Random Playlist Song: Schubert - Impromptu in B flat major
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Picture of the Day
Observe the vacuous, wide-eyed look on the faces of the people on the shirt. They're either hypnotised or on drugs.
Someone: "zombie kids, i say. that blank, emotionless stare from their cold, unblinking eyes :)
**** is breeding zombies!!!
all with terribly cheena hairstyles. and scrawny arms. and they all seem to be locked in a position as if they want the wind to disperse the sweat from their left armpits"
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CampBabe 2004
"Join the Search for CampBabe 2004
The event which enlivened camp sites and kept our soldiers delighted is back!
CampBabe 2004 is jointly organized by SAFRA Radio and MIW to bring more refreshing programmes and see more joyful faces in camps this year.
In addition, the young, talented and aspiring female contestants are also given an opportunity to pursue a dream career as a DJ with SAFRA Radio Dongli 88.3FM, not to mention winning $5,000 worth of cash and prizes."
And you thought NS Idol was bad enough! No doubt the soldiers were "delighted", though, given how desperate most NS guys are. Most of them are either ugly, ah lian, or (most commonly) both.
Question: What's worse than 1 shrill, anorexic, chinese-speaking ah lian?
Answer: 12 of them!
Friend: kept our soldiers delighted is back!
more joyful faces in camps
SOUNDS LIKE COMFORT WOMEN!!
Brother in law: "Is this what my tax dollars are going to? CampBabe 2004? I want to protest!"
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"In a faraway town, there is a barber who only shaves men that do not shave themselves. Does the barber shave himself?"
There is an easy solution to Russel's Paradox in this case.
"The oldest profession is also the oldest pretext for outraged moralising and unrealistic lawmaking devised by man." - My favourite periodical
Great product of the day: Australian 'Red Rock Deli' brand 'Honey Soy' flavour potato chips. Cooked in Sunflower Oil, they have as big a crunch as the chips from Kettle, and their taste is simply sublime.
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The NUS Forum Co-op stocks a lot of interesting magazines:
Mother and Baby (must be a lot of teenage pregnancies)
Dogs Life
Animals and You (A pets magazine for tweens, aimed at Screwed Up Girls no doubt)
Sabrina the Teenage Witch (for Screwed Up Girls who won't grow up)
Jughead's Double Digest (for guys who won't grow up)
Wine Spectator (to decide what to bring for drunken frat parties)
Guns and Ammo; Combat Handguns (in case someone gets so pissed off by the administration that they decide to do a Columbine)
Tattoos for Men; Tattoos for Women (so people can carve their exss names onto their arms)
Golf (for those in Law and Medicine)
Metal Maniacs (for Satanists)
Australian Linux Journal (PRC hackers)
International homes: for the best homes and lifestyles (to inspire people to study)
British railway modelling
Chai Wan Kon Astrology 2005 - welcoming the god of prosperity
Combat - the best in Martial Arts Coverage (Bullies)
For our last Sociology lecture, we were treated to something special. Not only did we have a "guest" lecturer (someone else from the department), but at some points the Tutorial Assistants snatched the mic from her, berated her for being boring, and launched into various skits on The Family and types of marriages; they covered monogamy (having one spouse but cheating on him/her), serial monogamy (having various spouses singly but in succession), polyandry and polygyny (which Masai women don't mind their husband practising because it means there are more people around to do the work: smearing the roof, clearing muck from the village and milking cows, especially if they're pregnant or have just given birth). Personally, I'm all for polyamory.
Probably the most fascinating thing we learned was the Nayar familial exception. No doubt others exist, but the lecturer probably chose this one because it was the most unusual, entertaining (yeah, most of us are stuck in our cultural paradigm) and extreme.
Anyhow: The Nayar are a tribe/group of castes who reside in the state of Kerala, India, along the Malabar Coast. In the past, the men trained as professional soldiers, and for much of the year they went off to fight wars on behalf of various warring factions, so most of the time they weren't around, which explains many peculiar characteristics of traditional Nayar society.
The Nayar are matrilineal (tracing descent through women), and not coincidentally, Nayar women are treated better than women in the rest of India. Instead of families, they had taravads (joint households), containing only people related by blood (ie no in-laws).
Before a young girl first menstruated (between the ages of 7-12), she was ritually married, with a tali (gold ornament) being tied around her neck. She and her ritual husband then spent 3 days together in a hut. However, the man she "married" rarely consummated their marriage (unless she was near puberty), and sometimes she never saw him again. After the ritual marriage, she was free to sleep with anyone she wanted - of an equal or higher caste - and Nayar women had 3-12 "visiting husbands" at any one time, but if she conceived, someone (anyone) had to acknowledge the child (though he did not bear the responsibilities traditionally ascribed to fathers); "This they did by providing a fee of a cloth and some vegetables to the low caste midwife who attended the woman in childbirth. If no man of suitable caste would consent to make this gift, it was assumed that the woman had had relations with a man of lower caste or with a Christian or a Muslim. She must then be either expelled from her lineage and caste or killed by her matrilineal kinsmen" (The Nayars and the Definition of Marriage, Gough, 1959). The children had no fathers - at least not in the conventional sense of the word.
Unfortunately (or otherwise, as the case might be) in the 1990s, thanks to the Immoral Winds Blowing From The West and rampant Cultural Imperialism, fewer than 5% of the Nayars practised this form of familial relations.
"The Nayar are fascinating to anthropologists because they're the radical exception to the human tendency to control the sex and love lives of most women, in practice, and of most men, in principle."
It just goes to show (once again) that little, if anything, is "natural". Besides which, just because something (engaging in acts of physical aggression towards your enemies) is "natural" does not make it right, and just because something (going to the doctor) is "unnatural" does not make it wrong.
Someone with a (PRC?) accent approached me while I was walking by the Dragonboat booth and asked me if I'd like to join. Wth. Do I look like the type?!
I've seen a not insignificant number of guys wearing the grey "Army" T-shirt. Maybe I should dig up my "Army Sucks. Big Time" singlet and wear it.
For her 21st birthday, a friend got a My Little Pony figurine and a Barbie Doll. Why is it socially acceptable for females to retain the trappings of their childhood for disproportionately long amounts of time?!
In late August, some people from Sginkjets.com set up a stall near the Arts Canteen and hawked 3rd party ink cartridges for various printers. Unfortunately, by the time I got there, they'd run out of ink for my Canon S200SPx (apparently quite an old model). They took down my name, and promised that they'd contact me. 2 weeks later, there's been no word from them, despite a reminder email that I sent out a week or so ago. I am immensely pissed off.
Even with a self-declared free day, I'm down to half a free day per fortnight. Boo hoo.
Quotes:
At higher levels, you will use mathematics to prove [this]. For now, just trust me. It is correct.
You can use your medit save (Medisave)
[On the Baby Bonus] Is it possible to un-DINK the person? (couple)
It's all hundreds dollar note (hundred dollar notes)
This is for flate (freight)
[On doing the hard paper topic] Courage is a philosophical virture]
[On doing the easy paper topic] Go and do it, finish it, and go and play video games, while your neighbour is sweating it out over the family
Impromptu questions. You answer questions that are not in the tutorial, you get M&Ms. It works.
I'm a bit old, so when I hear SMS, I lose concentration.
I really enjoy Economics. I think it's the best subject in the world. Obviously: I'm doing my PhD in economics
I have been tasked by Professor *** to enthuse you guys [about Economics].
[Student on Opportunity Cost: Why is it that you don't consider the amount the person has to pay for University fees?] Because it [this module] is EC1101E.
'Use the supply and demand model to explain what happens to the equilibrium price and equilibrium quantity for prata in the following cases.' You guys know what prata is?
[On the Nayar exception] They stay together for 3 days. During the 3 days, you can play masak masak [Literal translation: Play at cooking. More general translation: Play around], whatever.
[On the Nayar exception] She doesn't have to have sex with her husband. Come on, she's 7!
[On his 'wife'] Marry her - 14 years. See? A bit sian. (I've married her for)
PhD right? Permanent head damage. Tao pai liao. Tao pai liaon [Translation: The head is spoilt]
You cannot say: 'Aiyoh, nice breasts. Marry lah.' You cannot say that, unfortunately.
[On some bad joke about love birds] You tell that to the girl you're dating, you get a swollen forehead, or other parts. Girls these days are very powerful. Ok lah, stop that [making bad jokes]
I didn't know that, you know. Singapore men go for flirtatious women. In that case, I should have quite a good chance.
What's that about peeling prawns? I came back to Singapore and everyone was talking about peeling prawns for men... Maybe it's sexy.
[On arranged marriage] Children are stupid. You leave it to them, they come back with any Tom, Dick or Harry. [Realises one of the TAs is named 'Harry'] Cannot cannot! Handsome harry. [Her name], [her name].
I was walking, walking along Boat Quay. And she emerged. My Indian Goddess... She said she was vegetarian, good right? Cheap... She only want hydrophonic vegetables! (wanted)
I am quite free, nothing to do, get married lah. Quite cute. Koochee, koochee [tickles "wife"'s cheeks]
***, wherefore art thou? [Searching look] (where)
Should she marry me? [Everyone: Nooooo...] You all [are] so cruel. Mid-term test you all die already. (You all will die for the mid-term test)
[On his 'wife'] I treated her like a queen and like a fine wine, she aged with time. Unfortunately I don't like wine, I like grape juice.
[On polygyny] You're probably wondering about the sleeping arrangement. We're not into the whole orgy thing... Day 1, he goes to her, he doesn't get satisfied. Day 2, he goes to me, he gets really tired. Day 3, he goes to her [a third wife], to cool down.
Polygyny is the best form of marriage... Do you know that at one time, Lee Kuan yew wanted to make it legal in Singapore?
Time for some girl power. [Whoops from girls in audience] Let me tell you about the best form of marriage: polyandry.
[On how Singaporean men propose] 'Hey, honey, shall we go register for a HDB flat?' So romantic right.
[On bride price] Someone in the village wanted to marry me. Then they heard: PhD from Harvard. Oh my god, cannot afford... Me: PhD from Harvard. But once she opens her mouth, the price goes down. [You] Must be quiet [to fetch a high bride price].
You can't have sex with everybody and anybody right? That's a wild dream everybody has.
[On herself] When you get home, you complain. Call the provost. 'She said she was Harvard-trained. How boring. Get her out.' Thank god. [I'm going to] Yale.
GSSQ. Kimberly. [Me: Nobody knows me by those names] I will announce it later. [Me: Thank you]
[On passing last year's AGM minutes] Let's go through this and achieve Nirvana.
We have a soft lunch of Chatterbox (launch)
[On herself] The show is not over until the fat lady sings
[Lecturer: Who rules the state?] Lee Kuan Yew.
[ On my sociological observation of dancers] Please lah, the way you talk: like they're some species
