Fearfully Opinionated

Pheonix Down

2011-04-27T08:45:00.001+08:00

I have resumed blogging at FearfullyOpinionated.wordpress.com.

good job lah, China

2008-10-03T10:35:00.004+08:00

Skype has just admitted that China has been tracking and archiving users that use specific key words such as "Tibet", "Communist Party", "Democracy" and "milk powder" (heh) in their internet chat messages. not only are the messages stored, IP addresses, usernames and "other information" are also tracked, probably sufficient to identify the senders and recipients of such "sensitive" messages. of

what does the olympics mean to you?

2008-08-07T13:34:00.022+08:00

i haven't written a purple post in close to a year, so i thought that i will say a few things about the Beijing Olympics. (National Day? what National Day?)for me, most of my attention about the Olympics is focused on basketball. can the NBA-star studded Team USA win back a gold medal on the international stage after humiliating losses in 2002 (finishing 6th), 2004 (losing to Argentina,

teacher tells student to get tuition: what's really happening?

2008-06-05T21:29:00.003+08:00

KTM (in the comments on my inaugural SA post) brought this ST forum letter to my attention. The parent was writing in to complain that the school recommended his/her son to get private tuition because he "needs more help". The parent, well aware that private tuition is not cheap, is livid that that is the solution given by the school, supposedly the main provider of education. At first I thought

excuse me, are you from ITE?

2008-02-07T09:19:00.000+08:00

I've stopped blogging completely in recent months, but the remarks by the principal to her Sec 5 students 2 weeks ago piqued my interest, and I started reading what some people were blogging about this incident. BL gave a good overview of the different issues involved, and Mollymeek has an interesting commentary on what this reflects about our society. It is also interesting to note that two

a quiet contemplation

2007-10-16T21:11:00.000+08:00

I've been inactive for a while, mainly because I have been (and currently still am) very busy. I haven't been able to read most of the stuff that's going on, but there have been two clear issues which seem to dominate the plogosphere recently. The first is Myanmar. I currently can't make up my mind about Myanmar, and thus I won't blog about it. The second is the call for repeal of 377A. This

the first degree: a publication on scholarships

2007-09-20T18:40:00.000+08:00

i was quite surprised to receive a copy of "the first degree" today, together with today's edition of TODAY. [siah lah, there are 3 "today"s in the last sentence...] it caught my attention because the girl on the cover looked like sun yanzi for a moment, but actually it was a Mrs Leong-Ho Hil May, a MOE post-graduate scholarship holder.according to the color-printed guide (on page 35), "the first

not unreasonable to ask otto fong to take down letter

2007-09-11T18:47:00.001+08:00

I'm tight for time, but I feel really inclined to write something short about all this furor going on about Otto Fong, and his taking down of his open letter. I've been trying to find the official MOE press release about this incident but failed to locate it [can somebody help me?]. I read an excerpt of the press release on a comment in an article on TOC, but that article has been deleted (in

some updates

2007-08-28T23:41:00.000+08:00

i do have some ideas i want to play with, but i'm currently swamped with work (including 2 music performances in september), and i doubt that i'll have the time to blog a proper post until october or so. in the meantime, a few quick updates:1) Intelligent Singaporean has closed down. i have been thinking what to say about this, but i am unable to come up with anything appropriate. InSpir3d's

thoust art n00b hence thou shalt not blog (part 2)

2007-08-13T16:52:00.000+08:00

In all honesty, when I wrote Part 1, I wasn't too sure what I wanted to write in the Part 2. After thinking about it and after a discussion with dansong, I realized that this is a complicated and not at all a straightforward issue. I am still going to present my thoughts, and I apologize if one finds them haphazard or incoherent.Criticism 1: Aaron's article is flawed in many ways.Criticism 2:

thoust art n00b hence thou shalt not blog (part 1)

2007-08-11T23:11:00.001+08:00

My good friend, Aaron, has recently joined the ranks of Singapore Angle, and in his debut article as an SA writer he wrote about health care economics. Aaron's article has been heavily criticized. I know nuts about health care, so I can't comment on that, but what I found rather interesting were a series of comments saying that since Aaron does not possess enough expertise in the area, he should

(for own reference) significant events in past 3 months

2007-08-08T10:03:00.000+08:00

I went on a 3 month hiatus from May to July, and during that time I hardly read anything from the blogosphere. This article is an attempt to catalogue the significant events that during my time of absence for my own reference, as well as to comment briefly on each event. If I missed any events which you think are significant, do let me know and I'll fill it in.1) Concern over State of the

congratulations aaron & peiying!!! =)

2007-08-05T21:46:00.000+08:00

the food was quite good. but you never introduce me to any char bors....=(

neutral and objective (part 1)

2007-08-05T20:19:00.000+08:00

In the recent interview of Ephraim Loy by TOC (very interesting in its own right), this comment by Sarek_home drew my attention:“An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” Mahatma Ghandi Fighting “Partisan” organisations with “Partisan” organisations will blind the society collectively with partisan also. We need to set an example and evolve beyond partisan politic. Readers who distaste MSM

10 blogs i don't (like to) read

2007-08-02T19:10:00.000+08:00

isn't making a list of links so fun? and there's no better way to make a comeback than by making enemies. =Pbefore i list the blogs that i don't like, it is important to note that just because i don't like them doesn't mean that i am discouraging you to read them. very often, my dislike for certain blog has got to do with my own personal tastes and preferences, and little to do with the actual

i not botak (purple)

2007-06-19T21:22:00.000+08:00

i have this bad habit. when i meet someone for the first time (as experienced by some of you), i like to ask: "how old do you think i am?". not wanting to be rude, most people tend give a generous estimate, "30?". i would then tell them my real age (when i meet bloggers, i sometimes also add that i'm the same age as aaron), and then get a kick out of seeing their reactions. i've been told this

unfinished projects

2007-06-14T23:26:00.000+08:00

at the behest of my good friend aaron, i dropped by the blogosphere today to take a look at the current commotion going on about university admissions, where KTM and Bart, two of my favourite bloggers, had made significant contributions. aaron also notified me of the (rather nice) eulogy that Ned Stark had written for me. as a result, i had been sufficiently motivated to un-retire (not that i was

tv irony

2007-06-09T23:48:00.000+08:00

i just saw something on tv so amusing i just had to blog about it. i'm currently watching "i not stupid", one of my favorite movies, currently showing on the 10pm-midnight slot on channel 8. in the movie, there was this scene where Jack Neo and his colleagues, who work in the advertising industry, complain about how their proposals get rejected for "inappropriate language" such as "don't play

music break

2007-04-28T18:00:00.000+08:00

some of you might know that i am a musician. i have a concert coming up in july, and most likely i will be very busy preparing and practising for that concert, so i doubt if i'll have much time to blog until then. contact me personally if you would like more info about my concert.

moving pebbles

2007-04-23T08:56:00.000+08:00

[This is a much belated tribute to Kitana. It took longer than expected to come out because I had to scrap a previous few versions that I didn't quite like.][On terminology. "Plogosphere" refers to the subset of the blogosphere which talks about local social, political and economic issues. See here for more details.]I can't make a difference.This is a not uncommon sentiment in the plogosphere.

freedom writers and stressed teachers

2007-04-09T21:35:00.000+08:00

i have been reading this post by stressed teacher (on the movie "freedom writers"), and the exchange between GomuGomu and yanjie on the comments thread. i have a few fragmented thoughts to share after thinking about what was said:stressed teacher compared the job of teacher to that of ministers (in view of the recent salary raise; not the first time). i feel ambivalent about such a comparison. i

10 more thoughts on the ministerial pay hike

2007-04-03T19:37:00.000+08:00

Much has been already been said about the issue, but as I read through the blogs, they all seem to make the same points over and over again. Here are 10 thoughts (not all original) that are perhaps, not so commonly found in other blogs:1) Progress or Regress?Like Aaron and KTM, I found the various issues raised to be unoriginal, recycled and boring. Blogs all say the same thing until I became

welcome to the fold: you are in hostile territory

2007-03-27T21:38:00.000+08:00

recently, there has been some "spamming" going around the plogosphere on posts related to ministerial salaries (Dr Huang, Ben, Kitana, Lucky Tan, Ian, etc), and they all come in the form of two comments. the first is a cut and paste of this blog article, left by a pseudonym of "Young PAP". the second goes: "Ms Elaina Olivia Chong is the Vice Chairperson of Young PAP Women committee ok! U should

unimportant omission?

2007-03-27T13:02:00.000+08:00

my attention was just drawn to this article on CNA.the article was about a recent email exchange between Mr Philip Yeo and a blogger, and Mr Yeo invited the blogger to tea. the blogger agreed but wanted another party to be present and also wanted to record their conversation and put it up on his blog. Mr Yeo refused, saying he did not want to be "interrogated" in presence of a "witness". the

talent, salaries and a greater cause for concern?

2007-03-26T09:21:00.000+08:00

As expected, the announcement of the increase in ministerial salaries caused much commotion in the plogosphere. Many bloggers talked about if we use higher salaries to attract people into public service, we might attract self-serving individuals. Others might have talked about the formula used to peg the salaries and asked if that was the appropriate formula. These are important issues that need

this is not a book review

2007-03-23T08:39:00.000+08:00

i just finished reading Thinking allowed? (politics, fear and change in Singapore) by Warren Fernandez (currently foreign editor of straits times), and i have 3 thoughts to share:firstly, this had got to do with a subjective perspective lens. the first time i came across this book was several months ago, shortly after i first started blogging. during that time, i was still relatively influenced

Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant and bond-breakers

2007-03-22T23:15:00.000+08:00

[This is my second attempt to use basketball analogies to desribe apparent disagreements over the blogosphere. Some knowledge of NBA's system of drafting and trading players may be required to fully comprehend this analogy, and I apologize if anyone finds my analogy incomprehensible.]In 2004, Kobe Bryant was in the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, the only team he had ever

quarter life crisis?

2007-03-16T13:41:00.000+08:00

today is my 25th birthday. how am i going to spend it? i'm probably going to stay at home and read blogs. this has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the post, but i just wanted to whine and mope. =Pboth BL and Mr Wang felt inclined to give advice about career choice recently. BL shared his personal story (which is also found here), and talked about finding a dream and a passion and making

the clientèle of education

2007-03-16T13:33:00.000+08:00

This is the follow-up post to my article on streaming, as previously promised. Piper wrote that everyone is quick to criticize the teaching profession, whereas people are less inclined to do so for other occupations, such as handphone makers, or fast-food restaurateurs. Piper makes the valid point that most of such critics are not teachers, and have little idea the kind of challenges and

blogosphere sabbath

2007-03-11T00:41:00.000+08:00

recently, i've been involved in a debate with ben. thinking about what to say in this debate has took up several hours of my time, and i've been feeling rather tired. also recently, i went to a library to borrow some books to read. i haven't been reading not because i don't enjoy reading, but i just haven't been able to find the time to do so. then suddenly today i had this idea. i should take a

publicity for stressed teacher

2007-03-05T22:46:00.000+08:00

once in a while, some folks would visit my list of teacher-bloggers, to read what's been happening with them. i actually haven't been following their blogs, but on impulse i just decided to read one of the blogs on my list, Stressed Teacher, and find that she's been writing some pretty good stuff. i think you guys should check out that blog.

research break

2007-03-05T22:31:00.000+08:00

paiseh, i know i have been taking alot of breaks already lah....i've come across something which i wanna do some extensive research about. i know not the result of my research, hence i will not promise to blog about what i decided to go research up, or even reveal what exactly i am researching.i may not totally abstain from blogging during this research break, but expect not productivty from me.

streaming and intellectual discrimination

2007-03-05T09:14:00.000+08:00

Recently, Trisha talked about the topic of streaming, and Piper has talked about how everybody wants to have their say about education, and how it should be done.I would like to talk about streaming too. When streaming is discussed in public discourse, there usually are very few pro-streaming views. Perhaps everyone who saw Jack Neo's I Not Stupid will agree that our education system and its

the ice cream post

2007-03-02T11:28:00.000+08:00

i like to eat ice cream. =)one of the brands of ice cream i used to eat regularly is Ben & Jerry's. B&J ice cream is most well known for its diverse and unique flavors, usually with a lot of liao mixed in the ice cream. i knew i was a B&J nut when I went to see what were the top 10 flavors of B&J ice cream and i realized i have tried all of them except no. 10: vanilla ice cream. my personal

sex education revisited

2007-03-01T21:41:00.000+08:00

Just before Christmas last year, Aaron (on Singapore Angle) wrote an article on sex education. Following Aaron, Ben and myself also wrote articles about the issue. Ben and myself also engaged each other in the comments thread of this article.Last week, Aaron, Ben, Kitana and myself had the opportunity to meet up over coffee. Among the issues we talked about was sex education, and Kitana has

why be gracious?

2007-02-28T12:50:00.000+08:00

i recently had a conversation with somebody, and made the comment that the plogosphere is not really centered around issues, but around individual bloggers. when a single blogger roughs up feathers so much so that there is a multi-blogger co-ordinated counterstrike against that single blogger, we see this in full glory.normally, as FO, i would probably preach: look guys, lets be civil and

some articles on scholarships

2007-02-28T08:49:00.000+08:00

This Friday, hordes of 18-19 year olds will flock to their JCs to receive their A level results (including Ms Gayle Goh). It will be a time of celebration and partying for some, and for some it might be a time of great sorrow and disappointment. Regardless, for everybody, it will be a time of contemplation and decision making for the future. For a handful of such 18-19 year olds, they will be

what does a young punk like me know about parenting anyway?

2007-02-27T11:49:00.000+08:00

Recent posts by Kitana, Humanoid Interface, and Trisha (how come all female bloggers ah?) got me thinking about parenting and education. A long time ago, a teacher of mine shared this with me: in order to drive a car, we need to pass an exam to get a license, because driving a car without adequate knowledge of how to handle a car can cause much harm and destruction. Being a parent without

happy CNY gossip

2007-02-22T09:52:00.000+08:00

me has been too busy stuffing myself silly with CNY goodies to blog my previously promised posts on Dungeons and Dragons and on ice cream. will get around to doing that once i get over feeling depressed about how i'm going to lose all the weight i've gained during CNY.in true spirit to CNY, where families gather once a year to share gossip, take the time to go read the comments thread at this

i no char bor =(

2007-02-13T09:33:00.000+08:00

what? you think FO cannot have V-day blues ah?=Phere's wishing all married and unmarried couples a very happy valentine's day. may this day be a time of great joy and happiness as you spend time with and shower appreciation on the ones you love. above all else, may you celebrate what many believe to be the most beautiful thing in the world: love.

racism, offense and discrimination (blue)

2007-02-13T00:07:00.000+08:00

I read with much interest the comments thread of the article written Speranza Nouva in Singapore Angle on the "No Pork" Podcast. Multiple issues were raised, and I believe Dansong did a good job in presenting a structure to the different issues (in addition to voicing his own opinions).The scope of this article is to explore the question "Was the podcast ethical?" I am deliberately not going to

racism, offense and discrimination (purple)

2007-02-13T00:04:00.000+08:00

i have two embarrassing confessions to make in this post.the first is that, despite all the recent buzz regarding "no pork", i haven't seen the podcast yet. it is not because, like ben, i'm so convinced of its filth, but rather, i'm actually only on a dial-up internet connection, and i don't have enough bandwidth to download even a meager podcast. =(the second confession will be at the end of

emotions, rationality and morality

2007-02-07T16:30:00.000+08:00

I've just spend several hours catching up on the blogospherical activity of the past few days. Despite all the interesting stuff going on about the "no pork" podcast (which I plan to blog about later) and the PAP counter-insurgency, it was actually this article Yawning Bread which I found most thought provoking.With reference to the hanging of Tochi (still remember him?), Alex Au describes a

thoughts on a good post

2007-02-04T21:37:00.000+08:00

once in a while you come across something which you think is so good you want to share it with everybody. (never mind the fact that everybody who reads this blog probably have already read it).this is a good post.i'm kinda busy right now (that's why never blog mah) and i don't even have time to read the new good stuff which is appearing on IS and SA (i'm very excited that kitana submitted to SA)

virtue and the singaporean

2007-01-30T11:30:00.000+08:00

There are several sources of inspiration behind this article, not all of them might seem related at first:Heavenly Sword laments that everybody around him appears to be self-centered.Zyberzitizen writes that compassion and selflessness is in our human nature, but this trait is lost when we become too engrossed in being pragmatic.Epilogos writes that charity is an important (necessary?) part of

update: break over

2007-01-29T21:02:00.000+08:00

i've decided to end my break early, possibly spurred on by these words from gayle in her final post:The good, the bad and the ugly have all crowded their way into the blogosphere, and I can see this in my readers -- more and more of the latter, perhaps.more and more ugly blogs huh. i do believe this blog isn't one of them (hopefully). and if that's so, then i want to do my part to take up and

short tribute

2007-01-28T22:18:00.000+08:00

I'm still on break, but I thought I needed to write something about this.Gayle Goh has retired from the blogosphere. Go read her final post.I believed she has made the correct and the wisest decision for herself, and I wish her all the best in her personal life and future endeavours.Probably, because I am too new to the blogosphere, I have yet to have engaged and interacted with Gayle, and I much

in search of the nameless one

2007-01-21T19:26:00.000+08:00

after searching through many remote towns near the mountains, i finally found an old man who knew something about him.[FO]: Old man, do you know anything about a wandering swordsman who has no name?[Old Man]: wandering swordsman? yeah! Jet Li, in the movie "Hero"! wah, that show damn cool man...[FO]: no, not that one. even though he's a swordsman, he's more like a scholar. He sometimes call

jiat kit kat lah

2007-01-16T20:11:00.000+08:00

i'm taking a break.i'm getting swamped with different projects in my offline life, and i didn't expect replying to comments (or rather, thinking about how to reply) on my article in SA to be this shack. wah cow, i'll never write to SA again man. =PBL, it's all your fault for inviting me to submit an article!! =P

selective personification

2007-01-13T10:03:00.000+08:00

Let me begin by first talking about 3 logical fallacies. Note that the three are not mutually exclusive.Ad hominemAn ad hominem argument is basically what is also known as a "personal attack", although the form it takes might often be subtle. The following are examples of ad hominems:i) Blogger G is only 18 years old. What does she know about the real world? Her views are naive.ii) Blogger T is a

mortal thoughts

2007-01-11T22:12:00.000+08:00

when i was still a student in university, i took courses in Japanese over a period of two years. one of my Japanese teachers was a graduate student called Mihoko. she was a very lovely girl, and looked like one of those prototypical cute anime girls, with puffy round cheeks and a beautiful smile. she was also one of the sweetest and most polite persons i ever met. one day, on the last week of the

wise restraints

2007-01-02T21:37:00.000+08:00

Right before my Christmas break, I saw this post by Zyberzitizen on "free expression", and got me started thinking about the concept of Freedom. Just yesterday (yes I have not been very up-to-date), my attention was drawn to a post on Singapore Election Watch, and in my mind similar issues surfaced. This post will not attempt to provide any definite answers on the nature of Freedom. It is but a

to all men on earth

2006-12-23T11:49:00.000+08:00

i was reading this post by zyberzitizen (and left a comment), and suddenly i remembered something i was thinking about a few months back. oddly enough, what set me thinking was this post by whipsers of the heart. back then, i was wondering if us members of the plogosphere suffer from trying so hard to be intellectual that we neglect our emotional faculties. currently, i sorta believe the converse

marriage, sex and morality

2006-12-21T21:41:00.000+08:00

Currently, in the blogosphere:Aaron (at Singapore Angle), wrote about premarital sex and argued that Singaporean parents and teachers are likely to be too conservative to teach sex education effectively and hence perhaps sex education should be "outsourced" to professionals.Ben writes that the "real problem" is not pre-marital sex, but unprotected sex with non-regular sex partners. He also seems

financial ignorance and education

2006-12-15T23:55:00.000+08:00

Some of us have been talking about the "middle class squeeze" in the plogosphere recently, and I personally find myself agreeing with Ben and the KTM that perhaps the issue is just poor spending habits (or unrealistic expectations on the quality of living) of the middle class. Identifying the problem is one thing, but addressing it is another. KTM's post had a link to a post by Aaron on financial

shhh...i tell you a secret

2006-12-15T22:15:00.000+08:00

some of you have replied to my previous post with very kind comments. many of you offered me words of advice along the line that i should not be so emotionally affected by negative comments. although i really appreciate your comments, i was wondering if some of you all have misread what i was trying to say? this post is an attempt to explain the motivations and articulation behind my previous

not enough space for all of us

2006-12-08T21:25:00.000+08:00

this is a rant post.perhaps by the end of the post you would think that it doesn't quite sound like a rant post. but i still think its a rant post. what is considered a rant and what is considered not a rant? does the fact that i think i'm ranting make it a rant? i will return to these questions at the end of the post.next, i am a lazy person. i suspect i will be using the term "civil and

can rights be wrong?

2006-12-06T17:38:00.000+08:00

I'm sure many people have been following the debate going on at Singapore Angle between the KTM and several of his detractors, including whybegay, Me and RSE. I won't comment (anymore) about that thread (which is still ongoing, and interesting in its own right), but instead, something which was exchanged during that conversation caught my attention and started me thinking.The following was taken

perspective, rational discourse, or lack thereof

2006-12-03T14:42:00.000+08:00

I was reading the comments of this post by KTM on Singapore Angle. Lots of angry bloggers and negative emotions flying about, and I can't help but feel sad. I feel even sadder because I wonder if I was somewhat morally responsible, by starting the ball rolling on the issue of communication on the plogosphere. And I feel even even sadder, because by the end of this post, I suspect I will end up

black and white (not the computer game)

2006-12-02T10:53:00.000+08:00

The singaporean blogosphere is hardly an appropriate place to discuss academic philosophical questions, yet one can't help but feel that a good deal of the philosophy (sufficiently simplified and well-articulated) might be able to help bloggers think better about their own views, and perhaps help them to think better about the decisions they make in everyday life. (Or perhaps this is just wishful

why i (still?) blog

2006-11-29T22:04:00.000+08:00

wah lau, i am on Intelligent Singaporean leh!! the IS is like the "inner circle" of the plogosphere. that means, IS thinks my blog is like, quite good lah.one part of me feels very happy. the part of me who thinks "yeah! now people know my blog damn zai lah" and the part of me who thinks "now sure got alot of people come read my blog." in fact, in addition to IS, the KTM also deemed me worthy

about my teacher-blogger list

2006-11-28T21:12:00.000+08:00

i noticed that this blog suddenly got spike in readership, and then i found out that two of the teacher-bloggers in the list i compiled found out about my list, and wrote responses, linking my blog back. so i thought i better write some clarification about my list of teacher bloggers.this list is compiled mainly for personal reasons. i am planning to write a post on education in the future, and i

why can't we all just get along?

2006-11-27T21:00:00.000+08:00

Firstly, I would like to coin the term "plogosphere". This term will refer to the subset of the blogsophere which discusses social, political or economic issues. The members of the plogosphere regularly read aggregators such as Intelligent Singaporean, Singapore Angle, and for some, Singabloodypore. To most of them, Yawning Bread, Mr Wang, Xenoboy, The Kway Teow Man, Gayle Goh and Dr Huang are

how much will you sacrifice to be superstar?

2006-11-26T18:39:00.000+08:00

the past few week or so I sick lah, so never blog. actually last week, i was watching project superstar (ha, now you all know i watch such trashy shows on tv) and something happened on that show which set me thinking. one of the female contestents, Kewei, was disqualified from the competition despite making it into the top 12 female contestents. She was disqualified becuase she did not quit her

teacher bloggers (for own reference)

2006-11-25T00:23:00.000+08:00

Revival of a Singapore Teacher's LifeA primary school teacher in a "well-known school". Honestly expressive about her(?) problems and disappointment with her circumstances, but pledges to help her students to reach their fullest potential.[Addendum: She has since blogged that she is not "disappointed", only "consciously aware" of her circumstances]Mis-EducatorsLight-hearted posts authored by

3 arguments against altruism

2006-11-24T16:43:00.000+08:00

I was discussing the issue of altruism with a friend, and she said I should blog this, since others might find it helpful. In this post, I will discuss the arguments of Bishop Joseph Butler, a theologian and philosopher of the 18th century, and most of this is taken from his work "Sermons on Human Nature." Butler was largely writing in response to Thomas Hobbes, who wrote that humans are

got such thing as "prodigy blogger" or not ah?

2006-11-15T22:37:00.000+08:00

i just read Gayle Goh's post on GST hikes. since in one of my earlier posts i sort of said something not so nice about Gayle Goh, i want to compensate by saying nice things now. shame on me for bullying this nice 18 year old girl!she said her post took her 9 minutes to blog. wah lau. damn zai lah. for me, a post that length takes about one hour plus. probably becoz my england not always very

me is wondering

2006-11-15T21:49:00.000+08:00

me is wondering ah (remember me is noob ah), why so many pple blog about the GST hike ah? isit becoz big news, must blog right? but i dunno why leh, i got nothing to say about the GST hike. maybe becoz i know nothing about economics (i never take O or A level econs mah). in fact, me thinks reading the blogosphere is very good education. me learn alot about economic theories and how taxes work

i like my kway teow with hum

2006-11-14T21:03:00.000+08:00

Within the span of 24 hours, both Mr Wang and the KTM left comments on my blog, which I admit, made me feel rather elated (I'm still a noob mah). I totally didn't expect high profile bloggers like both of them to read my blog and go through some of my thoughts, which I do believe I've been rather clumsy in presenting.Talking about the KTM, I was reading the comments on Kitana's excellent post (

tacit assumptions, worldview and religion

2006-11-13T19:13:00.000+08:00

As a human being, we are required to act (i.e. do something), most of the time in our lives. When we make a conscious, rational action, (such as opening the door upon hearing the door bell ring), the action can be said to be one which is motivated (i.e. not random or irrational). Perhaps, all voluntary action is motivated. But whatever the case, a motivated action could be said to be caused by

16 year old ri boy breaks world record in fastest sms

2006-11-13T19:06:00.000+08:00

wah. ri must be so proud. not only does it boasts the finest young minds in the nation, it also has the world's fastest sms-er.why the heck is this front page news??

goh meng seng + penal code

2006-11-10T20:40:00.000+08:00

wah kao. so many pple blogging about the penal code. this may be the next big wave to hit the blogosphere siah. as for me ah, the whole incident (plus comments by yawning bread) reminded me about a project in philosophy i wanted to do some time ago, and blue is doing it now. i understand it look quite cheem at first ah, but if you slowly read all the posts in order then maybe you can understand

moral realism

2006-11-10T19:45:00.000+08:00

Firstly, if it is not at all obvious by now, I am not particularly interested (at the moment at least) in arguing for or against the propositions: "homosexuality is unnatural" or "homosexuality is immoral". My own views on the ethics of homosexuality will emerge later as I describe my attempt to outline a framework of ethical discourse which I think would be useful, especially among two very

short discussion on christian ethics and homosexuality

2006-11-09T20:01:00.000+08:00

Since I started it with my previous post, I will continue to discuss a little bit more about the ethics of homosexuality, especially with regards to Christianity. Setting the screwball argument aside, let me revisit this structure for the argument "homosexuality is unnatural, hence immoral":Premise [1]: Homosexuality is unnaturalPremise [2]: Whatever is unnatural, must be immoralhence, conclusion

interlude: purple

2006-11-09T19:24:00.000+08:00

ok me just want to say a few things ah. firstly, if you read this post you would know that i've been going through some, um...soul searching, recently lah. actually ah, i got think about stopping blogging completely lah, but on second thought, decided not to liao. instead, me will blog differently than beforeyou see ah, last time, i just wanted to say my 2 cents worth in every single social/

why "unnatural" does not equate to "immoral"

2006-11-09T18:21:00.000+08:00

In light of the recent amendments to the penal code, Yawning Bread and Mr Wang have both blogged about what this could mean to the homosexual community here in Singapore. This reminded me of an argument that might (or might not) be useful when discussing about the ethics of homosexuality. The argument below did not originate from me; it was taught to me

noob explores blogosphere & on the 6th day...(blue)

2006-11-04T00:07:00.000+08:00

I discovered that sometimes it takes a long time to write a blog post. I formulated the idea behind this post almost a week ago, but I only managed to publish the post 6 days later. I discovered that to be an avid blogger, each day you have to read other people's blogs, the comments on their blogs, maybe add comments of your own, then write your own posts. That could take up to several hours

noob explores blogosphere & on the 6th day...(purple)

2006-11-03T22:09:00.000+08:00

wah, the more i explore the singaporean blogosphere, the more interesting things i find. especially many new things which i never know about such as the AcidFlask incident lah, the Mr Brown incident, the current news going around about Shincorp & the restructuring of TODAY and what happened to nantah in 1980. actually ah, my mom told me about nantah several years ago, but me was too politically

Hypothetical story

2006-10-31T20:28:00.000+08:00

It's been several months since I've joined them. I know they've been observing me. But I've been used to that all my life. I've been looking for opportunities to prove myself, and I think I've been doing pretty well. A few days ago, one of the senior members who knows who I am asked me to come for a meeting today. I think they noticed my hard work. Looks like I'll have a chance to go on to bigger

did me mention than me is noob? (blue)

2006-10-30T20:14:00.000+08:00

The thing about being new to the blogosphere (other than all the technical mishaps) is that so much has happened already (in the blogosphere) which I don't know about. I spend a good many hours browsing through blog archives, and the result was nothing short of a most enlightening experience.I admit (with much shame) that I was someone whom was never really interested in current affairs, even

did me mention than me is noob? (purple)

2006-10-30T19:48:00.000+08:00

firstly ah, sorry for those two cool dudes who left me comments on my first post. i was trying to migrate my blog over to blogger beta then the comments kena deleted. sorry dudes. i was like having so much porblems trying to publish using the non-beta blogger. what can i say, i noob mah.and then before i successfully migrated my blog ah, i tried to use wordpress. then dunno what happen when i was

Internet is powderful yes, but big blooder lagi more powerderful (purple)

2006-10-29T23:49:00.001+08:00

woah dude. i set up my first blog, i go to sleep, then next day find that i got comments liao. not just that, ben mentions me in his latest post. wah lau, damn lot of pressure leh. (macham as stless as those top-jc pple mugging for A level now. dun get straight A then cannot join the elitist gang) lidat now i must start producing serious stuff or i look damn poser. anyways, if you came here via

Internet is powderful yes, but big blooder lagi more powerderful (blue)

2006-10-29T23:48:00.000+08:00

I refer to kitana's post on the voice of the internet. And surely, this topic is by far more interesting than anything else that can possibly be said about WSM. Our blogs are monitored. How thoroughly monitored, only the folks in ISD will know I guess. But definitely they are monitored enough for a CEO of stat boards to know that certain scholars are "defaming" him on his blogs; that someone was

me blog! (purple)

2006-10-29T23:47:00.002+08:00

me is noob blogger. one day someone tell me "eh, you got hear about Wee Shu Min not? latest controversy in the blogosphere" and then i say "no leh", then he tell me about this char bor. then i very interested. all along i always interested in stories about elitism one. why leh? next time then i tell you. anyways, so i went to look up different blogs on technorati. then i like, "wah, blogs so

me blog! (blue)

2006-10-29T23:47:00.001+08:00

I believe in rhetoric-free civil discourse. I believe in the respectful debate of opposing views and the sharing of ideas. I believe in mutually agreeing to disagree when both sides fail to convince the other.I also believe that it is impossible for the majority of the singapore blogosphere to adopt such beliefs.However, my very recent foray into the singapore blogosphere revealed to me that