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Similar PostsMonthly Archive for August, 2008
And I thought I was going to score 100%. Extremely respectable doesn’t cut it. Serves me right for second guessing the questions in the Advanced section.
Back to school for me.
Similar PostsYour result for The Commonly Confused Words Test…
Advanced
You scored 93% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 67% Expert!
You have an extremely good understanding of beginner, intermediate, and advanced level commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of each of these three levels’ questions correct. This is an exceptional score. Remember, these are commonly confused English words, which means most people don’t use them properly. You got an extremely respectable score.
Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!
For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog:
http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.
Sometimes Often, I read stuff in the papers that makes my eyes roll. On Saturday, I came across yet another example. (I’ve quoted the relevant bit.)
…
In one game, female students were made to exchange sweets with male students using their mouths as they sat in a circle.
…
Oh no, the end of civilisation is near. This type of thing has never happened before. Now, our youths are going to become decadent degenerates.
Let’s take a step back and consider this:
If you have had a good upbringing, are such games going to unleash a torrent of horniness in you?
If the games can induce such behaviour, I suggest that it is the youths’ parents who are at fault.
Anyway, all this is not new. Maybe our parents, aunties or uncles might have played this game in their youth.
I don’t think they turned out for the worse.
Screenshot from Phillip Chew’s blog.
On Saturday, I went on a mini shopping spree. I came back with a few treasures - books and DVDs about Singapore.
None of these are likely to become required reading or viewing as part of National Indoctrination Education. Nevertheless (or is it ‘Because of’?), this unlikely quintet are more authentic than most of what you see on Channel 5 and 8.
Ah, actually, there is something to be said about that - the Channel 8 reference - particularly regarding The Resident Tourist series. I think the graphic novels will strike a chord with many English-educated Chinese here. Troy Chin’s observations, experiences and asides about Singapore will have you nodding and laughing in agreement.
Troy is The Resident Tourist. He details his return to Singapore from New York, where he worked as a music executive. Having been away, he plays tourist in Singapore since he is busy being a bum illustrating and writing a comic about himself - The Resident Tourist.
Very meta.
I read Part 1 online, after finding out about it via Tomorrow.sg. Even before I was halfway through, I decided to buy the book. Troy (and Adrian Teo, the publisher), if you are reading this, please publish Part 3!
Moving on to the DVDs.
Remember Chek Jawa, by Eric Lin, documents the journey of ordinary Singaporeans in their valiant effort to survey and ultimately save Chek Jawa from the threat of destruction. If you believe our gahmen doesn’t listen - and I often do - then this documentary will at least make you think twice about that sentiment. Though I still think that on balance, the gahmen generally doesn’t. Think IR and others.
The documentary reveals that we do have natural resources. Perhaps non-exploitable, but they exist.
The Tan Pin Pin Collection is a compilation of three documentaries by Tan Pin Pin - Moving House, Singapore GaGa and Invisible City.
Moving House explores the theme of displacement and development through the exhumation of the director’s great grandfather’s grave.
Singapore GaGa is a documentary about the sounds that make up Singapore. Sounds that we take for granted. Sounds that we might not even notice. There is an interview with the Old Voice of MRT. And you’ll discover why you had to learn to play the recorder in school.
Finally, there is Invisible City, a study of the hidden histories of our land. If Remember Chek Jawa reminds us that we have natural heritage, Invisible City highlights that we have many alternative historical narratives besides the grand story of how we got kicked out of Malaysia and eventually made good.
The common thread that binds these books and DVDs is that they all touch on our identity as Singaporeans. None provide answers. What they serve to do is to make us reflect and to question truisms. The books and DVDs open our eyes to different and sometimes hidden aspects of our existence as Singaporeans.
Similar PostsAnother year. Another National Day coming up.
But this year, the feeling is just not there.
In this place where the one sure thing is change, I am feeling displaced for the first time.
Mind you, belonging to the minority of minorities in Singapore, I would well have felt out of place years ago.
I didn’t.
But something has changed fundamentally in Singapore over the past few years.
What is it exactly?
I can’t put my finger on it.
Still, it’s there. Like the heat you feel from a rash that’s about to break out.
I tell people that I chose not to stay in Australia after university because Singapore is home.
Truth is, Australia has more than enough Arts graduates and wouldn’t accept me unless I have half a million invested in the land Down Under.
If I were an accountant, baker or hairstylist (I am not kidding), they’d beg me to stay. But I’d still say:
“Singapore is home.”
I am beginning to question that.
Is this strange, unrecognisable, crowded place home?
The place where I grew up?
The people that I grew up with?
Democracy, justice, equality, happiness, prosperity, progress.
Onward Singapore, let’s move on.
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