Expression I’ve always wondered what’s the point of expressing your feelings, especially negative ones when it doesn’t do any good, spreads that negative energy around the space you’re in and anyone within that radii and basically infects the people you’re with? I realised that one needs to do that in order to stay sane, so that the knot in your stomach will go away and that black ball of fury (or assorted other emotions) does not cause you to implode within. It is essential, so that one can get over that feeling and move on to other things. That’s why people need someone to talk to I suppose, they need that outlet to vent. The futility of feelings, of communicating them when it doesn’t do a whit. The necessity of it nevertheless. The problem with logic is that the force of it is never quite as strong as feelings. One can understand logically, but it won’t cause the feelings to abate. Instead it adds to that sense of frustration, the frustration that one understands the other side but yet can’t help feeling the way one is and feeling smaller as a result. Ahh, the evil that empathy can do to oneself. a completely superficial look at politics Everyone knows that China is in trouble over Tibet with the international community. Except possibly China herself. As the up and coming superpower, it treats its sovereignty, rightly, as sovereign. And hence once Tibet is labelled as a national sovereignty issue, that’s it, case closed. The international community can disagree but hey, that’s their problem. And there you have the whole Olympic torch route thing being changed and Chinese youths who are angry that their country has been treated so badly. They are mad that the one event they’ve been preparing for since the time it was announced 4 years ago is in jeopardy by this Tibet issue. They’ve been cleaning up the streets, building new spanking buildings, all spruced up for the Olympics and now at the eve of the event, there’s international disagreement as to the stance that China should take about Tibet. So the Chinese youths rant and rile on the forums online except that internationally, the impact is softened because the forums are in Chinese and only the Chinese understands. Firstly, I think it’s strangely funny that the amount of Chinese national rage has been understated internationally due to the unfamiliarity with the Chinese language. But it’s understandable. Chinese is one of the hardest languages to learn and the youths in Singapore will attest to that fact. Especially if they hail from ACS and like-minded schools. But that’s an aside. The real issue is that China, in its national interests, should have taken a more diplomatic stance than to keep reiterating that it’s an ‘internal / national issue’. The problem is also that the Dalai Lama, being the Dalai Lama, has moral authority on his side. It may not be actual moral authority, but such authority is assumed. He appears on television with his kindly smile and mild mannered nature, donned in his religious robes, a perfect picture of conciliatory discussion. On the other hand, you have a Chinese official, decked out in his military outfit as he speaks to the reporters, a picture of austerity and high handedness. It’s not difficult to understand why the entire world did not even bother trying to see this story from China’s point of view. It became the big bully naturally. And no one questions why. The United States of America, in my humble opinion, should keep quiet(er) about it. Before one points out a speck in her brother’s eye, one should take out the plank in its own eye. Iraq is US plank. So it should shut up about it. I may be trivialising the issue here. In fact, I know I am. The key point is that a healthy dose of diplomacy never did any country any harm. China should be seen to want to compromise on the issue of Tibet, even if it is not. Although that is form without substance, at least there will be a form. With that form, people can then address complaints and constructive criticisms will bring about the impetus needed for creating substance behind that form. First form, then substance. And no crowds will run amok. Personal Hygiene (/public health) Yes, I’m talking about personal hygiene. There I was having my dinner at a coffeeshop at Ang Mo Kio and I see this family of four by the walkway. They stopped and the mother decided to relieve the daughter at this bush. Let’s call it the peeing bush. Well, the daughter did what she was told to do and gladly relieved herself there. All the while I was having this really great porridge. Needless to say, the porridge became less savoury after I witnessed the incident. I was amazed that such things still happen in Singapore. Singapore, the lauded first world country, Singapore, the clean and green garden city. What’s worse about the incident was how stupid and thoughtless the parents were. I mean, think about it, that girl was about 3 years old. And she’s a girl, so even if she can aim better than the kids her age, the chances are that she’ll make a mess. So although they were near the bush, most of the pee ended up on the walkway, and some of it on the mother’s pants because she was helping her daughter. And the father stands by the side and grins as if it’s all a joke. I can’t see the funny side of it, and I’m quite appalled at the incident. It seems straight out of one of those horror stories in travel books about backward countries. And I didn’t understand why the parents made the kid pee there. I mean, there was a shopping centre, the vast AMK hub just 100 metres away. They have toilets, which comes with a flush and basins and clean water. And the family was quite well dressed. The kids were decked out in cute outfits and there they have their daughter peeing near the sidewalk. Well, they walked away as if nothing happened, and there was no passer-bys who were shocked enough to stand and stare and chide them. So it was all fine and dandy. So the rest of the world continues as if nothing happens. You have pretty, dolled up young ladies stepping on the puddle of pee unknowingly, thinking perhaps that it’s just water or something. Oh boy, if they only know. snippets There are times when there’s a burst of inspiration and suddenly my fingers start having a life of their own at the keyboard and the words just flow out without me having even thought of them before. These are moments when I bang away at my keyboard and vent of all my frustrations and pent up emotion and let loose on the world exactly what I think about it. Not that it makes a difference to the world, the motive is purely selfish, I just need to say what I need to say. First up, I think Joseph Heller is a genius. Too bad he died in 1999 because I’d really love to meet him. His books crack me up and the topics he focuses on are topics that are very close to my heart. His wit and humour makes reading on the train slightly embarrassing because there I’d be, in a corner of the train with stony faced people all around me and I’d suddenly start grinning and suppressing my laughter due to something funny I’ve read. Boy, I wish I can write like him. I’m reading God Knows, one of his lesser known books after Catch-22 and Closing Time, the sequel to it. It’s about the story of King David from a first person narrative. Funny as hell. I love all the biblical references and the life he injects into well-known stories. Kinokuniya and Borders should have his entire collection (preferably all in the same series with similar covers that makes buying books and starting a collection so satisfying). Ok, actually that’s all I have to say. It’s time to rest. The non-wakening period begins. NYE The New Year beckons. A brand new 2008 with no mistakes in it. The proverbial clean slate, and all within the next 24 hours. As you get older, the years slip past and it’s harder to keep track of the days. There are parts of the day when you sleep and then there’s the rest of it when you hustle and bustle it away. One entire life span can be divided in this way, the wakening hours and the non wakening ones. Right now I want to enter into the non-wakening time zone but am thwarted from my sleep by angry thoughts that bubble to the surface of my already exhausted mind. I want to sleep, I do really, but then, I get so angry thinking about stuff that I can’t sleep. Even though I’ve already made a conscious choice to not think about it. That’s the thing about that in-between state of mind, your brain doesn’t really listen to you. But yeah, I shouldn’t allow myself to get so mad, I should simply detach and elevate my soul / emotional being into another plane of existence. One where things don’t matter, and I see things through the macro lens of eternity. And then things don’t matter. Lack of money doesn’t matter, lack of clothes doesn’t matter. Polish or rather more accurately, lack of polish does not matter. Time and chance happen to us all. If one refuses to be a victim, to do something about their lives. One would be infinitely better off, obtain the desired improvement in one’s quality of life and get on with the program. One wouldn’t resent other’s improvement but think that they can do it too. Life’s better for one and all. Perhaps the next big thing to overcome is insecurity. Insecurity about oneself can make one a cantankerous person that cannot be lived with without exhausting another’s store of patience and kindness. “I know where I come from and where I’m going.” That’s perhaps sums up the way of perfect security, perfect comfort in one’s own skin. To know where you come from and where you’re going solves the better part of life’s problems in my opinion. studying aids Sunday. That’s 8 more days to the exams. As I sat at Amk Macs trying to cram the finer details of criminal procedure into my head, I can’t help but notice that about 80% of the people there are mugging. Perhaps we should give Macs a public service award, after all, where would all the students go without good ol’ Macs? We buy one drink, sit there from morning till night. You might have macs for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or you can just go somewhere else and come back here. We use their toilet facilities, their powerpoint plugs and their free internet service. We sign up online to be members of the macs conglomerate, thereby making our one lone drink at macs cheaper and our studying more economical. Life is as good as it gets, especially when you’re studying. Study with a friend or study alone. It doesn’t matter. You will be left alone. Making too much noise is fine too. The people studying there needs noise. If not the finer points of economics for instance, would be enough to lull anyone into a peaceful, undisturbed sleep. The noise from the patrons, the radio music that they play, the constant cleaning of the floor and tables are all part of the background cacophony, the sound landscape of macs. It all comes together to form a nice, harmonious hum known as white noise. You shut it out and concentrate what’s on hand (i.e. for instance, that particular point on the Takeover Code, Corporate Acquisitions and the like.) And so a week passes by. One more week and it’s the grand ol’ exams. Wish me luck, or better yet, divine intervention. The alternative religious view This blog post is to offer an alternative religious view of the recent uproar over section 377A, especially with regards to Christianity. It is my opinion that bible-believing Christians have been misdirected in their efforts to keep 377A because the bible makes it very clear that sodomy is wrong.   I would like to draw an analogy to what C.S. Lewis wrote about divorce in UK during his time. Below is the relevant extract: “Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one: the other is the quite different question — how far Christians, if they are voters or Members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the [Muslims] tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognize that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not. from Mere Christianity, the chapter on “Christian Marriage”, c 1952, 1980 by C.S. Lewis Pte. Ltd., Harpercollins Edition, 2002, p112) In the same way, the majority of Singaporeans are not Christians. As such, Christians (myself included) should not impose our views that homosexuality is unnatural and sinful on the community at large. To do so would be to reinforce the view that Christians are judgmental and diverges from the primary message of love and compassion in the New Testament. Just as Jesus spoke kindly to the adulterous woman at the well, so should Christians embody that same love and compassion when they talk about the present issue. Ultimately, a person’s sexuality is their own business, it should not be the prerogative of Members of Parliament, however well-meaning, to regulate it and bring it to the straight and narrow.   “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:17 On 377A Penal Code On 377A Penal Code And so section 377A will be retained and gay sex continues to be a crime. Sodomy between a male and female is fine, but gay sex remains a crime. In fact, lesbian sex is fine as well, it’s just gay sex that is criminalized. After all we have to keep a balance between conservative society and gays as PM Lee has articulated.   I am a proponent of decriminalizing gay sex. I do not see the reasons why it should be criminalized. And the legislation, by excluding females and singling out a specific group of men stinks of pure and blatant discrimination, in the same league as racism.   What disturbs me is the debate going on at Parliament. What disturbed me the most was the speech by Professor Thio Li-ann. It absolutely makes no sense at all. She says that the arguments supporting decriminalizing of gay sex are flawed. I quote: These flawed arguments are marinated with distracting fallacies which obscure what is at stake—repealing 377A is the first step of a radical, political agenda which will subvert social morality, the common good and undermine our liberties.   What I don’t understand is how decriminalizing gay sex will do the so-called subverting. Exactly how it will subvert the social morality (together with the common good and our liberties) is something we are not told. It just will. It is as if the floodgates will open once gay sex is decriminalized and something drastic will happen. This tactic is also known as fear-mongering. After all, and I quote her very words, “Debate must be based on substance, and not sound-bites.” Her four arguments are as follows:   1. To say a law is archaic is merely chronological snobbery.   For the uninitiated, chronological snobbery is one of Prof Thio’s pet phrases. Just because something is modern does not make it good. Similarly, just because something is old does not make it bad. This is something I agree with. However, it is not chronological snobbery to suggest that today’s society should do the correct thing, the non-oppressive thing, to decriminalize gay sex. This is not asking for every Singaporean to embrace homosexuality, to advocate it and to promote it in schools. Who does that? Which country in the world which has decriminalized gay sex intend to promote it or has in fact promoted it? Can one promote heterosexuality? Is it even something promote-able, for lack of a better word?   2. You cannot say a law is regressive unless you first identify your ultimate goal. If we seek to copy the sexual libertine ethos of the wild wild West, then repealing Section 377A is progressive.   So basically, this tells us that not all things Western should be imitated and followed. This obscures the issue of repealing section 377A. The whole East / West argument, the whole Asian Values thing, is a blanket argument without substance. One cannot and should not simply label something and term it as a conclusive argument in itself. The wild wild West is where we got section 377A in the first place. They were not always wild, apparently.   3. To say a law which criminalizes homosexual acts because many find it offensive is merely imposing a ‘prejudice’ or ‘bias’ assumes with justification that no reasonable contrary view exists. This evades debate.   Okie, this takes some time to understand. Basically, this law here, s 377A is not prejudicial or bias per se, cos there might be a reasonable contrary view. She goes on with the argument.   4. There is no neutral ground, no ‘Switzerland of ambivalence’ when we consider the moral issues related to 377A which require moral judgment of what is right and wrong. Therefore, the demand for objectivity in the 377A debate is intellectually disingenuous.   Like many people out there, I’m not sure what the term ‘Switzerland of ambivalence’ means. It’s one of those 10 dollar phrases that I don’t understand. So there’s no objectivity cos where moral standards are concerned, right is right and wrong is wrong. The thing about the argument is that she is so very certain that gay sex is wrong. She reiterates this point: “[Sexual] Diversity is not licence for perversity. This radical liberal argument is pernicious, a leftist philosophy based on radical individualism and radical egalitarianism. It is unworkable because every viable moral theory has limits to consent.”   She calls it perversity. Based on what? The bible? So what if the bible calls it perverse? The bible calls a lot of things perverse, along with sodomy (and the bible was quite fair in its labeling, both male and female gay sex were deemed perverse). But let’s not bring religion into play, it’s a blog post for another day. But yet, there is no reason why she calls it perverse. Gay sex just is. Perhaps she appeals to the instinctive repulsiveness that one reacts with when one first hears about gay sex. But to criminalize it? To actually say that it is a crime? A lot of people who are uncomfortable with adultery would not want to criminalize adultery. Simply because one is uncomfortable with something does not mean that one should criminalize the act.   PM Lee has said that abolishing section 377A could send the wrong signal and push gay activists to ask for more, such as changing what is taught in schools and advocating same-sex marriages and parenting.   First, I’m not very sure how it would change what is taught in schools. What is taught in schools anyway? Is there an active heterosexual syllabus? I know my tone sounds mocking here, but I’m seriously thinking about where I’ve been taught about my heterosexuality. I’m sure it didn’t come about naturally, something like that must have been taught to me.   Second, the repeal of section 377A is a moral issue. It is a moral issue because you make a stand to do what is right to protect the minorities’ liberties. It is cold comfort to retain a law and say that one will not enforce it. If one does not enforce it and do not intend to, then the law should be repealed. There is no reason for the law to stay except to placate the majority, and so as not to offend your constituents. If one simply wants to do the popular thing, then that is also understandable, but one will lose the right to stand on the moral high horse and his or her moral authority.   To be honest, I’m not completely comfortable with homosexuality either. But that is different from wanting a law that criminalizes something I’m not comfortable with to stay. The fact that it has remained sends a clear signal of intolerance and certain cowardice, nothing more. Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:57:10 +0000 In the words of Theodore Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood.” fodder On the Korean Wave in Singapore: The IHT and… Radiohead’s latest album is out: In Rainbows On the human spirit “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Mark 14:38 Chel commented sometime ago that it is not the flesh that is weak but the spirit. For if your spirit is willing, usually you’ll get it done. It’s to get the spirit stirred up from its drunken stupor, from its unfocused being, from its comfortable contentment that’s the difficult part. I don’t know why I was thinking about such stuff. Perhaps it’s the service today by Nick Vujicic, a person born without arms or legs. See lariena’s blog. You see him preaching with such heartfelt conviction that I was a bit shaken. He pokes fun at himself easily, and you can feel the indomitable human spirit in him. It’s amazing to behold him physically, to actually see him on a table, so much smaller than I’d have imagined. I have never thought that limbs added so much mass to your body. It’s something I’ve taken for granted, not a thought I’d think about consciously. But seeing him on that podium of his, a man reduced by half, with limitations so evident, so overwhelming, to hear him preaching about the love of God and not judgment, to hear someone like that, it’s a very mixed feeling. Mostly, I felt ashamed of myself somewhat. There he is, and here I am, sitting down and with arms and legs and what have I done. There he is, born with so many limitations and yet his heart is cheerful and he’s smiling all the time, believing in God the Creator. Can you believe that? That God the Creator actually created him this way. But his physicality did not rob him of his human dignity. He carried himself well, confident in who he is, comfortable in his own skin. As he was finishing up, a person came and picked him up off the stage, just like that. Like a bust or a sculpture. I felt a pang of pity at that. I can’t help it. It’s heartwrenching, unbelievably so. But he’s living life to the full and how many of us can say that? I am very much humbled by his life story and amazed at how he overcame the odds. Perhaps the bible is like that. Perhaps people are people. You interpret the bible as you would, taking the parts that you’ve been inclined towards, for instance the good and inspiring parts and you mould it into a part of you. And vice versa. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Like Eminem says, think about it think about it. If you can’t sleep, then dream about it, if you can’t dream then scream about it. Between doubt and faith is the great divide. Where “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief!” rings hollow in your ears as you speak them. The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that, the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. post national day National Day is over. But apparently, the festivities are not. I still hear the song ‘There’s no place I’d rather be” playing over and over again at Funan Centre where I was having lunch with a friend. It grated on my nerves. My friend was irritated too and he pointed out a pertinent point in the lyrics of the song. I have reproduced the lyrics for the uninitiated below:  There’s No Place I’d Rather Be I’ve walked the streets of Cairo and Bombay I’ve seen the neon signs on ole Broadway I’ve climbed the Eiffel Tower The Great Wall in one hour Experienced sweet and sour but that’s okay   Seen Hollywood, the sunsets in LA. The London Bridge, Big Ben, the Thames, UK I’ve crossed the River Kwai Yet still I don’t know why I think of you each night and every day.   There’s no place I’d rather be You’ll always be a part of me And even though I’ve roamed the world It’s still my home I long to see   This is where my family  And my friends grew up with me So I’ll cross the skies and sail the seas To be where I wanna be.   Cos there’s no place I’d rather be! Notice the underlying presumption behind this song. It presumes that most Singaporeans are well-heeled and well-traveled and have seen the sights and sounds of most tourist spots. Personally, I’ve only been to Broadway out of the list of things stated above. I get the point of the song though, that Singapore is our Home with a capital H. I might be wrong, but I don’t think the majority of Singaporeans have been to all these places that they’ve said that we’ve been to. The song presumes wealth. Maybe it’s because my pay cheque for last month is still pending, but I resent the fact that the song presumes that all Singaporeans are wealthy and we are all world weary travellers. My guess is that the song doesn’t connect with most Singaporeans, and maybe they should have re-sung the song ‘Home’ without changing its lyrics. Cos honestly, most people are still in the same economic strata they were 9 years ago. On a slightly different note, I wonder when the community centre people are going to take down the flags they hung along the corridor outside my house. My estate is flushed with flags.  There’s a gigantic national day poster about 3 metres high complete with night lighting erected along the road. Very impressive but quite an overkill. I like Singapore as much as the next guy, but this is a little too much. Oh well, whatever works I guess. fireworks! This is an interesting post about fat acceptance : angry, sad and true. One of those gems you find on the dashboard before you log in to wordpress. Read it, and sleep on it. Happy National Day Singapore! I squeezed with the crowds and managed to catch the fireworks display today! It’s the highlight of my day. My friends and I were making our way through the crushing crowds and eventually settled near fullerton hotel. I think the staff there were properly mortified. Their plants have been completely ruined, the crowds have trampled on the grass, flattened the hedges, and all for a glimpse of that 4 minute fireworks display. Well, it’s Fullerton. In view of the national day spirit, they really shouldn’t begrudge the crowds. You have the more well-heeled ones booking rooms at Fullerton, and I could actually see the hotel guests in their air-conditioned rooms, lying on their beds and looking at the window, while the rest of us commoners throng with the crowds, sweat pouring down our faces. And that my friends, is the Great Divide. But nevermind that, the weather was reasonably cool, there was wind if you could find a good spot and the best thing is, we soaked up the atmosphere entirely. The display was awesome, the crowd oohed and ahhed, children cheered and I clapped. Later the crowds heaved towards the MRT and of course, traffic on the roads came to a standstill. At some point in time, the crowds also broke through the barricade set by the police and since there was only a lone policeman at that juncture, there was nothing much he could do. They have stuck it to the Man successfully. After that it was home sweet home. 42 years old and going strong. Way to go! the breakfast cereal family The breakfast cereal family is a family that you see on TV when they advertise Kellog’s or some other brand of cereal. In the ad everyone gets up early in the morning, the father dons a tie, the mother wears an apron and there’s usually two kids: a boy and a girl, and they are all seated at the family table, having breakfast together in the morning. Of course, the cereal tastes great, and the family is smiling and everyone gets along. Does the breakfast cereal family exists in the real world? Of course, normal people don’t wake up in the morning feeling estatic about living unless you’ve imbibed something you shouldn’t. But I’m talking about the happy families seen on tv, where family members don’t just love each other, they actually like them. They like their company and they like who they are and so on. This is different from love, which sometimes resemble duty especially where blood ties are concerned. A mother can’t help loving her child even though he / she may be a nasty brat. And parents would have to disappoint their children severely to squander the admiration that children usually have for their parents, especially at a young age. Are people who come from breakfast cereal families happier and more hopeful about the world? Less jaded and more optimistic in their outlook in life? Are they more secure in society and live better lives? What about those who don’t come from happy families? Will that scar them for life? Paint a tainted perspective of life over their eyes that can’t really be removed? All happy families resemble one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. That was quoted from the first line of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina. I’ve only read one volume of the eight volumes of the tome of a novel, but yeah, that first line caught my attention. Ultimately, one is not one’s parents. Politics of Japan Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recently had an unpleasant shock at the polls. He has made history by leading his political party, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) into a crushing defeat at the recent Upper House Polls. In one fell swoop, the opposition party, the Democratic Party, seized control of the upper house for the first time in its history. The poll outcome was a historic one because it could mean that Japan will truly have a two-party system for the first time. For the uninitiated, the LDP has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted period of power as the ruling party of Japan since 1955. It lost power momentarily from 1993 to 1996. Japan’s government is a Parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. It sounds like a mouthful, but it is not too far from Singapore’s own political system, just replace the monarchy with the President. Of course, there are slight distinctions since Singapore’s President enjoys more powers than the monarchy, at least on paper. However, unlike Singapore, Japan’s Parliament has two houses, the lower house and the upper house. The upper house, which Abe lost, can block, direct and delay legislation. The lower house is elected by the people and considered to be more powerful than the upper house because it can override some of the latter’s veto decisions with a large enough majority. Abe is a third generation politician. His grandfather and great uncle were both Prime Ministers of Japan, so he is considered by some to be of political ‘blue blood’. However, his policies to make Japan into a beautiful country and to revise the constitution and education system of Japan was seen as out of touch with the common man, leading to the disastrous outcome at the polls. The middle class of Japan was up in a furore when they realized that the LDP government had misplaced more than 50 million pension records. He also attracted attention from the international press when he said that Japan will not issue another apology for its World War II military brothels. He commented that none of the testimony in the court hearings showed solid proof that prostitutes were abused. All this is not good news for Abe and may mark a period of political change in Japan. To quote one of the voters, Yoshihiko Seki, a 40-year-old businessman, who voted for the opposition party: “The LDP has sat on the top of politics too long,” he said, “I just want politics to change.” References 1. Norimitsu Onishi, “Japanese prime minister resists calls to resign” International Herald Tribune, July 30, 2007 2. Chris Hogg, “Japan’s political ‘blue blood’” BBC News, Tokyo, Sept 26, 2006 3. “Japan refuses sex slave apology” BBC News, March 5, 2007 4. Geoffrey York, “Japan’s Abe loses control of upper house” Globe and Mail, July 30,2007. The good and the bad, the happy and the sad Why do people bother with formal dinners? Especially dinners where you sit at a table with people that you don’t know from adam all around you. It makes for a claustrophobic effect. What with the closed doors and high ceilings, one feels that one cannot escape from this pretty and grand enclosed cage. Dressed up to the nines, making small talk. It shouldn’t be that painful, but it is. It is painful. Especially when you’d rather be doing something else, anything else on a Friday night. Anything but listening to people who love the sound of their own voices, who have an opinion about everything under the sun. Forced to be civil and to smile, we continue to talk shop. News that have a bearing on all our lives, news about the profession. The comings and goings, the salary, the bonuses, the comparison of various firms. It all struck me as incredibly false. The fact that we had to socialise did not make this any better. The fact that our seats were fixed was another thing altogether. Now you really admire wedding planners and how they come up with seating arrangements. Tough job, that. A long two hours past, the food and its taste doesn’t seem to have meaning in these contrived surroundings. You noticed that they’ve polished the cutlery. Human relations reduced to a word: networking. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time As an anime fan/addict, I was really excited to watch The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It’s this Japanese anime film that has won many accolades. My fixation with anime is something that is not within the scope of this blog post, lol. The movie was really good. It was about a girl who obtained the ability to (you guessed it) travel in time accidentally. Sounds cliche and overdone but the whole plot was quite credible and endearing. Makoto is a high school girl and her two closest friends are Kousuke and Chiaki, one a pre-med student, the other a happy-go-lucky guy. Time waits for no one. These words were scrawled on the board of the science laboratory. And this sets the stage for the beginning of time travel for the heroin. Makoto, as a high school girl, only uses her ability of ‘time leap-ing’ for trivial things. It clearly wasn’t in her head to change history and kill Hitler or something. It makes the film quite lighthearted for such a heavy topic. But things start to go wrong. As she changes events in the past to her liking, there were more and more consequences in the future. A student becomes injured, another loses his head in a nervous breakdown. And Makoto looks on, helpless. She tries to change the present by changing the past, but things don’t turn out the way she wants to most of the time. She rushes through time and space, and is left exhausted and anguished. I don’t want to kill the ending for whoever reads this. So I just want to say that I really like the ending. It was oddly sweet and heartwrenching. Not a definite happy ending but with an optimistic outlook. There were scenes that were simple but moving. I like the one where time was frozen and the two main characters were talking through the frozen crowds at the pedestrian crossing. Chiaki: I’ll be waiting in the future. Makoto: I’ll be right there. I’ll run there. Convocation Convocation. Also known as Commencement because graduation is not to mark an end but to celebrate a new beginning. Or something like that. Woke up for the 9am picture, bleary eyed and in a semi-conscious mode. It was fun putting on those huge, slightly ridiculous robes, with that ‘hood’. Well, I guess it’s called ceremonial robes for a reason. But it was nonetheless something I’ve looked forward to since I collected the gown and I was kinda excited about the whole thing. So excited that I actually bought the NUS stuffed lion, quaintly called ‘LiNUS’. It’s only slightly cheaper than my gown and hat, so it’s a severely over-priced lion. It looks like a bear though. It’s too smiley and happy to look like a lion. The whole ceremony was over in a couple of hours. There were the usual powerpoint presentations advertising NUS and its oh-so-globalised and well-rounded education system, together with the singing of the National Anthem. That’s a song I haven’t heard in a while (unless you count those late nights when I stare at the television screen till the song plays at 12mn on arts central). I get to shake hands with President Nathan! Hahaha, that gave me a kick and I was quite happy about it. It made me feel slightly important. =) But I was thinking, it must be tough for him, to be shaking hands with at least 300 - 400 people and smiling for at least 2 hours. You have to remember, this guy is in his 80s. So like what the Ah Beng says, ‘this kind of thing, I respect.’ Lol. I wonder whether the President of Singapore is automatically the Chancellor of NUS. He was wearing some academic robe with a long train. There was a small boy to carry the train. It was quite amusing seeing that for the first time. Sporadic clapping, camera flashes, a quick walk past the stage, collect the scroll (holder), smile. And finito. One has graduated. I have graduated. It’s been a fun four years. Rather uneventful except for the student exchange in Canada. But still, it was 4 whole years of my life. Longer than JC but shorter or similar to secondary school. This was as good as closure gets. =D The valedictorian for our class was Aik Hin. I was very touched by his speech. His voice caught while he was thanking each of his family members individually. His speech sounds just like him, sincere and humble. I think he is one that has truly done his family proud. I also think he is the only one which all the class of 2007 really listened to intently. I guess we had more in common with him than with the rest of the other professors dishing out advice and congratulations. All in all, it made the commencement a memorable one instead of being just a silly ceremony that we are all going through for the sake of our parents. After the ceremony, it was back to taking pictures again. For memory’s sake. train rage Move over, road rage, train rage is the new thing in town. Train rage, like road rage, has a spectrum of expressions. Mild expressions of road rage include showing The Finger to the offending car driver and honking continuously. For train rage, agression is shown by: 1. Leaning against the pole, despite how many people are holding on to it for their dear lives. 2. Asking your daughter / son / progeny to lean on the pole because heck, if someone’s gotta do it anyway, it might as well be your kids. 3. Loudly scolding your kids who disobey your commands and not lean (so that everyone hears, including the pole leaner.) 3. Glaring at the person who leans on the pole but never really meeting them in the eye. Their neighbours may note your annoyance, but not the pole leaner himself. You think to yourself, it’s a pole damn it, I’m not going to let a pole, or the lack of a pole for me to hang on to, get to me. 4. Despite someone leaning on the pole, to dig your fingers into their backs, to get a grip of the pole and look skyward when the pole leaner gives you a I-was-here-first-and-am-entitled-to-leaning-on-the-pole look. Hah, you win and they lose! I experience all of the following in my train ride home from town this evening. Maybe it’s the crowded trains, but tempers flare quite easily in this hot and humid city of Singapore. And for some reason, Singaporeans like to lean on something. You can write a psychology paper on it, but man, Singaporeans like to lean, man or woman, young or old. It’s one of our common denominators. And those are just the mild forms of aggression, where a passenger won’t even bat an eyelid at these tensions gathering momentum around a stupid metal pole. But enough of mild aggression, let’s get into the thick of the action– into real aggression, shall we? Forms of Real Train Aggression: A. Raising your voice at the person who gave you a look (usually one of contempt, disgust or general displeasure). The look usually comes from a person who expresses discomfort that the scolder has sat too close to her in the train seats. The scolder will be upset that such displeasure was expressed and may then proceed to scold the person in loud Singlish, for instance: “What are you looking at, huh? You not happy, then say it ok?? Don’t look, what look, at me ok? You think you very pretty ah? You better mind your manners!” B. Advanced aggression involves scolding until the person has got off the train or the scolder has reached his train stop. By this time, despite how crowded the train is, people will start to inch away from the impassioned scolder, hoping to distance themselves comfortably from the scolder. The people seated near him will leave their seats quite willingly. The rest will continue to pretend to sleep. The sleep pretenders refuse to let their hard earned, lucky seat be taken away from them by some mad son of a gun. The scolded on the other hand will remain impassive and bored, knowing that the best way to aggravate the scolder more, is to show absolutely no sign of response to him. Other passengers within hearing range will look and stare, but not say or do anything. They will continue listening to their ipods and zens, wondering what it is with people these days. Life is hard enough without train aggression. Take a chill pill. Go work out in a gym and channel all that aggression to something constructive and healthy. C. Where the scolder and scolded are locked in a ‘kuah-si-mi-kuah’ eye-to-eye staring incident. The incident does not come to disastrous consequences because it is the Mass Rapid Transit after all, there is no space to do anything really dangerous, except accidentally. Hell, you can’t move your elbow without hitting someone in the eye. The showdown usually ends in a yelling incident and the loser gets off at the next train stop. Simple, fast and satisfying. 2 minutes and it’s all over. I have seen incident A and B personally and truly, it amazes me how angry people are. It’s a train carriage, you’re scolding a stranger at the top of your voice for all and sundry to hear. It’s early in the morning, no one is ready to hear anyone’s voice, let alone a raised voice at that. And how can you get so angry in the morning? You’d need lots of energy. And what can you get so angry about? Someone invading your personal space? Just say it nicely, tell the other person nicely. No need for discreet looks and suppressed rage blowing itself up to needless proportions. But it happens, all the same. Anger builds up, or you feed the anger. I shall end with the wise words of Yoda, the little green man: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate… leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you.” Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:30:07 +0000 One good thing about not updating your blog so often is that you get a certain sense of privacy. The strangers who blogsurf and come across this page may find something that catch their eye, only to find that it’s been idle for way too long. And so work life begins. At 9 am every morning to be exact. Rough and tumble out of bed. Do your time, pay your dues, clock the time, get back home. The worker bees of the capitalist beehive. Who is the queen? The sun rises and sets again. Night time falls gently and unceremoniously. And with it comes a certain solace. With quiet music flowing from the speakers, lyric-less and soothing, there is peace. Before drowsiness hits, enjoying the moment is vital. One feels alive for a while, not a meaningless unit of labour, but aware, conscious, alive. The song plays itself out again. Lots of strings. I like strings. They’re soft and melodic. One thinks of water, a lake with a full moon. A solitary boat in the moonlight, still and poetic in its landscape. Oars, a boat with oars. Notes that tug at your heartstrings. That brings you to a different place. A quiet place but not deadly silent, or that creepy ringing silence like when the air -con is off and the world is still. A peaceful silence, a comfortable one. It is a balm, or it has the effect of one. Drink and luxuriate in the music, it’s the next best thing. Virginia Tech massacre Cho Seung Hui is a name that will go down in the annals of history. It is the first time an Asian shot to notoriety the way he did, blasting his way through 5 rounds of ammo, killing 5 professors and another 27 students. One of them was a holocaust survivor named Liviu Librescu, an engineering professor. He was shot and killed in the Virginia Tech massacre while he was holding off the gunman at the entrance to his classroom so his students could escape through the windows. An accomplished academic, he received many academic honors during his career. I find it ironic that he died the way he did. Can you imagine surviving the holocaust, escaping from the systemic violence and the Nazis, and then ultimately to have your life ended by a bizarre event that people are still trying to make sense of? But he died a hero, and at 76, one can say he had had a long full life. Nevertheless, I find it a sad pity that he had to go this way, in this spate of shootings, in such a violent senseless manner. And that is after he has survived the first senseless slaughter of the Jews. It makes a mockery of his initial survival. Who was Cho? What was he thinking? Why the mediocre / bad plays? A commission was set up by the governor of Virginia to look into these questions directly, but he also mentioned that one could probably never understand why he murdered the students. Like Izzy and Liting, I followed the news of the shootings with an obsession. It affected and shook me somehow. First, the news that he was Asian worried me inexplicably. Maybe it’s the collective mindset of the Asian community. I was worried that he’ll be Chinese, that the Americans will think that all Chinese are repressed mass murderers. I mean think about how Americans react when you tell them you’re a Singaporean. They’re still hung up about the Michael Fay incident where an American national was caned for graffiti. So they’ll ask about caning AND the ban of chewing gum in Singapore. That’s what they asked MM Lee in a recent interview too. Caning and chewing gum. Peas in a pod, they are. Well, we all found out that he was South Korean. And now everyone’s trying to deny any connection with him. They called him an alien first. Imagine that. Who uses alien to term an immigrant except a lawyer? That’s the old old English legal term we’re talking about. It’s hardly ever used these days. He’s not a little green man brandishing his laser gun. It’ll do no good to paint him that way. Now he’s a South-Korean born native. That is largely correct, but it shows how the US is trying to distance its relationship with him. Having moved to the USA since he was eight, he had spent the better part of his life in the US of A. A whole 15 years. That’s more than the time he spent in his native land.  And South Korea tries to play down the fact that he was born there. He had spent the better part of his life in the States after all. Repeat ad infinitum. Disowned by the nations. Well, he had it coming. There is seriously no sympathy there. But this does not solve the root of the problem. The root of the problem is what caused him to kill so many people. He’s odd, he had an imaginary girlfriend called Jelly. He’s called deranged, his family felt that they don’t even know him after this incident. Fair enough, after all, one cannot eliminate mental illness from society. But then, what made him to be able to lash out his hate on society on such a large scale? It is not video games that is causing all these school shootings. Jack Thompson has got it all wrong. He’s barking up the wrong tree. It is the gun control laws in the US. Or rather, the lack thereof. It is gun trade disguising itself as freedom and rights. It is a simple weapon, the gun. You pull the trigger, aim in a particular direction and it goes off. Bang. A person drops dead. Does the intention to pull the trigger equate to the intention to kill? Of course, any normal person would know that pulling the trigger will kill a person. My point is simply this– when a weapon makes it so easy for a person to kill another, public access to it should be heavily restricted. A photo id is not enough. Limiting it to people of legal age is not enough. What is needed is regulation. No matter how strong the NRA (National Rifle Association) lobby group is, the US should not lack the political will to legislate gun control. How many students would have to die in school shootings before such regulations are implemented? The Columbine High School shootings weren’t enough. Is Virginia Tech just another page in the chapter of school shootings? Lowering the flag at half-mast for the victims of the massacre is the correct move by President George Bush. But something more than sympathy is sorely needed. Your dose of daily news From the International Herald Tribune: article on Singapore ministers’ pay rise. Fear not James Joyce depresses me. I am reading his Portrait of a Young Man as an Artist and he details the conversion of a young man to Catholicism. From a youth who had unbridled lust and resorted to prostitutes to satiate this lust, he became most pious and devout. A conversion almost miraculous in its transformation of the character. But here comes the depressing part. It was fear that first caught his attention to God. A palapable fear that he will burn in hellfire, burn forever. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 1: 17. I understand that fear can be a good motivator, especially when exams are coming soon. I also believe that most Singaporeans suffer from a fear of failure, hence the kiasu-ism. But surely, God doesn’t want to scare us into believing in him right? That will go against the other verse of: There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out all fear.” 1 John 4:18. Hellfire and brimstone messages are a dime a dozen. It’s the easiest weapon to wield– the threat and fear of eternal damnation. I heard Ben talked about what he read online, that for every 80 persons going to heaven, there are 8500 people going to hell. This is calculated according to who are Christians and who are not. Perhaps that’s why most Christians have a ’superhero’ complex, trying to save the ‘lost’ at any cost. I took that literally as well previously. It does nuts to your brain. Waking up and thinking that your friends’ or family’s blood will be on your hands if they are not converted. After a while (and I took a fairly long while), I decided to cool down. Maybe it’s not really hell. Maybe it’s some in between place, say purgatory. Maybe it’s not true at all. Cos it’s just not fair. It was fairly torturous. The whole hell-and-heaven-that-lies-in-the-balance. Not very healthy too, honestly. Trying to scare people into believing only works for kids, who mostly believe in God anyway. It’s almost an intrinsic thing in kids. Other than children, it’s just a turn off. And that’s the problem with religion. Religion and its truth claims cannot be separated. To quote from an article from the New York Times, they don’t want your respect, they want your belief. Maybe to stem the tide of fear, we should all take a leaf out of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird: “What I meant was, if Atticus Finch drank until he was drunk he wouldn’t be as hard as some men are at their best. There are just some kind of men who — who’re so busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.” Miss Maudie Stars by Emily Bronte Ah! why, because the dazzling sun Restored our Earth to joy, Have you departed, every one, And left a desert sky? All through the night, your glorious eyes Were gazing down in mine, And, with a full heart’s thankful sighs, I blessed that watch divine. I was at peace, and drank your beams As they were life to me; And revelled in my changeful dreams, Like petrel on the sea. Thought followed thought, star followed star, Through boundless regions, on; While one sweet influence, near and far, Thrilled through, and proved us one! Why did the morning dawn to break So great, so pure, a spell; And scorch with fire the tranquil cheek, Where your cool radiance fell? Blood-red, he rose, and, arrow-straight, His fierce beams struck my brow; The soul of nature sprang, elate, But mine sank sad and low! My lids closed down, yet through their veil I saw him, blazing, still, And steep in gold the misty dale, And flash upon the hill. I turned me to the pillow, then, To call back night, and see Your worlds of solemn light, again, Throb with my heart, and me! It would not do–the pillow glowed, And glowed both roof and floor; And birds sang loudly in the wood, And fresh winds shook the door; The curtains waved, the wakened flies Were murmuring round my room, Imprisoned there, till I should rise, And give them leave to roam. Oh, stars, and dreams, and gentle night; Oh, night and stars, return! And hide me from the hostile light That does not warm, but burn; That drains the blood of suffering men; Drinks tears, instead of dew; Let me sleep through his blinding reign, And only wake with you! Personal Communication oughtn’t be so difficult. She’s my mother, she could just state quite simply that she didn’t want to go in the first place, weren’t interested in the first place. We can then put aside that awkwardness that affection brings, the consideration for each other’s feelings and thoughts and un-complicate things a little. So there’ll be no I-think-she-thinks-that-I-think sorta thing. It’s tiring, that. And costly too, at a princely sum of 250 bucks for the cancellation fee of a tour booking for one person. “Yes, I’ll take care of things, not to worry. Everything’s under control.” “That was your mum?” “Yes, why?” “You were so polite, it sounded like you were talking to your boss or something.” Maybe that’s all we have left, polite civilities, and wispy bonds that we try to hold on to. At least there is that, that saving grace termed politeness. At least that’ll make things easier, help things along. I’m not upset that she doesn’t want to go. I’m upset at why she couldn’t tell me earlier. It’s not that difficult to talk to me. Could it be? Under the same roof, but worlds apart. Welcome to the world of distant emotional attachment but as always, polite. Ebola An eighty old man died. The cause of his death: he was infected with flesh eating bacteria while eating crabs. I think the crabs came from Indonesia. And life deals you its bizarre blows. It stinks to be healthy and going strong at eighty, and then to contract some disease (or attract some bacteria) that makes a mockery of one’s life. He was probably one of those that exercise daily and took pride in being healthy at his age. And his death turns out to be like one of those episodes of Six Feet Under and their bizarre death stories. It’s just… so unjustified. Life is its own reward. We are all parallel straight lines. But like my friend says, that’s life. We can take it as it comes, or … take it as it comes. There is no alternative. Much like the policy of some travel agency company. Or the pay increases of certain ministers. It doesn’t make a difference to talk about it, so one just takes it as it comes. But the pay increase thing is seriously… too much. I am of the opinion that we should outsource all our ministers, cos foreigners are cheaper. That’s the beauty of globalization; one should definitely bring the free market to the political industry. It’s interesting though, how it works in Singapore. I know a China student who once lamented that China tried this very system and dished out high salaries to its top officials. However, the system flopped really badly, cos the high salaries didn’t stem the corruption but fuelled it. So now their pay increases every year, and they’re still on the take. But as usual, Singapore is an exception to the general rule. We like that, don’t we? It’s like we are “The Little Thought Experiment that Worked”. Yippee.   To other topics of the day: Law Ball was one of those bizarre events. It was fun while it lasted though, all those photo taking sessions and the squeals of ‘take-picture, take-picture’. I enjoyed it actually, the photo-taking part. It’s interesting to see your friends in a more dolled up fashion than usual. Hehe, whatever that means. The pageant was kinda lame though. But I guess all pageants are kind of lame in that way. Plus they are year ones, must be more forgiving. Climate Change Environmentalism is the new catchphrase in town. The Parliament was talking about how environmentally friendly Singapore would be by the year 2010. Ministers stood up and said that our water usage per person has decreased this year. Conservation of our resources was also highlighted. Use less electricity. When you’re brushing your teeth, use a mug and so on. We’ve heard that since we were in primary school, when brushing our teeth by the drain corporately was a weekly affair. Ahhh, the joys of bonding over something as routine as that. These are probably measures as to combat climate change. Something which is felt the world over. Odd winters and unpredictable weather. Not to mention how it has exacerbated the scale of the natural disasters, causing the death toll to rise dramatically. So when I hear about how people think that Satan is the reason for climate change, I get mad. Well, maybe it’s better than saying that it was an act of god, literally. I was in a church service once (in Canada), after Hurricane Katrina has hit, and the pastor from the pulpit was preaching that it was a judgment from God. I was just disgusted. There were people dying, and there he was, just saying that all these people deserved to die. Yep, all of them, children and all. It’s callous. And cruel. This post is to counter the point that Ben made, about how it’s strange that there are some out there who believe that Satan is the reason for Climate Change. Actually, I don’t get it. If Satan is truly the reason for climate change, is that the reason why so many Christians see global warming as a moral issue? The below extract is from The Economist, dated 27th Jan 2007: “At the same time, a growing number of evangelical Christians are beginning to see global warming as a moral issue. They argue that mankind, as steward of God’s creation, has a duty to protect the environment. One outfit, the Evangelical Climate Initiative, encourages prominent pastors and theologians to sing a ‘Call to Action’. Another group, the Evangelical Environmental Network, runs a website called ‘What would Jesus Drive?’ Last year Pat Robertson, a prominent televangelist, told his flock ‘We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels.” This differs from the view based on the Old Testament where Mankind was told to ‘rule the earth and subdue it’ and ‘have dominion’ over its wildlife and creatures. This green movement evidences a more enlightened, modern interpretation of the Bible. These groups are driven by a sense of stewardship, a recurring theme in the Bible. Therefore, for those who are waiting for Armageddon to approach in the form of melting ice-caps, I think they should be snuffed out by the green movement. Peace out. The God Confusion I am disturbed by how religion is the whipping boy of so many issues these days. From homosexuality to wars and politics. The list is endless. I’m upset because religion, particularly mine, i.e. christianity, is used as a tool of intolerance, for closed minded people. All this in the name of God. This is enough to makes believers and unbelievers alike doubt his existence. That’s the problem of a moral code. It defines right and wrong, but there is also a big grey area that is not defined by this moral code. This code does not dictate how you dress, or what you eat– at least not for the majority of believers. And a code not only restrains and constrains behaviour, it also creates positive action — it promotes charity and cultivates other desirable traits in one’s character. Jesus promoted tolerance- He was the one eating with sinners, prostitutes and tax collectors (the outcasts of the society in his time) even though the holier-than-thou Pharisees (the religious leaders of his days) were not. He was the one reaching out to people. He came ‘not to condemn the world but the world through him might be saved’. He told his followers not to judge: ‘Judge not, that you be not judged.’ He made it very clear who the ultimate judge is, and it’s definitely not his followers. He wasn’t keen on governing as well — “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s and to God the things which are God’s.” The separation of church and state was not a problematic issue. Christianity is divided into so many denominations, and has a wide set of beliefs that some believers are more inclined to, and some that others are not so crazy about. The Bible is of course, subject to interpretation, and there is a mainstream set of beliefs and core value systems.  I suppose this can be embodied by the Apostles’ Creed and are the fundamentals. As with any belief systems, there will be extremists and people who preach hellfire and brimstone. Yes, but these are not what most of the Christians go around saying. With proselyticism getting more prolific, one needs to appreciate the spectrum of Christianity doctrines. (I’ve heard stories of them grabbing bystanders hands at the MRT stations and praying for them.) For every mad zealot out there, there are five others who live completely normal and fulfilled lives. Essentially, what I’m trying to say is that Christianity in Singapore doesn’t even come close to being a tool of oppression. The IRs are being built as we speak, the Da Vinci Code was still shown in the theatres no matter what the National Council of Churches did. (I’m of course, not in favour of banning the movie, which was really quite bad in my opinion. Not because it was blasphemous or anything, it was just one of those bad book-to-screen adaptations that just didn’t fly. More to the point, I think a person’s faith is unlikely to be shaken by a movie anyway.) I don’t think there are that many Christians in Singapore to form part of the majoritarian view that has significant persuasive weight to oppress anyone. According to the International Religious Freedom Report 2006, Singapore’s estimated Christian population is about 15%. Among the Christians, the Protestants outnumbered the Roman Catholics by slightly more than a two-to-one ratio. 51% of Singaporeans are Taoists, Buddhists or practise some form of ancestor worship. Sure, there are always that one or two irritating Christian friends of yours perhaps, with that smug look on their faces, so much so that you wish that they would just hurry up and go to the heaven they are working so hard to get into. Those that judge and criticise and criticise and judge some more. No one is perfect, and definitely, definitely not those who professed to believe in Christ. Some are also painfully aware that they are not as moral as those who do not believe. Which is why they need God to help them in the first place. The problem is when one holds oneself out to be a Christian, others automatically measure them by using the standard of Christianity. This standard of sinless perfection is one that will not be achieved in one’s lifetime. One remains human, with its weaknesses and flaws. One remains shaped by his or her own experiences, which usually has more of an impact than doctrine. And that’s my 2 cents worth. Disclaimer: The views above are mine and mine alone. They do not represent the views of any particular denomination or church. For the anti-homosexual