it isn’t interested in reality
Q: Let’s talk about memory. How reliable is it?
A: Brain research is pretty clear on this point. Bona fide recorded memory is a very rare thing on this planet. The reason is that the brain isn’t interested in reality; it’s interested in survival. So it will change the perception of reality to stay in the survival mode.
solitude by going to the loo
I saw a really interesting study two weeks ago. It was presented by a Danish guy. In Denmark, they had made a study of how people spent a day in 1982, on average, and how they now spend their time in 2002. And percentage-wise, the activity that people spent more time on today compared to 1982 was time spent in the toilet. [Laughter] Now why is this? Because people eat more? No. Is it because they want to look nicer? Not necessarily so. But when you’re in the toilet, you are alone. You can only find that solitude by going to the loo.
His projection was that, in the years to come, we will have lots of toilets in all houses that are sort of modern and newly built.
a true and living friend
on the dedication page of Alberto Manguel’s The Library at Night:
In the sixteenth century, the Ottoman poet Abdüllatif Çelebi, better known as Latifi, called each of the books in his library “a true and living friend who drives away all cares.”
buying live chickens in singapore
a small portion of my job involves seeking out strange information for my boss like:
where do you buy egg-laying chickens in singapore?
first, i had to find out whether you can even keep chickens in a landed property. i sent an email to AVA and this was their prompt reply:
We wish to inform you that Singaporeans are permitted to keep up to 10 numbers of poultry in their private premises as pets, so long as they are caged or kept in a netted enclosure to prevent contact with wild birds. No licence is required.
next, i called up farms and asked whether they sell live chickens. a nice person at farmart gave me a contact which i called up.
yes, you can buy an egg-laying chicken for about SGD 50. you can’t view it and they will deliver to your location.
just like ordering pizza.
the element of surprise
i found a delicious H.G. Wells’s quotation in luke sullivan’s hey whipple squeeze this:
If you are in difficulties with a book, try the element of surprise:
attack it an hour when it isn’t expecting it.
i wonder if this applies to women.
ain’t no 7-11
So perhaps it’s no surprise that Kyoto’s citizens may be among the country’s most standoffish, a closed society that keeps strangers at a distance. Some candy stores, for example, won’t let you in without an introduction from a trusted customer. Not even wealth will buy you entree into this closed society.
100
Ms. Kim developed fierce study habits early, watching her mother scold her older sister for receiving any score less than 100 on tests. Even a 98 or a 99 brought a tongue-lashing.
“Most Korean mothers want their children to get 100 on all the tests in all the subjects,” Ms. Kim’s mother said.
i’ll never eat crab in this town again
i once went out with a girl to eat chilli crabs and she told me she only eat the claws as it was too troublesome to eat the rest. consequently, i never went out to eat chilli crabs with her again. in fact, i never went out with her again.
then there’s another person who, on more than 1 occasion, takes the bigger and juicer (is it my imagination) claw first and takes more than her “fair” share when there are others around.
you can learn a lot about someone watching them eat chilli crabs.
happiness is jagabee
purchased – yesterday (saturday).
hope to finish by – tomorrow (monday).
realistically – this wednesday.
for me
for the past few years, i have lived a quiet life.
a quiet life has many advantages. you have time to think, there is less pressure to conform, you minimize the risk of screwing up someone else’s life, you spend less, your life is simpler.
there are misconceptions about the quiet life. i have been called a hermit and anti-social. actually, i find the quiet life has taught me to be a better friend. i now listen more, ask more questions and talk less about myself. because in my version of the quiet life, the desire to defend yourself, to propagate your ideas, to justify your actions is not as strong. it’s less about you.
there are slip-ups of course. and i found that the quiet life has limited effect on my patience. i still cannot tolerate morons and self-absorbed people. so my strategy to dealing with these people is to talk complete nonsense, which i excel in, and to avoid them in the future.
a quiet life has its disadvantages. most of the major breaks i had in life were given by friends. so the less people you meet, the less chances you have in terms of opportunity. the quiet life isn’t for everyone. i can’t imagine you can live the quiet life if you don’t read and enjoy thinking. that said, there isn’t one version of the quiet life. different people handle it differently.
i have been challenged to live a purpose-driven life, a life that leaves a legacy, a life that invests in eternity. these things no longer excite me. the purpose of life is no longer a Question, it is a Mystery that demands no resolution. i can’t tell you what i live for but i can tell you that i live.
a quiet life doesn’t immunise you from the bad things in life. i was depressed recently, although the most challenging thing i faced was the daily skirmishes on public transport.
life has its moments that make you grateful that you’re alive. these are mine — seeing Milou walked into a glass door (without hurting himself), Milou waiting impatiently for his banana, seeing the kindness of strangers, having deep conversations with people you barely know, receiving praise at unexpected times, walking the streets of faraway cities with a heart bursting with gratitude for the opportunities your parents never have, meeting women who are strong and soft and passionate and enjoying something that was made with passion.
i wrote this for me.
pour some sugar on me
i ran out of sugar at the gym today and went all dizzy.
i asked for help. a trainer asked me to lie down, put my leg up and gave me a cup of ice lemon tea.
i am well now; i’m sitting up with my feet firmly on the ground but i find myself longing for the ice lemon tea of everyday life.
i heart labels
in a recent article on happiness, the philosopher Grayling quotes John Ruskin:
”a man wrapped up in himself makes a very small parcel.”
i will be delighted if you call me a very small parcel.
my boss and colleague are calling me “a strange person”.
these are happy times.
murakami’s singapore reference
As an example, Murakami mentioned an article contributed by former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew to a Japanese newspaper in which he related the cruelty of Japanese troops who occupied Singapore during the war. But once the war was over and they became British prisoners of war, they became conscientious and worked very hard to clean up Singapore’s streets, Lee wrote.
Murakami said, ‘‘I think this episode shows how terrible the Japanese are. The Japanese who are conscientious and work hard to clean up streets harbor the possibility of one day suddenly becoming human beings who do cruel acts. The people of other countries may have such a tendency but the Japanese in particular have such a strong tendency.’’
april 2007
last week, i had a brief email exchange with a japanese colleague on the merits of Haruki Murakami.
yesterday, i emailed her a presentation which i mistakenly dated “April 2007.”
you got the date wrong, she said.
i replied:
as you know, all true Murakami fans live in the past.
the mentor goes mental
the mentor minister delivered a “stinging rebuke” to the security agencies for letting the one-leg limpin’ master criminal escape. they were complacent, he said.
and don’t blame the govt., because:
The people on the whole believed that the Government will take care of all security matters.
But no government can be 100 per cent on the ball 100 per cent of the time. A government needs the active support and cooperation of the people.
the question, of course, is did we not support and cooperate with the Govt.?
the whole idea of the Internal Security Act is based on trust. With the Act, the Govt. is saying to its people:
for all sorts of complicated reasons, we’re not putting this highly-dangerous person before a judge and putting him in a special prison. you have to trust us. we may be perverting the normal course of justice, but it will make it safer for you and your children.
so when this master criminal escapes from this special prison, don’t the people have a right to feel betrayed by the Govt.? because ironically, if we have put him before a judge and in a normal prison i.e. let justice takes its course, he might still a) be safely behind bars or b) frolicking with his 72 virgins, and we will all be safer.
relationship update
i’m thinking of having a long-term relationship with the wii.
she just gives and gives.
Cecil Williams
The true church stays on the edge of life, where the real moans and groans are. Most church folks settle in, get comfortable and build walls to protect themselves from anyone that looks or thinks differently than they do.
the last career guide you’ll ever need
Daniel Pink, who wrote the superb A Whole New Mind, dishes out more wisdom in the manga, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.
These are his 6 main ideas:
There is no plan.
Think strengths, not weaknesses.
It’s not about you.
Persistence trumps talent.
Make excellent mistakes.
Leave an imprint.
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