I mean I want to see

I’D WRITTEN on NorthLight before, and I was asked questions on Singapore’s stand on compulsory education by some friends, so I just did a Google search:

From here

Compulsory Education (CE) was implemented in Singapore from the new school year commencing 1st January 2003. The first cohort of pupils coming under CE are Singapore Citizen children born between 2nd January 1996 and 1st January 1997 who are residing in Singapore.

Singapore has achieved almost universal education at the primary and the secondary levels through years of effort. Today, children who are not enrolled in national schools form only a small percentage of the cohort. The Government is however concerned that they are not being equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to be productive citizens in a knowledge-based economy. Hence, the Committee on Compulsory Education in Singapore (CCES) was formed in December 1999 to review whether compulsory education should be introduced in Singapore, and if so, the form and duration it should take.

The report can be found here.

Key recommendations included:

* Compulsory education should be introduced.
* Responsibility for sending children to school and ensuring that they attend school should still remain with the parents.
* Compulsory education should be up to Primary 6 as this is considered the minimum period of education for all Singapore children.
* Certain categories of children, e.g. those with special needs will be exempted from compulsory education.

Statute

The Compulsory Education Act (Cap 51) was passed by Parliament on 9th October 2000 and assented to by the President on 16th October 2000. It provides for compulsory primary education in Singapore and related matters.

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NorthLight School

More photos here

The school’s garden

ST editorial on no-one left behind

From Challenge, a civil service magazine, Sept-Oct 2009

Guided by a North Light
by Jimmy Yap

CONTRARY to popular opinion, Singapore’s best school is not Raffles Institution or Raffles Girls School. It is a three-year-old vocational school tucked away off Dunman Road — NorthLight.

It’s Singapore’s best school because it does something more important than taking in bright young overachievers and turning them into the doctors, lawyers or President’s Scholars they would have become anyway. Instead, NorthLight takes in sullen, struggling or disinterested teenagers and transforms them into self-confident young men and women with a new love for school and a future as productive members of society.

NorthLight accomplishes this because the school curriculum is more than teaching students how to serve customers or repair air-conditioners. At NorthLight, character is just as important as cooking skills.

The principal of the school, Mrs Chua-Lim Yen Ching, is acutely aware that her students need an extra push. When you have failed your exams repeatedly and when even your primary school teachers call you stupid to your face, you lose faith in yourself. A vicious cycle starts: If you don’t believe you can succeed, why bother to try? And if you don’t try, how will you ever succeed?

So building the self-esteem of its students is high on the school’s priorities. NorthLight takes in students who have failed repeatedly in primary school, and hammers in the message that failing at exams does not equal failing in life. In our exam-oriented, grade-obsessed society, this is a powerful message.

The school is also blessed with teachers who see their work as a vocation. Teaching at NorthLight is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, the educators signed up to teach there, and were not merely assigned by the Ministry of Education.

If I sound like a big fan of NorthLight, it’s because I have a very personal connection with the school — two of my daughters are currently studying there.

My daughters were adopted from Cambodia and came to Singapore when they were 11 and seven. Prior to that, they had never been to school. When we enrolled them in primary school in Singapore after home-schooling them for a few years, they couldn’t catch up. By Primary 5, they were completely out of their depth and failing miserably. NorthLight, which was set up just as my oldest daughter needed to transition out of her primary school, was the answer to my prayers.

A few months after she joined NorthLight, I asked her how things were in her new school. Her reply was: “My life has changed.”

In primary school, her life was a constant struggle. She didn’t understand classes, she fell behind her classmates and she appeared to have no future in the Singapore education system. At NorthLight, they uncovered her artistic ability and gave her leadership opportunities. She built up her self-confidence, she learnt to cook and to serve in a restaurant, and she now has a career in the food and beverage industry.

After seeing how the school has helped my children, I am convinced that NorthLight has much to teach other schools in Singapore.

In most schools, the focus is on imparting knowledge. That’s certainly important, but it’s not enough. Success in life requires self-belief. It requires the ability to bounce back from failure. It requires persistence to overcome obstacles and it means tearing down mental barriers that hold us back. If schools consciously teach our students this, Singapore’s future will be considerably brighter, just like my daughters’ futures.

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Hope redefined
by Charles David

Director of Schools Wong Siew Hoong: “In each cohort, there is a group of students who are unable to progress through the mainstream academic school system and are at risk of prematurely leaving school. They include students who are unable to pass the PSLE as well as students who prematurely leave secondary school.”

To cater to the needs of such students, the Ministry of Education has set up two schools — NorthLight School and Assumption Pathyway School — whose curriculum has been customised to better suit their learning styles and address their socio-emotional needs.

“It is not just to learn a living; it is also to learn the lessons of life,” says Mrs Chua Yen Ching, princopal of NorthLight School. “Many of the students experienced repeated failures and many do have low self-confidence and low self-esteem. We help them to redefine success and to redefine failure. Failure is only a moment in time. When a student fails the PSLE, he fails an exam. This does not mean that he will fail in life.”

Mr Wee Tat Chuen, principal of the Assumption Pathway School, believes that this approach will serve as a catalyst for these students to achieve their goals in life. “We aim to help them discover and nurture their strengths so that they may be ready to start a new chapter in their lives when they graduate from the Assumption Pathway School,” he said.

…For many of the teachers who opted to teach in these two schools, there was never a moment’s hesitation when it came to committing themselves to the task at hand. For Mr Matthew Lai, who teaches mathematics at the Assumption Pathway School, it was all about his desire to teach and help students who are less privileged and who have difficulties in learning.

“I wanted to challenge myself to teach at a school devoted to bringing out the best in such students. My experiences at my previous school convinced me that I would indeed find a great sense of fulfilment in helping them. I also wanted to provide the support that these students needed and which they could thrive on,” he says.

Former foreign exchange trader Mr Christopher Chee, who previously taught at another secondary school, is now a Senior Teacher (Mathematics) at NorthLight. “…I gained most satisfaction working with “at risk” students and I was totally in sync with the motive and philosophy behind the setting up of NorthLight School. I knew that this is exactly the kind of school that I wanted to be in,” he says.

…The curriculum of these two schools differs from the mainstream curriculum, with a focus on a more hands-on approach to learning. This enables students to have an earlier start in vocational training.

“Some of the kids were so used to failing (their tests, PSLE and so on) that they accepted failure as part of their lives. When the kids did their emotional quotient profiling when they first joined us, they scored very low on general mood — they possessed very low self-esteem and were not happy. They also scored low in interpersonal skills. Hence, there was a need to build up their confidence and relationship management skills. We incorporated these elements successfully into our curriculum,” says Mr Mohd Norzaidi, discipline master at NLS.

According to Mr Bernard Chan, who heads the Hospitality Department at NLS, it is all about seeing the students as individuals, and only when that happens, the learning begins. “I believe it is important to understand their individuality first. We have to realise that no two students are the same. We need ot get to know them and understand them, and then, adapt our teaching in so far as we can so that the teaching methods we adopt are the most suitable and effective,” he says.

…Some of the basic tenets are:

* Be genuine. “Love these kids as if they are your own,” says Mr Ali of Assumption Pathway School. “Show genuine care and support in whatever they do. Some of these kids come from broken families and are hardened by the trials and tribulations of life. They need a role model with whom they could share their joy, sorrow and even fears. Be open-minded and respect their views. Open up to them and share your weakness, fears and even your failures. The more human they perceive you to be, the more forgiving and trusting they are towards you. Spend time bonding with them and earn their trust. Once they trust you, half the battle is won. The other half is just facilitating their learning and development. Continue to motivate them. Start with the extrinsic but gradually shift inwards as they grow older.”

* Get the parents involved. “I cannot emphasise how important the role of the parents is,” says Mr Chee. “No matter how much we teachers put in, we can never substitute the role of their parents. It is important for parents to start believing that their children are indeed unique and talented in their own ways. They have to look beyond their academic achievements and recognise that their children excel in other areas and need their approval. Fathers must recognise that they play a very important role in the children’s upbringing. Certainly, the mother’s role cannot be discounted, but fathers need to spend more time with them and take a more proactive approach in their upbringing.”

* Never give up “Give them time to change, never give up on them,” says Mr Chow. “Believe that they can achieve whatever they set their minds on and support them, offering feedback on their improvement, one step at a time.”

All from ST, Oct 31 2009

THE 15,400 jobs added between July and September this year actually reverses the 13,900 jobs lost up till June this year. The jobs recession is over. Losses were far lower compared to past recessions.

…”Most job losses are in manufacturing, whereas most of the jobs created are in the services sector,” she explained. “It is harder to train an engineer who has worked 20 years in a manufacturing company for a job in the services sector.”

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pg A4

Emissions cut if others do their part as well

We’ll bear our fair share of the global effort to reduce emissions. This is despite the fact that Singapore’s carbon emissions are a “negligible” part of global output, and it is not among nations which committed themselves and were obliged to make specific cuts in greenhouse gas emission levels.

“..as a responsible member of the international community, we have to bear our fair share of the collective global effort to reduce carbon emissions.”

- April: Sustainable Singapore Blueprint to ensure that resources are used efficiently. Drawn by private and people sectors with Govt, calls for long-term carbon emission cuts in households, businesses and industries.
- Energy Efficiency National Partnership programme to help countries become more energy efficient.

(What Ira Magaziner said was to focus on green financing.

One thing that is not talked about is the lack of financing. So you can talk about all the hype and cool in green tech but if you can’t finance it, you’re S-O-L. The economic crisis has only exacerbated the problem. Eighteen to twenty-four months ago, credit was still cheap and easy to get so all sorts of green energy projects were being financed. Today the only projects being financed are large green power projects and when I mean big, I mean $25 million big and above. So that leaves “small” projects in a financial purgatory.

)

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pg A8

“In the end, whatever the challenges, US core interest requires that it remains the superior power on the Pacific. To give up this position would diminish America’s role throughout the world.” MM Lee

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Leader, Oct 31

Mr Goh’s familial origins approximate those of the majority of Singaporeans. Without exception, their grandparents and parents left behind family and privation in China, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia. From next-door Malaysia, push factors would be somewhat different. But they came, to Singapore and other points in South-east Asia, wishing to make good. They took risks, never knowing what to expect. Many imaginative entrepreneurs did make good and stayed to build what is now a well-known success story, a classy brand. Their descendants have built on the pioneering work, many of them in different, critical functions.

If they would honour what their forebears accomplished in crossing the seas, they would acknowledge it is ennobling to show 21st-century immigrants some understanding and to take in their stride the little annoyances they encounter. There is a character flaw in some people, who have become rich quickly and against the odds, to forget their humble origins. Sadly, some even choose to suppress them. There is no act of disloyalty more corrosive of societal values than to deny one’s forefathers. The government has responded to expressions of reasonable concern by gradually slowing the inflow of workers and residency seekers and to minimise friction by starting assimilation programmes for new settlers. They are being shown how to adapt to Singaporean life. But acceptance eventually has to be innate, not prescribed.

Above all, be alive to this scenario: As opportunities in China grow, there will come a reverse flow — a century after slow boats came to the “south seas” — of Singaporeans going to Chinese cities to make a go of businesses and careers, even residency. Grandfather stories would have traced a full circle.

PICKED up The Speed Of Trust in my favourite used-book store recently and I like what it has to say about integrity, intent, capabilities and results. Reminds me of my earlier post on the dua-pais lauding how Singapore delivers and puts its money where its mouth is; we’ve a built a brand for ourselves for being reliable and dependable.

To use the metaphor of the tree, integrity is the root. Even though it’s underground and not even visible most of the time, it is absolutely vital to the nourishment, strength, stability, and growth of the entire tree…On the other hand, to have integrity only — and not to have the other three cores — is to be a “nice guy”, maybe even a thoroughly honest person, who is basically useless. In our tree metaphor, he’s like a stump — not good for much. You might trust him to keep a confidence, but there’s no way you would trust him to get anything done. He is honest — but irrelevant. ¹

Make and keep commitments to yourself. Stand for something. Be open.

A good book. I’ve to take to heed the part about results and delivering: I tend to drop projects halfway. Whenever possible, finish, and finish strong. When you hit the wall, pick up your pace.

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温家宝：

职业学校和就业密切相关。考察期间，温家宝来到临沭县职业中等专业学校。他对师生们说：“大力发展职业教育，是教育改革的重要内容。今天的学习就是为了明天的就业。当前应对国际金融危机、扩大内需，重要一点就是解决就业问题。职业教育大有前途，因为它面向就业，面向青年，面向整个社会。”

“改革开放以来我们国家发展变化很大，经济总量居世界前列。但是大家 要想到，我们是一个13亿人口的大国，还有相当多的落后地区，还有许许多多贫困的人们。要把祖国建设成为富强民主文明和谐的现代化国家，还需要我们奋斗几
十年上百年；要使我们民族真正跻身于世界民族之林并走在前列，还得靠青年，靠青年的理想、智慧、学识和自强不息的精神。”

已是晚上6时，天色已黑，月上枝头。总理仍然坚持来到费县王府村小学。他在一间教室里，与探沂镇中小学教师座谈，听取他们对教育改革和发展的意见。走出教室，总理对聚拢过来的小学生们充满感情地说：“我只说两句话：希望你们记住今天，一位年近70岁的老人来学校看望你们，他对祖国的未来充满希望，他更把祖国的明天寄托在你们身上。”

29日晚8时，温家宝在临沂市召开座谈会，就社会事业发展听取基层干部群众的意见和建议。他说，无论是改革，还是发展，归根到底是为了提高人民群众的物质文化生活水平。必须更加重视发展社会事业，使经济社会协调发展，改变“一条腿长、一条腿短”的状况。只有这样，才能从根本上战胜国际金融危机，保持国民经济平稳较快发展。

From here.

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ST Oct 28. 2009, p 10

Q: The Education Ministry is spending $8.7 billion on education this year, but the MCYS will spend $240 million to help the needy. Do you think the Government can afford to give more to the poor?

VB: It’s not the absolute amount of money, but the values and principles you use to create your safety net. If you ask me, do you think your expenditure on social safety nets will go up in the future, the answer is yes, definitely. What will the number be? Apart from knowing it will be big, I don’t have the exact figure now.

I am not so worried about the absolute number or how it compares with the education budget, but about values and principles and delivery models. If the day comes when we need to spend as much on the social safety net as we do on education, then I think it will be a tough day for Singapore.

When we look at what we spend on the social safety net, we ask whether the values and principles behind it are sound. If they are, we will spend as little or as much as we need to spend.

If you had to be poor, this should be one of the best places in the world to be so.

Q: What is one aspect of our social safety net that you hope to improve?

Integration. Because of our “many helping hands” approach, the needy get help from various organisations, like the religious bodies, the self-help groups, the CDCs, the VWOs, grassroots and so forth. We have not got to a stage where the information is shared and a comprehensive picture is available when someone says he has not got enough help. You need to be able to print out that complete list and assess for yourself. Part of the problem is what we have to do so in a way tha protects privacy.

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A VIDEO posted online recently showed an elderly woman trawling the streets of Singapore scavenging for cardboard. The post claimed that, despite of ill health, she was forced to work the streets in this way to make ends meet. And it unleashed a flurry of online comments about how uncaring the state had become towards the poor.

Checks by government officials, however, revealed that the woman’s circumstances were in marked contrast to that portrayed online, says Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Vivian Balakrishnan. In actual fact, the woman owned property, and had savings and a loving family who wanted her off the streets.

“But with her strong streak of independence, she was asserting her right to do things her way,” adds Dr Balakrishnan, 48, who has been the chief architect of Singapore’s social safety policies since 2004. “If she truly needed help, I would have taken her off the streets. But I am duty-bound to respect her choices.”

….”Do your homework, but by all means bring them to my attention. I will investigate. My first and paramount duty is to identify and help those who are needy,” he says.

Meanwhile, the CDCs have seen a sharp hike in aid applications. There were 38,635 in the first nine months of this year — an increase of more than 40 per cent from the 27,240 applications during the same period in 2008.

S’pore’s system: funded only in part by taxpayer dollars. The rest comes from charity, so personal income tax rates can be kept low here and the highest rate pegged at 20 per cent. The emphasis on self-reliance and family support means that state aid is reserved only for the truly needy, unlike in the US where all elderly — regardless of whether rich or poor — are given government handouts in the form of Social Security and other benefits.

…Dr Balakrishnan says Western welfare systems have spawned institutions like Britain’s state-funded NHS, which offers free but laregely sub-standard treatment. The minister worked as an NHS doctor for two years and has made a point of studying the welfare systems of many countries in the West. Despite seeing their more generous systems in operation, he remains convinced that Singapore’s low-tax, low-entitlement regime offers the best way forward. (This is where I turn to my Rawls and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers…)

…While some may argue that state aid is much harder to come by here — families must generally have monthly household incomes of $1,800 or less to qualify for MCYS help — the amount spent on needy families has been inching upwards. In the current financial year, MCYS will spend $240m to directly fund the poor and the voluntary welfare organisations and self-help groups that serve them (How much are social workers being paid, really???) This is up sharply from the $165 million spent in 2007 and, when you factor in donation dollars, this year’s kitty swells to $460 million.

Only 0.6 per cent of economically inactive people here above the age of 50 depended on financial aid from the Government or VWOs as their source of income. Asked if that tiny figure was too low, Dr Balakrishnan gave a firm “no”. “We do not want to arrive at a situation where you are declared to be needy simply because you are old and are not working,” he says. The government prefers to look at multiple factors — income, savings, assets, family support, number of dependants, and the ability and willingness of the person to find a job — before deciding on whether to provide assistance.

…The ComCare Citizens Consultative Committee (CCC) fund — which now stands at $7 million — can deliver on-the-spot assistance. Money and vouchers can be handed out immediately if a needy person approaches his or her MP for help. “It’s like an instant band-aid,” say Dr Balakrishnan. “The working rule is that people who need help must receive it immediately if it is urgent.”

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ST Oct 29, 2009 p. A4

Mr George Shultz added that visits to the Republic made him understand that in Singapore, “when they say something, they mean it”.

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p. A5

Kissinger on LKY:

“Over 40 years, when Mr LKY comes to Washington, he gets to see an array of people that almost no foreign leader gets to see in such a grouping and in a mode which is unique, because he does not come as a supplicant.

“He comes as a comrade, in common efforts, from whom we can learn, who can tell us abou tthe nature of the world that we face. He gives us insights into the thinking of his region.

“And that is the most important challenge we face in the long term in this country — how to build a kind of fundamental and organic relationship with Asia. We have to learn to deal with Asia, not by the patterns of the Cold War, but in a way that the various arms of Asia, including China, build an organic relationship across the Pacific.

“There is nobody who can teach us more about this than the MM.”

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Senator Jim Webb

“MM Lee has demonstrated not only the power of his intellect but the strength of his leadership at a scale that is truly of historic proportions. So I would ask you to join me in a toast to His Excellency, whose mark has been made on the evolution of SE Asia in a way that is perhaps unsurpassed by any other individual, whose power of intellect and strength of his leadership will be long remembered in our history.”

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MM Lee:

“Singapore’s role will be that of a catalyst. We’re a city state so we can leap forward quickly. The others have been somewhat slower because of their internal diversity, so we can act as a kind of catalyst to show them this is the way, (and) you can do it faster.

“China has found us a useful model economically. They decided not to follow the path of South Korea and Japan, of closing their domestic markets and building their own champions whether it was cars or computers…

“They took the Singapore path, invited all the multinationals to come in. And their engineers, designers are working for all of them. So in 10 to 20 years, when you get all these people to come together, you already have a little (home-made) car called the Cherry. I would be bold to predict that in 20 to 30 years, they could build a Mercedes or a Lexus. The sheer number of talent and people they have is quite scary.”

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Apec’s coming up and a number of my friends are in a flurry. Exciting times! :)

At the start of the walk. This park was just opened a few months back.

Flowers on the way

Greenery like this is why I love Singapore…

Canopy

They paid attention to details, putting these lotus plants outside the toilets.

Wow. At the disused quarry. Good job, National Parks, for turning this into a lookout point!

V. pleased with the Auden buy, though.

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Checking out the modules for SE Asian studies at NUS and getting very excited! :) I feel that life’s opening up all over again :)) In a library is really where I belong. Oh library, oh university libraries, oh to be back among your stacks…swoon.

WHAT’S next with my cousins and company…we’re headed there in December, am really excited! :)

HAD dinner with a dozen other Brown people as we were hosting Ira Magaziner and it’s inspiring to see what idealism together with will and smarts and ability to sell can get done. He’s now the Policy Director and Chairman of the Clinton Foundation Policy Board and is as sharp as a pin — he knows the issues of climate change and HIV/Aids inside out, for example. Climate change’s going to be one of the top two or three issues of my generation, and we don’t have much time to get things fixed. Financing and interest rates are crucial to building green infrastructure, and that’s what he’ll be looking out for in Copenhagen.

The key to change, he says, is willingness to challenge authority, asking for reasonable change, gathering momentum by sheer hard work and persistence. He’s no nonsense, and would be a hard-driving person to work for, but look at what they did with the HIV/Aids programme — they get things done.

Inspiring! And I’m reminded again of why I love Brown people.

But also question: Where do they get funding? Are there political agendas? Is it transparent?

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From wikipedia:

Brad DeLong, Deputy Treasury Secretary for the Clinton administration at the time, argues that Magaziner’s failures stemmed from having a background in management consulting instead of policy: “A management consultant’s principal goal is to win a debate in front of his employer … by making intellectual arguments, controlling the flow of information…, [and] walling-off potential adversaries from the process … You develop a policy by forming a large coalition … Then you have a large group of people who are enthusiastic about the proposal: they will go out and make your arguments for you.”

Corridor

My neighbour’s rabbit.

Sunrise

Fishing

Kids being walked to kindergarten

DURING the Tang dynasty in the seventh and eight centuries, when Europe was a fractious mess of feuding kings and princes, Chang’an (or “perpetual peace”) was the largest and most cosmopolitan city in the world, with a population of more than a million people. Even at the height of the Renaissance, more than seven hundred years later, major European cities such as Venice contained no more than about 180,000 people. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), after China’s capital had been moved east, the city was renamed Xi’an, which means western peace.

With a population of some 4 million, Xi’an is, on the surface, just another large Chinese city trying to pull itself up by the bootstraps. Throughout the city, though, glimpses of the past poke through the veneer of modernity: the original city wall, for instance, on which we cycled.

The Terracotta Army was why many tourists, including us, were there. It was created to guard the grave of Qin Shihuang, the first man to unify China in 221 BC. For some strange reason, the tomb of the emperor has not yet been excavated, though we know exactly where it is and we even climbed to the top of it. The tomb is said to be a vast underground palace that took 700,000 conscripted workmen more than 36 years to complete, with models of underground palaces and pavilions, and even seas of mercury to emulate the Yangtze and Yellow rivers.

Nancy and Natalia taking photos in Shanxi

Another frame

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Went slightly berserk in the bookstores in Beijing as Chinese books are much more expensive in Singapore…Am reading a book on Zhu Rongji now, and finding out more about the different generations of Chinese leadership. Zhu Rongji and Wen Jiabao are popular with the Chinese people, and rightly so.

I was never really interested in Mandarin lessons when I was young, but I’m now a loyal Zaobao reader and love the couple of trips I’ve taken to China. This time we saw a bit of the poorer agricultural areas in Shanxi in a tour ranging from Xi’an to Taiyuan to Pingyao, with lots of corn and carbs in the diet and lack of water.

All kids should have the chance to travel.

Next up is Bali for a Bahasa course from Jan 4-15, and then off backpacking on the island…visits to Hong Kong and Taiwan are also on the cards.

- Grad school applications
- Languages
- Show friends around Singapore
- Get serious about writing

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You can take me out of the newsroom, but you can’t take the newsroom out of me…Just got back from Nancy’s fantastic wedding in China and am poring over the papers now. I love the profiles of entrepreneurs in the papers — most of them are not cast in the prescribed mould, and go against the grain. This norm-defying trait is often misunderstood as rebelliousness or a lack of discipline. This perhaps explains why many do not last long in the Singapore school system.

Technocrats are all well and good, but social engineering can only go so far. And many of these entrepreneurs are big-hearted personalities with a fondness for banter, throwing parties and buying dinners, with the innate ability to sell a dream, inspire loyalty and rally a team. There’s a visceral sensing of one’s environment — in Singapore, hard work is a foregone conclusion, and every other Tom Dick and Harry can be an Excel spreadsheet monkey…people must have the human touch and PR skills and tact to manage people.

There’s that underdog tenacity too that I admire: they may be Chinese-educated, or they may have learning disabilities or early deprivation, or personal slights that serve as spurs for entrepreneurship. They may be kids who’re prodded into survival mode.

What I dislike is settling for a “comfortable life”. When we’ve no worries about money, when we easily graduate and earn a few thousand dollars a month, why bother to use up your last few dollars to set up shop and go hungry for your dream? Don’t wait for something to happen — make things happen! Get moving and stop complaining! Is what I’d like to tell some good friends of mine. :)

I think quitting was the right decision. I’m not afraid of hard work and starting from scratch again, and I’ve always wanted to be an academic or university administrator. I don’t care if I can’t stay in serviced apartments when I travel. I don’t care as long as I’m learning.

What I’m afraid of, though, is working for/under unbelievably stupid people…I hate just carrying out instructions and being some sort of literate monkey. Which just means I’ve to get a better sense of a company and make better use of interviews and interview employers as well. And deep down in my heart I know I want to be the boss of me.

Another thing I’ve learnt is that I’m a big softie who laboured under the fallacy that everything I do in life has to be interesting and enjoyable: There’s really no pre-programmed routine. There are situations when it’s make or break. You can’t say oh I just want a 9-5 job and 30 days of holidays and expect things to fall into your lap unless you’re some pampered shaoye. It’s the have-nots who try harder. The haves don’t have to.

citrus verbena

It’s to citrus what the mandolin, with its doubled-up strings, is to a guitar. It is as if, by some arcane miracle of perfumery, the ivory and green notes of citron and verbena have been made to sing in harmony with the jaunty lemon-bergamot tune exactly a major third on either side, giving the whole thing a ravishing, nostalgic timbre. Even more miraculous, Eau de Guerlain has a coherent, fresh drydown that completely transcends the cologne genre. If you want citrus, there’s simply nothing better out there.

TRUMP subtle manipulation. Went for this course which gave me useful tools such as self-awareness, and let me meet interesting folk, but at the end of the day a) I’m not for a self-centred kind of philosophy and b) it’s way too tiring for me.

Life’s about service and real integrity, and living according to my principles and beliefs. I’m suspicious of sudden enthusiasm and dramatic conversions, when people’s emotions are aroused to a great state of excitement, by preaching or drugs or “sharing sessions”. Beware of hysterical jerking and twitching — physical or emotionally or spiritually — be aware of influences…

EVERYONE. READ THIS.

Thank God for my natural sense of skepticism and self-preservation. Don’t ever feel rushed into decisions, and know what you’re being open to. Treat such courses as motivational courses, but it’s dangerous to receive every kind of koyok that people are selling.

I trust the friend who introduced me to the course with very much, but that doesn’t mean I have to trust the course and the material it teaches. The only entity I trust enough to open myself up completely and utterly to is God. If you need help with emotional wounds, seek a trained and licensed counsellor or therapist. I met one lovely one today coming out from Asiaworks, and we talked of Virginia Satir, and social workers’ pay and turnover rate.

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From William Sargent’s The Mind Possessed: From Ecstasy to Exorcism –

When a man’s nervous system is subjected to such a degree of strain that his brain can no longer respond normally — whether this strain is imposed by some single experience or by stresses of less intensity but longer duration — he begins to behave abnormally, in ways which Pavlov and others have charted. He will become very much more suggestible in his state of mind, far more open to ideas and people in his immediate environment and far less able to respond to them with caution, doubt, criticism and scepticism. He may be driven into a condition in which his brain activity, or sometimes one isolated area of it, becomes paradoxical, so that his accustomed outlook and values are reversed. He may reach a condition in which he is as meekly obedient to commands and suggestions as someone under hypnosis, who can be made to behave in ways which, when in command of himself, he would reject as foolish or immoral: and, by post-hypnotic suggestion, he can be made to act in these ways even after he has been brought out of trance and apparently restored to normal waking consciousness. In exactly the same way, psychiatric patients may become so suggestible that they produce in all sincerity the symptoms which suit their psychiatrist’s theories: and if they change psychiatrists, they change symptoms.

All this is particularly true, not of the insane, but of the sane, not of the severely mentally ill but of normal, ordinary, average people, who make the best possible material for moulding by those, in religion or out of it, who create faith in themselves and their doctrines by methods which involve the imposition of stress and the working of states of intense emotional excitement (especially, but not limited to group excitement). Suggestibility is, in fact, one of the essential characteristics of being “normal”. A normal person is responsive to other people around him, cares about what they think of him and is reasonably open to their influence…But if normal people are subjected to the techniques described in this book, it is they who most easily become hysterically suggestible and open to the uncritical and enthusiastic adoption of ideas which may or may not be sensible.

From the Stone Age to Hitler, the Beatles and the modern “pop culture”, the brain of man has been constantly swayed by the same physiological techniques. Reason is dethroned, the normal brain computer is temporarily put out of action, and new ideas and beliefs are uncritically accepted. The mechanism is so powerful that while conducting this research into possession, trance and faith-healing in various parts of the world, I myself was sometimes affected by the techniques I was observing, even though I was on my guard against them. A knowledge of the mechanism at work may be no safeguard once emotion is aroused and the brain begins to function abnormally.

…Emotion must be aroused for success to be obtained. There is no need for there to be a god to do the healing. Any method which induces states of excitement leading to a suitable degree of exhaustion and consequent alteration in brain function can work miracles on its own.

…This book obviously poses as many problems as it solves. But if it does no more than stimulate fresh thought and help us to be on our guard against beliefs acquired in states of emotional arousal when our brains may be betraying us, then it will have served some purpose. We must equally beware of trying to influence our fellow-men by the methods discussed here. In the future, the conquest and control of man’s mind is going to be a far more important matter for us than the development of bigger and better nuclear weapons, and it is essential that we learn all we can about how the brain works and how human beings can be psychologically coerced.

…how do we control man rationally, by appealling to reason rather than by arousing emotion. This is the problem that this book has presented but not solved.

I WAS talking to a principal about material I used while I relief taught before entering university 10 years back, and it brought to mind The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde:

The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests out of the hold with ropes. “Heave a-hoy!” they shouted as each chest came up. “I am going to Egypt”! cried the Swallow, but nobody minded, and when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.

“I am come to bid you good-bye,” he cried.

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “will you not stay with me one night longer?”

“It is winter,” answered the Swallow, “and the chill snow will soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My companions are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves are watching them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.”

“In the square below,” said the Happy Prince, “there stands a little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.”

“I will stay with you one night longer,” said the Swallow, “but I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.”

“Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,” said the Prince, “do as I command you.”

So he plucked out the Prince’s other eye, and darted down with it. He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. “What a lovely bit of glass,” cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.

Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. “You are blind now,” he said, “so I will stay with you always.”

“No, little Swallow,” said the poor Prince, “you must go away to Egypt.”

“I will stay with you always,” said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince’s feet.

John O’Connor summarises the message of Wilde’s story in his sermon Nothing In Return:

It tells of ‘The Happy Prince,’ who lived a life sheltered from human suffering. In time he died and his courtiers erected a statue of him on a tall column overlooking the city. He was gilded all over; for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on the hilt of his sword.

From such a high vantage point the Happy Prince saw for the first time life as it really is. Seeing people in distress he asked his friend, a swallow, to bring the riches that adorned his statue to those who needed help. To a seamstress, thin and overworked, and whose child lay sick in the next room, the swallow took the ruby that adorned the hilt of his sword. To a malnourished writer in his garret, the swallow took a sapphire. To a match-girl, who had let her matches fall in the gutter, distressed that her father will soon beat her, the swallow brought the other sapphire.

The sapphires given away, the Happy Prince could see no more. And so the little swallow becomes the eyes of the Happy Prince, telling the prince what he saw. Asked by the Happy Prince, the swallow took the leaves of gold from the statue leaf by leaf to the poor of the city, and we are told that the children’s faces grew rosier, and that they now laughed and played games.

Unbeknownst to us as children, such tales subtly furnished us with concepts we would only begin to understand properly as adults. At that age we understood love in a way children understand love. But we were given what was needed to help us start on our voyage through life, where experience and maturity would hopefully bring us to a deeper understanding of what love really is.

*

I decided to stay on in Singapore recently, partly because I’m an only child and want to be with my parents as they age and they’d feel most comfortable here, and partly because I’ve realised that it’s not so dire here after all. It’s no Prince-Charming-Land, but it’s a good place to settle down and have kids and fly kites and traipse around in mangrove swamps and travel for diving trips. I’ve close friends here, NUS is the right place to be if I do S-E Asian studies. And I also do want to settle down and build real relationships and look forward, and that would be harder if I were to go to grad school abroad, especially in the States.

*

The thing is, keeping my word both to others and to myself helps me retain power. I want to deliver on whatever promises I make to others and to myself, and to be a person of my word. I would say I keep agreements of all sort ( “I’ll be there at 5pm” “I’ll attend your party” “I’ll write a book”) three-quarters of the time, both to myself and to others. This means that for a quarter of the time, I’m not to be counted on. What messages does this send to others and to myself?

How have I delivered? The heart of the matter is results — not reasons. What are the results? I said I’d write, have I delivered? Is there a dateline? Or have I begun making agreements that I’m sure I can keep, limiting myself in a fashion?

If trust and self-esteem go down, how can I go full steam ahead? Wouldn’t the future look murky instead of clear?

*

Listening, really listening, instead of switching off is something I’ve to learn. I tend to detach and be on the sidelines when the heat is on. The thing is, the game belongs to those who step up and be counted. “It’s just a game,” I say. “Why get so agitated? Why the need to win?”

- Could you have been the leader of the team?
- Of course.
- Really?
- Yes
- Well you didn’t step forward. You didn’t want to take the heat. You were just on the sidelines.

I’ve been a cynic for way too long. I’ve seen policies that work, I’ve seen public servants with a sense of mission, and after I’m through with this break I’ll be ready to go teach, join the civil service, and campaign for causes dear to me such as mental health and protection against abuse. What’s stopping me from stepping forward? What exactly am I afraid of? Why do I feel helpless?

What actions can I take? And what results can I deliver?

*

Sometimes cash is king. Many financial advisers will tell you never to use a credit card to buy anything that depreciates. This includes clothing, shoes, gas, meals in restaurants, groceries, and so on. That’s good advice, but it’s pretty tough to follow. But follow this rule: don’t use a credit card to pay for something that will be gone when the bill comes.

I’M much more on the side of the noisy, smelly, scrappy rebels than those quiet whited sepulchres who don’t ever dare to say what they really feel and are always concerned with saying the situationally appropriate thing so as not to offend people, who’re always *safe* but who’re really pure poison under that sweetness, who say the right things to the right people but are cruel to those whom they think they can bully. Pompous arses!

Which is why I’ve developed more tolerance for those rowdy kids who run around shouting on the train and eat French fries without a care. Vandals — hell yeah I’ve felt like scratching a few selected cars myself. Revenge attacks and gangsterism? I say yeah men all you mata go watch Royston Tan’s 15. And to parents who force their kids into doing courses of “social value” I say bah, you’re unenlightened. To those who look down on ITE and poly grads I say you’re a disgrace to your educators, and you’re 没教养。 To those oily and greasy “professionals” marketing characters who verbally abuse your secretaries and subordinates I say you deserve to have your fancy car scratched multiple times. If you can’t take the pressure do some self-reflection and go retire to play golf to recharge or whatever warms the cockles of your bourg middle-class heart — instead of making life difficult for others. I spit on you! I look at you with contempt and pity! I say you cannot live with yourself and your mask is cracking! GRRR.

*

Maintain a positive Perspective.

Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude
- Victor Frankl

WHAT do you say to yourself when things don’t go your way? You need a phillsophy to help you deal positively with trying people or times. It’s important to reprogramme your emotional reflexes so they support rather than sabotage you. Wehn something negative happens, your constructive philosophy kicks in and helps you handle challenges with equanimity rather than irritation.

Does your philosophy serve you or stress you?

“One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words, it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.”
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Victor Frankl survived the Holocaust and wrote about his experiences in the book Man’s Search For Meaning. This slim volume was selected by the American Library Association as one of the ten most significant books ever written. In it, Frankl concludes that you can’t always choose or control what happens to you; you can choose how to respond to it. He opted not to harbour hatred. He decided to get on with his life and to dedicaate himself to making a positive difference for his fellow human beings.

This is the cornerstone of a mentally healthy lifestyle. You can’t always select what happens to you — you might be injured in an accident, a flood could take your home, your job might be eliminated — but you can select how to respond.

“Why me?” equals “Woe is me”

“Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.”
- Nehru

When things go wrong, the automatic response is “Why me?” If you continue to lament your fate with angry entreaties — “I don’t deserve this,” “This isn’t fair” — you will continue to feel victimised. You will see the world as a harsh environment where innocent people are besieged by bad things.

You can play a “poor hand of cards” more positively by asking, “Where’s the good?” One of life’s most important insights is to know with your heart and soul that good things can come out of bad. This is not to say that bad things are good. The good may not always be apparent at the time. But if you search for it, it will emerge.

In No Ordinary Moments, author Dan Millman postulates that the issues we face are the spiritual weights we lift to strengthen ourselves. He belives our task is to shine *through* the petty details of our life, not become preoccupied with them. He says, “At the moment of your death, your whole life will pass before you. In a few fractions of a second — because time no longer applies — you will see many incidents from your life in order to learn. You will review your life with two questions in your consciousness: Could I have shown a little more courage in these moments? Could I have shown a little more love?”

Different philosophies have helped folks handle adversity with courage and love. Someone reacts to disappointments with “Oh well” and then she’s off to other activities. Someone else pities the offenders rather than punish them. For many people it’s “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Others use “I can handle it” as a mantra when faced with threatening circumstances.

Look at adversity with a wide-angle lens
“We can choose to see life as a series of trials and tribulations, or we can choose to see life as an accumulation of treasures.”
- Anonymous

Would you like to know how to get instant perspective when you’re feeling down? You usually have your mental telephoto lens focusing exclusively on your trials and tribulations. You are obsessing about a difficult situation. You can change your attitude by switching to a wide-angle lens and focusing on all that’s *right* in your world instead of what’s wrong. Instead of obsessing about your ordeal, you become aware of the abundance surrounding you.

Wake up to wonders.
“If you foolishly ignore beauty, you’ll soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you wisely invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright.

Record the beauty in your world. A sense of gratitude is the only direct determinant of happiness. You can have everything but be miserable if you don’t value what you have. You can have very little but be content if you’re appreciative for what you do have. The more gratitude you have, the happier you’ll be.

If you’re a parent, you’ve undoubtedly learned you can’t control your children’s lives, nor can you choose everything that happens to them. You can give them happy memories; you can create good times to offset the hard times. Aristotle advised: “Happiness depends on ourselves.”

When setbacks occur, remember triumphs instead of tests of patients.

Words to lose:
You react with frustration:
“I made this trip for nothing.”

Your negative thoughts continue to sabotage you:
“This is going to mess up my whole afternoon. What am I supposed to do, wait around for them to fix it?”

You dwell on the trouble this causes you and stay bothered.
“I hate it when things like this happen. Like I’ve got time on my hands…”

You keep your mental telephoto lens focused on this trial.
“I’m going to complain to the bank about this. Why don’t they have a generator?”

Words to use:
You have a philosophy that kicks in when things go wrong.
“I can handle this. Don’t get mad, get glad!”

Your positive thoughts serve you.
“Oh well, maybe I could use another bank machine and get cash from my credit card instead.”

You expect trouble as part of life and realise it’s temporary.
“This too shall pass. I won’t even remember this a year from now. I’ll run some other errands.”

You switch to a wide-angle lens and gain instant perspective.
“Look around. There’s lots right with my life. I have much to be grateful for.”

Coco Mademoiselle
floral oriental

By rights, this is the one that should be called Chance, because it happened by accident. Chanel put CM together as a “flanker”, a product designed to ride the coattails of a famous brand name while keeping PR on the boil. Not a lot of work went into it, and Chanel was, I am told, as surprised as everyone else when it became a runaway success. CM and its congeners arise from the systematic application of a trick first discovered by Angel. This consists in mixing an intense, almost masculine spicy-oriental base with a strident floral accord. In the case of Angel, the effect is wonderfully androgynous and scarily over-the-top. Nothing takes the fun out of a filthy joke as surely as toning it down, and that’s what CM is about. Perfumers love doing this stuff because it’s easy: mix equal parts of Heritage and Allure, stir, and call in the evaluator. This style is a success for hte same reasons that Respighi’s Fountains of Rome is one of the bestsellers of classical music: it’s loud, impressive, and undemanding. But when mediocrity is easy, greatness becomes hard. These fragrances are as difficult to tell apart as the ladies at a Scala first night: all tan, makeup and hair. Mercifully, this style is on its way out.

Cristalle
citrus chypre

Fragrance taxonomist Michael Edwards (his classification eclipses all others) puts Cristalle among the crisp citruses. This is unquestionably correct, but what makes Cristalle fascinating, like an intermediate lifeform that shows evolution midway through morphing from one species to another, is that it also belongs somewhere in the green chypres (fresh mossy wood in Edwards’ scheme). Considered as a citrus, Cristalle is far too solemn. Considered as a chypre, it has an unusual morning (possibly morning-after) feeling. There is a business-like briskness that suggests waking up from a night spent with a gorgeous stranger and finding her fully dressed and made up, ready to leave after nothing more than a peck on the cheek, leaving only a cloud of Cristalle as a contact address. Beautiful, and a little scary.

Tresor
powdery rose

I once sat in the London Tube across from a young woman wearing a T-shirt printed with headline-size words “ALL THIS” across her large breasts, and in small type underneath “and brains too”. That vulgar-but-wily combination seems to me to sum up Tresor. Up close, when you can read the small print, Tresor is a superbly clever accord between powdery rose and vetiver, reminiscent of the structure of Habanita. From a distance, it’s the trashiest, most good-humoured pink-mohair-sweater-and-bleached-hair thing imaginable. When you manage to appeal to both the reptilian brain and the neocortex of menfolk, what happens is what befell Tresor: a huge success.

Chanel No. 19
green floral

In the history of feminine perfumes, there seem to be two recurring motifs of femininity: let’s call them the cloth mother and the wire mother, after Harry Harlow’s famous experiment. The cloth mother is the soft, cuddly, big-bosomed, heavy-hipped ideal of the feminine, best represented by the warmly creaming, nutty classic florals like Fleurs de Rocaille, Detchema, and Arpege. Lovely and soothing in a slightly boneless way, these are easy fragrances to like. But the wire mother is angular, unkind, tough, and cold — scary and handsomely hollow-cheeked. Of the wire mothers of perfume (see Miss dior, Ma Griffe, and Envy for examples), No. 19, first released in 1971, may be the cruellest. It’s said that Henri Robert composed No. 19 for Gabrielle Chanel when she was in her eighties, and a striking and admirably dissonant portrait it is, from the silvery hiss of its nail-polish-remover beginnings to its poisonously beautiful green-floral heart. (Unfortunately, it is now lacking its former leathery chypre intensity that used to increase with time, petering off instead into a clean vetiver ending similar to the anti-climax of the current Caleche.) For a fragrance with so many springtime references, all white blossoms and leafy greenery, No. 19 never lands you in any Sound Of Music meadows. It keeps you in the boardroom, in three-inch stilettos and a pencil-skirt suit. Haughty and immune to sweetness, with a somewhat antiseptic air, this extraordinary perfume appeals to any woman who has ever wished to know what it is to be heartless.

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Because I am pretentious

Osmanthe Yunnan - Hermès
from here:

Notes de tête : thé yunnan, orange
Notes de cœur : osmanthus, fleurs de freesia
Notes de fond : abricot, “notes suaves” (cuir et musc)

La collection Hermessences s’est agrandie, en 2005, avec Osmanthe Yunnan, inspiré par un voyage à la Cité interdite, à Pékin: J.-C. Ellena a joué ici sur la fleur d’osmanthus, buisson originaire de Chine et du Japon dont les fleurs exhalent un parfum très particulier, rond et fruité, rappelant un peu l’odeur de l’abricot, miellée, avec un léger aspect cuiré. A cette note encore assez rarement utilisée en parfumerie, il a ajouté le thé Yunnan, à l’arôme doux et subtil.

Le départ d’Osmanthe Yunnan est intensément hespéridé, très acidulé et très frais, mais ne dure pas: l’osmanthus et le thé émergent après quelques minutes à peine, pour se fondre en un parfum d’une infinie délicatesse, aérien, translucide. Les deux notes principales, en parfaite harmonie, se complimentent l’une l’autre, prennent chacune tour à tour un léger ascendant avant de revenir en retrait. L’évolution est discrète, toute en subtilité, le freesia apportant par moments une touche plus vive, presque verte, l’abricot à peine discernable venant arrondir et adoucir l’osmanthus… l’infime note de cuir se laisse deviner sur la fin, soulignant cette facette du parfum de la fleur d’osmanthus.

Si J.-C. Ellena est connu pour le minimalisme volontaire de ses compositions, il pousse cette logique à l’extrême dans cet Osmanthe Yunnan, un parfum remarquablement épuré sans être simpliste: chaque note semble faite idéalement pour l’autre, s’y fondre avec bonheur. Ni lourdement floral, ni sucré, Osmanthe Yunnan est avant tout une senteur délicate et subtile, à l’effet doux, frais et transparent, un parfum de peau léger comme le plus arachnéen des voiles. Il pourrait passer inaperçu au premier abord, mais il suffit de se donner la peine de s’y arrêter pour que le charme agisse.
Pour moi, l’une des Hermessences les plus réussies, et ce n’est pas peu dire!

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Osmanthus Interdite

L’osmanthus, fleur reine de la Chine, possède une saveur fine aux accents d’abricot. Osmanthus Interdite, dont le nom est un clin d’œil à la majestueuse Cité Interdite de Pékin, évoque aussi la Chine d’aujourd’hui et ses nouveaux Empereurs. Les ‘capitalistes rouges’ triomphent en Chine, conquerrant le XXIème siècle à coup de projets colossaux. Ils modernisent l’Empire millénaire et conduisent vers son prodigieux destin près du quart de l’humanité. Le parfum s’ouvre sur les notes fraîches d’un thé chinois aux accents verts et hespéridés. Autour de la rose et du jasmin, le cœur dévoile la saveur fruitée fleurie de l’osmanthus, qui évolue vers un sillage légèrement cuiré. Les muscs, cristallins, viennent clore la fragrance.

● 陈再藩
两岸灯火

　　上一期的专栏，我们说，柔佛州州务大臣会在大家的簇拥下，穿过节目交织的陈旭年街，最后，才在各民族鼓乐的激昂声中，来到新山华族历史文物馆的正面大门。

　　十月三日上午天气晴而不燥，陈旭年街人山人海。州务大臣果然展开了一次充满象征意义的文化散步，而且还在老咖啡店的花树下，坐下来喝杯咖啡。

　　咖啡店的对面屋墙，前一天才装置了一片十尺见方的步行街图。特点是，这份街图绘于1887年。时代与空间生态的刻意错置，使对面的咖啡店多了一些诉鲜的话题。

　　咖啡店的五脚基，还上了一片贴板，将每个星期日的“锦花茶座”专栏贴在上面。贴板上有句话：“一个老城区、一条老街，加上一间老咖啡店，便有无数老故事，可以伴着咖啡香，留给子孙，送给过客……”

　　这是让这条街开始讲故事的一个“手段”——报章专栏以街店为名，而店外看板又以专栏为主角，每周新添一则，如此细水长流，故事便可绵延不绝。

　　走过的必留下痕迹与感觉。走过陈旭年街的故事与表演，州务大臣在致开幕词时，说州政府会全力支持新山华社将陈旭年街发展为历史与文化步行街时，那句话不再是一句讲词，而是他刚刚亲自接触的故事。他在街上趋近一个穿着红木屐敲锣的小男孩。孩子不足六岁，吃力地提着的铜锣大过他半个身子。他卯足劲，跟着潮州大锣鼓队在演奏马来民歌Rasa Sayang。大臣也停步子，和来自新加坡的陈旭年第五代曾孙陈业裕闲聊几句，问他可曾回访潮州祖乡……

　　开幕剪彩之后，大臣登上了二楼。新山的历史，得从脚下的船板开始。大约1840年代，约4000名潮州人在义兴公司的号召下从新加坡乘船进入柔佛，掀开了后来延续约八十年的华人港主开荒历史。

　　柔佛的港主制度是苏丹阿布巴卡聪明的创制，他发出港契，让获得某条河域港契的港主拥有相当独立的经济与司法权，可以铸钱、印钞票、采矿、伐树、买卖烟酒，甚至开设赌场，审押居民等。柔佛在十九世纪颁授上百港契，十之八九由潮州人所拥有。这也是“柔佛”这地名在潮州移民史上仅次于暹罗（泰国）之因。

　民间传说进入了历史文物馆便得淡化乡野传奇的色彩。苏丹阿布巴卡早在进入新山之前便与卖布的陈旭年在新加坡结拜为兄弟手足的传说，迄今仍传述于潮州彩塘镇及新山华社，但在文物馆里就变成了《十九世纪华巫合作》这个标准标题。这是柔佛华族历史的首要篇章。接着，谈的一定是义兴公司与甘蜜。1880年左右，柔佛是全世界最大的甘蜜生产“国”。传说种植业最鼎盛之际，全柔20万人口里华人约占四分之三。那时，从新山纱玉河口运甘蜜到新加坡河畔进行交易的“物流”话动，想必是一番盛景。

　　这就难怪在柔佛独拥近十条港（河域）的陈旭年也能在新加坡河畔建起那么雅致的双层“涟漪轩”及位于Jalan Penang 、官气十足的“资政第”。更能在故乡费14年建成名列中国国家保护建筑的从熙公祠。

　　十九世纪过去了，港主制度与义兴公司在廿世纪初相继消失，华人与马来统治者的“手足关系”在英国人介入之下，开始拔远。

　　传奇退场，文物馆的展示进入了现代史，乡会、学校与文化成了三楼的主角。这时，取代义兴的华侨公所易名为中华公会。华人社会，从此告别了船的年代。　　

（传自新山）

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Mysterious gifts to be suspected and questioned. I don’t believe in some secret Santa suddenly giving out tea or bouquets dropping from the sky. So offending parties must be questioned.

And really, what’s up with the pricing of history books in Singapore? And they’re by the think-tanks too. Where does the money *go*?? Come on, subsidise and no hard covers please.

No wonder photocopy shops are doing a thriving business. This reminds me of the fiasco that was Project Eyeball, which was priced out of market. Stupid marketing folks.

(From that perfume book, see earlier)

snowy floral

In retrospect Pleasures (1995) turns out to have been a tipping point in the history of perfumery, the storming of the fine-fragrance Bastille, the moment when lowly soap finally overthrew the ancien regime and took possession of its empty palaces. Its revolutionary precursors Chanel No. 22 and White Linen illustrate the struggles of this wish on its way to fulfillment. Aldehydes have always been powerful and cheap, floral bases as well, so soap perfumery made abundant use of low-cost versions of Joy, No. 5 etc. Quality soaps got very good at this, and the advertising (Lux, Camay) started showing demurely bathing blondes up to their neck in white foam worthy of smothering a refinery fire. The soap makers never had the guts to do a fine fragrance scented just like the bar (my prediction is that a Dove EdP would sell well), so it was left to the fine-fragrance people to fake plebeian pleasures. But proper perfume’s courtly manners gave it away, and the rose was always too good (White Linen), the musks too sweet (No. 22). By the erly nineties two things had happened. First, the relentless impoverishment of fine-fragrance formulas narrowed the gap dangerously with functional fragrance, a recipe for class unrest. Second, the great fragrance company Firmenich developed musks (Muscenone, Habanolide) that fortuitously possessed a soapy, snowy sparkle reminiscent of aldehydes. All of a sudden it became possible for perfume to outlast soap without veering off course. Karen Khoury at Lauder, and Alberto Morillas and Annie Buzantian at Firmenich seized the moment: Pleasures. It caught the mood of women tired of loud eighties fragrances. They just wanted to smell clean, and not just transiently, but all day, broadcasting the spotlessness of their intentions. The message was that nothing had been deliberately added, that the pleasant, white radiance was just squeakiness writ large. Unfortunately, the scrubbed bareness of Pleasures begat a faceless breed that is still with us, but one can hardly blame a pioneer for spawning lesser imitations. (LT)

AT CHINATOWN included the ones we bought that said “Fire, Fire, Fire” and spat out bubbles, and some Sun WuKong that flashed red eyes and had a weird cycle. C and I laughed and laughed while we browsed.

Might be time to pick up DSLR skills…we visited Dairy Farm today and had conversation over lunch ranging from airlifting sacred cows in India to dealing with idiots. Then it was out to Chinatown later tonight for drinks at The Screening Room, which played music so loudly I swear it was trying to drive us all out.

All in all, it’s a full day and fun.

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A: “The band is very unbalanced today… very top heavy, like 36-15-15.”
O_o Another quotable quote brought to you by RWinds.

From Lucas Turin’s & Tania Sanchez’s Perfumes:

Envy (Green floral)

Maurice Rocel has a knack for putting together perfumes that feel haunted by the ghostly presence of a woman: Lyra was a compact, husky-voiced Parisienne, Tocade a tanned, free-as-air Amazon. These have another Roucel hallmark, the spontaneity of the unpolished gem. When subjected to the full grind of the marketing department, Roucel’s style can become cramped and tends toward brilliant pastiches of classical fragrances: 24, Faubbourg; L’Instant; Insolence. Envy is to my knowledge the only time when the balance between Roucel’s magic and the real world gave rise to a work that, like a diamond, needed both heat and pressure to perform. My recollection is that Envy was panel-tested again and again while Roucel adjusted it until it outperformed Pleasures, then at the top of its arc of fame. It is amusing to think that such a comparison between apples and pears could be expected to be meaningful. However, it did constrain the woman inside Envy to be at once seraphic and suburban, complete with the sort of suppressed anger that such a creature would feel at being reincarnated as a florist in eastern New Jersey.

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A La Nuit (Serge Lutens)

Jasmine — death by jasmine

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Osmanthe Yunnan (milky tea)

When Jean-Claude Ellena, now in-house perfumer at a little saddler’s outfit called Hermes, first did the soapy suede-and-apricots scent of the osmanthus flower for The Different Company’s Osmanthus, it was like one of those deceptively simple, pretty Paul McCartney melodies that seem so obvious once heard, you suspect he finds them lying fully formed in the street. Ellena could have stopped there. We would have been happy. But instead, in Osmanthus take two, he adds a layer of smoked tea, which could have turned simply into a representation of traditional Chinese osmanthus-scented tea, in itself not a bad idea. But Osmanthe Yunnan also turns up an unexpected milky sweetness at the skin, which transforms into something warm and welcoming up close. Put it this way: you’d enjoy Osmanthus wafting by, but you’ll follow Osmanthus Yunnan to its source. It is a perfume of pure happiness. If you had asked me before smelling this fragrance if any of the minimalist compositions that Ellena has been turning out in recent years could be ranked in the top tier artistically, I would have said no, but I would have been wrong. Osmanthe Yunnan is beautiful from start to finish, distinctive, impossible to improve, unforgettable, unpretentious, and the best of Ellena’s work for Hermes so far.

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Osmanthus (The Different Company)
dreamy peach

Osmanthus is a Chinese shrub that grows well in temperate climes (I used to have one in my London garden) and produces small white flowers that smell deliciously soapy and apricot-peachy, a sort of datura without the menace. I find its combination of gentle softness and dry reserve irresistible. It often turns up in fragrance notes listed in press packs, but these are as trustworthy as Greenpeace press releases; that is to say, you seldom smell it. Shiseido’s fabled Nombre Noir was an exception, where a touch of it softened an otherwise stark composition. Looking at the components of osmanthus oil, you can see how it’s going to work: lots of lactones (peach and coconut), ionones (woody violets), and theaspiranes (camphor-cassis). Osmanthus, like vetiver and narcissus, is a ready-made fragrance, and the perfumer’s skill consists chiefly in bringing it back to life from the sleep induced by solvent extraction. Jean-Claude Ellena did this in 2001, when he was the in-house perfumer at The Different Company, and captures it perfectly, with a touch of lemony notes up top to give a delicious, almost gardenia-like effect, and a soapy-woody drydown. I use this wonderful fragrance they way some people carry familiar objects to set up in hotel rooms and make everywhere feel like home. There is a protecting genie in its little travel bottle, which hasn’t failed me yet.

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L’Eau d’Issey
melon floral

What’s the point of reviewing L’Eau d’Issey, I wonder, when each reader has known at minimum five people who wore it? But we would be remiss to leave it out. However, smelling this bestselling fragrance in earnest today is a shock. For one thing, it has a reputation as a very light fragrance but is instead extremely strong. The green floral bouquet at its core seems crudely friendly, like floral air fresheners you’ve known; the distinctive, airy, green melon-aquatic note of Calone, which made the fragrance seem so new in 1992, reminds us mostly of Windex now. It seems unfair that this fragrance should have lived while its more deserving cousin Feu d’Issey was put to the axe. It also seems counterintuitive that the preference for squeaky-clean, bland, fresh, faceless fragrances in frosted glass — cK One, Acqua di Gio, Light Blue — should have arisen while the main fashion, grunge, was to look as if you’d been sleeping under a bridge for months. But fifteen years ago, it was all part of the penitent ideal: goodbye to Motley Crue and their extraneous hair and umlauts, bye to shoulder pads and pointy-toed stiletto heels, bye to Opium and Giorgio. A straightforward, pleasant spring floral that smelled like glass cleaner, with a Japanese name and a simple conical bottle, seemed pure and unfussy, honestly generic. The story always told is that Miyake asked for a fragrance that smelled like water, despite water smelling, notably, like nothing. Nearly everyone I knew owned a bottle. There is little reason to own one now (says TS). If you love the eerie freshness of it, you could try the peculiar Cologne by Thierry Mugler or the unforgettably crisp Silences by Jacomo, and if it’s the conventional green floral at its heart that moves you, you can seek out, say, Cristalle or Private Collection and set sail for ever farther and more satisfying seas from there.