"Those whom the Gods would destroy, they first call promising." - Cyril Connolly
***
Singapore: Comfortable Model by John Kampfner
"“SINGAPORE IS QUITE SIMPLY THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SOCIETY in the history of humanity”... I am sitting in the office of Professor Kishore Mahbubani...
The views of most people I know in Singapore range from mild disapproval at the state of affairs to something a little stronger. But they do not agitate publicly. The most risqué course of action tends to be sending emails, without comment, with links to opposition activities on the internet...
Seah Chiang Nee, a veteran political commentator... wrote of a recent, tiny, rally in favour of Burma’s pro-democracy movement. “I cannot foresee 2,000 students carrying Armani handbags and iPods marching around Orchard Road throwing Molotov cocktails.”...
The appointment as Prime Minister in 2004 of Lee Hsien Loong, Lee Kuan Yew’s oldest son, was portrayed as playing well to Confucian values. “Familialism”, as it is called, or guan xi, the Chinese notion of personal relationships or connections, do not, officials say, equate to cronyism...
Lee has frequently insisted that the Singapore model is not available for export as it is applicable only to small countries or city states. In the detail, he is clearly right. Obviously no system can be ordered off the shelf. He contradicts himself, however, by making the case for “Asian values”...
Uri Gordon... likens Lee’s Asian values to Machiavelli’s virtù. “Just as Machiavelli set Roman Virtue in opposition to his contemporary Christian morality, thus Lee can be seen as having chosen Asian values for Singapore as an alternative to the West’s liberal democracy. Subduing the population to a comfortable life of self-censorship, Lee and his aides can be seen as devout disciples of the Florentine”...
What does it say about the fragility of a regime if it goes into paroxysms of fury about any old blog? Regimes on the verge of falling are often the most extreme in their response to criticism, so maybe change is on its way. It might be, but from all that I have seen such change will be confined to the private realm, and not the public. That seems to be what most people I spoke to are seeking...
Most people – Singapore citizens, international businesses, foreign governments – had a vested interest in preserving the status quo. Why else, he suggested, would Singapore have done so well for so long? For me, someone who has spent much of his career seeking to cause trouble for politicians, this was an unpalatable thought.
Even more horrifying is the thought that plenty more people around the world, irrespective of their political culture, have also been contentedly anaesthetised. Singapore may be the home of the trade-off in its purest form, but are we all more Singaporean than we realise?
I always wonder where some of these 'facts' (e.g. on familialism) come from.
L'origine de Bert
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Monday, December 06, 2010
France 2010 - Day 3 - Paris: Duck Dinner
"Power corrupts. Absolute power is kind of neat." - John Lehman
***
France 2010
Day 3 - 5th October - Paris: Duck Dinner
My Rough Guide was published in February 2010, and already the price of métro tickets was wrong!
"Défense de déposer des ordures sous peine d'amende. Règlement sanitaire du département de Paris (arrêté N 79-561 du 20 novembre 79)"
("No dumping of rubbish on pain of a fine. Sanitation Rule of the Department of Paris (Law number 79-561, 20th November 1979")
This was one of the few examples of accents with capital letters. I was bemused that they cited the specific law.
My sister and I went to a restuarant specialising in Southern French food for dinner ("Restaurant du Domaine de Lintillac"). Specifically, it specialised in food from Périgord. I figured that we were going to the North of France later, so we wouldn't see much Southern food.
The most types of foie gras I'd seen on a menu; there're more types of foie gras than salad
A very international restaurant
The most types of duck I'd seen on a menu
Duck specialities, including duck blood
The English menu had no prices. I was wondering if this was deliberate. But then it is difficult to change prices if you have 15 menu translations.
Notice how almost all the main courses are Duck. The terms were very specialised (since they had no generic foods like steak frites and coq au vin) so we were both bemused and needed the English menu to compare the French one with.
"La Carte. De la Basse cour à votre assiette... Aucun intermédiare!"
("The menu. From the barnyard to your plate... Nothing in-between!")
An unfortunate juxtaposition of menu translations (and flags). But then, observant Jews or Muslims would not be able to eat at this place, anyway.
"Le bloc de foie gras de canard mi-cuit aux raisins et beaumes de Venise"
("Block of foie gras mi-cuit [half-cooked] with grapes and Beaumes de Venise [a type of wine]")
Unshown: kir pêche, quinquinoix (vin de noix)
"Le pâté de canard au Monbazillac"
("Duck pâté with Monbazillac [a type of wine]")
I prefer terrines - there's more texture.
The crackle of a French baguette is complex. I am used to Delifrance, whose baguettes have a very one-dimensional crackle (they are somewhat more brittle). This is not necessarily a bad thing.
House-brand toaster. I forgot to snap the reverse of the toaster - there were more words there.
"La Salade de gésiers confits"
("Salad with candied [?!] gizzards")
"Les aiguilletes de canard aux lentilles du Puy"
("Strips of duck with French green lentils")
I had ordered Le cou et aiguilletes de canard aux lentilles du Puy (the same thing, with Duck neck), but they didn't have this dish anymore - it was their old menu. So the guy asked me if it was okay if there was no neck. I said "ça marche" ("that works") and the waiter said "très français" ("very French"). You know what else would have been très français ? Putain !
Actually Au Petit Salut in Dempsey has better quality food, but then they don't have a 9,90€ set lunch!
"Nous avons eu le plaisir de vous faire déguster... Toute l'équipe du domaine vous remercie de votre confiance"
("We have had the pleasure of letting you taste [our food]... The whole team thanks you for your faith")
I love French bills as they include the tax breakdown. This went one up, dividing the bill into food and beverages. I also like paying with credit cards in Europe as they bring the handheld machine to you so you know they're not doing anything funny.
Asian Invasion
Eiffel Tower - Eye of Sauron, casting its baleful gaze on Paris
Somehow, gazpacho in a carton surprises me. But it really shouldn't.
"Planta Fin"
This is not the same as Malaysian Planta. It's under Unilever so it's the same company, but the stuff is of a different kualiti. From the website:
"En associant les bienfaits de 3 huiles végétales (colza, tournesol et soja), Planta Fin vous fait profiter de qualités nutritionnelles diversifiées et complémentaires, pour le bon équilibre de toute la famille"
("By combining the benefits of 3 vegetable oils (rapeseed, sunflower and soyabean), Planta Fin will benefit you with its many and complementary nutritional qualities, for a good balance for the whole family")
"Ouvert de 8h30 à minuit, parce qu'après minuit c'est demain"
("Open from 8:30am until midnight, because after midnight it's tomorrow")
Paris is a lot more English-friendly than in 2006.
***
France 2010
Day 3 - 5th October - Paris: Duck Dinner
My Rough Guide was published in February 2010, and already the price of métro tickets was wrong!
"Défense de déposer des ordures sous peine d'amende. Règlement sanitaire du département de Paris (arrêté N 79-561 du 20 novembre 79)"
("No dumping of rubbish on pain of a fine. Sanitation Rule of the Department of Paris (Law number 79-561, 20th November 1979")
This was one of the few examples of accents with capital letters. I was bemused that they cited the specific law.
My sister and I went to a restuarant specialising in Southern French food for dinner ("Restaurant du Domaine de Lintillac"). Specifically, it specialised in food from Périgord. I figured that we were going to the North of France later, so we wouldn't see much Southern food.
The most types of foie gras I'd seen on a menu; there're more types of foie gras than salad
A very international restaurant
The most types of duck I'd seen on a menu
Duck specialities, including duck blood
The English menu had no prices. I was wondering if this was deliberate. But then it is difficult to change prices if you have 15 menu translations.
Notice how almost all the main courses are Duck. The terms were very specialised (since they had no generic foods like steak frites and coq au vin) so we were both bemused and needed the English menu to compare the French one with.
"La Carte. De la Basse cour à votre assiette... Aucun intermédiare!"
("The menu. From the barnyard to your plate... Nothing in-between!")
An unfortunate juxtaposition of menu translations (and flags). But then, observant Jews or Muslims would not be able to eat at this place, anyway.
"Le bloc de foie gras de canard mi-cuit aux raisins et beaumes de Venise"
("Block of foie gras mi-cuit [half-cooked] with grapes and Beaumes de Venise [a type of wine]")
Unshown: kir pêche, quinquinoix (vin de noix)
"Le pâté de canard au Monbazillac"
("Duck pâté with Monbazillac [a type of wine]")
I prefer terrines - there's more texture.
The crackle of a French baguette is complex. I am used to Delifrance, whose baguettes have a very one-dimensional crackle (they are somewhat more brittle). This is not necessarily a bad thing.
House-brand toaster. I forgot to snap the reverse of the toaster - there were more words there.
"La Salade de gésiers confits"
("Salad with candied [?!] gizzards")
"Les aiguilletes de canard aux lentilles du Puy"
("Strips of duck with French green lentils")
I had ordered Le cou et aiguilletes de canard aux lentilles du Puy (the same thing, with Duck neck), but they didn't have this dish anymore - it was their old menu. So the guy asked me if it was okay if there was no neck. I said "ça marche" ("that works") and the waiter said "très français" ("very French"). You know what else would have been très français ? Putain !
Actually Au Petit Salut in Dempsey has better quality food, but then they don't have a 9,90€ set lunch!
"Nous avons eu le plaisir de vous faire déguster... Toute l'équipe du domaine vous remercie de votre confiance"
("We have had the pleasure of letting you taste [our food]... The whole team thanks you for your faith")
I love French bills as they include the tax breakdown. This went one up, dividing the bill into food and beverages. I also like paying with credit cards in Europe as they bring the handheld machine to you so you know they're not doing anything funny.
Asian Invasion
Eiffel Tower - Eye of Sauron, casting its baleful gaze on Paris
Somehow, gazpacho in a carton surprises me. But it really shouldn't.
"Planta Fin"
This is not the same as Malaysian Planta. It's under Unilever so it's the same company, but the stuff is of a different kualiti. From the website:
"En associant les bienfaits de 3 huiles végétales (colza, tournesol et soja), Planta Fin vous fait profiter de qualités nutritionnelles diversifiées et complémentaires, pour le bon équilibre de toute la famille"
("By combining the benefits of 3 vegetable oils (rapeseed, sunflower and soyabean), Planta Fin will benefit you with its many and complementary nutritional qualities, for a good balance for the whole family")
"Ouvert de 8h30 à minuit, parce qu'après minuit c'est demain"
("Open from 8:30am until midnight, because after midnight it's tomorrow")
Paris is a lot more English-friendly than in 2006.
Post ID: 109898817872052964
"Democracy for S'poreans!"
SDP is taking out ads on Facebook. That might not be the best way to spend their funds...
Post ID: 6074702123861264780
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Pompeii Exhibition (4th December 2010)
"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." - William Faulkner
***
This post contains pictures (with little commentary) from the Pompeii Exhibition, which I visited yesterday with Temptation Chris, Lynnette and Brandon.
You can alsoread view my 2006 travelogues (with most pictures still working) of Pompeii and the Naples Archaeological Museum (where the best and most unique stuff from Pompeii is).
Since the last of us came at 3:30pm, we decided to go for the 4pm tour.
We (or at least I) passed the time spotting errors in the exhibition material. The timeline claimed that Constantinople was founded in 340 CE. FAIL! It also said that by 141 BCE, Rome was controlling Gaul. FAIL!
It was also obvious which material came from Italy/Australia and which material had a local origin. Take the line: "The early settlers are agricultural in occupation". This was obviously a translation of the parallel Chinese line: "早期居民以务农为主". Chinese's not having the definite article "the" was also obvious, as many lines were in the form: "Romans did X" instead of "The Romans did X".
When it came to the tour, there were 2 guides. The first said that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, and that Augustus was crowned in 27 BC. FAIL FAIL FAIL! I immediately plumped for the second guide, who thankfully didn't make such egregious errors (the only notable one was calling the strigil a "sickle", which conjured up a very unfortunate image).
Plaster copy of a relief panel depicting the earthquake of 62 CE
"The original marble relief was stolen in 1975"
The exhibition had resin casts of the original plaster casts (when people or animals died, a space was left when their bodies rotted away, and archaeologists pumped in liquid Plaster of Paris to create plaster casts).
Resin cast of plaster cast of a pig.
I was reflecting on authenticity - is a cast of a cast necessarily less authentic than the "original" cast? Are Rodin's Bronzes less "authentic" because they were semi-mass produced?
In any case, when I was in Pompeii the casts were in glass containers, whereas here the resin cats were closer to visitors and there was nothing obstructing our view.
Resin cast of a guard dog
We were told that according to a medical professional, the falling ash (at a temperature of 500 degrees celsius) would have induced death within 2 seconds, so their deaths were painless. This was new to me, and given the pathos of the death poses, I had my doubts.
Resin cast of a young couple, resin cast of a young woman
Mosaic fountain
Fresco of garden
Fresco of Bacchus and Ariadne
Bronze statue of Bacchus
Marble Herm (Bacchus in his youthful and mature aspects)
Marble statue of Venus
Marble fountain of eagle with a serpent, Statue of dog mauling bird, Marble statue of lion eating fallen prey, Marble statue of hound attacking a wild boar
Frescoes depicting: Hippolytus and Phaedra, a medallion with a young and old woman, Silenus and a maenad
Bronze lamp stand
Bronze statuette of Minerva, Apollo, Mercury, Diana, Hercules, Harpocrates, Lares
Bronze replica of Fortuna on her throne
Various burial objects
Glass, alabaster cremation urns
Bronze hand of Sabazius
Lead and bronze water pipe, spout and tap
Bronze gladiator armour and shield. IIRC all this was ceremonial as it was too heavy to fight in
Bronze gladiator's helmet
At the end, there was a movie showing how Pompeii was buried by debris. It was, as is the rage these days, in 3D. However, it wasn't very well done. Since bad 3D is worse than 2D, I got a headache from watching the video.
My Gladiator companion, who was evidence that there were more adults than kids at the art & craft, make-your-own-gladiator-helmet area.
Bonus: Dodgy Signs in Peace Centre
"Lava Spa". Where rooms come with attached showers.
According to Sammyboy:
"Porsche
Ipho, Malaysian
Face: 7.5
Boobs: 6.5/10 (B Cup (,) (,) )
HJ: N.A
BBBJ: 9 Good effort
FJ: 9/10
Attitude: friendly girl
Damage: $50 + $120
RTF: Yes
Bros, kindly up my pts if you like my FR"
Thai Monks giving out blessings and telling fortunes (including solving business problems). Something seems very wrong about this.
***
This post contains pictures (with little commentary) from the Pompeii Exhibition, which I visited yesterday with Temptation Chris, Lynnette and Brandon.
You can also
Since the last of us came at 3:30pm, we decided to go for the 4pm tour.
We (or at least I) passed the time spotting errors in the exhibition material. The timeline claimed that Constantinople was founded in 340 CE. FAIL! It also said that by 141 BCE, Rome was controlling Gaul. FAIL!
It was also obvious which material came from Italy/Australia and which material had a local origin. Take the line: "The early settlers are agricultural in occupation". This was obviously a translation of the parallel Chinese line: "早期居民以务农为主". Chinese's not having the definite article "the" was also obvious, as many lines were in the form: "Romans did X" instead of "The Romans did X".
When it came to the tour, there were 2 guides. The first said that Rome was founded by Romulus and Remus, and that Augustus was crowned in 27 BC. FAIL FAIL FAIL! I immediately plumped for the second guide, who thankfully didn't make such egregious errors (the only notable one was calling the strigil a "sickle", which conjured up a very unfortunate image).
Plaster copy of a relief panel depicting the earthquake of 62 CE
"The original marble relief was stolen in 1975"
The exhibition had resin casts of the original plaster casts (when people or animals died, a space was left when their bodies rotted away, and archaeologists pumped in liquid Plaster of Paris to create plaster casts).
Resin cast of plaster cast of a pig.
I was reflecting on authenticity - is a cast of a cast necessarily less authentic than the "original" cast? Are Rodin's Bronzes less "authentic" because they were semi-mass produced?
In any case, when I was in Pompeii the casts were in glass containers, whereas here the resin cats were closer to visitors and there was nothing obstructing our view.
Resin cast of a guard dog
We were told that according to a medical professional, the falling ash (at a temperature of 500 degrees celsius) would have induced death within 2 seconds, so their deaths were painless. This was new to me, and given the pathos of the death poses, I had my doubts.
Resin cast of a young couple, resin cast of a young woman
Mosaic fountain
Fresco of garden
Fresco of Bacchus and Ariadne
Bronze statue of Bacchus
Marble Herm (Bacchus in his youthful and mature aspects)
Marble statue of Venus
Marble fountain of eagle with a serpent, Statue of dog mauling bird, Marble statue of lion eating fallen prey, Marble statue of hound attacking a wild boar
Frescoes depicting: Hippolytus and Phaedra, a medallion with a young and old woman, Silenus and a maenad
Bronze lamp stand
Bronze statuette of Minerva, Apollo, Mercury, Diana, Hercules, Harpocrates, Lares
Bronze replica of Fortuna on her throne
Various burial objects
Glass, alabaster cremation urns
Bronze hand of Sabazius
Lead and bronze water pipe, spout and tap
Bronze gladiator armour and shield. IIRC all this was ceremonial as it was too heavy to fight in
Bronze gladiator's helmet
At the end, there was a movie showing how Pompeii was buried by debris. It was, as is the rage these days, in 3D. However, it wasn't very well done. Since bad 3D is worse than 2D, I got a headache from watching the video.
My Gladiator companion, who was evidence that there were more adults than kids at the art & craft, make-your-own-gladiator-helmet area.
Bonus: Dodgy Signs in Peace Centre
"Lava Spa". Where rooms come with attached showers.
According to Sammyboy:
"Porsche
Ipho, Malaysian
Face: 7.5
Boobs: 6.5/10 (B Cup (,) (,) )
HJ: N.A
BBBJ: 9 Good effort
FJ: 9/10
Attitude: friendly girl
Damage: $50 + $120
RTF: Yes
Bros, kindly up my pts if you like my FR"
Thai Monks giving out blessings and telling fortunes (including solving business problems). Something seems very wrong about this.
Post ID: 5802416222221852053
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