the women of Raffles Place
i am in the office by 8 in the morning, oblivious to the rushing, churning, flowers-blossoming world that is outside, known to some as Raffles Place.
there are some occasions when I leave my safe and stuffy cubicle between the hours of 9 and 10, for a bit of coffee, something to munch and lots of women.
you see, when you come to work at 8 in the morning, the view, shall I say, is rather limiting. There are women, lots of ordinary, overworked women. But the premium, prettiest women come to work between 9 and 10. Probably late, probably unhappy, unmotivated employees but always premium and pretty.
There are many many reasons I can think of why the premium, pretty women come to work between the hours of 9 and 10. But I have always believed that “why” is especially overrated.
We should think about how.
Like how to relish, romance and ravish the premium, pretty women that come to work between the hours of 9 and 10.
Philip K. Dick
The authentic human being is one of us who instinctively knows what he should not do, and, in addition, he will balk at doing it. He will refuse to do it, even if this brings down dread consequences to him and to those whom he loves. This, to me, is the ultimately heroic trait of ordinary people; they say no to the tyrant and they calmly take the consequences of this resistance. Their deeds may be small, and almost always unnoticed, unmarked by history. Their names are not remembered, nor did these authentic humans expect their names to be remembered. I see their authenticity in an odd way: not in their willingness to perform great heroic deeds but in their quiet refusals. In essence, they cannot be compelled to be what they are not.
a citizen’s most important duty
“…in a democracy, keeping abreast of current events was a citizen’s most important duty and that you could never start too early to be informed about the news of the day.”
- Philip Roth, The Plot Against America
Here’s where we can start:
The Straits Times
Asiaone.com
Todayonline.com
The New Paper
The Business Times
Singabloodypore
mrbrown: L’infantile terrible of Singapore
Sammyboy.com’s Alfresco Coffee Shop
Being imprisoned has no more meaning
Yap Keng Ho, 10 days prison. Gandhi Ambalam, 3 weeks in prison. Chee Soon Juan, 5 weeks in prison.
3 men in prison for speaking up. They didn’t create nor cause any violence. They merely opened their mouth without a permit.
I am a great fan of the Yellow Ribbon Project. They work hard to overcome the prejudices that ex-convicts face and the slogan they have adopted for now is “Help Unlock the Second Prison”.
I have an idea.
Perhaps when they get tired of the slogan, maybe they should consider this instead:
It’s not a big deal.
After all, if you go to prison just because you opened your mouth, surely prison don’t mean nothing no more. Looking at this list of fine people that have been to prison,
Mahatma Gandhi
Nelson Mandela
Václav Havel
Aung San Suu Kyi
Lincoln Burrows
convicts have really nothing to be ashamed about.
William Lim
Renowned architect William Lim believes it’s time we thought over our attitudes towards creativityMonday • November 27, 2006
William Lim
74, architect
Architect and thinker William Lim is no stranger to the topic of creativity, having first written on it more than 25 years ago. Earlier this month, he joined the ranks of other luminaries at the Forum on Creativity in the Arts, Science and Technology held here. The forum is just one of the key events in a month-long showcase of creativity in Singapore. David Chew (david.chew@mediacorp.com.sg) spoke with Lim, who argues that creativity today needs to be substantially redefined and evaluated.
The Government is pushing hard for creativity — but is Singapore socially and culturally not suited for that? Do we have too many constraints?
I don’t think the whole process is understood yet, and until they can, we won’t be able to do it. One has to go back to what is creative, or what is un-creative.
For one, entertainment is not art, no two ways about it — and no matter whether you have the casino or not.
Two, aesthetic control hampers the creative process. And thirdly, creativity cannot be imposed from above, it must come from below. Official patronage is needed, but it’s not enough.
And finally, efficiency is good for the civil service, but it is not creativity.
All this has been talked about from 25 years ago and no one is listening.
A lot is being done, but why is it being done wrong?
The whole creative process is really messy and the Government doesn’t like messiness. Salvador Dali once said, you have to systematically create confusion to set creativity free.
You need to have chaos to be creative; you need to risk being out of the system, to be cutting-edge. The age of chaos, so to speak — and there are a lot of theories of this — is when your chaotic condition comes to a complicated stage, then something suddenly appears, an order out of chaos, and that’s how creativity comes about. You cannot will chaos …
In many places in Singapore — for example, in Mohammad Sultan — when you try to put order into the chaos, you kill it. The whole area is now dead and you cannot get it back.
(William was the first Singaporean architect invited to exhibit his work at the 2000 Venice Architecture Biennale Central Pavilion. It was on Mohammad Sultan.)
Is the revamping of our cultural heritage, and preserving areas like Tanglin Camp and Changi Village a step in the right direction?
I’m not sure they add up to anything. Because heritage memories are for your own people, not for tourists.
If you focus on what interests tourists and you package it as such, that is fine, but it’s not heritage.
It’s tokenism. Nothing wrong with the Singapore Tourism Board promoting this. But in terms of heritage for the own people, it can’t be like the National Library or the Bidadari Cemetery.
In Singapore the tourist board has a key role of deciding what should be preserved. But heritage is a building up of collective visual memories of the community.
Take the Newton Hawker Centre for example. Is this makeover necessary? Why not just patch up the leaks rather than tear down the old structure, as there are certain collective memories people have of that place?
Or Katong’s Red House — a lot of people remember it, why not preserve it?
You have to ask people about their memories, and that decision has to be made from the grassroots.
We’ve done well with other buildings like the National Museum and the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), haven’t we?
Preserving singular objects like the National Museum or SAM, those kind of projects the Government knows how to do well — it’s efficiency. But when it comes to preserving the software environment, they don’t understand it.
Chinatown for example is culturally dead, it’s a theme park and tourist trap today. The tourist board has had a hand in cleaning it up, and that’s the point — you want the genuine chaos and excitement, not the tourist catering stores.
But Little India thankfully isn’t (like that), you have ten of thousands of Indian workmen there. In my opinion, they should have brought the IMF bankers to Little India and Joo Chiat to really see Singapore.
How do you feel about how old buildings here quickly get redeveloped?
There are certain rules in place for pre-war buildings, but not post-war buildings. Why not stop this redevelopment until someone improves them?
It’s like there’s something magical about the war: Pre-war we will preserve, post war nothing needs to be preserved.
Pre-war are mostly British architects, post-war are Singapore architects like Alfred Wong, historical landmarks like the Marco Polo Hotel. They don’t seem to want to recognise any of the local architects. Nothing is sacred here. They will all be cleaned up, what I call a clean slate — a tabula rasa.
Raffles Hotel would have been torn down had not foreigners said not to tear it down, that they would buy it and preserve it.
I agree with (Dutch architect) Rem Koolhaas, who said once you have that habit of cleaning up, you will do so again and again, and the country will have no memories, no sense of your heritage, of your culture.
Collective memory is a very important component in culture, in a city, but we are busy wiping it out, and we can’t create fast enough to be remembered.
Lim’s latest books, Contesting Singapore’s Urban Future and Architecture, Culture, Ethics, are out in stores now.
Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.
Borders 40%
These are the 12 books I bought through the Borders’ 40% discount vouchers.
Was it a great deal? Absolutely.
Was I insane?
Time will tell but just for now, absolutely.
Amazon thru Vpost
These books came last Friday through Vpost. Took about 3 weeks from the time I placed my order.
Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 is gorgeous.
Give me a break, I can’t find my panties
2 interesting bits about British comics:
British comics largely strove to be harmless and family-friendly. It’s almost unbelievable that until 1969 Amalgamated Press, one of the UK’s largest comics publishers, forbade drawings of snakes in case young readers might be frightened. (Even when the ban was relaxed by new owners IPC, their first snake – on the cover of Whizzer and Chips – was not a killer but a pet.)…
British mainstream comics were often more daring than their American equivalents. The morning after D-Day, British soldiers were given a morale boost by the Daily Mirror’s cartoon glamour girl, Jane, taking the phrase “comic strip” literally. Thenceforth, Jane’s undressed body (“Give me a break, I can’t find my panties!”) was a British icon, a pen-and-ink precursor of the Page 3 girl. An American syndicate agreed to take her on, but artist Norman Pett was obliged to scribble clothing over her naked bits and even to censor her suspenders. The nudity that would later spice up such strips as Garth, Modesty Blaise and Tiffany Jones remained, in America, a strictly underground phenomenon.
Dubbers
Interesting Guardian article about dubbing artists:
France’s Angelina Jolie: Françoise Cadol
Sometimes my home phone will ring and when I say “hello” there will be a sharp intake of breath at the other end. I know immediately it’s a dubbing fan who has got hold of my number. Once a woman rang me and started gasping. Then after a silence, she said: “Sorry, I’m just so emotional at hearing you, I can’t speak, I’ll have to call back.”
There are people in Paris who keep scrapbooks on dubbing, who collect signed photos, who know what you’ve dubbed despite your name rarely appearing on the credits. I respect people’s reasons for wanting to contact me, but I don’t send out photos. People feel they know the voice and they want to know you. A voice is a very moving thing. Dubbing is taken seriously in France, and people get very upset if an actor who has dubbed a star for a long time suddenly changes. Audiences want continuity.
India’s Arnold Schwarzenegger: Pawan Kalra
It is hardest with black actors like Eddie Murphy and Will Smith. They are not only very funny but they speak very, very fast. Trying to street talk quickly in Hindi is extremely tough. After two days your mouth gets really tired.
Aldous Huxley
So the journey is over and I am back again where I started, richer by much experience and poorer by many exploded convictions, many perished certainties. For convictions and certainties are too often the concomitants of ignorance.
Chee Soon Juan
Every hour, every day, every month that I spend in jail only strengthens my resolve to fight.
Milou
About 16 months ago, I bought a puppy and that meant among many other things, choosing a name for the little monster.
I am a deliberative person and that meant among many other things, a long painful, drawn-out process for choosing the name for the little monster.
That was what I thought but really, it took less than 5 minutes.
I had to go back to my childhood and recall the many happy hours I spent at the basement of Specialists’ Centre reading Tintin.
Tintin has a dog called Snowy. That’s the English version. But in the original French version, Snowy is Milou.
So that is why my little monster is called Milou.
There is a good chance we will see a Milou in the cinema sometime next year.
Wellington could be poised to host another Hollywood blockbuster – a film version of the Tintin books linked to Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor’s Weta workshop.
It is understood the live-action film is in preliminary planning, with French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, best known for Amelie, approached to act as director, producer or both.
Intellection
You like to think. You like mental activity. You like exercising the “muscles” of your brain, stretching them in multiple directions. This need for mental activity may be focused; for example, you may be trying to solve a problem or develop an idea or understand another person’s feelings. The exact focus will depend on your other strengths. On the other hand, this mental activity may very well lack focus. The theme of Intellection does not dictate what you are thinking about; it simply describes that you like to think. You are the kind of person who enjoys your time alone because it is your time for musing and reflection. You are introspective. In a sense you are your own best companion, as you pose yourself questions and try out answers on yourself to see how they sound. This introspection may lead you to a slight sense of discontent as you compare what you are actually doing with all the thoughts and ideas that your mind conceives. Or this introspection may tend toward more pragmatic matters such as the events of the day or a conversation that you plan to have later. Wherever it leads you, this mental hum is one of the constants of your life.
Yes, I like to think, daydream, conceptualize. I am not an intellectual.
I enjoy my time alone. That doesn’t mean I don’t get lonely or bored.
I think about my life a lot. About the world. God.
I don’t think about the difficult things like puzzles so my mental activity is limited.
Yes, I do have a sense of discontent. That plus my tendency to value excellence and hate mediocrity and my inwardness is probably why some people don’t like me.
Maximizer
I am a Maximizer, which means I’m kinda of a bra. Which makes me really happy and uplifted. I feel good about myself and the things that I support.
Now Discover Your Strengths describes me this way:
Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling. Strengths, whether yours or someone else’s, fascinate you. Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of a strength. A glimpse of untutored excellence, rapid learning, a skill mastered without recourse to steps-all these are clues that a strength may be in play. And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it toward excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. This natural sorting of strengths means that others see you as discriminating. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You tend to avoid those who want to fix you and make you well rounded. You don’t want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It’s more fun. It’s more productive. And, counterintuitively, it is more demanding.
One of my ex-colleagues think that I am very critical (in a bad way).
I’m never happy with my work and often, the work of my collaborators. I have high standards and I really do not appreciate mediocrity. That also makes me reluctant to praise. However, I do not open slam someone’s work. Except in a resume, I am extremely reluctant to praise my own work.
I love the idea of people working to their strengths. If someone tells me he’s good at everything, I know for sure he’s a liar. I think a diverse team is a strong team, provided you can manage egos and everyone has a common goal and a distinct role to play.
I don’t like the idea of fixing people although I have done that in the past. It’s wrong. People should work on their strengths although there are some skills (listening, communication, empathy) that everyone must have to a certain level if they are to work with others. You don’t have to be great at it, just have enough of it to operate decently.
I don’t like to start from ground zero as much as helping someone excel in what they are already good at.
I don’t like stalls that sell too many different kinds of food and I think highly of stalls that sell just one dish. Same for brands that sell all kinds of merchandise and services. I won’t buy a Guess wallet, I might buy a pair of Guess jeans. I will buy an adidas shoe, but never an adidas watch.
In a similar way, I hate generalizations (all, everyone, etc.). Everyone is different. I dislike people who like to imitate blindly and follow the crowd. I think if everyone finds her own talent and interests and develops them, the world will be a better place. At least, there will be less whining, if nothing else.
Don’t treat everyone the same cos everyone is different.
Horror and sex
Mr. Tan: What does it say about Singapore when our bestsellers are all about horror and sex?
Me: Sir, this describes me perfectly. I’m too horrified to have sex.
Now Discover Your Strengths
The Penguin Warehouse Sale, as always, has fantastic bargains. One of the better buys, for $5, must be Marcus Buckingham’s Now Discover Your Strengths. Having read that and done the test (the book has a website but you need a serial number from the book to do the test) some years back, I thought I’ll buy it and re-do the test.
My previous results were:
Significance
Realtor
Responsibility
Deliberative
Intellection
I’ve lost Significance, Realtor and Responsibility which is interesting because I consider those rather outward qualities and replaced those with more inward ones like Ideation and Input.
Over the last couple of years, I have grown more inward than ever and the test reflects that.
Still, I like to think, despite this shying away, I still relate to people “normally”. I might be “scary and damaged” and “dark and twisty” but it’s the healthy kind. There are many days when I can lay claim to being “bright and shiny”.
Back to my books, loyal reader(s).
Ronnie Chia
Hawker food these days is not like in the old days. Stalls are all run by youngsters who don’t even know what the original taste of the dish was.
For example, in the old days, char kway teow sellers would really take the time to heat the wok, fry the pork lard and slowly add the ingredients one by one and let the noodles absorb the flavour. Now, they fry everything together. There’s no taste.
There are only four local food stalls I like. Chicken rice at Big Bird in Balmoral Plaza and Boon Tong Kee; duck rice at Lim Seng Lee in South Buona Vista Road and bak kut teh at Founder Rou Gu Cha in Balestier Road.
G I Dad
Michael Scott (Steve Carell) in The Office welcomes one of his new staff:
Wow! You’re very exotic looking. Was your dad a GI?
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