tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1741491132980467332012-02-27T03:59:09.394-05:00a place from my head.reveyelnoreply@blogger.comBlogger101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-70170622830071142042011-10-27T12:26:00.004-04:002011-10-27T12:30:31.022-04:00

I interrupt my regular programming of not giving a shit about this blog to bring you this brief counter-argument to disapproving reactions to MP Chen Show Mao's maiden parliamentary speech. Among the seventy-odd speeches made during the week-long session, it was Chen's speech, with its erudite Mandarin and obscure Chinese analogies, that stood out above the rest. It invited several retorts from

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-39043885526244841502011-05-04T02:25:00.009-04:002011-05-04T16:28:19.125-04:00

1. It's truly sad that opposition parties and netizens are bearing the burden of educating voters about the electoral and political processes. The PAP obviously has no interest in having people internalise the fact that their vote is secret, and that the government and governing party are separate concepts. 2. There's no point in voting for the opposition if they're well and truly duds,

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-90618705045433257812011-04-22T07:20:00.066-04:002011-05-02T18:11:52.821-04:00

There's been a lot of buzz about this general election, but I'm less interested in the candidates and policy issues than the fact that this election is taking place under a different context. I believe this election may mark a gradual democratisation of politics, a transition which we all have to adjust to regardless of our political affiliations. Democracy does not equal elections I use

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-60893159438367768552010-02-11T01:46:00.007-05:002010-02-11T18:36:15.534-05:00

This entry is about Pastor Rony Tan's PR fiasco. I wrote this on his Facebook group in response one of its members. Naturally, I was kicked out of the group, which was then made private. So I might as well put it up here anyway, after expanding my comments. Christianity exhorts its believers that faith in God through Jesus Christ is the only path to eternal life and salvation. It frowns upon

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-91137136449010989722009-09-17T15:28:00.019-04:002009-09-18T09:24:24.514-04:00

Which is more socialist/fascist: making it compulsory for citizens to buy insurance from non-profit cooperatives and private companies, or making it optional for them to buy cheaper insurance from a government-run insurance provider? That's the question that came to my mind when I was reading this CNN article, which a friend alerted me to, about the healthcare reform bill which is being

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-11377903247170247982009-09-09T02:51:00.016-04:002009-09-14T00:19:40.920-04:00

In between the painful adjustment to classes (and senior year), and chilling in better weather and with college friends again, I've been far too neglectful and busy to blog some of the stuff that crossed my mind. In the days before leaving Singapore, I've had cheng tng, almond jelly, red bean soup, Teochew dumpling noodle, sliced fish beehoon, pig's organ soup, herbal fish soup, roti prata,

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-43645861753078513792009-08-01T00:05:00.000-04:002009-09-09T00:59:13.437-04:00

I'm slightly bemused and annoyed by this letter ("Be Grateful, Singapore") published recently in the Straits Times Forum. In it, the Canadian extols the wonders of living in Singapore that makes his home city Toronto look quite literally like a rubbish dump.I love how the Straits Times, true to it's "nation-building" mission, routinely publishes, at strategic times, these letters of foreigners,

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-61079149158880340882009-07-27T10:34:00.000-04:002009-09-09T00:59:13.437-04:00

Two of my favourite answers:A. It means having to wake up half an hour earlier every morning to drag my ass to school when I could have slept a bit more.B. It reminds me of the betrayal of all the founding principles of our nation (i.e. democracy, justice, equality, progress, etc.).

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-85097699574902404842009-07-25T02:28:00.000-04:002009-09-09T00:59:13.437-04:00

It's great when you know the local language while travelling, especially in a crazy city like the Chinese capital, but that didn't stop me from getting lost, taking public transport in the wrong directions, or getting ripped off. In any case, I could never get used to listening to the Beijing dialect, and certain conversations carried my Mandarin fluency to its outer limits, especially where they

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174149113298046733.post-24646408795205658692009-07-12T07:24:00.001-04:002011-04-22T07:34:11.468-04:00

Back on the blogging bandwagon after a 2-year hiatus. It's 4 hours away to my flight, and I'm really really psyched to be lost in the bowels of Beijing for the next 9 days. No epic food poisoning, embarrassing diarrhoeas, lost cameras or baggages that fall off the face of the planet this time, please.

reveyelnoreply@blogger.com0