Haha... ok, I am not the biggest fan of this year's National Day Parade (NDP) song. Dun get me wrong, I think that the song is decent, however it doesn't feel NDP to me. The other thing is that as a piece that is more "hip", there isn't a "let go and shout part"!!! Haha... therefore I decided to do my own rendering of this song.... I hope that this is not disrespectful in any way. Oh yeah, one more thing. I felt that the ending is very unsatisfying.
Despite all that, I believe that the NDP committee has made a bold decision to try something new and I applaud them for that.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Disappearing act
I have not been blogging a lot these days. Here's why...
Firstly, I have been busy with classes. Just finished teaching a summer class where I meet the student 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Phew, glad that it is finally over. I enjoyed teaching the class, but after such intensity, a break is definitely welcomed.
Secondly, I have switched to Facebook when it comes to "broadcasting" what is in my mind and the minor updates in my life, and hence the reduction in blogging activities.
Lastly, my mind has been preoccupied with a couple of ideas that I want to extend upon on a more comprehensive level (rather than just individual unrelated blog entries). The first of these is on the topic of pleasing God. I have created a new blog for it. I intend to create a few more of these in time to come.
Firstly, I have been busy with classes. Just finished teaching a summer class where I meet the student 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Phew, glad that it is finally over. I enjoyed teaching the class, but after such intensity, a break is definitely welcomed.
Secondly, I have switched to Facebook when it comes to "broadcasting" what is in my mind and the minor updates in my life, and hence the reduction in blogging activities.
Lastly, my mind has been preoccupied with a couple of ideas that I want to extend upon on a more comprehensive level (rather than just individual unrelated blog entries). The first of these is on the topic of pleasing God. I have created a new blog for it. I intend to create a few more of these in time to come.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
We believe
Oh my gosh... I totally love this song... I was drawn to the song after the first line... It's amazing how much meaning and emotion can be packed into such simple words.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Personal opinon in news article?
The following is extracted from an article on Channel NewsAsia.
Myanmar's military government, flush with cash from the country's vast natural resources, and immune to outside pressure, has no reason to grant Aung San Suu Kyi her freedom. And despite going through the motions of democracy, they will do nothing that seems to put their own grip on power in jeopardy.
Seems more like a personal opinion to me. While it is acceptable in a forum article, I don't think that it is fitting as a news article. Just felt uneasy after reading it that's all....
Myanmar's military government, flush with cash from the country's vast natural resources, and immune to outside pressure, has no reason to grant Aung San Suu Kyi her freedom. And despite going through the motions of democracy, they will do nothing that seems to put their own grip on power in jeopardy.
Seems more like a personal opinion to me. While it is acceptable in a forum article, I don't think that it is fitting as a news article. Just felt uneasy after reading it that's all....
Friday, April 24, 2009
Just my take on some stuff that is going on in Singapore
Recently I found myself drawn to the whole Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE) saga. It's a battle between the current executive committee and the organization's former leaders. From what I see, the media has been diligently updating all Singaporeans who, like me, are drawn to this issue.
Interestingly, it was recently brought to my attention that there is a new reality show in Singapore. I am talking about S Factor. I don't know the exact details of the show (tried googling using a few keywords but didn't find much) but I gather that it is organized (or co-organized) by FHM where they get attractive ladies onto the program to do a debate (see the clip below).
Haha.. certain parts are hilarious, but some portions are just plain boring. Anyway, it got me thinking, are there any similarities between the AWARE saga and the debate in S Factor?
I hope that I do not come across as saying that the AWARE issue is something as trivial as the debate (my apologies to the ladies who have worked so hard to prepare for the debate) because I don't think that it is. Personally, I have experienced a divide in an organization that I call my family and I assure you that such incidents are never trivial to those who care about the organization. The severity of an issue is one thing. How that issue is tackled is another. I am talking about the latter over here.
As educated individuals, we are expected to justify our statements with evidences. But honestly speaking, how many of these statements can actually hold if they were to be really grilled down to every single last detail. Sometimes, we just add in something for convenience, to make the argument sound more justified.
Then there is the issue of personal attack. Sure, it is imperative that we focus on the facts, not the people. But let me assure you that it is not that difficult to touch someone's soft spot by just using the right "relevant facts". Haha... try me if you don't agree.
So if you ask me, kudos to the ladies on the S factor for being "authentic", a quality that is advocated by Tony Blair's former spokesperson. Here's an article on it. Haha... again, I hope that I do not offend anyone associating Susan Boyle with the ladies in S Factor. What that lady did was inspirational. But I was also very touched by the saxophone guy as well. Haha... but that's another story...
Another thought came to me. Is the media's diligent coverage of the AWARE saga partly due to the fact that a significant part of the educated community (those who read and/or watch the news) is "entertained" by it. If you ask me, S Factor probably has higher entertainment value than the AWARE saga. Xue Sha is just so cute, both in terms of her appearance and her speech. But for some reason (which I cannot explain), I probably will not watch another episode of S Factor but will continue to follow the news on AWARE. Seriously, it seems strange to me that I am more intrigued by the dispute between the ladies of AWARE rather than the fights between the FHM cover girls wannabes. Any theories as to why this is happening?
So back to the question that I had conveniently avoided answering. Are there any similarities between the two (AWARE and S Factor debate)? If anything, we should have learnt that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even for this question. I agree with Teo Chee Hean in that perhaps there is a better way to communicate and influence one another when there are disagreements (see article). Perhaps it's time for us to revisit Aristotle's Art of Persuasion and John Kotter's change managment. Something that I am inclined to do after I watch Xue Sha for one last time in the video clip above.
Interestingly, it was recently brought to my attention that there is a new reality show in Singapore. I am talking about S Factor. I don't know the exact details of the show (tried googling using a few keywords but didn't find much) but I gather that it is organized (or co-organized) by FHM where they get attractive ladies onto the program to do a debate (see the clip below).
Haha.. certain parts are hilarious, but some portions are just plain boring. Anyway, it got me thinking, are there any similarities between the AWARE saga and the debate in S Factor?
I hope that I do not come across as saying that the AWARE issue is something as trivial as the debate (my apologies to the ladies who have worked so hard to prepare for the debate) because I don't think that it is. Personally, I have experienced a divide in an organization that I call my family and I assure you that such incidents are never trivial to those who care about the organization. The severity of an issue is one thing. How that issue is tackled is another. I am talking about the latter over here.
As educated individuals, we are expected to justify our statements with evidences. But honestly speaking, how many of these statements can actually hold if they were to be really grilled down to every single last detail. Sometimes, we just add in something for convenience, to make the argument sound more justified.
Then there is the issue of personal attack. Sure, it is imperative that we focus on the facts, not the people. But let me assure you that it is not that difficult to touch someone's soft spot by just using the right "relevant facts". Haha... try me if you don't agree.
So if you ask me, kudos to the ladies on the S factor for being "authentic", a quality that is advocated by Tony Blair's former spokesperson. Here's an article on it. Haha... again, I hope that I do not offend anyone associating Susan Boyle with the ladies in S Factor. What that lady did was inspirational. But I was also very touched by the saxophone guy as well. Haha... but that's another story...
Another thought came to me. Is the media's diligent coverage of the AWARE saga partly due to the fact that a significant part of the educated community (those who read and/or watch the news) is "entertained" by it. If you ask me, S Factor probably has higher entertainment value than the AWARE saga. Xue Sha is just so cute, both in terms of her appearance and her speech. But for some reason (which I cannot explain), I probably will not watch another episode of S Factor but will continue to follow the news on AWARE. Seriously, it seems strange to me that I am more intrigued by the dispute between the ladies of AWARE rather than the fights between the FHM cover girls wannabes. Any theories as to why this is happening?
So back to the question that I had conveniently avoided answering. Are there any similarities between the two (AWARE and S Factor debate)? If anything, we should have learnt that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even for this question. I agree with Teo Chee Hean in that perhaps there is a better way to communicate and influence one another when there are disagreements (see article). Perhaps it's time for us to revisit Aristotle's Art of Persuasion and John Kotter's change managment. Something that I am inclined to do after I watch Xue Sha for one last time in the video clip above.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Piano... The ladies' guitar
Over the years, I have come to realized that the guitar is generally a very effective instrument when it comes to charming the ladies. Recently, it dawned on me that the piano has a similar effect on guys. Hmm... or is it just me?
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