my ajumma notes

Oh.My.Word. All this is quite sick and horrible. May Ms Lo Hwei Yen rest in peace. And condolences to her family and friends. I am glad, though, that Fr Anthony reminded us to pray for perpetrators of violence too. I had almost forgotten them. After all, they are probably the ones most in need of prayers and healing. Come to think of it, there are also the hundreds of other victims. And hundreds and hundreds others, if you think beyond Mumbai... such as in Kashmir, as mentioned by the gunmen... and the many, many broken lives and spirits out there... Aiyoh... This weekend's Gospel reading (Mark 13:33-37) is timely, I guess: Take heed, watch; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. Watch therefore -- for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the...

Added on 7 Nov: I realise that it wasn't the Archbishop but the media that made the church's stand public. ---------------------------------------------------------------- So, our Archbishop has made public our stand on euthanasia . No doubt, this will open us up to some battering by other people's opinions. But never mind, lah, we are used to it. I wonder if we will see some day soon another historic day in parliament when the party whip is lifted and MPs can vote according to their conscience (as they did in 1969 ? for the Abortion Bill)... Don't say no one warned us about the slippery slope from abortion to euthanasia... It's a debate on the same continuum (or slope) , isn't it?

Apparently, some people think the five fuwa , the mascots of the Beijing Olympics, have jinxed China . Jingjing, the panda, is native to Sichuan, site of the current disaster. Huanhuan, the red one with 'flame hair', has seen trouble with the Olympic torch. Yingying, the antelope (the yellow one) is native to Tibet, site of, well, Tibet. And Nini, with a kite (the green one), represents the 'kite city' Weifang which recently saw a disastrous train derailment. So now, it seems Beibei (the blue one) portends some disaster at the Yangzi River because Beibei is a sturgeon fish, found only in the Yangzi River. Interesting... And we have Yingying and Nini right here in our living room... It is also interesting that in the olden days in both China and Myanmar, disasters of such magnitude were interpreted as unequivocal signs of disapproval (of the ruler) from the heavens. I wonder what is running through the minds of the leaders in both countries now. Well, at least Hu and We...

I'm no fashionista and definitely not a tai-tai but I do enjoy reading about fashion events and the goings-on there. I was pleased to see that Singapore designers were rather universally (in the local media) raved about in reports on the Singapore Fashion Festival. Good for them! Here is TODAY's take on it. I've always thought well of Thomas Wee and Tan Yoong's designs. Occasionally, I walk past Francis Cheong's boutique and I must say his gowns look fabulous from the other side of the shop window. Well, now that that's over, one event where some real tai-tais will appear once again in all their finery will be the opening of the Peranakan Museum (later this month; not sure if that's the actual name) and there, they will face fierce sartorial competition from the bibiks in their finery. We non-tai-tais will, of course, not be there but I do look forward to visiting the museum. X-tongfang, want to go with me? After all, weren't you once deemed the expert...

My, my, is this going to be the year of surprising men? Tsonga, Mardy Fish, Mas Selamat, Ma Ying-jeou... Okay, maybe Mr Ma (not the only man these days running on the ticket of 'change' and 'hope') wasn't all that unexpected, though perhaps his margin of victory was. To some. I wonder if we'll ever see the day when such election dolls (centre of picture) appear in our elections. That would be a surprise. ( picture source ) Was amused to hear a Hokkien song being played at the end of Mr Frank Hsieh's thank-you speech. And noted that he graciously congratulated Mr Ma early in the speech. Plus, he said something like although this is a loss for me, it's not a loss for Taiwan. Nice. So anyway, nice also to see Mardy Fish doing a Tsonga. Very interesting, indeed, to see these guys, seemingly coming from nowhere, packing off a string of higher-ranked players. Andy Murray, Gasquet and Nadal for Tsonga , and Hewitt, Davydenko, Nalbandian and Federer for Fish. W...

There is a strange story in today's ST, 'I think I saw Mas Selamat', a fairly graphic account of this person's (possible) close encounter with the man. A few strange things in this story. First, she said she saw a 'Malay man on the other side of Thomson Road.' How could she tell he was Malay from across the road? She noticed while he was walking near SJI (International) that 'he had a limp in his left leg'. Didn't the police say the limp is only noticeable if he's running or something like that? She said he looked 'scruffy', but why should he? I'm sure that in prison and detention centres, people have their baths and stuff. It's not as if they are left to rot there, right? She also said he looked 'dishevelled' and 'disoriented' and as though he didn't know where to head or what to do. Somehow, I find it hard to believe that an apparently astute and well-trained man like him would appear so 'lost'. Then,...

As a Singaporean, I believe I have the right to be unhappy about the lapse that allowed this man to escape using one of the oldest tricks in the book. It is my right to have questions and to wonder, and when I get no answers, to, well, speculate. I feel insulted that the ordinary Singaporeans' efforts to hand out posters, disseminate photos and info, etc, needs to be lauded by the authorities. Do they expect so little from us? Didn't they think we would stand together on this? In the same vein, if I were the authorities, I would also feel insulted by how some people are falling over each other in praising them for apologising, admitting the lapse, mounting a massive search, etc. Don't we expect them to at least do all these in the given situation? Anyway, are we using the right tactics and strategies in (a) searching for him and (b) running the counselling and detention programme at the detention centre, in the first place? Are we getting enough advice and help from more ex...

I think I've found a way to re-boot some of my synapses, neurons, etc, which have fallen into disuse since I stopped working full-time. While channel-surfing one day, I discovered that funnyman Richard Quest was covering the World Economic Forum for CNN. That man can talk so much and so fast and his reports of the WEF were rather rivetting. Of course the WEF is important, important issues were discussed, our PM was there, etc. However, I must confess it's not the kind of thing that I'd watch or read that much about, so it was a good thing that CNN sent him to Davos. I caught some of the short interviews he did with CEOs, big shots of big-time organisations such as the World Bank, etc, when he got them to 'vote' in this 'recession-o-meter' (picture and story source) for whether they thought the economy was going into a recession or just a slow-down. No laughing matter, of course, but he made it sound so entertaining, and these CEOs and big shots were smilin...

Like many others, my mother and I were astounded to see the new Toa Payoh ERP gantry the other day. I remember that sometime ago, some official guy said that they take great care in working out the location of gantries and they wouldn't want to make people pay ERP charges just driving to the market or something like that. Well, looks like some people may have to start paying while driving to the market now. And going to school. Or to work. Apparently, this and the other latest gantries will only be used if necessary. I.e. if the traffic flow goes below a certain speed. Ya, sure, like they will put a gantry there and not use it at all. Earlier this week, there was also this report of some official statements about the ERP and a telephone survey the ST did about the ERP. Here are a couple of astounding findings: 1. 'Fewer than half of all motorists pass through ERP gantries on their way to work' (based on 295 people interviewed). Duh. We don't all stay or work in the same...

It's surreal to watch, on one hand, what is going on in Myanmar, and, on the other hand, to read about the dainty tip-toeing of ASEAN with regard to the issue. Hello, the people there need help!! I agree with all the people who have said that ASEAN is the best bet for Myanmar at this point. Could this be ASEAN's biggest challenge in its 40 years of existence? Will it rise to the occasion and do something significant? In the meantime, there is much action on the ground level, with Myanmar nationals and locals taking to the streets in KL , Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila, and even all the way over in Seoul and Canberra. Ah... no need to say which city has been left out... You know, people like to say things like 'If there is an issue people (us) feel passionately about, there are other ways to highlight their cause rather than hitting the streets in protest' . (Full letter here ) So, I'd like to ask now, what exactly are people doing to 'highlight their cause'? ...

I just read this on the Asiaone website, 'Poor eyesight an indication of poor health' . (not sure if the link works after today) The findings, as reported in the article: 'Reflecting a trend in Australia, Britain and the United States, a new study among Chinese in Singapore's Tanjong Pagar district has shown that those with poor vision are about three times more likely to die than those with good eyesight.' Doesn't it sound weird that one group is 'three times more likely to die' than another group? I mean, ALL of us WILL die, right? Ah well... Anyway, I'm interested to know what they actually mean by people with 'poor vision'. Are they referring to short-sighted people? In other words, the majority of Singaporeans? Or do they mean those who are long-sighted? Or those who are both short- and long-sighted? Or are they the ones with cataracts? Or other eye issues? Guess people with good eyesight will now have to pay even more attention to ma...

It must be some cruel coincidence that had this piece of news 'Low-IQ robber escapes jail, thanks to teachers' out on the same day (today's ST) as the reports about the review of the penal code. Certainly, it is good news that the robber in question has been spared the jail term and 24 strokes of the cane and, instead, will undergo 'reformative training'. However, the circumstances under which this came about are unsatisfactory. The reported started: 'Convicted robber EM has two of his former teachers to thank for getting him out of a long jail term and 24 lashes of the cane.' What if his teachers hadn't found out about his case? EM has an IQ of 66 (average person's IQ is 90-100) and he was convicted of robbery and hitting a policeman. It stated that the district judge 'had not been aware' of his low IQ. How could that happen? The DPP had pointed out that he was 'no drooling idiot' (a phrase I find pretty offensive), had committed ...

Apparently, that 'English as it is broken' book has been topping the charts at our local bookstores. Actually, I'm not too interested in that book but this other one may be worth getting my hands on. The article about it, as published in Saturday's (1 Sept) ST: In the world of international diplomacy, the best-chosen words or phrases can leave an audience laughing, bewildered or simply lost in translation, an insider has revealed. Undiplomatic Activities, a yet-to-be-launched book by Mr Richard Woolcott, who ran Australia's foreign service for four years, points to the pitfalls of translating thoughts into different languages. Take the Australian diplomat in France who tried to tell his audience that as he looked back on his career, it was divided in two parts, with dull postings before life in Paris. 'When I look at my backside, I find it is divided into two parts,' Mr Woolcott quoted the diplomat as telling his highly amused audience. Ex-Australian prime m...

Topic: The Japanese Occupation of Singapore Letter 1 (excerpts): Being half-Japanese and half-Singaporean, my sons are no exceptions (children of Japanese ancestry being apprehensive about participating in National Day celebrations in Singapore schools) . They confessed to me that some pupils had hurled offensive words at them during such events. I feel one of the main reasons for this is a lack of sensitivity among teachers. When my older son was in Primary 5, his Chinese teacher told the class that Japanese were bad and stupid to attack the US during World War II. This teacher later told us that he had made such a remark because he did not realise that he had a half-Japanese pupil in his class. Letter 2 (excerpts): I can understand her frustration and anger in learning that her child was inadvertently discriminated against by the school teacher. However, I believe this was an isolated case. In our multi-ethnic society, whether in school or in the working place, foreigners, includin...

Also in last week's Sunday Times, two scary articles: 'Too Thin Teens' and 'Hey! Big Spender' . Too Thin Teens Not surprisingly, the number of teens with anorexia nervosa has risen. Boys were not mentioned much in the article but I understand that there are now also more boys with this condition. Peer pressure seems to be really overwhelming these days. One of the girls talked about how everyone else was so thin and how thin girls were popular. In fact, the classmates competed to see who would be the thinnest of all. Doctors are also concerned because more girls see having anorexia as 'hip'. How and when did life in a girls' school become this way? Even while in hospital for treatment, the girls resist recovery, outdoing one another in not putting any weight back on, hiding or getting rid of the food they are supposed to eat, exercising secretly in the toilet, etc. Hey! Big Spender According to this article, teenage girls are spending 'hundreds of ...

Yesterday's Sunday Times reported the results of a street poll (again, nobody asked me) about the 'qualities that make a true-blue Singaporean' (in order of popularity): 1. Singlish 2. food 3. kiasuism 4. dunno wat - they never say one 5. griping and whining (said a respondent, 'I can find something to complain about, no matter where I am or what I am doing.' Ha ha, could have been me...) Anyway, the writers of the article described Singlish as 'the tortured product of Singaporeans' grapppling with English'. Wah, why they say until like dat? Every language oso got some people speak better, some people speak worse, what.

According to a poll of about 300 people, reported in yesterday's Sunday Times, (how come nobody ever asks me these things?) , the Seven Wonders of Singapore are (in order of merit): 1. The Esplanade (a whopping 82 votes) 2. Changi Airport (53 votes) 3. Sentosa 4. The Merlion 5. The Singapore River 6. Food 7. Mount Faber and LKY (tie - 10 votes each) Some 'offbeat choices' which didn't make it to the top 7: aunties selling tissue paper at coffee shops, Singlish, kiasuism, 4D-Toto outlets and Newater (said someone of Newater: 'We are probably the only country with branded recycled sewage.' Well said, ha ha.). Maybe it's a personal bias but I feel that a 'Wonder' must also have strong historical and cultural/social value (so I'm rather miffed that Angkor Wat didn't make it to the 7 Wonders of the World; in fact it was never in the running for the top 7). Therefore, these choices are a little too modern for me. The Esplanade, for example, is a...

Continuing on the theme of empathy, I'm glad to see the courts practising more of that these days. There was a report earlier in the week about more psychiatric care for 'criminals'. Long overdue but, really, better late than never. If you think about it, people who are in 'normal' situations are less likely to commit crime, so people who commit crime are likely to have had some 'abnormal' or even traumatic life experiences which contributed to their 'criminal' activity. Incidentally, now going back to the homosexuality thing for a bit, I attended a talk many years ago where the speaker cited some stats showing that a significant number of homosexuals had traumatic experiences in their childhood (abuse, neglect, etc). And now coming back to the courts again, the judge's decision in the recent case of the kleptomanic lady seems to me to be a more practical attempt to deal with the 'crime'. However, I read today's Sunday Times article a...

I was appalled that the following sentences in this ST forum letter were allowed to see the light of print: 'Homosexuals lead a promiscuous and hedonistic lifestyle. What else can you expect when you do not have children to live for or be in a loving and committed relationship?' As a Singaporean, I do not like reading or hearing Singaporeans condemning other Singaporeans with broad brush strokes like that. Neither do I like reading or hearing Singaporeans condemning foreigners for what goes on in their societies (read the letter for that part). I'm not part of the pro-gay vanguard, and my views on the issue should be pretty easy to guess, but I still don't like it. Even if one were against homosexuality for whatever reason, one could at least try to regard homosexuals with some empathy, right? How about treating homosexuals as living and breathing fellow-Singaporeans and fellow-human beings? How can we just 'condemn' all homosexuals like that? While there are h...

Starting next week, remember to bring your own bag when shopping on the designated Wednesdays. Aiyoh, surely we can do better than that! What about bringing our own bags as often as possible, whenever we go shopping, all the time, etc? I was rather amused by this comment from the news report: 'Well I guess you would have to remember to bring it all the time. That's one. And I wonder how big it is as it may be a bit inconvenient if you bring it along with you all the time, especially if you're on a bus or on a MRT.' This person makes it sound like it's so difficult to bring your own bag . A bit of shopping planning will not do us harm, and, instead, will prevent us from further harming the environment. Either just bring your big bag on Wednesdays or don't go to the supermarket on Wednesdays, lah! Let me quote this bit from LKY's From Third World to First , also on the environmental theme: (it was about planting 'millions of trees, palms and shrubs')...