"I've gone into hundreds of [fortune-teller's parlors], and have been told thousands of things, but nobody ever told me I was a policewoman getting ready to arrest her." - New York City detective

Random Playlist Song: Trevor Pinnock - The English Concert and Choir: Handel - Messiah - Pifa (pastoral symphony)


Random Trivia bit: The Old French word "caboche" is the source of the word cabbage. "Caboche" is also the word that hunting parties used as late as Charles Dickens' time to describe the removal of a slain deer's head. Lexicologist Julian Franklyn proposed that it was this practice that Charles Dickens had in mind when Dickens used "kye-bosh" in his "Sketches by Boz". (If true, this etymologic theory would certainly give a sense of finality to the term "kibosh".) In modern French usage "caboche" refers to a snail's head. The ultimate Latin root of the word means "head".

The seemingly humble Cabbage holds an important place in mythology, history and medicine. When Dionysus caught Lycurgus trampling grapes, cabbages formed from the tears Lycurgus cried as he awaited his punishment. One could speculate that this story is related to the belief, in ancient times, that cabbage cured drunkenness. In 621 BC, Draco (from whom we derive the term "draconian") made the crime of stealing cabbages punishable by death. Finally, in modern times, cabbage (along with broccoli) has been held to be of benefit in treating exposure to x-radiation (Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1959 Feb;100(2):405-7)

There is scant evidence for the use of "cabbage" as a term of endearment among English speakers. There are, however, ample references to the French employing the phrase "mon petit chou" (my little cabbage) as a term of endearment.

(Veg-Etymology: Linguistic Roots Exposed)

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In response to Letter from a Son, Anonymous writes (among other things): "Whining like a wishy-washy, chicken livered pansy and trying to picket against the establishment makes one the real loser."

My response: "Arbeit Macht Frei"... [more]

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Change in racial make-up on menu

" But even an institution like the Coliseum, still popular for a gin and tonic, or a Pimm's, has had to bow to the change in the country's demographics. Last year, it stopped selling its famous bacon and ham sandwiches and pork chops are no more - the Coliseum has gone halal.

There were some complaints from a few non-Muslim regulars, but restaurant manager Madam Jo Wong said it was just a business decision.

'Many of our regulars were unhappy but what can we do? There is so much competition these days. We cannot survive on just the Chinese and European customers,' she said.

Now there are fewer Chinese in Kuala Lumpur and across the country, more Malay-Muslims. More businesses are catering for the growing population. For businesswomen like Madam Wong, there is no point maintaining a menu with pork dishes as it would drive away Malays."


A sad day it is indeed for that joint. I intend to compile my 4-5 point writeup of why I am opposed to halal food sometime soon.

Interestingly enough, the The Malaysiana Digests, in its review of the food there, complained that:

"Upon entering the Coliseum today, I noticed that the place had changed. The colours of the walls were even more bland, the white uniforms were spotted with grease stains that indicated a change of laundry contract was sorely needed. The waiters were a lot younger, and less graceful. The floor was slippery and the furniture had at least a millimeter of something that felt like baby lotion. The clincher was the air - the place smelt like a butcher shop.

I fought the urge to leave. After all, many a good meal is met by the adventurous diner. After looking around at the other patrons, who were as ancient as the venue, I overcame my gut feelings - and ordered a small steak. Sharizal ordered something I can't spell and we hoped for the best.

As I chomped down on my first bite of the dry (supposedly medium well), un-marinated piece of meat, my head was screaming: "We should have gone to Jake's damnit!"

Give me that honey-thyme marinated ribs (Sharizal's favourite) at Jake's. Give me that cat carcass (yummy 500g slab of meat) that Fische had at Shook! Give me Victoria Station or San Francisco Steak House. Real meat is good - but real meat lovingly prepared with the finest ingredients: a light spread of mustard, some herbs, at the very least, some sauce...

*sigh*

The meal was a painful RM90. The Coliseum I used to romanticise was gone and so was the fabulous steaks. While the price is typical for a steak lunch for two (cheap even if you compare it with some establishments), the encounter left me cheated (even though I didn't pay for lunch). The effort to move my jaw up, down and sideways for cafeteria food masquerading as something else left a bad taste in my mouth.

Now I have to resort to my original diet of tarts, coffee and junk food to wash it down."

Maybe there is some correlation between food quality and halal certification. Or maybe the chefs and staff had lost their spirit and drive after the restaurant's abandonment of culinary principles.

***

Discussion on trans-world depravity:


Someone: Never mind, to understand Transworld Depravity, did you see the show SLIDERS before?

Me: I sorta saw why

Someone: So to understand Transworld Depravity, imagine, the scenario of SLIDERS...that there are infinite worlds that exist as the result of every possibility inherent as a result of human decision...in all of these evil is bound to exist, and God knows it.

Me: ok. so there are infinite worlds (nvm that this goes against christian doctrine)
then?

Someone: in all of these there is the possibility of sin...

Me: why? if this god is so good why

Someone: because a sinless human is biologically impossible. Because free will entails the possibility of sin
God chooses to make the world the best place He can, and a world where there is free will is better than a world where the choice to do evil is opted out of.

That is why if you ask me, Judaism makes more sense in this aspect, it does not insist that God is all-powerful, all-good and made the world perfect. It adds instead that man help to make it perfect...

Me: not all evil comes from human action. how about natural disasters? flesh-eating bacteria?

Someone: Natural disasters and flesh-eating bacteria are not evil in themselves. How do you define if something is evil in itself? Just because it causes harm? No, without flesh-eating bacteria, bodies would not decompose. Without natural disasters such as the occasional bushfire, forests are not able to regrow and regenerate...

Me: flesh eating bacteria = bacteria that attack you while you're alive
not when you're dead

yes so nothing is evil
all evil can be rationalised

which is why theodicy is immoral. if evil can be rationalised, how can it be evil?

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The $28K Sandwich That Grew No Mold - How the Virgin Mary's grilled cheese stayed mold-free for 10 years

As someone summarised it: "Assume it was grilled (or more correctly fried) in margarine - the cheap stuff which is high in trans fats. Trans fats are used in food deliberately to inhibit decay in spite of the known health risks.

Also, assume it was standard commercial white bread - again, full of preservatives.

The heating and melting of the cheese also contribute to its stability - plus if it was not real cheese, but something like cheez whiz - again there are a whole bunch of preservative additives.

The surprising thing is that we can digest this stuff, and it does not pass through the gut untouched."

I still say the anti-Christ's power preserved the bread :)

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Franklin's Unholy Lightning Rod

"It is well-known that the Catholic and Protestant churches opposed the scientific theories of Galileo and Copernicus, but did you know they also opposed Benjamin Franklin's lightning rod ?

The church tower, usually the highest structure in the village or town, was the building most often hit, while the brothels and gambling houses next door were left untouched... Thunder and lightning were considered tokens of God's displeasure. It was considered impious to prevent their doing damage. This was despite the fact that in Germany, within a span of 33 years, nearly 400 towers were damaged and 120 bell ringers were killed.

In Switzerland, France and Italy, popular prejudice against the lightning rod was ignited and fueled by the churches and resulted in the tearing down of lightning rods from many homes and buildings, including one from the Institute of Bologna, the leading scientific institution in Italy. The Swiss chemist, M. de Saussure, removed a rod he had erected on his house in Geneva in 1771 when it caused his neighbors so much anxiety that he feared a riot.

In 1780-1784, a lawsuit about lightning rods gave M. de St. Omer the right to have a lightning rod on top of his house despite the religious objections of his neighbors. This victory established the fame of the lawyer in the case, young Robespierre.

In America, Rev. Thomas Prince, pastor of Old South Church, blamed Franklin's invention of the lightning rod for causing the Massachusetts earthquake of 1755.

Had the ecclesiastics of the Church of San Nazaro in Brecia given in to repeated urgings to install a lightning rod, they might have averted a terrible catastrophe. The Republic of Venice had stored in the vaults of this church several thousand pounds of gunpowder. In 1767, 17 years after Franklin's discovery, no rod having been placed on the church, it was struck by lightning and the gunpowder exploded. One-sixth of the city was destroyed and over 3,000 lives were lost because the priests refused to install the "heretical rod.""


I wonder how much damage is being done by those who insist on abstinence-only policies to "prevent AIDS" and worse, spread FUD about condoms and their efficacy.

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Hotmail's upgraded the useless account I signed up for last year for miscellaneous purposes, but the one I signed up for in 1998 remains at 2MB. Guess they don't reward customer loyalty. Some company.

Meanwhile Yahoo has upgraded me to 250MB. Whee.

***

I'm not the only one who thinks Singapore Idol is silly:


"Why rant and rave over Singapore Idol? Don't you all realise its just a bloody television show?

There is so much more important issues in Singapore to be riled up about than who wins in Singapore Idol.

Sigh, I guess Agagoona is right, without any suitable outlets,Singaporeans partake the most banal of activities.

When the headlines of newspapers feature Singapore Idol, while other more important news are consigned to the other pages, I feel sad for Singaporeans."


"It's heartening to hear that the standard retort of "since you have nothing to good to say, shut the fark up and get outta here" is still well and alive. It certainly helps some Singaporeans that they refuse to handle criticism in any way but to tell critics to clam up - how else could they live in the bliss that Idol minds offer?"


"Cherish your pathetically lame obsession over the banally bland Singapore Idol all ye tunnel-visioned fans, there is NOT going to be a second season of Singapore Idol.

You heard it here first."

***

Work of art that inspired a movement ... a urinal - "A humble porcelain urinal - reclining on its side, and marked with a false signature - has been named the world's most influential piece of modern art, knocking Picasso and Matisse from their traditional positions of supremacy. Marcel Duchamp's Fountain, created in 1917, has been interpreted in innumerable different ways, including as a reference to the female sexual parts."

Straight Dope Staff Report: Did Vikings really wear horns on their helmets? - Fascinating article on how wings, and then horns, appeared on the helmets of Vikings as depicted in art and opera.

Sharper Image fogs up - A company, 'Sharper Image' sues 'Consumers Union' magazine for publishing negative reviews of its air purifier. Ridiculous misuse of the courts. Though the magazine won, how many others are going to be deterred by legal costs and potential hassle from justified criticism? Similar principles apply in other areas (eg Fair Use).

Ivy League Guaranteed - "Regardless of grades, you will get accepted. I was!"
Erm.

***

Some backlog that I scribbled onto my sheet of paper but didn't get to transcribing:

Interestingly, Engineering seems to have a disproportionately large number of long-haired guys in NUS. Someone speculated that this was because they don't have time to get haircuts, or there're no girls to impress.

Someone had the bright idea of mounting a giant TV screen in Yusof Ishak House - just outside the door to the study room. Besides there being no chairs in the vicinity for people to sit on while watching Channel News Asia and very little space on the steps for people to sit to do the same, the noise from the TV was audible from the study room. Maybe this is some secret psychological experiment to see how much worse students study in the presence of distractions.

Of the 85 student performers on the program for one of the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music's performances, 48 were from China, 16 from Singapore, 9 from Vietnam, 6 from Thailand, 4 from Malaysia, 1 from the USA and 1 from Taiwan. Oh, and the 2 Concert Masters, soloist and at least one of the Professors were PRCs too. So the PRCs come to Singapore to study under PRCs with fellow PRCs (so they're one up on Singaporean students who go overseas and mix only with fellow Singaporeans) - is it really that much different from studying in China?


Quotes:

pry'meh fay'see (prima facie)

times have moved on (changed)

In the ars faculty (Arts)

A micro'ker'sm of what Arts and Social Science is about (microcosm, Sciences)

You sit around bored during the december break. Sociology *is* the way to go!

[On the Sociological Imagination] Anyone? Charles? No, the answer is not 'shit'

As I told my class from day 1: We are here to screw up your minds

[On revision] If you can't, sit down at the dinner table at night: Mom, do you know what Durkheim said about religion? He said...

There's only one section on this test - section 1. *laughs from audience* Yeah, I thought that was cute too.

All the wonderful pictures she showed us. Skinned dogs, bull's penises and all other kinds of hideous things.

Women are more educated than men in the age group 20-24. Ooh, men are being oppressed.

In many ways, Engineering has come to the solution of these problems (been)