New teams!

Hi guys,

Thanks for making the effort to come for the ALG Get-Together today. Things certainly didn't turn out the way we imagined it would, but I believe this is all in God's plan. I was really impressed by the mature words of Sharon Wong and Angela about getting out of the comfort zone and getting to know new people. *applause*

Having said all that, here are the key things that have transpired from our discussion today:

1. New teams
We decided to draw lots as it was the fairest way to decide the groups, since most of us opted to change rather than stay in the current team. By drawing lots, we've ended up with the following teams (I/C in CAPS):
JON, Sharon Teo, Jasmine, Aaron, CK
YEW HOCK, Sharon Wong, Debbie, Kenneth, Dominic
Angela, Matthew, Ai Ping, Jackson, Jeannie (I/C TBC)

Congratulations on having the opportunity to meet new people and grow with them. As Sharon Wong put it, when we started off this year, we were also relative strangers to our current ALG, but then grew closer in these 6 months. I believe the same will happen again.

Also psychology studies show that you can't really start with a new team until you have closure with your current team. So perhaps you guys can organise one last farewell meeting with your current ALGs to thank them properly for the blessing they've been to you, and wish them all the best in their new teams.

2. Samuel & Shirley to Marrieds
As announced some time back, Samuel and Shirley will be moving on (graduating?) to the Married ALG. Since Shirley wasn't able to join us today, we will meet after service on 18 Jun for their farewell dinner. I think Matthew, CK & Jackson should decide on the place, to make it a special occasion for their ALG. In view of that, we will meet in our new ALGs only from 20 Jun onwards, the following week.

3. Kampung Games Day
For our 2nd quarter outreach, Matthew and Jon will be organising a Kampung Games Day comprising some of the games we played as children.

Date: 10 Jul (Sun)
Time: 1-4pm
Cost for Agapeans: $10 (free for guests)
Venue: Blessing, Serangoon

Look out for the Facebook events page (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128299720583842). Let's make it as big a success as our Kinect Sports Challenge was.

4. Reminder
Finally, a gentle reminder about the purpose of ALG:
We want to help one another grow in Christ, and we do this by sharing our personal devotion, testimonies and prayer requests. After each meeting, the I/C should ensure that someone posts something (picture, summary etc.) on the Facebook page so that the rest can appreciate what is happening in the other ALGs. This should be done as soon as possible, by the next day.

Yew Hock and I would like to thank all of you for being such a participative and democratic group today. Here's to helping everyone grow even stronger in God for the rest of 2011!

Agape, Aaron & Yew Hock

Sesame died today

To think that a hamster that could not reciprocate feelings could leave such a lasting impression on our lives. Rest in peace.

Letter to Heng Swee Keat by Monica Lim

This woman is our Joan of Arc! Educators, read this and weep in joy! She may not be an educator, but her urgings resonate with my very soul. The education landscape she describes is one that I'd subscribe to in a heartbeat.


---

Dear Mr Heng

The recent polls have triggered many dramatic changes, the biggest of which is PM’s consistent refrain for transformation.

In this spirit, I’m writing to you to ask whole-heartedly for a transformation of our education system.  If not a complete transformation, at least a holistic review of some of the basic tenets by which education policies in this country are made.

As a parent with one child in secondary school and another in primary school with contrasting abilities, I have, over the years, become increasingly frustrated and disturbed by many areas of our education system which I feel are not edifying to the development of children.   At the risk of sounding like one of those domineering, opinionated mothers, let me try to persuade you, from the point of view of a concerned parent, why a change is due.

Education is not a business

Many have felt that Singapore in the past few years has been run like a business and this mindset has filtered down to education.  These days, teachers are ranked against each other measured by KPIs. If their students don't perform up to par, then they drop in ranking. I assume this affects their appraisal and promotion prospects. Principals are also under pressure to keep up in school rankings (and not just in academics), hence they push their teachers to achieve better results.

Here's what happens when schools are run like businesses. Teachers become workers assessed and ranked according to quantifiable output. The principal is like the CEO, answerable to a higher authority based on numbers. Students become products, they are valued only according to the quantifiable output they can contribute, everything else is peripheral or redundant. Everything is reduced to numbers.

Therein lies the problem. When you run a business, the focus has to be on results, preferably quantifiable results. Don't get me wrong, I think it's well and good to try and assess the effectiveness of a school.   But instead of seeing how we can better assess the effectiveness of schools, we run the schools to make them easier to assess.  

Education administrators love this because it's so neat, structured and orderly. But the problem is education is about moulding of individuals. And neither individuals nor learning is neat, structured or orderly. The process of education is not and should be like that of manufacturing, taking place in a factory.

A friend of mine who volunteered to lead a character module at her son’s school was taken aback when she was asked for KPIs.  I have other friends who are teachers have expressed frustration at being assessed purely by how well their students score.  If we take this route, there is no "business" value in helping a student overcome his learning disability or giving special attention to a child from a difficult family background because the outcome is not quantifiable. We're leaving it to the assumed social conscience of the teacher and the school to step forward in such instances. But realistically, ensuring ‘A’ students continue to get top grades will likely get priority because it directly impacts on the teacher's KPIs.

Obsession with results

The inevitable outcome of an education system that is run by KPIs is the obsession with results and by this, of course I mean quantifiable results.  What happens then is the focus is shifted from the process of education to the end result of scoring, because that is what is measured in the end.

For example, I find that the way many subjects are taught in schools are based on the marking template, understandably because if the objective is to maximise scores, then you teach to fulfil this objective.  I’m a corporate writer and one of my biggest pet peeves is the way composition writing is taught in primary schools. 

Many teachers today are told to mark the language of a composition based on how many "good phrases" are used. In my son’s school, a commercial book of good phrases is part of the syllabus and the kids are told to learn these phrases, even for spelling.  These phrases are often so bombastic and pretentious that nobody in real life would actually use them.  Yet the students are taught them because “ticks” are given for each “good phrase” and added to their vocabulary score.

I remember during a parent-teacher conference, I raised my concerns to my son's English teacher.  To my utter surprise, she agreed with me. She said that once the school started imposing the memorising of good phrases for composition, she ended up with 44 scripts of almost identical introductions (mostly about the "fiery sun in the sapphire sky").  Unfortunately, her hands were tied.

I know why this is imposed - it's to make marking simpler. This way, schools don't have to depend on the arbitrary standards of each marker and the marker just has to follow a matrix. It's certainly more orderly but don't mistake it for creativity. I don't know any other education system which designs its curriculum around the grading. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

To me, attempting to come up with a template for creativity is simply oxymoronic.  Ironically, we’ve managed to suck the creativity out of creative writing.

This obsession with results extends outside of the classroom.  In my daughter’s school, the performing arts groups are given funding according to how well they perform in the SYF.  Likewise, bigger budgets are given to sports that bring in medals. The list goes on. What this breeds in the race for medals and results is that schools often prioritise these over values like effort, sportsmanship and character building.

Even otherwise worthwhile activities, such as CCAs and community service, have lost their noble intent somewhat, as many students now perform these duties clinically for the sake of window dressing their resume.

Valuing people based on academic results

As a direct outcome of a school system that emphasises scores above all else and uses these scores to dictate the child's educational path at a very early age, Singaporeans have become obsessed with chasing grades.  While I don’t deny grades are important, for many, they have become life-centric, meaning kids spend every waking hour performing tasks that will help them better their score. 

The mindless pursuit of academic achievement has become so over-arching that many parents are now sending their kids for what I call indiscriminate tuition – tuition in every single examinable subject whether or not the child actually needs it.  My daughter is in an SBGE (School-Based Gifted Education) class and her classmates were either from the GEP in primary school or top scorers in the PSLE.  So I was startled when she told me that most of her classmates have tuition in 3 or 4 subjects.  Tuition has become a crutch - even if the kids are doing well on their own, parents fear the consequences of doing without it.

The backlash is that our children’s self-worth and perception have become intrinsically linked to their academic grades.  Teachers, peers and possibly parents judge the value of students according to their academic ability. I know children whose self-esteem is low simply because they don’t do as well in school as their classmates.  In the “branded” schools, it also breeds elitism because these students deem others less academically-inclined as somehow inferior.  When my daughter attended her first day of school in sec 1, many of her new classmates, meeting her for the first time, didn’t ask “what’s your name?” but “what’s your t-score?”

This treatment of academic prowess as a “superior” skill can be seen throughout our system.  Although we profess to embrace all talents, it’s often lip service.  Prefects and student leaders are usually chosen first on their academic ability before their leadership skills.  In many DSAs for sports, schools still ask for academic results before they will even entertain the child for a trial.  The message we seem to be sending is: we'll look at your other talents IF you have the academic ability.

Putting standards above learning

In my son’s recent p5 mid-year exams, in one class, every single child failed the math paper.  This is a common scenario among some of the popular schools.  Obviously, it’s not because the students are intellectually deficient.  It’s because the papers are often set at a level designed for only the top 25% of kids.  In fact, one question required a method that had not yet been taught to the students.  It’s a mockery of the “teach less learn more” motto – does it mean the teachers teach less but the kids somehow have to learn more on their own?  No wonder tuition centres are flourishing!

I’m tired of hearing the age-old excuse from schools that this will spur the children to work harder.  Incidentally, this is not supported by fact. I suspect it's an urban legend spread by schools who wish to justify their "high" standards.  I meet many parents and students who are more demoralised than "spurred" by their consistently bad results.

What is the point of this? The age gap between my two children is only three years and yet I can see that what my younger child has to learn at his age is markedly more difficult than what his sister had to know.  

Perhaps this constant accelerating of the educational syllabus is a knee jerk reaction to the influx of brilliant foreign students, but this is no justification.  We need to recognise that these kids have completely different motivations. They are here purely to study, to carve a better life for themselves, much as our students work harder when they study overseas.  Do we then use these as benchmarks to whip Singaporeans into shape? 

No education system is a one size fits all but we need to consider the best interest of the majority of students.  If half your students fail in an exam, it doesn’t reflect badly on the student – it reflects badly on the teaching.  I find that in setting the curriculum and exam papers, there seems to be some semi-sadistic streak in MOE and schools, to trip kids up and make them feel stupid.  It's as if someone is saying, "Aha! I managed to set a question that no one could answer!"  There will always be a small percentage of brainiacs who can ace any exam, no matter how difficult.   That is not a logical benchmark by which to design curriculum or exam papers.

Plea for a more meaningful system

In the course of my work, I had the opportunity to interview the Vice Dean, Education of Duke-NUS.  It was, in my mind, one of the most inspiring interviews I’d ever conducted.  In his words, “We don’t just want the straight ‘A’ student.  Does having one less ‘A’ make you less of a person?  We know Singaporeans are already great at memorising facts – we’re looking for passion, dedication and the ability to see a problem through different angles.”

I feel we could use more of that mindset here. Singaporean educators are often proud of our high standards but let's be honest, we're good at ticking off checklists, exams and competitions. We laugh at the laissez faire American system for its laxity but in truth, they have churned out more innovators and thinkers from their messy system than we have (even after adjusting for size and population).

I will be the first to admit to occasionally suffering pangs of anxiety when my child doesn't do well in an exam because it's hard to stand firm in the onslaught of a tsunami of kiasu-ism.  But at the end of the day, I try to keep reminding myself his character and happiness matter more.  I want a kinder system, one that encourages my child to explore the world around him, not closes it up. One that shows him the richness of issues and topics out there, not limits him to four subjects.

I want a system where I can encourage my child to enjoy music, art, sports for their own sake, and not with the pre-requisite that he does well academically. I want him to want to help others, and not because it counts towards community service hours in his report book. I want to groom a child with integrity and respect towards others, and I hope others can appreciate him for these values.

I am doing as much as I can in these areas but I cannot fight against the education system. I'm writing this in the hope that as you now helm the Education Ministry, you can make the transformation happen. 

Thank you very much for your time.

What Yellow Ribbon?

An honest and heart-rending conversation with a parent has me doubting the fairness of our legal system and the naive idealism of the Yellow Ribbon Project. I feel so helpless and hollow.


wrongfully accused of a crime while on MOE bond. didn't have money to clear his name. now has to pay off bond, house is repossessed, and no one wants to hire him.

Sir Alex Ferguson bans journalist for Ryan Giggs question - ESPN Soccernet

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/923080/sir-alex-ferguson-bans-journalist-for-ryan-giggs-question?cc=4716

This man is ruthless! One sneaky question and you're murdered!

Filipino Accent Tutorial by Mikey Bustos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BBtS1ir4tA&feature=share

MCYS acting minister Chan Chun Sing dancing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iEQCCUsdHk&feature=player_embedded

Reviewing ministerial salaries: Seven lessons from the private sector by Mak Yuen Teen, Today

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1131260/1/.html

Two, adopt some macro performance measures which capture overall performance in a holistic way (such as average GDP growth, average wage growth & unemployment rate) and micro performance measures which directly reflect a particular minister's performance (e.g. traffic accident rates, average expressway speeds, admission rates of S'poreans into local universities, percentage of low-income families owning HDB flats).

How do you moonwalk on a field in boots?!

How to have a discussion

Nani’s Horrific Injury From Jamie Carragher’s Tackle: Photos

Before we criticise Nani for what we thought was play-acting again, this is the result of Carragher's tackle. Steven Gerrard owes him an apology for falsely accusing him. Nani was able to walk to the referee to remonstrate because he was in shock with his adrenaline pumping. Only later did the pain hit him. I suffered something similar.

Plato predicted Hollywood

"Then shall we simply allow our children to listen to any story anyone happens to make up, and so receive into their minds ideas often the very opposite if those we shall think they ought to have when they are grown up?" - The Republic, 360 BC

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving Live From Abbey Road

It's A Great Great World

Gravity- String Theory for Dummies by Andrew Zimmerman Jones

Is gravity a strong or weak force? We think it's strong, seeing it holds moons in orbit, but it's actually rather weak, as eraser-sized magnets can overcome the gravity of the entire Earth when it lifts a paper clip off the ground. Yet gravity is so prevalent because electromagnetic forces are self-neutralising; sometimes they attract, and sometimes they repel. Meanwhile, nuclear forces operate at atomic distances, whereas gravity interacts across the universe.

Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior by Amy Chua (WSJ)

Can a regimen of no playdates, no TV, no computer games and hours of music practice create happy kids? And what happens when they fight back?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704111504576059713528698754.html

The Blackberry, The Apple & The Eggs-Box 360

TOP 100 SPORTS PICTURES OF 2010

http://totallycoolpix.com/2010/12/top-100-sports-pictures-of-2010/?sms_ss=facebook&at_xt=4d19a49a658ea931,1

Fable of the Porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever.  Many animals died because of the cold.  The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together.  This way, they covered and protected themselves; but, the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other.

After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.
 
Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.  
 
Therefore: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities. 

Why spoil the view?

I still do not understand why people insist on taking photos of themselves beside/in front of/outside landmarks. Is it their way of proving they were there?

Get out of the scene and don't spoil the view!

A Digital Christmas

How do I get Blogger to post directly to Facebook?

Can anyone help me figure this out?

Also, what are the Mac solutions for WinRAR/WinZip, Sopcast/TVU and ESET Smart Security?

Psychatric Answering Machine Typography Animation

Who needs IMH?

North Point's iBand

Castrate rapists?

Castration reduces sex offenders' recidivism from 46% to 3%. Don't laugh; castration is merely the removal of the testes, thereby reducing the testosterone; the organ is largely intact. An alternative to caning and custodial sentences?

MediShield should cover pre-existing illnesses, especially hereditary ones

Otherwise, those born with diseases will never get the chance to have coverage!

Top Gear - The Best Combover in Botswana

Ian McKellen at Winchester College

Un-Profitable Plots

Profitable Plots is being investigated for non-payment of dividends. With a name like that, surely people would know better and not trust dodgy ex-footballers?
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/06/13/profitable-plots-investors-stage-protest/

Politeness leads Philippine expat to $17m lottery win

Politeness pays!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11969987

Maria of Sesame Street is still around!

http://historycontroversy.blogspot.com/2008/06/maria-first-appeared-on-sesame-street.html

Students attack Prince Charles' car after fee hike

Not a good time to go to Britain then, what with the cold snap and Camilla's even colder sense of humour.

---

Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police Thursday as a controversial hike in university fees triggered Britain's worst political violence in years.

In a major security breach, demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's Rolls Royce as it drove through London's busy West End on its way to a theater. A group of up to 20 struck it with fists, sticks and bottles, breaking a window and splattering the gleaming black vehicle with paint.

In the frenzy, some chanted "off with their heads!"

Adnan Nazir, a 23-year-old podiatrist who was following the protesters, said Charles, 62, kept his calm, gently pushing his 63-year-old wife toward the floor to get her out of the line of fire.

"Charles got her on the floor and put his hands on her," Nazir said. "Charles was still waving and giving the thumb's up.

"It was just a surreal thing," he said. "It was completely manic."

Charles' office, Clarence House, said the royal couple was unharmed. But the attack took police completely by surprise and raises serious security questions.

The chief of the Metropolitan Police, Paul Stephenson, said the force would launch an investigation into Thursday's violence.

Prime Minister David Cameron said the violence against the royal couple was "shocking and regrettable."

"It is clear that a minority of protesters came determined to provoke violence, attack the police and cause as much damage to property as possible," Cameron said. "They must face the full force of the law."

Police said it was unclear whether the royals had been deliberately targeted, or were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The couple arrived looking somber but composed at the London Palladium theater, where they were attending a Royal Variety Performance.

Camilla later managed to shrug off the ordeal, saying there was "a first time for everything," the Press Association news agency reported.

---

http://www.mail.com/intl/Article.aspx/world/europe/APNews/Europe/20101210/U_EU-Britain-Tuition-Tangle?pageid=1

Reflection on UniSIM in 2010

Being at UniSIM has allowed me to home my craft as a teacher and hone my knowledge beyond the confines of my classroom. It has also allowed me to interact with like-minded individuals. I've read books I never would've read, studies texts I never would've touched, and discovered things I never would've known. It was, as Russell Crowe would say it, a good year.
---
There's one line that reeks of sarcasm; can you spot it?

No honeymoon for Pardew

Great article from The Times' George Caulkin:

---

Alan Pardew is already facing a battle to win over players and fans at St James's Park after an appointment that has surprised many.

Alan Pardew will be confirmed as Newcastle United’s manager this morning, but his will be a marriage without a honeymoon. After a brutal few days that have left players and supporters bruised and bemused, the club will make their latest tilt at the long term, yet they can expect only short-term hostility.

If this is the answer, many will wonder at the point of the question. The abrupt dismissal of Chris Hughton, a man who retained the respect and affection of the dressing room and was instrumental in repairing a fractured relationship with the fans, has threatened everything.

Newcastle have been a delicate coalition since their relegation from the Barclays Premier League last year and now it has been disbanded. What is more, it has been disbanded willingly.

That, of course, is not Pardew’s doing. The 49-year-old was at Slaley Hall hotel in Northumberland last night for discussions with Newcastle’s hierarchy and, given his association with Mike Ashley and Derek Llambias, it is safe to assume that there was little to fret over. His contract with be lengthy — stretching for five years — and a £500,000 salary will be heavily incentivised for avoiding relegation.

Newcastle are fond of Peter Beardsley, the reserve-team coach, but Pardew hopes to name Ray Lewington, Fulham’s youth development manager, as his assistant and Andy Woodman, of Charlton Athletic, as his goalkeeping coach. Their first task would be to re-energise a first-team squad that coalesced and rallied at Hughton’s prompting. Footballers are pragmatic, but the unit has been shaken.

In a recent interview with The Times, Andy Carroll, the Newcastle striker, spoke about Hughton. His words were effusive and sincere. “Chris has brought everyone together,” he said. “It’s like you’re coming in to see your best friends every day, everyone’s so close. We go to the cinema together, share lifts, go for food. It’s down to him. He changed everything around.”

It was born of adversity, but as Newcastle strained for promotion, supporters witnessed something rare: players who, whatever their ability, brought honour to their shirts and fought for the cause. A team. At last, a team. In turn, it restored a link between pitch and stands, which had been frayed by the failings of too many athletes of deep wealth and shallow commitment.

Hughton was liked. He brought patience and a sheen of stability. It meant that after demotion, the treatment of Alan Shearer and Kevin Keegan, the plan to hawk the stadium’s naming rights, Joe Kinnear and Dennis Wise, and so many other miscalculations, despair at the owner could be put to one side. That was the coalition. That is what has been jeopardised.

Ashley and Llambias, his managing director, are not demons. They are three-dimensional figures who have intriguing ideas about football and this week’s events should not be viewed as wanton destruction. They have a logic - they had concerns about Newcastle’s home record under Hughton, who they viewed less as a natural manager than a coach - but it is a logic that can feel desperately illogical. In a season that, as far as Hughton and most rational observers were concerned, was all about consolidation, they have invited pressure upon themselves. It must be remembered that Ashley’s funding has kept Newcastle solvent and their aim is to create a self-sufficient business, but their timing is perplexing. Football may be a business, but emotion still lies at its core.

---

http://blogs.soccernet.com/paperround/archives/2010/12/no_honeymoon_for_pardew.php

Referee Claus Bo Larsen unimpressed with Ronaldo

Referee Claus Bo Larsen has named Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo his 'most annoying player'.

GettyImagesClaus Bo Larsen took charge of Milan's defeat to Ajax on Wednesday

The FIFA Top Class Referee, who took charge of his final Champions League game on Wednesday, claims Ronaldo is always looking to buy free-kicks and that they have to be prepared for his behaviour ahead of Champions League games.

"He's always out to get a cheap free-kick, especially at home," he told Ekstra Bladet. "We tended to talk before games about how he'd go down easily.

"We know not to be biased, but we have to be prepared. He has a clean slate at the start of every game. When he would lie down after failing to win a free-kick, he smiled at me because he knew I didn't fall for his theatrics."

Larsen also said he is on good terms with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"I have a good relationship with Ferguson, even though he sputters and shouts and screams at referees," he said. "I'll never forget him coming to knock on my door after a Champions League game at Old Trafford.

"He simply said that it had been the best refereeing performance in years. That was great."

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=850932&sec=uefachampionsleague&cc=4716

The Cast of GLEE Perform on THE X FACTOR

I think Finn is popular cos he most resembles a boring Brit. Watch Mercedes pwn Simon at 4:11.

England for winter break!

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=850420&sec=scotland&root=scotland&cc=4716

Yes, England needs a winter break too.

United 1-1 Valencia

United 3-1 Spurs

Dr M's legacy of moneyed Melayu Baru by Helen Ang

Helen Ang

Feb 18, 10

3:00pm

If Dr Mahathir Mohamad lives to greet 2020, he may see not only his son Mokhzani listed among the country's richest individuals but also many more brothers, daughters, and kith and kin of his Umno colleagues and cronies.

Mahathir (below right) would die a happy man if in the annual rich list, Malay billionaires outnumbered the nons. The chip on his shoulder is that Malays are too young to be aware of and to “experience the bitterness and pain of life as a colonized people” [from his 1986 essay Quo vadis Malaysia ?].
His exaggerated fear – “will the Malays who were colonised 400 years be again conquered and enslaved” – is a recurrent theme. His way of assuaging this deep-seated anxiety is through the assurance of the power of money. He wants Malays to be self-assured and successful but the Mahathir measure is calibrated in ringgit and sen.

In his 1970s book The Malay Dilemma, Mahathir wrote: “With the existence of the few rich Malays at least the poor Malays can say that their fate is not entirely to serve the rich non-Malays.” The post-May 13 tutorial frames his bete noireChinese as living “in huge houses” who regarded Malays as Ahmads “only fit to drive their cars”.

“From the point of view of racial ego, and this ego is still strong, the unseemly existence of Malay tycoons is essential,” Mahathir had avowed.

From the point of view of our ex-premier, creating a mere handful of super-duper elites is okay, as long as they are Malay. These captains of industry will show the world that Melayu pun boleh. On a pile of newly minted money, Malays can stand tall.

Excesses of the nouveau riche

The profligacy of 'Melayu Baru' role models is not usually made known to the unwashed masses. We only get an inkling of their fabulous wealth when a politician's home is burgled. Details of the police report tell of 'small change' taken from the safe, or Rolexes, designer clothing and loose jewelry stolen.

Divorce proceedings are yet another enlightening primary source of information. We learned a few years ago how one ageing Datin was given aRM50 million settlement by ex-hubby the former minister Effendi Norwawi (right), whose much younger second wife is the glamorous actress Tiara Jacquelina.

Lower-ranked politicians don't do too badly for themselves either.

When former Negri Sembilan state assemblyman for Seri Menanti, Hishamuddin Abdul Kadir, 60, was served divorce papers by his 34-year-old wife Norish Karman last July, she asked for five houses, five cars and his company shares.

In her filing at the Syariah High Court, the starlet sought their RM2 million home in Bangi , three condos in KL and another house in Seremban ; their cars a BMW 6-series, a Nissan Murano , a Nissan Elgrand , a Rexton Stavic and a Toyota Caldina ; RM1,500 monthly maintenance for each child (they have three children); RM900 for the maid plus her own personal expenses of RM6,000 monthly. Oh yes, and the shares too.

This slice of life from the Melayu Baru landscape shows Umno leadership by example.

Too nice by nature

In his opus on eugenics, Mahathir proffered a “therapeutic diagnosis” on what hindered the progress and competitive abilities of the dilemma-ed Malay.

His treatise said Malays were economically backward because they were by nature too nice, and thus unfailingly preyed upon by the “aggressive” and “predatory” Chinese.

His prescriptive treatment of the malaise was for the community to radically alter their 'adat' which in his opinion was an impediment.

The Malay Dilemma advances the most amazing insights, such as this gem: “If race differentiates citizens, then there must also be racial loyalty. Racial loyalty must involve privileges for one's race and denial of rights to others.”

Mahathir views that “Under these conditions, each member of a race must be instinctively guided by considerations of profit and loss for himself. It follows that the more privileges of a given race the greater the gain for the individual member. 'Each member must therefore seek to enhance the position of his race so that he himself may gain in the long run. If this fact of race, race loyalty and privilege are understood, then attitudes on race relations in Malaysia can be better appreciated.”

During his 22-year tenure, Mahathir had ample means to impose and implement his will.

Reengineering the Melayu marque 

Mahathir's pursuit of modernity is Western-oriented, with a nod to Japan during his 'Look East' phase. Under him, Malaysia became car-makers like the Americans, Europeans and Japanese. Mahathir currently wants Malays to master science through English.

True enough, Japanese are in the thick of technology but Mahathir forgets that they did in on their own terms. Japanese until today don't speak English capably. They did not copy the whites and abandon the core of their self-identity.

With the Meiji Restoration, they embraced the technological age with a vengeance but kept their social mores intact.

On the other hand, the Malay Dilemma is a “blaze of amateur sociology” (to borrow from Nobel-winning economist Robert Solow ) to explain Malay lack of productivity and the community's meagre share of national income. That before the NEP Malays were floundering for which Mahathir ascribed to their traditional value system and this held them back from entrepreneurship.

He decried the conservative rural community's propensity to prepare for the hereafter as “a form of escapism from the realities of life, an insulation against the envy Malays must feel for the prosperity of other races”.

To compete with the drive of those other races, he insisted Malays must change their code of ethics , and with thoroughness and speed. He believed attitude to work and money is key to economic advancement. He also believed the Malay approach in this respect was to their disadvantage.

He encouraged Malays to go into business in a big way. But for them to thrive in an environment already dominated by the Chinese, Mahathir felt that the Malay “innocent” must radically transform.

Enter Melayu Baru 2.0
Playing behavioral scientist in 1970, Mahathir saw Malays as polite, generous, having good breeding and possessing “the quality of moderation”.

He felt that to successfully compete, they had to put aside their temperance, fatalism, caution and indecisiveness, as well as leave behind their courtesy, accommodation, tolerance and spirit of compromise.

In short, to get themselves out of their perceived predicament, Malays needed to be remodeled. But into what? As quoted earlier, into a people who are race loyal and willing to deny the rights of others in the course of the rat race.

This religio-ethnocentricity that Mahathir moulded can be glimpsed in the country's present indifference to the plight of those outside the charmed circle – in the inertia of official response to the earthquake in Haiti , to the despair of the Tamil underclass in our own backyard.
Nothing much for Haiti Malaysia gave tens of millions in cash and Mercy Malaysia immediately sent seven missions to Gaza in 2009 following Israel's attack which left between 1,200 and 1,400 Palestinians dead. As far as I know, Malaysia did not send any significant humanitarian relief or medical teams (donation drives privately headed by Unicef Malaysia and Red Crescent apart) to Haiti where 230,000 were killed.

Three days before last Christmas, there was a small news report on a 68-year-old mentally unsound Indian vagabond found dead in a pool of blood. CCTV camera showed the assailant covering the victim's head with a plastic bag and punching him on a corridor of a shop in Georgetown. This heartbreaking story should have sparked national outrage, but it hardly blipped on the radar of public consciousness.

What has the Mahathir solution to the Malay dilemma ultimately wrought?
He handpicked Khir Toyo (left) to be Selangor Menteri Besar. He is now promoting foul-mouthed ally Ibrahim Ali as Perkasa chairman. His mediocre son Mukhriz is a deputy minister. These are among Dr M's tangible Melayu Baru legacies.

More than anyone else, the man has singlehandedly done untold damage to the Melayu Lama adab of graciousness and saddled us with the truly graceless.

HELEN ANG used to be a journalist. In future, she would like to be a practising cartoonist. But for the present, she is in the NGO circles and settling down to more serious writing and reading of social issues. 

Danish actor who inspired Tintin dies

So this is what Tintin will look like when 98.

Danish actor Palle Huld, who reportedly inspired a Belgian cartoonist to create the comic book reporter Tintin, has died. He was 98.

Huld died Nov. 26 in a retirement home in Copenhagen. The cause of death was not given.

Huld was a stage actor with Denmark's Royal Theater, and he appeared in 40 Danish films between 1933 and 2000.

However, his fame came before his acting career began.

In 1928, he won a competition organized by Danish newspaper that wanted to send a teenager would-be-reporter around the globe.

For 44 days, the 15-year-old traveled to North America, Japan, Siberia and Germany, and was greeted by 20,000 people upon his return to Copenhagen.

Herge, the pen name of Belgian author Georges Remi, heard of Huld's journey which reportedly inspired him to create Tintin, the globe-trotting reporter.

http://www.mail.com/intl/Article.aspx/world/europe/APNews/Europe/20101205/U_EU-Obit-Denmark-Huld?pageid=1

AFF Suzuki Cup 2010: Singapore 2-1 Myanmar

Impressed with Singapore's fortitude to come back from 1-0 down. Good work, especially on the left from Khairul Amri and up front from the much-maligned Agu Casmir. Terrible positioning from Precious and Baihakki, though. Such huge gaps the Myanmarese could drive a tank through.

http://bolabang.blogspot.com/2010/12/aff-suzuki-cup-group-b-singapore-2.html

Frame rate = propeller speed = stroboscopic effect

Pinoy pinups

I suspect The Younghusband brothers will be very popular among football's female followers. James and Phil respectively:

To FIFA: More transparency, please

http://www.mail.com/intl/Article.aspx/sports/soccer/APNews/Soccer/20101202/U_SOC-John-Leicester-120110?pageid=1

This reminds me too much of how the next Pope is chosen.

An Ode to Tigers (Calvin & Hobbes)

My tiger, it seems, is running 'round nude
This fur coat must have made him perspire
It lies on the floor - should this be construed
As a permanent change of attire?
Perhaps he considers its colours passe
Or maybe it fit him too snug
Will he want it back? Should I put it away?
Or use it right here as a rug?

Minion of the Month - Despicable Me

http://www.despicable.me/pops/minionMaker/?lang_id=uk

Wordle.net

Definitions

Cigarette: A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end & a fool on the other.
Lecture: An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through the minds of either.
Conference: The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.
Compromise: The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.
Dictionary: A place where success comes before work.
Conference Room: A place where everybody talks, nobody listens and everybody disagrees later on.
Classic: A book which people praise, but do not read.
Smile: A curve that can set a lot of things straight.
Office: A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.
Etc.: A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.
Committee: Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.
Experience: The name men give to their mistakes.
Philosopher: A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.
Miser: A person who lives poor so that he can die rich.
Criminal: A guy no different from the rest except that he got caught.
Boss: Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.
Politician: One who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.
Doctor: A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills.

Friends in high places

Just read an article featuring Ex Cobra Gold. Guess who's the guy in charge? COL Chan Wing Kai, Chief Guards Officer. So, in 2SIB, I've now served the Chief Officers of two foremost vocations in the SAF - Commandos and Guards.

Little Mermaid - Under the Sea

The seaweed is always greener
In somebody else's lake
You dream about going up there
But that is a big mistake
Just look at the world around you
Right here on the ocean floor
Such wonderful things surround you
What more is you lookin' for?

Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea

Down here all the fish is happy
As off through the waves they roll
The fish on the land ain't happy
They sad 'cause they in their bowl
But fish in the bowl is lucky
They in for a worser fate
One day when the boss get hungry
Guess who's gon' be on the plate

Under the sea
Under the sea
Nobody beat us
Fry us and eat us
In fricassee
We what the land folks loves to cook
Under the sea we off the hook
We got no troubles
Life is the bubbles
Under the sea
Under the sea
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here
Naturally
Even the sturgeon an' the ray
They get the urge 'n' start to play
We got the spirit
You got to hear it
Under the sea

The newt play the flute
The carp play the harp
The plaice play the bass
And they soundin' sharp
The bass play the brass
The chub play the tub
The fluke is the duke of soul
(Yeah)
The ray he can play
The lings on the strings
The trout rockin' out
The blackfish she sings
The smelt and the sprat
They know where it's at
An' oh that blowfish blow

Under the sea
Under the sea
When the sardine
Begin the beguine
It's music to me
What do they got? A lot of sand
We got a hot crustacean band
Each little clam here
know how to jam here
Under the sea
Each little slug here
Cuttin' a rug here
Under the sea
Each little snail here
Know how to wail here
That's why it's hotter
Under the water
Ya we in luck here
Down in the muck here
Under the sea

Orianthi Panagaris

Interjection

An interjection or exclamation describes a noun without a grammatical connection with the rest of the sentence and simply expresses emotion on the part of the speaker, although most interjections have clear definitions. Filled pauses such as uh, er, um, are also considered interjections. Interjections are generally uninflected function words and have sometimes been seen as sentence-words, because they can replace or be replaced by a whole sentence (they are holophrastic). Sometimes, however, interjections combine with other words to form sentences, but not with finite verbs. When an exclamation point is not needed, a comma can take the place.
Interjections are used when the speaker encounters events that cause these emotions — unexpectedly, painfully, surprisingly, or in many other sudden ways. However, several languages have interjections that cannot be related to emotions.
The word "interjection" literally means "thrown in between" from the Latin inter ("between") and iacere ("throw").
Interjections are words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are included in a sentence usually at the start to express a sentiment such as surprise, disgust, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm.

Conventions like Hello, Bye, and Goodbye are interjections, as are exclamations like Cheers! and Hurray!. In fact is like a noun or an a pronoun, very often they are characterized by exclamation marks depending on the stress of the attitude or the force of the emotion they are expressing. Well can also be used as an interjection, for example when put at the beginning of a sentence. Much profanity (expletive) takes the form of interjections. Some linguists consider the pro-sentences yes, no, amen and okay as interjections, since they have no syntactical connection with other words and rather work as sentences themselves. Expressions "Excuse me!", "Sorry!", and similar ones often serve as interjections. Interjections can be phrases or even sentences, as well as words, such as "Oh!" or "Wow!".

Gabriel Obertan & Ritchie de Laet combine

Adam Lambert in 10 Commandments

Great Manchester United comebacks

The Parable of the Lost Wallet

In Jesus' parables of the lost coin, lost sheep and prodigal son, there is a common theme: despite an initial loss, they all end in celebration.

And so my preoccupation about how to cope with the fallout of my lost wallet has been replaced by a thought of how to celebrate the resurrection of my lost wallet.

Grimly, I listed the contents of my wallet at the police station. I calculated a net loss of about $400 in cash and kind, excluding those of priceless sentimental value. I chided myself for being so careless. Ruminating on the erstwhile contents of my wallet, I was rather embarrassed at the things that were found there, especially all the membership cards from F&B outlets! We really are such foodies.

I traversed Sengkang in search of it: looked at home, in school and even painstakingly retraced my route from home to school that morning - nothing. I was in despair and had given up hope. I remarked to the police officer as I signed the report, "What are the odds, eh?" He had said that they would call me if someone returned it.

Eventually, I found out this morning from my colleague Jennifer that I had left it in my class cabinet. I still don't remember how it ended up there.

Long story short, to quote Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton in Big Yellow Taxi: "You don't know what you've got till it's gone."

So, c'mon - let's celebrate! But maybe after SA2 lah.

Insults

"He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire."
- Winston Churchill

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway).

"Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it."
- Moses Hadas

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
- Mark Twain

"He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends."
- Oscar Wilde

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play; bring a
friend.... if you have one."
- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one."
- - Winston Churchill, in response.

"I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here."
- Stephen Bishop

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
- John Bright

"I've just learned about his illness. Let's hope it's nothing trivial."
- Irvin S. Cobb

"He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others."
- Samuel Johnson

"He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
- Paul Keating

"In order to avoid being called a flirt, she always yielded easily."
- Charles, Count Talleyrand

"He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.."
- Forrest Tucker

"Why do you sit there looking like an envelope without any address on it?"
- Mark Twain

"His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork."
- Mae West

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
- Oscar Wilde

"He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts... for support rather
than illumination."
- Andrew Lang (1844-1912)

"I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."
- Groucho Marx

'There's nothing wrong with you that reincarnation won't cure.'
- Jack E. Leonard

'He has the attention span of a lightning bolt.'
- Robert Redford

'They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human
knowledge.'
- Thomas Brackett Reed

'He has Van Gogh's ear for music.'
- Billy Wilder

'He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.'
- Abraham Lincoln

'A modest little person, with much to be modest about. '
- Winston Churchill

The exchange between Churchill & Lady Astor:
She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison."
He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

A member of Parliament to Disraeli: "Sir, you will either die on the gallows
or of some unspeakable disease."
"That depends, Sir," said Disraeli, "whether I embrace your policies or your
mistress."

Third Day - Cry Out to Jesus

Planet Weird

We live on a weird planet...
http://webecoist.com/2009/10/12/out-of-this-world-earth%E2%80%99s-most-bizarre-landscapes/

Jamiroquai - High Times (bass cover)

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving (Live at Abbey Road)

Jamiroquai - Runaway (bass lesson)

Bobby Robson you legend!

A Newcastle fan who had been on a flight to London with Robson and his Toon squad once told me that one of the players told the rest a joke in English. After he'd finished and the laughter died down Sir Bobby repeated the punch line in Spanish, French and Dutch just so his international players wouldn't miss out on the gag - a legacy of his international stature in the game.
But, of course, Sir Bobby was also known for those comic moments he produced inadvertently and none more so than this gem - another from his time on Tyneside. After a match a journalist asked Toon striker Shola Ameobi, "Do you have a nickname?" Ameobi said, "No, not really." The reporter enquired further, "What do the lads call you?" Ameobi replied, "Shola'. 'So what does Bobby Robson call you?" the reporter added. Shola said: "Carl Cort."

Michael Jackson acapella medley

Friends underwear ad

Cobus Potgeiter - Smash Mouth - All Star

Cobus Potgeiter - Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal

Cobus Potgeiter - Vanilla Sky - Umbrella

Ready for work in 5 min