Out of the Ashes

the entry about Reality.

What I Got.

Creation is Form and Relations. The vastness of the Universe - stretching beyond the edges of the known and seen, returns to the oneness that spawned our mortal and spiritual coils. The circumference of time knows no direction; bounding this eternal moment in a self-referential frame of timelessness. The relative passage of this Time entity dulls the majesty of Being, in response, the Observers (that would be us) concoct of stories: magnificent and belligerent, noble and delinquent; stitching together a reality built upon the cornerstone of superstitions and arbitration.

The tests of Reality fails. All senses lie. All reckoning fails at some point in time. Nothing is ultimately accurate when juxtaposed against the unknowable true physicality of the Physical World beyond our Self - past the boundaries of our Body.

A reality wrought of Agreements; a canvas of yes and nos, dos and do nots, right and wrong. Reality itself, remains untouched by observed agreements. True Physicality remains unchanged, yet context reshapes the Universe into brimestones and cherubs, domestic and foreign, us and them - eternally shifting : mercury-like.

The Agreement of Physicality creates Measure and Form. The colour of plants is agreed upon to be called Green. The greenish object is agreed upon to be called, a Plant. The person observing the green plant is agreed upon to be called a Biologist. The Biologist is agreed upon to be considered to be part of a race called the Homosapiens. Yellow is agreed upon to mean characteristics of its designation. A centimetre is demarcated by the agreement of metrics. Form and substance revolves tirelessly around the agreement of Relativity and is given measure, distance, physicality and identity by the agreement of Objectivity.

The Agreement of Law creates Order. A green light is agreed upon to mean move, a red light is agreed upon to mean stop. A white line on the black tarred road is agreed upon to mean : stay within this demarcation. A large moving object with four wheels and many seats (called the bus by many) is agreed upon to stop at its designated stop. A citizen is agreed upon by Law to not spit or urinate in public. A marriage is agreed upon to mean the merging of two distinctly separate persons.

The Agreement of Beliefs creates Religions of organised behavior.

The Agreement of Self creates Identity.

The Agreement of Physics gave birth to the Universe.

Consider then, that Language thusly is a function and causative element of our Fabric of Reality. Through Language, we are able to formulate Agreements, shaping our fundamental reality as we drape our understanding of it over True Reality. The context of a culture with no word for a coke bottle differs from a culture that produces it - the quicksilver-esque Fabric of Reality contours to fit the mind that perceives it. True Reality, however, remains unchanged. It is our Agreements that changes the preferred assumptions of our Reality.

What then, is Reality?

Heart Sutra

I recite this to focus my mind, and dispel mindlessness. For you.


觀自在菩薩。行深般若波羅蜜多時。照見五蘊皆空。度一切苦厄。

舍利子，色不異空。空不 異色。色即是空。空即是色。

受、想、行、識，亦復如是。

舍利子，是諸法空相。不生，不 滅。不垢，不淨，不增，不減。

是故空中。無色。無受、想、行、識。

無眼、耳、鼻、舌、 身、意。

無色、聲、香、味、觸、法。

無眼界。乃至無意識界。

無無明。亦無無明盡。

乃至 無老死。亦無老死盡。

無苦、集、滅、道。無智，亦無得。

以無所得故。菩提薩埵。依般若 波羅蜜多故。

心無罣礙。無罣礙故。無有恐怖。

遠離顛倒夢想。究竟涅槃。三世諸佛。

依般 若波羅蜜多故。得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。

故知般若波羅蜜多。是大神咒。是大明咒是無上咒 。是無等等咒。能除一切苦。真實不虛故。

說般若波羅蜜多咒即說咒曰：

揭帝，揭帝，般羅 揭帝，般羅僧揭帝，菩提僧莎訶。

Translation:

When Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara was practicing the profound Perfection of the Wisdom (prajna paramita), he illuminated the Five Appearances (skandha) and saw that they are all empty (shunya), and he crossed beyond all suffering and difficulty.
Shariputra, form does not differ from emptiness; emptiness does not differ from form. Form itself is emptiness; emptiness itself is form. So too are feeling, cognition, formation, and consciousness.

Shariputra, all teachings (dharma) are empty of characteristics. They are not produced, not destroyed, not defiled, not pure; and they neither increase nor diminish. Therefore, in emptiness there is no form, feeling, cognition, formation, or consciousness; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, objects of touch, or dharmas; no field of the eyes up to and including no field of mind consciousness; and no ignorance or ending of ignorance, up to and including no old age and death or ending of old age and death. There is no suffering, no accumulating, no extinction, and no Way, and no understanding and no attaining.

Because nothing is attained, the Bodhisattva through reliance on prajna paramita is unimpeded in his mind. Because there is no impediment, he is not afraid, and he leaves distorted dream-thinking far behind. Ultimately Nirvana! All Buddhas of the three periods of time attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi through reliance on prajna paramita. Therefore know that prajna paramita is a Great Spiritual Mantra, a Great Bright Mantra, a Supreme Mantra, an Unequalled Mantra. It can remove all suffering; it is genuine and not false. That is why the Mantra of Prajna Paramita was spoken. Recite it like this: Gaté Gaté Paragaté Parasamgaté. Bodhi Svaha!

Fuck You! Love, Us

Lily Allen made a song : and it has become the anthem for Anti-Homophobia across the world. Cool shit.

Take a gander - a message from across the world :

Fuck You, Fuck You Very Very Much!

I love the lyrics. Very liberating to sing along. Fuck all you fundies and bashers! =D


Look inside,
Look inside your tiny mind
Now look a bit harder
Cause we're so uninspired,
so sick and tired of all the
hatred you harbor

So you say
It's not okay to be gay
Well I think you're just evil
You're just some racist who
can't tie my laces
Your point of view is medieval

Fuck you (Fuck you)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you (Fuck You)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause your words don't translate
And it's getting quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Do you get,
Do you get a little kick out of
being small-minded?
You want to be like your father
It's approval your after
Well that's not how you find it

Do you,
Do you really enjoy living a
life that's so hateful?
Cause there's a hole where
your soul should be
Your losing control of it and
it's really distasteful

Fuck you (Fuck You)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you (Fuck You)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause your words don't
translate and it's getting
quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you,
Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you,
Fuck yooooou

You say
You think we need to go to war
well you're already in one
Cause it's people like you
who need to get slew
No one wants your opinion

Fuck you (Fuck You)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you (Fuck You)
Fuck you very, very much
Cause your words don't
translate and it's getting
quite late
So please don't stay in touch

Fuck you, Fuck you
Fuck you, Fuck you
Fuck you, Fuck you

smoke and dreams

Smoke and Dreams

William's birthday party forced an obligatory visit to the clubs on me: something which I had feared and avoided doing for years (I have residual gay Demophobia from my youth - where large crowds of gay people scare me), but ended up helpless to deny. The thorough inebriation of the self, made crystalline by such tinkering of the senses: bottles of champagne; imagine! An inept drinker; I lost my senses after but several cups ("you won't get drunk on champagne" - so I was told); rendering myself unable to perceive, nor comprehend the images and sounds around me.

I lost my digital camera, somewhere, sometime in that haze of night. I suppose I should be grieving, and yet here I am stubbornly believing that it will find its way back to me. There are certain people that I had wanted to meet, anticipatory, for the first time; yet the only memory that persists is of white beds and soft pillows.

I hope I didn't do anything silly last night.

I could really use some work on my alcohol tolerance level too.

Day 3 of the rest of my Life =]

Day 3

The first day of going vegetarian was benign enough.

Day two, however, was a challenge. From the moment of waking, I pondered - deeply, no less - the options available for breakfast. Drawing an utter blank, I dragged myself to the nearest convenience store and purchased several boxes of cereal (I finished one box in one sitting) and bread. Barely an hour later, I was hungry and had to drag myself to a mixed-vegetable-rice stall for sustenance.

As evening approached, I was tempted to have some vegetarian pasta home-delivered from pastamania, but my wise ol' brother suggested that it was unsustainable, and that if I were to persist down this path then I must seek a proper methodology (of finding vegan food). And so, I travelled a good 10minutes to find the NEAREST true vegetarian stall, but as luck would have it, it turned out that that particular Sunday was the 15th of the Lunar month. (Meaning that all lay-Buddhists will go vegan for the day)

After waiting for a good 45 minutes and almost fainting from hunger, I decided to F-it and reneged on my order and just got some vegetables and tofu from the local mixed-stuff rice.

30 minutes later, I met Serena and friends at market 85 for a small gathering...and all I could have were dumplings. Everyone asked why I was doing this. I had no good answer that would not make me sound silly. On retrospect, it does sound alittle silly; but I don't think I will give up just yet.

The entire day 2 was a disaster, jammed-packed with eclectic dietary choices that had no basis in nutritional science. I basically whacked and laid my hands on anything that wasn't meat (as I had no idea where or when my next food source is gonna come from).

I ate a freaking cheesecake at 11pm!! I would never, ever had done that pre-vegan!

And day 3 cometh, I feel lethargic and atad sickish. I do not know if this is because of my sudden no-meat crash diet or that perhaps I caught a bug - but I do feel truly under the weather right now.

Sigh.

Be The Change You Want To See In The World!

Be the change you want to see in the world!

Having been told that (as per subject), I have decided, unequivocally, to become an lacto-ova vegetarian. Meaning that I basically do not eat any meat produce except dairy products and eggs. Being a vociferous carnivore, this is quite a big change in lifestyle for me but I guess it can't be helped. Humanity's Meat Machine churns out more pollution and takes up more energy to produce than I can stand. I believe in the power of collective ripples; perhaps one day, I can convince more friends to join me.

I still need dairy products and eggs to maintain certain substances required for my gymming, and hopefully someday I can turn full vegen..(If I survive this).

I hope I do not crumble. Wish me luck.

of Appreciation

The artful parabola, skims through the air in a pleasing geometry.

A billion-bit of information traverses our neural-synapse links, transposed into a singular tapestry. We do not see the world in numbers, although mathematics govern with an iron-fist the foundations of our universe, our reality. We do not see, hear, touch, taste, smell in the realms of analytical degrees, but where we fail to see the cosmic spreadsheets dictating every law of physics, we make up for, with the ability to discern the sum of it's parts.

I stood, watching the winds sway the trees; languid clouds flowed along the vast channel of pale blue sky, and a single bird danced in the uplifting breeze.

And I believe, that what makes us human, so delicately human: is the appreciation of the beautiful things, wondrously big and infinitesimally small; and the delightful inner joy that comes with sharing it.

天天天天

夜夜夜夜

有很多事情不明白。

轻盈落雨般的忧蓝天色，细细地的搀杂着日出的无奈。

若我所惦记的星空以绝，淡淡地把昨夜的梦境化成无。

让心境沉淀一些，收敛一些，可能城市那片灯火斓珊，

也不再空洞无物。

of a Metaphysical Rut

of strangulating dreamholds and vanishing stars

This is an entry on mine auto-exorcism.

To pace my words in this fashion, unabated; touching wild dreams in the daylight of living -

I pass beyond sentences, unceremoniously forged on the tip of my tongue.

No relics of wisdom, no pearls of incandescent fluidity remain; a quiescent falls upon the cityscape..

Dividing a single Gate -

Sundering effortlessly, the manifold estates

of my mind,

I walk, somnambulistic, ambulatory -

a softly tiptoeing nothingness,

the starlights, congratulatory ;

tipping their tophats as cosmic laws sit unburdened on the throne of gods

but where do starlights go?

to where dreams fall that no man knows.

I am emptied for now.

STTA

Remove LBW as STTA President!

Please sign the online petition here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/lbh/petition-sign.html?

Ever since the Olympics medal media debacle, I've harbored a simmering discontentment towards the incompetent Lee Bee Wah and her disingenuous public statements. That night, as I watched the interview of her on TV, explaining why coach Liu Guo Dong was not nominated Coach of the Year (resulting in a vacancy for the award this year) by the STTA, I cannot help but feel this pulsating wave of pettiness. Singaporeans are not that dumb to be hoodwinked by your bad PR, Miss LBW: We can read between the insinuation and the lines.

Sony Walkman project

Sony Walkman Project

I almost forgot to share this.

Utterly spellbinding. 

What I would give to be involved in a project of such brilliant audacity! A single note for everyone! Threaded together into an orchestration that requires nothing else, other than your love for the moment and the joy of participation!

It is not over yet.

It is Not Over Yet

On the context of the AWARE issue:

Excerpt taken from Yawningbread(my favourite site! go read!)

John Dorhauer on the steeplejacking of AWARE

I was pleased to be able to get into contact with Rev. Dr. John C Dorhauer very recently and he has voiced his opinion on the AWARE saga and his eagerness to contact and work with the Old Guard directly. The following indented paragraphs are quotes from Dorhauer (reproduced with his permission), interspersed with my own comments from the perspective of an overseas Christian Singaporean who has seen similar takeover attempts in Australia.

Dorhauer is a Conference Minister for the Southwest Conference of the United Church of God. He has co-authored the book ‘Steeplejacking’ which details the war between mainstream religion and right-wing fundamentalists, who use controversial issues such as homosexuality to cause dissent among Christian; with the ultimate aim of taking over churches and secular organizations. He has great expertise in recognizing the signs of such an invasion and recommends methods to successfully counter it. There is an in-depth essay on the takeover of AWARE in this context at here (spenz: Please read). Being overseas, I regretfully cannot attend the May 2 EGM. Instead I have written this essay in support of the Old Guard and would like to present Dorhauer’s and my own knowledge on this matter.

Dorhauer: There is no doubt that AWARE has been targeted by an orchestrated attack. Please know that all of you are in my prayers - that is the first thing I want you to know. I want to be of help, and wish we had more time to go through some important details, and a better means of carrying on this conversation. What is clear is that the takeover group came in with a great deal of stealth, fully aware of their tactics and agendas and without anyone in the AWARE organization knowing what was coming.

In Australia, my partner is a committee member of a church that was one of many that received mass-mailed letters from Family First, a political party that purports to place family values above all else. The letter sought to provoke the church’s leaders over the so-called ‘homosexual agenda’ that sought to silence their right to preach against homosexuality so that gays would be normalized as part of mainstream society. As people here are generally more accepting, they have had to resort to more alarmist methods. Ms. Josie Lau and her cronies have also distorted facts and used the old AWARE’s supposed promotion of homosexuality to stir up support for themselves. Sounds terribly familiar, doesn’t it? At least they haven’t set up a political party yet.

One of the things that I have learned as a basic principle is that when others use strategies that rely on secrecy and stealth, the smartest thing you can do is broadcast openly and publicly what you learn about them, naming the bullies in a very public way, spelling out as clearly as you can and as publicly as you can the tactics that are discovered.

The media, the old Guard and its supporters have definitely exposed the new exco’s dirty tactics. There are plenty of articles detailing them in full and I do not need to reiterate them again here. This has helped raise supporters for their cause. The leaders in my partner’s church acknowledged that people had differing views on homosexuality, but were quick to announce the paranoia and exaggerations in the content of the letter to the congregation. I would encourage church leaders and supporters of the Old Guard in Singapore to continue to clarify the myths and distortions that are the allegations of the new exco, regardless of the outcome of the EGM.

…if someone from aware could take the floor tomorrow and say something like this: "We have been duped. A group hostile to the core values of AWARE has taken over our organization. Because of their dishonesty, covert tactics, and unChristian behaviors, we were taken off guard. It won't happen again. We will do what we can to discover who is funding their operation, who is teaching them to behave this way, and to build our own strategies to once again take charge of this organization which we built and for which we care very deeply. We are growing aware of how this same tactic is being used by others around the globe. Our mission is too important to leave in the hands of those who are this destructive and who behave in this way. But we are not shy, and we will not lay down just because of what they have done here. I call on all who are committed to the ongoing mission of our organization to join me in this struggle."

We know that Ms. Josie Lau is a vocal supporter of Focus on the Family, a right-wing evangelical organisation based in the US, but registered as a secular one in Singapore. In the US, FOTF supposedly promotes American family values…in Singapore, its website claims to support Asian family values. Yet the conservative anti-gay, anti-feminist stance adopted by both are essentially the same. James Dobson, founder of FOTF in the United States, preaches a doctrine of intolerance towards homosexuality, that women should be submissive, and of harsh parenting techniques, in the name of Christian faith. Due to its claims of being secular, FOTF here has managed to gain itself enough respect in the form of air-time on the radio and a regular column in the Today newspaper, while Lau has managed to run a charity drive benefitting FOTF through DBS. To blend into Singapore society, FOTF gave itself a veneer of secularity that was acceptable in our multi-religious society.

The invasion of Christian fundamentalism in secular Singapore did not start with AWARE, nor will it end with it. Focus on the Family started its work years ago, and organisations such as Action for Aids and other groups that might even remotely deal with homosexual issues had better be alert and brace themselves. Dorhauer and I have seen these continuous attempts at invasion occur overseas, and I doubt that the new exco will stop at taking over AWARE.

Those who have joined AWARE in order to vote against the new exco in the EGM will need to remain alert even if they succeed in ousting them. I predict that the EGM will not be a final showdown, but the start of many such battles to come against infiltration by Christian fundamentalists in the future. I hope we all have the stamina to stand our ground.

I read in the article that the newcomers said it was not important to share their views on homosexuality. That is a clear warning, and a very good way to overcome that is to ask as many questions as you can of newcomers. The organization should be very clear about its own core values, and articulate those to every new member. If they cannot accept the core values, or if they equivocate about them, then they should be approached with caution and suspicion….

What would be more important at this point is having conversation about what strategies can be developed both to take back ownership and leadership of the organization, and to equip leaders to detect the warning signs of potential interlopers…

… it looks as if the leaders of AWARE are on top of this, but it also looks like they may be up against a pretty ominous foe.

Australia and the US have become wise to these stealth tactics, but this is still new for Singapore. Let us continually seek to update ourselves and remain ahead of further underhanded takeover attempts in the future.

They never succeeded in taking over my partner’s church in the end.

The Amazing Thio Su Mien

The Amazing Thio Su Mien

The brilliant transcript of the "feminist mentor's" desperate attempt to repair her shredded reputation after bragging of instigating the take-over.

Thanks to Wayang Party for the transcript.

Thio Su Mien: "Some of us live till 73 to celebrate feminism. We don’t go around shouting and shrieking. I believe I am a ‘feminist mentor’…QUIET please, because you have put me in your book. All of you have been asked to read about women who are first in their fields and I was so charmed to discover that I was in book on page 73. I was the first batch of law graduates and…SHOW SOME RESPECT TO YOUR ELDERS…."

[Somebody from the crowd shouted "You have to earn the RESPECT!"]

Lois Ng: "Ladies and gentlemen, please sit down, I have already mentioned to you about the house rules. We do not interrupt when somebody is speaking. There are many people here who wanted to speak."

[The noise from the crowd continues to drown Thio Su Mien's speech]

Thio Su Mien: "I was very charmed when I discovered I was in this book. Please show humility. I acted a point that I stand to stay something because it’s my desire, because you are women who are descendants of the pioneers of Singapore….I am disturbed, I was the first Law Dean, I was also the first to establish……YOU HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOUR ELDERS"

Addendum:

After watching this, I actually felt immense pity for the poor lady. She has descended to a level comparable to a mental condition, and her disingenuous attempts at preaching humility whilst constantly bragging about her limited accreditation in the field, is reminiscent of the discordant mental process that had been plaguing her since her Coming-Out-Party during the April 23rd News Conference.

Email by Josie Lau's husband

Email By Josie Lau's Husband

From The Informant Network Team:

The below email was written by Josie Lau’s husband, Dr Alan Chin and was forward to quite a number of people in which Dr Chin made a few serious allegations about MOE, namely that MOE has been teaching and promoting homosexuality to JC students.

Without providing any concrete proof to substantiate his claims except for some anecdotal examples, Dr Chin used it as a basis to rally his friends to support the new exco.

As Dr Chin’s email has been circulated around for the past few days and it is not known how many Singaporeans have read it, it is imperative that MOE step forward to clarify matters.

Are there any truth in the allegations contained in Dr Chin’s email?

MOE should conduct a thorough investigation into the matter and give a proper account to the public to stop such allegations from damaging its reputation once and for all.

———-Forwarded message———-

From: Alan Chin <alanchinXXX>

Date: Sun, Apr 26, 2009 at 10:10 PM

Subject: GP in JC1 and pink marraige

Forwarded message

Dear praying parents,

For your immediate attention. Fwding some more info that (prayerfully) can help us see the aggresive and thwarted works of the Evil one thru the well meaning but totally brain-washed old guard of AWARE.

I’m extremely saddened and concerned and I felt compelled to share… just last Monday, my son in ACJC had for his GP lesson the topic on alternative family structure frm MOE. They were given notes for discussion on topic of same- sex marriage and same sex parents with adoption of children to form a family unit, with this new terminology PINK PARENTS.

Students were given a worksheet with questions about what is their idea of a nuclear family unit, what are their views about same -sex parents forming family unit and whether the government in S’pore will legalize gay marriages and whether they are for or against it.

During the lesson, they also watched a documentary of “A look into lifestyles of some same- sex marriage or Pink Parent family.”

Notes given were of 2 particular case study of :

1) Molly ( toddler ) with 2 moms.

2) A gay who wanted to have children decided to cohabit with a lesbian couple and between them they bored 2 girls and of course depicted the persons in these situations as happy and adjusted as any normal family.

It scares me to think of how children will be like growing up in such unconventional and dysfunctional family set up. Can you believe this is being taught in public schools, let alone Methodist ones like ACJC?

My son’s immediate response was that of disgust and I was relieved that my son’s lesson was taught by a Christian teacher and thus would be filtered to a certain extent. In my honest opinion, I simply cannot imagine how a

My questions are:

1) Does our mission school have a choice to reject such materials from MOE? and

2) Though discussions on it can be discussed in a healthy and matured way, is it necessary to put our children in such position that they have to choose for or against something that is so obviously wrong - as long as Penal code 377A is still in place?

3) Will the viewing of such images leave our impressionable children in a state of confusion?

In another JC, my friend’s daughter was given a hundred over pages of notes for GP in which there were pictures of lesbians kissing (this is not even allowed by censor boards in worldly magazines. Thankfully ACJC was more careful with this)

The students have to study the notes and sit for a quiz. Included in the notes were links to helpline and counselling from Aware. As you all may know, AWARE has a new exco, in which nine of the twelve are committed, prayerful Christians. However, the old exco (who have a pro-gay agenda) are planning to overthrow the new exco with a call to a vote of no confidence at the next AGM.

As concerned parents, are we going to sit back and not do anything about this? We have been praying for years for our children’s well being, maybe it’s a call now to go beyond just praying. We have to make our stand clearly and firmly for God and our children are watching us.

Mothers/women over the age of 18, please:

1) Consider joining Aware (sign up http://www.aware.org.sg/?page_id=130) and vote in favour of the exco.

2) Pray for the continual victory and the grace of God over this whole situation

Think and pray seriously about it, trust in God’s sovereignity (casting out all fear) in this situation and obey His direction. It really is a spiritual warfare in this day and age.

We do not act as representatives of any prayer group,church or school. We go as God’s children in Jesus’s Name choosing God’s law over others.

My vote to support Aware in its new cause may be most insignificant in this world but God is counting it as His!

In the same way that we could accept a drug addict but we cannot accept the act of taking drugs, we also could accept a homosexual but we should not allow our children to be taught that choosing homosexuality is acceptable. It’s not a civil right but a personal choice that should not be imposed on our society. Let’s protect all the children in S’pore.

Concerned n Prayerful,

2 Thess 4:7, 5: 23,24

Find the actual account here @

http://wayangparty.com/?p=8604

Addendum :

My understanding of the GP module in JC, is that it helps to foster critical thinking skills - be it through the discussion of sensitive topics relating to euthanasia, abortion and such. I have no idea whether what he said is true, or plausible in today's literature, but what I do think is that exposure to worldly affairs and material truths mould youths who are capable of discerning multiple perspectives, and is generally a more well-rounded education than that of a purely religious viewpoint.

great job Singapore!

Great Job Singapore!

I am proud of the vast majority of Singaporean women. I am proud of the women who have taken a stand against the absurd accusations made against the old guard and the directives espoused by the new guard. I am proud of the enlightened views held by the many different civil sectors, waged against the small-mindedness of the few who seeks disparity through an ideological hegemony. I am proud of the Christians in Singapore who have stood up against the deliberate actions of a certain brand of other Christians who sully their religion through ignoble actions and Dominionism. I am so proud of the democratic process that has allowed for this amazing development to happen; I am proud of you ladies!

Good job Singapore!

On the other hand : I am ashamed of individuals like Thio and her cohort; bigots who crusade their brand of social idealism under the facade of equality. Individuals who possess nothing but their personal agendas; individuals with no actual accreditation in social welfare work, beyond that of self-labeling/promotion (feminist mentor? dean of the law faculty! wow! "My name is on the page 73!", "show some respect to your elders!"). I am ashamed of the backward individuals who continue to live in the backyards of their faith, who continually regress whilst the world moves forward. I am ashamed of religious figureheads abusing the sacred pulpit by disseminating errant ideas to their attentive flocks; the attempted mobilization of a religious body against a secular one, on grounds a perceived threat against the imaginary boundaries of their "One Nation Under God" ideology ; apologies or not, the initial intent is distasteful and outright disgusting.  Religions for mindcontrol, no? 

Shame on you!

The silver lining of this entire episode is, perhaps, the extraordinary attention AWARE that has been lavished upon AWARE. Attention that has generated an unprecedented level of activism amongst Singaporeans: women or men. Attention that will hopefully spur Singapore forward on the path of openness and acceptance, regardless of race, language, religion or sexual orientation.

PS: Watch the first new guard media conference @ http://theonlinecitizen.com/2009/04/aware-new-exco-april-23-news-conference/

You'll laugh your brains out.

Of Language and Walls

Of Language and Walls

Up late; mad rush - 14 minutes later, me, a half-wreck by the roadside.

3 cabs whizzed by, seemingly all recession-proof; arrogantly in no immediate need of requiring fare. Do taxi-uncles determine their day's lot through some opaque, shamanistic ritual, I wondered. Did I looked especially repugnant, or perhaps, redolent of certain mephitic qualities?

Regardless.

I hopped onto the next one that came along, and hastily went, "Simei, uncle." To reiterate, I inflected the words in the exact phonetics required for basic understanding, or so I thought.

Inauspiciously, the uncle (who must be in his 60s?) went, "Huh? I donch no chynese", and smiled at me.

I wasn't feeling particularly forgiving and retorted, with nelly a skip, "That's not chinese, that's SIMEI." The uncle returned with, "Ohhhhh.....Sea-May", and smiled at me.

Observing the innards of his car, I noticed the unmistakable paraphernalia of : a proudly displayed business times, his taxi license with his chinese name on it, a smattering of differentenglish magazines strewn in the back-slots of the front seats, the really-loud-in-your-eardrums-and-soul music from class 95fm, but oddly enough - no english flag.

At my destination, I got off and went, "谢谢你" and smiled at him.

The resulting thoughts that emerged from this little encounter reminded me of something I wrote long ago, in my dead blog. As I struggled to salvage the memory, it dredged up new feelings and perspectives:

Why, should anyone, be proud of their language deficiency?

Long ago, I knew people who would not be caught dead speaking mandarin. It was a base thing to do, to uttercommon-folks' pidgin. Mandarin is for the poor and uneducated, obviously. Elites speak the Queen's English, and anything else is fathoms beneath. Like, how totally uncool is mandarin? Like, who needs to learn other languages, right?

Alas, language: of the written or verbal medium is a living, breathing entity. It is a monstrous thing, a beautiful thing; a divider and a connector. We hang onto the syntax and conjunctions, the commas and the dots. We defend it, we abuse it. It is the simplest, most direct form of inter-human communications, and yet, also oft-misunderstood. The dichotomy, or to be more accurate, the facets of Language draws it's strength and power from the imagination of the people whom it serves; and it is this ultra-intimacy which shapes and controls the boundaries of our experiences.

Cultures give birth to languages, or vice versus; whatever your opinions on this may be. It is the manifestations of the unique circumstances pervading different sectors of humanity. It is the identity and soul of a culture; and the evidence of history.

Singlish! For example. I've long heralded the beauty of our nation's breathing, changing topography of the global tongue. It is an unique amalgamation of our diverse ethnicity; a solace in foreign lands. Where destiny takes you far away, an incidental, "I miss you leh," brings you back home. Why should we suppress this? The majority of Singaporeans know better than to bring Singlish to the tables when doing a job interview. We are well educated enough to be able to discern the gravity of the situation, and we adjust: we're pretty good at it too.

Recently, a Japanese lady was chatting with me, and she went, "Next time when you are free lah, I will bring you to my restaurant for makan, ok?" And we laughed over her brilliant attempt at Singlish.

It is this attempt at using a common code, a common template of the peoples' language around you that binds us together - even foreigners from a distant land; even neighbours from a different race. Just a few simple words and you can break barriers, imagine! How powerful is that?

And just the other day, I was at the coffee-shop, chilling with a couple of colleagues over a cup of teh si peng, when I noticed this old Chinese uncle chatting with this Malay guy in flawless malay. If I had not looked, I would not had been able to tell that they were two gentlemen from different races!

This brought to mind, how my grandma and granddad has absolute mastery over several languages: chinese, malay,teochew, hokkien, hakka, cantonese - and a smattering ofenglish. Two old folks and they could converse with anyone that came along. Our generation now has more to deal with, to be fair: scores of physics notes to consign to rote, calculus formulae flowing off the tongue, who can blame us for not having the time to mix around in the bygone racial melting pot of the early days? And so, I mentioned wistfully to my friends, what will happen when the older generation dies? Will the different races be relegated to just speaking their own tongue in their own groups? The degree of intimacy will be drawn and demarcated, and we will not be able to converse beyond the Queen's English with each other: that is a cultural loss, I feel.

And so, I try my best to learn a little of everything. A "bolehsaya tolong awak, cik?", a "可以帮你吗?", a "Ohisashiburi desune!" can go a long way in making the people around you comfortable and appreciated. The way I see it, english is the bridge that spans continents, but speaking your neighbour's language is the warm hello that will open doors. Let language be a connector, not a divider.

So, how would I best share my experiences with you? Short of you reading my mind, the optimal choice would be for me to say it, or to pen it in words that you might connect with; words which might be emotive or casually, meaningless. Or to put it simply, words that you understand. And what a beautiful world it would be, when all barriers are transcended: language, cultural, religious, moral - just because the world is willing to try to understand each other.

And thus, I am proud to be a pretty fluent bilingual, with a limited (but to useful words!) vocabulary of the Japanese and Malay language. We should not be proud in resigning ourselves to a singular form of expression when the world around us is so diverse! We do not have to become a professor in the language, but what harm would learning some new words do to us? What harm can the ability to converse intimately to the people around us do?

So if we meet, why not bridge the gap atad, and let us converse in mandarin? (If you can help it)

PS: This is not to say that english cannot be intimate; it is afterall, the people involved in the communication that is most important. Language is a living tool, and we must use it to the best degree possible.

for beauty and fury

For Beauty and Fury

Pondering upon the AWARE saga with a calmer faculty of mind, I have reorganised my thoughts into the following:

1) A monotheistic ex-co with strong conservative proclivities does not foster an image of diversity and inclusion, moreso for this secular entity that they now have the task of steering. A policy of inclusion will see the ex-co governed by strong ladies of various faith, denominations, niche and orientation.

2) The propagation of the ex-co's vision can be achieved through the formation of another entity, separate from AWARE. This is a simple enough concept, but obviously the effect would not have been the same. In creating their own NGO, they would had been free to explore whatever agendas they deem fit. The ousting of the Old Guard due to it's "wayward" and overly "diversified" interests (homosexual issues or not) sends the signal that everything the old guard hadstrived for is erroneous and has to be corrected.

3) If a homosexual woman seeks help from AWARE, what would be her recourse? Will she find acceptance or rehabilitation? If a lady, for whatever compelling reason, seeks counselling for abortion, will she be given an impartial view of the issue? Will the ex-co revise the sexual education being meted out, to exclude contraceptives, condoms and safer sex, and instead preach their message of abstinence?

4) The ex-co claims not to know each other, despite a vast majority coming from the same church, and evidently, the same feminist mentor. Why do we, as a people, continue to delude ourselves or pretend not to notice the glaring simplicity of this connection? With all threads leading back to the same spool, how can we ignore the obvious?

5) The Old Guard is equally to blame for this fiasco. For their complacency in the elections which led to this debacle, and for not straddling the fine line of inclusion well enough. Their overt tones of homosexuality cannot possibly sit well with alot of parents. If the Old Guard is about inclusion, then the views of the dissenting parents must be included as well.

6) We must continue to support the right of individuals: ladies or gentlemen, queer or straight. Regardless of religion, creed and race. This is the least we can do, to not descend into the ex-co's level.

I then asked myself, how does the AWARE issue concern me?

And my answer is that:

1) I do not like the Thio family. Blunt, but true. Their family has inclinations of anti-gay rhetorics however they sugar-coat or embellish their justifications. Their speeches in parliment, letters, overtures and deeds all reeks of propaganda. So let us not delude ourself further when we see these names being associated with this whole saga; let us not pretend that we do not know just what it is they peddle beneath their skirts.

2) I do not like christians (most of them). Over the course of my life, they have proven again and again to be highly self-righteous, ready to judge others based on the words of a book selectively printed by the policies of a human-governed organisation.

I believe in Absolutes. Love, Choice and Death are Absolutes. Do no harm unto Others, is an Absolute. Anything else; be it rituals, customs, stories or ancedotes are man-made, man-tainted. All of the above are coloured prisms through which the infinite light of the Absolutes shine through. Down the vast vista of history, man and religions endeavour to channel and prim the light of these Absolutes into messages that can be utilised for their own ends, for the harvesting of weaker minds:

I will not settle for anything lesser than the pure light of the Absolutes.

And thus, the message that this new ex-co brings, is just another layer of scum and grim attempting to control the Absolutes.

That is not acceptable to me, and should not be acceptable to you.

3) We have to fight Domionism, wherever it may rear it's ugly head.

And then I asked myself, why should you be concerned?

1) Because apathy rots our soul.

2) Because the signal that the New Guard is sending, is that the Old Guard's overtly homosexual inclusivity is erroneous and has to be stopped and brought back to it's roots. They have stated so, in crystal clear language.

This directly interdicts our freedom as well:

The taking of one is but a step that will begin a thousand miles.