Yauming: Diver, Historian, Traveller

Kyoto is Beautiful this time of year

2018-11-29T20:36:00.001+11:00

Have not had the time yet to edit the photos.

I might load it up on Flickr soon.

8.45am

2018-02-27T08:49:00.001+11:00

I spent all night trading the DAX and DOW and repeatedly breaking my own trading rules, with predictables results.

Then this comes to me.

It is a profound truth that in the end, no one will remember you. All the great and wonderful deeds that you have done or will have done will be forgotten.

One day no one will remember the name of Bach, Tallis, and all the other great and amazing people because no one will be alive.

Everyone has to die sometime. Even our Sun will die. One day.

Singapore justice system - enter the spider web

2016-03-02T17:34:00.000+11:00

https://sonofadud.com/2016/03/02/shanmugam-defames-a-dead-child-and-calls-ls-president-thio-shen-yi-black/

I think most people are familiar with the case of the 14 year old boy who was accused by the police and then committed suicide. This site explains

Is it a surprise that the gahmun uses intimidation and strong arm tactics ?

Its like petting a tiger and wondering how your arm just got bitten off. Oh so THAT'S what those sharp teeth can do.

Singapore is all about efficiency - this is an example of how it works here.

Welcome to Singapore.

Christianity, the Bible and self-loathing

2016-02-20T17:26:00.001+11:00

The Bible is a book. Its actually a collection of poems, laws, letters written by individuals - all from the same culture and race. The problem is that human beings have elevated a book written 2,000 -3,000 years ago to a sacred holy text.

God wrote it. It's God'd breathed. Its the WORD of GOD!!!!

There are a number of peculiar and even upsetting things written in the bible. But we as Christians are told to switch off our brain and believe. Its called Faith. I'd rather call it abuse of power.

God or our Creator gave all of us brains. Brains to think. Brains to reason. I don't see how switching that god given part of ourselves off and relying on faith is suppose to help - esp when it involves causing the unnecessary suffering of other people.

For too long partners in marriage, for example, are forced to stick with their spouses and live unhappy lives til the day they die. Life is too short for this sort of rubbish.

We also cannot go on living under the shadow of self-loathing. What the bible calls sin - is quite likely our natural desires. We all need to eat, sleep, work, have sex. But preachers - church leaders often condemn our desires as ungodly, carnal desires. Then a lot of them go behind closed doors and do what they preach against. lol.

I think so long as we operate under the principle - "respect others as you yourself desired to be respected" than its ok.

What I find appalling is that a lot of Christians becoming conceited proud people - quick to judge, quick to take offence. How can a religion of love, peace, and forgiveness produce arseholes? It doesn't make sense.

Taharrush gamea: Rape Game

2016-02-20T16:43:00.003+11:00

http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/its-not-only-germany-that-covers-up-mass-sex-attacks-by-migrant-men-swedens-record-is-shameful/

Clash of cultures. In some cultures women are to be silent, unheard, unseen - kept under lock and key by male guardians; a woman walking alone unescorted by a male guardian is fair game. When the people who believe in this anarchic belief system enter into a liberal western society - its like introducing wolves into a colony of naive bunnies.

A distance far away

2016-01-25T14:01:00.001+11:00

In a distance far away
Lies the end of our dreams
As we approach it seems farther away

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/01/10/when-you-fall-in-love-with-a-stripper.html?source=TDB&via=FB_Page

Eunoia - its Greek to me

2016-01-03T00:59:00.001+11:00

I'm not sure why the Ministry of Education chose the word "Eunoia" for the name of the name college.

According to http://www.vocabula.com/vrbestwords.asp

eunoia (yoo-NOH-ee-ah) — It comes from a Greek word meaning "well mind" or "beautiful thinking." It is also a rarely used medical term referring to a state of normal mental health. In rhetoric, eunoia is the goodwill a speaker cultivates between himself and his audience, a condition of receptivity. In book eight of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term to refer to the kind and benevolent feelings of goodwill a spouse has which form the basis for the ethical foundation of human life (from Wikipedia).

This word is the shortest world in the english language that contains all 5 vowels. It means beautiful thinking, or as a medical term it means a healthy mind. I first found it in Aristotle's Nichomechean Ethics in book 8. Nichomechean ethics was written as a guide to Aristotle's son as to how to achieve a happy life, the good life. Book 8 focusses on friendship and eunoia is one of the bases needed for a trusting friendship between husband and wife. I think it's a beautiful sounding word, with a beautiful meaning and story.

Frankly they might as well have chosen Oxford, Cambridge Or Harvard. I suspect the Singaporean parents would have been delighted by those three other choices.

I'm still not sure why a Greek name was chosen - its not as if the govt appreciates the finer points of ancient Greek life - like debate or democracy very much.

I think a better choice would have been "Trinity" - a name that some of the school kids were advocating. That seemed more fitting since three schools were joining together for this effort.

Marcia Lucas - Star Wars - from http://fd.noneinc.com/secrethistoryofstarwarscom/secrethistoryofstarwars.com/marcialucas.html

2016-01-02T02:43:00.002+11:00

One of the great mysteries of the Star Wars film series - is why the Prequels were not as good as the original Trilogy.

The original trilogy had a better written story, better pacing, superior camera angles - I'm sure you can think of more.

The reason why the Original Trilogy was so brilliant was that Lucas had an extremely talented group of individuals behind him. Read the book by Dale Pollock's "Skywalking" and you'll find a host of other artists that helped craft Lucas' vision into an Epic.

Among that host - was George Lucas' ex-wife Marcia Lucas.

"In Tribute to Marcia Lucas Biographer Dale Pollock once wrote that Marcia was George Lucas' "secret weapon." Most people are aware that George Lucas was once married, and probably some are aware that his wife worked in the film industry herself and edited all of George's early films before their 1983 divorce. But few are aware of the implications that her presence brought, and the transformations her departure allowed. She was, in many ways, more than just the supportive wife--she was a partner as well. "Not a fifty percent partner," as she herself admits, but nonetheless an important one, and the only person that Lucas could totally confide in back then. Today, she has been practically erased from the history books at Lucasfilm."

She was able to challenge her husband and ameliorate or change his bad ideas.

After the divorce Lucas was so bitter - that he added back the scenes she and her team had deleted from the original theatrical release in 1977. I think the 1995 re-release of Star Wars - with ridiculous add ons like the "infamous Greedo shoots first" scene - speaks volumes of Lucas' failings as a story writer and fim maker - and should have served as a warning to fans that the Prequels would have issues.

This was how the original scene was shot. Its important because it shows what sort of character Han Solo is - a hard nosed smuggler - a cut throat - someone who had to be persuaded with a lot of cash to go rescue a Princess he had never met. He was no clean cut hero.

That's why his decision to come back and save the day in the Death Star battle is so powerful.

Having Solo shoot last also does not explain why he shot at an unarmed Darth Vader. He's no white knight John Wayne caricature.

IMHO if Marcia Lucas and the rest of the original Star Wars team - including Ainsworth, the designer of the Storm Trooper helmet (that Lucas sued) - the Prequels could have been as great as the original Trilogy.

Young killers

2015-12-31T02:50:00.003+11:00

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/6647837/Teenager-Lisa-Borch-murdered-her-mother-after-becoming-obsessed-with-IS-videos.html

I'm not sure why Society has problems with capital punishment. We routinely slaughter millions of babies a year in abortions.

One star One sky

2015-12-26T15:16:00.003+11:00

I watched this amazing video of Orcas attacking a herring fish school. I found it so beautiful that I'm moved each time I watch it.

Its matched with an equally exhilerating song by the band Alice and the Glass Lake. Here's that video and the lyrics.

Norway Orcas and Humpback WhaleHD from Cristina Mittermeier on Vimeo.

In the corners of every room
Through the floors
Comes the light from an open sill
Little windows
Paint the sheets of a silver moon
Make ‘em glow
This is the this is the light I've known
So long
I see it running through you
Through you
Oh, Love

Runs through you

One star One sky
Fill up my old heart
With new light
I'll take all I can
Loving in the moment
Is something luminous

Shimmer down from my fingertips
Subtle warmth
To the brim with brilliance
Reborn
Feel the power in every limb I'm not alone
This is the this is the light I've known
Would come along-long-long

One star One sky
Fill up my old heart
With new light
I'll take all I can
Loving in the moment
Is something luminous
And I thought I was done
Thought I, th-thought I I thought I was done
I thought I was done
Thought I was done
But I see it running through you
Through you, oh love
See it running through you
Through you, oh love
Feel it running through you
Through you, oh

One star One sky
Fill up my old heart
With new light
I'll take all I can
Loving in the moment
Is something luminous

Alice Glass Lake

Christmas, Jesus, the Virgin Birth

2015-12-25T15:07:00.002+11:00

Today is Christmas, the time of year in the calendar where we mark the birth of Jesus Christ - a Jew born out of wedlock to a Jewish peasant woman who the Church claimed to be a virgin. He founded a Pacifist religion whose adherents have been regularly trying to massacre the Jews for the last 2,000 years - who says God doesn't have a sense of humour or irony?

Think about it.

Merry Christmas.

In the moment of clarity where is God?

2015-12-04T01:27:00.000+11:00

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2011/02/salinger-201102

I like to read.

Here's a good article about the famous author JD Salinger and his experience with war.

"The most powerful portion of “The Magic Foxhole” is the opening scene, which describes the landings at Normandy. Among the dead bodies on the beach is a solitary living figure—a chaplain crawling around in the sand, frantically searching for his glasses. The narrator, as his transport nears the beach, watches the surreal scene in amazement, until the chaplain, too, is killed. It was no accident that Salinger chose a chaplain to be the only living man among the dead in the heat of war. It was also no accident that the chaplain should be desperate for the clarity his glasses would provide. A man who believed he held the answer to life’s great questions suddenly discovers that he doesn’t—just when he needs an answer most. It is a critical moment in Salinger’s writing. For the first time, he asks the question: Where is God?"

9 year old girl beheaded by the Taliban

2015-11-12T21:29:00.001+11:00

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/women-protesters-carried-the-coffin-of-a-9-year-old-girl-beh#.fgA710q0V

The people and the culture that could kidnap a father and a daughter and sliced off their heads in the most cruel manner deserve no mercy.

Look at them. They are dead now. Murdered by the Taliban.

You cannot reason with fanatics who think it is acceptable to monstrously behead a 9 year old girl.

War is terrible. But allowing monsters to rule is worse.

These people - the Hazans - aren't running away like the Syrians. Why?

The City Harvest Church Trial

2015-10-23T18:53:00.002+11:00

The courts have found a pastor of a mega church here in Singapore guilty of fraud. Together with a team of accomplices he used $50 million dollars - $50,000,000.00 - that's roughly about $40million USD to fund the secular music career of his wife in America.

I'm sure that when he started the church - he and his wife were humble people - desiring only to serve God.

Somewhere along the way they got sidetracked. Why?

Its simple really. Power corrupts. Look at the Catholic Church history. Protestants like to smirk at the old institution and laugh at their corruption. But humans are humans. We sin.

There has to be a transparent accountability system to avoid this sort of thing.

But the teachings in the Bible tend to gravitate towards placing too much power into the hands of individuals. Maybe that's the way with most religions.

I've been in some churches where the preachers are treated like demigods. Why?

Nowadays I tend to stay away from churches because my idea of the Bible is not similar. I believe God has given all of us the freedom to live life. He made us the way we are. He has given us a beautiful world to live in. We have to live a life that does not hurt other people in their path to also be happy. Dominating people, acquiring too much wealth at the expense of others, or abusing your position of authority for personal gain is all wrong.

I think the CH Church should dismantle itself - sell all its assets and distribute them to the poor in accordance with Christ teaching. If they can't even do that - they should not bother preaching the gospel to others.

Critical thinking is not fostered in most churches. Instead there is an emphasise on obedience to rigid rules - some of the charismatic churches even discourage thinking - instead they emphasise a life lived in "faith" - instead its one ruled by emotion and your own personal neurosis.

God gave all of us a brain and a heart for a reason. Churches should encourage its members to train that up. Blindly following your leaders and uncritical acceptance of church teachings - even sections of the Bible is foolish. Think about it. Don't let your mind be ruled by what someone else believes.

Singapore justice system is a bit strange

2015-10-14T02:47:00.000+11:00

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/briton-jailed-two-months-for-assaulting-cabby-and-ordered-to-pay-compensation

http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/student-jailed-six-months-for-taking-drug-while-abroad-and-for-having#xtor=CS1-10

I find this a bit strange - a British national assaults a Singapore taxi driver - beats the shit out of him and thanks to passersby didn't do more damage. Our courts jail the British guy for 2 months and gets him to pay $1250 to the taxi driver.

Meanwhile our courts are going to jail a young Singaporean man for smoking weed in Amsterdam and for possessing some hash - FOR SIX MONTHS. He was also suffering from depression.

Seriously it doesn't make sense. How can the courts jail a depressed man for 6 months for smoking weed - and give only 2 months to a fucking angmo shithead who nearly beat a poor taxi driver to death?

It'd make more sense if they sent the young man for counselling for his depression. Sending him to jail for 6 months is just going to frack him up more.

But seriously wtf our court system doesn't seem very interested in protecting the lives of our citizens. That poor taxi driver is now suffering from post-traumatic syndrome - didn't the courts take into account that? Getting the angmo to pay $1250 is a joke. How would you feel if someone beat the shit out of you? You think that's a fair amount?

One reason why I don't go to church any more

2015-09-22T12:21:00.001+10:00

http://anyhowhantam.blogspot.sg/2015/09/may-lawrence-khong-be-struck-by.html?m=1

I'm sick and tired of Pastors who worship a book and themselves.

When Jesus came down - he was the biggest and harshest critic of the current religious leaders.

I think most Christian leaders are the new Pharisees - so infatuated with dogma and doctrine and religious books that they fail to embrace their own humanity and soul - they will be the first to cast the first stone.

You think its bad ?

2015-09-22T03:33:00.003+10:00

https://mediachecker.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/the-armenian-genocide/

You think its bad? Wait til they gain power.

Judging people

2015-09-12T15:30:00.001+10:00

Too often people get judged for things which they have no control over.

Where they are born. Their accent. How they look. Who their parents are. Where they come from.

A great deal of what makes us who we are - were largely predetermined before we were born.

The one big thing we can change is how we think.

Enlightenment is not just a Buddhist concept. Its that moment when we sit down, and think deeply and analyse who we are, what we are, where we are going and how to get there.

Its not easy. But it starts first by avoiding to judge people and instead empathise with them - or at least understand where they are coming from.

History of Singapore politics

2015-09-09T21:38:00.002+10:00

.

Singapore's politics maybe like a lot of politics is not a pleasant affair.

The British double-crossed the people of Singapore by telling them they were safe and they would be protected from the Japanese. Weapons that were meant to go to Singapore were sent instead to Russia - thank you Mr. Churchill.

The PAP's history is also… not very happy happy either. Go read up about it if you care.

The Opposition movement meanwhile scored an own goal when CSJ tried to expel CST from his own party which would have meant Chiam also being forced to vacate his seat in Potong Pasir and allowing the SDP to put its own man there. Not sure why CSJ couldn't go out and form his own party.

The role of the Opposition in Govt

2015-09-01T12:55:00.001+10:00

Politics is usually a very polarised affair - I think too many people treat it as a football match. They don't think about their votes in a very rational or coherent way.

There's been a bit of criticism over the Worker's Party management of the Town Council. Finger pointing can back fire too though. I think most Singaporeans are more concerned over why the PAP keeps increasing the CPF withdrawal age limit. Why? Don't they have it?

If that's not bad enough - the govt doesn't seem to be doing much to combat the rise of inflation in Singapore. The price of food and medical expenses have increased exponentially - thanks in large part to the massive property price rises.

Even when the price of oil goes down - the price of public transport fares does not follow suit.

And then when the Malaysian govt introduced a fee for entering their country the PAP followed suit with a fee for Malaysian vehicles entering Singapore …. which I thought would be silly because Singapore imports a lot of food from Malaysia.

How then does the PAP expect old people and retirees to survive? Their CPF money is diminishing due to inflation. And because the govt doesn't allow them to withdraw it - they can't use it to invest in property or help their children buy a home of their own.

Some people say that Singaporeans should keep on voting for the PAP because they can monitor themselves - it is so perfect they can do their own checks and balances. I'm not a scholar so I don't know how a govt (whose ministers and MPS are allowed to own multiple investment properties and are being paid salaries many many times the rate that most ordinary Singaporeans work for, and who are also holding directorships in multiple private companies) can think the problems through in an impartial, fair and unbiased manner.

When you pay a worker a lot of money - you should expect the worker to devote his full attention to his job and not to have sideline activities that may detract from his main job. Suppose a politician has 10 - 40 investment properties - do you think he would act swiftly to enact legislation or taxes that will curb property speculation? The property boom/bubble has been going on in Singapore since 2006… housing numbers have been squeezed, forcing a lot of Singaporean couples to defer marriage or having babies. Why did the govt take so long to put the brakes on?

BTW - I don't have any axe to grind with Mr Yeo - I'm just using this photo as an example.

But when you hear statements like "$600,000 is peanuts", "cardboard aunties are doing it for the exercise", "a natural aristocracy"… you can't help but wonder if the govt leaders have lost touch with the realities facing most Singaporeans.

People are complaining that the Opposition are not credible because they don't plan to form government. I think the critics underestimate the size of the mountain that they are going to climb.

So why would Singaporeans vote for the Opposition? Its because they realise that the PAP have stopped listening to them. People say you vote for Opposition and you don't know what you are going to get.

But a lot of Singaporeans know what they are going to get if they hand the PAP a firm majority.

The writing is on the wall - an increase in the population to 6.9 to 10 million, an overt emphasise on profits over public service even with regards to essential services like public transportation, a liberal approach to foreign worker intake, and further ways to entrench the ruling establishment pecking order.

What will a good Opposition do? It will put forward alternatives and hopefully help the government to formulate better policy.

If there was a strong Opposition in the 1970s - 1980s - the Govt would have been more careful when formulating its "Two is Enough" policy, "Mandarin as a 2nd language" campaign (which LKY even admitted in Parliament caused problems).

...

Chinese workers protest in Singapore - the Failure of A Civil Society

2015-08-28T02:54:00.000+10:00

http://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2015/08/chinese-workers-protest-what-could-have-happened/

Recently two PRC people - a man and a woman - kneeled on the main road in front of the Ministry of Manpower to protest about their plight.

I do not know the circumstances behind their plight. But it must have been pretty bad for them to drive them to such desperate measures - they are risking their own lives in a horrendous way. Would you risk life and limb to protest? Would you sit in the path of incoming traffic. These two did. Why?

They are here alone - without no one willing to help them and so they take matters into their own hands literally. I thought its a pretty ballsy thing to do to put yourself in harm's way like that. Imagine risking your life every second - getting run over by a truck - its a terrifying thing to do.

Some Singaporeans were disgusted because of their protest. Few were sympathetic - most of the commentators were very negative - slamming them for their lack of respect for Singapore law - and there were not a few vile comments - comparing them to "trash" imported by the govt.

Seriously, fellas? c'mon have some empathy. These people like our ancestors came across the sea landed on our shores to work. They got duped or cheated - like many of Singaporean ancestors - many of them "coolies", indentured workers - in effect, "slaves".

I think at the very least these two deserve some sympathy or at the very least cause you to wonder wtf drove them to such a desperate act. Perhaps MOE could look more carefully at the way employment agents operate and how work visas are being issued?

There is a certain brutish aspect in Singapore culture - a hatred for people who step out of line. I wonder where that came from?

More foreign workers for Singapore...

2015-08-24T15:22:00.003+10:00

So the PAP wants to bring in more foreign workers into Singapore…. despite the fact that so many local people are unemployed - then why are the PAP so displeased when Singaporeans want more non-PAP MPs in Parliament? 60/40 ?

Fair fair right?

My Analysis of the National Day Speech

2015-08-23T23:47:00.004+10:00

Well what do you expect? Hearing people complain about the speech is like hearing someone complain about getting wet when they swim in the sea or getting sand stuck when sitting on the beach.

Basically more of the same - the PAP is doing a great job, the price of housing will continue to remain very affordable (if you are a PAP Minister I presume).

Does the PM address any of the grievances that Singaporeans are facing in a meaningful way? No, not really. You can expect the govt to increase the population to uncomfortable levels and the govt will bring in more foreigners to do the jobs rather than bother spending money and effort training Singaporeans to do them.

Meanwhile I present to you "Candy".

Dear PAP please watch

2015-08-21T20:26:00.002+10:00

2011…. has anything changed? The PAP is now talking about an aristocracy.

MRT - 2012 - 2016 Nothing has changed has it?

2015-08-21T13:26:00.000+10:00

http://ifonlysingaporeans.blogspot.sg/2012/05/mrt-breakdown-coi-day-18.html

Nothing has changed has it?

The Establishment keeps putting people with strange credentials in charge - pays them big bucks as if a whooping pay increase can help a saleswoman or a soldier understand something as complex as a train system network.

Maybe next time they might hire a lawyer or doctor to pilot a SIA jet plane. Just pay him a ton load of cash - sure can fly anything afterwards.

I'm not too enamoured with the whole mega pay structure. Look at the banking system - the worldwide banking system (not just here) - has paying CEO, super traders, bankers mega salaries and bonuses actually helped or did it contribute to the Great Financial Crisis of 2008?

The people who caused that catastrophe got paid handsomely. Why?