastures. Their dissolution with the education system is justified!
This issue has a far wider implication. As literacy levels rise, and the percentage of university graduates increase, the number of students qualifying for university will definitely increase. Are locals to be denied the chance because of this?
Where i am right now, is in a hostel with 60% or more Singaporeans. This goes to show how it is. There must be a reason why so many Singaporeans choose to come overseas. Labeling such people as quitters and people that 'cannot make it' is hardly fair.
More places should be opened in local universities for locals. I do not see any negative implications of doing this. Furthermore, more flexible criteria should be implemented to also give more student from polytechnics a chance. They, are after all, more versed in the practical aspect of certain fields, and certainly this is just as important as academics when it comes to entering the workforce.
This really shows the meritocracy effect of our society. I hope that the resource pool can be widened so that not only the best from Singapore and other countries but also the supposedly 'average' Singaporean has a little help in fulfilling their true potential.
Singaporean Eateries
An interesting article! As far as food is concerned i am certain that it is a trait that is common to most, if not all Singaporeans. Invariably, conversations with friends over meals divert themselves to the subject of food back home in Singapore. Passionate would be an understatement. Singaporeans are FANATICAL about food! Which is a really nice thing, it is one of the true aspects that truly define who we are as a people. The top ten list of best eateries in the world, taken from the Straits Times, are as follows:
I know of Tetsuya's! It is an eatery in Sydney, Australia, where the food is so good that you have to book three months in advance! If i remember clearly, from the trip i made there with my family three years ago.
Personally, as far as the best food in Singapore goes, a difference in tastebuds and tastes, as well as the factor of 'acquired taste' makes a consensus difficult. But there is one aspect of food that everyone will probably agree on. That some of the best recipes and best dishes, come not from the hawker centres and food courts, but from one's family! No one can cook chicken curry as good as my grandmother. Right Stephen?
World's top 10
1. El Bulli, Spain
2. The Fat Duck, Britain
3. Pierre Gagnaire, France
4. The French Laundry, US
5. Tetsuya's, Australia
6. Bras, France
7. Mugaritz, Spain
8. Le Louis XV, Monaco
9. Per Se, US
10. Arzak, Spain
I know of Tetsuya's! It is an eatery in Sydney, Australia, where the food is so good that you have to book three months in advance! If i remember clearly, from the trip i made there with my family three years ago.
Personally, as far as the best food in Singapore goes, a difference in tastebuds and tastes, as well as the factor of 'acquired taste' makes a consensus difficult. But there is one aspect of food that everyone will probably agree on. That some of the best recipes and best dishes, come not from the hawker centres and food courts, but from one's family! No one can cook chicken curry as good as my grandmother. Right Stephen?
Embracing life
Stoning at the computer now, trying to formulate questions for one of my mum's comprehension passages. I flipped a couple of links and ended up reading some blogs.
One of the blogs i read interested me particularly. Perhaps its was the layout, or the content, or a mix of both, that some how kicked off something in me. There was so much life, so much vitality in the posts and content that i could not help but look back inside, at the person inside me and look at everything that has been happening these few weeks. There is so much out there, so much to experience!
Maybe i have been thinking too seriously.
One of the blogs i read interested me particularly. Perhaps its was the layout, or the content, or a mix of both, that some how kicked off something in me. There was so much life, so much vitality in the posts and content that i could not help but look back inside, at the person inside me and look at everything that has been happening these few weeks. There is so much out there, so much to experience!
Maybe i have been thinking too seriously.
Monday, 23 April 2007
What it Means to be A Singaporean Chinese
Challenging topic.
1- Knowing how to converse appropriately in my mother tongue, and write in it as well. Strange that some people struggle with it. For all the western values injected into our brains, the fact remains that we are Chinese by blood. To deny one's heritage is akin to denying yourself of your self-identity. Look at your surname. It defines who you are. Nothing can change that. Even if you do, manage to have it changed, where you come from cannot be forgotten.
2-Knowing how to converse in dialect orally. I personally find it a shame that i am not as fluent as i would like to be in my dialect. It is something disturbing that is undergoing a dilution in our society today. Generation after generation, as more english speaking families spring up, the fluency of singaporeans in dialect has been dwindling. It does not help that some of the younger generation find some dialects crude and offensive, used only for cursing. If you cannot even understand your dialect, then you should not even acknowledge that you are of that dialect group. It brings your dialect to shame. A frightening trend that is looming, is the possibility of this effect of dwindling , happen also to chinese.
3-Know traditional customs. "I wont clean graves at Qing Ming cos i dont hold joss sticks" is the biggest load of bull shit i have ever heard. You can still clean the graves without offending ur religious beliefs. Religion and custom should be divided along a clear line. Respect and religion are two different things. If you wont clean graves, if you wont pay respects to ancestors, then dont even accept those ang paos and have reunion dinners. Every aspect of our customs are vital to our identity and it should be preserved, to stem the tide of changing mindsets.
1- Knowing how to converse appropriately in my mother tongue, and write in it as well. Strange that some people struggle with it. For all the western values injected into our brains, the fact remains that we are Chinese by blood. To deny one's heritage is akin to denying yourself of your self-identity. Look at your surname. It defines who you are. Nothing can change that. Even if you do, manage to have it changed, where you come from cannot be forgotten.
2-Knowing how to converse in dialect orally. I personally find it a shame that i am not as fluent as i would like to be in my dialect. It is something disturbing that is undergoing a dilution in our society today. Generation after generation, as more english speaking families spring up, the fluency of singaporeans in dialect has been dwindling. It does not help that some of the younger generation find some dialects crude and offensive, used only for cursing. If you cannot even understand your dialect, then you should not even acknowledge that you are of that dialect group. It brings your dialect to shame. A frightening trend that is looming, is the possibility of this effect of dwindling , happen also to chinese.
3-Know traditional customs. "I wont clean graves at Qing Ming cos i dont hold joss sticks" is the biggest load of bull shit i have ever heard. You can still clean the graves without offending ur religious beliefs. Religion and custom should be divided along a clear line. Respect and religion are two different things. If you wont clean graves, if you wont pay respects to ancestors, then dont even accept those ang paos and have reunion dinners. Every aspect of our customs are vital to our identity and it should be preserved, to stem the tide of changing mindsets.
Sunday, 22 April 2007
Missing Home
I think the song that summarises my feelings at this point would inarguably be Home by Buble. Its lyrics are just so simple and yet ring with a message that shoots itself straight to my heart and really makes me feel the lyrics just pour into, and fill me.
It does not help that i have access to the Straits Times from where i am now. Reading about the local news back home only creates an invisible barrier between life back home and the life i am having here. After talking to an old friend in the dining hall i shocked myself by admitting that i have had twenty one meals in Currie Hall for the past week. I feel, in some ways, trapped and isolated from the world within this seemingly utopian microcosm of familiarity and closeness. It is a vague closeness, as i do not really feel any kinship or longstanding relations with anything here. Strange, that i should muse about this.
The man speaks of some issues which i find particularly interesting. The first, is his justification of the recent ministers' pay hikes. Indeed, it may be justified as an attempt to stem corruption. Indeed it might be justified that it is for the purpose of rewarding those who have stayed behind and toiled for the country. But the basis for this is questionable. The very purpose of government is to lend a listening ear for the people. A body of government is one that represents the people. By focusing on rewarding those in power by way of monetary incentive, the focus has drifted away from the collective good, to detract into the support of a socially and economically formidable upper class. The emphasis has already drifted away from the necessity of government! By focusing on a singular group of individuals, a distinction has been created that justifies the use of an action such as a pay increment. If a reward has to be credited, then it should be something that is uniformly distributed among all members of the ruling class, right down to the tiniest administrative assistant in the public service.
As far as migration and going overseas is concerned, inevitably, the choice ultimately rests with the individual, whether to stay or to 'quit'. As a singaporean studying overseas i have seen many students here. There are some who are scholars, individuals who have achieved academic excellence and are here to pursue a different approach to education than that back home. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals such as myself, those who have been rejected by the system back home to find an alternative here. I personally applied for three years, and appealed at least one every year, (two times last year) and painstakingly spent hours crafting letters and even hand delivered my documents to the various Deans so that my applications may be further looked at. Thrice i applied, thrice i was denied. Such an experience has dulled my expectations and made me reflect on the realism of the system. Why live in a delusion? Accept the alternative. And this trend will continue to carry on, for generations to come.
Ultimately, with rising trends in education, there will inevitably be an increment in the number of degree holders in singapore. This is illustrated by the supposed dubbing of SIM as a 'fourth university'. The dragon batch of children will create an unprecedented surge in university intake. I am confident that most local universities will not be able to accept plenty of students into their hallowed grounds by virtue of their academics. A sad but realistic truth. This will make more students turn to an overseas education as an alternative. In some people's words, these are those that 'cannot make it back home'. Say what you like, but the fact remains that the system is killing itself. Unhealthy competitiveness, coupled with the dubious admission policies of local universities, create a bubbling pot of seething unhapiness that is manifested in the eyes of those who 'cannot make it'. The end product is that of a powerfully ordained and highly educated elite. Of which many harbor intentions to actually migrate. Thus the situation loops back in itself in a neverending cycle like an ouroboros.
The second comment made by the man as rather interesting. It revolved around the notions of being more pragmatic and accepting things such as censorship and homosexuality in singaporean society. I cannot agree with his words any more. These comments resound with some letters i read a few days ago in the Forum, about certain issues. On the 17th, a certain Ms Rahman wrote in to the Forum to comment on the unsuitability of a certain programme being aired on Channel 8. A HK show called Nude Fear, it seemingly contained elements that were demeaning and blatantly misogynistic. A show screened at 1 am.
What then, defines a programme as inappropriate? If we were to look at every show from our own personal point of view, it is justified to say that we can take offense at practically everything. Who is she to comment that this show is lacking in quality? With such simplistic and shallow minded views, it is no wonder that MM brings up issues like gradual pragmatism. There are still a great many individuals out there who adopt very traditional and straitlaced mindsets as far as such issues go. Is it not sufficient for a film to be censored? Is it not enough for a film to be shown at a late night timeslot? Such narrow minded thoughts reflect a failure. Failure for this woman to actually realise that there are individuals out there who might, quite possibly, consider such a show as a form of entertainment. Demeaning to some, but entertaining to others. In any case, there is always the option of switching off the television. If even such shows need to be censored further, then the whole basis of censorship should be called into question. Why screen brokeback mountain in singapore when some people might take offense at it?
For an individual to make such comments, i think, undoubtedly, the big R word has something to do with it. Ah, the ever powerful influence of opinion. Tsk Tsk.
Another letter in the forum also addressed the question. What does it mean to be singaporean? I shall start a new post about it. This post is way too long.
It does not help that i have access to the Straits Times from where i am now. Reading about the local news back home only creates an invisible barrier between life back home and the life i am having here. After talking to an old friend in the dining hall i shocked myself by admitting that i have had twenty one meals in Currie Hall for the past week. I feel, in some ways, trapped and isolated from the world within this seemingly utopian microcosm of familiarity and closeness. It is a vague closeness, as i do not really feel any kinship or longstanding relations with anything here. Strange, that i should muse about this.
The man speaks of some issues which i find particularly interesting. The first, is his justification of the recent ministers' pay hikes. Indeed, it may be justified as an attempt to stem corruption. Indeed it might be justified that it is for the purpose of rewarding those who have stayed behind and toiled for the country. But the basis for this is questionable. The very purpose of government is to lend a listening ear for the people. A body of government is one that represents the people. By focusing on rewarding those in power by way of monetary incentive, the focus has drifted away from the collective good, to detract into the support of a socially and economically formidable upper class. The emphasis has already drifted away from the necessity of government! By focusing on a singular group of individuals, a distinction has been created that justifies the use of an action such as a pay increment. If a reward has to be credited, then it should be something that is uniformly distributed among all members of the ruling class, right down to the tiniest administrative assistant in the public service.
As far as migration and going overseas is concerned, inevitably, the choice ultimately rests with the individual, whether to stay or to 'quit'. As a singaporean studying overseas i have seen many students here. There are some who are scholars, individuals who have achieved academic excellence and are here to pursue a different approach to education than that back home. At the other end of the spectrum are individuals such as myself, those who have been rejected by the system back home to find an alternative here. I personally applied for three years, and appealed at least one every year, (two times last year) and painstakingly spent hours crafting letters and even hand delivered my documents to the various Deans so that my applications may be further looked at. Thrice i applied, thrice i was denied. Such an experience has dulled my expectations and made me reflect on the realism of the system. Why live in a delusion? Accept the alternative. And this trend will continue to carry on, for generations to come.
Ultimately, with rising trends in education, there will inevitably be an increment in the number of degree holders in singapore. This is illustrated by the supposed dubbing of SIM as a 'fourth university'. The dragon batch of children will create an unprecedented surge in university intake. I am confident that most local universities will not be able to accept plenty of students into their hallowed grounds by virtue of their academics. A sad but realistic truth. This will make more students turn to an overseas education as an alternative. In some people's words, these are those that 'cannot make it back home'. Say what you like, but the fact remains that the system is killing itself. Unhealthy competitiveness, coupled with the dubious admission policies of local universities, create a bubbling pot of seething unhapiness that is manifested in the eyes of those who 'cannot make it'. The end product is that of a powerfully ordained and highly educated elite. Of which many harbor intentions to actually migrate. Thus the situation loops back in itself in a neverending cycle like an ouroboros.
The second comment made by the man as rather interesting. It revolved around the notions of being more pragmatic and accepting things such as censorship and homosexuality in singaporean society. I cannot agree with his words any more. These comments resound with some letters i read a few days ago in the Forum, about certain issues. On the 17th, a certain Ms Rahman wrote in to the Forum to comment on the unsuitability of a certain programme being aired on Channel 8. A HK show called Nude Fear, it seemingly contained elements that were demeaning and blatantly misogynistic. A show screened at 1 am.
What then, defines a programme as inappropriate? If we were to look at every show from our own personal point of view, it is justified to say that we can take offense at practically everything. Who is she to comment that this show is lacking in quality? With such simplistic and shallow minded views, it is no wonder that MM brings up issues like gradual pragmatism. There are still a great many individuals out there who adopt very traditional and straitlaced mindsets as far as such issues go. Is it not sufficient for a film to be censored? Is it not enough for a film to be shown at a late night timeslot? Such narrow minded thoughts reflect a failure. Failure for this woman to actually realise that there are individuals out there who might, quite possibly, consider such a show as a form of entertainment. Demeaning to some, but entertaining to others. In any case, there is always the option of switching off the television. If even such shows need to be censored further, then the whole basis of censorship should be called into question. Why screen brokeback mountain in singapore when some people might take offense at it?
For an individual to make such comments, i think, undoubtedly, the big R word has something to do with it. Ah, the ever powerful influence of opinion. Tsk Tsk.
Another letter in the forum also addressed the question. What does it mean to be singaporean? I shall start a new post about it. This post is way too long.
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