"The prospect of a long day at the beach makes me panic. There is no harder work I can think of than taking myself off to somewhere pleasant, where I am forced to stay for hours and 'have fun'." - Phillip Lopate
***
For the first time since June:
Search Referrals:
patakara lip trainer sucks - Ah, Japanese Snake Oil!
do indian women fantasise during masterbating - No, they think of Hindu pushups.
i sexy hotted injection for men & sex Pill,name &picture, in Bangladesh
where can i find professor xu rong bikini photo? - First result: "Professor X. Professor X was the one who assembled the X-men and how much do you know about him?"
CRETAN DONKEY
granny'sold sagging breast
hardwarezone girl shitting
statue in front of nanyang girls high auditorium
porn underwater free
wank indian aunties panties - By? In or to or with?
porn blog scgs mgs girl singapore - How can you be both at the same time?
"dictionary" "comment" "are you human" - CAPTCHA?
parent.directory +index.of +lysistrata +wmv
acropolis museum upskirt - Of a statue?
MEN TELL WHY THEY MASTERBATE IN NIGHTGOWNS - More friction?
longhairgirl coupon code - "LongHairGirl stock 5000+ products for your hair decoration". What about boys?
amputee couples - Both of them?
buona vista underpass guitar flicker
big boob yang girls image - I'm wondering if the people who keep misspelling "young" share any demographic traits
japanese lactating aroma download rapidshare
emma watson en trian de sexes hentia
building defect report of seletar camp bungalows
HEADSHAVE AND BLOWJOB - What, together?
"genki genki" frogs casting
determiner le centre de pression sur la plate forme de force vicon nexuse
girl pissing blood pics
huan zhu gege script english translation - Good luck.
where is Daniel Radcliffe ticklish - One result, "Help Is Emma Watson ticklish?"
fastest fingers, ntu modules, zero vacancies, consequence
smu chio bu ism - The first result is a ClubSNAP forum thread alleging sexism when someone asks for pictures of SMU chio bus.
bigbreast itally auntys
lim chuan poh CV
hot acjc girls
victoria jc "arts fac" cheers
rjc test tube dildo - There's a reason you only hear stories of these things in girls schools, and not in JCs or mixed-sex schools.
"girl on operating table" - This is a part in the movie "Strange Things Happen at Sundown"
huge busty strapon misery
algaroth rjc pens - I didn't know they gave pens for it. Unless they've reused Orientation names (then again, there're only so many pseudo-mystical names they can use)
TM Peace Palace - TM = Transcendental Meditation. Gah.
chua hock hin and nude - He's famous (he's the guy fined for being naked in his own home).
Nervous tick manifests masterbation
sex bondage with soya sauce
rjc upskirt techbot - There's a story behind this.
sheares hall supper halal?
Tomoko Singapure porn
Google site search:
RJC blowjob
kor kor
Crucifix model
DiKar
"to canada"
female beauty
COLETTE AKA BETTY
الملاذ الغامض - This is translated as "mysterious sanctuary"
AboodyMoon
cleavage singapore airlines
Girl taking the World's largest dildo
rationalism comment
emma watson in a swimsuit going nude
sex trade + apes - Bestiality?
gayspace greek beach
Image search:
Mensch holocaust 'Man, get that dog!
feel good pussy
pussy licking motivational poster
fat female masterbation
slim mature japanese women - The corollary is that usually the mature ones are not slim.
visible blowjob - Are invisible ones possible? This got the Dance of the Four Seasons.
man's shoe crash
people being stripers by humping a pole
brugel erect penis
pussy binocular vision
naughty deer beastiality
indonesian young schoolgirl (smu)
Horse anal xxx - The horse or the human?
chinese muscle boy
sex can wait masturbate - Technical Virgin?
un discreet cosplay anal
north korea tank markings
production of biofuel from tolite paper
gay men fully naked showering with boners - That would be awkward.
antique bra
burning spear slavery days
longest hairey lega in the world
perfection apricot tree - This got Apricot perfection
candid camera vagina toilet women
six flags asian guy
cock nugget - This got bearsex
masturbation 101 (tutorial) - This got the biscuit man in Hokkaido
turkish party theme
opulent affluent wasteful living - This got the Chatterbox renovation
Kotex New Freedom feminine pads - This got Steven Lim in the New Paper
conference table power socket india
Go-on Silver and gaowhite - Got Slash ah?
effects of technology on women - This got the boob job before picture.
shop short skirt dildo
a girl doing a science experiment - Presumably not involving a test tube.
bicycle shorts girl sex
couple in love
zoophilia gay - I thought it was dangerous to let a male animal mount you. Unless the person wants to be the top.
pamplets malaysia boleh
pale japanese women - Isn't that most of them?
san quentin prison cafeteria wall
il dept natural resource statutes involving wild deer - This got a deer nosing through a Nara shop.
tomato fight spain topless
minister masterbate - This got Lee Kuan Yew.
kitty young bukkake
cold room door's limit switch
virgin clit - This got QiQi. Is there a difference after devirgination?
costume for fat guys
weed killer advertise ment that secreatly spells sex
Guy can rip girl clothes
steven lim's penis - Presumably it's plucked also.
hook Suspension breast
emma armpit wet
breast implants' serial numbers
torrents breast milk
cối xay gió - This is "Windmill" in Vietnamese.
scoffolding jop supervisor wanded
singapore negative space
demotivational poster about masterbating near sleeping girls thread advice
secret semen sauce
roadside walls in india
L'origine de Bert
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
From a Revolutionary Opera:
Mieux vaut mourir que rester misérable!
Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger?
Tombe le joug qui nous accable.
Et sous nos coups périsse l'étranger!
--- La Muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) / Masaniello
Translated into English as:
"A slave knows no danger, as death is better than living in chains"
Ensuite:
"The specators applause and runs out of the theatre, carrying revolutionary slogans. The pedestrians join them in destroying symbols of Dutch authorities. They capture the city with almost no resistance. If you don't believe, that a night at the opera might cause a revolution, don't forget that this was a period of Romanticism... and
it's out of topic, but I can tell you, that an opera caused also serious riots in Poland in March of 1968..."
Mieux vaut mourir que rester misérable!
Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger?
Tombe le joug qui nous accable.
Et sous nos coups périsse l'étranger!
--- La Muette de Portici (The Mute Girl of Portici) / Masaniello
Translated into English as:
"A slave knows no danger, as death is better than living in chains"
Ensuite:
"The specators applause and runs out of the theatre, carrying revolutionary slogans. The pedestrians join them in destroying symbols of Dutch authorities. They capture the city with almost no resistance. If you don't believe, that a night at the opera might cause a revolution, don't forget that this was a period of Romanticism... and
it's out of topic, but I can tell you, that an opera caused also serious riots in Poland in March of 1968..."
Post ID: 282220535760192793
"All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable." - Fran Lebowitz
***
Altered Sexual Orientation Following Dominant Hemisphere Infract - "The patient became aware of his homosexual orientation in his early teens and had several gay partners... The patient started complaining of his changed personality and heterosexual orientation 6 months after his second stroke. At the same time he complained of excessive mood swings and changed interests. He became preoccupied with photography and had a successful photographic exhibition a year after his second stroke. His sexual orientation remained heterosexual 4 years following the second stroke, and he preferred to describe himself as bisexual because of his previous homosexual orientation."
'Flammable' bras hold back Swedish female conscripts - "The lack of combat-ready underwear for Sweden’s women in uniform has been a continuing sore point for the Swedish Conscription Council (Värnplikstrådet)... The women complained that the bras’ fasteners have a tendency to come undone when the women performed rigorous exercise, forcing the female soldiers to take off all of their equipment in order to refasten the brassieres. In addition, the bras aren’t flame resistant and, once lit, can melt onto conscripts’ skin"
Study: Women Are in Charge at Home - "Wives have more power than their husbands in making decisions and dominating discussions... “Most of the research literature in psychology has suggested that women have less power,” Vogel told LiveScience. “They have largely based that on the fact that traditionally men earn more money and so therefore would have the ability to make big decisions in the relationship.”... Wives were more demanding—asking for changes in the relationship or in their partner—and were more likely to get their way than the husbands. This held regardless of who had chosen the issue."
Friends, lovers or fuddies? - "Friends with benefits (FWB) may not have quite yet become a norm for Malaysians but it seems to be gaining acceptance... There could be many reasons why FWB, also known as fuddies (f***buddies) has become a facet of modern life, including heavy workload and not having enough patience to work on relationships... Leia, (not her real name) has never had what society deems to be a 'relationship'. Instead, for the past eight years, the 20-something year old has had 'friends with benefits' (FWB). 'I don't know how to maintain a relationship. All I want is to have the physical part of it,' she says... While she does not reveal the number of FWB that she has or has had, Leia says most times, she calls up one after getting lonely following a night out with her girlfriends. 'You know those times when you have to have it? I send out a 'memo' and see who bites.'... 'Nowadays. if I want a session, I go and get one. And head home or stay the night after it. Instead of wasting time on dinner or a movie. It's just bang, bang, bang and go home'... Leon, 31, (not his real name) decided to have a fuddy after deciding that regular relationships were too emotionally draining and painful... Loen who has been having had a fuddy for about a year, says that the advantage is that it is less taxing and stressful. 'Often, you end up having more fun and are more relaxed because you don't have the level of expectation which comes with a regular relationship'"
Amusing article related to this: "Meals: Acceptable FWB dining situations include shared bowls of cocktail peanuts, late-night grilled cheese sandwiches, and fancy desserts. Meals to be avoided are breakfast, brunch, dinner, with a special get-out-of-jail free card for lunch.... Questions any more probing than "what are you wearing?" and "when can we meet?" can get a little sticky. Your FWB doesn't want to hear about your crazy mom and you really don't want him to start yapping about his Ayn Rand fixation. Keep it light, keep it moving."
Giada’s Butterflied Pork Chops Look Like… Something Else
Comment: "I hope she didn’t stuff that with sausage."
MFTTW: "nice breasts". that's what everyone says
SDP calls off planned talk at Fajar after permit was rejected by police (again) - "The Singapore police has usually rejected applications by the opposition parties to hold public talks and events while those by the ruling party are always given the approval. In 2007, the Workers’ Party’s application to organize a cycling trip for its members at East Coast Park was rejected by the police on the grounds of “security concerns”. However, another PAP event was allowed to be held a week later which was graced by the Prime Minister himself. In 2008, 18 SDP members and activists were charged for holding an illegal procession outside Parliament House against rising cost of living while hundreds of members of CASE led by a PAP MP was able to host a protest against “junk food” a day earlier. The double standards practiced by the police and the criminalization of legitimate political activity is detrimental to the growth of the opposition as well as the civil society in Singapore... If the Singapore police cannot even handle a public forum with less than a hundred spectators, how can we expect it to take charge of major events like the upcoming APEC summit meetings?"
For once I find nothing to object to in a Temasek Review article.
Public holidays: How Singapore compares - "Singapore and its citizens are known to top the world in all sorts of rankings, from free trade and port facilities to education. But when it comes to public holidays, the Republic comes in below average. Singapore has 11 days of gazetted public holidays annually to celebrate various national and religious events. A check of 195 countries and 50 regions found that most places have as many or more breaks. Just 51 countries and regions have fewer public holidays... If annual leave is factored in, the difference in time off work widens... some of the world’s richest countries, such as Finland, Sweden and Denmark, mandate 25 days of annual leave. Australia and New Zealand dictate 20 days, Germany 24 and France 30. In Singapore, those with 14 or fewer days of annual leave accounted for nearly three out of five full-time employees last year, MOM statistics show. Under one in 10 had more than 21 days, while the remainder had between 15 and 21 days"
Really? - The Claim - Cold Temperatures Improve Sleep - Question - "Studies have found that in general, the optimal temperature for sleep is quite cool, around 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. For some, temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness."
That's 15.6-20 degrees celsius. No wonder Singapore makes me sick
Bra Power - Top 10 Odd Environmental Ideas - "Use the breasts themselves as a power source. The idea is apparently feasible: a bra made of fabric interwoven with tiny wires can produce electricity from the bosom's natural bouncing motion throughout the day, enough to power a cell phone or an iPod. The larger the cup size, the more energy produced."
***
Altered Sexual Orientation Following Dominant Hemisphere Infract - "The patient became aware of his homosexual orientation in his early teens and had several gay partners... The patient started complaining of his changed personality and heterosexual orientation 6 months after his second stroke. At the same time he complained of excessive mood swings and changed interests. He became preoccupied with photography and had a successful photographic exhibition a year after his second stroke. His sexual orientation remained heterosexual 4 years following the second stroke, and he preferred to describe himself as bisexual because of his previous homosexual orientation."
'Flammable' bras hold back Swedish female conscripts - "The lack of combat-ready underwear for Sweden’s women in uniform has been a continuing sore point for the Swedish Conscription Council (Värnplikstrådet)... The women complained that the bras’ fasteners have a tendency to come undone when the women performed rigorous exercise, forcing the female soldiers to take off all of their equipment in order to refasten the brassieres. In addition, the bras aren’t flame resistant and, once lit, can melt onto conscripts’ skin"
Study: Women Are in Charge at Home - "Wives have more power than their husbands in making decisions and dominating discussions... “Most of the research literature in psychology has suggested that women have less power,” Vogel told LiveScience. “They have largely based that on the fact that traditionally men earn more money and so therefore would have the ability to make big decisions in the relationship.”... Wives were more demanding—asking for changes in the relationship or in their partner—and were more likely to get their way than the husbands. This held regardless of who had chosen the issue."
Friends, lovers or fuddies? - "Friends with benefits (FWB) may not have quite yet become a norm for Malaysians but it seems to be gaining acceptance... There could be many reasons why FWB, also known as fuddies (f***buddies) has become a facet of modern life, including heavy workload and not having enough patience to work on relationships... Leia, (not her real name) has never had what society deems to be a 'relationship'. Instead, for the past eight years, the 20-something year old has had 'friends with benefits' (FWB). 'I don't know how to maintain a relationship. All I want is to have the physical part of it,' she says... While she does not reveal the number of FWB that she has or has had, Leia says most times, she calls up one after getting lonely following a night out with her girlfriends. 'You know those times when you have to have it? I send out a 'memo' and see who bites.'... 'Nowadays. if I want a session, I go and get one. And head home or stay the night after it. Instead of wasting time on dinner or a movie. It's just bang, bang, bang and go home'... Leon, 31, (not his real name) decided to have a fuddy after deciding that regular relationships were too emotionally draining and painful... Loen who has been having had a fuddy for about a year, says that the advantage is that it is less taxing and stressful. 'Often, you end up having more fun and are more relaxed because you don't have the level of expectation which comes with a regular relationship'"
Amusing article related to this: "Meals: Acceptable FWB dining situations include shared bowls of cocktail peanuts, late-night grilled cheese sandwiches, and fancy desserts. Meals to be avoided are breakfast, brunch, dinner, with a special get-out-of-jail free card for lunch.... Questions any more probing than "what are you wearing?" and "when can we meet?" can get a little sticky. Your FWB doesn't want to hear about your crazy mom and you really don't want him to start yapping about his Ayn Rand fixation. Keep it light, keep it moving."
Giada’s Butterflied Pork Chops Look Like… Something Else
Comment: "I hope she didn’t stuff that with sausage."
MFTTW: "nice breasts". that's what everyone says
SDP calls off planned talk at Fajar after permit was rejected by police (again) - "The Singapore police has usually rejected applications by the opposition parties to hold public talks and events while those by the ruling party are always given the approval. In 2007, the Workers’ Party’s application to organize a cycling trip for its members at East Coast Park was rejected by the police on the grounds of “security concerns”. However, another PAP event was allowed to be held a week later which was graced by the Prime Minister himself. In 2008, 18 SDP members and activists were charged for holding an illegal procession outside Parliament House against rising cost of living while hundreds of members of CASE led by a PAP MP was able to host a protest against “junk food” a day earlier. The double standards practiced by the police and the criminalization of legitimate political activity is detrimental to the growth of the opposition as well as the civil society in Singapore... If the Singapore police cannot even handle a public forum with less than a hundred spectators, how can we expect it to take charge of major events like the upcoming APEC summit meetings?"
For once I find nothing to object to in a Temasek Review article.
Public holidays: How Singapore compares - "Singapore and its citizens are known to top the world in all sorts of rankings, from free trade and port facilities to education. But when it comes to public holidays, the Republic comes in below average. Singapore has 11 days of gazetted public holidays annually to celebrate various national and religious events. A check of 195 countries and 50 regions found that most places have as many or more breaks. Just 51 countries and regions have fewer public holidays... If annual leave is factored in, the difference in time off work widens... some of the world’s richest countries, such as Finland, Sweden and Denmark, mandate 25 days of annual leave. Australia and New Zealand dictate 20 days, Germany 24 and France 30. In Singapore, those with 14 or fewer days of annual leave accounted for nearly three out of five full-time employees last year, MOM statistics show. Under one in 10 had more than 21 days, while the remainder had between 15 and 21 days"
Really? - The Claim - Cold Temperatures Improve Sleep - Question - "Studies have found that in general, the optimal temperature for sleep is quite cool, around 60 to 68 degrees Fahrenheit. For some, temperatures that fall too far below or above this range can lead to restlessness."
That's 15.6-20 degrees celsius. No wonder Singapore makes me sick
Bra Power - Top 10 Odd Environmental Ideas - "Use the breasts themselves as a power source. The idea is apparently feasible: a bra made of fabric interwoven with tiny wires can produce electricity from the bosom's natural bouncing motion throughout the day, enough to power a cell phone or an iPod. The larger the cup size, the more energy produced."
Post ID: 6202316290195215728
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
"Silence is the virtue of fools." - Sir Francis Bacon
***
This is the probable reason why we have SDU (now SDN), and why China might collapse in the next 2-3 decades:
"I loved my wife dearly, and her death caused me to vow that I would never marry again; I have kept my word. See how things have turned out: had I not been widowed perhaps my life would have been different; I would not be General Bolívar, nor the Liberator... when I arrived in Caracas from Europe with my bride in 1801 [1802], let me say at once that my mind was filled only with the emotions of passionate love and not with political ideas, for these had not yet taken hold of my imagination. When my wife died and I was left desolate from that premature and unexpected loss, I returned to Spain, and from Madrid I went to France and then to Italy. It was then that I began to take an interest in public affairs, politics began to concern me, and I followed the different changes then emerging... Without the death my wife I would not have made my second journey to Europe, and it is probable that the ideas I acquired on my travels would not have taken root in Caracas or San Mateo, nor would I have gained in America the experience and knowledge of the world, of men, and of things that have been so valuable to me in the course of my political career. The death of my wife propelled me early on the road to politics."
--- Simon Bolivar. Quoted in Simon Bolivar: A Life / John Lynch
***
This is the probable reason why we have SDU (now SDN), and why China might collapse in the next 2-3 decades:
"I loved my wife dearly, and her death caused me to vow that I would never marry again; I have kept my word. See how things have turned out: had I not been widowed perhaps my life would have been different; I would not be General Bolívar, nor the Liberator... when I arrived in Caracas from Europe with my bride in 1801 [1802], let me say at once that my mind was filled only with the emotions of passionate love and not with political ideas, for these had not yet taken hold of my imagination. When my wife died and I was left desolate from that premature and unexpected loss, I returned to Spain, and from Madrid I went to France and then to Italy. It was then that I began to take an interest in public affairs, politics began to concern me, and I followed the different changes then emerging... Without the death my wife I would not have made my second journey to Europe, and it is probable that the ideas I acquired on my travels would not have taken root in Caracas or San Mateo, nor would I have gained in America the experience and knowledge of the world, of men, and of things that have been so valuable to me in the course of my political career. The death of my wife propelled me early on the road to politics."
--- Simon Bolivar. Quoted in Simon Bolivar: A Life / John Lynch
Post ID: 1755719300818093740
"The world tolerates conceit from those who are successful, but not from anybody else." - John Blake
***
u r wt u wr:
- 'How about a hug hug?'
- 'Way too loose'
- 'FOR YOU splendid smile *one smiling lip*'
- [RGS T-shirt] Front: 'Feed me *picture of banana' Back: 'Just don't feed the monkeys'
- 'Free parking *picture from Monopoly*'
- 'I wish that I could walk right up to you' (40+ year old auntie)
- 'Boys need a g*something* to do' (This probably read 'Boys need a girl to do')
- 'Pilipinas wear your pride' (at first I read 'price')
- 'Feel so good'
- 'I ♥ u' (hidden in a listing of the alphabet from A-Z)
- 'Your boyfriend is staring'
- 'How can I miss you if you won't go away?'
- '*picture of cat* Why are you so lazy?'
- 'Pass me a move in gym class'
- 'Hate to *something* me go'
- '*Heart* Special sweeties just for you'
- ''I *recycle sign* boys'
- 'Today special'
- 'Recycle everything you can except boyfriends;
- 'Addicted t*picture of lips* you'
- 'Chevy is for *cross* lovers'
- 'Don't let me cry'
- 'Cherry 7-up'
- 'Born to love him *picture of blond emerging with shell fragments on his head*' (maybe this is a Taoist Pan Gu T-shirt)
- 'This is why I'm hot'
- 'You make my heart RACE!'
- 'Cutie'
- 'I'm too cute for you' (11 year old)
- 'Play with fire'
- 'Gonna bone'
- 'I ♥ Sailors' (the heart had Popeye inside)
Guy:
- 'Ladies love long-boards' (not thick ones?)
- 'Your money is my money. My money is my money'
- 'Whatever happens in Bermuda stays in Bermuda' (because it's so ulu word would never get out)
- [Contributed] 'Boys are a good source of protein'
I don't see the point of wearing a spaghetti strap top - which is really a spaghetti dress which ends at the butt - over a translucent long-sleeved top, with a tudung over it all.
***
u r wt u wr:
- 'How about a hug hug?'
- 'Way too loose'
- 'FOR YOU splendid smile *one smiling lip*'
- [RGS T-shirt] Front: 'Feed me *picture of banana' Back: 'Just don't feed the monkeys'
- 'Free parking *picture from Monopoly*'
- 'I wish that I could walk right up to you' (40+ year old auntie)
- 'Boys need a g*something* to do' (This probably read 'Boys need a girl to do')
- 'Pilipinas wear your pride' (at first I read 'price')
- 'Feel so good'
- 'I ♥ u' (hidden in a listing of the alphabet from A-Z)
- 'Your boyfriend is staring'
- 'How can I miss you if you won't go away?'
- '*picture of cat* Why are you so lazy?'
- 'Pass me a move in gym class'
- 'Hate to *something* me go'
- '*Heart* Special sweeties just for you'
- ''I *recycle sign* boys'
- 'Today special'
- 'Recycle everything you can except boyfriends;
- 'Addicted t*picture of lips* you'
- 'Chevy is for *cross* lovers'
- 'Don't let me cry'
- 'Cherry 7-up'
- 'Born to love him *picture of blond emerging with shell fragments on his head*' (maybe this is a Taoist Pan Gu T-shirt)
- 'This is why I'm hot'
- 'You make my heart RACE!'
- 'Cutie'
- 'I'm too cute for you' (11 year old)
- 'Play with fire'
- 'Gonna bone'
- 'I ♥ Sailors' (the heart had Popeye inside)
Guy:
- 'Ladies love long-boards' (not thick ones?)
- 'Your money is my money. My money is my money'
- 'Whatever happens in Bermuda stays in Bermuda' (because it's so ulu word would never get out)
- [Contributed] 'Boys are a good source of protein'
I don't see the point of wearing a spaghetti strap top - which is really a spaghetti dress which ends at the butt - over a translucent long-sleeved top, with a tudung over it all.
Post ID: 3185739559164044417
"A lifetime is more than sufficiently long for people to get what there is of it wrong." - Piet Hein
***
Lexington: Still crazy after all these years | The Economist
"Hofstadter, writing at the time of Barry Goldwater’s insurgency, argued that political paranoia—a mix of anger, heated exaggeration, suspiciousness and conspiratorial fantasy—was most evident on the extreme right. And there are plenty of examples of right-wingers peddling nutty tales. Isolationists in the 1940s accused Franklin Roosevelt of deliberately letting the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour to provide an excuse for war. Talk-radio crackpots in the 1990s accused the Clintons of having Vince Foster, a depressive friend of theirs who killed himself, murdered.
But the left is hardly immune to such fantasies. Some people, including Mr Obama’s own former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, believe that AIDS was cooked up by the government to kill blacks. A staggering 18% of Americans think that the government of George Bush probably knew in advance about the attacks of September 11th 2001 but allowed them to proceed anyway. Some even contend that Mr Bush orchestrated the attacks himself, to create an excuse for invading Iraq. To believe this, you have to believe that the Bushies were both wicked enough to murder thousands of Americans and brilliant enough to execute such a mind-bogglingly sophisticated plot without a single leak—in a culture where Richard Nixon could not even hush up a burglary.
Belief in conspiracy theories can be comforting. If everything that goes wrong is the fault of a secret cabal, that relieves you of the tedious necessity of trying to understand how a complex world really works. And you can feel smug that you are smart enough to “see through” the official version of events. But widespread paranoia has drawbacks. For a start, it makes calm, rational debate rather tricky. How can you discuss the trade-offs of health-care reform, for example, with someone who thinks the government is plotting to kill grandma? It does not help, either, that politicians on both sides are willing to fan the flames. Sarah Palin calls Mr Obama’s health-care proposals “evil”. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, calls the protesters who loudly oppose them “evil-mongers”. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, calls them “un-American”."
***
Lexington: Still crazy after all these years | The Economist
"Hofstadter, writing at the time of Barry Goldwater’s insurgency, argued that political paranoia—a mix of anger, heated exaggeration, suspiciousness and conspiratorial fantasy—was most evident on the extreme right. And there are plenty of examples of right-wingers peddling nutty tales. Isolationists in the 1940s accused Franklin Roosevelt of deliberately letting the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour to provide an excuse for war. Talk-radio crackpots in the 1990s accused the Clintons of having Vince Foster, a depressive friend of theirs who killed himself, murdered.
But the left is hardly immune to such fantasies. Some people, including Mr Obama’s own former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, believe that AIDS was cooked up by the government to kill blacks. A staggering 18% of Americans think that the government of George Bush probably knew in advance about the attacks of September 11th 2001 but allowed them to proceed anyway. Some even contend that Mr Bush orchestrated the attacks himself, to create an excuse for invading Iraq. To believe this, you have to believe that the Bushies were both wicked enough to murder thousands of Americans and brilliant enough to execute such a mind-bogglingly sophisticated plot without a single leak—in a culture where Richard Nixon could not even hush up a burglary.
Belief in conspiracy theories can be comforting. If everything that goes wrong is the fault of a secret cabal, that relieves you of the tedious necessity of trying to understand how a complex world really works. And you can feel smug that you are smart enough to “see through” the official version of events. But widespread paranoia has drawbacks. For a start, it makes calm, rational debate rather tricky. How can you discuss the trade-offs of health-care reform, for example, with someone who thinks the government is plotting to kill grandma? It does not help, either, that politicians on both sides are willing to fan the flames. Sarah Palin calls Mr Obama’s health-care proposals “evil”. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, calls the protesters who loudly oppose them “evil-mongers”. Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, calls them “un-American”."
Post ID: 8392810469514540262
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." - G. K. Chesterton
***
An amusing series of letters:
October 1st
Singapore’s media laws
SIR – Banyan’s column wrongly stated that “not for the first time” the Far Eastern Economic Review “is banned in Singapore” (September 26th). The journal has never been banned in Singapore. At one time its circulation was restricted, but copies with the advertisements blanked out were circulated freely. This ensured the free flow of information, but prevented the Review from profiting commercially from engaging in our domestic politics.
Under our laws, offshore newspapers wishing to circulate in Singapore must post a security bond and appoint a local representative for service of legal process. The weekly Review had complied with these rules, as The Economist currently does itself. Unfortunately, in 2006 the monthly Review declined to comply and voluntarily discontinued circulating in Singapore.
Michael Eng Cheng Teo
High commissioner for Singapore
London
October 15th
Something to FEER
SIR – Singapore typically plays with words in claiming it never banned the Far Eastern Economic Review (Letters, October 3rd). On December 26th 1987 [Editor's note: This date originally read December 26th 1988] its circulation, previously about 10,000 a week, was cut to 500 to be distributed as officials directed. The magazine declined to circulate on this basis. In an attempt to show it was not “banning” it, Singapore sponsored a sloppily printed, advertisement-free pirate version distributed selectively and very hard to find on newsstands. As in Maoist China and North Korea, a favoured few were always allowed to read it.
Philip Bowring
Former editor
Far Eastern Economic Review
Hong Kong
October 22nd
Rights, and wrongs, of reply
SIR – Philip Bowring’s account of the Far Eastern Economic Review’s encounter with the Singapore government is inaccurate (Letters, October 17th). In 1987 the government restricted the circulation of the Review after it had engaged in Singapore’s domestic politics. But an advertisement-free version was distributed widely at bookshops and supermarkets, and sold more than 1,000 copies. In March 1988 the Review applied to produce a similar version. The government agreed, subject to a ceiling of 2,000 copies, but the Review refused its offer. Would this have happened in Maoist China and North Korea?
Michael Eng Cheng Teo
High commissioner for Singapore
London
SIR – You will be tempted to give the Singapore government the last word on its censorship strategy—as its “right of reply” policy demands—but this will neutralise the criticism of Mr Bowring and others. Readers will simply assume you agree with the government. Assuming you don’t, please print this alongside its next rebuttal, to expose this subtle yet powerful manipulation of the press.
Duncan M. Butlin
Chichester, West Sussex
[Ed: This is a great way to get your letter published]
***
An amusing series of letters:
October 1st
Singapore’s media laws
SIR – Banyan’s column wrongly stated that “not for the first time” the Far Eastern Economic Review “is banned in Singapore” (September 26th). The journal has never been banned in Singapore. At one time its circulation was restricted, but copies with the advertisements blanked out were circulated freely. This ensured the free flow of information, but prevented the Review from profiting commercially from engaging in our domestic politics.
Under our laws, offshore newspapers wishing to circulate in Singapore must post a security bond and appoint a local representative for service of legal process. The weekly Review had complied with these rules, as The Economist currently does itself. Unfortunately, in 2006 the monthly Review declined to comply and voluntarily discontinued circulating in Singapore.
Michael Eng Cheng Teo
High commissioner for Singapore
London
October 15th
Something to FEER
SIR – Singapore typically plays with words in claiming it never banned the Far Eastern Economic Review (Letters, October 3rd). On December 26th 1987 [Editor's note: This date originally read December 26th 1988] its circulation, previously about 10,000 a week, was cut to 500 to be distributed as officials directed. The magazine declined to circulate on this basis. In an attempt to show it was not “banning” it, Singapore sponsored a sloppily printed, advertisement-free pirate version distributed selectively and very hard to find on newsstands. As in Maoist China and North Korea, a favoured few were always allowed to read it.
Philip Bowring
Former editor
Far Eastern Economic Review
Hong Kong
October 22nd
Rights, and wrongs, of reply
SIR – Philip Bowring’s account of the Far Eastern Economic Review’s encounter with the Singapore government is inaccurate (Letters, October 17th). In 1987 the government restricted the circulation of the Review after it had engaged in Singapore’s domestic politics. But an advertisement-free version was distributed widely at bookshops and supermarkets, and sold more than 1,000 copies. In March 1988 the Review applied to produce a similar version. The government agreed, subject to a ceiling of 2,000 copies, but the Review refused its offer. Would this have happened in Maoist China and North Korea?
Michael Eng Cheng Teo
High commissioner for Singapore
London
SIR – You will be tempted to give the Singapore government the last word on its censorship strategy—as its “right of reply” policy demands—but this will neutralise the criticism of Mr Bowring and others. Readers will simply assume you agree with the government. Assuming you don’t, please print this alongside its next rebuttal, to expose this subtle yet powerful manipulation of the press.
Duncan M. Butlin
Chichester, West Sussex
[Ed: This is a great way to get your letter published]
Post ID: 4493395307307213004
Monday, October 26, 2009
Seen on a bus:
"Speak Good English
Impress
Inspire
Intoxicate"
What's more likely to happen if you Speak Good English:
Puzzle (because people won't understand what you mean)
Put-off (because they have to try and understand what you mean)
Piss-off (because they think you're being atas/arrogant)
"Speak Good English
Impress
Inspire
Intoxicate"
What's more likely to happen if you Speak Good English:
Puzzle (because people won't understand what you mean)
Put-off (because they have to try and understand what you mean)
Piss-off (because they think you're being atas/arrogant)
Post ID: 8916636538259103032
"Get the facts, or the facts will get you. And when you get them, get them right, or they will get you wrong." - Dr. Thomas Fuller
***
Top 10 features that Apple stole from Windows
Study Says Even Full-figured Models Damage Self-esteem - "According to a new study conducted by a team of researchers from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands and published in the Journal of Consumer Research, magazine photos of models, be they magically emaciated or plus-size, make overweight women feel worse about their bodies and, conversely, "underweight" women feel better about themselves. So unfair, right? A serious blow to the growing interest in "plus-size" or "full-figure" spreads, the study suggests that redefining standards of shape across the editorial and commercial side of print fashion won't be some sort of panacea for the already fragmented self-esteem of women who fall outside of our modern understanding of beauty... it's not the particular image someone looks at that's damaging, but rather the presentation of beauty, in any form, that troubles many readers... Crystal Renn and all the size 12 sweethearts in the world aren't going to make you feel any better if you don't already maintain a healthy distance between the fun and fantasy of fashion imagery and the real, live girl you see in the mirror"
Maybe they should hire ugly models next.
Who Killed Classical Music? - "The music business imposes a stringent vow of silence that is designed to protect a myth of the immaculate artist. That myth is now under siege from the information society. It is no longer a secret, for instance, that some tenors spend more time singing in sports arenas than on the opera stage; that `unprofessional behaviour' was the reason given by the Metropolitan Opera for dismissing a top soprano; that half the orchestras in Britain are facing bankruptcy; that Russian soloists who resisted communism cheered on the brutal invasion of Chechnya; that a well-known conductor ran off with his stepmother; that almost everything in music is up for sale to the highest bidder. Greed and fear have become the leading motives of an art in crisis. There are few secrets left in music, and little shame. While a handful of high performers grow rich and distant, unpushy artists go hungry and concerts halls are increasingly half empty. Even the big names fail to sell out, amid a widening yawn of ennui... the few genuine stars were induced to flog their precious gifts to the point of exhaustion. The genial Russian violinist Nathan Milstein once told me he would never play more than thirty dates a year"
The real-life Harry Potter reveals why sharing the wizard's name has made his life a misery - "Mr Potter has endured taunts from the public, police, phone companies and even a football referee - all because he shares a name with arguably the world's best known wizard. Mr Potter, who was born in 1989, had eight peaceful years of being a schoolboy with a fairly ordinary name before JK Rowling released a book entitled Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, and everything changed... Mr Potter even had to show his girlfriend his passport so she would believe him when they first met and a bus company refused to issue him with a pass because they didn't believe he was telling them the truth when he tried to sign up... Apart from the joke, Mr Potter has a far more humdrum life than his fictional counterpart from Hogwarts School of Wizardry. He works in the more mundane surroundings of Lloyds TSB... The young man, does however, share one key feature with his namesake, a scar on his forehead. Film Harry gained his in a battle with arch enemy evil Lord Voldemort. Mr Potter ran into a lamppost aged 15... 'I play a lot of football as well in a local league, and the match reports are always full of puns - 'Harry Potter cast a spell on the opposition and that kind of thing.'"
Giz Explains: Why Stuff Crashes (And Why It Happens Less Often Now) - BSoD - Gizmodo
HPB's anti-smoking campaign targets young women - "JoAnn Taylor, deputy director of Substance Abuse Department, HPB, said: "It's really appealing to women's essential needs. It's about looking good for their partner, for their friends or even for themselves. So it really appeals to women's idea of beauty.""
Notice who comes last in the list? Hehe. There doesn't seem to be any smoking campaign targeted at men. Maybe they figure that they're a lost cause. Or are too shy to warn against erectile dysfunction in public.
Singapore Police Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners While Meditating, Displaying Posters - "In Singapore, the practitioners have done their daily exercises at Esplanade Park, a popular tourist site near the Singapore River, for years. On the wall, they use Sticky Tack to put up posters illustrating the persecution in China. The police officers claimed that the posters damaged the wall. The practitioners explained that the Sticky Tack does not leave marks and offered to sweep the ground and clean the area every morning. Practitioners said the police handcuffed the four without warning or clear explanation. The police took all seven to the police station."
BBC NEWS | Europe | Rich Germans demand higher taxes - "The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany's economic recovery... The petition has 44 signatories so far"
Gotta love these Europeans
Trafficking is no myth – I endured it - "I was trafficked into a hellish world of forced prostitution that Nick Davies's report claims does not exist"
This is a classic case of FUD, which besides totally misunderstanding the article it purports to critique, even falsely attributes a quote to its author. Comment is free - because a lot of it is crap.
Diversity and equality are not the same thing - ""Even the very people who abhor his crude and frightening racism most find it hard to rebut his central thesis – that the white working class in Britain has had a raw deal over the last 30 years... The important thing to remember is that the black working class, the female working class, the gay working class, the disabled working class and the elderly working class, have had a similarly difficult time, under Labour and under the Conservatives... the real reason why the BNP is able to make capital out of racist assertions is because immigrants are the only group that has been overtly utilised as a tool to promote economic inequality... Many commentators have pointed out that under the strictures of "political correctness" the only group that can any longer be unabashedly despised is the white working class"
***
Top 10 features that Apple stole from Windows
Study Says Even Full-figured Models Damage Self-esteem - "According to a new study conducted by a team of researchers from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands and published in the Journal of Consumer Research, magazine photos of models, be they magically emaciated or plus-size, make overweight women feel worse about their bodies and, conversely, "underweight" women feel better about themselves. So unfair, right? A serious blow to the growing interest in "plus-size" or "full-figure" spreads, the study suggests that redefining standards of shape across the editorial and commercial side of print fashion won't be some sort of panacea for the already fragmented self-esteem of women who fall outside of our modern understanding of beauty... it's not the particular image someone looks at that's damaging, but rather the presentation of beauty, in any form, that troubles many readers... Crystal Renn and all the size 12 sweethearts in the world aren't going to make you feel any better if you don't already maintain a healthy distance between the fun and fantasy of fashion imagery and the real, live girl you see in the mirror"
Maybe they should hire ugly models next.
Who Killed Classical Music? - "The music business imposes a stringent vow of silence that is designed to protect a myth of the immaculate artist. That myth is now under siege from the information society. It is no longer a secret, for instance, that some tenors spend more time singing in sports arenas than on the opera stage; that `unprofessional behaviour' was the reason given by the Metropolitan Opera for dismissing a top soprano; that half the orchestras in Britain are facing bankruptcy; that Russian soloists who resisted communism cheered on the brutal invasion of Chechnya; that a well-known conductor ran off with his stepmother; that almost everything in music is up for sale to the highest bidder. Greed and fear have become the leading motives of an art in crisis. There are few secrets left in music, and little shame. While a handful of high performers grow rich and distant, unpushy artists go hungry and concerts halls are increasingly half empty. Even the big names fail to sell out, amid a widening yawn of ennui... the few genuine stars were induced to flog their precious gifts to the point of exhaustion. The genial Russian violinist Nathan Milstein once told me he would never play more than thirty dates a year"
The real-life Harry Potter reveals why sharing the wizard's name has made his life a misery - "Mr Potter has endured taunts from the public, police, phone companies and even a football referee - all because he shares a name with arguably the world's best known wizard. Mr Potter, who was born in 1989, had eight peaceful years of being a schoolboy with a fairly ordinary name before JK Rowling released a book entitled Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, and everything changed... Mr Potter even had to show his girlfriend his passport so she would believe him when they first met and a bus company refused to issue him with a pass because they didn't believe he was telling them the truth when he tried to sign up... Apart from the joke, Mr Potter has a far more humdrum life than his fictional counterpart from Hogwarts School of Wizardry. He works in the more mundane surroundings of Lloyds TSB... The young man, does however, share one key feature with his namesake, a scar on his forehead. Film Harry gained his in a battle with arch enemy evil Lord Voldemort. Mr Potter ran into a lamppost aged 15... 'I play a lot of football as well in a local league, and the match reports are always full of puns - 'Harry Potter cast a spell on the opposition and that kind of thing.'"
Giz Explains: Why Stuff Crashes (And Why It Happens Less Often Now) - BSoD - Gizmodo
HPB's anti-smoking campaign targets young women - "JoAnn Taylor, deputy director of Substance Abuse Department, HPB, said: "It's really appealing to women's essential needs. It's about looking good for their partner, for their friends or even for themselves. So it really appeals to women's idea of beauty.""
Notice who comes last in the list? Hehe. There doesn't seem to be any smoking campaign targeted at men. Maybe they figure that they're a lost cause. Or are too shy to warn against erectile dysfunction in public.
Singapore Police Arrest Falun Gong Practitioners While Meditating, Displaying Posters - "In Singapore, the practitioners have done their daily exercises at Esplanade Park, a popular tourist site near the Singapore River, for years. On the wall, they use Sticky Tack to put up posters illustrating the persecution in China. The police officers claimed that the posters damaged the wall. The practitioners explained that the Sticky Tack does not leave marks and offered to sweep the ground and clean the area every morning. Practitioners said the police handcuffed the four without warning or clear explanation. The police took all seven to the police station."
BBC NEWS | Europe | Rich Germans demand higher taxes - "The group say they have more money than they need, and the extra revenue could fund economic and social programmes to aid Germany's economic recovery... The petition has 44 signatories so far"
Gotta love these Europeans
Trafficking is no myth – I endured it - "I was trafficked into a hellish world of forced prostitution that Nick Davies's report claims does not exist"
This is a classic case of FUD, which besides totally misunderstanding the article it purports to critique, even falsely attributes a quote to its author. Comment is free - because a lot of it is crap.
Diversity and equality are not the same thing - ""Even the very people who abhor his crude and frightening racism most find it hard to rebut his central thesis – that the white working class in Britain has had a raw deal over the last 30 years... The important thing to remember is that the black working class, the female working class, the gay working class, the disabled working class and the elderly working class, have had a similarly difficult time, under Labour and under the Conservatives... the real reason why the BNP is able to make capital out of racist assertions is because immigrants are the only group that has been overtly utilised as a tool to promote economic inequality... Many commentators have pointed out that under the strictures of "political correctness" the only group that can any longer be unabashedly despised is the white working class"
Post ID: 2035008286034994837
From Merriam Webster's Word of the Day (October 25th):
"The natant athletes who've done their time at the local natatorium are easily distinguished by their natatorial skills; their natation is markedly better than that of those who have practiced less."
"The natant athletes who've done their time at the local natatorium are easily distinguished by their natatorial skills; their natation is markedly better than that of those who have practiced less."
Post ID: 1488061053915356755
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Je l'ai choisi. On est ce qu'on veut.
"We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?" - Jean Cocteau
***
GARCIN: Écoute, chacun a son but, n'est-ce pas ? Moi, je me foutais de l'argent, de l'amour. Je voulais être un homme. Un dur. J'ai tout misé sur le même cheval. Est-ce que c'est possible qu'on soit un lâche quand on a choisi les chemins les plus dangereux ? Peut-on juger une vie sur un seul acte ?
INÈS: Pourquoi pas ? Tu as rêvé trente ans que tu avais du cœur ; et tu te passais mille petites faiblesses parce que tout est permis aux héros. Comme c'était commode! Et puis, à l'heure du danger, on t'a mis au pied du mur et... tu as pris le train pour Mexico.
GARCIN: Je n'ai pas rêvé cet héroïsme. Je l'ai choisi. On est ce qu'on veut.
INÈS: Prouve-le. Prouve que ce n'était pas un rêve. Seuls les actes décident de ce qu'on a voulu.
GARCIN: Je suis mort trop tôt. On ne m'a pas laissé le temps de faire mes actes.
INÈS: On meurt toujours trop tôt - ou trop tard. Et cependant la vie est là, terminée : le trait est tiré, il faut faire la somme. Tu n'es rien d'autre que ta vie.
GARCIN: Vipère ! Tu as réponse à tout.
Incidentally, from this dialogue I have learnt the very flexible word "foutre".
Thank you, Sartre!
***
GARCIN: Écoute, chacun a son but, n'est-ce pas ? Moi, je me foutais de l'argent, de l'amour. Je voulais être un homme. Un dur. J'ai tout misé sur le même cheval. Est-ce que c'est possible qu'on soit un lâche quand on a choisi les chemins les plus dangereux ? Peut-on juger une vie sur un seul acte ?
INÈS: Pourquoi pas ? Tu as rêvé trente ans que tu avais du cœur ; et tu te passais mille petites faiblesses parce que tout est permis aux héros. Comme c'était commode! Et puis, à l'heure du danger, on t'a mis au pied du mur et... tu as pris le train pour Mexico.
GARCIN: Je n'ai pas rêvé cet héroïsme. Je l'ai choisi. On est ce qu'on veut.
INÈS: Prouve-le. Prouve que ce n'était pas un rêve. Seuls les actes décident de ce qu'on a voulu.
GARCIN: Je suis mort trop tôt. On ne m'a pas laissé le temps de faire mes actes.
INÈS: On meurt toujours trop tôt - ou trop tard. Et cependant la vie est là, terminée : le trait est tiré, il faut faire la somme. Tu n'es rien d'autre que ta vie.
GARCIN: Vipère ! Tu as réponse à tout.
Incidentally, from this dialogue I have learnt the very flexible word "foutre".
Thank you, Sartre!
Post ID: 2798725801678989689
"C'est une maladie de l'âme, dont nous afflige la nature en nous donnant l'existence; c'est le ver solitaire qui absorbe tout.
L'ennui est l'avant-goût du néant, mais le néant lui est préférable.
Ah! Je le répète sans cesse, il n'y a qu'un malheur, celui d'être né.
Comment est-il possible, qu'on craigne la fin d'une vie aussi triste?"
L'ennui est l'avant-goût du néant, mais le néant lui est préférable.
Ah! Je le répète sans cesse, il n'y a qu'un malheur, celui d'être né.
Comment est-il possible, qu'on craigne la fin d'une vie aussi triste?"
Post ID: 9193839701021417651
"The best ideas come as jokes. Make your thinking as funny as possible." - David M. Ogilvy
***
"In the silentest meeting, the eye reads the plain prose of life, timidity, caution, appetite, ignorance, old houses, musty savors, stationary, retrograde faculties puttering round (to use the country phrase) in paltry routines from January to December.
These are the precincts of comedy and farce. And a taste for fun is all but universal in our species, which is the only joker in nature. The rocks, the plants, the beasts, the birds, neither do anything ridiculous, nor betray a perception of anything absurd done in their presence. And as the lower nature does not jest, neither does the highest. The Reason pronounces its omniscient yea and nay, but meddles never with degrees or fractions, and it is in comparing fractions with essential integers or wholes, that laughter begins.
Aristotle’s definition of the ridiculous is, "what is out of time and place, without danger." If there be pain and danger, it becomes tragic; if not, comic. I confess, this definition, though by an admirable definer, does not satisfy me, does not say all we know. The essence of all jokes, of all comedy, seems to be halfness; a non-performance of what is pretended to be performed, at the same time that one is giving loud pledges of performance. The baulking of the intellect, the frustrated expectation, the break of continuity in the intellect, is what we call comedy; and it announces itself physically in the pleasant spasm we call Laughter...
This is the radical joke of life and then of literature. The presence of the ideal of right and of truth in all action, makes the yawning delinquencies of practice remorseful to the conscience, tragic to the interest, but droll to the intellect. The activity of our sympathies may for a time hinder our perceiving the fact intellectually, and so deriving mirth from it, but all falsehoods, all vices seen at sufficient distance, seen from the point where our moral sympathies do not interfere, become ludicrous. The comedy is in the intellect’s perception of discrepancy. And whilst the presence of the ideal discovers the difference, the comedy is enhanced whenever that ideal is embodied visibly in a man. Thus Falstaff, in Shakespeare, is a character of the broadest comedy, giving himself unreservedly to his senses, coolly ignoring the reason, whilst he invokes its name, pretending to patriotism and to parental Virtues, not with any intent to deceive, but only to make the fun perfect by enjoying the confusion betwixt reason and the negation of reason, in other words, the rank rascaldom he is calling by its name...
A perception of the comic seems to be a balance-wheel in our metaphysical structure. It appears to be an essential element in a fine character. Wherever the intellect is constructive, it will be found. We feel the absence of it as a defect in the noblest and most oracular soul. It insulates the man, cuts down all bridges between him and other men. The perception of the comic is a tie of sympathy with other men, is a pledge of sanity, and is a protection from those perverse tendencies and gloomy insanities into which fine intellects some times lose themselves. A man alive to the ludicrous is still convertible. If that sense is lost, his fellow men can do little for him...
The peace of society and the decorum of tables seem to require that next to a notable wit should always be posted a phlegmatic bolt-upright man, able to stand without movement of muscle whole broadsides of this Greek fire. It is a true shaft of Apollo, and traverses the universe, unless it encounter a mystic or a dumpish soul, and goes everywhere heralded and harbingered by smiles and greetings. Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character can make any stand against good wit. It is like ice on which no beauty of form, no majesty of carriage can plead any immunity, — they must walk gingerly, according to the laws of ice, or down they must go, dignity and all. "Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Plutarch very happily expresses the value of the jest as a legitimate weapon of the philosopher. "Men cannot exercise their rhetoric unless they speak, but their philosophy even whilst they are silent or jest merrily ; for as it is the highest degree of injustice not to be just and yet seem so, so it is the top of wisdom to philosophize yet not appear to do it, and in mirth to do the same with those that are serious and seem in earnest"...
In all the parts of life, the occasion of laughter is some seeming, some keeping of the word to the ear and eye, whilst it is broken to the soul. Thus, as the religious sentiment is the most vital and sublime of all our sentiments, and capable of the most prodigious effects, so is it abhorrent to our whole nature, when in the absence of the sentiment, the act or word or officer volunteers to stand in its stead. To the sympathies this is shocking, and occasions grief. But to the intellect, the lack of the sentiment gives pain; it compares incessantly the sublime idea with the bloated nothing which pretends to be it, and the sense of the disproportion is comedy. And as the religious sentiment is the most real and earnest thing in nature, being a mere rapture, and excluding, when it appears, all other considerations, the vitiating this is the greatest lie. Therefore, the oldest jibe of literature is the ridicule of false religion. This is the joke of jokes. In religion, the sentiment is all ; the rite indifferent. But the inertia of men inclines them when the sentiment sleeps, to imitate that thing it did; it goes through the ceremony omitting only the will, makes the mistake of the wig for the head, the clothes for the man. The older the mistake and the more overgrown the particular form is, the more ridiculous to the intellect...
In science, the jest at pedantry is analogous to that in religion which lies against superstition. A classification or nomenclature used by the scholar only as a memorandum of his last lesson in the laws of nature; and confessedly a makeshift, a bivouac for a night, and implying a march and a conquest to-morrow, becomes through indolence a barrack and a prison, in which the man sits down immovably, and wishes to detain others. The physiologist, Camper, humorously confesses the effect of his studies in dislocating his ordinary associations. “I have been employed,” he says, “six months on the Cetacea; I understand the osteology of the head of all these monsters, and have made the combination with the human head so well, that every body now appears to me narwhale, porpoise, or marsouins. Women, the prettiest in society, and those whom I find less comely, — they are all either narwhales or porpoises to my eyes.” I chanced the other day to fall in with an odd illustration of the remark I had heard, that the laws of disease are as beautiful as the laws of health; I was hastening to visit an old and honored friend, who, I was in formed, was in a dying condition, when I met his physician, who accosted me in great spirits, with joy sparkling in his eyes. “And how is my friend, the Doctor?” I inquired. “ Oh, I saw him this morning ; it is the most correct apoplexy I have ever seen; face and hands livid, breathing stertorous, all the symptoms perfect;” and he rubbed his hands with delight; for in the country we cannot find every day a case that agrees with the diagnosis of the books...
The pedantry of literature belongs to the same category. In both cases there is a lie, when time mind seizing a classification to help it to sincerer knowledge of the fact, stops in the classification; or learning languages. and reading books, to the end of a better acquaintance with man, stops in the languages and books; in both the learner seems to be wise and is not...
But the comic also has its own speedy limits. Mirth quickly becomes intemperate, and the man would soon die of inanition, as some persons have been tickled to death. The same scourge whips the joker and the enjoyer of the joke. When Carlini was convulsing Naples with laughter, a patient waited on a physician in that city, to obtain some remedy for excessive melancholy, which was rapidly consuming his life. The physician endeavored to cheer his spirits, and advised him to go to the theatre and see Carlini. He replied, “I am Carlini.”"
--- The Comic / Ralph Waldo Emerson
***
"In the silentest meeting, the eye reads the plain prose of life, timidity, caution, appetite, ignorance, old houses, musty savors, stationary, retrograde faculties puttering round (to use the country phrase) in paltry routines from January to December.
These are the precincts of comedy and farce. And a taste for fun is all but universal in our species, which is the only joker in nature. The rocks, the plants, the beasts, the birds, neither do anything ridiculous, nor betray a perception of anything absurd done in their presence. And as the lower nature does not jest, neither does the highest. The Reason pronounces its omniscient yea and nay, but meddles never with degrees or fractions, and it is in comparing fractions with essential integers or wholes, that laughter begins.
Aristotle’s definition of the ridiculous is, "what is out of time and place, without danger." If there be pain and danger, it becomes tragic; if not, comic. I confess, this definition, though by an admirable definer, does not satisfy me, does not say all we know. The essence of all jokes, of all comedy, seems to be halfness; a non-performance of what is pretended to be performed, at the same time that one is giving loud pledges of performance. The baulking of the intellect, the frustrated expectation, the break of continuity in the intellect, is what we call comedy; and it announces itself physically in the pleasant spasm we call Laughter...
This is the radical joke of life and then of literature. The presence of the ideal of right and of truth in all action, makes the yawning delinquencies of practice remorseful to the conscience, tragic to the interest, but droll to the intellect. The activity of our sympathies may for a time hinder our perceiving the fact intellectually, and so deriving mirth from it, but all falsehoods, all vices seen at sufficient distance, seen from the point where our moral sympathies do not interfere, become ludicrous. The comedy is in the intellect’s perception of discrepancy. And whilst the presence of the ideal discovers the difference, the comedy is enhanced whenever that ideal is embodied visibly in a man. Thus Falstaff, in Shakespeare, is a character of the broadest comedy, giving himself unreservedly to his senses, coolly ignoring the reason, whilst he invokes its name, pretending to patriotism and to parental Virtues, not with any intent to deceive, but only to make the fun perfect by enjoying the confusion betwixt reason and the negation of reason, in other words, the rank rascaldom he is calling by its name...
A perception of the comic seems to be a balance-wheel in our metaphysical structure. It appears to be an essential element in a fine character. Wherever the intellect is constructive, it will be found. We feel the absence of it as a defect in the noblest and most oracular soul. It insulates the man, cuts down all bridges between him and other men. The perception of the comic is a tie of sympathy with other men, is a pledge of sanity, and is a protection from those perverse tendencies and gloomy insanities into which fine intellects some times lose themselves. A man alive to the ludicrous is still convertible. If that sense is lost, his fellow men can do little for him...
The peace of society and the decorum of tables seem to require that next to a notable wit should always be posted a phlegmatic bolt-upright man, able to stand without movement of muscle whole broadsides of this Greek fire. It is a true shaft of Apollo, and traverses the universe, unless it encounter a mystic or a dumpish soul, and goes everywhere heralded and harbingered by smiles and greetings. Wit makes its own welcome, and levels all distinctions. No dignity, no learning, no force of character can make any stand against good wit. It is like ice on which no beauty of form, no majesty of carriage can plead any immunity, — they must walk gingerly, according to the laws of ice, or down they must go, dignity and all. "Dost thou think because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Plutarch very happily expresses the value of the jest as a legitimate weapon of the philosopher. "Men cannot exercise their rhetoric unless they speak, but their philosophy even whilst they are silent or jest merrily ; for as it is the highest degree of injustice not to be just and yet seem so, so it is the top of wisdom to philosophize yet not appear to do it, and in mirth to do the same with those that are serious and seem in earnest"...
In all the parts of life, the occasion of laughter is some seeming, some keeping of the word to the ear and eye, whilst it is broken to the soul. Thus, as the religious sentiment is the most vital and sublime of all our sentiments, and capable of the most prodigious effects, so is it abhorrent to our whole nature, when in the absence of the sentiment, the act or word or officer volunteers to stand in its stead. To the sympathies this is shocking, and occasions grief. But to the intellect, the lack of the sentiment gives pain; it compares incessantly the sublime idea with the bloated nothing which pretends to be it, and the sense of the disproportion is comedy. And as the religious sentiment is the most real and earnest thing in nature, being a mere rapture, and excluding, when it appears, all other considerations, the vitiating this is the greatest lie. Therefore, the oldest jibe of literature is the ridicule of false religion. This is the joke of jokes. In religion, the sentiment is all ; the rite indifferent. But the inertia of men inclines them when the sentiment sleeps, to imitate that thing it did; it goes through the ceremony omitting only the will, makes the mistake of the wig for the head, the clothes for the man. The older the mistake and the more overgrown the particular form is, the more ridiculous to the intellect...
In science, the jest at pedantry is analogous to that in religion which lies against superstition. A classification or nomenclature used by the scholar only as a memorandum of his last lesson in the laws of nature; and confessedly a makeshift, a bivouac for a night, and implying a march and a conquest to-morrow, becomes through indolence a barrack and a prison, in which the man sits down immovably, and wishes to detain others. The physiologist, Camper, humorously confesses the effect of his studies in dislocating his ordinary associations. “I have been employed,” he says, “six months on the Cetacea; I understand the osteology of the head of all these monsters, and have made the combination with the human head so well, that every body now appears to me narwhale, porpoise, or marsouins. Women, the prettiest in society, and those whom I find less comely, — they are all either narwhales or porpoises to my eyes.” I chanced the other day to fall in with an odd illustration of the remark I had heard, that the laws of disease are as beautiful as the laws of health; I was hastening to visit an old and honored friend, who, I was in formed, was in a dying condition, when I met his physician, who accosted me in great spirits, with joy sparkling in his eyes. “And how is my friend, the Doctor?” I inquired. “ Oh, I saw him this morning ; it is the most correct apoplexy I have ever seen; face and hands livid, breathing stertorous, all the symptoms perfect;” and he rubbed his hands with delight; for in the country we cannot find every day a case that agrees with the diagnosis of the books...
The pedantry of literature belongs to the same category. In both cases there is a lie, when time mind seizing a classification to help it to sincerer knowledge of the fact, stops in the classification; or learning languages. and reading books, to the end of a better acquaintance with man, stops in the languages and books; in both the learner seems to be wise and is not...
But the comic also has its own speedy limits. Mirth quickly becomes intemperate, and the man would soon die of inanition, as some persons have been tickled to death. The same scourge whips the joker and the enjoyer of the joke. When Carlini was convulsing Naples with laughter, a patient waited on a physician in that city, to obtain some remedy for excessive melancholy, which was rapidly consuming his life. The physician endeavored to cheer his spirits, and advised him to go to the theatre and see Carlini. He replied, “I am Carlini.”"
--- The Comic / Ralph Waldo Emerson
Post ID: 2341611908643824474
Saturday, October 24, 2009
"Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people." - W. C. Fields
***
More evidence of the evolution of spam (emphases mine):
Subject: Reply..........
Message: Hello,
This is Harry Barnes of the 1st Battalion Scots Guard, but redeployed to Iraq, and presently stationed in Mushirij South West of Basra. I will like to share some very vital information that would bring some good financial returns to us in just a few weeks or days depending on how fast we pursue the matter. I am seeking your assistance to evacuate the sum of $12.7m to you,as far as I can be assured that it will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.
This may not be the best medium to make this kind of contact because of the numerous scam offers transmitted through the Internet, but it is all I have access to for now.
I will be very grateful if you can give me the opportunity to discuss this matter with you by assuring me that you will not use any part of it against me in anyway, I hope you understand my limitations here. Should you have reasons to reject this offer, please destroy this mail as any leakage will be too bad for us.
I will continue with the details when you signify your intention to work with me.
Respectfully,
Harry Barnes
Message: not to come off creepy but i saw some pictures of you and you are really cute, come and find me on windowslive messenenger add myname on it ***@hotmail.com because we can talk more there and ill share some of my photos with you as well. looking forward to hearing from you soon, ttyl :)
***
More evidence of the evolution of spam (emphases mine):
Subject: Reply..........
Message: Hello,
This is Harry Barnes of the 1st Battalion Scots Guard, but redeployed to Iraq, and presently stationed in Mushirij South West of Basra. I will like to share some very vital information that would bring some good financial returns to us in just a few weeks or days depending on how fast we pursue the matter. I am seeking your assistance to evacuate the sum of $12.7m to you,as far as I can be assured that it will be safe in your care until I complete my service here.
This may not be the best medium to make this kind of contact because of the numerous scam offers transmitted through the Internet, but it is all I have access to for now.
I will be very grateful if you can give me the opportunity to discuss this matter with you by assuring me that you will not use any part of it against me in anyway, I hope you understand my limitations here. Should you have reasons to reject this offer, please destroy this mail as any leakage will be too bad for us.
I will continue with the details when you signify your intention to work with me.
Respectfully,
Harry Barnes
Message: not to come off creepy but i saw some pictures of you and you are really cute, come and find me on windowslive messenenger add myname on it ***@hotmail.com because we can talk more there and ill share some of my photos with you as well. looking forward to hearing from you soon, ttyl :)
Post ID: 6442786353213106561
Friday, October 23, 2009
"Mankind have a great aversion to intellectual labor; but even supposing knowledge to be easily attainable, more people would be content to be ignorant than would take even a little trouble to acquire it." - Samuel Johnson
***
"For most things which present themselves in life, and which, to judge from their actions, men think to be the highest good, may be reduced to these three: wealth, honor, and sensual pleasure. The mind is so distracted by these three that it cannot give the slightest thought to any other good.
For as far as sensual pleasure is concerned, the mind is so caught up in it, as if at peace in a [true] good, that it is quite prevented from thinking of anything else. But after the enjoy flnd ment of sensual pleasure is past, the greatest sadness follows. If this does not completely engross, still it thoroughly confuses and dulls the mind.
The mind is also distracted not a little by the pursuit of honors and wealth, particularly when the latter is sought only for its own sake, because it is assumed to be the highest good. But the mind is far more distracted by honor. For this is always assumed to be good through itself and the ultimate end toward which everything is directed.
Nor do honor and wealth have, as sensual pleasure does, repentance as a natural consequence. The more each of these is possessed, the more joy is increased, and hence the more we are spurred on to increase them. But if our hopes should chance to be frustrated, we experience the greatest sadness. And finally, honor has this great disadvantage: to pursue it, we must direct our lives according to other men’s powers of understanding— fleeing what they commonly flee and seeking what they commonly seek...
All those things men ordinarily strive for, not only provide no remedy to preserve our being, but in fact hinder that preservation, often cause the destruction of
those who possess them, and always cause the destruction of those who are possessed by them.
There are a great many examples of people who have suffered persecution to the death on account of their wealth, or have exposed themselves to so many dangers to acquire wealth that they have at last paid the penalty for their folly with their life. Nor are there fewer examples of people who, to attain or defend honor, have suffered most miserably. And there are innumerable examples of people who have hastened their death through too much sensual pleasure.
Furthermore, these evils seemed to have arisen from the fact that all happiness or unhappiness was placed in the quality of the object to which we cling with love. For strife will never arise on account of what is not loved, nor will there be sadness if it perishes, nor envy if it is possessed by another, nor fear, nor hatred--in a word, no disturbances of the mind. Indeed, all these happen only in the love of those things that can perish, as all the things we have just spoken of can do."
--- Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect and on the way by which it is best directed toward the true knowledge of things / Spinoza
***
"For most things which present themselves in life, and which, to judge from their actions, men think to be the highest good, may be reduced to these three: wealth, honor, and sensual pleasure. The mind is so distracted by these three that it cannot give the slightest thought to any other good.
For as far as sensual pleasure is concerned, the mind is so caught up in it, as if at peace in a [true] good, that it is quite prevented from thinking of anything else. But after the enjoy flnd ment of sensual pleasure is past, the greatest sadness follows. If this does not completely engross, still it thoroughly confuses and dulls the mind.
The mind is also distracted not a little by the pursuit of honors and wealth, particularly when the latter is sought only for its own sake, because it is assumed to be the highest good. But the mind is far more distracted by honor. For this is always assumed to be good through itself and the ultimate end toward which everything is directed.
Nor do honor and wealth have, as sensual pleasure does, repentance as a natural consequence. The more each of these is possessed, the more joy is increased, and hence the more we are spurred on to increase them. But if our hopes should chance to be frustrated, we experience the greatest sadness. And finally, honor has this great disadvantage: to pursue it, we must direct our lives according to other men’s powers of understanding— fleeing what they commonly flee and seeking what they commonly seek...
All those things men ordinarily strive for, not only provide no remedy to preserve our being, but in fact hinder that preservation, often cause the destruction of
those who possess them, and always cause the destruction of those who are possessed by them.
There are a great many examples of people who have suffered persecution to the death on account of their wealth, or have exposed themselves to so many dangers to acquire wealth that they have at last paid the penalty for their folly with their life. Nor are there fewer examples of people who, to attain or defend honor, have suffered most miserably. And there are innumerable examples of people who have hastened their death through too much sensual pleasure.
Furthermore, these evils seemed to have arisen from the fact that all happiness or unhappiness was placed in the quality of the object to which we cling with love. For strife will never arise on account of what is not loved, nor will there be sadness if it perishes, nor envy if it is possessed by another, nor fear, nor hatred--in a word, no disturbances of the mind. Indeed, all these happen only in the love of those things that can perish, as all the things we have just spoken of can do."
--- Treatise on the Emendation of the Intellect and on the way by which it is best directed toward the true knowledge of things / Spinoza
Post ID: 8212298462558998930
Thursday, October 22, 2009
"The desire to take medicine is perhaps the greatest feature which distinguishes man from animals." - Sir William Osler
***
Would-Be Burglars Foiled By Billiard Balls - ""I hollered out 'Death from above!' I'm not kidding. And no sooner than I said that, I started chucking pool balls at them.""
YouTube - Baby Laugh-a-Lot Commercial - "Tickle Me Elmo meets the Bride of Chuckie!! (From the psychiatrist's couch years later...) "That laugh! That EVIL LAUGH!!! That's all I kept hearing....!!!" Some toymakers sure had some strange ideas in their day..!"
Japan’s Sex Gap: 25% Now “Middle-Aged Virgins” - "As many as 24.3% of males aged 30-35 are virgins, a statistic which seems to have been worsening... 73.9% of those with annual incomes of less than $20,000 had no partners, whilst only 33.3% of men with incomes of from $90-120,000 lacked partners. The same survey suggested these poorer men could or would not use prostitutes; 85.5% of the below $20,000 group had never used a brothel, whilst only 37% of men with incomes from $90,000 to $120,000 had never visited such an establishment, itself a rather disturbing figure... the “cut-off line” for marriage for 46% of women was $40,000 a year, with 29% demanding $60,000. However, 2007 government statistics indicated there are only 2,544,900 employed bachelor men with incomes over $40,000 in the whole country, meaning millions of “excess” women are present hunting for the tiny number of high-income men they consider eligible, whilst the rest are left with only the prospect of fantasies."
Let's Get Short! - "FACT: The average senior citizen probably assumes "bit.ly" is the URL for a Lithuanian overbite clinic; "tr.im" looks like the homepage of an Islamic transportation consultancy.
FACT: On the other hand, "urlshorteningservicefortwitter.com" lays it all out on the table!"
God is not the Creator, claims academic - Telegraph - "Prof Van Wolde, 54, who will present a thesis on the subject at Radboud University in The Netherlands where she studies, said she had re-analysed the original Hebrew text and placed it in the context of the Bible as a whole, and in the context of other creation stories from ancient Mesopotamia. She said she eventually concluded the Hebrew verb "bara", which is used in the first sentence of the book of Genesis, does not mean "to create" but to "spatially separate". The first sentence should now read "in the beginning God separated the Heaven and the Earth" According to Judeo-Christian tradition, God created the Earth out of nothing."
Modern academic economics 'a disaster and a disgrace', says leading analyst - ""A year ago we came perilously close to utter catastrophe," he adds. "But the neoliberal, free-market people are already on the warpath. They remind me of some mythical creature – cut off one head and it sprouts more""
Passwords used by the Conficker worm
Some I like: "fuck", "sql", "coffee", "freedom", "anything", "love123"
He had 500 offensive photos in his phone - ""My husband and I were shocked when we were shown the data because there were more than 500 pictures of various women that this man took. All the pictures were of their chests and breasts.""
For once, the comments are mostly sensible, though AsiaOne seems to disagree, e.g. "if the pictures taken are "offensive", then the "victims" in the pictures should be charged for INDECENT EXPOSURE!
Where is the logic that a picture of a sexy girl is offensive but the same sexy girl walking in public is not offensive?
IS IT UPSKIRT? NO! if i take a 18megapix wide lens camera and take the picture of a crowd, then crop out a sexy girl in the picture taken.. is that offensive?"
Media may be next target - "A Taliban group also sent two letters... warning that if the media “does not stop portraying us as terrorists ... we will blow up offices of journalists and media organisations”... The group said that Taliban should be referred to as mujahideen"
SPOING!
YouTube - The Shan + Rozz Show: EP9 - The Boomz Girl
If you actually believed Ris Low's bad english was a one-off and due to bipolar disorder...
Man Arrested for Being Naked in His Own Kitchen - "Fairfax police say Williamson wanted to be seen naked. Which I guess means Williamson's front yard is a pretty popular spot at 5:30 in the morning"
My favourite comment: "One day my sister walked in on me naked and called me a pervert. The next week I walked in on her naked and she called me a pervert."
***
Would-Be Burglars Foiled By Billiard Balls - ""I hollered out 'Death from above!' I'm not kidding. And no sooner than I said that, I started chucking pool balls at them.""
YouTube - Baby Laugh-a-Lot Commercial - "Tickle Me Elmo meets the Bride of Chuckie!! (From the psychiatrist's couch years later...) "That laugh! That EVIL LAUGH!!! That's all I kept hearing....!!!" Some toymakers sure had some strange ideas in their day..!"
Japan’s Sex Gap: 25% Now “Middle-Aged Virgins” - "As many as 24.3% of males aged 30-35 are virgins, a statistic which seems to have been worsening... 73.9% of those with annual incomes of less than $20,000 had no partners, whilst only 33.3% of men with incomes of from $90-120,000 lacked partners. The same survey suggested these poorer men could or would not use prostitutes; 85.5% of the below $20,000 group had never used a brothel, whilst only 37% of men with incomes from $90,000 to $120,000 had never visited such an establishment, itself a rather disturbing figure... the “cut-off line” for marriage for 46% of women was $40,000 a year, with 29% demanding $60,000. However, 2007 government statistics indicated there are only 2,544,900 employed bachelor men with incomes over $40,000 in the whole country, meaning millions of “excess” women are present hunting for the tiny number of high-income men they consider eligible, whilst the rest are left with only the prospect of fantasies."
Let's Get Short! - "FACT: The average senior citizen probably assumes "bit.ly" is the URL for a Lithuanian overbite clinic; "tr.im" looks like the homepage of an Islamic transportation consultancy.
FACT: On the other hand, "urlshorteningservicefortwitter.com" lays it all out on the table!"
God is not the Creator, claims academic - Telegraph - "Prof Van Wolde, 54, who will present a thesis on the subject at Radboud University in The Netherlands where she studies, said she had re-analysed the original Hebrew text and placed it in the context of the Bible as a whole, and in the context of other creation stories from ancient Mesopotamia. She said she eventually concluded the Hebrew verb "bara", which is used in the first sentence of the book of Genesis, does not mean "to create" but to "spatially separate". The first sentence should now read "in the beginning God separated the Heaven and the Earth" According to Judeo-Christian tradition, God created the Earth out of nothing."
Modern academic economics 'a disaster and a disgrace', says leading analyst - ""A year ago we came perilously close to utter catastrophe," he adds. "But the neoliberal, free-market people are already on the warpath. They remind me of some mythical creature – cut off one head and it sprouts more""
Passwords used by the Conficker worm
Some I like: "fuck", "sql", "coffee", "freedom", "anything", "love123"
He had 500 offensive photos in his phone - ""My husband and I were shocked when we were shown the data because there were more than 500 pictures of various women that this man took. All the pictures were of their chests and breasts.""
For once, the comments are mostly sensible, though AsiaOne seems to disagree, e.g. "if the pictures taken are "offensive", then the "victims" in the pictures should be charged for INDECENT EXPOSURE!
Where is the logic that a picture of a sexy girl is offensive but the same sexy girl walking in public is not offensive?
IS IT UPSKIRT? NO! if i take a 18megapix wide lens camera and take the picture of a crowd, then crop out a sexy girl in the picture taken.. is that offensive?"
Media may be next target - "A Taliban group also sent two letters... warning that if the media “does not stop portraying us as terrorists ... we will blow up offices of journalists and media organisations”... The group said that Taliban should be referred to as mujahideen"
SPOING!
YouTube - The Shan + Rozz Show: EP9 - The Boomz Girl
If you actually believed Ris Low's bad english was a one-off and due to bipolar disorder...
Man Arrested for Being Naked in His Own Kitchen - "Fairfax police say Williamson wanted to be seen naked. Which I guess means Williamson's front yard is a pretty popular spot at 5:30 in the morning"
My favourite comment: "One day my sister walked in on me naked and called me a pervert. The next week I walked in on her naked and she called me a pervert."
Post ID: 155119234797217267
On the myth of sex trafficking
"It is even harder for the average ape to believe that he has descended from man." - H. L. Mencken
***
Facts will never stop those who argue on the basis of emotion and for political advantage:
Inquiry fails to find single trafficker who forced anybody into prostitution
"The UK's biggest ever investigation of sex trafficking failed to find a single person who had forced anybody into prostitution in spite of hundreds of raids on sex workers in a six-month campaign by government departments, specialist agencies and every police force in the country.
The failure has been disclosed by a Guardian investigation which also suggests that the scale of and nature of sex trafficking into the UK has been exaggerated by politicians and media.
Current and former ministers have claimed that thousands of women have been imported into the UK and forced to work as sex slaves, but most of these statements were either based on distortions of quoted sources or fabrications without any source at all...
The problem of trafficking is one of a cluster of factors which expose sex workers to coercion and exploitation.
Acting on the distorted information, the government has produced a bill, now moving through its final parliamentary phase, which itself has provoked an outcry from sex workers who complain that, instead of protecting them, it will expose them to extra danger...
In spite of six months of effort by all 55 police forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together with the UK Border Agency, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the Foreign Office, the Northern Ireland Office, the Scottish government, the Crown Prosecution Service and various NGOs in what was trumpeted as "the largest ever police crackdown on human trafficking".
... 10 of the 55 police forces never found anyone to arrest. And 122 of the 528 arrests announced by police never happened: they were wrongly recorded either through honest bureaucratic error or apparent deceit by forces trying to chalk up arrests which they had not made. Among the 406 real arrests, more than half of those arrested (230) were women, and most were never implicated in trafficking at all...
After raiding 822 brothels, flats and massage parlours all over the UK, Pentameter finally convicted of trafficking a grand total of only 15 men and women...
10 of Pentameter's 15 convictions were of men and women who were jailed on the basis that there was no evidence of their coercing the prostitutes they had worked with. There were just five men who were convicted of importing women and forcing them to work as prostitutes...
"There are more people trafficked for labour exploitation than there are for sexual exploitation. We need to redress the balance here. People just seem to grab figures from the air."...
There are also fears that if the new legislation deters a significant proportion of customers, prostitutes will be pressurised to have sex without condoms in order to bring them back."
***
Facts will never stop those who argue on the basis of emotion and for political advantage:
Inquiry fails to find single trafficker who forced anybody into prostitution
"The UK's biggest ever investigation of sex trafficking failed to find a single person who had forced anybody into prostitution in spite of hundreds of raids on sex workers in a six-month campaign by government departments, specialist agencies and every police force in the country.
The failure has been disclosed by a Guardian investigation which also suggests that the scale of and nature of sex trafficking into the UK has been exaggerated by politicians and media.
Current and former ministers have claimed that thousands of women have been imported into the UK and forced to work as sex slaves, but most of these statements were either based on distortions of quoted sources or fabrications without any source at all...
The problem of trafficking is one of a cluster of factors which expose sex workers to coercion and exploitation.
Acting on the distorted information, the government has produced a bill, now moving through its final parliamentary phase, which itself has provoked an outcry from sex workers who complain that, instead of protecting them, it will expose them to extra danger...
In spite of six months of effort by all 55 police forces in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland together with the UK Border Agency, the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, the Foreign Office, the Northern Ireland Office, the Scottish government, the Crown Prosecution Service and various NGOs in what was trumpeted as "the largest ever police crackdown on human trafficking".
... 10 of the 55 police forces never found anyone to arrest. And 122 of the 528 arrests announced by police never happened: they were wrongly recorded either through honest bureaucratic error or apparent deceit by forces trying to chalk up arrests which they had not made. Among the 406 real arrests, more than half of those arrested (230) were women, and most were never implicated in trafficking at all...
After raiding 822 brothels, flats and massage parlours all over the UK, Pentameter finally convicted of trafficking a grand total of only 15 men and women...
10 of Pentameter's 15 convictions were of men and women who were jailed on the basis that there was no evidence of their coercing the prostitutes they had worked with. There were just five men who were convicted of importing women and forcing them to work as prostitutes...
"There are more people trafficked for labour exploitation than there are for sexual exploitation. We need to redress the balance here. People just seem to grab figures from the air."...
There are also fears that if the new legislation deters a significant proportion of customers, prostitutes will be pressurised to have sex without condoms in order to bring them back."
Post ID: 3353041059588793367
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
"There are some that only employ words for the purpose of disguising their thoughts." - Voltaire
***
A very bizarre take on religion:
A: There is nothing to stop someone from continuing in the tradition of his religion without believing in the myths of that religion. If I may pick a personal example, I am a devout and committed Christian and yet I do not believe in the existence of God and his supernatural buddies. There is nothing inconsistent about that. If I am asked, I acknowledge most readily that God probably doesn't exist because there is no evidence to support his existence. He's in the same boat as the fairies and unicorns, pixies and trolls. But I continue with the TRADITION of the faith. You see enough examples of bishops who do not believe in God all over the world.
I look upon religion as a human culture. I have sung Bach and Handel in the choir and when I'm singing the great music of the finest composers our species has been able to come up with, I am transported to a religious plane where I feel myself communing with God. It's the same when I play my musical instrument well - I feel I'm actually touching the face of God. That is a human emotion we all need to express through art. Or when I read Milton or Herbert or Yeats, I receive affirmation of the beauty of God. But of course, I know in my head that this is just a human feeling. We need a focal point for goodness and beauty and God is a convenient instrument for that purpose.
Religion has evolved to supply a human need. One need not deprive oneself of that need. But personally for me, to cook up the idea that God really exists is a bit of a tall order.
This is just the opinion of a devout Christian who knows in his head that God does not exist, any more than fairies do.
Me: Err, you mean you are a cultural Christian? Your description is not too different from what would be considered partaking in normal Western/Judeo-Christian culture.
But then there are cultural Christians like Bob Price who go to church and go through the ceremonies even though they don't believe in them. I assume you don't do this?
You'd be somewhere in the middle, then.
I think it's important to make the distinction between those who are culturally Christian and those who are Christian.
When you say you are Christian the meaning is entirely different from what you intend.
And I'm not sure that it is coherent to feel yourself communing with an entity you know does not exist.
A: A good example is this - everyone knows the virgin birth mentioned in Matthew's gospel is the result of a mistranslation. That famous alma-parthenos mistranslation. So, no intelligent Christian can possibly believe in the truth of the virgin birth. And yet we all say the Creed which affirms the virgin birth. Why do we do it? It's tradition. We simply acknowledge and "accept" this human tradition of the virgin birth, knowing that it arose from a gross mistranslation. It's like we are chuckling at ourselves for this error.
Let us say that for centuries, a group of people have been reciting a creed that includes the statement that "the sun is a ball of yellow cheese dragged through the sky on a chariot". Even though everyone knows that is not true today, we may still recite such a creed because of tradition. We smile at the thought of the errors our ancestors made and their ignorance too.
We should also consider the issue of harmony. We all have families and parents who practise the same religion. As long as it's an innocuous non-violent religion, I really don't see what harm there is in saying "I believe in God the Father, maker of blah blah blah". I can see how a dogged refusal to practise the religion can cause people close to us to feel upset...
Religion is purely cultural. You can practise the culture without compromising on your intellect...
Christianity is a lot easier because there are so many bishops and priests who don't accept God. I'm referring to the Church of England and the Methodist Church, both of which are filled to the brim with non-believing priests.
B: I got a question, (for u and myself). Will be be attending the church when ur parents are no more?
will you be asking ur children to attend church? You have a choice to make.
And culture thing ....is not a very big circle for many of us. Its just our immediete family.
A: I will probably attend church still. It's different for me. I love music and when I was very young, I used to sing soprano in the boys' choir. We used to sing Bach and Handel and some of Bach's cantatas still bring tears to my eyes even though I don't sing soprano any more (thank goodness!). Today, I still play music in church. Music is very important to me. I will probably continue with church even after my parents have died because of the music.
I suppose deep down, all of us want to make our children clones of ourselves. Naturally, I would want my children to be rational in their thinking and by that, they have to be able to see how illogical it is to accept the God of the Bible as real. Or any other gods for that matter.
Once they can see God is not real, I would like for them to accept God as a symbol or the focal point of goodness and beauty in a poetic sense. So much of culture is tied to the God of the Bible...
I think the beauty of humanity lies in the diversity of our cultures and religion is very much a part of it. The ideal world is one in which everybody practises his own culture without believing in the legend behind it. Just imagine this - will Bali be as attractive as it is now if every Balinese stops his colourful religious practices? How can anyone honestly say that he finds the Land of the gods more alluring when it's become the Land of no god?
... Recently, my mother asked me if I had turned atheist. She remembered years ago when my brother told me not to take Christmas communion but I didn't want to be the only one remaining in the pew so he said he would sit with me and forego communion. My mother was most upset with that. She wanted all of us to take communion and I was happy to do so but my brother thought it would be a sacrilege because he's a bit of a mad fundamentalist. So, she took communion with my Dad and she was crying when she went back to the pew.
It's so unnecessary to make people unhappy just because of a tasteless wafer. If a Muslim friend is dying and he wants me to say a Muslim prayer so he will be assured that he will see me one day in paradise, I will gladly say the prayer just for his comfort. The same with a Hindu friend. Of course I will stop short of going through a circumcision or kavadi-carrying but a prayer just to please a friend is no big deal.
... I love music and one of the greatest things about Christianity is the fine music that the greatest composers on this planet have written for a non-existent God. I have no problem with singing God's praise. It's the height of our culture and it's in praises to God that we find the finest works of art from paintings to music to literature. The analogy [of the Bible being as gory as] a gladiator's fight is incorrect because the Christian God is an impotent, innocuous and non-existent God. There is no gore. There may be stories that are violent but it's no more violent than Little Red Riding Hood which has threats by the big bad wolf to eat up the Grandmother. The good thing is, like Little Red Riding Hood, the stories in the OT are largely fictitious...
I don't normally think of my own religion as real, if you know what I mean. It's like going to church on Christmas day or attending a Christmas party and singing about the Star of Bethlehem, the wise men, Mary and Joseph, the Virgin birth, the stable, etc and all of a sudden, people ask me if I REALLY believe these to be absolute truth, ie historical truth. Of course not!!! But it's not something we normally say. To me, it sounds inappropriate to tell everyone it's all just a fable or a legend. The Holy Trinity was cooked up AFTER Jesus and the concept was finetuned over the next few hundred years so that even great Christian leaders such as Origen became a heretic retrospectively.
Anyone who has a passing knowledge of Church history would know all that. Of course the church tries to pretend that what they have come up with over the centuries has always been believed but it's very obvious to anyone that that is not true. It's just that we have to be polite not to contradict the teachings of Christianity today. It's normal to just follow along while knowing that the teachings aren't correct.
I know perfectly well that my religion hasn't got a leg to stand on if you turn on the search lights of fact and truth. I know the whole concept of God will simply crumble to dust when exposed to the light of truth. Religion and absolute truth can never get along. Religion belongs more in the realm of poetry, music and the arts. That's why I say it's purely cultural.
From my experience, the greatest mistake my fellow Christians make is to think that God is real. I mean in the sense that they believe he really exists as a separate entity. Of course I would agree that God exists as a symbol or as a representation of something or as a poetic metaphor and in that sense, he is real but that is a different thing altogether. To many of my fellow Christians in Singapore, God is as real as the one-horned rhino in Southern Nepal. They really believe that he exists as a separate living, intelligent being.
Me: I still don't see why you describe yourself as a "Christian" and why you consider yourself to have a "religion".
If you go by this reasoning, someone can be a Christian and a practitioner of traditional Chinese religion and the gods know what else - all at the same time.
Which should strike you as counter-intuitive.
If I am passionate about Classical Mythology and love to look at paintings and sculptures describing the various tales and stories, and even sacrifice a heifer for fun occasionally, this does not make me a follower of Zeus.
A: What you have said is what I'm always told when I'm in atheist forums. They insist I'm not a Christian. But surely whether I am a Christian or not must be determined by the prelates of my church. Is that not right?
I have informed my Bishop about my stand and I am still given office in church. I have in fact been told by one pastor that there are bishops who believe even less than I!
My name still remains in the rolls of the church. I receive Communion. I submit to church authority and say the creeds more than willingly. I follow the Liturgy with all my heart. I even serve in one of the ministries - of course not the teaching ministry.
I'm not a member of any organisation which is frowned by the church. I don't practise traditional Chinese religion but like I've said in another email, if a friend who's dying asks me to pray to the Chinese gods for his healing, I will do it in his presence just to bring peace and comfort to him.
By all accounts and all records, I am a Christian.
D: "By all accounts and all records, I am a Christian."
Cultural-Christian, I get. Charming solidarity, sing-a-long holidays blah-blah-blah.
But "Christian"? By your really broad against-the-grain definition, so are all of us.
A: Of course not. Most of you aren't Christians. You don't say the Creeds (at least you won't do it willingly), you don't say prayers, follow the Liturgy in church, take the Eucharist, kneel at the altar, etc etc. I'm of course assuming that most of you are atheists but I may be wrong. [Someone else] certainly will kneel, genuflect, pray, chant, sing etc. But how many of you really will do all these things? And submit yourselves to the teachings of the church?
My definition of "chistians" isn't broad at all.
Me: If I:
- wear Red Clothes during Chinese New Year
- give unmarried children Red Packets for luck
- eat nian gao during Chinese New Year (remember that the sticky cake is supposed to seal the kitchen god's mouth shut so he cannot tell on you)
- have a picture of the Monkey God in my home because I think it's well-drawn
- hang a bagua because I think it makes my house look good
- go to a Taoist fortune teller for fun
- eat vegetarian food on festival days because I am used to it
- appreciate the moon and eat pomelos during the mid-autumn festival
Am I a practitioner of traditional Chinese religion?
Again, a minimal definition of religion is "a belief in spiritual beings" - and not cultural practices...
This reminds me of how in Japan they like to hire Westerners to pose as priests - when some of these Westerners aren't Christians and they certainly aren't ordained.
If external behavior were sufficient to determine one's "religion", there wouldn't be very much difference between an actor acting as a Christian and a Christian who goes through the motions but doesn't actually believe them.
A: But I'm not acting. I come from a long line of Christians. I was born into the faith. It's not something I adopt for fun or for photo-taking (which is presumably what the Japanese you mentioned are looking for). It's my identity and the cultural identity of my family. I do not know of a single ancestor of mine who does not belong to the church. There is no acting at all.
D: When you can pick and choose what makes a "Christian", prayers and whatnot.
Why can't anyone else?
I can define it as "walking towards a church on Sunday" and I am sure we all do it on Sunday. Note: walking towards church is a subset of "walking towards a Church in sight", which is a subset of "walking into a Church", which is a subset of....
A: I was brought up an Anglican and Anglicanism is according to Richard Dawkins the most innocuous and intellectual form of religion. But unfortunately for me, the Anglicanism practised in the church I used to go to with my parents is different from the Anglicanism practised in Singapore. For some very strange reason, Singapore Anglicanism is a bit like American fundamentalism. I couldn't believe it when I read that Josie Lau and her "charismatic" friends who believe in miracle healings and voices from God are Anglicans!!!...
In America, there are Methodist churches that have excluded God from the services. I attended one where the only mention of God was in the liturgy which is fine. The sermon was all about how to be a good neighbour. You won't believe how progressive Christians can be outside of Singapore...
Your list of Chinese culture sounds interesting but I bet you made up some of them. I'm sure pomelos aren't eaten at the mid-autumn festival, or are they?
... I mentioned an incident in my life when my brother told me not to take Christmas communion. When we got home, my mum had a long argument with us. I told her I wanted to take communion but my brother stopped me. My brother said I was an atheist and should not take communion. Anyway, my mother called our vicar some days later and he questioned me. He said he did not see how I could be prevented from taking the Eucharist. My brother said belief was all that matter. He said I was prepared to recite the Creeds. He said "belief" can vary from time to time depending on a person's mood. He also said nobody really can have a 100% belief in something like religion. It always varies. He said no communicant should be denied the communion. He administered Christmas communion for me there and then, to the outrage of my brother.
... I can't have a Creed that is not in line with the Nicene Creed. The UUs do not accept this Creed. If there is a death in my family, I will not feel comforted if the funeral is not conducted by the church. I must have the name of the Holy Trinity invoked. I've seen a dear uncle in grief over the death of his wife and even though he didn't believe God really exists, he sought comfort in the funeral service and the constant reminder that the dead in Christ shall rise again.
I know in times of extreme grief and bereavement, I will be just as weak and I will seek solace in God and the funeral service.
I look upon religion as a human right. We have the right to be comforted where logic and reason are sure to fail us. Our species has developed religion for our comfort for tens of thousands of years and I'm not about to give it up. For me, there is comfort in a God fashioned after the Christian tradition. Another person may find more comfort in Allah or Buddha or Vishnu because that is the tradition he was brought up with.
Me: I've seen a dear uncle in grief over the death of his wife and even though he didn't believe God really exists, he sought comfort in the funeral service and the constant reminder that the dead in Christ shall rise again.
I've read this line a few times and I still can't grasp the concept
If you know something is not true, how can it comfort you?
Is it because you're lying to yourself on some level?
Or is your meaning that someone is comforted by a familiar ritual and ceremony, even if it has no real meaning?
All this reminds me of a marriage where a couple have fallen out of love, but are still nominally married and go through the motions of married life, even kissing each other (having Congress too, if you like) - but not feeling anything at all for each other.
Which strikes me as incredibly sad.
A: I found your email amusing not because you are wrong but because that is the usual answer I get when I talk to atheists. Mind you, I'm not saying you are wrong at all. You are absolutely right but human emotions don't work according to pure logic.
Let's say someone dear to me has died and I'm naturally devastated. I know that's the end of the person's life and I'll never see him/her again. Death has robbed me of that person.
The Order for funerals is very comforting. The words of Scriptures are familiar. We are reminded of how Christ's resurrection trumps death. Death, where is thy sting? Your family is with you and you share that special bond as you participate in the funeral service. You know millions of people have invoked the same name of our Triune God. Because Christianity is such a common religion, you share the same religion in this hour of grief with most of humanity. It may be someone really talented like Michael Jackson or beautiful such as Princess Diana but all of them were buried with their loved ones calling on this same God.
I acknowledge it is a weakness but I do find comfort in religion when I'm really in the depths of misery. I might even convince myself that the deceased is now in the arms of Jesus and even if it's hard to really believe it, the image of someone I love in the arms of Jesus is so powerful it's bound to offer me some comfort. And we don't live alone. What about younger children in our families? Saying that so-and-so is now in the loving arms of our Lord can only have a good impact on kids psychologically. I know it will make me feel better.
I saw an atheistic funeral service order in Dawkins' link once. Frankly, I found it very depressing because what I find comforting - this triumph over death and the comfort that God and the angels give - is sadly lacking.
I suppose in the end it really shows how different we all are. Some are comforted at the thought of a non-existent God while others are content to have a funeral service without religious elements. That's the beauty of human diversity.
***
A very bizarre take on religion:
A: There is nothing to stop someone from continuing in the tradition of his religion without believing in the myths of that religion. If I may pick a personal example, I am a devout and committed Christian and yet I do not believe in the existence of God and his supernatural buddies. There is nothing inconsistent about that. If I am asked, I acknowledge most readily that God probably doesn't exist because there is no evidence to support his existence. He's in the same boat as the fairies and unicorns, pixies and trolls. But I continue with the TRADITION of the faith. You see enough examples of bishops who do not believe in God all over the world.
I look upon religion as a human culture. I have sung Bach and Handel in the choir and when I'm singing the great music of the finest composers our species has been able to come up with, I am transported to a religious plane where I feel myself communing with God. It's the same when I play my musical instrument well - I feel I'm actually touching the face of God. That is a human emotion we all need to express through art. Or when I read Milton or Herbert or Yeats, I receive affirmation of the beauty of God. But of course, I know in my head that this is just a human feeling. We need a focal point for goodness and beauty and God is a convenient instrument for that purpose.
Religion has evolved to supply a human need. One need not deprive oneself of that need. But personally for me, to cook up the idea that God really exists is a bit of a tall order.
This is just the opinion of a devout Christian who knows in his head that God does not exist, any more than fairies do.
Me: Err, you mean you are a cultural Christian? Your description is not too different from what would be considered partaking in normal Western/Judeo-Christian culture.
But then there are cultural Christians like Bob Price who go to church and go through the ceremonies even though they don't believe in them. I assume you don't do this?
You'd be somewhere in the middle, then.
I think it's important to make the distinction between those who are culturally Christian and those who are Christian.
When you say you are Christian the meaning is entirely different from what you intend.
And I'm not sure that it is coherent to feel yourself communing with an entity you know does not exist.
A: A good example is this - everyone knows the virgin birth mentioned in Matthew's gospel is the result of a mistranslation. That famous alma-parthenos mistranslation. So, no intelligent Christian can possibly believe in the truth of the virgin birth. And yet we all say the Creed which affirms the virgin birth. Why do we do it? It's tradition. We simply acknowledge and "accept" this human tradition of the virgin birth, knowing that it arose from a gross mistranslation. It's like we are chuckling at ourselves for this error.
Let us say that for centuries, a group of people have been reciting a creed that includes the statement that "the sun is a ball of yellow cheese dragged through the sky on a chariot". Even though everyone knows that is not true today, we may still recite such a creed because of tradition. We smile at the thought of the errors our ancestors made and their ignorance too.
We should also consider the issue of harmony. We all have families and parents who practise the same religion. As long as it's an innocuous non-violent religion, I really don't see what harm there is in saying "I believe in God the Father, maker of blah blah blah". I can see how a dogged refusal to practise the religion can cause people close to us to feel upset...
Religion is purely cultural. You can practise the culture without compromising on your intellect...
Christianity is a lot easier because there are so many bishops and priests who don't accept God. I'm referring to the Church of England and the Methodist Church, both of which are filled to the brim with non-believing priests.
B: I got a question, (for u and myself). Will be be attending the church when ur parents are no more?
will you be asking ur children to attend church? You have a choice to make.
And culture thing ....is not a very big circle for many of us. Its just our immediete family.
A: I will probably attend church still. It's different for me. I love music and when I was very young, I used to sing soprano in the boys' choir. We used to sing Bach and Handel and some of Bach's cantatas still bring tears to my eyes even though I don't sing soprano any more (thank goodness!). Today, I still play music in church. Music is very important to me. I will probably continue with church even after my parents have died because of the music.
I suppose deep down, all of us want to make our children clones of ourselves. Naturally, I would want my children to be rational in their thinking and by that, they have to be able to see how illogical it is to accept the God of the Bible as real. Or any other gods for that matter.
Once they can see God is not real, I would like for them to accept God as a symbol or the focal point of goodness and beauty in a poetic sense. So much of culture is tied to the God of the Bible...
I think the beauty of humanity lies in the diversity of our cultures and religion is very much a part of it. The ideal world is one in which everybody practises his own culture without believing in the legend behind it. Just imagine this - will Bali be as attractive as it is now if every Balinese stops his colourful religious practices? How can anyone honestly say that he finds the Land of the gods more alluring when it's become the Land of no god?
... Recently, my mother asked me if I had turned atheist. She remembered years ago when my brother told me not to take Christmas communion but I didn't want to be the only one remaining in the pew so he said he would sit with me and forego communion. My mother was most upset with that. She wanted all of us to take communion and I was happy to do so but my brother thought it would be a sacrilege because he's a bit of a mad fundamentalist. So, she took communion with my Dad and she was crying when she went back to the pew.
It's so unnecessary to make people unhappy just because of a tasteless wafer. If a Muslim friend is dying and he wants me to say a Muslim prayer so he will be assured that he will see me one day in paradise, I will gladly say the prayer just for his comfort. The same with a Hindu friend. Of course I will stop short of going through a circumcision or kavadi-carrying but a prayer just to please a friend is no big deal.
... I love music and one of the greatest things about Christianity is the fine music that the greatest composers on this planet have written for a non-existent God. I have no problem with singing God's praise. It's the height of our culture and it's in praises to God that we find the finest works of art from paintings to music to literature. The analogy [of the Bible being as gory as] a gladiator's fight is incorrect because the Christian God is an impotent, innocuous and non-existent God. There is no gore. There may be stories that are violent but it's no more violent than Little Red Riding Hood which has threats by the big bad wolf to eat up the Grandmother. The good thing is, like Little Red Riding Hood, the stories in the OT are largely fictitious...
I don't normally think of my own religion as real, if you know what I mean. It's like going to church on Christmas day or attending a Christmas party and singing about the Star of Bethlehem, the wise men, Mary and Joseph, the Virgin birth, the stable, etc and all of a sudden, people ask me if I REALLY believe these to be absolute truth, ie historical truth. Of course not!!! But it's not something we normally say. To me, it sounds inappropriate to tell everyone it's all just a fable or a legend. The Holy Trinity was cooked up AFTER Jesus and the concept was finetuned over the next few hundred years so that even great Christian leaders such as Origen became a heretic retrospectively.
Anyone who has a passing knowledge of Church history would know all that. Of course the church tries to pretend that what they have come up with over the centuries has always been believed but it's very obvious to anyone that that is not true. It's just that we have to be polite not to contradict the teachings of Christianity today. It's normal to just follow along while knowing that the teachings aren't correct.
I know perfectly well that my religion hasn't got a leg to stand on if you turn on the search lights of fact and truth. I know the whole concept of God will simply crumble to dust when exposed to the light of truth. Religion and absolute truth can never get along. Religion belongs more in the realm of poetry, music and the arts. That's why I say it's purely cultural.
From my experience, the greatest mistake my fellow Christians make is to think that God is real. I mean in the sense that they believe he really exists as a separate entity. Of course I would agree that God exists as a symbol or as a representation of something or as a poetic metaphor and in that sense, he is real but that is a different thing altogether. To many of my fellow Christians in Singapore, God is as real as the one-horned rhino in Southern Nepal. They really believe that he exists as a separate living, intelligent being.
Me: I still don't see why you describe yourself as a "Christian" and why you consider yourself to have a "religion".
If you go by this reasoning, someone can be a Christian and a practitioner of traditional Chinese religion and the gods know what else - all at the same time.
Which should strike you as counter-intuitive.
If I am passionate about Classical Mythology and love to look at paintings and sculptures describing the various tales and stories, and even sacrifice a heifer for fun occasionally, this does not make me a follower of Zeus.
A: What you have said is what I'm always told when I'm in atheist forums. They insist I'm not a Christian. But surely whether I am a Christian or not must be determined by the prelates of my church. Is that not right?
I have informed my Bishop about my stand and I am still given office in church. I have in fact been told by one pastor that there are bishops who believe even less than I!
My name still remains in the rolls of the church. I receive Communion. I submit to church authority and say the creeds more than willingly. I follow the Liturgy with all my heart. I even serve in one of the ministries - of course not the teaching ministry.
I'm not a member of any organisation which is frowned by the church. I don't practise traditional Chinese religion but like I've said in another email, if a friend who's dying asks me to pray to the Chinese gods for his healing, I will do it in his presence just to bring peace and comfort to him.
By all accounts and all records, I am a Christian.
D: "By all accounts and all records, I am a Christian."
Cultural-Christian, I get. Charming solidarity, sing-a-long holidays blah-blah-blah.
But "Christian"? By your really broad against-the-grain definition, so are all of us.
A: Of course not. Most of you aren't Christians. You don't say the Creeds (at least you won't do it willingly), you don't say prayers, follow the Liturgy in church, take the Eucharist, kneel at the altar, etc etc. I'm of course assuming that most of you are atheists but I may be wrong. [Someone else] certainly will kneel, genuflect, pray, chant, sing etc. But how many of you really will do all these things? And submit yourselves to the teachings of the church?
My definition of "chistians" isn't broad at all.
Me: If I:
- wear Red Clothes during Chinese New Year
- give unmarried children Red Packets for luck
- eat nian gao during Chinese New Year (remember that the sticky cake is supposed to seal the kitchen god's mouth shut so he cannot tell on you)
- have a picture of the Monkey God in my home because I think it's well-drawn
- hang a bagua because I think it makes my house look good
- go to a Taoist fortune teller for fun
- eat vegetarian food on festival days because I am used to it
- appreciate the moon and eat pomelos during the mid-autumn festival
Am I a practitioner of traditional Chinese religion?
Again, a minimal definition of religion is "a belief in spiritual beings" - and not cultural practices...
This reminds me of how in Japan they like to hire Westerners to pose as priests - when some of these Westerners aren't Christians and they certainly aren't ordained.
If external behavior were sufficient to determine one's "religion", there wouldn't be very much difference between an actor acting as a Christian and a Christian who goes through the motions but doesn't actually believe them.
A: But I'm not acting. I come from a long line of Christians. I was born into the faith. It's not something I adopt for fun or for photo-taking (which is presumably what the Japanese you mentioned are looking for). It's my identity and the cultural identity of my family. I do not know of a single ancestor of mine who does not belong to the church. There is no acting at all.
D: When you can pick and choose what makes a "Christian", prayers and whatnot.
Why can't anyone else?
I can define it as "walking towards a church on Sunday" and I am sure we all do it on Sunday. Note: walking towards church is a subset of "walking towards a Church in sight", which is a subset of "walking into a Church", which is a subset of....
A: I was brought up an Anglican and Anglicanism is according to Richard Dawkins the most innocuous and intellectual form of religion. But unfortunately for me, the Anglicanism practised in the church I used to go to with my parents is different from the Anglicanism practised in Singapore. For some very strange reason, Singapore Anglicanism is a bit like American fundamentalism. I couldn't believe it when I read that Josie Lau and her "charismatic" friends who believe in miracle healings and voices from God are Anglicans!!!...
In America, there are Methodist churches that have excluded God from the services. I attended one where the only mention of God was in the liturgy which is fine. The sermon was all about how to be a good neighbour. You won't believe how progressive Christians can be outside of Singapore...
Your list of Chinese culture sounds interesting but I bet you made up some of them. I'm sure pomelos aren't eaten at the mid-autumn festival, or are they?
... I mentioned an incident in my life when my brother told me not to take Christmas communion. When we got home, my mum had a long argument with us. I told her I wanted to take communion but my brother stopped me. My brother said I was an atheist and should not take communion. Anyway, my mother called our vicar some days later and he questioned me. He said he did not see how I could be prevented from taking the Eucharist. My brother said belief was all that matter. He said I was prepared to recite the Creeds. He said "belief" can vary from time to time depending on a person's mood. He also said nobody really can have a 100% belief in something like religion. It always varies. He said no communicant should be denied the communion. He administered Christmas communion for me there and then, to the outrage of my brother.
... I can't have a Creed that is not in line with the Nicene Creed. The UUs do not accept this Creed. If there is a death in my family, I will not feel comforted if the funeral is not conducted by the church. I must have the name of the Holy Trinity invoked. I've seen a dear uncle in grief over the death of his wife and even though he didn't believe God really exists, he sought comfort in the funeral service and the constant reminder that the dead in Christ shall rise again.
I know in times of extreme grief and bereavement, I will be just as weak and I will seek solace in God and the funeral service.
I look upon religion as a human right. We have the right to be comforted where logic and reason are sure to fail us. Our species has developed religion for our comfort for tens of thousands of years and I'm not about to give it up. For me, there is comfort in a God fashioned after the Christian tradition. Another person may find more comfort in Allah or Buddha or Vishnu because that is the tradition he was brought up with.
Me: I've seen a dear uncle in grief over the death of his wife and even though he didn't believe God really exists, he sought comfort in the funeral service and the constant reminder that the dead in Christ shall rise again.
I've read this line a few times and I still can't grasp the concept
If you know something is not true, how can it comfort you?
Is it because you're lying to yourself on some level?
Or is your meaning that someone is comforted by a familiar ritual and ceremony, even if it has no real meaning?
All this reminds me of a marriage where a couple have fallen out of love, but are still nominally married and go through the motions of married life, even kissing each other (having Congress too, if you like) - but not feeling anything at all for each other.
Which strikes me as incredibly sad.
A: I found your email amusing not because you are wrong but because that is the usual answer I get when I talk to atheists. Mind you, I'm not saying you are wrong at all. You are absolutely right but human emotions don't work according to pure logic.
Let's say someone dear to me has died and I'm naturally devastated. I know that's the end of the person's life and I'll never see him/her again. Death has robbed me of that person.
The Order for funerals is very comforting. The words of Scriptures are familiar. We are reminded of how Christ's resurrection trumps death. Death, where is thy sting? Your family is with you and you share that special bond as you participate in the funeral service. You know millions of people have invoked the same name of our Triune God. Because Christianity is such a common religion, you share the same religion in this hour of grief with most of humanity. It may be someone really talented like Michael Jackson or beautiful such as Princess Diana but all of them were buried with their loved ones calling on this same God.
I acknowledge it is a weakness but I do find comfort in religion when I'm really in the depths of misery. I might even convince myself that the deceased is now in the arms of Jesus and even if it's hard to really believe it, the image of someone I love in the arms of Jesus is so powerful it's bound to offer me some comfort. And we don't live alone. What about younger children in our families? Saying that so-and-so is now in the loving arms of our Lord can only have a good impact on kids psychologically. I know it will make me feel better.
I saw an atheistic funeral service order in Dawkins' link once. Frankly, I found it very depressing because what I find comforting - this triumph over death and the comfort that God and the angels give - is sadly lacking.
I suppose in the end it really shows how different we all are. Some are comforted at the thought of a non-existent God while others are content to have a funeral service without religious elements. That's the beauty of human diversity.
Post ID: 1377565789330165005
"Literature is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none." - Jules Renard
***
Frigid Girl: i met all your UD 1 and 6
must be like pokemon
gotta catch em all
HAHAHHAHAHAHA
PPBI: my guy friends never compliment me
not that i am expecting them to
but it's nice anyway
:P
Me: ok
well your boobs are nice, I guess
but I never see very clearly
PPBI: !!!
NOT COMPLIMENT LIKE THAT YOU IDIOT
hahahahhaha
you must say
that dress flatters your figure very well
-_-
MEN!
Me: ... women
PPBI: you never see very well how you know they are nice!
ridiculous
a good bra always helps
Me: you wanted a compliment what
PPBI: not that type of compliment
Frigid Girl: women make every disagreement sound like some dynasty shit
"she's out to destroy me!"
"this is war between us"
etc
Someone: **** = scum beneath my shoe.*
Me: haha why are they scum
Someone: for reasons that u and i both know?
Me: haha
didn't know you felt that strongly
migrate lor!
Someone: oh yeah that's definitely in my list of to do things.
seems like nobody i knwo wnats to come back
or even if they do, they want to be seen as foreign talent.
which is ironic how alot of ppl who go abroad to study have this aspiration to come back as a foreign talent
Frigid Girl: it's all your fault
now when i hear the starting notes of tuba mirum i think of that fucked up version that you let me hear
can't listen to it with a straight face
PPBI: u know was in flowerpod
then got this thread
the OP accidentally stumbled in front of a angmoh guy
and the angmoh guy was pissed so he elbowed her
and some other posters actually suggested that she shout molest
Me: ah, female privilege.
Someone on hating Singaporean co-workers: ang moh better la
i hate singaporeans
all chee bye
v anal
talk a lot
unhelpful
sarcastic
lousy
v for themselves lor
sgrean v neow
n lousy
australians get the job done faster n less anal
Me: haha
foreign talent are superior huh
Someone: i think they are better
because they are nice to u
when u do stuff for them
sgreans tend to wanna exert some authority
altho they have little
at least the FT know where the goal is
sgreans run ard the park but nv score
my life was much better when i worked w the australians
Someone else: i can imagine that there are vested interests in keeping it vague
"the powers of the police/auxiliary police"
we are still a very authoritarian society
in the libertarian west the police have extremely strict and transparent codes of conduct
what they can do and cannot do
Me: here, people assume that if the police come look for you, you must be doing something wrong
Someone else: yes
and the confer upon the police wide and ambiguous powers
***
Frigid Girl: i met all your UD 1 and 6
must be like pokemon
gotta catch em all
HAHAHHAHAHAHA
PPBI: my guy friends never compliment me
not that i am expecting them to
but it's nice anyway
:P
Me: ok
well your boobs are nice, I guess
but I never see very clearly
PPBI: !!!
NOT COMPLIMENT LIKE THAT YOU IDIOT
hahahahhaha
you must say
that dress flatters your figure very well
-_-
MEN!
Me: ... women
PPBI: you never see very well how you know they are nice!
ridiculous
a good bra always helps
Me: you wanted a compliment what
PPBI: not that type of compliment
Frigid Girl: women make every disagreement sound like some dynasty shit
"she's out to destroy me!"
"this is war between us"
etc
Someone: **** = scum beneath my shoe.*
Me: haha why are they scum
Someone: for reasons that u and i both know?
Me: haha
didn't know you felt that strongly
migrate lor!
Someone: oh yeah that's definitely in my list of to do things.
seems like nobody i knwo wnats to come back
or even if they do, they want to be seen as foreign talent.
which is ironic how alot of ppl who go abroad to study have this aspiration to come back as a foreign talent
Frigid Girl: it's all your fault
now when i hear the starting notes of tuba mirum i think of that fucked up version that you let me hear
can't listen to it with a straight face
PPBI: u know was in flowerpod
then got this thread
the OP accidentally stumbled in front of a angmoh guy
and the angmoh guy was pissed so he elbowed her
and some other posters actually suggested that she shout molest
Me: ah, female privilege.
Someone on hating Singaporean co-workers: ang moh better la
i hate singaporeans
all chee bye
v anal
talk a lot
unhelpful
sarcastic
lousy
v for themselves lor
sgrean v neow
n lousy
australians get the job done faster n less anal
Me: haha
foreign talent are superior huh
Someone: i think they are better
because they are nice to u
when u do stuff for them
sgreans tend to wanna exert some authority
altho they have little
at least the FT know where the goal is
sgreans run ard the park but nv score
my life was much better when i worked w the australians
Someone else: i can imagine that there are vested interests in keeping it vague
"the powers of the police/auxiliary police"
we are still a very authoritarian society
in the libertarian west the police have extremely strict and transparent codes of conduct
what they can do and cannot do
Me: here, people assume that if the police come look for you, you must be doing something wrong
Someone else: yes
and the confer upon the police wide and ambiguous powers
Post ID: 1837827532609476603
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
"One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain't nothin' can beat teamwork." - Edward Abbey
***
Amusing bits from the FAQ of the Registry Of Societies:
Given the allergy to any discussion of Race, Language or Religion, a, b and e are not surprising. After all, you need the society's committee members to be within the power of the law (which is why Foreign Diplomats, with Diplomatic Immunity, cannot be in the committee).
What IS surprising is the fear of militant feminists or homosexuals (presumably miffed that the Constitution prohibits discrimination against citizens only on the grounds of "religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law").
And, of course, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and PETA.
A clear threat to Public Law and Order
I've no idea who one might go to for permission to use the words:
- Temasek (Temasek Holdings?!)
- Raffles (RI? Raffles Hospital?)
- Merlion (the Singapore Tourism Promotion Board?)
The inclusion of "Ministry" is also strange - Christian groups must experience some annoyance with this.
Is this to prevent peasants from getting ahead of themselves?
Maybe this is to prevent another Marxist Conspiracy. Which presumably was more dangerous than the Jemaah Islamiah.
The schedule specifying societies that do not qualify for automatic registration includes:
To exclude Falungong? Or maybe they're scared of another Boxer Rebellion.
The discussion of "any matter relating to the governance of the Singapore society" is also seen as separate from what a "political association" does.
***
Amusing bits from the FAQ of the Registry Of Societies:
Should all Committee Members be Singaporeans?
For the categories of societies listed below, the majority of the Committee Members must be Singapore Citizens. In addition, the President, Secretary, Treasurer and their deputies shall be Singapore Citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents. Foreign Diplomats shall not serve as Committee Members.
a) Religious societies
b) Societies which identify themselves publicly as or whose membership is confined exclusively to members of a single race
c) Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to represent; promote any cause or interest of; or discuss any issue relating to a class of persons defined by reference to their gender or sexual orientation
d) Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to represent persons who advocate; promote; or discuss any issue relating to any civil or political right (including human rights, environmental rights and animal rights)
e) Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to promote or discuss the use or status of any language.
Given the allergy to any discussion of Race, Language or Religion, a, b and e are not surprising. After all, you need the society's committee members to be within the power of the law (which is why Foreign Diplomats, with Diplomatic Immunity, cannot be in the committee).
What IS surprising is the fear of militant feminists or homosexuals (presumably miffed that the Constitution prohibits discrimination against citizens only on the grounds of "religion, race, descent or place of birth in any law").
And, of course, Amnesty International, Greenpeace and PETA.
A clear threat to Public Law and Order
What are the guidelines for Names of a society?
Please provide a letter of support from the relevant authorities if you are using any of the following words as part of the name of the proposed society.
"Academy"
"Asean"
"College" (with exception of an alumni)
"Council"
"Government"
"Institute" (with exception of an alumni)
"Lion City"
"Merlion"
"Ministry"
"National"
"Raffles"
"Republic"
"Registry"
"State"
"Stamford Raffles"
"Temasek"
I've no idea who one might go to for permission to use the words:
- Temasek (Temasek Holdings?!)
- Raffles (RI? Raffles Hospital?)
- Merlion (the Singapore Tourism Promotion Board?)
The inclusion of "Ministry" is also strange - Christian groups must experience some annoyance with this.
What are the guidelines for Place of Business of a society?
Please note that the following addresses are prohibited from use as the society's place of business:
(a) HDB flat
Is this to prevent peasants from getting ahead of themselves?
What are the guidelines for drawing up a Constitution of a society?
Statement of Faith(compulsory for Christian religious groups): Spells out the religious beliefs of the society.
The prohibition clauses listed from 13.1 to 13.7 in ROS' Guide Constitution are compulsory [Ed: the current version was offline but an older one I found forbade "The introduction of... bad characters into the premises"]
Maybe this is to prevent another Marxist Conspiracy. Which presumably was more dangerous than the Jemaah Islamiah.
The schedule specifying societies that do not qualify for automatic registration includes:
Any society whose object, purpose or activity, whether primary or otherwise, is to promote, discuss any issue relating to, or to provide training in any form of pugilistic or martial arts.
To exclude Falungong? Or maybe they're scared of another Boxer Rebellion.
The discussion of "any matter relating to the governance of the Singapore society" is also seen as separate from what a "political association" does.
Post ID: 5779871728846922054
"One doesn't have a sense of humor. It has you." - Larry Gelbart
***
I find this extract hilarious:
“Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”
He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a savage beast being goaded to death with knives and spears. I observed several splashes of blood about the bark of the tree, and his hand and forehead were both stained; probably the scene I witnessed was a repetition of others acted during the night.
***
I find this extract hilarious:
“Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! it is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!”
He dashed his head against the knotted trunk; and, lifting up his eyes, howled, not like a man, but like a savage beast being goaded to death with knives and spears. I observed several splashes of blood about the bark of the tree, and his hand and forehead were both stained; probably the scene I witnessed was a repetition of others acted during the night.
Post ID: 8852266863977426190
Monday, October 19, 2009
"I'm just a person trapped inside a woman's body." - Elayne Boosler
***
OMG! I found something I'd been looking for (or at least, very close to something I'd been looking for) for a long time in the most unlikely place:
"Cranberries, Orange, Peaches, Lemons, Grape Fruit, Watermelons, Pears, Cucumbers, Sweet Potatoes, Bee Stings, Flap Jacks, Has Been, Pointers, Mail Bags, Under Chinners, Cup Cakes, Balloons, Water Wings, Coat Hooks, Block Busters, Hot Water Bottles
Women all over the world love Triumph
ORDER CHART
Note: To avoid mistakes order by model name
TRIUMPH makes the best out of any breast !"
I seem to recall a version with mostly (or only) fruit, and in full colour, but this is close enough (and as close as I'm likely to get!)
***
OMG! I found something I'd been looking for (or at least, very close to something I'd been looking for) for a long time in the most unlikely place:
"Cranberries, Orange, Peaches, Lemons, Grape Fruit, Watermelons, Pears, Cucumbers, Sweet Potatoes, Bee Stings, Flap Jacks, Has Been, Pointers, Mail Bags, Under Chinners, Cup Cakes, Balloons, Water Wings, Coat Hooks, Block Busters, Hot Water Bottles
Women all over the world love Triumph
ORDER CHART
Note: To avoid mistakes order by model name
TRIUMPH makes the best out of any breast !"
I seem to recall a version with mostly (or only) fruit, and in full colour, but this is close enough (and as close as I'm likely to get!)
Post ID: 6209419881618596575
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." - Bill Watterson
***
Boy initiated acts and was fixated with sex
"COURT proceedings to decide on sentencing for a 37-year-old tutor, convicted of allowing a nine-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him on five occasions, took an unusual turn yesterday.
The focus turned to the boy, as details emerged in court about his fixation with sex and how he had made advances to his tutor.
The tutor's lawyer, Mr Denis Tan, gave a disturbing picture of a child who harboured sexual fantasies, performed lewd acts and exposed himself to others.
Arguing that the case was not a typical one in which a predatory adult victimises a child, Mr Tan fought for his client to be placed on probation.
The prosecution did not dispute that the child had issues with sex.
A government child psychiatrist who saw the boy said he had a 'definitive mindset' about sexual matters and showed 'hyper-sexualised behaviour'.
Dr Cai Yiming from the Child Guidance Clinic found that the boy was not traumatised by the sex acts and, in fact, needed psychiatric help to rid him of his sexual fantasies and desires.
No other details of Dr Cai's report were revealed in court.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gillian Koh Tan pushed for a deterrent sentence, arguing that the tutor had exploited the child's sexual curiosity and 'gamely acquiesced' to his advances.
'The crux of the case is that an adult had repeatedly engaged in sexual activities with a nine-year-old,' she argued.
'Yes, the nine-year-old may have peculiar characteristics, but does the uniqueness of the situation warrant a significant discount on sentence? The answer is 'no'.'
However, Justice Kan Ting Chiu noted that this was a 'unique' case and it was clear the boy had initiated the sex acts.
At one point, the judge disagreed with the DPP's use of the words 'sexual assault' to describe the offences.
Despite the DPP's objections, the judge made the unusual move of calling for a pre-sentence report on the tutor.
Such reports are typically called to determine whether young offenders are suitable for probation.
Justice Kan added that, assuming probation was unlikely, the report could still help the court in deciding the sentence.
The man started tutoring the boy at his grandparents' home in July 2007. During one session in February last year, the boy started talking to his tutor about sex and male genitalia.
Two months later, the boy followed the tutor when he went to the toilet, pushed the door open, entered and fondled the man. The tutor then allowed him to perform oral sex on him.
Yesterday, Mr Tan described the boy as a problem child who hit his tutor and hurled vulgarities at his grandmother.
The lawyer rattled off a list of the boy's lewd acts to give the court an idea of his obsession with sex.
The lawyer said his client tried to fend off the advances of the boy, including refraining from going to the toilet, but eventually succumbed.
Mr Tan argued that his client, who is not married, had not done anything to his 20 other students and was unlikely to re-offend.
But the DPP argued that the victim was still just a vulnerable child who could not fully understand his own sexual curiosity or the implications of the tutor's 'heinous acts'.
She pointed out that the tutor had failed to tell the boy's parents about his unusual interest in sex.
The DPP noted that there was an escalation in the tutor's conduct - on the last occasion, he had deliberately left the toilet door unlocked.
The punishment for having oral sex with a minor under the age of 14 is a jail term of up to 20 years, and possible caning or a fine."
Somehow, we don't see such testimony when men have sex with underaged girls.
It's a straightforward case of: wham, bam, slam (for the man).
***
Boy initiated acts and was fixated with sex
"COURT proceedings to decide on sentencing for a 37-year-old tutor, convicted of allowing a nine-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him on five occasions, took an unusual turn yesterday.
The focus turned to the boy, as details emerged in court about his fixation with sex and how he had made advances to his tutor.
The tutor's lawyer, Mr Denis Tan, gave a disturbing picture of a child who harboured sexual fantasies, performed lewd acts and exposed himself to others.
Arguing that the case was not a typical one in which a predatory adult victimises a child, Mr Tan fought for his client to be placed on probation.
The prosecution did not dispute that the child had issues with sex.
A government child psychiatrist who saw the boy said he had a 'definitive mindset' about sexual matters and showed 'hyper-sexualised behaviour'.
Dr Cai Yiming from the Child Guidance Clinic found that the boy was not traumatised by the sex acts and, in fact, needed psychiatric help to rid him of his sexual fantasies and desires.
No other details of Dr Cai's report were revealed in court.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Gillian Koh Tan pushed for a deterrent sentence, arguing that the tutor had exploited the child's sexual curiosity and 'gamely acquiesced' to his advances.
'The crux of the case is that an adult had repeatedly engaged in sexual activities with a nine-year-old,' she argued.
'Yes, the nine-year-old may have peculiar characteristics, but does the uniqueness of the situation warrant a significant discount on sentence? The answer is 'no'.'
However, Justice Kan Ting Chiu noted that this was a 'unique' case and it was clear the boy had initiated the sex acts.
At one point, the judge disagreed with the DPP's use of the words 'sexual assault' to describe the offences.
Despite the DPP's objections, the judge made the unusual move of calling for a pre-sentence report on the tutor.
Such reports are typically called to determine whether young offenders are suitable for probation.
Justice Kan added that, assuming probation was unlikely, the report could still help the court in deciding the sentence.
The man started tutoring the boy at his grandparents' home in July 2007. During one session in February last year, the boy started talking to his tutor about sex and male genitalia.
Two months later, the boy followed the tutor when he went to the toilet, pushed the door open, entered and fondled the man. The tutor then allowed him to perform oral sex on him.
Yesterday, Mr Tan described the boy as a problem child who hit his tutor and hurled vulgarities at his grandmother.
The lawyer rattled off a list of the boy's lewd acts to give the court an idea of his obsession with sex.
The lawyer said his client tried to fend off the advances of the boy, including refraining from going to the toilet, but eventually succumbed.
Mr Tan argued that his client, who is not married, had not done anything to his 20 other students and was unlikely to re-offend.
But the DPP argued that the victim was still just a vulnerable child who could not fully understand his own sexual curiosity or the implications of the tutor's 'heinous acts'.
She pointed out that the tutor had failed to tell the boy's parents about his unusual interest in sex.
The DPP noted that there was an escalation in the tutor's conduct - on the last occasion, he had deliberately left the toilet door unlocked.
The punishment for having oral sex with a minor under the age of 14 is a jail term of up to 20 years, and possible caning or a fine."
Somehow, we don't see such testimony when men have sex with underaged girls.
It's a straightforward case of: wham, bam, slam (for the man).
Post ID: 4083010178498808142
"Equations are the devil's sentences." - Stephen Colbert
***
Recently, I've discovered a bizarre new Singaporeanism:
"creme la crop"
(The correct version, of course, is "crème de la crème")
Whereas there're other English faux pas, this one seems Uniquely Singapore (there're only 2 isolated examples of its use outside the Singaporean Internet, and even then both are a variant: "la creme la crop")
Palsambleu!
***
Recently, I've discovered a bizarre new Singaporeanism:
"creme la crop"
(The correct version, of course, is "crème de la crème")
Whereas there're other English faux pas, this one seems Uniquely Singapore (there're only 2 isolated examples of its use outside the Singaporean Internet, and even then both are a variant: "la creme la crop")
Palsambleu!
Post ID: 1947311502673590406
Sunday, October 18, 2009
"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain
***
A book that will be released soon (I've already pre-ordered my copy!):
Dear friends,
After more than two years of writing, research, rewriting and polishing, the book Singapore: A Biography, by Mark Ravinder Frost & Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, is going to be launched this October in Singapore.
* 400 pages of lively writing about Singapore history, as you've never quite heard it before
* Over 300 illustrations – prints, paintings and photographs
* Pirates! Prostitutes! Secret societies!
* David Marshall! Lee Kuan Yew! Lim Chin Siong!
* And much more, of course ...
Learn more at our website: http://www.singaporebiography.com/
And come to our book events:
* Sun, 18 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Library: "History as literature: the writing of Singapore: A Biography"
* Tue, 20 Oct 2009, 7.30pm, Polymath & Crust: "Singapore: A Biography – a reading & discussion"
* Sat, 24 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Museum of Singapore: "Heroes, villains and ordinary citizens: a short history of Singaporean dissent"
* Sat, 31 Oct 2009, 11am, Singapore Writers Festival, at Earshot, The Arts House: "Finding the Singapore Story"
The book will be sold at all events and available from mid-October at bookstores in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. It will be distributed in the US and the UK in early 2010.
More event details below, with a preview of our book cover. Registration is required for the National Library and National Museum events:
* National Library RSVP: http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/Event.aspx?EventID=30211
* National Museum RSVP: http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/nms/nms_html/nms_content_6c.asp?content_template=4&content_id=12&tab_id=12&cine_id=1847&fest_id=0
***
A book that will be released soon (I've already pre-ordered my copy!):
Dear friends,
After more than two years of writing, research, rewriting and polishing, the book Singapore: A Biography, by Mark Ravinder Frost & Yu-Mei Balasingamchow, is going to be launched this October in Singapore.
* 400 pages of lively writing about Singapore history, as you've never quite heard it before
* Over 300 illustrations – prints, paintings and photographs
* Pirates! Prostitutes! Secret societies!
* David Marshall! Lee Kuan Yew! Lim Chin Siong!
* And much more, of course ...
Learn more at our website: http://www.singaporebiography.com/
And come to our book events:
* Sun, 18 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Library: "History as literature: the writing of Singapore: A Biography"
* Tue, 20 Oct 2009, 7.30pm, Polymath & Crust: "Singapore: A Biography – a reading & discussion"
* Sat, 24 Oct 2009, 2pm, National Museum of Singapore: "Heroes, villains and ordinary citizens: a short history of Singaporean dissent"
* Sat, 31 Oct 2009, 11am, Singapore Writers Festival, at Earshot, The Arts House: "Finding the Singapore Story"
The book will be sold at all events and available from mid-October at bookstores in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Australia. It will be distributed in the US and the UK in early 2010.
More event details below, with a preview of our book cover. Registration is required for the National Library and National Museum events:
* National Library RSVP: http://golibrary.nlb.gov.sg/Event.aspx?EventID=30211
* National Museum RSVP: http://www.nationalmuseum.sg/nms/nms_html/nms_content_6c.asp?content_template=4&content_id=12&tab_id=12&cine_id=1847&fest_id=0
Post ID: 1084383161548815196
Penis at a Gay Bar
"Our constitution protects aliens, drunks and U.S. Senators." - Will Rogers
***
This guy walks into a bar and two steps in, he realizes it's a gay bar. "But what the heck," he says, "I really want a drink."
When the gay waiter approaches, he says to the customer, "What's the name of your penis?"
The customer says, "Look, I'm not into any of that. All I want is a drink."
The gay waiter says, "I'm sorry but I can't serve you until you tell me the name of your penis. Mine for instance is called 'Nike,' for the slogan, 'Just Do It.' That guy down at the end of the bar calls his 'Snickers,' because 'It really Satisfies."
The customer looks dumbfounded so the bartender tells him he will give him a second to think it over. The customer asks the man sitting to his left, who is sipping on a beer, "Hey bud, what's the name of your penis?"
The man looks back and says with a smile, "TIMEX."
The thirsty customer asks, "Why Timex?"
The fella proudly replies, "Cause it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin!"
A little shaken, the customer turns to the fella on his right, who is sipping a fruity Margarita and says, "So, what do you call your penis?"
The man turns to him and proudly exclaims, "FORD, because 'Quality is Job 1.' " Then he adds, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?"
Even more shaken, the customer has to think for a moment before he comes up with a name for his penis. Finally, he turns to the bartender and exclaims, "The name of my penis is 'Secret.' Now give me my beer."
The bartender begins to pour the customer a beer, but with a puzzled look asks, "Why secret?"
The customer says, "Because it's STRONG ENOUGH FOR A MAN, BUT MADE FOR A WOMAN!"
***
This guy walks into a bar and two steps in, he realizes it's a gay bar. "But what the heck," he says, "I really want a drink."
When the gay waiter approaches, he says to the customer, "What's the name of your penis?"
The customer says, "Look, I'm not into any of that. All I want is a drink."
The gay waiter says, "I'm sorry but I can't serve you until you tell me the name of your penis. Mine for instance is called 'Nike,' for the slogan, 'Just Do It.' That guy down at the end of the bar calls his 'Snickers,' because 'It really Satisfies."
The customer looks dumbfounded so the bartender tells him he will give him a second to think it over. The customer asks the man sitting to his left, who is sipping on a beer, "Hey bud, what's the name of your penis?"
The man looks back and says with a smile, "TIMEX."
The thirsty customer asks, "Why Timex?"
The fella proudly replies, "Cause it takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin!"
A little shaken, the customer turns to the fella on his right, who is sipping a fruity Margarita and says, "So, what do you call your penis?"
The man turns to him and proudly exclaims, "FORD, because 'Quality is Job 1.' " Then he adds, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?"
Even more shaken, the customer has to think for a moment before he comes up with a name for his penis. Finally, he turns to the bartender and exclaims, "The name of my penis is 'Secret.' Now give me my beer."
The bartender begins to pour the customer a beer, but with a puzzled look asks, "Why secret?"
The customer says, "Because it's STRONG ENOUGH FOR A MAN, BUT MADE FOR A WOMAN!"
Post ID: 9161975431207517152
"In theater you have the text and then below it you have the subtext. In opera it is pretty much the opposite, the subtext is what you are really dealing with first and foremost. So what you usually have are big, raw emotions, which are supported by the text. So, the source is really not that important as long as it has a strong enough subtext to support the format of opera"
--- William Bolcom
--- William Bolcom
Post ID: 905902254935077490
Saturday, October 17, 2009
"If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion." - George Bernard Shaw
***
"Although people often say that they cannot appreciate the humor of another country, they rarly make that remark about foreign sexual humor. The reason is that humor distorts the familiar, and sex is familiar to everyone.
There is no limit, geographically or historically, to the popularity of sexual humor. Allusions to sex please Asian readers as much as everyone else. In the Chinese novel Journey to the West, female monsters try to rape the monk Tripitaka; they have heard a rumor that his semen guarantees immortality. In the same book the ladies of the court are unhappy because the usurping King has been neglecting his bedroom duties. In such Indian tales as Sukasaptati (Seventy Stories By A Parrot), Dandin’s Ten Princes, and in the anonymous “Tale of Two Bawds,” sex plays a prominent and entertaining role. Chinese writers frequently add sexual details to increase interest in their narratives.
From Korea comes an anecdote about a one-eyed man who stopped to spend the night at a village inn. He overheard the inn keeper in the adjoining room say to his wife, “Let’s kill one -eye.”
“Good,” she said.
The one-eyed man was terrified and ran to inform the village magistrate, who sent for the inn-keeper and accused him of attempted murder.
“The innkeeper laughingly explained. ‘One-eye is a colloquial term for penis. I was joking with my wife - when we finished with intercourse wouldn’t it be dead? You having one eye, heard us and misunderstood.”
The magistrate laughed and dismissed the case.
Levy also cites three Korean jokes about masturbation, and several anecdotes about bestiality. Whatever a prudish Westerner might think, the Koreans found these stories funny.
In his collection of Ghanaian abuse Owusu Breinpont lists, among many similar sexual insults, the following. Whether one considers them funny or not depends on one’s temperament and cultural conditioning. Ghanaians considered them amusing.
“Your vagina is as wide as a plate.”
“The hair on your vagina is like an Afro Wig.”
“Your clitoris is as long as a pickaxe.”
“Your penis is bent like the gearshift of a Mercedes-Benz.”"
--- The secret of humor / Leonard Feinberg
***
"Although people often say that they cannot appreciate the humor of another country, they rarly make that remark about foreign sexual humor. The reason is that humor distorts the familiar, and sex is familiar to everyone.
There is no limit, geographically or historically, to the popularity of sexual humor. Allusions to sex please Asian readers as much as everyone else. In the Chinese novel Journey to the West, female monsters try to rape the monk Tripitaka; they have heard a rumor that his semen guarantees immortality. In the same book the ladies of the court are unhappy because the usurping King has been neglecting his bedroom duties. In such Indian tales as Sukasaptati (Seventy Stories By A Parrot), Dandin’s Ten Princes, and in the anonymous “Tale of Two Bawds,” sex plays a prominent and entertaining role. Chinese writers frequently add sexual details to increase interest in their narratives.
From Korea comes an anecdote about a one-eyed man who stopped to spend the night at a village inn. He overheard the inn keeper in the adjoining room say to his wife, “Let’s kill one -eye.”
“Good,” she said.
The one-eyed man was terrified and ran to inform the village magistrate, who sent for the inn-keeper and accused him of attempted murder.
“The innkeeper laughingly explained. ‘One-eye is a colloquial term for penis. I was joking with my wife - when we finished with intercourse wouldn’t it be dead? You having one eye, heard us and misunderstood.”
The magistrate laughed and dismissed the case.
Levy also cites three Korean jokes about masturbation, and several anecdotes about bestiality. Whatever a prudish Westerner might think, the Koreans found these stories funny.
In his collection of Ghanaian abuse Owusu Breinpont lists, among many similar sexual insults, the following. Whether one considers them funny or not depends on one’s temperament and cultural conditioning. Ghanaians considered them amusing.
“Your vagina is as wide as a plate.”
“The hair on your vagina is like an Afro Wig.”
“Your clitoris is as long as a pickaxe.”
“Your penis is bent like the gearshift of a Mercedes-Benz.”"
--- The secret of humor / Leonard Feinberg
Post ID: 5717586237612140787
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
