ESSAY PRACTICE: One-word Question (I)

Right, here is the first set of one-word questions:

Farewell
Bored
Anger
Blues
Moods
Alone
Soul
Compassion
Dance
Greed
Desires
Pets
Obstacles

Be creative and inspired, and engage the reader. Bring the character and his/her world to life.

台湾感动。。。 当人民站起来时

百万人反贪污倒扁 ... ...阿扁下台!

围城之夜 台湾感动












当千百万人民自发的站起来时 那是发自内心的怒喊
当建中北一等中学生站出来时 那是发自年轻的真挚
当豪雨与心身汗水泪滴交集时 那是发自无声的忍耐
那一夜的真理与公义
那一夜的勇敢与执著
我听到了 我感动了
你听到了吗 你也感动了吗

真的，当到了忍无可忍的时候，当到了大是大非的时候， 就是到了站起来的时候了。 当人民站起时，当青年站起时，那就是最真实伟大无阻的力量了！

Note： 看到台北所有名校，如建国中学，北一女中， 師大附中，松山高中，台中一中 的学生在昨晚的倒扁围城中走上了前线，我又想起了年轻人的希望。 从五四运动， 到抗日， 到钓鱼台，到天安门学潮， 都是年轻人学生出于对真理公正的述求与憧憬而付出的行动。

曾经，我们都年轻过。

青年学生永远都是走在时代与革命的前端的。以前是，现在是，以后也是。

Above are my thoughts upon watching the Protest March against P. Bian in Taipei last night. Decided to write that in Mandarin, because I feel more expressing in Mandarin for this issue.

I have been following the Taiwan 'Down with the President' campaign, and it's most fascinating, or rather, most thought-provoking. I have never had much liking for that Bian, and I just cannot stand his ineffectiveness, his lack of judgement, his lack of consideration for others, his lack of compassion, his lack of conscience and justice, and his lack of class. I guess his own Taiwanese people have finally decided that enough is enough, hence this current final outpour of public anger and action. Yesterday's Protest Encircling March, joined in by some 800000 people stretching some 5.5 km (from the front line to last line of protestors), self-initiated and not rallied by the political parties, was a most inspiring and moving sight. Note the massive crowd in the photo. The entire crowd of some 800000 protesters took about 6 hours to encircle and march around the Presidential Palace area. That's real People's Power.

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Next. Below are 2 articles I culled from sina.com. One article highlights the active participation by the youths and students of Taipei's top schools in this campaign, which is interesting, because when the young intelligensia takes to the streets like that, it is always an indication of the extent of disgruntle and problems that society has, and thus, they finally stand out, and become a catalyst of change.

An article from an online news site.
五千學生軍 穿制服打頭陣
聯合新聞網 (2006/09/16 05:49)
http://news.sina.com.tw/politics/

【記者楊德宜、王宏舜∕台北報導】

圍城遊行的隊伍昨天下午出發後，由超過五千名高中生、大學生打頭陣，大多數學生沒穿雨衣，走在雨中嘶吼「阿扁下台」；一群考完模擬考相約上街遊行的高中生說，「你倒扁了沒有？」已經是校園的招呼語了。

來自建中、北一女、師大附中、松山高中、台中一中等上百所學校學生，昨天下午成群湧入凱道，大多數學生穿著制服、背著書包，頭上或手臂綁紅布條。隊伍中的學生不停開心尖叫，大吼「我終於能來倒扁！」

成功高中曹同學說，許多同學的白色制服下穿的就是紅Ｔ恤，顏色藏都藏不住。雖然校方告誡不要穿制服上街，以免外界對學校產生誤解，不過學生們說，身上只穿著一件制服上衣，「不穿制服遊行，難道要脫掉？」

南港高中三年級尤欣和兩名同學一起走在人群中。她說，「阿扁害教育經費都沒有了，我們連冷氣、水電費都要省」，加上看到校長周三在報紙民意論壇發表倒扁言論，「超感動的，所以我們來，表示力挺校長！」

大同高中的劉姓女同學和班上十個同學「組團」前進凱道。劉女表示，她們特地穿制服來倒扁，就是要讓大家看到年輕人也來了。她說，班上也有民進黨支持者，但也希望阿扁下台，別拖垮民進黨。 其他學生也搶著說，教育部長杜正勝希望學生不要穿制服上街，但是每個人都有自己的思想，「他管不到」；而且高三生都快有投票權了。

建中三年級鄭可灝與隔壁班同學來，三人頭綁紅巾，吼得賣力。他說，因為昨天才結束連續兩天的北區模擬考，考完立刻趕來凱道，他痛恨阿扁貪腐，「現在能吼出來，很爽！」

育成高中二年級江孟軒一開始就走在隊伍最前頭，他說，第一次參加群眾運動，「很有榮譽感」，全校至少一百名學生參加，「看阿扁不爽，我一定要看到他下台」。

南強工商一年級李文豪、何元凱、潘奕維共同扛起個子小的林坦蔚，四人以騎馬打仗姿態往前衝。林坦蔚說，他的父母都挺綠，他沒讓父母知道他來圍城，回家一定會被罵，「管他的，我一定要阿扁下台」。

An article from an online site.
員警 悄悄比了倒扁手勢
聯合新聞網 (2006/09/16 05:49)
http://news.sina.com.tw/politics/

記者 林新輝
你從未看過這樣的景象，五點五公里長的紅色人龍前進，只發出一種聲音，「阿扁下台」。

你不會見過這樣的畫面，遊行隊伍經過接近總統官邸的重慶南路口，全副武裝的員警，在暮色中，悄悄的向高喊阿扁下台的隊伍比出倒扁手勢，跟背後冰冷的拒馬、蛇籠形成強烈對比。

你從未看過這樣的景象，建中、北一女、成功、景美、中山、松山、新店、光仁女中、中正、延平、復興、南港高工、大安高工的高中生，毫不忸怩作態，穿著校服，帶著繡有校名的書包，下課後直奔凱道，手牽手、肩搭肩，十人一排的領頭，站在遊行隊伍前面帶領呼喊「阿扁下台」口號。

你也沒有看過，中華路上三輛急駛的公車，公車上十幾名乘客，遇上遊行隊伍，要求駕駛停車讓他們下車，加入倒扁的遊行隊伍。

寧波西街、衡陽路左右兩旁做生意的老闆，看見遊行隊伍經過，放下店裡的生意，站在騎樓高喊「阿扁下台」。你也不會看到，一位男子站在二樓，將家裡的窗戶拆掉，穿著紅衣，整個人趴在外面喊著「阿扁下台」。位在公園路上的遠東國際銀行大樓的四樓，一群人貼著玻璃帷幕，喊阿扁下台。星巴客的阿媽，拉麵店的小姐，全身通紅，靠著透明窗比出倒扁手勢。

當然你也不會遇見這樣的事，五個男女正在寧波西街的一家海鮮餐廳吃飯划拳，看見紅潮隊伍，酒拳不划，改比畫倒扁手勢。數十位民眾租下凱撒飯店，打開窗戶拉出紅布條，閃著房裡的燈光，喊著阿扁下台。

遊行隊伍經過南海路建國中學，一位建中的學生跳上指揮車，拿著麥克風用ＲＡＰ的音調喊「建中畢業的十萬校友，十萬校友十萬軍，統統站出來」。

红潮滾滾的群眾，沒有動員，沒有走路工，沒有訓練，只發一種聲音，一個動作。這樣的景象，你鐵定沒有看過。這樣的場面，吳淑珍、陳水扁及主政的綠營，應該看一看。

My Singlish Dreaming

Right... getting a bit bored and going bonkers, so I am going to do something radical. I am going to post in Singlish (haha). I am gona write some comments about Singapore Dreaming, in Singlish, then maybe the students can do a translation into proper standard English. Give your very best in crafting your expressions (make it as sophisticated and evocative as you can), and print out your translation and pass it to me (with your name and class written clearly on the entry), and I will give a prize for the best translation. Haha...

MY SINGLISH POST (and you have to read it aloud with the up-and-down of intonation that we usually have for Singlish. Btw, this is Chinese-Singlish. There are other forms of Singlish, such as Hokkien-Singlish, English-Singlish and others.) :

Wa.. that singapore dreaming ah.. really so cannot believe it u know... i thought go there see laugh laugh comedy gao xiao xing dao liang zhi qiang kind, but wa who knows turn out to be bei qing drama. really cannot breathe for don't know how long. the renwu really very berchek at times, and all the xiao ren wu so sad, kena stepped on by all the you qian ren.

but ah, i damn like the old uncle character, the one by.. who ah .. richard lim, i think.. that grassroot actor of xinchuanmei. he really solid ah.. and his dream of ji ba ban (yi bai wan) lottery come true. sometimes look at him and his lao po, they lao fu lao qi, still argue everyday, but very sweet leh. then their good for nothing son come back from some ulu amelican univasity, then still want to con money off his fu mu, really want to ba ta ti dao 18 hells. so not xiaoshun. and his sister, so capable but just no luck to make it big. her husband also ang mo gang dang potatoe, cannot speak mandarin at all.

best is still that useless son girlflan ... cannot remember name liao...but she really superwoman ... borrow money to give boyflan stardy, not married yet already give money.. really lucky best, then that boyflan reali just waste her money.. a lot u know... got money also cannot anyhow give pple .... too much money better give me, haha... so anyway, end of story is ah... they all jueding on waht yihou they want to zhuiqiu in life. so ok la. i never liu bak sai although it very sad throughout.

still, the ending vely feel good la. and got meaning u know. the moral of the storli is waht that china lady person in the movie say. ni yi wei ni de ming hen ku ma? then she say she work so hard earn money so she can go chase her dreams. so i think ya very right leh. i also think we must chase our dreams, then we work hard also worth it ah.

OK, that's about as much as I can handle for now, and I think I tried too hard... haha...
Happy Translating, for those interested.

A Beautiful Heart

Came across this quote, by the great American novelist Henry Miller. It is a most uplifting and enlightening observation. Thought it will be good to share with all, especially for those who are troubled and have strayed off.

'Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not.' .... Henry Miller

Indeed, we will only find and experience the beauty that we seek if we have it in us. The world is and will only be as beautiful as we permit our innerselves to be, and to see the world to be. An ugly heart will only perceive and create an ugly world, while a beautiful heart will transform all it sees and touches into beauty.

(Ok ... the punchline ... guess where I saw it? At a hip-looking hair salon at Marina Square, just near the GV Marina row. Haha ...)

Singapore Dreaming

Just watched 'Singapore Dreaming', a film written by Colin Goh (of talkingcock.com fame) and Woon Yen Yen. It is indeed the best Singapore film I have ever watched. Not going to spoil it for you by telling you the story, so gona keep the plot development a suspense. The trailer's below, followed by my 2 cents worth, then reviews by President Nathan, Mr Brown, and others.


more short clips at www.singaporedreaming.com

All I wanna say is, it's the most beautifully crafted and well paced narrative, deftly integrating and subtly presenting the many layers and slices of Singaporean life - from the perspective of a family caught up (like many others) in their daily life of survival, and of their dreams of the 5Cs. And the ending is superbly subtle and moving, with a sense of a refreshing shower after suffocating humidity. It's a real Singaporean film that we can identify with, and that can go places. Fantastic team of scriptwriters, director, actors/actresses, music/sound, cinematography, etc. And all the actors and actresses, famed personalities of the Singapore stage, bring a full range of highly perceptive and intensely emotional shades to their acting.

If we are talking about Singaporean culture - THIS is Singaporean culture.

Go watch it.

Film's Reviews:

“It is life in its reality.” – President S.R. Nathan, President of the Republic of Singapore, in the Straits Times, 14 April 2006.

“One solid movie. I can tell you now… go and watch it.”- Mr. Brown, Sing
apore’s most influential blogger.

“a compelling flow of stories which you won’t just identify with. You’ll live them, you’ll dream them.”- Mr. Miyagi, One of Singapore’s most popular bloggers.

“A beautiful insight into what it is like being a Singaporean.”- Dr Robert Kamel, vice-dean of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical, School, in the Straits Times, 14 April 2006 .

"Just plain brilliant, and… has potential to appeal to almost every spectrum of local society, and cinema-goers. It's adult storytelling laced with well placed humour, tackling mature themes and providing a snapshot of your typical heartland family of four, their goals, dreams, desires and challenges. … in contention for my movie of the year.” – A Nutshell Review, Singapore’s top movie review website.

Did I actually spend time writing this? Yes. It's for the anon tagger's edification, if he ever appreciates it.

Right. There has been another post by the famous anon tagger on my tagboard. I had thought of giving him the same cold treatment (i.e. ignoring him), but later, I thought that his tags reveal some ignorance on his part as to Singlish, Standard English (Singaporean) and English English (does it still exist today? researchers beg to differ, in fact.) Also, there are parts of his tag that smack of either malice or lack of good values. So, I have decided that for once, I will do that fellow a service, as well as clear some doubts for all interested others. I had initially tagged the below responses, but I find that a bit too long for a tagboard, so I have collated all of them here:

hmm ... this is interesting.. anon and the pretender, you need to be aware of the difference between English standard grammar, and Singlish grammar. These 2 forms of grammar refer to the way we construct our sentences, and is also different from the Singaporean way of speaking standard English, which we sometimes erroneously refer to as Singlish as well.

For your information, most of us adults can speak and like to speak Singaporean-accented Standard English (more intonation variants, as well as at staccato fast speed that foreigners find difficulty in understanding), international-accented Standard English (easier to be understood by foreigners), and Singlish (the localised form of English mixed with the grammar, vocab/slangs and intonation of other Singaporean languages/dialects). We enjoy using our own Singlish, in fact, but we also realise, especially in the work place (local and international), that we need to use Standard English to communicate effectively.

Therefore, in school, all of us have to speak to you students in Standard English, so that you will be able to effectively converse in all 3 forms of English in future. This is the most crucial time of your language acquisition. (And please don't hypothesis that Singlish will be understood by the rest of the world in the near future... we are still currently too small and insignificant for the rest of the world to learn our language.)

So, we would be doing you students a dis-service if we were to happily talk to you guys in Singlish or very Singlish-accented English. (By the way, in case you mistake my verbal English usage - it is pure Singapore-accented Standard English. I can't do the British or American way of speaking English.)

You also have to know that first, Singlish is not understood by other English-speaking countries (not even China, because they learn standard English there; their spoken English is of the American accent version, because that's American media and American teachers are the main exposure points for them). Second, Singlish is still very imprecise in its expressions, so in all major social and business events, functions and needs, Singlish can't fulfil the communicative task effectively/precisely. That's why we all have to learn and use standard English. We need to communicate with the rest of the world effectively.



Then you ask - but is this fair? Well, grow up.. life is never fair. We need to know that in your life, u have to adhere to different spelt AND unspelt rules of diff organisations, whether you like it or not. That is part of life in any country and any system. So it's the same for rules/expectations in the school. You just jolly well grow up. And so, in terms of rules, expectations and high demands, it's not about being 'closed minded' or old-fashioned .. i m most open-minded, if u know me well, but u just have to learn that there are decent and universal norms/values that you need to learn to have AND work with.

Finally, to the first 'anon' and the other fellow pretending to be from 3-4 (have I ever taught 3-4??), shame on you for writing such stuff on Teachers' Day. It speaks volume about your values and upbringing, or rather, the lack of it.

So anon and the pretender, please reflect and grow up. When we educate, motivate or discipline you, it might be at times torturous, but ultimately when u enter the working world, u reap the real benefits. So grow up. Our task as teachers is not to please you, but to educate you as well as prepare you for life. You may not see the purpose of it now, but you will many years down the road, and that's all we are concerned with.

Note: The vid is, probably, a response to recent education developments in Singapore as to which form of English or spoken English is preferred today. In fact, most are already quite annoyed with being told that native English speakers may make better English teachers than our own Singaporean English teachers. Seriously, are we less competent in language teaching than the supposed 'native' English speakers? So that's what the whole issue in the Ruby Pan vid is about - that we are as native speakers of English as those from UK or other places, and that last line of hers in the vid is a tongue-in-cheek highlighting of that - observing that in the world today there are many different English(es) (acknowledged by all researchers and professors of English linguistics), but sadly in Singapore, some English is more English than others. So does that mean that we have to kow-tow to the supposed 'native' English speakers from Britain (now, does that mean English English, or Scottish English, or London English, or Yorkshire English, or Manchester English or what? There are so many variants!)