Aut inveniam viam aut faciam

Cast not pearls before swine

2011-11-30T07:20:12Z

]]> This social experiment is several years old but still worth highlighting because of the important lesson it teaches about context, namely that one man's pearls is another man's swine feed. Whatever one might feel about the quality of Bell's playing is irrelevant; the fact is he plays as a professional violinist and is director of the eminent Academy of St Martin in the Fields yet few showed appreciation for the glorious Bach he played in the metro.

Wade contends that the 'context of the Metro fails to authenticate Bell's music' and how true she is. What is heaven on earth to me, priceless pearls, is worthless to many others. A society that fails to appreciate its artistes, philosophers, musicians, that drives away its proverbial prophets is one whose soul is dead.

This points to a fundamental flaw in the current educational model as it does to the state of desensitised, harried, uncaring humanity. When it all gets too much humanity will find the Sisyphus rock they'd been pushing up the hill come rolling down on them, and we'll see where we're left then.

Populism is rarely pretty

2011-08-24T06:34:37Z

Naked populism, never.

This is why one loves a holiday exodus

2011-08-10T05:06:34Z

… a train station is that empty at rush hour

Bakhtin, context and meaning

2011-06-08T14:19:00Z

It’s that time of the year for me again, putting away the past semester’s texts to make way for fall’s texts, that tranquil interlude known as summer. I had a mad frenzy of a revision week for my linguistics module; seeing as the subjects within covered postcolonial writing, English as art, news English, English in new media and global English little wonder my brain was exhausted. As I picked apart the coloured sticky tags and makeshift bookmarks and dogeared pages I came across this section about ‘how the context and process involved in creating language art, and the contexts in which it is read, listened to, or viewed, affect meaning and interpretation’. I didn’t pay it much attention during revision and was none the worse for wear after the exam (says a lot about my revision style) but looking at it now I see how important an understanding and acceptance of context and meaning is to my work as a consultant. Implicit assumptions and naturalised ideologies, at which many cultures excel, are part and parcel of the human experience and have been since human life began. There is no shared fragment of human experience that is not tempered by one’s ideology, shaped by personal experiences, the same way ‘there is no such thing … as a text with no ideological basis’. Startling though is how few choose to embrace and accept the inherent messiness – complexity – in this universe and work with it, like taichi practitioners embrace qi within and without and work with it to their advantage. Bakhtin (1986), literary theorist amongst other things, had the right idea when he asserted that every utterance has some kind of dialogic relationship with other utterances which have preceded it. With CE’s method of utilising the natural phenomenon of micronarrative sharing and SenseMaker® it is possible to visualise the dialogic relationship between not a few but as many as tens of thousands of ‘utterances’ – or micronarrative fragments in Cognitive Edge parlance – and spot patterns and weak signals. The possibilities are infinitely exciting, not only to my linguistic/literary self but also to my professional self.

I don't know that I really care

2010-11-26T11:25:59Z

Work life has a rhythm similar to the ebb and flow of the seas, and as far as its likeness to a complex system is concerned no one week is the same as the one that went before it. This week was a very busy one indeed; Dave was in town for KM Asia and the slew of meetings and engagements that follow his presence as a matter of course. What you get when you spend two consecutive days with Dave is discourse simultaneously stimulating and dynamic (or spasmodic, if you happen not to cope well with rapidly shifting thought patterns and changing of topics). German and Italian and English operas, Mozart, Beethoven, Baroque, Handel, humanities, Shakespeare, politics, current affairs and of course the weather, no conversation is complete without talk of the weather. One of the things I lamented about and will always lament about until I move away is the lack of proper, and I do mean proper culture here. No Baroque repertoire, no operatic repertoire, no (proper) theatre, no (proper) rugby to name a few. It says a lot about a culture's underlying beliefs that the humanities are not promoted at best and derided at worst. A child who wishes to read Anthropology, Divinity, Theology or Classics has to go overseas to do it. That's the keen irony, alienating and essentially kicking out one's own. I can't see that benefiting any society. I'm convinced I was born into the right era but at the wrong place, but at least the latter can be easily fixed. I work towards the day when I could, in himself's words, have to be in London and easily look up any number of similarly-interested parties willing to accompany me to the opera that very night. The day such a paradigm shift happens here is the day I know I'd have died and gone to Heaven. That might just be a self-fulfilling prophecy, but I don't know that I really care...

Dire Commentary

2010-10-07T12:34:15Z

this article would have made me cry out in rage, now I simply shake my head and wonder what's next where this country's society is concerned.]]> What I am about to write will not please many modern parents but it is an immutable fact that AWOL parents or guardians aside, manners, graces and generally all means of goodness are learnt at home through the living examples of one's parents and elders. Despite the moral hypocrisy of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras you cannot deny that their social graces were tip top. Gentlemen held open doors and sat ladies, removed or tipped their hats at ladies or elders, walked on the pavement side closest to the road, rarely if ever cursed in front of ladies and children, and actually knew how to dress appropriately (no drooping pants-below-ass there). Most of that sound archaic and quaint even but there are pockets in the American South that retain such gentilities. I fear such gentility is forever lost in this day and age but oh hey, at least Singapore parents are concerned enough to send their offspring for coaching in what they should know and live well enough to impart, or am I much mistaken? Golfing lessons, music lessons, creative writing lessons - that's right, throw them to the tutors for whatever they need in life save money. Perhaps they should take a leaf out of my parents' Manual For Raising Socially-Graceful Individuals and require their offspring to actually sit their bottoms down at a dinner table instead of having a maid or grandparent chase them around with the bowl and spoon, address elders properly, allow others to exit a lift or train before barging in as if the furies were at their backs and never, ever, under any circumstance succumb to foul-mouthed road rage in front of their precious darlings. But clearly, no, that would cost them more than a slew of coaching lessons. I rest my case. When I see an ill-behaved, graceless child I can only think of the Cantonese phrase 無家教 – "no breeding". It is said of a child, but the insult is aimed at their parents.

"Absolutely a magic tackle"

2010-09-05T08:53:57Z

My sentiments exactly - and such a tackle deserves a blog post, I think. You could say Nicole Beck is now my favourite Wallaroo.

On discernment

2010-08-29T14:15:58Z

My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. - Proverbs 3.21-22 A post on my Livejournal friends list set me thinking. The post in question had to do with how best to teach one's offspring the art of discernment, and some of the suggestions given were pretty much what I expected from a Christian-centric community.]]> Some say wisdom and knowledge are two very different yet intertwined things, and I agree. I just call them phronesis and sophia respectively, and I do not believe discernment can be separated from phronesis. In fact, phronesis is discernment, to a certain degree. One cannot have achieved a certain level of phronesis without having learnt to discern along the way. I am not a mother but should I one day be privileged to call a child my own, I will not so much teach him the art of discernment as live it for him to see and hopefully emulate. I believe there is no substitute for the experience one gains from stepping and misstepping along his life's path. No parent or book, no matter how good or wise, could teach a child how to use his gut feel or read a person by observing his behaviour. It is something a child will have to experience on his own and parents can but ground him in a solid foundation and guide him along the way, letting him go when the time is appropriate but always only a call away to render sufficient support. What I learnt from my father was not so much a set of rules as tacit guidelines, drawn from his infrequent nuggets of wisdom and day-to-day conduct. To this day one of his many admonishments in Cantonese, 'Sai gai yaam heem' - 'This world is a dangerous place' , sticks in my subconscious and cautions me along my own path. That, I believe, is how a child learns discernment - and the proof will be in the pudding.

Messiah and Elijah

2010-08-18T02:52:16Z

For the past few months I have started my mornings with Handel's Messiah. The glorious splendour of its harmonies counter-balanced by the elegant simplicity of its lyrics have never failed to uplift me. It is my favorite amongst oratorios although Mendelssohn's Elijah is a fierce contender. This morning I picked up a brochure advertising a performance of Elijah at the Esplanade. As much as I am tempted I think I shall save my money to hear the LSO and Tenebrae in perfect harmony.

It is what it is

2010-08-06T13:02:08Z

In this modern world it is easy for a young person to become cynical and jaded about many things, this concept of 'love' amongst them. Yet every now and then a heartwarming story will appear out of nowhere to strike a blow against that fortress of cynicism and guardedness and nearly, very nearly, has one believing that things can change for the better. This week brought a double blow to my fortress at least. First Prop 8 in California was ruled unconstitutional by a Judge Vaughn Walker and the second is an article by Lisa Ruth Brunner published in the New York Times' Modern Love column. (My thanks to Dorothy Snarker for highlighting it in her blog.) Brunner makes no bones about the fact that the object of her desire and ultimately love was also a girl, and how instead of following a boy wherever he went she ended up following a girl instead. We all have that first love. You know the one. The one who either brings a bittersweet smile to your lips after many years or a sweet smile of reminiscence when you recall that laugh, that voice, that look. The one you will always remember and perhaps, even, write about. The one you will always, in some way, love. Certain parts of the world have come far. While the plague of female foeticide and infanticide still ravages vast lands, we have the heartening progress, the gradual shift away from hetero-normativity, an increasing tolerance of diversity. For those fortunate enough to be recipients of that progress, revel in it and pray that one day it will be the same in other parts of the world. Meanwhile, I will go back to re-reading Brunner's article, and after having snooped around Google to find out who the object of her affection was, I expect it will be interesting. Image from Art & Perception

Prosperity is not progress

2010-08-06T08:15:15Z

If there is a promise I have made myself, it is not to make value judgments on other cultures and customs that seem barbaric or heinous. Dave's recent post about Legitimate cultural difference or barbaric rite provided some very good heuristics - namely the one about physical mutilation of a child being wrong. Now I don't see how the culturally-sanctioned practice of female foeticide in both India and China is any less worse than physical mutilation of a child, so I make no apologies for my trenchant castigation (and reneging this once on my promise). In this instance it is India that caught my attention, thanks (somewhat reluctantly) to a friend who pointed me to this article about India's Missing Girls in the Guardian and an eponymous documentary on Youtube, which I refused to watch, saying it would depress not enrich me.]]> Photograph: Gurinder Osan/AP

An idea - the most resilient parasite

2010-07-25T04:48:51Z

"What's the most resilient parasite? An Idea. A single idea from the human mind can build cities. An idea can transform the world and rewrite all the rules. Which is why I have to steal it." - Dom Cobb

You know you've been quite familiarised with a new vocabulary or philosophy when you start to draw parallels and find references in such pop culture matters as films. In this case Inception, one of the more intelligent films to emerge this year, directed by Christopher Nolan of Memento and possibly one of the few that has my mind spinning even 48 hours after watching it. Brilliant casting aside (and the fact that at least one of its female leads, Ellen Page, wasn't sexualised through her wardrobe) it leaves one some food for thought about the very fine lines between reality and dreams.]]> In particular however it is the quote by Dom Cobb, the male lead portrayed by Leonardo Di Caprio, that resonates, given Dave's frequent reminder that we must move from robustness to resilience.

This world we live in

2010-05-16T05:56:23Z

Last night my Twitterverse and even LJ friends list were abuzz with this video of a troupe of 7 year-old girls performing a dance to Beyonce's Single Ladies. Now firstly I am no great fan of R&B music; it is mostly a cesspit of unimaginative lyrics and beats and even melodies, tired and rehashed, the only thing that saves the genre is slick dance moves coupled with sexy, skimpy outfits. Note I put 'sexy' and 'skimpy' together, not because they necessarily go hand in hand but because in this case it does. I understand that. Glamour sells. Sex sells. But such sexuality projected by 7 year-old girls, both in dressing and moves? My stomach churned. I couldn't watch the video for long, not the least because the song itself is irritating and I'd rather subject myself to thrash metal. Some might say I have no right to comment as I am clearly not the mother of any of those girls, and I am not, but surely as an adult and a member of society I am permitted to air my views about these parents allowing their daughters to essentially dress and dance like whores. What does this say about this world we live in, where girls as young as 7 are allowed by their parents to look and move like adults? This rapid sexualisation, indicative of modern society, cannot bode well for humanity as a whole. There is a time and place for everything - permitting girls of 7 to develop and flaunt their bodies and sexuality as wares on a stage is not it. I don't think I am conservative, merely desirous of propriety. I don't see their dancing, technically good as it is, as 'artistic expression'. Perhaps if they were a decade older, yes, I'd say they have sexy moves. But they are not, and it sickens me.

Up in the air

2010-03-20T09:02:09Z

I scrawl this entry into my moleskine as my plane departs from Changi Airport. To the left of me a child is whining but earbud-phones and the latest Gareth Emery podcast episode (episode 99 - check it out if you're a trance fan) ensure my sanity. I leave for a week-long conference about public health ethics and one of the reasons I'm there is to see how CE's narrative-based methods would fit into the evaluation framework, and to add Asian perspectives to the discourse. This conference comes on the heels of a rather hectic week which saw all but one of the CE family in Singapore - it was definitely full house in the office. The beginning of the week was given to the IRAHSS, followed by meetings and finally Dave's Leading through Complexity seminar. I couldn't have had better preparation and solidification of all that I've been learning over the past five months. Podcasts and presentation slides are excellent but nothing beats hearing Dave and his stories in person. Particularly anticipatory awareness and induction to abduction were presented in a clear, concise manner. Of course Dave being Dave, there were the pre-requisite digs at Myer-Briggs, Gen XYZ, Randinistas and mind-numbing bureaucracy, all of which served to keep me engaged to the very end. Not an insignificant feat considering I've always drifted off in seminars or talks - I blame that in equal parts on a hyperactive brain and boring speakers. During my off hours I will have to complete my essay on the marginalisation of women and control in three works, Wide Sargasso Sea and Medea or Pygmalion. I am in two minds over which of the plays I should select. Medea while suitably dark and stark is not quite as interesting as Pygmalion, although my lack of notes on the latter - entirely my fault - is panicking me. The flight is short and I gain and hour flying west; it made little sense to haul out my laptop from the overhead cabin merely to type a blog entry hence the scrawling on paper. For now there are more papers to read in preparation of the conference. When I blog again it will be to post some photos and perhaps share a thought or two.

Yale University offers free introductory Biblical courses online

2010-02-08T06:29:48Z

If you are interested in dipping your toe into theological studies, have a look at Yale University's free, online introductory courses in the Old and New Testaments.

I've only read the transcript of the first lecture so I'll reserve my opinions for now. What pleases me though is the fact that introductory courses from a quality university are now available to the general public who might not otherwise have the means to read theology.

(via Will Crawley's blog, Will & Testament)