Saturday, January 20, 2007

Grace Quek: An Article

As yet, reading this article, words absolutely elude me, and I can but highlight a paragraph!

The Annabel Chong Story

"Ostensibly, Grace Quek wanted to prove that women could be 'studs' like men and to have sex without suffering the consequences. What she really meant was that she wanted to exorcise her personal demons through a medium, which ends up devouring her instead. Her lesson seems to be that, due to social and biological impediments, women might not be in a position to have consequence-free sex. Men have a little more leeway than women do in this area. But even they cannot indulge excessively without nature eventually knocking on their door. Just ask Marquise de Sade, Pier Paolo Pasolini, thousands of gay men, Marco Vassi and John Holmes."

So much for empowered feminism?
So much for empowered feminism.
Saith the little girl who wanted to rebel against Singapore's stricture, and change the world.
Hmm.

jOhn thought at 1:18 PM

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Liars and deceivers, or just human?

These 3 individuals have interested me recently. All are pastors of very large and powerful churches (rather, were). All suffered scandals, and all were once mercilessly attacked by US media and the public.

Jim Bakker

-Built a now defunct Christian-theme park called Heritage USA in the 1980s that was once the 3rd most visited theme park in USA, receiving 6 million visitors a year and competing with the likes of Disneyland. Bakker was soon to be indicted on federal charges of fraud, tax evasion, and racketeering, and served 5 years in prison.


Jimmy Swaggart

Pentecostal preacher and pioneer of televangelism who reached the height of his popularity in the 1980s. During the 1970s, Swaggart established a lucrative ministry under the Assemblies of God, which in the 1980s was estimated to make over $150 million per year.

When the scandal destroyed fellow minister Jim Bakker, Swaggart publicly denounced Bakker's scandal (not Bakker personally) as "a cancer on the body of Christ." Shortly afterward, Swaggart faced his own sex scandal when a private investigator, hired by a rival evangelist Marvin Gorman, documented a series of Swaggart's meetings with prostitutes.



Ted Haggard

-Pastor and founder of a megachurch (New Life Church), who recently was forced to resign after a male prostitute accused him of being a hypocrite, criticising homosexuality publicly, while maintaining a secret sexual relationship with him. Haggard was also alleged to have got himself high on methamphetamines during sex romps.

"I am a deceiver and a liar. There is a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I've been warring against it all of my adult life.... "

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Whoa. All led large religious organisations, all organisations were flush with money, and all went down hard, with extremely damaging allegations. All had gained and lost the trust of a good many common folk.

All, would be really, really scary, if they had happened in Singapore.

jOhn thought at 1:20 PM

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Mighty Interesting....

Today newspaper, January 12th 2007, Pg 38

JC vice-principal called poly a 'stupid decision'.

A freind was recently posted to a junior college (JC) in the north. But she decided to withdraw as she was ineligible for her preferred subject combination and the travelling took more than two hours each day.

When my friend said she was considering going to a polytechnic instead, the vice-principal, who handled her request, made several disparaging remarks about polytechnics. He allegedly called them a 'bad choice' and a 'stupid decision', adding that 'any fool can make it in poly'. He also likened students who forgo the first three months of JC to delinquents who 'don't study, don't listen in class and skip school'. This is biased and unjustified.

I thought the stereotype of a polytechnic education being inferior to a JC one was history, a view largely confined to the older generation who favour the more conventional route to university. I certainly did not think that an educator - and a JC vice-principal at that - would still hold such views. More polys are tying up with overseas universities to offer their students degrees in various disciplines, and it is becoming apparent that a poly education is no less inferior to a JC one.

My friend was understandably unhappy and told him that she would not stay on at the college even if she were posted there after the Joint Admission Exercise. His reply was galling: "We would not accept you, either."

Is such an attitude befitting a leader in education?

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This girl is a clever one. Her letter has maximum impact, not only offending the entire polytechnic student population, but also those who missed the 1st 3 months of JC1.

Oooooh. Hmm. what shall I say? Should good O level scorers devote 2 years of their lives to schools run by these people? Yet, this unlucky guy simply happens to be more outspoken with what I think still remains a widespread sentiment here in our happy little elite-loving island. It's precisely because of people like him that I chose my own poly education, and still am loving it after 2 years, even though I complain a lot =))

In a way, he is correct. Many 'academically unmotivated' students can make it in poly and get a neat little diploma. But at the end of the day, only those who work doubly hard can even think of pulling ahead of his/her peers.

Going by the letter's details, the JC in question is probably a middle-ranked one (the student goes to poly after not qualifying for her preferred subs).. it may be not immediately accessible by MRT.. and one with an obnoxious male vice principal (duh)... hmm.

Aw c'mon.. expose that little rat... =)

jOhn thought at 11:13 AM

Monday, January 08, 2007

When Men Believe.

"Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful."

-Seneca, Roman philosopher

Religion is a very touchy subject. In our world today, thousands of people die in the name of gods, in wars fought every day.

Why are men willing to sacrifice their lives fighting? Being a noble cause, (some other causes include 'freedom' and 'democracy'), religion gives us the answers to three questions that we are most concerned about: Where did we come from, What is our purpose, and Where are we going.

No, I have not renounced my faith. Because I know without doubt that God exists and holds more sway over our lives than any other being (which is another topic altogether). What is not real, however, is religion created by men. Bible quote, anyone?

"They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."
-Jesus, in Mark 7:7

The cause of conflict, within and outside religion, is because each group has fortified their position with baseless weapons of theology. Even within Christianity, there are countless disagreements between every church, and also partly the reason why there are so many denominations believing their brand of religion is the ultimate and perfect answer. It is precisely because of a thousand years of tradition and ritual that the demons of modern conflict come into existence.

In developed countries, all the more people are averse towards religion in general. There is an admitted proliferation of aethism, especially in countries like the United Kingdom, France, USA, and even Singapore. Because of wealth, citizens of these countries do not need to struggle day-to-day just for survival. They therefore have more time on their hands to think about the aforementioned three questions.

And when they do, more often than not, they come to a conclusion that there is no God. Yes, this world is a broken-down world, and to them, religion has bred fanatics that have created their own freakshows of faith, completely out-of-touch with technology and popular culture, and completely hostile towards the outside world. Which layman would want to be absorbed into such a cult?

(I say cult, meaning, any group of religious fanatics who are shut off from the outside world, hiding behind their walls of 'teachings of men' to repeatedly blast it as 'works of the devil'. These are the same people that wished to ban movies like the Da Vinci Code, thinking that such a trivial and superficial fantasy would do irreparable damage to their religion and its followers. Who has the real God? Such extremists, or the mature Christian that says, 'Bring it on. It gives me the perfect chance to explain the real truth about God.' Is the God of the universe so weak that His people, who devote their entire lives to His name, can be dislodged by a 2-hour motion picture? Shame on you.)

Truth is found in the Word, this Word shall set you free. But, conversion through an assault on one's thoughts and beliefs, is not freedom at all. Evangelism should be performed through acts of kindness, brotherhood, friendship and love, cliched as it may sound. It is through these acts that a non-believer (in the developed world) can recognise the existence of God, and not through an invasion of someone's belief system.

jOhn thought at 2:45 AM

Thursday, January 04, 2007

NEW YEAR 2007!!!

Yay. A new year, yet another year of school. Some go to national service, others start another schooling year. Poor me has been occupied these 4 weeks with so much crap to do that I can't breathe. Muaha.

Something entirely random:

7 things that your room should not do without:

1. Aircon
2. Queen-sized bed (At least. King, Emperor, or Deity-sized beds are also good.)
3. Desktop computer
4. L-shaped desk (normal rectangular desks just don't have enough space.)
5. Nice big bookshelf with books of your interest
6. Radio (TV is bad. Its distracts you.)
7. Whiteboard (Quick way to plan your day.)

7 things I wished my room had:

1. Watercooler and fridge
2. Toilet (if you have one, don't smirk)
3. Fireplace (to throw stuff inside and entertain myself)
4. Theatre, with a 2m-wide projector screen
5. CCTV and motion detectors, handphone-controlled
6. Soundproof walls
7. Massage chair

jOhn thought at 3:18 AM