Friends

Over the years, I learnt that friendships can be hard to keep. As we grow up, we will inevitably develop different aspirations, acquire different habits and subscribe to alternative sets of values. Few stay the same throughout. I always felt that the way to deal with it would be to learn how to catch up with each other’s changes, however, at times, I do wonder why do we try so hard and go out of our way to adjust to and learn to appreciate each other? If a friendship was founded on certain similarities, be it in values, interests or inclinations, then if either one has changed so much, would it still be the same friend whom you known and cherished in the beginning? If a friend grows to be so different from how he or she is originally then are we really trying so hard all because we have started the friendship and it has in a way become a committment? Do we service our friendships because we care or because we always cared?

Increasingly, I’m of the view that we simply go on because it is a journey that we have embarked on. Drawing from a used-to-death-cliche-quote, life’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get. In a sense, every friendship resembles an adventure because individually we have different realities, experiences and analyses of the world. While a friend may change drastically and put forth new ideas that may be foreign and even discomforting, it may also consequently revolutionise our ‘reality’. And because friendships are formed on a sustained, long-term basis, we would be able to learn from each other over time. However, at this point, friendships may seem somewhat utilitarian, and this begs the question of whether we should just hold on somehow because we just care?

Speaker’s Corner

Had a debate with a friend yesterday about the utility, purpose and viability of the speaker’s corner. Through the debate, I realised that my impression that the state of our civil society in Singapore as being infantile and flailing is increasingly outdated. He ‘lectured’ me on the proliferation of more organised and professional groups such as The Online Citizen (http://theonlinecitizen.com/) and Maruah (http://maruahsg.wordpress.com/), which surprised me considerably because for the longest time, I had imagined speaker’s corner to be dominated by opposition members, taxi uncles and random individuals. After looking through the websites and the Maruah position paper on the proposed ASEAN Human RIghts Body, I must say that I am impressed by the work that they have done. I agree with him that I have not given them due credits.

What is Truth?

Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumoured by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. — Buddha

‘then accept it and live up to it’ This is such an uncompromising exhortation. The abhorrence for hypocrisy in knowledge and action has never been captured more succintly and impactfully than in these few words. So well-said.

Little Children

The other night, I watched Little Children and as I do so I found myself idolising Todd Field, the director of the film. It is undisputably one of the best movies that I have ever watched. It was like a literature piece, except that it wasn’t as detailed as I would like it to be but still the director was brilliant in his ability to bring the audience to a different conclusion everytime he throws up new facts for consideration.

You find yourself going down a moral slippery slope which eventually convinces you that morality is but a different perspective of things, only to be rudely brought to your senses that moral/immoral decisions affect one and the people around one in very real terms that may leave immoral decisions utterly undesirable, no matter how gratifying/liberating they may be.

The director also teased out the issue of how ex-convicts should be viewed, whether or not we have a case in discriminating them based on their records. At the end of the movie, he does not show whether it is right or wrong to do so, instead, he introduced a myriad of factors for the viewer to consider. In presenting the many dimensions of the issue, Field leaves his viewer left utterly confounded and to struggle haplessly with earlier judgments passed about the ex-convict in the show.

Movie critic, Brandon Fibbs sheds light on why the movie is titled ‘Little Children’:

The adults are the little children to which the title refers. They spend the entire film in various states of juvenile immaturity, only grasping hold of their mantles of responsibility in the closing moments. Better late than never, we are told; it’s never too late to start acting like a grown up. The film ends with hope. There will be a lot of hard work ahead, but despite their flaws, you come to care for each of these characters and want the best for them–even the sex offender.

The movie ends with this very thought-provoking line:

You can’t change the past. But the future could be a different story. And it had to start somewhere.

Wall.e

It feels silly to blog about Wall.e but then and again, it is really a show that is simple yet articulate. Throughout the entire story, there was no dialogue between Wall.e and his beau, Eva. Their ‘conversations’ comprise mainly of saying each others’ name with great difficulty, the word ‘directive’ and, basically nothing else. Yet despite the scanty exchanges, it was a very moving love story because since no words can be used to express the love that Wall.e has for Eva, he can only resort to using actions. Although they only met briefly, Wall.e tried all he could to impress Eva. And when she went into hibernation mode, he also stuck by her side and cared for her. Perhaps the most touching was when he got crumpled up trying to hold up the aircraft activator. It was so touching.

The ending was perfect too, especially after listening to 4 hours of Biodiversity class. It really makes great sense. My favourite part of the show was the ending which attempts to depict what the people who returned to earth did using various civilisational graphics e.g. hieroglyphs, vangogh, monet, vietnamese drawings. I thought it symbolised how certain ideas, events are equally cherished by all of humanity in spite of geographical location, language and culture.

Learn to be a tailor

 The only man who behaves sensibly is my tailor; he takes my measurements anew every time he sees me, while all the rest go on with their old measurements and expect me to fit them. -George Bernard Shaw

Perhaps, we should all learn to be a tailor and be open to changes and new discoveries about people around us.

Cacique Democracy in the Philippines: Origins and Dreams

Benedict Anderson’s narration of Philippines political history is so good. Despite my lack of interest in Southeast Asian history other than Burma’s, his writing makes the events so riveting and political figures so intriguing that I wish I had taken a Southeast Asia minor. An excellent writer who makes history comes alive!

As far as the oligarchy was concerned, Marcos went straight for its jagular – the ‘rule of law’. From the very earliest days, Marcos used his plenary Martial Law powers to advise all oligarchs who dreamt of opposing or supplanting him that property was not power, since at the stroke of the martial pen it ceased to be property.”

Gosh, such clever use of every word.

Intern-al Affairs

I miss the interns a lot. Although it was only 3-weeks of brief interaction, I feel that I saw something really beautiful in each of the individuals that I’ve met. There was the jaded Russian expert, the existentialist who walked out of a French movie, the mammal who created an Intern Evil Directorate, the driven young girl who knows SG’s durian business inside out, the generous dude who ferried all us around the island on a food trail, and the bread-lover who threw her As to the wind when she decided to go Sciences Po.

I miss our daily intern lunches where we would bitch about work or the lack-of. I also liked how we would complain about Taman Serasi and Tanglin Mall and how we strived to bring out lunch venues a lil further each time, with the furthest being the horrible-tasting, tea flavoured rice at Holland V Essential Brews. I also like how the lunches stretched out from one to two hours. And the green tea ice-creams in the rain too! And the frequent, nonsensical emails that we send to one another! 

Thanks to the mammal, we bonded quite fast after a ridiculous kbox session where we sang broadway classicals with such seriousness. The food trail was also memorable, I would never forget the lesson on durian uncles’ treachery.

I think I was particularly touched when everyone waited for me after the ambassador TS abducted me. They just hung around and waited even though they had papers and presentations due the next morning. They even valiantly saved me though it got them dismally implicated in the process. The night ended climatically with the existentialist trying to convince me that smsing an ambassador in the middle of the night was a great idea.

Words can’t tell how wonderful this internship had been.