Language is a live thing. It grows, evolves, changes, adapts according to the time. And if your language does not have a word to express what you have in mind, well, copy it from someone else's.
Which brings me back fond memories of some bastardised English words I learned when I was a learner driver. Stoloko and gostan.
Stoloko is a stop sign, and gostan means to reverse, as in reversing your car.
When I first heard these strange words, I was pretty sure they were of foreign origin, but could not figure out how they came about. Asking is useless too, as everyone else, including dad, just used them without the need to know the words' origin. That would have been quite the norm for words which are clearly your own. You can tell which words are your own, and which words are not, as the foreign words contain pronunciations not normally associated with your own language. And 's' is forbidden in Chinese language.
Then a eureka moment hit one day, and stoloko was debunked as 'stop look go'. And gostan as 'go stern'.
Encarta dictionary contains a definition for 'go stern', and it says it is used informally in Malaysia to mean 'reversing'. It seems, only Malaysians would use and understand this word. Sadly, Encarta does not contain an entry for stoloko.
Of course, such copying of foreign words are still ongoing to this day for relatively young languages, like Malay. For a more mature language, such as English, it would have largely incorporated words of foreign origin a long time ago. When you have used other people's words long enough, you can claim them as your own (This may apply for other things as well. If you have occupied others' land long enough, it is yours too).
Thus in Malay, komunikasi is for communication, rasisme is for racism. And so on and on.
Long ago, I thought that the use of words like stoloko and gostan were tasteless. I never used these 'words' myself. It doesn't feel so bad after all.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Be Content And Grateful With What You Already Have
Despite not being a Catholic, yet, I have been greatly fascinated by the Christian parables told in and out of the Bible.
I have frequently used some of these parables to remind myself, and my children, of what we should aspire to do, and be.
This one is a particular favourite.
A vineyard owner employs casual workers to work for him. Each morning a number of workers would wait outside his vineyard to start work early, and be paid the agreed daily wage of one denarius at the end of the work day.
One day, in the afternoon, the vineyard owner spotted a few wanderers outside his farm asking if they could also work. They were allowed to join the rest of the workers on the farm.
At the end of the work day, the vineyard owner paid out the wages to everyone. He first called out the last people who came, and paid them one denarius each. Then he paid out, also one denarius, to every other worker who started work from the morning. These early workers became unhappy, for they were paid the same wage as those that came to work late and worked for lesser hours.
The vineyard owner said to these unhappy workers, "Did you not agree to be paid one denarius a day for your work? Now you are receiving exactly that, why are you still not happy?"
The parable is traditionally taught to imply that the reward of heaven is equal for all believers, whether they have been a long time believer, or a new believer.
We can also draw many other lessons from it. Remember, life is not always fair. Perhaps we need to be mindful that fairness does not have a simple definition.
Be content and grateful with what you already have.
I have frequently used some of these parables to remind myself, and my children, of what we should aspire to do, and be.
This one is a particular favourite.
A vineyard owner employs casual workers to work for him. Each morning a number of workers would wait outside his vineyard to start work early, and be paid the agreed daily wage of one denarius at the end of the work day.
One day, in the afternoon, the vineyard owner spotted a few wanderers outside his farm asking if they could also work. They were allowed to join the rest of the workers on the farm.
At the end of the work day, the vineyard owner paid out the wages to everyone. He first called out the last people who came, and paid them one denarius each. Then he paid out, also one denarius, to every other worker who started work from the morning. These early workers became unhappy, for they were paid the same wage as those that came to work late and worked for lesser hours.
The vineyard owner said to these unhappy workers, "Did you not agree to be paid one denarius a day for your work? Now you are receiving exactly that, why are you still not happy?"
The parable is traditionally taught to imply that the reward of heaven is equal for all believers, whether they have been a long time believer, or a new believer.
We can also draw many other lessons from it. Remember, life is not always fair. Perhaps we need to be mindful that fairness does not have a simple definition.
Be content and grateful with what you already have.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
As Good As You Are
Two days ago I attended the second RCIA session. A fellow participant, a Malaysian of course, asked me why I am becoming a Catholic.
This is of course a question that I have thought about for sometime.
The best correct answer, I feel, and that is the one I gave, is that I see many Catholics are good people.
What other answer can it be? It could not be because I feel connected with God, at least not yet.
For sometime already, I have had this experiment. Say, if I see or meet someone, without knowing what religion he practices, and assuming there would be no outwardly signs of his religion, such as wearing a cross or whatever, would I be able to tell from his bahaviours what religion he practices? Most all of the time, the answer is no.
If your religion is good, should you not feel or be obliged to be a better person? I think you should.
I was first introduced to Christianity at high school. I did not stick with it then. The main reason was because I could not reconcile with the idea told to me then that "to go to heaven all you need to do is to believe in Christ." I know that sometimes the person carrying such message is not necessary the expert on Christianity. Maybe they wanted to keep the message simple, or their objective was only to stuff the church with numbers. However, many followers seemed to fully believe that their salvation was assured with a belief in Christ, alone.
Personally, I find that statement shallow. Yes, believing in Christ can bring you salvation. But what is the meaning of 'believe'? I feel 'believe' includes doing all that Jesus said you should do, besides acknowledging Jesus as God's authority (or Son in this case).
That could largely exclude people who believe in the person of Jesus as the saviour, but ignore what he said you should do.
In one of the homilies I heard in my church. I remember the priest talked about a story of a very rich and in every way a very good man asked Jesus how he could be a good follower of Jesus (in today's parlance, a Christian). Jesus replied "give up all that you have and follow me." The rich man, despite him being an extremely kind man, meaning he had been helping others with his wealth, was unable to give up all that he had. And so he walked away, disappointed.
Today I am in RCIA, not necessarily because I see Catholics alone are better people than followers of other religions. All people who have and believe in a good religion, have equal likeliness to become better people.
Heaven or heavens must be created for people who have been good. If knowing Christ is the only condition for entry into heaven, would you, a Christian, feel more entitled to a place in heaven, simply on merit of your recognition of Christ the person, than say someone who have been doing everything good but never knew Christ the person?
Ultimately, your religion is only as good as you are.
This is of course a question that I have thought about for sometime.
The best correct answer, I feel, and that is the one I gave, is that I see many Catholics are good people.
What other answer can it be? It could not be because I feel connected with God, at least not yet.
For sometime already, I have had this experiment. Say, if I see or meet someone, without knowing what religion he practices, and assuming there would be no outwardly signs of his religion, such as wearing a cross or whatever, would I be able to tell from his bahaviours what religion he practices? Most all of the time, the answer is no.
If your religion is good, should you not feel or be obliged to be a better person? I think you should.
I was first introduced to Christianity at high school. I did not stick with it then. The main reason was because I could not reconcile with the idea told to me then that "to go to heaven all you need to do is to believe in Christ." I know that sometimes the person carrying such message is not necessary the expert on Christianity. Maybe they wanted to keep the message simple, or their objective was only to stuff the church with numbers. However, many followers seemed to fully believe that their salvation was assured with a belief in Christ, alone.
Personally, I find that statement shallow. Yes, believing in Christ can bring you salvation. But what is the meaning of 'believe'? I feel 'believe' includes doing all that Jesus said you should do, besides acknowledging Jesus as God's authority (or Son in this case).
That could largely exclude people who believe in the person of Jesus as the saviour, but ignore what he said you should do.
In one of the homilies I heard in my church. I remember the priest talked about a story of a very rich and in every way a very good man asked Jesus how he could be a good follower of Jesus (in today's parlance, a Christian). Jesus replied "give up all that you have and follow me." The rich man, despite him being an extremely kind man, meaning he had been helping others with his wealth, was unable to give up all that he had. And so he walked away, disappointed.
Today I am in RCIA, not necessarily because I see Catholics alone are better people than followers of other religions. All people who have and believe in a good religion, have equal likeliness to become better people.
Heaven or heavens must be created for people who have been good. If knowing Christ is the only condition for entry into heaven, would you, a Christian, feel more entitled to a place in heaven, simply on merit of your recognition of Christ the person, than say someone who have been doing everything good but never knew Christ the person?
Ultimately, your religion is only as good as you are.
Be Fair? I Like To Be Fair
So some bumiputeras demand their lot be given 67% of the nation's wealth, as reported by www.malaysiakini.com today. It seems their only justification for the demand is that they make up 67% of the nation's population. And, in case you feel like passing judgment already, just bear in mind these bumiputeras are being very fair. The 33% minority races still get to keep their 33% of wealth.
Why stop at demanding wealth for the race? I say it is even better to demand that wealth be distributed equally with each citizen of the country. In that way, the bumiputeras would definitely get their 67%, the minority races their 33%. On top of that, there won't be any intra or inter race wealth gap. Fair to all the bumiputeras, fair to everyone. So, let's go all the way, for fairness sake. Let Malaysia be the first nation on Earth to achieve that absolute equality. Who can argue with that?
Be fair? Come on, I like to be fair too.
Why stop at demanding wealth for the race? I say it is even better to demand that wealth be distributed equally with each citizen of the country. In that way, the bumiputeras would definitely get their 67%, the minority races their 33%. On top of that, there won't be any intra or inter race wealth gap. Fair to all the bumiputeras, fair to everyone. So, let's go all the way, for fairness sake. Let Malaysia be the first nation on Earth to achieve that absolute equality. Who can argue with that?
Be fair? Come on, I like to be fair too.
Friday, May 28, 2010
If It Ain't Broken, Fix It Nevertheless
The Australian education system and its structure change all the time, sometimes they change for the worse. But then this is the fun part, it is only when you try to change it that you discover if it works or not. If it does not work as you intended, then you change again.
Even when we have the same government, it tweaks the education system every couple of years. When we do change the government, of course a major change could be expected. It is quite an effort to keep up with the changes. The government study aid scheme, the examination system, the curriculum are all subject to change. Change, it seems, is the only constant.
Two years ago, the federal government introduced a national assessment tests for students in Year 3 and Year 5. These tests measure the students' individual ability as well as to provide a national performance comparative study for each school. Until these tests were introduced you could only guess how well a school in Victoria performs against another in South Australia. Each state has its own curriculum and examination system.
When I talk about these constant and rapid changes, I have my reference point firmly planted in the Malaysian education system. For as long as I can remember, the Malaysian system changes little. And if there is a change, it takes years to implement, whether it is to implement or to remove an implementation. The Malaysian model is like a sailing Titanic, it starts slow, and it stops slow.
We know if something is not broken, don't fix it. In the real competitive world, being complacent with what has worked is the equivalent of being broken. Fix it nevertheless.
Even when we have the same government, it tweaks the education system every couple of years. When we do change the government, of course a major change could be expected. It is quite an effort to keep up with the changes. The government study aid scheme, the examination system, the curriculum are all subject to change. Change, it seems, is the only constant.
Two years ago, the federal government introduced a national assessment tests for students in Year 3 and Year 5. These tests measure the students' individual ability as well as to provide a national performance comparative study for each school. Until these tests were introduced you could only guess how well a school in Victoria performs against another in South Australia. Each state has its own curriculum and examination system.
When I talk about these constant and rapid changes, I have my reference point firmly planted in the Malaysian education system. For as long as I can remember, the Malaysian system changes little. And if there is a change, it takes years to implement, whether it is to implement or to remove an implementation. The Malaysian model is like a sailing Titanic, it starts slow, and it stops slow.
We know if something is not broken, don't fix it. In the real competitive world, being complacent with what has worked is the equivalent of being broken. Fix it nevertheless.
If It Can Be Given, It Can Be Taken
Life is full of strange twists. What I want to relate is not something scientific, but it could pay to be believer.
Over a period of time, I have had a few people saying more or less the same thing to me while they were all at the peak of their success and fortune. Soon after saying the same thing these successful and rich people rolled down hill and were reduced to a fraction in size of their former glorious selves.
What did they all say? Well, they were rich and successful and they shared a common denominator, they were lowly educated. None of them went to college. They attributed their success to this one fact, on top of that they mocked the value of education. They declared, going to college is a waste of time and money.
And then these successful people suddenly were successful no more. They lost their fortunes. They were despatched back to square one like a monopoly player directed back to square one on the authority of a chance card.
How did that happen? I don't know. There is one thing I believe though, it pays to be modest.
If it can be given to you, it can be taken from you.
Over a period of time, I have had a few people saying more or less the same thing to me while they were all at the peak of their success and fortune. Soon after saying the same thing these successful and rich people rolled down hill and were reduced to a fraction in size of their former glorious selves.
What did they all say? Well, they were rich and successful and they shared a common denominator, they were lowly educated. None of them went to college. They attributed their success to this one fact, on top of that they mocked the value of education. They declared, going to college is a waste of time and money.
And then these successful people suddenly were successful no more. They lost their fortunes. They were despatched back to square one like a monopoly player directed back to square one on the authority of a chance card.
How did that happen? I don't know. There is one thing I believe though, it pays to be modest.
If it can be given to you, it can be taken from you.
So You Know About Me, Really?
It is interesting to hear people speaking confidently about the character of another person, who could be his family member, his good friend or his work mate. So you hear a statement like "I know my son would never do such a thing. Anyone else I can't say for sure, but definitely not my son. I know him."
I believe, quite often, the statement is more of a statement of hope, as in "I hope my son would never do such a thing" than a statement of guarantee that "my son would never do such a thing."
We couldn't really know another person so well, even if that person has been very close to us for a long time, could we?
Here is a true story.
I had a classmate in Primary 1. He was the smartest in class. Smartest as in he already learnt everything the teacher was teaching. He was also the naughtiest in class. When the teacher tried to cane him, allowable in those days, he snatched the cane from the teacher and directed the cane back at the teacher.
He was removed from the school. His parents transferred him to another school in Singapore. I have never seen him again.
My classmate was the only son. His parents were rich, and were modern in outlook for their time. They were bringing up their son differently from the rest of the parents. I was brought up to respect the authority of our elders. Unquestionable authority, only to be obeyed, never to be challenged.
Many years later, my parents were retired, living a rich and comfortable life. One day dad bumped into my classmate's father, whom I said was a rich man himself before. Dad was surprised to see his village mate an old, weak and haggard man. Naturally dad asked about his welfare. My classmate's father related to dad his misfortune. He had given all his wealth to his son, my classmate. He loved his only son. He trusted him. He wanted to give his son everything he had.
His son, my classmate, turned around to kick his own parents out of the home. Now old and penniless, my classmate's father found work as a store attendant. His wife, my classmate's mother, a rich man's daughter herself, was now working as a house maid.
Such is just one of many sad stories that have been played out several times, like a script, to people I know personally.
Could you really and absolutely know someone you know?
I believe, quite often, the statement is more of a statement of hope, as in "I hope my son would never do such a thing" than a statement of guarantee that "my son would never do such a thing."
We couldn't really know another person so well, even if that person has been very close to us for a long time, could we?
Here is a true story.
I had a classmate in Primary 1. He was the smartest in class. Smartest as in he already learnt everything the teacher was teaching. He was also the naughtiest in class. When the teacher tried to cane him, allowable in those days, he snatched the cane from the teacher and directed the cane back at the teacher.
He was removed from the school. His parents transferred him to another school in Singapore. I have never seen him again.
My classmate was the only son. His parents were rich, and were modern in outlook for their time. They were bringing up their son differently from the rest of the parents. I was brought up to respect the authority of our elders. Unquestionable authority, only to be obeyed, never to be challenged.
Many years later, my parents were retired, living a rich and comfortable life. One day dad bumped into my classmate's father, whom I said was a rich man himself before. Dad was surprised to see his village mate an old, weak and haggard man. Naturally dad asked about his welfare. My classmate's father related to dad his misfortune. He had given all his wealth to his son, my classmate. He loved his only son. He trusted him. He wanted to give his son everything he had.
His son, my classmate, turned around to kick his own parents out of the home. Now old and penniless, my classmate's father found work as a store attendant. His wife, my classmate's mother, a rich man's daughter herself, was now working as a house maid.
Such is just one of many sad stories that have been played out several times, like a script, to people I know personally.
Could you really and absolutely know someone you know?
Spot The Difference
My children are in the habit of correcting my English when I speak, so I learn to pay attention when I speak. Naturally I also pay attention to the way others speak. Here are some interesting observations.
How do you ask a question? Many ways, really.
1. You haven't done your work, have you?
2. You have done your work, haven't you?
3. Have you done your work?
The three questions are asked in relation to work. The enquirer does not know whether work has been done or not, and he wants to know about it.
In the first question, the enquirer 'believes' you have not done your work and wants you to confirm that he is right.
In the second question, the enquirer 'believes' you have done your work and wants you to confirm he is right.
In the third question, the enquirer does not have a pre-known idea whether work has been done or not. He wants you to say it yourself.
Although all three ways of asking the question have the same intention to find out if work has been done or not, the manner the question was asked can invite different reactions.
If you are asked the first question, when in fact you have done your work, you could be seriously upset and reply as such, "I have done the work, why do you say I haven't?". You feel unhappy that others somehow did not believe you could have done the work.
If you are asked the second question, when in fact you have not done your work, you could reply, maybe rather embarassingly, "No, I am sorry I have not."
Finally, if you are asked the third question, you could simply reply with a yes or no, without getting agitated one way or the other.
How do you prefer your questions asked? How do you ask your questions?
How do you ask a question? Many ways, really.
1. You haven't done your work, have you?
2. You have done your work, haven't you?
3. Have you done your work?
The three questions are asked in relation to work. The enquirer does not know whether work has been done or not, and he wants to know about it.
In the first question, the enquirer 'believes' you have not done your work and wants you to confirm that he is right.
In the second question, the enquirer 'believes' you have done your work and wants you to confirm he is right.
In the third question, the enquirer does not have a pre-known idea whether work has been done or not. He wants you to say it yourself.
Although all three ways of asking the question have the same intention to find out if work has been done or not, the manner the question was asked can invite different reactions.
If you are asked the first question, when in fact you have done your work, you could be seriously upset and reply as such, "I have done the work, why do you say I haven't?". You feel unhappy that others somehow did not believe you could have done the work.
If you are asked the second question, when in fact you have not done your work, you could reply, maybe rather embarassingly, "No, I am sorry I have not."
Finally, if you are asked the third question, you could simply reply with a yes or no, without getting agitated one way or the other.
How do you prefer your questions asked? How do you ask your questions?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Because You Don't Know
Sometimes we like to shut others up, because they don't know, because they are not the experts.
We ought to listen carefully to what others say. Their words are our mirrors. They tell us what we look like. Telling others to shut up because they are not the experts only take away the mirrors from us.
Because I don't know how to cook, it does not mean I don't know the taste of the food. Because I don't know how to treat a patient, it does not mean I don't know the doctor may be killing the patient. Because I don't know how to build an aeroplane, it does not mean I don't know if an aeroplane feels safe to fly.
Sometimes we cast away valuable comments, just because, you don't know.
We ought to listen carefully to what others say. Their words are our mirrors. They tell us what we look like. Telling others to shut up because they are not the experts only take away the mirrors from us.
Because I don't know how to cook, it does not mean I don't know the taste of the food. Because I don't know how to treat a patient, it does not mean I don't know the doctor may be killing the patient. Because I don't know how to build an aeroplane, it does not mean I don't know if an aeroplane feels safe to fly.
Sometimes we cast away valuable comments, just because, you don't know.
There Is No Plan B
A fellow parent at Julian's school had asked me, what is Julian's plan B if he does not achieve his plan A?
I was stumped for a few moments. I could not answer his question. The fact is we have not thought of a plan B.
Then I thought deeper. Why would a school child require a plan B? He does not need one. He has plenty of time to make his plan fully realisable. Is that not true? He is in full control of his plan. No one can deny him from pursuing his dream job if he achieves the required academic standard. You would only need a plan B if you are not in full control of plan A and you are at mercy of some external forces.
Perhaps parents in Malaysia may have the need for a plan B for their children. Not here. There is no plan B.
I was stumped for a few moments. I could not answer his question. The fact is we have not thought of a plan B.
Then I thought deeper. Why would a school child require a plan B? He does not need one. He has plenty of time to make his plan fully realisable. Is that not true? He is in full control of his plan. No one can deny him from pursuing his dream job if he achieves the required academic standard. You would only need a plan B if you are not in full control of plan A and you are at mercy of some external forces.
Perhaps parents in Malaysia may have the need for a plan B for their children. Not here. There is no plan B.
The Time Has Changed
My sister posted on her blog about how dad had turned her down when she gave part of her first pay check to him, as a gift of appreciation. Dad said to her there is no need for her to spray pepper in the ocean. Keep your money please.
I never gave any money to dad. I suppose I knew better than my sister to spray pepper in the ocean. I did give some money to mum during Chinese New Year. Mum would never tell us not to spray any pepper. She just re-packaged the red packets and the money was returned back, the roundabout way.
Now I am dad. I do not have the opportunity to say to my son the same thing that dad had said to my sister. In fact, I would be counting my blessings if there is no more I need to do for my son from here on.
As the younger generations always like to lament, against us old folks, the time has changed.
The time has indeed changed.
I never gave any money to dad. I suppose I knew better than my sister to spray pepper in the ocean. I did give some money to mum during Chinese New Year. Mum would never tell us not to spray any pepper. She just re-packaged the red packets and the money was returned back, the roundabout way.
Now I am dad. I do not have the opportunity to say to my son the same thing that dad had said to my sister. In fact, I would be counting my blessings if there is no more I need to do for my son from here on.
As the younger generations always like to lament, against us old folks, the time has changed.
The time has indeed changed.
Rebecca's Antartica Resort
Rebecca's school gave her a project to do. Build an Antartica Resort.
Naturally, the school knows that the children can't build such a project on their own. The intention was to involve the parents to help.
Rebecca is typically short on ability to do a creative art project. It is a huge challenge for her. She sat there for half an hour and could only come out with a plan with a few circles where she would put her McDonald's, an ice skating rink, a hotel, and a ticketing booth. Two years ago when I helped Julian with the same project, he did 75% of the work. Julian's work was voted the best in class.
I am determined to help Rebecca be the best in class as well. So I spent last three days creating the entire 3D resort on a A3 foam base.
Rebecca was happy with the work. But she asked, why do you spend so much time on the project? Most people only spent like half a day to do it.
I told Rebecca, if you want to do something, do it to the best, not to your best, but to the best there is. You may not be the absolute best, but it is good enough if you are one of the finalists.
There is a difference between doing it to your best, and doing it to the best there is.
As a young boy, mum showed me how she was able to create all sorts of crafts with just a few simple household tools. We did not have the luxury to buy toys, so mum improvised and created for me toys like catapults, pistols, lanterns, feather shuttle, paper ball, paper planes, spinning top, and so many others. Mum was so able and creative, I did not remember if there was anything she could not do for me as a child. Mum showed me in action that whatever you want to do, it has to be done to the best there is.
Years ago, when I was trying to motivate Colin to do better at his school works, I told him that we Chinese are a culturally proud and competitive people. We do not walk away from a competitive challenge. Colin's reply almost caused me to choke with laughter. He asked "why do I not feel proud and competitive?". My son had thought that as a Chinese he would have been 'programmed' to automatically be proud and competitive. Ya son, I hope it was as easy as that.
I finished Rebecca's Antartica Resort. I want her to win top vote for this one, and others that she participates in the future.
Naturally, the school knows that the children can't build such a project on their own. The intention was to involve the parents to help.
Rebecca is typically short on ability to do a creative art project. It is a huge challenge for her. She sat there for half an hour and could only come out with a plan with a few circles where she would put her McDonald's, an ice skating rink, a hotel, and a ticketing booth. Two years ago when I helped Julian with the same project, he did 75% of the work. Julian's work was voted the best in class.
I am determined to help Rebecca be the best in class as well. So I spent last three days creating the entire 3D resort on a A3 foam base.
Rebecca was happy with the work. But she asked, why do you spend so much time on the project? Most people only spent like half a day to do it.
I told Rebecca, if you want to do something, do it to the best, not to your best, but to the best there is. You may not be the absolute best, but it is good enough if you are one of the finalists.
There is a difference between doing it to your best, and doing it to the best there is.
As a young boy, mum showed me how she was able to create all sorts of crafts with just a few simple household tools. We did not have the luxury to buy toys, so mum improvised and created for me toys like catapults, pistols, lanterns, feather shuttle, paper ball, paper planes, spinning top, and so many others. Mum was so able and creative, I did not remember if there was anything she could not do for me as a child. Mum showed me in action that whatever you want to do, it has to be done to the best there is.
Years ago, when I was trying to motivate Colin to do better at his school works, I told him that we Chinese are a culturally proud and competitive people. We do not walk away from a competitive challenge. Colin's reply almost caused me to choke with laughter. He asked "why do I not feel proud and competitive?". My son had thought that as a Chinese he would have been 'programmed' to automatically be proud and competitive. Ya son, I hope it was as easy as that.
I finished Rebecca's Antartica Resort. I want her to win top vote for this one, and others that she participates in the future.
Fame After Death
Julian asked why do artists become famous only after their death, whereas musicians can achieve fame while alive?
Let's sidestep the question a bit. Death is a pretty powerful thing. Most people are only appreciated after they die. Look at the flowers scattering all over the cemetery, I bet you those dead never quite received so much flowers when they were alive, if any at all.
So, first thing first. It is quite normal to be appreciated only after one dies. No need to be too concerned with whys.
Now, to answer Julian's question. I don't really know why many artists died a pauper. I could guess:
1. They were too far ahead of their time. Their art pieces could not be appreciated. They were trying to create a new market when they should have just painted what people wanted to buy. (In case you did not catch it, this one is learned from my IM experience).
2. They were not employing the right marketing strategies, were marketing to the wrong people, insufficient market exposure, not enough time for marketing.
3. The artists were weirdos, ugly, unfriendly, unsociable. Let's face it, only good behaving, good looking, friendly, sociable and glib talking people are successful in achieving fame. Ask any image consultants.
4. It takes decades for an art piece to become an art piece. In the beginning, it is just a piece of garbage.
5. The poor artists were trying to sell too cheaply in order to survive. If you are selling at $1 a piece, can you ever be famous?
6. There was no Google.
Now have a look at the musicians.
7. Musicians clearly have a marketing advantage. They don't have to go to the market to sell their works. Just play the music at home and within half a mile of home you may just find that pair of ears to create you the fame.
8. Music is more easily appreciated by the masses. Many people can appreciate some kind of music. How many can understand Picasso's?
9. The music industry is more developed with better support infrastructure to help each other. There are more promoters and events to help musicians attain recognition.
Maybe Julian has his reasons for trying to excel in both art and music. Is he spreading his eggs across two baskets?
Let's sidestep the question a bit. Death is a pretty powerful thing. Most people are only appreciated after they die. Look at the flowers scattering all over the cemetery, I bet you those dead never quite received so much flowers when they were alive, if any at all.
So, first thing first. It is quite normal to be appreciated only after one dies. No need to be too concerned with whys.
Now, to answer Julian's question. I don't really know why many artists died a pauper. I could guess:
1. They were too far ahead of their time. Their art pieces could not be appreciated. They were trying to create a new market when they should have just painted what people wanted to buy. (In case you did not catch it, this one is learned from my IM experience).
2. They were not employing the right marketing strategies, were marketing to the wrong people, insufficient market exposure, not enough time for marketing.
3. The artists were weirdos, ugly, unfriendly, unsociable. Let's face it, only good behaving, good looking, friendly, sociable and glib talking people are successful in achieving fame. Ask any image consultants.
4. It takes decades for an art piece to become an art piece. In the beginning, it is just a piece of garbage.
5. The poor artists were trying to sell too cheaply in order to survive. If you are selling at $1 a piece, can you ever be famous?
6. There was no Google.
Now have a look at the musicians.
7. Musicians clearly have a marketing advantage. They don't have to go to the market to sell their works. Just play the music at home and within half a mile of home you may just find that pair of ears to create you the fame.
8. Music is more easily appreciated by the masses. Many people can appreciate some kind of music. How many can understand Picasso's?
9. The music industry is more developed with better support infrastructure to help each other. There are more promoters and events to help musicians attain recognition.
Maybe Julian has his reasons for trying to excel in both art and music. Is he spreading his eggs across two baskets?
Saturday, May 22, 2010
New Faith Journey
Two nights ago I embarked on a new journey towards becoming a Catholic eventually. I joined the RCIA group at my church. RCIA is short for 'Rites of Christian Initiation for Adults'. It is an introductory and exploratory discourse for adults who are interested in understanding or becoming a member of the Catholic faith.
The priest at my church is Father Philip. He, like me, came from Malaysia. Half of the ten or so new faith seekers were also from Malaysia. This observation alone should confirm that Malaysia is losing a great number of its people. Many of these leavers are unsurprisingly finding their new home in Australia.
So the conversation last night was all about Malaysia, from politics to food to culture. You could be forgiven for thinking that the session was held in Johor Bahru. The few caucasian Australians were the clear minority. Due to the sheer number of Asians, especially Malaysians, living in Perth, many Australians are well disposed to the culture and information about Asian countries. So the common topics of Asian food, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir etc featured prominently in conversations without anyone feeling out of place. Well, I did say that I love Australia. The people here are so adaptable to new cultures, so long as they do not conflict with their core beliefs.
As an outside member of the Catholic faith, I might have more freedom to ask a few questions. I look forward to the weeks ahead when we explore some of the touchy subjects.
I will record my thoughts and discoveries here from time to time.
The priest at my church is Father Philip. He, like me, came from Malaysia. Half of the ten or so new faith seekers were also from Malaysia. This observation alone should confirm that Malaysia is losing a great number of its people. Many of these leavers are unsurprisingly finding their new home in Australia.
So the conversation last night was all about Malaysia, from politics to food to culture. You could be forgiven for thinking that the session was held in Johor Bahru. The few caucasian Australians were the clear minority. Due to the sheer number of Asians, especially Malaysians, living in Perth, many Australians are well disposed to the culture and information about Asian countries. So the common topics of Asian food, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir etc featured prominently in conversations without anyone feeling out of place. Well, I did say that I love Australia. The people here are so adaptable to new cultures, so long as they do not conflict with their core beliefs.
As an outside member of the Catholic faith, I might have more freedom to ask a few questions. I look forward to the weeks ahead when we explore some of the touchy subjects.
I will record my thoughts and discoveries here from time to time.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Australia
This month I would have lived in Australia for five full years. It has been that long, since I moved from Malaysia.
Five years ago when I decided it was time to move here to be with my family, the only worry I had was to leave my mum alone in Johor Bahru. Mum being mum, she said nothing about her own arrangement without me by her side. She assured me everything would be alright for her. I knew at that time she did not really have a concrete plan on how she would cope after I left. To her, whatever problems without me by her side was not going to be a show stopper preventing me from re-uniting with my family in Perth. Mum had never allowed herself to be a problem for us. She was always a solution never a problem. She was a truly selfless person.
I love Australia in almost every way except one, the food. No doubt all kinds of cuisines are supposedly available here, they just lack that punch, depth, authenticity compared to what we have in Malaysia.
In every other way, Australia is a world beating and leading nation. Its environment, its infrastructure and planning, its living cost and standard, its climate, its nature, its heritage, its culture, its people, its compassion, its freedom, its belief, its confidence, its commitment, its democracy, and many others that I may have missed, are simply as good as it gets.
My Malaysian born children are as proudly Australian as anyone else who was born and bred here. We have never experienced anything here to suggest that we are less equal or less welcome than any other Australians. The spirit of fair dinkum lives on.
Australia, our new adopted country. We are proud to be a member.
Five years ago when I decided it was time to move here to be with my family, the only worry I had was to leave my mum alone in Johor Bahru. Mum being mum, she said nothing about her own arrangement without me by her side. She assured me everything would be alright for her. I knew at that time she did not really have a concrete plan on how she would cope after I left. To her, whatever problems without me by her side was not going to be a show stopper preventing me from re-uniting with my family in Perth. Mum had never allowed herself to be a problem for us. She was always a solution never a problem. She was a truly selfless person.
I love Australia in almost every way except one, the food. No doubt all kinds of cuisines are supposedly available here, they just lack that punch, depth, authenticity compared to what we have in Malaysia.
In every other way, Australia is a world beating and leading nation. Its environment, its infrastructure and planning, its living cost and standard, its climate, its nature, its heritage, its culture, its people, its compassion, its freedom, its belief, its confidence, its commitment, its democracy, and many others that I may have missed, are simply as good as it gets.
My Malaysian born children are as proudly Australian as anyone else who was born and bred here. We have never experienced anything here to suggest that we are less equal or less welcome than any other Australians. The spirit of fair dinkum lives on.
Australia, our new adopted country. We are proud to be a member.
Honour Thy Parents
After dad had passed on, mum started to meet and make some new friends in the neighbourhood. When dad was around, mum's full attention was on him. She did not have her own personal friends.
Mum's new friends were generally impressed with mum's decorum and wisdom. Mum conducted herself head and shoulder above her pack, she was the wise one without being the leader. Her friends had all looked to her whenever they needed advice.
One day one of mum's friends remarked to her, "You must have had great parents who taught, educated and brought you up well". The friend was surprised when Mum replied she was not brought up by her parents. Indeed, mum's mum my grandma had died when mum was still little. Grandpa worked as a petty trader on board the train. Mum was given away to a family, to work as a child maid in exchange for food and shelter.
Mum's adopted family did not allow her to go to school, despite mum's many pleadings. She learned to speak, read and write Chinese, undoubtedly an extremely hard to learn language, by herself without a teacher.
Mum was made tough, wise and capable from a difficult early life. She was schooled in the real world college, and she learned through observations of actions and outcomes. She was able to connect the dots. Her cousins said that mum would have been a great lawyer if ever she was given the opportunity to receive proper education.
The first thing that mum's friends had in mind, when they observed her great decorum and wisdom, was that she must have great parents who brought her up well. This is a common conclusion by most people in similar situation.
If you are good, your parents get the credit. Conversely, if you are not good, your parents would have been blamed for not teaching you properly.
I hope that whatever I do, I will not sully the good names of my great parents.
Mum's new friends were generally impressed with mum's decorum and wisdom. Mum conducted herself head and shoulder above her pack, she was the wise one without being the leader. Her friends had all looked to her whenever they needed advice.
One day one of mum's friends remarked to her, "You must have had great parents who taught, educated and brought you up well". The friend was surprised when Mum replied she was not brought up by her parents. Indeed, mum's mum my grandma had died when mum was still little. Grandpa worked as a petty trader on board the train. Mum was given away to a family, to work as a child maid in exchange for food and shelter.
Mum's adopted family did not allow her to go to school, despite mum's many pleadings. She learned to speak, read and write Chinese, undoubtedly an extremely hard to learn language, by herself without a teacher.
Mum was made tough, wise and capable from a difficult early life. She was schooled in the real world college, and she learned through observations of actions and outcomes. She was able to connect the dots. Her cousins said that mum would have been a great lawyer if ever she was given the opportunity to receive proper education.
The first thing that mum's friends had in mind, when they observed her great decorum and wisdom, was that she must have great parents who brought her up well. This is a common conclusion by most people in similar situation.
If you are good, your parents get the credit. Conversely, if you are not good, your parents would have been blamed for not teaching you properly.
I hope that whatever I do, I will not sully the good names of my great parents.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
One Little Step
My son Colin has finally moved out of home. He is now renting and living on his own.
I have been advocating that Colin considers moving out ever since he started work. Initially I was alone in this push. Then my wife was convinced and joined me. Not everyone else in the larger family thinks this is a good idea. There have been some questions asked on why I wanted to push my son out.
You know, when things concern those closest to you, you can lose your mind. If we were to advise our friends about their kids, we would have likely said to them they should let their kids learn the rope as soon as possible. Yet, for our own kids, we seem to have other 'inexplicable' ideas.
My reason for wanting Colin to leave home is simple. A delay in Colin moving out is a delay for him to fully learn to be responsible for himself as an adult. I want him to start taking care of his own stuffs, and doing his own chores. When he lived with us, he has taken these chores for granted. He did not see that it was his responsibility to take care of those stuffs.
When I became an adult, at age of early 20's, dad never talked to me about living on my own. For mum, she probably wouldn't worry one way or the other. I left home naturally because there was no work near home. So there was no need for the push. I can't say for sure I would have left home voluntarily if I had found work near home.
There is a Chinese saying, which goes like this:
When you are responsible for the running of the household, then only you will know that rice and wood are costly. (wood for fire).
When you become a parent, then only you will appreciate the greatness of your own parents.
当家才知材米贵。养子方晓父娘恩。
I hope the new generations bear this great saying in mind, and pass on to their next generations.
The saying proved its worth instantly. Just after two days, Colin said to us that he 'did not know' he was finishing two litres of milk in two days. While living at home with us, the milk flowed freely. No doubt there will be many more discoveries to come.
I have been advocating that Colin considers moving out ever since he started work. Initially I was alone in this push. Then my wife was convinced and joined me. Not everyone else in the larger family thinks this is a good idea. There have been some questions asked on why I wanted to push my son out.
You know, when things concern those closest to you, you can lose your mind. If we were to advise our friends about their kids, we would have likely said to them they should let their kids learn the rope as soon as possible. Yet, for our own kids, we seem to have other 'inexplicable' ideas.
My reason for wanting Colin to leave home is simple. A delay in Colin moving out is a delay for him to fully learn to be responsible for himself as an adult. I want him to start taking care of his own stuffs, and doing his own chores. When he lived with us, he has taken these chores for granted. He did not see that it was his responsibility to take care of those stuffs.
When I became an adult, at age of early 20's, dad never talked to me about living on my own. For mum, she probably wouldn't worry one way or the other. I left home naturally because there was no work near home. So there was no need for the push. I can't say for sure I would have left home voluntarily if I had found work near home.
There is a Chinese saying, which goes like this:
When you are responsible for the running of the household, then only you will know that rice and wood are costly. (wood for fire).
When you become a parent, then only you will appreciate the greatness of your own parents.
当家才知材米贵。养子方晓父娘恩。
I hope the new generations bear this great saying in mind, and pass on to their next generations.
The saying proved its worth instantly. Just after two days, Colin said to us that he 'did not know' he was finishing two litres of milk in two days. While living at home with us, the milk flowed freely. No doubt there will be many more discoveries to come.
You Never Win An Argument
My old, and wise, friend Rob once said to me "you never win an argument". It is so true. During an argument, both parties only want to be heard, and nobody is listening. So what point is there for arguing? None.
The problem with people, with me, is that I am slow to learn, or never learn, and sometimes, or most of the time, I focus on the means rather than the end.
My mother would have seen how silly I could be.
There again, if I was made like a computer, I would have progressed to a 'million core' CPU by now, after more than 50 years of design iteration. But I am not made like a computer.
Ya, you never win an argument. You win it, you lose. You lose it, you lose.
The problem with people, with me, is that I am slow to learn, or never learn, and sometimes, or most of the time, I focus on the means rather than the end.
My mother would have seen how silly I could be.
There again, if I was made like a computer, I would have progressed to a 'million core' CPU by now, after more than 50 years of design iteration. But I am not made like a computer.
Ya, you never win an argument. You win it, you lose. You lose it, you lose.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
The Moral Of The Story
Recently the Western Australia Treasurer resigned from his post. He had been found (found is a better word here than caught) having 'some fun' with a fellow female MP while on state business somewhere. No, the married female MP is not the married Treasurer's wife.
The initial reactions of politicians from both sides of the floor were muted. It was his personal affair. In this day, it is understandably hard for the pollies to be holding the moral high ground when a large proportion of them are probably standing on the same shaky moral ground, save for one thing, the lucky ones have not been caught, not yet. In the movie Air Force One, while watching a live game of football, the President's daughter saw a player perform a foul but the referee had not taken action. It was illegal, she said rather angrily. The President correctly replied that, ah it is only illegal if you are caught. (Maybe that is why the US ventures all over the world. It is only illegal if you are caught.)
So the Treasurer was not accused of sleeping with a woman not his wife. That was, eh, sort of his own affair, not ours. The Treasurer lost his job because he was using taxpayers' money to pay for the hotel room he used to have the fling. So he had no choice, but to resign, for about $200. And, the soon to be ex Treasurer had to promise that he would repay the $200 to the state. (I am sure the state needs that $200.)
The farce did not end yet. An investigation panel was set up to find what other wrong, meaning misuse of state resources, the Treasurer had performed while having his pleasure. The panel concluded, to the surprise of many West Australians, that the now ex Treasurer had done absolutely nothing wrong. He was not required to repay the money. He was actually in the hotel for a government business anyway. The fact that there was an unexpected guest had not caused the state to pay extra.
That was all good after the bad. Unfortunately, the ex Treasurer is still the ex Treasurer.
So, the moral of the story here is, it is not wrong, when you are doing something that looks like, well, immoral. Hold that resignation letter.
The initial reactions of politicians from both sides of the floor were muted. It was his personal affair. In this day, it is understandably hard for the pollies to be holding the moral high ground when a large proportion of them are probably standing on the same shaky moral ground, save for one thing, the lucky ones have not been caught, not yet. In the movie Air Force One, while watching a live game of football, the President's daughter saw a player perform a foul but the referee had not taken action. It was illegal, she said rather angrily. The President correctly replied that, ah it is only illegal if you are caught. (Maybe that is why the US ventures all over the world. It is only illegal if you are caught.)
So the Treasurer was not accused of sleeping with a woman not his wife. That was, eh, sort of his own affair, not ours. The Treasurer lost his job because he was using taxpayers' money to pay for the hotel room he used to have the fling. So he had no choice, but to resign, for about $200. And, the soon to be ex Treasurer had to promise that he would repay the $200 to the state. (I am sure the state needs that $200.)
The farce did not end yet. An investigation panel was set up to find what other wrong, meaning misuse of state resources, the Treasurer had performed while having his pleasure. The panel concluded, to the surprise of many West Australians, that the now ex Treasurer had done absolutely nothing wrong. He was not required to repay the money. He was actually in the hotel for a government business anyway. The fact that there was an unexpected guest had not caused the state to pay extra.
That was all good after the bad. Unfortunately, the ex Treasurer is still the ex Treasurer.
So, the moral of the story here is, it is not wrong, when you are doing something that looks like, well, immoral. Hold that resignation letter.
The End Is More Important Than The Means
It seems so obvious to me, the end is really more important than the means. Yet when I am in the thick of things, I frequently miss the end for the means.
No, I am not saying the end justifies the means. That is an entirely different statement, which has the connotation that it is all right to use any means as long as you achieve your end.
What I have in mind is that, when we set out to achieve an end, we focus, we care, we think too much of the means until we forget that we were trying to achieve a certain end. Take for example our relationship with those whom we loved. We love them and we want to do something helpful to them, that is undoubtedly our end. But often the means we use to achieve that end do not bring about the desirable result. When that happens, we fail to see that the means we use are not right for obtaining the end. We feel hurt, we whinge, we say that the other party does not appreciate our love and our efforts. We are only concerned with the means that we use, we have completely forgotten the end.
In the Dalai Lama's reply to the question of the best religion in the world, I get the message that the end, which is to become a better person as a result of getting closer to truth, God etc, is more important than the choice of a particular religion or the ways of practicing the religion. Implicit in that message is that it is not necessarily useful practicing religion according to the rites but in the end you are still who you are.
Deng Xiaoping had famously said this, it does not matter if the cat is black or white, if it can catch mice then it is a good cat.
不管是黑猫还是白猫，能抓耗子的猫就是好猫。
The cat is our means, the mouse is our end.
No, I am not saying the end justifies the means. That is an entirely different statement, which has the connotation that it is all right to use any means as long as you achieve your end.
What I have in mind is that, when we set out to achieve an end, we focus, we care, we think too much of the means until we forget that we were trying to achieve a certain end. Take for example our relationship with those whom we loved. We love them and we want to do something helpful to them, that is undoubtedly our end. But often the means we use to achieve that end do not bring about the desirable result. When that happens, we fail to see that the means we use are not right for obtaining the end. We feel hurt, we whinge, we say that the other party does not appreciate our love and our efforts. We are only concerned with the means that we use, we have completely forgotten the end.
In the Dalai Lama's reply to the question of the best religion in the world, I get the message that the end, which is to become a better person as a result of getting closer to truth, God etc, is more important than the choice of a particular religion or the ways of practicing the religion. Implicit in that message is that it is not necessarily useful practicing religion according to the rites but in the end you are still who you are.
Deng Xiaoping had famously said this, it does not matter if the cat is black or white, if it can catch mice then it is a good cat.
不管是黑猫还是白猫，能抓耗子的猫就是好猫。
The cat is our means, the mouse is our end.
Does God Love Hitler?
So my son asked me, does God love Hitler?
I am sure this question has been asked a zillion times already. That is not stopping it from being asked, again and again.
Firstly, I am hardly an authority on God, and therefore any answer I have should be viewed accordingly.
Most people would give a straight 'no' to the question. After all, it is easy to understand that God should not be loving any one who does not do according to His Words. This is actually what most people want to believe is the correct answer. For these same people, it is unthinkable that, after committing so many grave sins, Hitler could still be loved by God.
My church priest said that, unequivocably, that God does love Osama. God loves everyone. It is different from saying that God loves Osama's actions.
I have heard that God's love is the greatest love of all. From that stand point, it becomes easy to understand that God loves Hitler, and Osama, because, both Hitler and Osama must have been greatly loved by their mothers. And, God's love is the greatest love of all.
I am sure this question has been asked a zillion times already. That is not stopping it from being asked, again and again.
Firstly, I am hardly an authority on God, and therefore any answer I have should be viewed accordingly.
Most people would give a straight 'no' to the question. After all, it is easy to understand that God should not be loving any one who does not do according to His Words. This is actually what most people want to believe is the correct answer. For these same people, it is unthinkable that, after committing so many grave sins, Hitler could still be loved by God.
My church priest said that, unequivocably, that God does love Osama. God loves everyone. It is different from saying that God loves Osama's actions.
I have heard that God's love is the greatest love of all. From that stand point, it becomes easy to understand that God loves Hitler, and Osama, because, both Hitler and Osama must have been greatly loved by their mothers. And, God's love is the greatest love of all.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Facebooking Into More Trouble
Hot on the heels of my recent post Facebooking Into Trouble comes this sad news today:
Nona Belomesoff was offered what she thought was a dream job working with the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.
Instead the 18-year-old was allegedly lured to her death in south-west Sydney by a man who befriended her on Facebook by claiming to work for the animal welfare group.
As Christopher James Dannevig, 20, faced a murder charge at Parramatta Bail Court yesterday, Nona's loved ones spoke of how her love for animals led to her death. Outside the family's home in Cecil Hills, her brother, Gary, 20, said his younger sister's goal since childhood was to work with animals. - www.smh.com.au -
Another confirmation that Facebook can be used, with tragic consequence sometimes.
Nona Belomesoff was offered what she thought was a dream job working with the NSW Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.
Instead the 18-year-old was allegedly lured to her death in south-west Sydney by a man who befriended her on Facebook by claiming to work for the animal welfare group.
As Christopher James Dannevig, 20, faced a murder charge at Parramatta Bail Court yesterday, Nona's loved ones spoke of how her love for animals led to her death. Outside the family's home in Cecil Hills, her brother, Gary, 20, said his younger sister's goal since childhood was to work with animals. - www.smh.com.au -
Another confirmation that Facebook can be used, with tragic consequence sometimes.
Regardless How You Say It
Over the local radio today, the DJ was mocking some people for using the prefix 'ir' on the word regardless. Indeed many non native English speakers use 'irregardless' when' it should only be 'regardless'. How did 'irregardless' come about? I don't know. It probably started because of some lookalike words such as 'irresponsible', 'irreversible'. For the word 'irresponsible', the 'ir' is prefixed to denote an opposite to the word 'responsible'. But for 'regardless', the suffix 'less' denotes that opposite effect, as in 'worthless' to 'worth'. So by adding the prefix 'ir', if you are permitted at all, to 'regardless', should bring you back to 'regard'?
I wonder, could 'consistency' be the last word to be added to the English vocabulary?
Regardless how you say it, it is regardless.
I wonder, could 'consistency' be the last word to be added to the English vocabulary?
Regardless how you say it, it is regardless.
Another Day, Another World Beating Feat
Jessica Watson returns to her home today, to Sydney, and on the way home she is creating a new world record.
In a few hours' time Jessica will be the new youngest person to sail the globe solo and unassisted. She is only 16 and a few months old. She has been sailing for more than 200 days.
Outwardly Australians are fiercely competitive people. This sports mad nation of only 25 million people hits well above its weight at international level. A friend here told me Australia is ideally made for sports, with its rugged landscape, and friendly climate. You can do all types of sports, all year round. Every Australian does a few sports at least. My children all do.
Today it is just another day another Australian scaled to the peak of another sports endeavour.
Did I say Australians are outwardly competitive people? Yes, I did. Now for inwardly behaviours read The Wheel Turns.
Congratulations Jessica, and welcome home.
In a few hours' time Jessica will be the new youngest person to sail the globe solo and unassisted. She is only 16 and a few months old. She has been sailing for more than 200 days.
Outwardly Australians are fiercely competitive people. This sports mad nation of only 25 million people hits well above its weight at international level. A friend here told me Australia is ideally made for sports, with its rugged landscape, and friendly climate. You can do all types of sports, all year round. Every Australian does a few sports at least. My children all do.
Today it is just another day another Australian scaled to the peak of another sports endeavour.
Did I say Australians are outwardly competitive people? Yes, I did. Now for inwardly behaviours read The Wheel Turns.
Congratulations Jessica, and welcome home.
Friday, May 14, 2010
In Search Of Happiness
I skimmed this from a Facebook post. Arghh.. Facebook.
It was written by a teenage girl who is still in high school. It goes like this "Why is that others can have their happiness and I can't (ah, it is not fair?). All I want is to pursue my happiness and I am not allowed to."
No, this was not said by a slave maid chained down and unable to unite with her love outside the high walls of her master's home. This was said by a teenage girl in high school who looked like she has everything she ever needs.
What is wrong with the young generation today? Why are they unhappy and what happiness are they searching for?
Was I behaving like this before? I don't remember. I certainly was not in search of happiness when I was in high school. I was happy enough at that age.
How do you deal with issues like this, if you are the parent?
It was written by a teenage girl who is still in high school. It goes like this "Why is that others can have their happiness and I can't (ah, it is not fair?). All I want is to pursue my happiness and I am not allowed to."
No, this was not said by a slave maid chained down and unable to unite with her love outside the high walls of her master's home. This was said by a teenage girl in high school who looked like she has everything she ever needs.
What is wrong with the young generation today? Why are they unhappy and what happiness are they searching for?
Was I behaving like this before? I don't remember. I certainly was not in search of happiness when I was in high school. I was happy enough at that age.
How do you deal with issues like this, if you are the parent?
The Wheel Turns
Children today are an unhelpful lot at home, the adult children included. They treat their home as a fully serviced apartment. To get them to do some basic chores like washing up their own dinner plates is hard, so hard that it hurts less to do the chores yourself. And, they have a different view from yours on why they need to do their own chores. Your view is that they need to do their own chores, so they know and won't detest house chores when they finally live on their own, and it is also a way of taking responsibility for their own affairs. (Recently a research shows a whole new generation of young Australian men are looking to marry maids). But listen to their views, they ask "why are you being calculative when you need to wash any way, washing one extra plate wouldn't hurt". I suppose, when you need to justify something, you can always find the right words.
Sometimes I told my younger son Julian that he needs to help dad, and then only his own children would help him back in the future. His quick mind then turned this out "Dad, your children are not helping you now, does that mean you did not help your dad when you were young?" Good point, son, good point. But your dad is not any other ordinary dad. So here was my reply "Yes, I did help out my dad. But look, there is always a starting point for a chain of actions and reactions. by not helping me now, you are in fact starting out on a new chain, which will get you a new set of reactions."
I hope I spoke the truth. Now dad, did I really help you? Speak to me.
The wheel turns.
Sometimes I told my younger son Julian that he needs to help dad, and then only his own children would help him back in the future. His quick mind then turned this out "Dad, your children are not helping you now, does that mean you did not help your dad when you were young?" Good point, son, good point. But your dad is not any other ordinary dad. So here was my reply "Yes, I did help out my dad. But look, there is always a starting point for a chain of actions and reactions. by not helping me now, you are in fact starting out on a new chain, which will get you a new set of reactions."
I hope I spoke the truth. Now dad, did I really help you? Speak to me.
The wheel turns.
No, No Is Not A Wrong Answer
Have you ever asked someone a question such as "can you help me do this?". And then you frown, feel hurt, angry, disappointed when you receive the answer 'no'?
You shouldn't be. You asked a question and you got the answer. Why are you upset?
In Australia, we have a way to solve this problem. We put up a simple sign that says "please do not ask, as refusal may offend". Beautiful, isn't it?
Too often, we are requiring that others comply with our request. We are no longer simply asking for a favour. We are almost demanding for it. In that case, shouldn't the question be re-phrased to "I demand that you do this for me"? I think it is much clearer, with less room for misunderstanding.
No, no is not a wrong answer.
You shouldn't be. You asked a question and you got the answer. Why are you upset?
In Australia, we have a way to solve this problem. We put up a simple sign that says "please do not ask, as refusal may offend". Beautiful, isn't it?
Too often, we are requiring that others comply with our request. We are no longer simply asking for a favour. We are almost demanding for it. In that case, shouldn't the question be re-phrased to "I demand that you do this for me"? I think it is much clearer, with less room for misunderstanding.
No, no is not a wrong answer.
Ignore Me At Your Own Peril
My son Julian had asked me what a prequel is. So I explained "a prequel is something, like a movie, that you make to tell a story prior to the main story". In fact, prequel should be explained as 'planning go horribly wrong'. If you have planned out properly, then there should be no prequel. There is the part 1, part 2, part 3 etc. Unfortunately (or accidentally) you decided that Part 2 should be told first. Then and most probably due to the success of part 2, you feel the need to tell Part 1, so you go back to make the part 1 which is now called the 'prequel'.
This post is a prequel to the last post "I Told You So".
The Chinese people have a saying for the younger folks, 'ignore the old people's advice at your own peril'. (不听老人言,吃亏在眼前。) This saying is delivered, usually, immediately after the main advice is rejected. It is uttered as a last ditch effort to ensure that an advice is followed. When this fails, then you wait to deliver the 'I told you so' at a later time.
'Ignore the old people's advice' really means, in a nutshell, ignoring the wisdom that comes with experience. Young people rarely take old people's words seriously. They consider their old folks 'troublesome', 'conservative', 'outdated', etc. However, these same young people today will behave, when they themselves become old, exactly the same way as their old folks do now, and they will be delivering the same message of 'ignore me at your own peril' to their younger folks. I did say the philosophies of humanity have not really changed over thousands of years. So what was valid a thousand year ago, philosophically, is equally valid today.
Young people could do well to heed some of the advice of their old folks. Such advice are given with a backing, and that is the old folks' own experience.
Yes, ignore me at your own peril.
This post is a prequel to the last post "I Told You So".
The Chinese people have a saying for the younger folks, 'ignore the old people's advice at your own peril'. (不听老人言,吃亏在眼前。) This saying is delivered, usually, immediately after the main advice is rejected. It is uttered as a last ditch effort to ensure that an advice is followed. When this fails, then you wait to deliver the 'I told you so' at a later time.
'Ignore the old people's advice' really means, in a nutshell, ignoring the wisdom that comes with experience. Young people rarely take old people's words seriously. They consider their old folks 'troublesome', 'conservative', 'outdated', etc. However, these same young people today will behave, when they themselves become old, exactly the same way as their old folks do now, and they will be delivering the same message of 'ignore me at your own peril' to their younger folks. I did say the philosophies of humanity have not really changed over thousands of years. So what was valid a thousand year ago, philosophically, is equally valid today.
Young people could do well to heed some of the advice of their old folks. Such advice are given with a backing, and that is the old folks' own experience.
Yes, ignore me at your own peril.
I Told You So
Yes, I told you so. That is surely one statement that proves conclusively that my view has been superior to yours, and I deserve your respect for that. And what better time to deliver it when the person who ignored your great wisdom is just licking the wound, for being ignorant?
In truth, 'I told you so' only makes things worse for the victim. It is like the final knock out blow to finish off what the earlier blow had not. It is never constructive, and completely devoid of any positive value, except to reinforce the ego of the person saying it.
My late mother was a great person. In my younger days, she used to advise me on many things. Of course, I did not always take her advice. Sometimes we do feel that we are clever enough and we can see what we are doing. And then, horribly, things did go wrong as predicted by Mum. I knew I had made mistake, bigtime. And I expected further rap from Mum for ignoring her warning or advice. The rap never happened. Mum was such a great person I had never ever heard her say to me "I told you so". She just quietly nursed my wound, and repeated her earlier advice, but no "I told you so".
There is a difference between great personality and average personality. I did tell you so, didn't I?
In truth, 'I told you so' only makes things worse for the victim. It is like the final knock out blow to finish off what the earlier blow had not. It is never constructive, and completely devoid of any positive value, except to reinforce the ego of the person saying it.
My late mother was a great person. In my younger days, she used to advise me on many things. Of course, I did not always take her advice. Sometimes we do feel that we are clever enough and we can see what we are doing. And then, horribly, things did go wrong as predicted by Mum. I knew I had made mistake, bigtime. And I expected further rap from Mum for ignoring her warning or advice. The rap never happened. Mum was such a great person I had never ever heard her say to me "I told you so". She just quietly nursed my wound, and repeated her earlier advice, but no "I told you so".
There is a difference between great personality and average personality. I did tell you so, didn't I?
To Cross The Rubicon
As active parents we want our children to have a good future. We try to give them a good and relevant education, a good human value system, and continuous guidance until they become adults and do not want to hear from us anymore. Then we stop being the active parents and become passive parents, we only provide advice and guidance when asked.
If we are the only influence over our children, then the growth of our children in the direction that we chart for them may be reasonably better assured. But we do not isolate our children. They are also exposed to many elements not within our control. They exchange information with their peers at school, they watch and learn from television programs, they use internet as a medium to stay in touch with their friends and the world, and so on. As they receive a load of information, they begin to form their own opinions about their lives, and how they want their own future to be.
In my observation, I find that over-parented children tend to be non competitive, less competitive, or their competitiveness is delayed until later in life. I guess it is basic human nature. If there is a shield behind us, why not use it as often as we can to deflect the arrows aimed at us? In our quest to help and guide our children to be their best, overly 'good' parents are actually doing a great harm to their children. These 'good' parents are preventing their children from learning the competitive skills required in the real life.
In history, both the eastern and western versions, we have seen examples of how great battles are won after the chief commander ordered the removal of the retreat route. This was done to deliberately force the army to realise that the only way to get to home is through winning the battle, there is no retreat. There is no more way to get home from the way we came.
As a parent, I like to see my children go forward in battle, with the training and armoury I help them to build, and as soon as they become an adult by definition. I also hope that when they go forward, they move with a determination and knowledge that there is no way to retreat to home from the battle field. The only way to go is forward, and the only way forward is to win the battles.
I wait to see the days when my children cross their Rubicons.
If we are the only influence over our children, then the growth of our children in the direction that we chart for them may be reasonably better assured. But we do not isolate our children. They are also exposed to many elements not within our control. They exchange information with their peers at school, they watch and learn from television programs, they use internet as a medium to stay in touch with their friends and the world, and so on. As they receive a load of information, they begin to form their own opinions about their lives, and how they want their own future to be.
In my observation, I find that over-parented children tend to be non competitive, less competitive, or their competitiveness is delayed until later in life. I guess it is basic human nature. If there is a shield behind us, why not use it as often as we can to deflect the arrows aimed at us? In our quest to help and guide our children to be their best, overly 'good' parents are actually doing a great harm to their children. These 'good' parents are preventing their children from learning the competitive skills required in the real life.
In history, both the eastern and western versions, we have seen examples of how great battles are won after the chief commander ordered the removal of the retreat route. This was done to deliberately force the army to realise that the only way to get to home is through winning the battle, there is no retreat. There is no more way to get home from the way we came.
As a parent, I like to see my children go forward in battle, with the training and armoury I help them to build, and as soon as they become an adult by definition. I also hope that when they go forward, they move with a determination and knowledge that there is no way to retreat to home from the battle field. The only way to go is forward, and the only way forward is to win the battles.
I wait to see the days when my children cross their Rubicons.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
It Is Not Fair
Is isn't fair. We have all said it. Kids say it all the time. Usually, we say it when we feel that others obtain or are given a particular advantage that we do not have. So we say, "he has got it (advantage), why I have not? It is not fair."
We hardly ever ask it the other way round, as in "why I have got it (advantage), and he has not? It is not fair."
Of course, it is equally 'not fair', when it comes to having a disadvantage. Then the context of query changes too. Now for the complainant, it becomes "why I have got it (disadvantage) and he has not? It is not fair". This is seen as in "why do I get cancer, while others don't, it is not fair". You know it is not true. Everyone is really 'entitled' to have cancer. No one is especially spared.
The world is never fair, get used to it. Some wise men have made this observation long ago. Yes, get used to it. The message in this advice is that continuous feeling about being treated unfairly is really damaging to yourself and it will not improve your situation one bit. In fact, in all probability, sulking in the feeling of unfairness is likely to make you more miserable, and therefore even more 'unfair'.
It is however important to note that, one should not perpetrate unfairness. In other words, we should still try to be fair to others, wherever and whenever possible, despite the world being an overall unfair place. Thus those who have an 'unfair' advantage in possessions should be sharing theirs with the disadvantaged.
At other times, absolute fairness is required, indeed demanded. For example, when we compete according to the rules. Be it sports, academic, art, cultural or whatever competitions. Fairness is absolutely necessary. Similarly the government, rule and order of a community must also be carried out in absolute fairness. In these situations, if fairness is not maintained, the society will break down.
An ancient Chinese saying goes like this:
"In front of me I see people riding on their horses, while I am riding on my cow. When I turn to look back behind me, I see more people walking on foot."
人家骑马我骑牛，回头望望行路汉。
Life is fair, more than fair.
We hardly ever ask it the other way round, as in "why I have got it (advantage), and he has not? It is not fair."
Of course, it is equally 'not fair', when it comes to having a disadvantage. Then the context of query changes too. Now for the complainant, it becomes "why I have got it (disadvantage) and he has not? It is not fair". This is seen as in "why do I get cancer, while others don't, it is not fair". You know it is not true. Everyone is really 'entitled' to have cancer. No one is especially spared.
The world is never fair, get used to it. Some wise men have made this observation long ago. Yes, get used to it. The message in this advice is that continuous feeling about being treated unfairly is really damaging to yourself and it will not improve your situation one bit. In fact, in all probability, sulking in the feeling of unfairness is likely to make you more miserable, and therefore even more 'unfair'.
It is however important to note that, one should not perpetrate unfairness. In other words, we should still try to be fair to others, wherever and whenever possible, despite the world being an overall unfair place. Thus those who have an 'unfair' advantage in possessions should be sharing theirs with the disadvantaged.
At other times, absolute fairness is required, indeed demanded. For example, when we compete according to the rules. Be it sports, academic, art, cultural or whatever competitions. Fairness is absolutely necessary. Similarly the government, rule and order of a community must also be carried out in absolute fairness. In these situations, if fairness is not maintained, the society will break down.
An ancient Chinese saying goes like this:
"In front of me I see people riding on their horses, while I am riding on my cow. When I turn to look back behind me, I see more people walking on foot."
人家骑马我骑牛，回头望望行路汉。
Life is fair, more than fair.
Facebooking Into Trouble
Do you use Facebook? Anyone who is connected on the internet nowadays seems to have a Facebook account. It is one of the 'must haves'.
Facebook is cool. It is fun. You can instantly let your connected group of people (I did not say 'friends'), or the whole world indeed, know what you are doing. Why anyone would want to do that must rank as one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries.
Here are just some fine examples to illustrate my point:
1. A guy was sacked from his job because he was supposed to be on medical leave but his Facebook posts show him partying.
2. A man who won an insurance claim for an injury which supposedly prevented him from doing certain physical activities lost on appeal as the insurance company was able to prove with his Facebook posts bragging about his conquer of certain New York skyscraper. Apparently he climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the building. I must say I could not have completed that feat myself.
3. A Perth DJ recently got sacked from his job because he had conspired with a friend to win a $10,000 cash giveaway prize, when he was hosting over the air. His Facebook account proves the two are friends with plenty of party pictures as evidence.
The police just loves Facebook. The employer just loves Facebook. The insurance company just loves Facebook. Yes, just about everybody else loves your Facebook, too.
Do you?
Facebook is cool. It is fun. You can instantly let your connected group of people (I did not say 'friends'), or the whole world indeed, know what you are doing. Why anyone would want to do that must rank as one of the world's greatest unsolved mysteries.
Here are just some fine examples to illustrate my point:
1. A guy was sacked from his job because he was supposed to be on medical leave but his Facebook posts show him partying.
2. A man who won an insurance claim for an injury which supposedly prevented him from doing certain physical activities lost on appeal as the insurance company was able to prove with his Facebook posts bragging about his conquer of certain New York skyscraper. Apparently he climbed the stairs all the way to the top of the building. I must say I could not have completed that feat myself.
3. A Perth DJ recently got sacked from his job because he had conspired with a friend to win a $10,000 cash giveaway prize, when he was hosting over the air. His Facebook account proves the two are friends with plenty of party pictures as evidence.
The police just loves Facebook. The employer just loves Facebook. The insurance company just loves Facebook. Yes, just about everybody else loves your Facebook, too.
Do you?
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
I Am A Slow Learner
Is it just me? I keep repeating the same mistakes. I try to solve, and re-solve, the same old problems. I am a slow learner. Or worse, I could be a never learner.
If I am only a billionth of a fraction like the computer you are using now, I would not have repeated the same mistake, and keep repeating. I can't imagine for a moment that this computer repeats the same mistake that has been corrected before.
Sometimes I really wonder why we are called the most intelligent animal. If we are that 'intelligent', how come I don't, am slow, or even outrightly never, learn? What do we use our intelligence for? I suppose for inventing far 'smarter' objects like this computer.
Even lowly animals appear to learn better than me. Look, if an animal has been trapped before and escaped successfully, it would be unlikely, ever, to be trapped again by the same set up. But, I fall, again and again, in the same trap.
Man has tried and successfully invent, reinvent, improve many stuffs. Look around us, in the last one hundred years, there have been many new inventions that have changed the way we go about living. Our brain works wonder in those areas. However, basic human nature and behaviour has hardly changed, for the last thousands of years. We are still the same selves that philosophies, religions and knowledge have tried to change, mostly unsuccessfully.
In the world of science, you wouldn't want to learn from a book that is more than a couple of ten years old. In computing world, anything more than two years old is positively prehistory. But, for humanistic studies, you are still fully up to date with the teachings of great persons who lived thousands of years ago.
Why? Am I unteachable?
If I am only a billionth of a fraction like the computer you are using now, I would not have repeated the same mistake, and keep repeating. I can't imagine for a moment that this computer repeats the same mistake that has been corrected before.
Sometimes I really wonder why we are called the most intelligent animal. If we are that 'intelligent', how come I don't, am slow, or even outrightly never, learn? What do we use our intelligence for? I suppose for inventing far 'smarter' objects like this computer.
Even lowly animals appear to learn better than me. Look, if an animal has been trapped before and escaped successfully, it would be unlikely, ever, to be trapped again by the same set up. But, I fall, again and again, in the same trap.
Man has tried and successfully invent, reinvent, improve many stuffs. Look around us, in the last one hundred years, there have been many new inventions that have changed the way we go about living. Our brain works wonder in those areas. However, basic human nature and behaviour has hardly changed, for the last thousands of years. We are still the same selves that philosophies, religions and knowledge have tried to change, mostly unsuccessfully.
In the world of science, you wouldn't want to learn from a book that is more than a couple of ten years old. In computing world, anything more than two years old is positively prehistory. But, for humanistic studies, you are still fully up to date with the teachings of great persons who lived thousands of years ago.
Why? Am I unteachable?
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
You Are The Same, Except You Are Worse
My son Julian and daughter Rebecca had an argument, and out from Julian's mouth came this, "you are the same, except you are worse." Almost immediately Rebecca countered "what kind of English is that?" With that I started thinking and I had to agree with Rebecca, it was not proper English.
I think my son had meant this, "You are in the same category (presumably bad) as me, but you are worse (than me)."
Speaking in Chinese, what Julian had said would have been commonly accepted as valid. I hardly ever hear this spoken in English so I am not really sure how others construct this sentence when they need to say it.
Unless you are writing a book or in a literary contest, when you need to turn on your maximum word power, I find that using the least number of words to express yourself clearly and unambiguously is the best way to go about it. In normal everyday conversation, sometimes I do have to fill in the little gap in the sentences spoken by others if they are not deemed to be complete. After all, most of the time we only need to hear half of the necessary words in a sentence and that would be sufficient for us to understand each other. You know ... what I mean. But for a child like Rebecca, who obviously is not used to guessing, yet, at what we mean when we don't speak in full sentence, then she needs a complete and logical sentence for her to be able to understand the communication. Hence she was quick to point out the logical flaw in the construction of Julian's sentence.
We can learn, or really it should be re-learn, from our children. So are you the same, except you are better?
I think my son had meant this, "You are in the same category (presumably bad) as me, but you are worse (than me)."
Speaking in Chinese, what Julian had said would have been commonly accepted as valid. I hardly ever hear this spoken in English so I am not really sure how others construct this sentence when they need to say it.
Unless you are writing a book or in a literary contest, when you need to turn on your maximum word power, I find that using the least number of words to express yourself clearly and unambiguously is the best way to go about it. In normal everyday conversation, sometimes I do have to fill in the little gap in the sentences spoken by others if they are not deemed to be complete. After all, most of the time we only need to hear half of the necessary words in a sentence and that would be sufficient for us to understand each other. You know ... what I mean. But for a child like Rebecca, who obviously is not used to guessing, yet, at what we mean when we don't speak in full sentence, then she needs a complete and logical sentence for her to be able to understand the communication. Hence she was quick to point out the logical flaw in the construction of Julian's sentence.
We can learn, or really it should be re-learn, from our children. So are you the same, except you are better?
The Best Religion In The World
A friend forwarded to me a powerpoint slide show. Often times I do not open up these slide shows, I just hit the delete key after reading the mail subject. We become 'immune' after receiving so many of these in the mail.
I decided to open this one, and I am glad I did. The Dalai Lama was asked a question, "What do you say is the best religion in the world?" His answer was simply and beautifully "The best religion is one that makes you closest to God." How much more right could the answer be? I wonder. If you don't feel closer to God, and become a better person as a result of your religion, are you bearing the right testimony for your religion? More importantly, do you really believe, and love, your God?
Click here to download the slide show. If you like it, share it with people you know.
You need Microsoft Powerpoint installed to view the slide show. If you don't have it, download a free viewer.
Thank you Alice for sharing.
I decided to open this one, and I am glad I did. The Dalai Lama was asked a question, "What do you say is the best religion in the world?" His answer was simply and beautifully "The best religion is one that makes you closest to God." How much more right could the answer be? I wonder. If you don't feel closer to God, and become a better person as a result of your religion, are you bearing the right testimony for your religion? More importantly, do you really believe, and love, your God?
Click here to download the slide show. If you like it, share it with people you know.
You need Microsoft Powerpoint installed to view the slide show. If you don't have it, download a free viewer.
Thank you Alice for sharing.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Another Village Home
Another Village is migrating. The new village home is now at http://www.peakdotcom.com
Why is there a need for a new home? For a start, the new home is self hosted. This gives me more flexibility. I can customise the site better for my purpose. Soon I will be providing a library of freeebooks reports manuscripts about IM for everyone who reads here and is interested to understand IM. The ebooks manuscripts will be free for download.
The new website is now live. It is hosted on wordpress platform. There is no 'follow' feature like you have with this blogspot host. My apologies to the (mere) two followers that I have. However, there is an RSS feed subscription button that you can use to subscribe to all the posts. Since most people today use a Gmail account, I recommend you subscribe the RSS feed using Google Reader as your platform. (I use Microsoft Outlook instead of Google Reader). The Google Reader is part of your Gmail account. Just click on the RSS feed button and then enter your Gmail address to subscribe. Once you have logged in to your Gmail account, you can click on the Reader button near the top left of the screen and you will receive all the posts in this blog in your Google Reader including any updates. I do edit the posts frequently as I re-checked my grammar, spelling etc. The latest versions of the posts will be automatically pulled into your Google Reader.
When I started this blog, quite frankly, I was not sure if I could even write ten posts. I told myself if I could last ten posts and still had not run out of depth with writing, then I would move this blog to my own domain. I have lasted ten posts and apparently I still have more ideas to write about. So it is time to make that move, to another new village. See you all at my new home. Check it out. If you are not bored yet with my written garbage, please subscribe to the RSS feed.
Here again is the address of the new village http://www.peakdotcom.com
Why is there a need for a new home? For a start, the new home is self hosted. This gives me more flexibility. I can customise the site better for my purpose. Soon I will be providing a library of free
The new website is now live. It is hosted on wordpress platform. There is no 'follow' feature like you have with this blogspot host. My apologies to the (mere) two followers that I have. However, there is an RSS feed subscription button that you can use to subscribe to all the posts. Since most people today use a Gmail account, I recommend you subscribe the RSS feed using Google Reader as your platform. (I use Microsoft Outlook instead of Google Reader). The Google Reader is part of your Gmail account. Just click on the RSS feed button and then enter your Gmail address to subscribe. Once you have logged in to your Gmail account, you can click on the Reader button near the top left of the screen and you will receive all the posts in this blog in your Google Reader including any updates. I do edit the posts frequently as I re-checked my grammar, spelling etc. The latest versions of the posts will be automatically pulled into your Google Reader.
When I started this blog, quite frankly, I was not sure if I could even write ten posts. I told myself if I could last ten posts and still had not run out of depth with writing, then I would move this blog to my own domain. I have lasted ten posts and apparently I still have more ideas to write about. So it is time to make that move, to another new village. See you all at my new home. Check it out. If you are not bored yet with my written garbage, please subscribe to the RSS feed.
Here again is the address of the new village http://www.peakdotcom.com
English, O English
There were quite a few things I needed to prepare before I embarked on blogging. Among the priorities, I had to "re-educate" myself on the use of the English language. Not being a native English speaker or writer, I wanted to ensure that when I write something, it has to be readable at least. So I subscribed myself to an English writers website, to learn the basics of how to write in English. I made some shocking discoveries.
Read this excerpt:
If something is “bimonthly”, does it occur twice a month or once every two months? In fact, just to demonstrate how slippery the English language can sometimes be, the correct answer would be “either”. The Oxford English Dictionary definition is very straightforward :
The same problem occurs with words for other periods of time. Bi-weekly, for example, can mean both “twice a week” and “once every two weeks”. So, strictly speaking it isn’t clear whether a “bi-weekly” publication will appear once or four times over a two week period.
Similarly a biannual magazine could be published once every six months or once every twenty-four. On the other hand, the word “biennial” is unambiguous and means “once every two years” or “lasting two years”. This word is thus often used to refer to plants that only flower or fruit in their second year of life.
The ambiguity of language can be a part of its beauty, especially if you are writing fiction or poetry. But if you want to be sure of conveying a precise meaning, there are some words that are best avoided.
With this understanding, I now declare that, if you read something here which you can not understand, just remember it is most likely due to the ambiguity of English language. Appreciate the beauty of the language, and make it out whichever way you like it to be. Every version is correct, by definition.
Read this excerpt:
If something is “bimonthly”, does it occur twice a month or once every two months? In fact, just to demonstrate how slippery the English language can sometimes be, the correct answer would be “either”. The Oxford English Dictionary definition is very straightforward :
appearing or taking place twice a month or every two months.”It’s fair to say that “every two months” would be the more common usage of the word, but there’s no guarantee that a reader will assume one meaning or the other. If you want to use the term it may be worth spelling out (at least once) what you mean by it. Or just use different words, such as “every two months”. In the US, the word “semimonthly” is often used to mean “twice a month” but this is not a common word in other parts of the world, such as the UK.
The same problem occurs with words for other periods of time. Bi-weekly, for example, can mean both “twice a week” and “once every two weeks”. So, strictly speaking it isn’t clear whether a “bi-weekly” publication will appear once or four times over a two week period.
Similarly a biannual magazine could be published once every six months or once every twenty-four. On the other hand, the word “biennial” is unambiguous and means “once every two years” or “lasting two years”. This word is thus often used to refer to plants that only flower or fruit in their second year of life.
The ambiguity of language can be a part of its beauty, especially if you are writing fiction or poetry. But if you want to be sure of conveying a precise meaning, there are some words that are best avoided.
With this understanding, I now declare that, if you read something here which you can not understand, just remember it is most likely due to the ambiguity of English language. Appreciate the beauty of the language, and make it out whichever way you like it to be. Every version is correct, by definition.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Peace Be With You
I need to take a break from writing about IM topic.
My daughter Rebecca will be in holy communion with the Catholic Church in June. Last week I attended a meeting in the church in preparation for her first communion. We had to understand what needs to be done on that big day.
A spiritual motivational speaker was invited to give us the parents a talk. She is an impressive public speaker. I agree mostly with what she has to say about human nature, behaviour and desires. Most of the ill feelings, thoughts and desires one harbours are kind of like 'self-inflicted'. The speaker mentioned that inviting God into us (or should be her?) and let Him take care of all of our problems will cause most of our difficulties to go away. Ok, I am not saying it exactly, or as convincingly or elegantly as the speaker herself put it. I wish I had taken some notes. The essence of her speech was probably still there in what I just said, maybe 30% intact? Anyway, I can live with what she said there and will not put up any feeble challenge. After all, it is an unprovable argument, one way or another.
What striked me most was her statement that God gives us free will, and with free will we take responsibility over our own actions. We sort of should not blame God for our actions, as we have free will to do what we want, literally.
On the other hand, I have also heard often that God is all powerful and all knowing.
My simple mind just can't reconcile the two. A free willing human kind, and an all powerful and all knowing God. What am I missing here? Please tell me.
To my simple mind, if we have free will, then God can't be all powerful and all knowing. Would that not be right? I mean, if God says you can really do what you want, as you have free will, but He knows everything that is going to happen including what you will be doing with your free will. Shouldn't you wonder if you really had free will to do what you are doing? I mean would you not suspect that God Himself (or 'someone' or 'something' else) had planned what you are going to do if God knows, and knows consistently, ahead of what you will be doing? Does that make sense? It does to me. Take for example, someone is able to consistently predict, without error, every single lotto draw. It must make me wonder if the lotto result has been fixed, and therefore not a freely drawn set of numbers. How else can we explain the mathematically impossible act of predicting every lotto result?
To a limited extent, we can all predict the outcome of a certain event just seconds or minutes before the event happens. That is because we are able to logically deduce and therefore predict an outcome from the previous chain of events. For example, if I have been insulting your mother for the last five minutes I can be pretty confident that you are going to do something ugly to me in the next few moments. That is a no brainer prediction. But if I can consistently predict events well into the future, say ten years down the road, then would you say that people who are involved in that future event that I am predicting now really have free will to carry out that event?
So God says to you, you are free to do what you want. But wait a minute, everything that you are going to do, I already know it, and know it now. As God is also all powerful, meaning that He can not be wrong, therefore your only choice left is to freely and willingly carry out what God already knows. Logical fallacy?
Many of us have heard this story. There was a great flood. A religiously devoted man climbed to the roof of his house. There he sat and faithfully prayed for God's intervention to save him. He never doubted God would certainly pull him out of imminent death. Soon a helicopter hovered over him and he was offered to be hauled to safety. He declined the invitation, reasoning that the helicopter could go and save others while his God would save him. Then another boat passed by him, and again he declined the offer to be saved. Soon the water rose and he finally drowned. In heaven and coming face to face with God, the man lamented, God, why have you not saved me? God replied, what can I do? I sent the helicopter and the boat but you declined My help.
We can see that the man indeed had free will. He had the free will not to be saved. Now the questions. Did God know beforehand that the man was not willing to be saved? If God had known, why was He wasting His time and precious resources on someone not willing to be saved? And again if God had known, then did the man have free will (to refuse help from God)? And if God had not known beforehand, why is He all knowing and all powerful? What is the likely answer? I don't know.
Many years back I read another beautiful article posted on the internet about 9-11. I wished I had archived the article. I can't find it anymore. The article was in the form of a narration by a Franciscan priest who was at the World Trade Centre on that fateful 9-11 date. The priest was called to the scene to help out the sufferers of the worst terrorist attack in America. The priest himself died. Apparently (yes apparently) he spoke through a medium after his death on what he saw after he died.
The priest said that, on crossing over (to the other side), there was actually a huge welcoming party going on. The angels, the saints and departed loved ones were all gathered there to welcome all those who deceased. There was great joy and celebration on the other side. (I can imagine the party had to be really huge, with 5,000deaths guests).
The priest learned from the angels that just 10 minutes before the impact of the first plane on World Trade Centre, all the angels from all over the world and heaven received an intelligence (a la 007) that it is now inevitable that the crash on World Trade Centre would occur. So all the angels immediately gathered in New York in readiness for the big event, and the party to follow.
I like this story, and I can believe it. It shows free will. Yes, the free wills of the pilots who crashed the planes. Just minutes before the crash, only these pilots knew what would happen eventually. They had the free will to make it happen, or not. I believe even Osama Bin Laden would not have total, and I mean total, control over these pilots. (Osama was probably praying to His God at that moment for his plan of attack to be realised). The pilots really could abort the attack at the last minute. It is their free will. Perhaps they really made up their mind, that is to not change their course of actions, only 10 minutes prior to the crash, hence the intelligence received by the angels at that point in time.
In all probability, the angels could have known that something big had been planned for that day. But, even as angels they could not be sure until 10 minutes prior to the event, because the pilots had free will. It was the pilots' call.
I wonder, did God know beforehand, about 9-11? Is He all knowing?
Peace be with you.
P.S. The Franciscan priest made no mention of the welfare of the terrorist pilots after cross over. I wonder if they joined or were welcome at the party?
My daughter Rebecca will be in holy communion with the Catholic Church in June. Last week I attended a meeting in the church in preparation for her first communion. We had to understand what needs to be done on that big day.
A spiritual motivational speaker was invited to give us the parents a talk. She is an impressive public speaker. I agree mostly with what she has to say about human nature, behaviour and desires. Most of the ill feelings, thoughts and desires one harbours are kind of like 'self-inflicted'. The speaker mentioned that inviting God into us (or should be her?) and let Him take care of all of our problems will cause most of our difficulties to go away. Ok, I am not saying it exactly, or as convincingly or elegantly as the speaker herself put it. I wish I had taken some notes. The essence of her speech was probably still there in what I just said, maybe 30% intact? Anyway, I can live with what she said there and will not put up any feeble challenge. After all, it is an unprovable argument, one way or another.
What striked me most was her statement that God gives us free will, and with free will we take responsibility over our own actions. We sort of should not blame God for our actions, as we have free will to do what we want, literally.
On the other hand, I have also heard often that God is all powerful and all knowing.
My simple mind just can't reconcile the two. A free willing human kind, and an all powerful and all knowing God. What am I missing here? Please tell me.
To my simple mind, if we have free will, then God can't be all powerful and all knowing. Would that not be right? I mean, if God says you can really do what you want, as you have free will, but He knows everything that is going to happen including what you will be doing with your free will. Shouldn't you wonder if you really had free will to do what you are doing? I mean would you not suspect that God Himself (or 'someone' or 'something' else) had planned what you are going to do if God knows, and knows consistently, ahead of what you will be doing? Does that make sense? It does to me. Take for example, someone is able to consistently predict, without error, every single lotto draw. It must make me wonder if the lotto result has been fixed, and therefore not a freely drawn set of numbers. How else can we explain the mathematically impossible act of predicting every lotto result?
To a limited extent, we can all predict the outcome of a certain event just seconds or minutes before the event happens. That is because we are able to logically deduce and therefore predict an outcome from the previous chain of events. For example, if I have been insulting your mother for the last five minutes I can be pretty confident that you are going to do something ugly to me in the next few moments. That is a no brainer prediction. But if I can consistently predict events well into the future, say ten years down the road, then would you say that people who are involved in that future event that I am predicting now really have free will to carry out that event?
So God says to you, you are free to do what you want. But wait a minute, everything that you are going to do, I already know it, and know it now. As God is also all powerful, meaning that He can not be wrong, therefore your only choice left is to freely and willingly carry out what God already knows. Logical fallacy?
Many of us have heard this story. There was a great flood. A religiously devoted man climbed to the roof of his house. There he sat and faithfully prayed for God's intervention to save him. He never doubted God would certainly pull him out of imminent death. Soon a helicopter hovered over him and he was offered to be hauled to safety. He declined the invitation, reasoning that the helicopter could go and save others while his God would save him. Then another boat passed by him, and again he declined the offer to be saved. Soon the water rose and he finally drowned. In heaven and coming face to face with God, the man lamented, God, why have you not saved me? God replied, what can I do? I sent the helicopter and the boat but you declined My help.
We can see that the man indeed had free will. He had the free will not to be saved. Now the questions. Did God know beforehand that the man was not willing to be saved? If God had known, why was He wasting His time and precious resources on someone not willing to be saved? And again if God had known, then did the man have free will (to refuse help from God)? And if God had not known beforehand, why is He all knowing and all powerful? What is the likely answer? I don't know.
Many years back I read another beautiful article posted on the internet about 9-11. I wished I had archived the article. I can't find it anymore. The article was in the form of a narration by a Franciscan priest who was at the World Trade Centre on that fateful 9-11 date. The priest was called to the scene to help out the sufferers of the worst terrorist attack in America. The priest himself died. Apparently (yes apparently) he spoke through a medium after his death on what he saw after he died.
The priest said that, on crossing over (to the other side), there was actually a huge welcoming party going on. The angels, the saints and departed loved ones were all gathered there to welcome all those who deceased. There was great joy and celebration on the other side. (I can imagine the party had to be really huge, with 5,000
The priest learned from the angels that just 10 minutes before the impact of the first plane on World Trade Centre, all the angels from all over the world and heaven received an intelligence (a la 007) that it is now inevitable that the crash on World Trade Centre would occur. So all the angels immediately gathered in New York in readiness for the big event, and the party to follow.
I like this story, and I can believe it. It shows free will. Yes, the free wills of the pilots who crashed the planes. Just minutes before the crash, only these pilots knew what would happen eventually. They had the free will to make it happen, or not. I believe even Osama Bin Laden would not have total, and I mean total, control over these pilots. (Osama was probably praying to His God at that moment for his plan of attack to be realised). The pilots really could abort the attack at the last minute. It is their free will. Perhaps they really made up their mind, that is to not change their course of actions, only 10 minutes prior to the crash, hence the intelligence received by the angels at that point in time.
In all probability, the angels could have known that something big had been planned for that day. But, even as angels they could not be sure until 10 minutes prior to the event, because the pilots had free will. It was the pilots' call.
I wonder, did God know beforehand, about 9-11? Is He all knowing?
Peace be with you.
P.S. The Franciscan priest made no mention of the welfare of the terrorist pilots after cross over. I wonder if they joined or were welcome at the party?
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