I mean I want to see

A GOOD piece by Skidelsky

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Someday I’ll be glad of when I’ve all this free time for reading, and wondering why I didn’t put it to better use.

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I want to write of this: long chats while eating keropok on the upper deck of a bus down Bukit Timah Road at night, doing differential equations on the train as I took the green line past Simei, Tanah Merah, Bedok, Kembangan, Eunos, animated talks while eating satay after concerts, walking through one raffles link, by the esplanade and along anderson bridge down to the quays — the bridges on the river in order: anderson, cavenagh, elgin, coleman, read — how singapore is beautiful at night. Eating 5 dinners in a day as we wandered down Katong and Joo Chiat, playing with a golden retriever at a beach on Sentosa, the area down Waterloo and Bencoolen Streets where I go for chicken rice and calligraphy lessons and organic vegetables, garland vendors and wet markets in Little India, watching the stars while camping out at Pulau Ubin, suppers of nasi lemak and mutton soup at Changi Village where we tried to spot the flock of cockatoos, comparing variants of laksa with Malaysian friends.

I want to write of this city, and I want to write of love, and I’ll get down to it. Was at the River again, and on a bus down Anderson bridge, along Victoria Concert Hall, a curve down to the Supreme Court, then past the Padang, with the cricket club illuminated to the right, then St Andrew’s cathedral on my left. I do love this place, and the layers of memory you have, areas with all their associations. Places where I went to my first concert, where friendships and relationships were formed and grew, the spots where we had conversations and meals and laughter you don’t forget. Ah well.

ON THE one hand there is the dazzling power of language to make possible, to restore, to communicate — articulation which affects our ability to think conceptually, to understand and communicate ideas, forming our identities as complex and subtle entities.

And on the other, the thresholds where words fail — or are not appropriate.

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The old motifs of the journey — home, departure, destination, the liminal space in between.

- New Historicism: Greenblatt’s Marvelous Possessions.
- Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography. James Clifford and George Marcus.
- Iain Sinclaire: Lights Out for the Territory.

Much fluff reading recently, with Alexander McCall Smiths and Jeanette Wintersons. I like McCall Smith’s Dalhousie novels because they bring back flashbacks of the golden philosophy major years. Thomas Nagel’s What Is It Like To Be A Bat. Kantian morality. And so on.

Would really like to get hold of the new Peter Carey, I remember being blown away by The Tax Inspector.

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A: Why is it so hard to find a girl? I’ve standards, but they’re not that high.
B: Oh?
A: Moustache acceptable, but no beards or goatees. Hairy backs are out as well.
B: That’s it? So you’ll go out with anyone who’s not Fidel Castro or a chimpanzee?

Sakura

More of the same

SOME photos from S. in Japan, who takes fantastic photographs.

A: He’s sweet.
B: But we don’t have a lot in common. We both breathe air. (long pause) Our cells divide by mitosis. That’s about it.

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An old conversation in Beijing on some couple spending an exorbitant sum on their wedding

B: I suppose if you have fireworks and all…
C: Did they invite the whole of Singapore? Were you there at the wedding too?

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On Beijing’s 798 art zone —

D: The taxi driver didn’t know what i was saying. He heard “我想去酒吧”。

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B: So you’re saying that there’s life after love, but life really sucks.
E: Yes. Have you heard Eleanor Rigby?

Meihua bud, taken by S.

New poem up. In time for spring. Which I miss. But yes, begin afresh, afresh, afresh.

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A: It’s okay, don’t feel guilty.
B: But it’s my hobby. Some people do arts and crafts. I feel guilty.
A: For your next birthday I’ll get you some cattail whips.

[...]

A: I don’t know about that.
B: Me too. I am of three minds
Like a bathroom
In which there are three toilet seats.

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C: You were brought up as a Christian?
D: Yes…but then…
C: But then you grew up.
D: But then I entered the Age of Reason.

[...]

C: Yeah, but I wasn’t like this when I first came back.
D: So I’m reaping the benefits of the Serenity Prayer.

A: Did you read the story about the woman joined to the toilet seat?
B: Yes. And her boyfriend said they had an otherwise normal relationship — except that it all happened in the bathroom for two years.
A: A man and a woman
Are one.
A man and a woman and a toilet seat
Are one.
B: Is that a maths quotation?
A: No, it’s a modified Wallace Stevens quotation. I’m a geek, but a lit geek, not a l33t geek.
B: Wallace Stevens needs some maths lessons.
A: That is one way of looking at it.

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Reading Murray Bail’s Eucalyptus, a modern fairy tale that plays with the nature of story-telling. I thought I’d be bored with the trees, but the tale’s cunningly told and they’re woven just so into the story. Highly recommended.

A: I like Vietnam for adventure and thrills.
B: You mean rappelling and bungee-jumping?
A: No, jaywalking. I’m Singaporean, so I find any city without traffic lights and zebra crossings very exciting.

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A friend discussing getting back together with an ex.

C: No, we’re not compatible. I’m very laid back. You’re traditional.
D: What do you mean?
C: You need someone who will save money. You like pretty accessories and decorating. You like to keep your apartment clean.
D: Clean? I keep my apartment clean? And you don’t want to get together as I wear scarves?

NOBODY expected the opposition to do so well across the board. The Election Commission has confirmed opposition wins in Kelantan as well as Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang.

The ruling coalition lost a crucial two-thirds parliamentary majority it has held for most of its 50-year-long rule, the election body said. That level is needed to change the Constitution. Barisan now holds 62 per cent of federal seats, down from 90 per cent previously.

The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang state.

The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state.

DAP and PAS also joined the People’s Justice Party, or Parti Keadilan Rakyat, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.

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Days like these, I love being in the newsroom.

Liminal seal, Singapore, 2008

Liminal seal #2, Singapore, 2008

PART of the installation. Was back in the area and decided to pop in alone and take some photographs.

“Border lines, transition zones and the liminal spaces ‘in-between’ are important motifs that recur in the work of Takashi Kuribayashi…His installations frequently also feature hand-made sculptures of animals that move between land and water, like seals and penguins. These ‘amphibious’ animals are often symbolic of the presence of human beings (who also move in between these zones)…The ‘nature’ he presents is made of artificial materials.”

Er…was expecting something more than two rubber seals and fake plants in an exhibit the size of a bathroom, and actually wandered down dark corridors and peeked into offices looking for more of the exhibit the first time we visited. Nonetheless, it’s cute. Perhaps this reviewer has more 墨水 than I do.

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A: You know how the music geek separates himself from people who don’t get Brahms and Mahler?
B: Mm.
A: Well I feel separated from people who don’t know Chinese.
B: Why?
A: I can’t share with them the loveliness of Jay Chou lyrics, for instance.
B: I don’t get Jay Chou lyrics. He goes too fast.
A: I separate myself from you.
B: Okay, for some it’s Mahler, for you it’s Jay Chou.
A: Jay Chou lyrics.

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“Inventive. Absolutely inspired. ‘Rediscover.’ Most people see the glass nine-tenths empty. My wife sees it one-tenth full.”
“That’s why you married me.”
“Ah! But when I married you…”
She groaned. “The glass was one-tenth over the lip.”

- The Echo Maker, Richard Powers

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Everyone, go shake Minzhi’s hand. She is my source of handshakes to fame.

Separately from Ms Fabulous and Erudite, I am one handshake from Salman Rushdie and Edward Said.

National Museum, Singapore, 2008

National Museum, Singapore, 2008

National Museum, Singapore, 2008

WENT down to the museum to see the Kleine See exhibit (not pictured), which was…amusing and kleiner than I’d expected.

I love the spaces in the museum, and the interactivity of the installations. Was there when a group of students were playing around with the huge grey video screens in the foyer and this cute installation of magnetised helmets and table ware.

Was asked what “liminal spaces” meant when we were reading the exhibition board but I couldn’t respond.

From wikipedia —

“The liminal state is characterised by ambiguity, openness, and indeterminacy. One’s sense of identity dissolves to some extent, bringing about disorientation. Liminality is a period of transition where normal limits to thought, self-understanding, and behavior are relaxed — a situation which can lead to new perspectives. People, places, or things may not complete a transition, or a transition between two states may not be fully possible. Those who remain in a state between two other states may become permanently liminal.”

Being in between two stages, indeterminate, amphibious.

Interesting conversation about three men and a tiger, the eco-system of haggling, business models and clustering information, time signatures.

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A: So this soap opera is all about farmers, all of whom lust after one another in between pulling up radishes.
B: Well, before the days of the Internet…

ADDED new categories “snippets” (I’m having a lot of fun with the posts in this category) and “poems”. New poems up on the main site. Also, this is unacceptable. I’ve read just one new book last month.

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Music geeks speak

(I)
(After a Volodos concert in which he was sitting on an odd stool at the piano)
A: Chairs are for the capitalists!

(II)
From Anzu, a new-found blog friend –

In rehearsal one day, M was extolling the virtues of Mahler/Brahms, and he said somewhat sheepishly, as if he were a member of Brahmsaholics anonymous, something to the effect of, “I’ve become one of those people who can’t relate to people who can’t appreciate Mahler/Brahms”.

“It really separates me from some people, you know? Because I can’t talk about (name of some piece that I can’t remember, which proves that I’m one of those people he “separates” himself from!) with them.”

(III)
Getting a lecture on why people who don’t love some bristly piece of music have to be re-educated.

A: I’m leaving. Would you like me to put a mirror in front of you so you can look at yourself while you have this conversation?

(IV)
A (after getting a whole page of music links): How do you find these things?
B: I read somewhere that it is nigh impossible to be top at one particular field. So how you can be successful is to combine two irrelevant fields. So mine seem to be computer geek and music junkie, which means I can find random stuff for free.

TWO separate incidents –

(I)
i.
A and B speaking of sex workers who come to Singapore from China on tourist or student visas, what goes on in massage parlours and karaoke lounges and similar. Before moving on to talk about what they did for the week.
A has recently returned from a trip to China.

A: Oh, so we went to karaoke too.
B: Was it a “clean” place?
A: No, I was giving lap dances for a fee…You know, I tell everyone I was in China to visit a friend. But I actually went there to prostitute myself.

ii.
B: So there are all these places where lonely men go. But where do lonely women seek company? I’ve an idea. You see, men just want pretty women. But for women looks are not enough.
A: You mean we want someone educated and cultured?
B: Yes! Someone like me! That’s my business plan.
A: To become a male geisha.

iii.
(Later)
B: Can you introduce me to your friend who’s addicted to both sex and alcohol? He sounds like he’ll make a good business partner.

(II)
In a group of four — C, D, E and F. C and D are a couple. D joined us late. F is visiting.

C: Yes, E said that if he hadn’t already met you, he’d think you were my imaginary boyfriend.
D: Actually, I’m C’s gigolo. But she can’t afford my daily fee on a regular basis. So she only hires me for special occasions, such as when people are visiting.

…the fruit.

“Religious officials in a town near Nepal’s capital are looking for a new girl to worship as a living goddess because the previous “Kumari” is ineligible after marrying a fruit, officials said March 3, 2008.”

After a week you can safely say that your spouse is rotten to the core, or a husk of a man — if you don’t decide to eat him up first.

From here

One of those forwarded images

(Group of liberal arts majors getting ready to pay at a restaurant)
A: Wait, how do we split this. Here, you’re Chinese, whip out that abacus and do your thing with money.
B: But you’re Jewish, aren’t you? You can probably do these sums in your head.
A: Oh, I’m giving you a chance to shine.

(Previous topic was passion and musicians)
A: I’m an accountant, but I’m really doing it for the numbers’ sake.

A: In a marriage, one acts and feels as one.

A maths teacher in high school explaining where a friend went wrong in calculus: The distance between you and me is one.

Postcard, 2008

When First We Faced, And Touching Showed
by Philip Larkin

When first we faced, and touching showed
How well we knew the early moves,
Behind the moonlight and the frost,
The excitement and the gratitude,
There stood how much our meeting owed
To other meetings, other loves.

The decades of a different life
That opened past your inch-close eyes
Belonged to others, lavished, lost;
Nor could I hold you hard enough
To call my years of hunger-strife
Back for your mouth to colonise.

Admitted: and the pain is real.
But when did love not try to change
The world back to itself — no cost,
No past, no people else at all –
Only what meeting made us feel,
So new, and gentle-sharp, and strange?

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You can always tell how highly polished Larkin poems are, with each tiny piece an exact fit, and the whole ticking and chiming and keeping strict time.

北京, 2008

长城, 2008

God’s World
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

O world, I cannot hold thee close enough!
Thy winds, thy wide grey skies!
Thy mists, that roll and rise!
Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag
And all but cry with colour! That gaunt crag
To crush! To lift the lean of that black bluff!
World, World, I cannot get thee close enough!

Long have I known a glory in it all,
But never knew I this:
Here such a passion is
As stretcheth me apart, — Lord, I do fear
Thou’st made the world too beautiful this year;
My soul is all but out of me, — let fall
No burning leaf; prithee, let no bird call.

Beijing, 2008

OH my loves, had such a good time in Beijing visiting Anais! Wandering around little hutongs and the art district 798, tea in loft-like spaces, long conversations in lovely teahouses, eating grilled chicken wings at a hole in the wall joint with a mixture of people, lovely spaces near the drum and bell towers, getting excited about the great wall, hearing odd bits of information about Cixi Taihou (such as how she selected the candidates to provide human milk for her consumption) at Yihe Yuan, sitting under the trees at temples and watching people burn incense and pray, steaming hot jianbing with scallions and egg from roadside stalls, Yunnan and Guizhou cuisine, wandering around with C and eating the best yogurt ever while learning more about rural health development and hearing stories of starting hospitals in Nepal and travelling on the Tibetan plateau and literacy and health outreach — the written word is usually used for scripture in Tibet and there’s a danger health pamphlets may end up on the altar — spending a day walking around the majestic Gu Gong, strolling in Beihai and observing the taiji exercisers and people walking their dogs, hearing stories of 44-hour long trainrides from Chengdu to Beijing and churches in China, learning about planning the use of a building and the flow of people through it, visiting an indie music shop where we got recommendations and had tea, well-taken photos of a city to be drowned by the three gorges dam in an exhibition, getting a good massage.

Drinking my 桂花乌龙 now, and missing the lovely people in Beijing and the crisp cold weather.

Snippets –

A: Someone tagged me as a sunset in facebook.
B: That’s funny, I’d thought of you more as a sunrise.

A: So he lives in a courtyard, which has poor heating, and said that the electric blanket is the closest thing he’s felt to love.

A: He’s kind of plump, so instead of “gong hei fatt choy” she said “gong hei fat boy”.

A (when the waitress put out 16 different plates of food for the two of us): Now there is obviously not enough food. How are we going to get full with so little? We’ll starve.

C (speaking of a friend’s AA experience): He was a sex addict and an alcoholic, and he realised you couldn’t be both at the same time. It was a difficult choice.
A: So he decided to give up the alcohol.