"Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect." - Steven Wrigh

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Wow. After more than a year, people are still being amazed by the astounding accuracy of the CrushCalculator.

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My No 1 fan who denies being a fan: "im obviously in my room
i can't be surfing in the middle of the toilet
i'm not Mr Brown"


Someone on how to deal with Christian theologians who denounce the a priori acceptance of Reason: "next time he tries to talk to you, spout random nonsensical phrases at him, since reason has been so effectively demolished"

Heh heh.

But since I make fewer (and less unbelievable) assumptions to get to the same (or at least a similar) place, I still hold that accepting a priori is a superior theory.

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On a tour of New Zealand, the Pope took a few days off to visit the coast for some sightseeing. He was cruising along the beach in the Pope-mobile when there was a frantic commotion just off shore. A helpless man, wearing a France rugby shirt, was struggling frantically to free himself from the jaws of a 25 foot shark.

As the Pope watched in horror, a speedboat pulled up with three men wearing England shirts. One quickly fired a harpoon into the shark's side while the other two reached out and pulled the blue semiconscious Frog from the water. Then using the long clubs, the three beat the shark to death and hauled it into the boat. Immediately the Pope shouted and summoned them to him.

"I give you my blessing for your brave actions. I heard that there were some bitter hatreds between the French and the English, but now I have seen with my own eyes that this is not true."

As the Pope drove off, the harpooner asked his pals, "Who was that?"

"It was the Pope" one replied, "He is in direct contact with God and has access to all of God's wisdom."

"Well" the harpooner said, "he may have access to God and his wisdom, but he doesn't know anything about shark fishing. Is the bait holding up OK or do we need to get another one?"

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On Asian Values:

"Asian values" is a misnomer. The idea should be renamed as "Values Which the PAP would Like Singaporeans to Have, and To Believe Are Asian".


The term "Asian values" is as much a misnomer as the term "Western values". For example, in Asia I've never encountered so much institutionalised prostitution in my life! .. and I'm thinking of the KTV joints where the hostesses are openly available for paid sex. And all the Asian married men go merrily tripping off to these places, with their wives at home, and are screwing all these 20 years old China girls behind their wives backs! Great ASIAN values!!

Now I don't give this example to be moralistic. I like pretty young girls (even perhaps paid ones) as much as the next man. I'm no prude. But to have such a widespread embedded aspect of the popular culture on the one hand, and to go about blathering about 'values' the next is just hypocrisy to me. Asians can and are as morally corrupt, if not more so, than Westerners.


To be fair to the PAP, they have greatly, and wisely, reduced their "Asian values" rhetoric over the years.

At one point, "Asian values" was a phrase that tripped off the tongues of PAP ministers & MPs like an automatic, programmed slogan. Nowadays, they largely seem to have stopped. Perhaps too many people tell them things like:

"But the world's largest democracy is an Asian country - India!";

"But Taiwan has very vigorous parliamentary debates, and a very active opposition, and Taiwan is Asian, isn't it?"

"But workers' strikes ARE allowed in Korea, in fact strikes happen there all the time, and Korea is an Asian country, isn't it?"

"But Indonesia is one of the world's largest Asian countries by population, and there's nothing very Confucian in its culture."

"But the freedom of expression is so rampant and unlimited in the Philippines, and the Philippines is your fellow ASEAN member, is it not?"

So I guess the PAP ministers started feeling silly about it after a while.

More importantly, it's pretty difficult to spout the "The West Is Evil, The East is Good" nonsense, while at the same time trying desperately to attract foreign talent from countries like the US, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom

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mollymeek: Beauty and the Beasts

"Molly was recently invited to speak at a Beauty’s Forum (for women only) and Molly was violently assaulted by pesky questions... Here are some excerpts. For those unfamiliar with this blog, “MM” stands for Molly Meek.

Audience 1: MM, your lengthy speech seems to suggest that you are a bimbo, even if you are an enlightened one.
MM: What do you have against bimbos? That their vital statistics are better than yours?
Audience 1: So you are not denying that you are a bimbo?
MM: You don’t risk your life by calling me a bimbo.
Audience 1: I think I just experienced a Xeno Boyish Lacanian moment.
MM: What’s a Lacanian moment? Really, I’m asking out of real ignorance.
Audience: Which seems to suggest that you sometimes ask questions out of false ignorance… Thank you for your time.

[...]

Audience 3: MM, I commented on many of your blog entries, but only one of my comments have been published! Isn’t it unfair
MM: You must be living a blessed life thanks to my blessings. Otherwise, you would be worrying about survival issues instead of complaining that you don’t have enough published comments on my blog. My blog is my voice box, not yours.
Audience 3: Perhaps I was talking about survival issues, MM.
MM: Go and sign on with the army. You won’t get promoted as quickly as someone I know, but you will do just fine.
Audience 3: Are you trying to co-opt me into your discourse?
MM: What? I’m hoping you could cooperate, if that’s what you are asking.
Audience 3: Never mind. I’m still pissed that my comments didn’t get published.
MM: Well, you have the Internet—set up your own website. If you don’t know how to set up a website, Molly has a friend who can help. Yes, Molly has lots of friends.
But it seems that you are displeased because you think I have silenced you. You might have problems articulating the suffering of silence."

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Confessions of a Recovering Economist

"Good evening. My name is Jim. And I am an economist. It is seventeen days since I last uttered the phrase "supply and demand." But the demon still lurks, untamed, within me.

I know it's wrong that my particular profession hogs so much attention, and is granted so much undeserved credibility. I know it's wrong to pretend you can forecast complex economic outcomes with three-decimal accuracy. I know it's wrong to reduce the whole of the human endeavour to the endless pursuit of material prosperity. Yet still I yearn for economics. I hunger for the prestige that comes with being the only social science to regularly make The National. I savour the smug power of belonging to that exclusive sect of financial mystics who understand the magical circuits of money and commodities.

So let's face it. I'm an economist. I'll always be an economist. The best I can do is recognize my affliction. Name the hunger that haunts me. Reflect on how to control it, how to keep it at bay. Learn to avoid the events and issues that fan the internal flame.

Every other addiction has a Twelve Step program, laced with tough love and blunt self-honesty. Why not a Twelve Step program for economists?
God knows, they've done enough damage with their arrogant, drunken prescriptions. Here's how each and every economist can face up to their inner demons, and make their own small contribution to setting things right."

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Richard Dawkins: Is Science A Religion? - "Most religions offer a cosmology and a biology, a theory of life, a theory of origins, and reasons for existence. In doing so, they demonstrate that religion is, in a sense, science; it's just bad science. Don't fall for the argument that religion and science operate on separate dimensions and are concerned with quite separate sorts of questions. Religions have historically always attempted to answer the questions that properly belong to science. Thus religions should not be allowed now to retreat away from the ground upon which they have traditionally attempted to fight. They do offer both a cosmology and a biology; however, in both cases it is false."

From Failure to Famous - "If starting your own business is what you'd like to do, please note that studies at Tulane University suggest the average entrepreneur fails 3.8 times before making it work. (L. M. Boyd)"
The wisest words on this matter are from Despair, Inc's poster on Defeat: "For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are you're one of them"

Suicide terrorism: a global threat - Jane's Intelligence Review - "Traditionally viewed as a problem affecting the Middle East and South Asia, the threat posed by suicide terrorism is spreading around the globe. Rohan Gunaratna assesses the nature of the threat, preventive and reactive security measures, and examines future trends."

eBay item 3871328540 (Ends Feb-07-05 17:12:49 PST) - HILLARY DUFF PERSONAL ITEMS - "Hillary Duff did a concert here in CT....and a friend of the family is employed as a cleaning lady in the arena. Well, she cleaned HILLARY'S DRESSING ROOM and found she left behind a hairbrush, a face towel, and some tissues soiled with make up! This is unique memoribilia....NO ONE WILL EVER HAVE THESE EXACT ITEMS. The hairbrush even has strands of blonde hair!! UNIQUE!!!"

How to Get Man Boobs - Lut sends this along with his regards