my ajumma notes

Hello dear blog, ha ha. Don't have much time to blog these days. And like many erstwhile bloggers, I'm finding FB much faster to use when I'm short of time...

For various reasons, I was recently thinking about de-Stalinization , something I've not thought about seriously for more than 20 years. A drawing by Niyaz Karim Revisionist thinking is really quite interesting. And a necessary part of life. It is not healthy to just blindly believe in the same old sources, or worse, the same one source. It is healthy to question and look for evidence. For there always is more evidence than you have been told there is. While I was thinking about de-Stalinization, of course I remembered how I handed in a highly nonsensical essay on the topic. Those were the days when I was almost becoming one of the 'full-time hostelites, part-time students' in my hostel, haha. It was so bad that my tutor, Dr Agnew, got me to re-do it, and very kindly gave me a list of relevant references I could look up. As I emerged from his room feeling stupid and sheepish, and filled with well-intentioned thoughts of doing all my future essays properly, I was gre...

My non-expert two cents' worth on the role of the social media in this election. First, we are so behind time. Other people, including our neighbours, were already excitingly into social media at least one election ago. I was surprised to hear a (young) candidate refer to it as 'new' media. Hello, this is 2011, not 2001? Second, social media wouldn't have accounted for a huge number of votes either way. Of course some - or maybe many - may have been influenced but I would think that in general, people wanting to vote for the whites would have made up their minds long ago and those not wanting to vote for the whites would similarly have decided before candidates were even announced. But I think that non-white supporters were more likely to be part of the cyberspace election landscape simply because of the lack of (positive) information about the non-whites in the mainstream media. Third, I still don't get why some people are still so disdainful of what's o...

Cooling off day... ha... I was just wondering how some of the hot buttons, the ones who are now citizens, will vote. There would be the FTs who have been in S'pore for ages, went through our education system, perhaps even went to the army, worked here for years, then became citizens. Then, there are the newer ones who hardly speak English and hardly mix with the born-and-bred people. And then there are those who don't even live here. Are people like Gong Li and Jet Li voting? Somehow, I can't think of really good reasons why the latter groups would vote against the status quo. Will these people be the ones who make the difference?

Shortly after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at Buckingham Palace, I finished my dinner and went off to Serangoon Stadium. But since it was way past 7pm, this was the best spot we could find. (That, of course, is not me or anyone I know in the picture. The red t-shirt on that boy said 'Myanmar'. New citizens?) I think political rallies should be part of National Education, for both students and new citizens. To be fair, they should be brought to rallies of both sides, or maybe even of a few parties. Just to experience the spirit of things. I really don't mind doing this myself every few years. Only the crowds are getting bigger and bigger each time. And the traffic gets really bad.

'Celebrating' someone's death is weird...

I was just thinking that it must be such an experience for all those fresh-faced and earnest 20-somethings and 30-somethings to have to spar with the national bigwigs, even if indirectly. Win or lose, I hope all this will go into making them men and women - citizens - of substance. Yes, sure, we should examine motivations and all that (and I do think that we should examine the motivations of everyone, not just a select few), but I think we should also salute these young people for having the courage and conviction to step up and step forward. I also note that their 20-something and 30-something counterparts from the white team are not having the privilege of this experience.

Today, I did my own 'feeling the ground' (= snooping) and talked to a total of -- just one person. This uncle is a sole breadwinner, taking home less than $1,000 a month. He has four kids who are still studying. Every day, he is concerned about his job and the cost of everything. After all, people who don't earn a lot also buy food, take transport, fall sick, go to school, etc. I think I don't need to do much more snooping to conclude that life is really tough for many of our fellow countrymen and women. And it's not like he is not trying to do what he can for the family. Would I blame him if he felt bitter about things? Are the people out there getting this same feel when they go around the ground too?

Here I am giving Nicole Seah the place of honour for today's GE post, ha ha. Nicole Seah's CNN interview Actually, I was getting really sad thinking about the GRC situation. It is the main, major, mighty reason why I have not voted in past elections. It was only in recent days that I realised how disgruntled I feel about this. To think that I will be a first-time voter (i.e. if things happen as we think they will) only this year. At my age... hmmph... As we know, there are many people in this 21st century world, who do not have the privilege of voting. Some will still never get a sniff at it, even though this is the 21st century, and some are right now going out to the streets, risking their lives and even losing their lives, to fight for this privilege. To think that here in - ahem - First World S'pore, so many of us have not had this privilege for so many years. But things are looking up. The colour and feel of this year's GE make me remember the colour and f...

My, my, doesn't he look so 'spring fashion trends 2011'? Like so (Miu Miu!): And so: Even the other Spaniards are in rather 'safe' colours. Like so: And some other people who really, badly need a haircut!

The start of the clay court season is not as exciting as I thought it was going to be, after all. Djokovic is not playing at Monte Carlo so we'll have to wait till I don't know when to see Djokovic versus Nadal on clay. To get back into the tennis mood, let's look at what some dudes have been doing off court, while, obviously, also watching their bank accounts grow. Nadal in Bacardi's don't-drink-and-drive ad. Ferrer in Bovet's intellectual ad. I don't know why but I find his Bovet pictures slightly amusing. But he doesn't look too bad, does he? Lu Yen-hsun appeared with Rainie Yang for an Adidas thing. The 'Adidas is all in' pictures are nice. Andy Murray is there. And, although they aren't dudes, so are Ana Ivanovic and Caroline Wozniacki.

And here we are, at another of my favourite topics - voters and all things related! As in previous elections, I find myself saying to myself 'Oh my word' and 'Aiyoh' a lot these days. There is a lot not happening out there that makes me rather uneasy about what the future will hold. First, it is worrying that many people are growing up knowing only a GRC system and believing it to be a normal thing. I'm not saying here that it is a good or bad system or whatever, but that people living in the 21st century should really have some basic knowledge about the basics of democracies and such. Second, and this is very likely the cause of point 1, young people are not caring enough about their lives to know things they should know. There are many people who complain that we only have controlled forms of the media here. Even if they have a valid complaint, the thing is, not enough young people are even bothering to know about things happening around them through these li...

So, here we are at one of my favourite topics - bags! First bag, the NS backpack. Rather expectedly, ST ran an article linking the maid-NS backpack thing to the daily maid-schoolbag scenario we see all over Singapore. I would like to suggest that the root of it goes a little deeper than just the expectations of many parents and children that their maids should carry their bags. The start of all this, as I see it, is the fact that schoolbags are too heavy ( that used to be one of my favourite topics). If the schoolbags were a reasonable weight, nobody would see the need for maids, parents or grandparents to carry them. I will shamelessly declare that I shamelessly carried the boy's bag for him when he was in lower primary. If you compare the weight of the bag with the size (and weight) of the child, it would be the logical thing to do. So then, when and how you wean the child off this bag-carrying business is another story altogether. Obviously, if weaning is not done succes...

Once upon a time, many years ago, I walked about here. I can still vaguely recall the strong winds and waves that day. Strong they may have been, but about all they did was to scuttle our plans to take a boat out. Today, the thought of a 7.5m wave lashing along that coast is, really, kind of hard to stomach. May those who lost their lives rest in peace. And may those who live find the comfort and courage they need for these dark days. It has been some months since I last sang this, and I'm glad we sang it today: You know my resting and my rising, You discern my purpose from afar, And with love everlasting you besiege me: In every moment of life and death, you are... Although your spirit is upon me. Still I search for shelter from your light. There is nowhere on earth I can escape you: Even the darkness is radiant in your light.

Ha. Who would have thought that Mr Darcy would one day become Mark Darcy and would one day become King and then king of the academy. I am real busy and should be busy doing what I am supposed to be doing but I just had to say that.

Boo hoo, where has all the rain gone? On the topic of Bambi, I chanced upon this Bambi video with a Rescuers song. And this list of 'The 10 Darkest Children's Movies', topped by Bambi . Somehow, I mostly remember just Thumper and other rabbits. Selective amnesia maybe. Or I didn't pay attention.

So cute...

Sad for Nadal about his heartbreaking match. But I'm not actually sad about Ferrer playing in the semi. Wouldn't it be lovely if he, in an unlikely scenario, won AO? Said Nadal: But if he keep playing like this, hopefully he can have a good chance to be in the final or win the tournament. I would love. Is a fantastic person. Is a close friend of mine. So I wish him all the best. And, I'm sure no one really minds if Kim wins the AO but wouldn't it be great if Li Na was this year's champion? Of course, they still can't get her name right... Pictures from AO website