… on the Iraq War propaganda, ie going by how Jon Stewart has interpreted what Bush’s been saying…
Direct Link here
Don’t you just love the guy – the one on the left of course.
October 30, 2006
October 28, 2006
Labelling Blog.sg
Finally, the much awaited inaugural episode of Channel News Asia, BlogTV.sg was aired on Tuesday evening.
Li Xueling and Flying Dutchman interviewed three female bloggers – the infamous Sarong Party Girl/Miss Izzy, a lady who’s recorded her pregnancy on her blog and this other recently returned Australian graduate (sorry Lady, my limited mental capacity just failed to register your gigs for laughs blog) and the editor of 8 days magazine.
Am I not surprised – and a little disappointed that Singapore TV has failed to challenge my preconceptions – that the entire programme served to reinforce the labels on (Singapore) bloggers:
1. Narcissistic – ah well, tell me if blog is a personalised medium that allows space for self-expression, is it any wonder the contents are gonna centre on I/Me/Myself? And mind you, this is exactly how blogs may deliver its potential as citizen medium. For how else can you tap on views of everyday man and woman if they aren’t gonna express what THEY think (irregardless of the propaganda out there?).
2. Exhibitionist – this is tied to point 1. Nonetheless, I do think the programme – as with all mainstream media reports on Singapore blogosphere – has missed the point! We are talking about cyberspace here, and this is where parts matter more than the whole, individuals could exercise their freedom of self-expression precisely to connect with like-minded others. Undeniably, blogging – as with all other forms of cyber activity – carries with it a certain degree of voyeurism. But seriously, this is the tricky question all wired nations have to confront – you can’t segregate the ease and speed of cyber communication from its liberalising aspects. This brings me to point 3.
3. Rebellious voyeurs who disregard paternalistic controls – During the interview with Izzy, host Li Xueling ‘complimented’ Izzy on exercising discretion and respecting her parents in removing her nude shots from her erstwhile blog, Sarong Party Girl. Methinks this comment is either (a) totally incongruous, given the context of my earlier discussion on points 1 and 2, or (b) could be treated as a veiled critique of Singaporean bloggers, alluding mainly to this spirit of voyeurism that seems to challenge conventions and evade parental control. In either case, it does appear to me that this is indicative of the widening gap between mainstream media and the alternative space of Singapore blogosphere.
My hunch was unfortunately proven correcto in the second half of the programme when this 8 days editor – seems to be in his mid to late twenties – slammed the bloggers for being opinionated, and not contributing to objective reporting.
All in all, BlogTV.sg has unfortunately proven once again, how quick the MSM are to judge the bloggers – either to proliferate the stereotypical image of narcissistic, exhibitionist blogger or to simulate an illusion that bloggers can be brought to task by societal demands. It ain’t any wonder Singaporean bloggers are generally sceptical of the programme even before it went on air.
October 24, 2006
Food for life and death
Chatting with a friend about event planning and brought up the topic of food allergy. The most life threatening seems to be nut allergy, or as the doctors would have termed, anaphylaxis.
You might be asking the same question as I did: how then do these folks find out they are suffering from anaphylaxis? Guess what, it takes a life after death experience to realise one is inflicted with this condition. So as this friend of mine would recount, one of her client nearly died from nut consumption whilst as a baby – imagine registering pulselessness on a cardiac monitor and nearly, nearly certified dead.
And strangely, this condition seems to inflict more the west than the other parts of the world, leading to a popular speculation amongst some medical practitioners that the allergy is the side effect of a ’squeaky clean’ western lifestyle.
With the extensive clean up campaign going on in Beijing right now, I wonder what the Chinese authorities will say to this 
.
Prestige: The state of disengaging schizophrenia
It wasn’t really planned, hell! how far could we really follow our plans to the most minute moments in life! Anyway, I have to say, I wasn’t quite mentally prepared for an afternoon spent wallowing in the darkness of humanity when I bought the ticket to The Prestige. It does sound like most who have watched the movie – in North America at least – love it to bits. Here, I’m gonna beg to differ – ok dun read this if you love the original novel and plan to watch the film!
Not discounting the excellent acting and the production values, I find the movie quite a drag, particularly through its second half. Rather than getting increasingly engaged in the thickness of the plot, I was left feeling more or less detached through the erratic pace of its storytelling.
So the uninformed audience – me – was no doubt aware of its central plot – the cutthroat rivalry between two magicians in the 1800s, the message remains elusive through an obviously deliberate suspense that’s built in its delivery.
Ultimately, the filmatic experience is like a flitting illusion – of an outsider looking into the dysfunctional schizophrenia of master magicians – the puzzle of which just plainly refuses to fall into place.
October 22, 2006
cyber hibernating in progress…
This is what happens when you have one big event to run prior to the Deepavali and Hari Raya long weekend …
Ah… someone pls enlighten me why it’s called Diwali nowadays?
Brb.
October 15, 2006
Promoting arts to mainstream audience
First the bloggers, now the arts community’s taking on the MSM on its role in promoting arts events in Singapore.
Letter from Arts Community members to ST Life! on October 14 2006:
And this is the response from ST Life!’s editor published on the same day:
Seriously guys, in a capitalist nation-state which could only afford to support (economically and politically) a few (just two really) major media players, there are only two possible scenarios when arts community could seek to secure support from a mainstream paper such as Straits Times:
1. Based on the assumptions of Keith Windschuttle’s model, that there’s an overwhelming (or at least perceived to be so) market demand to justify the case. Explains why most times mega budget productions or blockbuster exhibitions will still command a presence in mainstream media coverage.
2. Or if we were to apply Noam Chomsky’s Propaganda Model, where media institutions are perceived as channels to disseminate the ideology of the ruling elites, that the arts community or at least their artistic representations shall serve to support the purpose of the dominant ideology.
In either case, for theatrical companies thriving to present alternative representations of social reality, the options remain limited. Given the interest of ruling elties in promoting Singapore as a vibrant media (and arts) hub, perhaps it’s time to push for an arts daily? That is provided there are enough artistic activities happening throughout the year (well it does seem to be the case from what I’ve been observing of the calendar of arts events in town!).
I’m certainly hopeful and looking forward to the day that this may indeed materialise.
October 13, 2006
The Prize from everyday life
The winner of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize goes to: (once small-time) ’small sums money lender’ or a nice word for it, microfinancer, Bangladeshi, Muhammad Yunus. This is one man who began making a difference on an everyday basis, loaning money in small sums to those (once) stuck in the poverty trap all based on the basic element of human trust.
The really amazing thing is how the business, rather than going bust, has grown. All goes to show – contrary to popular belief – that wealth is clearly not an indicator of integrity.
Love how the fact that the Norwegian panelists have obviously passed over hot faves like Oprah Winfrey for a much lower profile everyday man aka Muhammad Yunus. Methinks this is a signal to the world that indeed, we can all make a difference through incremental changes in daily lives.
Three cheers for the glbt friendly Norwegian culture and their ‘unconventional’ choice for Nobel Peace Prize this year!
Faces of strained multilateral relations
Bitchy post – am bitchy cos my brain is so damned fried.
Ok – enough ranting. Now for the disclaimer: below post contains hyperboles entirely based on the author’s reading. It’s entirely up to the discerning reader to develop your own intelligent views of the current situation. Do not proceed to read if you are sitting on the fence now or have any nudging doubts of holding your own stand regarding the ‘North Korea issue’.
Just thought over the panel discussion on 8.30pm two nights ago on CNA about the nuclear test in North Korea.
And it’s not surprising, how strained the discussion was.
You have David Nye trying to engage an obviously helpless Korean professor, a disgruntled Japanese professor and a (western) onlooker.
Each is supposed to represent the viewpoints of the key stakeholder nations (minus China but of course!) post-nuclear test. So it ain’t no wonder, there’s an apparent lack of any interaction between the panelists. The entire discussion contained anecdotes of each panelist stating his view or representation of his nation’s views.
My sympathies go to the (South) Korean professor who’s caught between the devil and the deep blue sea when David Nye tried to probe on South Korea’s standpoint on economic and political sanctions/the Sunshine policy.
My personal view here entirely – there’s a moment during the discussion when the Japanese professor articulated a rather strong statement against the Chinese role in the North Korea affairs. In my opinion, this was really a classic example of the long overdrawn Sino-Japanese tension.
And then you have the onlooker – he who was often called to break the ice when David Nye’s questions seemed to draw a blank from the other two. He who seemed to stand for the (western) authority over the entire situation, he who seemed to hold the power to decide the road ahead.
To me, the entire panel discussion – though lacking in sparks between the panelists – seemed to be an ironic microcosm of the world politics. And with this entire lack of consensus or even the willingness to openly discuss the options – well the news nowaday appears to point to a (false) temporal optimism on the breakthrough in the discussion amongst the members of the Security council – but seriously, aren’t the actions of the so-called irrational or at times constructed as insane actions of the Middle Eastern ‘terrorists’ or the ‘mad man of North Korea’ a clear enough sign of a struggle against the power imbalance in this world?
To all those in power: take heed, when you think you know the world.
“To speak starting from the already known also paralyses the becoming of the one and of the other… [B]etween the master and the disciple – as between the father and the son – there is no real exchange of meaning… For there to be an exchange, it is essential that the other touch us, particularly through words…
The best measure … appears to be the parent – even paternalistic – relation, which, in fact, does not know a real proximity or approach. Besides the fact that it is calculated in terms of precedence of age, or power, of goods, it is also hierachical with respect to alternity and does not behave toward the other in a relation of approximation. What results from this is a lack of differentiation between one and another which prevents every possibility and even every sense of approach between those who are different.”
Luce Irigaray – the Way of Love
Ironically, for my piece at least, I have to seal this piece with a quote from a (western) philosopher. But hey, she makes good sense of what’s going on here (big sigh!). Oh by the way, I’m not naming names here for the panelists – so this post is entirely not meant to be personal digs. Please read between the lines or don’t read this at all if you are really out to find fault with the rest of the world.
-phobia: clinical and non-clinical
Freaking long list of -phobia – clinical and non-clinical, to pick on some of the more interesting ones:
Clinical
Fear of giving a speech – glossophobia, huh lay man terms we often call this stage fright, no?
Fear of kissing – Philematophobia (wtf?! fancy dating someone who’s afraid of kissing!)
Fear of long words – Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia! Freaking long word!
Feature on on clinical phobia right here.
Non-clinical
Wiki considers these terms as generally associated with discrimination or prejudice against categories of things or people.
Other than the rather commonly used ‘xenophobia‘, which in my opinion, has been increasingly – and strangely enough – used to connotate racism in Singapore, you have, lo and behold! ephebophobia, fear of children?!
There are so many people/things we may fear or detest in this world – so I wonder, how we should term the fear of living? Existentiaphobia? Whatever!
Posted on a day when ideas run dry and when my blog is dying from the drying up of ideas.
