It ain’t over till the Complaints Choir sings (publicly)

Just last night my mom was asking me “Don’t you think people (obviously referring to me) are sometimes self-contradictory?”

I replied : “Sometimes? We’re always contradicting ourselves, and the best part is we don’t seem to realise it most of the time.”

Fast-forward to this lazy Tuesday afternoon, I found this clip of the Complaints Choir on Mr.Brown. Originally formed by 2 Finnish in Helsinki, they have been touring around the globe and their latest stop so happens to be the red small dot that we all have come to love and adore, Singapore. The police, however, “banned its foreign members from singing, organizers said on Saturday.” Full article here courtesy of Reuters. The video is below, and lyrics here :

So, as Reuters pointed out, Singapore is become increasingly reliant on foreigners (adding 2 million people to the island’s 4.7 million people over the next 40 to 50 years) to support the economy, among other national issues. But they’re presumably supposed to leave their criticisms back in their homeland; Just bring along your praises and high opinions, if any. How wonderfully convenient.

And wasn’t it just recently that our dear Media Development Authority released their debut rap single? Being a Singaporean, and I think I speak for quite a few others too, I found that more worthy of a ban compared to foreigners singing complaints, if we had to choose between the 2. Anyhow, it was a good call nonetheless. I thank the police for preventing a potential riot from happening simply by banning the Complaints Choir from giving public performances. Given that the lyrics were so politically sensitive (“People blow their nose into the swimming pool”), only Singaporeans should have the right to comment, and sing, about them. Come to think of it, it wouldn’t truly be Singapore if we didn’t fine them too, as the Complaints Choir so aptly puts it in their first verse. For a nation that’s striving to be a vibrant arts and cultural hub, there’s definitely a conflict in opinions regarding what we should be showcasing, and what we shouldn’t.

Are the complaints true? Possibly, although some for just a tiny minority, and does not reflect Singapore per se. After listening to it while reading the lyrics, I felt certain complaints actually applied to me (no, I don’t squat on toilet seats) and perhaps it was simply in my nature to just laugh about it, since it was all in good fun. However I felt the government could have used this opportunity to change its draconian public image when it comes to criticism, but I guess that’ll have to wait for another day. In the meantime let’s just see if we do drop below #144.

Edit: According to TOC, the choir actually had sent in their lyrics for approval and were cleared by the MDA. An excellent follow-up article here by TOC as well.

Do you want to be an ant?

This is one of my favourite scenes from the digital movie , Waking Life. The film indulges you with many esoteric yet intriguing concepts such as lucid dreaming, free will, neo-humanism and its possible impact on evolution, the film theory of André Bazin and so on. Like icing on the cake, this show has been nominated and won a couple of awards for its technical presentation : “The entire film was shot using digital video and then a team of artists using computers drew stylized lines and colors over each frame.”

” I don’t wanna be an ant, you know. I mean, it’s like, we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another continuously on ant auto-pilot, with nothing really human required of us.

Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there.

All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner.

‘Here’s your change.’ ‘Paper or plastic?’ ‘Credit or debit? ‘ ‘Want ketchup with that?’

I don’t want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you… I want you to see me. I don’t wanna give that up. I don’t want to be an ant, you know? “

I don’t think real human moments are necessarily difficult to experience. Spending that extra few seconds to hold the door for a stranger, flashing a smile and greeting the sweeper that routinely cleans your estate every single morning, or giving a loved one that unexpected hug from behind. No, real human moments should be deeper than that. I don’t think it’s enough to merely evoke a simple reciprocation, especially not if it’s simply a basic courtesy gesture. Real human moments should leave you coming back for more, like a sheikh who’s lost in the desert and just had his first sip of water in days from an oasis. Any parties involved should feel engaged, a communion of souls so to speak. Real human moments should make you feel alive and jolt you out of your daily ritualistic routines. I do think that it’s possible, and a terrible waste, to go through life without actually living it.

Alternatively, being on ant auto-pilot mode isn’t that bad too, right? Just accept and absorb whatever society throws at you : the hottest fashion trends, political ideologies and consumerism’s latest flavour of the month, whatever that may be. It’s so much easier and simpler. I guess apathy works for certain people :/

While we’re on the topic of ants, I saw this clip floating around the net not too long ago. Maybe being an ant has its perks after all if we’re able to produce such an elaborate and amazing structure…

Scientology – What is it?

I’m a self-confessed frequent visitor of Digg – I fancy it as an alternative channel to news filtered out by the MSM (Mainstream Media). A brilliant example would be Ron Paul, a U.S. Presidential Candidate cum Republican Libertarian that, as far as I’ve seen, gives the most sensible and well thought-out speeches. The little amount of coverage Time, CNN and even our own Straits Times gives him compared to the other candidates is not even funny, considering how he raised $19million in the 4th quarter of 2007 and has a huge Internet following (search Ron Paul on youtube, and see how many results you get and their respective comments).

Anyhow, I digress. Lately the Digg community has been all over Scientology, and the only vague impression I had of it was that Tom Cruise was a Scientologist. Is that some special title celebrities are given when they make remarkable contributions in the fields of research and science? Far from it, I’d say.

As much as I’d love to present a brief introduction on how I view Scientology, I’ll refrain since I personally have not come into contact with neither the church nor any of its members. And let me add, I doubt very much I would want to. What Scientology really embodies is highly controversial, as seen in this video by the BBC.

If that has piqued your interest, here’s an article, with a video attached, of Scientology’s most famous member to date, Tom Cruise.

At the risk of being “fair game”, here’s another disturbing Scientology-related video. Before you watch it though, here’s a Baloney Detection kit, aimed at helping to spot fallacies in logic and rhetoric; see if you can apply it to this video:

And the final article if you’re just as appalled cautious as me.

A tribute to Coldplay – 10 years

Unless you’re from another interstellar galaxy, chances are you’re already familiar with these guys. Just a few days ago I found myself running out of good music to listen to, so I casually browsed through the album listings in my Zune and decided to give X&Y – Coldplay’s 2005 album – another listen, from start to finish.

I’m not going to lie, it was absolutely brilliant. In my humble opinion, X&Y could by itself be renamed to a Greatest Hits album and the layman, on the first initial listen, wouldn’t find fault with it.

Just very recently, Coldplay celebrated 10 years since their band first came together (under the original handle of Starfish), and being an ardent fan, decided there was probably no better way to celebrate with them by taking a gleeful stroll down memory lane.

Some background info from their wiki entry :

Coldplay are an English rock band. Formed in 1996 in London, the group comprises vocalist/pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion. Coldplay achieved worldwide fame with their 2000 single “Yellow“, followed by the success of their debut album, Parachutes, which was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Coldplay went on to be nominated for this prestigious award on two further occasions, once in 2003 and again in 2005. Coldplay have been one of the most commercially successful acts of the new millennium, selling over 30.5 million albums. The band are also known for hit singles, including “Yellow” and the Grammy Award-winning “Clocks“.

Their first break-through single that caught the public’s eye was undoubtedly Yellow. Simple lyrics that ignited waves of passion when sung with a glorious falsetto and backed up by an addictive melody – listeners all around the world fell instantly in love with the tune.

I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
D’you know for you i bleed myself dry
For you i bleed myself dry

Its true look how they shine for you

(Gosh I still remember seeing this on MTV and being mesmerised by Chris Martin… Makes one wonder what took Gwyneth Paltrow that long to agree to marry him, doesn’t it?)

A Rush of Blood to the Head was their next widely-anticipated release. Working with the mantra of “Don’t fix what ain’t broken”, the next few hits that spawned from this album all had a few common characteristics – Chris Martin’s soothing vocals and falsetto, a catchy yet endearing beat, the heavenly alliance of piano, synthesiser, guitar, and drums, and something magically indescribable that makes one come back for more, over and over again.

I’ll start off with Clocks. You can’t go wrong with such an uplifting piano intro, can you?

Lights go out and I can’t be saved
Tides that I tried to swim against
You’ve put me down upon my knees
Oh I beg, I beg and plead (singing)
Come out of things unsaid, shoot an apple off my head (and a)
Trouble that can’t be named, a tiger’s waiting to be tamed (singing)

In My Place was another hit single, and its MTV was proof that you don’t need to spend millions, yes millions, on a video because it’s the song that sells. What I love most about this song is the chill-out element to it, and how terribly effective it is to calm your frizzled nerves or just mark the end of another busy day.

In my place, in my place
Were lines that I couldn’t change
I was lost, oh yeah

I was lost, I was lost
Crossed lines I shouldn’t have crossed
I was lost, oh yeah

Yeah, how long must you wait for him?
Yeah, how long must you pay for him?
Yeah, how long must you wait for him?

Here’s a higher quality version, in terms of audio output. And it’s a really well-made FF7:AC MTV too.

Here’s the 3rd mega-single – The Scientist, and my personal favourite too. I’m certain almost everyone can relate to at least one of their songs, and this is it for me. A sombre, gentle tune which describes a heart-broken lover who wants to start afresh, but seemingly impossible – As the MTV suggests.

Come up to meet you, Tell you I’m sorry, You don’t know how lovely you are
I had to find you, Tell you I need you, Tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets, And ask me your questions, Aww let’s go back to the start
Runnin’ in circles, Comin’ our tails, Heads on the science apart

And now, onto X&Y, which was released in 2005. The album is still distinctly Coldplay with tracks like “Fix You” and “What If”, not that the world minded – It became the best-selling album of 2005 with worldwide sales of 8.3 million.

Speed of Sound sounds vaguely similar to Clocks… or could it be just me? Still an excellent song, nonetheless, with a hypnotising piano intro that creeps in at intervals throughout the song.

How long before I get in
Before it starts before I begin
How long before you decide
Before I know what it feels like
Where to, where do I go?
If you never try then you’ll never know
How long do I have to climb
Up on the side of this mountain of mine

And here’s another gem from this album – Fix You. I love how they incorporated the organ sound into this song, because it really emphasises and sets the mood right from the get-go. And the energy of the song at the halfway mark! It feels I’m listening to trance all of a sudden… watch the crowd go berserk and imagine yourself in there. Tell me you’re not getting goosebumps (in a good way) Coldplay really outdid themselves with this one, kudos to them for pushing the standards of good music a few notches higher.

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down on your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And here’s more interesting titbits from their wiki entry :

Despite Coldplay’s large worldwide popularity, the band has remained protective of how their music is used in the media, refusing its use for product endorsements. In the past, Coldplay turned down multi-million dollar contracts from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and Gap, who wanted to use the songs “Yellow“, “Trouble“, and “Don’t Panic” respectively. According to Martin, “We wouldn’t be able to live with ourselves if we sold the songs’ meanings like that.”^[15]

Coldplay is a supporter of Amnesty International. Chris Martin is also noted as one of the most visible celebrity advocates for “fair trade”, supporting Oxfam’s Make Trade Fair campaign until its dissolution in 2005 after the G8 summit in Gleneagles. Martin has been on trips with Oxfam to assess conditions, has appeared in its advertising campaign, and is known for wearing a “Make Trade Fair” wristband during public appearances, including at Coldplay concerts.

Martin was outspoken against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004. Although he is not a U.S. citizen, Martin’s wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, is; both currently live in London and Los Angeles.

In their early years, Coldplay were also widely noted in the media for their claim to give 10% of the band’s profits to charity. Bassist Guy Berryman said, “You can make people aware of issues. It isn’t very much effort for us at all, but if it can help people, then we want to do it”.^[16] The band also asks that any gifts intended for it are donated to charity, according to a response on the FAQ section of Coldplay’s website.

Coldplay parodied their own highly publicised stance on political and social issues with a cameo in the 2004 film Shaun of the Dead, appearing on TV within the film to support the charity “Zombaid” (a pun on Live Aid), a charity dedicated to giving zombies better political rights. Martin also played himself on an episode of Extras in which he shamelessly promoted a fictitious Greatest Hits album.

You owe it to yourself to go get their albums if you haven’t really paid much attention to them.

Coming out from the pigeon hole

Both my Human Resource Management and Organisation Theory lecturers share something interesting in common – both are confident and assured that whatever our local government has been doing over the past few years, isn’t turning out horribly wrong. Occasionally, while in the process of lecturing, I’d notice they’d painstakingly point out that Singapore is more of a democracy compared to its ASEAN neighbours, which is a refreshing view vis-a-vis our local blogsphere.

From time to time, I think it’s useful to remind ourselves that things in Singapore could be subjected to a lot worse than higher taxi-fares, higher ERP rates and higher pay-checks of our widely-adored ministers. Take for instance, Zimbabwe’s economy. According to Wikipedia,

“The economy of Zimbabwe is collapsing under the weight of economic mismanagement, resulting in 85% unemployment and the highest rate of inflation in the world. The economy poorly transitioned after Mugabe’s leadership, deteriorating from one of Africa’s strongest economies to the world’s worst. Inflation has surpassed that of all other nations at 11,000%, with the next highest in Burma at 40%. The government has attributed the economy’s poor performance to international sanctions.”

This essentially translates into a chaotic marketplace where bananas cost more than a house, and despite the fact that everyone’s a millionaire due to hyper-inflation, everyone’s exceedingly poor too. And the economy is but just one facet of the crisis going on there.

More recently, Pakistan has deployed paramilitary troops to guard over its wheat supplies amid fears of a massive shortfall. This is wheat we’re talking about! Rice is the staple food through most,if not all, of Asia. Something so crucial yet something so often taking for granted everyday, 3 times a day, right here in Singapore. And it’s not just Pakistan – there was a poor wheat harvest which led to shortfall all around the world, which I’m guessing was partly due to environmental issues.

If you’ve been following the U.S. presidential elections, you’d be familiar with Mike Huckabee, one of the front runners of the Republican Party. As far as I can tell, his strategy involves marketing his evangelical position as a fundamental Christian, which proved effective in deeply-religious Iowa. But I’d bet the majority of political spectators did not see this coming :

Changing the constitution to fit God’s standards? Is this guy running for president, or running for Jesus? Has he not heard of the separation of church and state?

“In the United States, separation of church and state is often identified with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… The phrase building a wall of separation between church and state was written by Thomas Jefferson in a January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association.”

The implications, if this were to happen, could be ridiculous. Homosexuals would be hunted down and jailed as if homosexuality were a crime, atheists would be tied to wooden stakes and burnt like how witches were treated in Europe during the 13th-16th century, the list goes on.

To believe or not to believe

Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.

 

Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.

 

Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?

 

Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?

- Epicurus

(From : http://leftofzen.com/quotes-atheism/2008/01/14/)

When I seek answers, all I seem to be getting are just more perplexing questions. I guess you could call this an “appetiser” post, a prelude to a lengthier and more detailed post in the future.

Note to self : You have not even STARTED reading any of those books mentioned here, and even returned Wealth of Nations before it was due. If anyone could point me to a nearby kiosk where I can top up some motivational fuel, that’d be much appreciated.

Holism

Holism – That was what came to mind first when I saw this very intricately edited image.

The general principle of holism was concisely summarized by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.”

P.S. WordPress (or it could be this particular design layout I opted for) doesn’t allow the original resolution to be uploaded, so I had to resize it. For Firefox users, Right-click–>View Image to appreciate it in its original splendour. For IE users …. head to this website.

When there is nothing left to say…

Let music be the expression of your feelings!

I’ve always been baffled when I come across people who tell me that music isn’t one of their passions in life, and that they would rather chase the different seasons of fashion or that they much rather enjoy kicking back and enjoy no-brainer episodes of soap dramas. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer in civil liberties and human rights – everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and nobody should impose one’s beliefs unto others.

However, I do find it disappointing when people go through life without realising that they’ve just missed something magical, something so encapsulating and wonderful. It’s a real pity, sheesh.

Always have been a big fan of quotes, so I’ll end this post with a couple of brilliant quotes and a video of one of my all-time favourite tunes.

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.”

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul”

“Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

Literary Gluttony

So I am convinced one of the stepping stones towards personal growth would be to read more. More specifically, read more books. Good thing I never ever got hooked onto trash gossip magazines; those are such a waste of time.

I have a couple of books lying around, waiting to be read/finished. First on the list would definitely be :

An excellent book for anyone looking for a harsh and critical perspective on religion (mostly Christianity and Islam). Christopher Hitchens doesn’t hold back when he lashes out his points and sprinkles his arguments with flowery vocabulary.

I received a pleasant surprise as well when I received this VERY belated birthday present from a dear friend of mine over the weekend :

It’s a graphic novel ( NOT cartoon), of one of my favourite movies. If you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it as it’s tastefully directed and made. Here’s an incentive : Jessica Alba’s in it.

A book I borrowed from the library :

This book is in another playing field of it’s own. It’s a behemoth in terms of what it packs and how it presents itself … Just a few pages into this book is enough to put me straight into a deep slumber. It’ll be a miracle if I finish this before the library dead-line.

It does seem a little creepy but I feel as if the universe itself is trying to make me read more, and it does so by throwing clues and hints along my way. No matter where I look, something related to reading has crossed my life.

- Just last week, I just finished reading (online) my first ever manga set, Flame of Recca. 329 chapters in all! What a blast and I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter, especially the final fight scenes.

- Received Sin City, a book, as a present.

- Today’s lifehack.org’s article is entitled ” Literary Gluttony – How to consume more books this year “

And I’m sure I’ve missed certain hints that were probably right smack in front of me…

Al Jazeera talks to Singapore university students

This video brought a couple of interesting views under discussion, notably Singapore’s freedom of press, and this “supposed” climate of fear that Singaporeans live in.

According to Reporters without Borders’ Annual Worldwide Press Freedom 2007, Singapore is an astonishing #144 out of the 166~ countries studied in the survey, behind countries such as Kazakhstan (#138) and Afghanistan (#134). For objective, accurate global news and critical opinions, I suppose I’m still able to rely on The Straits Times. Anything local, however, I’d choose to rely on our local blogosphere.