my ajumma notes

Now with the die cast and all, it is confirmed. I will not be voting. As I told Bear Hugs, so old still no chance. Who knows when it will be when I will finally get to vote? I'm highly irritated by the footage of people cheering so heartily and happily when a large portion of the electorate isn't going to be visiting the ballot box next week. It says on the news that more than 1.2 million will get to vote this time, but does that mean another 'more than 1.2 million' will not get to vote? And what's with that silly hang-up about Mr Tan Lead Shake's slippers? Will they stop talking about them? I am not 'discussing politics'. I am just saying I wish that I was voting this year and that media reports of the elections could focus more on the issues that matter.

Still on the theme of literature, there was this article in the weekend edition of TODAY, 'Discover local flavour' , a rather long piece about how local lit is not doing so well here. According to it (quoted parts in red, blue emphasis mine ): e A Population Survey on the Arts by the National Arts Council in 2002 found that only 40 per cent of 1,527 people surveyed had read a novel that year. (I'm actually surprised by this 40% figure; thought it would be much lower than that) e In 2003, a nation-wide survey of 1,500 Singapore residents by the National Library Board revealed that the strongest motivation to read was neither leisure nor literary appreciation . It was career development . e Sales figures support the bleak view that Singaporeans simply aren't reading local literature. The Arts House's EarShot bookstore, for example, carries almost 1,000 homegrown titles. But on average, it sells a combined total of fewer than a hundred such works per month... A lar...

I realise I didn't give the context of Totto-chan's story, so here it is: Mr Sosaku Kobayashi, the headmaster, started Tomoe Gakuen in 1937. Totto-chan was in school during the WWII years and the school was destroyed during the Tokyo air raids, before she completed elementary school. Here is something from the last chapter, entitled 'Sayonara, Sayonara!' "The school that had been the headmaster's dream was enveloped in flames... In the midst of it all, the headmaster stood in the road and watched Tomoe burn... 'What kind of school shall we build next?' he asked his university-student son Tomoe, who stood beside him. Tomoe listened to him dumbfounded. Mr Kobayashi's love for children and his passion for teaching were stronger than the flames now enveloping the school. The headmaster was cheerful." Indeed, a man ahead of his time. The school was never re-built, and Mr Kobayashi passed away in 1963. In her postscript, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi explained ...

‘Having eyes, but not seeing beauty; having ears, but not hearing music; having minds, but not perceiving truth; having hearts that are never moved and therefore never set on fire. These are the things to fear, said the headmaster.’ How would you like to have such a headmaster? I finally re-read (read it first as a teenager) Totto-chan, The Little Girl at the Window , a ‘school story’ by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, translated by Dorothy Britton. Totto-chan is the name Tesuko Kuroyanagi called herself, and the book is about her life during her school days at Tomoe Gakuen. Totto-chan was expelled from her first elementary school because of her ‘disruptive’ behaviour, which included constantly opening and closing her desk top (because she was so thrilled by it), ‘vandalising’ her desk (because there wasn’t enough space on the piece of paper to draw) and standing by the classroom window waiting for street musicians to pass by or talking to swallows. Her mother, although probably alarmed about the ...

I read in Tuesday's TODAY this article about the introduction of Philosophy for Children into some primary schools. So... teacher asks children, 'Would bees be suitable to keep as pets in your home?' Students come up with answers which teacher finds 'fascinating' . Response A: 'bees would make "fabulous pets" because they could produce pots of honey, which could later be eaten or sold' Response B: 'the tiny creatures were "dangerous" and could sting if provoked' Response C: 'Yet another group questioned whether the true meaning of having a pet was to make it work for you or have it for companionship' No offence to the teacher but while I find Response C insightful for P3/4 kids, I fail to see what is fascinating about Responses A and B. My questions: 1. Aren't Responses A & B rather 'expected', mundane answers? 2. Why were they considered 'fascinating'? Or was the teacher being diplomatic and just ...

Since my blog goes by the name that it does, I feel compelled to write something about the tai-tais featured in the latest Sunday Times . Wow, 3 pages in the Lifestyle section devoted to the ladies (and gentlemen) who grace the pages of Singapore Tatler, Prestige, The Peak , etc. I didn't know that even among this set, there are class divisions. There are the'wannabe' tai-tais and the 'real' tai-tais, the ones who tailor 'copies' of designer clothes and those who wear the real thing, etc. Then there is, of course, me, non-tai-tai, who goes into Prada, Gucci, etc just to look at how much the clothes cost, and the ladies who actually buy and wear those clothes. I also didn't know that you get goodie bags with stuff like business class air tickets to Shanghai and electronic gadgets at these high society events. What struck me most, though, was the somewhat derisive tone I sensed in the 3 pages. Sour grapes on the part of the writers? The part I liked most ...

Hmmm... I wonder if there's something wrong with my blogger account. First, the problem I had with posting pictures ('pop-up blocked' message) was magically resolved without me having to do anything. Then, someone's comment disappeared without me doing anything, too. And then, my own comment went missing!! Very weird. Anyway, have to go... the laundry beckons...

Disclaimer: This blog does not 'persistently propagate, promote or circulate political issues relating to Singapore'. It does not qualify to be 'registered'. Besides, it's not the 'election period' yet. With 'the election period' to be announced shortly, I just want to play safe and post this now. Although I don't have 'political issues' to 'propagate, promote or circulate'. I just want to write about how my citizenship education began at home. I was thinking, after the lot of 24 new, mostly 'young' candidates were introduced, that there would be many unfamiliar faces this time round. Although my parents aren't exactly 'into' politics, it was a sort of family tradition to watch news about the run-up to the elections and stay up for the results on election day itself. Election in, election out, we would see many familiar faces, and I'm not just talking about the Old Guard and their colleagues. There were als...

To carry on a little with the historical theme, what would you say if a 7-year-old asked you this question: When did Singapore start? I'm glad the boy is asking about this now, before he gets programmed into thinking that Singapore 'started' in a certain year. What did I tell him? To summarise: 1. No one really knows when any place 'started'. 2. Singapore was around long before people called it 'Singapore'. 3. The British came along and 'owned' Singapore for some time. 4. Then, Singapore didn't want to belong to anyone else so we became our 'own' country. I am determined that he grows up knowing that Singapore did not 'start' with Raffles' arrival, and I hope he will have good (and polite) 'arguments' with any teacher who dares tell him otherwise. When I was in primary school, we did history and geography, which were really fun, and I don't know why they dropped these 2 subjects from the primary curriculum. In my s...

Read in the papers (Sunday Times) that the fossils of Peking Man are lost!! Got the picture from here . I first learnt about Peking Man , along with Java Man , in lower sec history. I'm not sure, but I don't think they learn about 'prehistoric man' these days. Both Peking and Java Man were fossils of the homo erectus ('erect man') stage, i.e., the stage that is believed to have come just before the homo sapiens stage. I never knew the fossils were missing but they have been from since the time of World War 2, through a rather unfortunate turn of events. The story is that the fossils were to have been sent to the US for 'safekeeping' by ship on 8 Dec 1941. However, Pearl Harbour was attacked on 7 Dec and the US marines who were to have done the deed, i.e. ferry the fossils, became POWs before they could do it. Since then, the fossils seem to have 'disappeared'. According to the article, they may possibly be somehwere in China, the US, Japan, at ...

Yesterday's Sunday Times. On page 11, 'It's like winning the lottery' , on how some Singaporeans will be spending their Progress Package payouts. Man A will use it for utilities and conservancy charges and wife's diabetes medicine. Man B will use it to help pay off loans from friends and relatives for his bypass operation 5 years ago. Couple A will also use it for PUB bills and conservancy charges for the next 9 months. Couple B will use it for medicine for diabetes, high blood pressure and pains. Lady A will use it to buy nutritious food and tonics for unemployed daughter's confinement. Lady B will use it to pay for trip to Penang and Macau for dragon boat race. Obviously, all except Lady B have real monetary needs. Flip over to page 12 of the same newspaper, 'Hey, big wedding spender' , on how couples are splurging on their weddings. Couple A will spend about $45,000 for Caribbean-style wedding with steel drummers, strollers, salsa dancers, and possi...

Friends, Romans, countrymen and -women, I was delighted to read this article 'Just let our kids play' in today's TODAY. Actually, I was going to blog about something related to this, and I shall pretty soon, as I've just finished reading Totto-chan, the Little Girl by the Window . Back to the article. The writer is a retired teacher (no longer hounded by EPMS ) who feels that there isn't enough room, metaphorically and physically, given to children to PLAY in school. Here are some of his points about play ( in red ): b Play is an integral part of the growing-up years. Play, whether for the sheer fun of it, or competitively in games and sports, pays rich dividends such as good health and fitness, an iron will and a never-give-up spirit, among others. b Gregarious and bursting with energy, most kids really enjoy playing. The school is just the place to do that. b A large open space allows children to safely expend their abundant energy, and satiate the innate insti...

Looks like I can have a J- and K-drama fest right here in my living room, but sigh... sigh... sigh... I just do not have the time to watch anything yet. Too many other things to do. Right now, I have here, kindly loaned to me by friend and relative, Love Revolution (2000 J serial, 8 episodes), Joyful Girl's Success Story (2002 K serial, 16 episodes) and Love Story in Harvard (2004 K serial, don't know how many episodes). I also recently bought Shall We Dance , the original J movie on which the Richard Gere-J.Lo one was based. On top of that, I was thinking of going on to Box 2 of Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre , the 1986 version (my favourite) starring a dashing young Tony Leung Chiu Wai (then only 24 years old) as the reluctant hero, Cheung Mo Kei. After one year, I finally finished Box 1, consisting of 12 discs with 2 episodes each. At the end of Box 1, Mongolian Princess Chiu Man, if you know the story, has not even appeared yet! I guess all these others will now take me a...

Some of you may remember the Bangles hit Walk Like an Egyptian . I never quite understood the appeal of that song but I'd say the Bangles had a number of better songs. Anyway, this song has nothing to do with what I'm writing about today. It's just that 'Talk like a Singaporean' reminded me of 'Walk Like an Egyptian'. We were happily enjoying some pasta yesterday and this man walked past and said to his children, 'Wah, they are eating spare-kati (as in katis and tahils)'. Ok lah, maybe we can't blame people for mispronouncing the word because spaghetti isn't even a real English word anyway. I've also heard it called 'spatter-gi' . Then there was this announcement for some staff member to 'proceed to la-verr tree (level three). You know how some Singaporeans pronounce 'th' as 't', the word-ending 'l' as 'r' and also the short vowel 'e' (as in 'l e vel') as the long vowel 'a...