The time of the year again

One year ago, I wrote my 2008 new year resolutions while freezing my arse off in the house we just moved into in Kathmandu, Nepal, all the while having to type real fast in case the electricity goes off suddenly. Since I was pretty successful in fulfilling my resolutions for this year (except for the being happy part where I am not too sure if I am happier than 2008...), here is another fresh set of resolutions for the new year in the new decade:

1) Enjoy my last spurt of idealism before I graduate in July
2) Focus on starting a career instead of just getting a job
3) Learn a new useful skill
4) Touch base more often with old friends
5) Challenge others to be more open-minded

Seems like my 2010 resolutions are much more practical than last year's. A sign of maturity perhaps. Here's to a great start to the new decade!

A giant paradox

It's been exactly a week since my return from two amazing weeks in Japan. I think I now know much more about the Japanese culture and society than those that claim to have visited Japan for holidays countless of times. I don't claim to be an expert on Japanese culture, but I really do think that there aren't many opportunities for those on holiday tours to a country to really learn much about the country. There are many Singaporeans who have been to Tokyo for example, but ask them the difference between the Yamanote line and the Chuo line they'll be stumped. Or ask them why Sushi chefs are always male they'll have no idea. For someone who dosen't speak the language, I can now navigate Kathmandu and Japan alone with confidence, and not many people can say that. So here's the top 8 things I learnt about Japan:

1) Politeness is a given in Japan. Everyone gives way to everyone else (except in Tokyo), service standards are the best I have ever experienced. But being polite does not automatically mean being nice. There are many layers of nice in Japanese society. The genuinely nice Japanese welcomes you with arms wide open and tries to help you in every way possible, even in things you didn't even know you needed help in.

2) Japanese are obsessed with rituals. They make a ritual out of everything, from pouring tea to giving speeches to mealtime and even when entering a room. I would like to see how the orderly-Japanese can survive in chaotic South Asia. Then again, I have seen it already in Nepal with Kyoko-san.

3) Conformity is put on the highest pedestal in Japan. A nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Everyone has to conform to societal norms, from walking in designated routes to being equally bad in English (even if one is secretly good in English one has to show to others that he/she is equally bad), to having the same opinion on particular subjects ("This is a very interesting and difficult topic, we must reflect deeply on it.") We found out that the word "hamidashimono" (outlaw) is almost like a bad word in Japan, because outlaws stick out. Trust Yuko to come up with it.

4) Attention to details. Just take a look at any Japanese product packaging. Need I say more?

5) Having to "read the air" in Japan. Many things and customs in Japan are implicit and non-verbal. Address someone wrongly or do something innocently stupid will cause you to be listed as a "gaijin" (foreigner) who does not know any better. To avoid a social faux pas in Japan, just observe and copy what a Japanese do and you are less likely to go wrong. Don't try to be too smart alec and explicitly show how much you know about Japan. You are likely to show how much you don't. If they don't bow at you but offer to shake hands instead, do the same. If you bow, things will start to get awkward and weird.

6) Punctuality. Our Shinkansen left Tokyo at 3:03pm and arrived in Himeji at 7:43pm, as stated on the timetable. The buses will come and go at exactly the time stated on the bus stop notice board. Singaporeans should take a leaf out of this.

7) Cleanliness. The students have to clean their school everyday after school for half an hour to an hour. Yes, everyday in every Japanese school. From kindergarten to high school. They don't hire cleaners in schools. I would love to see our spoilt brats in Singapore do that everyday. The H1N1 influenza was going around a few of the schools we visited, but we never felt safer due to the number of masks that everyone was wearing. Even the teachers wear masks when teaching.

8) The obsession of presenting an image to others. Hence the Mr and Ms Suits in Shinjuku, the normally-weird in Harajuku, and the countless cosmetics that line the shelves of Daiso and any other Hyaku-Yen shops in Japan. I call it the Tatemae (facade) vs Honne (true feelings that is hidden) complex. Hence the paradoxical view of the Japanese. If you can succeed in getting a Japanese to reveal his/her Honne instead of Tatemae, then I would think that you have succeeded in understanding the Japanese culture to a next degree.

So the next time you travel, try not to join any tour agencies if you can help it. It'll make your travels much more interactive and saves you a hell lot of money. I actually spent much lesser in Japan than if I were to join a tour group. Travel light and easy, and you'll come back with a head and heart full of memorable experiences worth a lifetime.

Yes GOFAR is still haunting me

2009 is a year of travel for me. I probably left a huge carbon footprint this year that the peeps at Copenhagen are likely to frown upon. But I'm glad that I got to see more of the world that we live in. For one, I would never have gotten to see Karwan Bazaar in Dhaka, Bangladesh, one of the busiest vegetable markets in Asia. It's being able to see and experience such a scene that makes it all worthwhile for me. Video editing courtesy of Zak and footage courtesy of SX. I merely tagged along at 1am that memorable night and pressed the shutter. The place might look rather shady, but I had the protection of two rusty-armoured knights and a local Bangla guide so I wasn't too worried...

Singaporeans seem to have a negative perception of South Asians. For all the negative stereotypes, I think South Asians have a zest for life that is unmatched in most other cultures.

My house is a gigantic tsunami

I'm back. And I learnt 3 Japanese songs while in Japan which have been stuck in my head for the past week. Here's one that some high school students in Iida had to learn. Hard song to sing because of the wide range involved. I think Japanese people mostly have a good musical sense. Maybe because they put more effort in their music classes? At least I know music classes in Singapore are usually taken too lightly...

Everytime I come back home I get jotted with a sense of reality where everything is chaotic and everyone at home is busy shouting to get their voices heard. Sigh.

From NTU to ICU

I am writing this from International Christian University in Tokyo. Seems pretty surreal to be sitting in a classroom observation where students are trying to learn to create a blog. It's a been a fruitful trip so far. More updates later.

A very politically-incorrect reflection

I must say that I have a love-hate relationship with obligations. Well hate mostly. When I fulfill an obligation, I feel a sense of achievement, or as Kant would say, I have fulfilled a duty so it's right that I feel morally good. But for the most part, obligations often result in alot of bitterness for me. And I think obligations form a very important part of Asian values. The thing I can never understand is why make it so implicit about making someone do something they don't really want to and then blame them when they refuse to do it. I mean, I'm not committing a crime if I don't fulfill an obligation that is thrust upon me without my having any say in it. But we often feel an unfair sense of guilt if we refuse an unwilling obligation.

I suppose that is how most societies function, through an set of explicit laws and implicit norms that turn into duties and obligations. But really, what good will come out of something that is not done intrinsically? Do we really need to address an elder in a deferential way to show respect? If I am an elder I think I would be ashamed of myself if someone young shows deference to me if I hadn't done something to gain his/her respect. Are we being morally right to give up our dreams just because we have the obligations and duty to stay and take care of our parents? If I am a parent I would want my child to be happy. If kindness was bestowed on my unexpectedly, do I have to reciprocate even when I am unwilling to deep down inside? Afterall, the true kindred spirit would never expect anything in return for his/her act of kindness. Kant never made more sense to me until now. To me, it is the motive of an action that matters in cases like these, not the consequences.

I am not a selfish person. But if I have to give something or help someone I feel that I should be giving or helping willingly and from the bottom of my heart. I just feel that being nice and dutiful should come from within, and not motivated by obligations and societal norms. Someone can be totally obligatory and push all that bitterness deep down inside. But one day it's going to come back up and explode from within. I don't know about you, but I often find myself internally snubbing the "surfaceness" of those who portray themselves as being a person of duty out of respect for others. Sorry but respect to me must always be earned. Just because one is older does not mean that he/she is worthy of respect.

There is a Socrates saying that "True insight comes from within, he who knows what is right will do right" which I think should be applicable to everyone who has to make a decision about doing something.

I'm sick of people telling me "because it's your duty to do so" or "it's for my own good" when I question about the things I am forced to do. You got to give me a better reason than that BS which dosen't even make sense and only breeds bitterness. Don't ever try to shut me up with a "because that is the right thing to do". There is no such thing as absolutes in this world. And yes, I realized I will then have to disagree with Kant on that part.

Next time someone asks you why you are doing something, think, really think, why you are doing it before you go "because it's the right thing to do". It's tiring, but it'll give you better insights to your personal motivations.

Perfect exam de-stresser

I'm sorry if you don't like Kellie Pickler but I find her very entertaining. I think the things that make people laugh really hard are the extremes, the super witty jokes and the plain ol' dumb blonde jokes. I was laughing so hard at this the entire time:

Fyi, she was dressed up as Dolly Parton here, who is a famous country legend. Sometimes I wonder if Kellie Pickler is really that dumb.

Waiting to put a final full stop

I have a grand total of 2 exam papers to sit for this semester. One this evening and another next Monday evening. Then the madness begins. 2 weeks of running around central Japan. More running to do next year too. I foresee my life will only start again upon the final full stop I put at the end of my last paper next semester in April/May 2010. But then again, I think my Flash Forward (my latest tv drama addiction) moment 6 months from now is a void/abyss. So perhaps I'll be dead by then.

To past friendships

It's a nice feeling. To know that you have made a deeper impression than you thought on a friend whom you knew only a little for just 5 months. And I only realized how good a friend he can be if I had known him longer. When he is not too stoned that is...

Do you know of any young person named Arthur?

Exam fever is here again and everyone is busy mugging while I have been catching up on my Arthurian literature. BBC's series titled Merlin is certainly a refreshing twist from the typical old and wise Merlin watching out for young and reckless Arthur. But putting Merlin as almost the same age as Arthur, it's quite amazing how the scriptwriters managed to keep the massive plot in tune with the older version. I've always told people that if I ever had a son I'll name him Arthur. My friend said it's such an old-fashioned and passé name but I don't care.

OK back to reading about all the dead philosophers' crackpot theories on morality.

"Don't Let Your Cowboys Grow Up To Be Kanye"

These two talented people are just hilarious together:

Yes I like country music. I don't understand why Singaporeans don't appreciate good singing about life experiences.

Lovely Randy Travis song sung by the journalism-trained, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0NfLQCI_QQ

Pardon the sudden poetry-diarrheoa

Nostalgia

The waiting, endless and meaningless
The constant pull of reality
The countless what's-the-point
The eternal what-if

Ping pong emails that you reread
Conversations your mind replay
Seeing things that reminds you of
What was, what could have been
If only you stayed

And I haven't even started studying for exams

Nietzsche

Meant to create we are not
But to imitate
Just a fake

To scheme and to hate
Dominate
The slave becomes the master

Virtuous is pity
Great is forgiveness
A certain helplessness

A second chance the weak is given
The strong beaten back
The master becomes the slave

Stubborn is the ego
Selfish unwavering principles
The self is unmoving

Unknown frontiers to dare conquer
Seek censure sow dischord
Praise to those who fight the strong

Stick out too much
A nail gets hammered down
Mediocrity is the master

Just doing it

What will it take for you to pack up your bags and leave a place you have spent decades in and not come back? I think the more desperately poor people are much more braver than us. One can argue that these people have less things to lose. But I disagree. They have more to lose, such as their lives.

Sometimes I just want to drop everything and run. They tell you to trust your instincts right? Well for the past decade my instincts have been screaming at me to run, run as far as I can go.

"The problem with you, is that you live too much into the past and future and not enough in the present," so says my critical twin self.

Maybe I should become the Time Traveller's wife.

South Park entertains the inner politically-incorrectness in me

Awesome episode, at the expense of the whale-hating Japanese:

An early Christmas song from Cartman:

Another quotable French

I read this on the fb status of another of my French friend, Anaïs (Ah-na-ees) and couldn't help smiling to myself:

"Si le temps c'est de l'argent, que penser de quelqu'un qui a beaucoup de temps et pas d'argent?"

"If time is money, what do you think of someone who has alot of time but no money?"

Who says blonds are dumb? Anaïs'll prove you wrong.

Soundbites from the quotable French girl and The Fountainhead

"Life is strange...you study to get a job and when you can there is no job," so says Cécile.

Well I guess it's the same everywhere in the world. There seems to be no running away from the grim reality wherever one goes.

On another note, I still don't get why alot of people find Nietzsche's philosophy outrageous. I mean, I can understand the logic behind what he says, and I find myself agreeing to some of his ideas. Perhaps I've been influenced by The Fountainhead, since Ayn Rand basically wrote the entire book based on Nietzsche's philosophy. I think the book is fast becoming my favourite book of all time. Kazuo Ishiguro's The Remains of the Day, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World and Fynn's Mister God, This is Anna are finally dethroned (for years these three have been at the top of my personal best book ever list).

OK, all you Nietzsche haters, feel free to come crucify me. But before you do that, first ask yourself how many times have you felt wronged by someone and being unable to fight back, you simply decided that forgiveness is what you should do. Not because you truly think that it's the best to forgive, but because there is simply nothing else you can do about it. So yes, I agree with Nietzsche that the concept of morality was invented by the weak as a way to justify and take revenge against those whom they cannot win - the stronger and more powerful. I really do think that we need more Howard Roarks and fewer Ellsworth Tooheys in the world.

"But this was pity - this complete awareness of a man without worth or hope, this sense of finality, of the not to be redeemed. There was shame in this feeling - his own shame that he should have to pronounce such judgment upon a man, that he should know an emotion which contained no shred of respect. This is pity, he thought, and then he lifted his head in wonder. He thought that there must be something terribly wrong with a world in which this monstrous feeling is called a virtue." - The Fountainhead

My turn to deal

Sometimes the world just takes you for granted too much. The more I try to help others by making their lives easier, the more they become accustomed to the easy way out. So does kindness begets kindness? I doubt so in the kind of society I live in. Not that I am asking people to do something in return for any kind act I perform for them, just their appreciation and that they do not make my job even harder as a result of my helping them.

In the society I grew up in, people do not give thanks when things are up and running efficiently, because to them it's a God-given right that they should expect their lives to be easy with the help of a developed and modern society. But when things go wrong, then there is hell to pay, and people often vent their frustrations on the wrong things/people. We complain, to anyone and everyone who would care to listen. But how many actually go about righting the wrong?

It's easy to say that one is against this wrong and that wrong, but how many actually become a crusader to right those wrongs? For these minority, they have my utmost respect. That is why when I get angry with certain things/people, I just grin and bear with it, because I know that I do not have the courage or knowledge to go about changing such wrongs. I learn to accept it and live with it, and I learn from it and move on. When it comes to being wronged, there are very few things that I cannot swallow my pride and take it lying down. Does that make me a coward? Perhaps. But to me cowards are just smart people whom I sometimes suspect to hold so much contempt for this world that they cease to react to anything that is wrong in this world. They know that the world is a corrupt place, and unlike idealists, they also know that there is nothing that they can do about it and so they do not let anything affect the way they lead their lives.

Anger is a powerful emotion, but for me, contempt is an even more powerful one. So I don't get angry with the wrong things that people have done to me, because to me they are simply just not worth the effort. It's much easier and better to develop contempt for these things, because hey, there are many more worthy things to be angry about, such as love. That's the secret to my famed “zen-ness”. So if you ever screw things up majorly for me, trust me, I'll won't be angry with you or hate you, I'll just treat you as if you are not worth my effort and concern. I'll forgive you even, quite quickly in fact. But I'll never forget to hold that utmost contempt towards you, and I'll never trust you or respect you again.

A more cheerful sidenote: Something interesting my prof showed us during poetry class today. An avant-garde form of poetry using the new media by Young-Hae Chang. Epileptics, please do not watch otherwise I'm not responsible for your health.

http://www.yhchang.com/LOTUS_BLOSSOM.html

Better late than never

I'm ashamed that I haven't discovered The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fountainhead) until my Nepali colleague was telling another colleague about it. You'll be surprised to know that the elites of Nepal are better versed in terms of literature than those in Singapore. Must be the lack of electricity that pushes them to read less crap. Name me 5 people of my age who reads Thomas Mann, Orhan Pamuk, Ayn Rand and R.K. Narayan in Singapore and I will take back my words. But better late than never I guess. I'm still reading it, at the expense of abit of my school workload. But it's worth it. An excerpt of The Fountainhead which I thought sums up the entire story:

"But to be beaten by the man who has always stood as the particular example of mediocrity in his eyes, to start by the side of this mediocrity and to watch it shoot up, while he struggles and gets nothing but a boot in his face, to see the mediocrity snatch from him, one after another, the chances he'd give his life for, to see the mediocrity worshipped, to miss the place he wants and to see the mediocrity enshrined upon it, to lose, to be sacrificed, to be ignored, to be beaten, beaten, beaten--not by a greater genius, not by a god, but by a Peter Keating--well, my little amateur, do you think the Spanish Inquisition ever thought of a torture to equal this?"

More discussion to come when I am done with the book and is not too bogged down by school. The countdown to the end of the semester begins once again.

Sometimes the world is just out to screw you...

...and there is nothing you can do about it but move on.

Bewildering Bangladesh

1.

Dhaka dreaming

The second time round

Too late for wide-eyed wonder

Too early for nostalgia

3 a.m. in denial

Sheer chaos conflicting

Anticipating for Murphy

A quiet city

Jarring contrast

Where did everyone go

A brand new Kurta

In stink, rot, slums

A saucer-eyed babe perches on

A pot-bellied toddler

Growing up quickly

2.

Row row row

Across the Buriganga

Boats, ships, vessels

Lifeline on the river

Life on the edge

Vegetable peelings

Truckloads of bananas

Onions, onions, so many onions

Cha breaks with Parathas

Men with baskets on heads

Move it move it move it

Hello Bondhu!

3.

Mentally tortured

No comfort from inner demons

Family near yet distant

Quiet, quiet, please be quiet

Go away please

Just some peace

Work, a life of labour

Who needs ABCs for rice

School is a waste of time

When there are endless mouths to feed

Grow up quickly

Before the hunger grows too deep

Life in a living hell

4.

Hope is a powerful antidote to

The poison of poverty

Soon it will get better

It will be easier

We just have to

Keep faith

Hope

It is all in the head

But the mind is weak

No willpower

Just too tired

A constant state of struggle

Battles in the head

Who needs Hollywood when you have European films?

In my Media Law and Ethics class, we finally started on Intro to Ethics, and during the last lecture we had a very interesting discussion about morality and the controversial argument on how morality is a by-product of evolution (I'm still digesting this, so don't ask me to explain it until after the semester ends).

Then I stumbled across this German period film and it proved to be a gem. Written by Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest is one of the commonly-read literature in German schools. You can say that it's the German version of Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary. And I thought that the film portrayed the kind of morality and honour that women in the 19th century had to struggle with. There is one memorable scene in which the two men whom Effi was caught in between came together to try and shoot each other in a very civilized way (complete with assistants and bowing). It might sound rather barbaric, but I thought it was rather honourable in owning up to the consequences of one's actions. It's like a German harakiri, only that you let your enemy kill you honourably instead. But more than that, it was my kind of film simply because it has a feminist slant towards the end, which I won't spoil it for anyone.

I would say that the screenplay and actors/actresses are as good as the English ones on BBC. Sorry but the only good clip I managed to find on YouTube didn't have the English subtitles. But just by looking at the scenes I think it's definitely worth watching if you're a period drama queen like me.

And I just got a "Tweeder"

The subject of intelligence has been on my mind recently, and I can't help laughing at this extreme example of it. She's actually not a bad singer you know and I used to support her in American Idol. For someone who thinks Europe is a country whose inhabitants all speak French, she's pretty ingenious when it comes to retrieving her broken license and wriggling her way out of the law.

Yes there are many people in America who talk like her. Including Missouri. Welcome to the real America. Man, how can someone talk so much hilarious crap for 8 minutes, especially on Ellen's show?!

What I did in Bangladesh Part 1

After two weeks of visiting slums, factories, schools and shops, here is what I gathered so far for my Bangladesh child labour story. It is supposed to be a photo story, hence the short text. I've only uploaded a few photos due to lack of time and space. Comments and suggestions are most welcomed.

Growing up too quickly
by Tan Yi Wen

Liton, 15, rides his red and green cart that he uses to transport goods for a living around Old Dhaka.

He has never been to school and does not want to do so even if he gets a chance. 15-year-old Liton has been working as a cart rider all his life, earning 300 Taka (USD4) per day transporting goods on his cart that is painted with the Bangladeshi flag colours of red and green.

Like Liton, working children are still a common sight in developing countries such as Bangladesh, where they often do not attend school because they are needed to help supplement the family income. The children work for long hours (on average 12 hours daily), and sometimes even in hazardous conditions. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), almost one in five children are engaged in child labour due to the high poverty and unemployment rates in the country. This means that about 7.9 million children in Bangladesh are working before they even turn 15.

The recent Bangladeshi government has made efforts to eliminate child labour, drawing up the Child Labour Policy during the recent two years and signing the ILO Convention 182 to eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) within a fixed time period by 2015, said Mr. Ifjalul Haque Chowdhury, the officer in charge of the National Time Bound Programme towards the Elimination of WFCL in Bangladesh. However, he said that the biggest challenges are in changing the mindset of both the working poor and elites. The situation is linked closely to the education system and policies of the nation, which can only be solved with a stable and committed government.

“The policy is there, rules are there, constitution is there, everywhere the child is supposed to be protected,” said Mr. Chowdhury.

“We are literate people, but we are employing child labour at home, and on the other hand we are making slogans about stopping child labour,” he added.

At the charity level, non-governmental organizations such as ILO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have started programmes aimed at helping the children to go and stay in school. ILO's International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) has set up a scheme that allows parents of child labourers to take up microcredit and training to set up their own businesses, on the condition that they send their children to full-time schools. They are given on average 5000 Taka as a start-up loan, and they pay back 150 Taka per week once their businesses generate revenue.

Although the child labour situation is getting worse, especially in urban areas such as Dhaka, Mr. Chowdhury remains very hopeful about things looking up soon, as he believes that “within five to six years' time there will be a revolution in the education sector” that will help decrease the number of working children in Bangladesh.

When asked why he has no intention of getting an education for himself, Liton frowns and thinks for a few seconds before replying in a quiet, measured tone that he wants to work and save up enough to get married, have children and then send all his children to school. These seemed to be very mature words coming from a 15-year-old boy teenager who has never been to school.

“Children in my country, they grow up fast.” Tonuja Nesar, a 20-year-old private university student in Dhaka commented when reflecting on the lives the poor lead daily in Bangladesh.

Md. Badal, 13, works full time at a shop making machinery parts in Sutrapur, Old Dhaka. He has only been educated up to Class 1, and earns 2200 Taka (USD32) per month, giving part of his salary to his parents and saving up the rest for himself.

Street children are

brought to the a learning centre in Kellarmor, set up by the Ministry of Social Welfare and funded by UNICEF as part of the Protection of Children at Risk (PCAR) programme. These children stay at the learning centre for three hours everyday for six days a week, and are taught to read, write and develop various skills that serve as preparation for their future formal education or vocational training. Most of the street children come to the learning centre before or after going to work at the various factories around the neighbourhood.

Arafat, 10, is a street child who collects plastic bottles, rubber materials and scrap metals. He has never been to school, and earns 40 Taka a day selling the materials he collects around Karwan Bazaar, Dhaka.

Manik, 11, earns about 70 Taka daily as a cobbler's assistant in Beri Badh, Dhaka. Children can earn as low as 10 Taka per day at a shoe factory compared to 300 Taka for adults.

Part 2 will come later. Even more depressing story on mental health in Bangladesh. But first, I need to write the captions first.

Who says Singaporeans don't make good journalists?

If you have ever been to my place, you would have heard me talk about how the road junction below my block is a accident-prone area. I figured on average I hear/see 2 traffic accidents per month, and tonight it happened again. There was the usual loud bang, although this time there weren't any screeching tyres beforehand to warn us of the impending accident. So like any Kaypoh Singapore my dad rushed to the windows facing the road (we live 11 floors up...) and tried to get a look at what happened. When he couldn't see anything, he decided to go down and snoop around. Ironically enough, being a trained journalist I was just too lazy to go down with him. And my mum actually asked him to go down and have a look too. So for the sake of curious cats out there, a car collided with a Mac delivery motorbike while both were turning in the opposite directions. The motorbiker was hurt but not too seriously. So I guess the people whose Mac delivery was in the bike must be wondering how come their food was taking extra long to arrive.

As a driver myself, I really think Singaporeans are bad drivers. Well Indian drivers are bad too, but in a totally different category. In India if you don't drive badly, you'll be driven off the road. But in Singapore, it seems as if drivers feel this sense of entitlement that since they pay road taxes, the roads therefore belong to them. I've lost track of the number of times when driving on merging lanes and my car was obviously in front but within the speed limit (which is usually too slow for most) and a car/lorry/bus from behind decides that I'm too slow and floors it, trying to squeeze me out of the merging lane. Road bullies. And driving at 110kmh on the extreme right lane on the highway is an accident waiting to happen. Right lanes are for overtaking, not speeding. And what's wrong with staying at 90kmh on the second right lane? I hate it when some driver comes suddenly from behind, honk and flash their headlights at me if they see me driving within the speed limit on the second right lane. If you find me too slow just overtake me la, why must be so aggressive and honk or flash your headlights? So yes, these are my driving pet peeves. I must say that of all the countries I've been to, Aussie drivers are the most polite. I've once seen a bunch of cars stop in the middle of the road in Melbourne just to wait for an old lady to finish crossing the road even after the pedestrian light has gone red. Without so much as a honk or flashing headlights or revving of the engines. Perhaps all Singaporean drivers before they pass the test should be made to go on a trip to Melbourne to observe how the drivers there behave on the roads.

Ok end of my tirade. Back to more photo-editing. Oh yes, NTU GOFAR photo exhibition is up on the ACRC in WKWSCI from 12-30 Oct and then at the LWN Lib from 2-13 Nov. Please go down and support us if you are free and leave comments on the guestbook. And visit our blog at http://gofar2009.wordpress.com/ Shameless self-promotion I know, but hey, my first photo exhibition, even if it's not solo.

Barney's Hot/Crazy Scale

I have been feeling pretty stressed out and burnt out lately, since I had to play catch up with the recess week work I didn't manage to complete due to GOFAR Bangladesh. And since Miss LH is one of my faithful blog follower (I've always wondered who is the mysterious 3 people who read my blog everyday...wonders of Google Analytics...), I am posting something that I'm glad is back on American tv: How I Met Your Mother. It's a hilarious show, and since today I was talking to Eveline about bars and ladders theories, here is a pretty insightful one by the character Barney in the show:

Everyone should watch HIMYM to relieve stress.

Back

I have three days to get my act together before the craziness of school starts again for me on Tuesday. Have time will update.

Here was what we did during our last two days in Dhaka. Asif (taking a photo of me taking this photo) , is one of our Bangla translators. He was very amused by how A&W crazy we all were. Not me though, I hate root beer so I was just there for the aircon.

Dhaka dreaming once again

I'm off to Bangladesh once more for 8 days. Crazy stories to pursue, wacky rickshaws to ride. Wish me luck.

Have a good recess week for those in NTU!

SHE'S BACK SHE'S BACK SHE'S BACK!!!

*Dances around like a gypsy* Oh man I wouldn't believe Eveline when she told me last night. But the news is official! Here it is, although it's in French/Flemish(aka Dutch)/and a bit of Justine's interview in English at the end. But I like the clip they showed in the middle (3:14) in 2001 when I was first inspired by her. They even had a street named after her in Paris where Roland Garros (French Open) is held.

Basically she said tennis has been so much of her life that after awhile she lost the flame and that's why she quit. But after a year of rest and doing other things she's always wanted to do (she hosted, sang, acted, did a whole bunch of charity work, basically had a life), she realised she misses tennis. She thinks she's ready because she's more mature, calm and ready for the rigours of professional women's tennis and she hopes to end her second career in 2012 London Olympics (she won the Athens tennis gold medal).

It's a good trip down memory lane. For those of you who have no clue who she is, well you're excused if you don't know who Maria Sharapova is. But anyone who knows Sharapova should know Justine Henin, because the latter is so much more respected in the tennis world than the former. I recommend anyone who needs a good dose of inspiration and to be shown that "impossible is nothing" watch Justine play. Afterall, Justine coined the termed herself, which Adidas later used as a marketing slogan.

Justine 101: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUWVt3qluNY

Now I just have to concentrate on getting a job upon graduation and earning enough by 2012 to go see Justine play live at Roland Garros...

Better late than never

The younger Lee at this year's NTU Ministerial Forum. Is there room for more? Apparently PM Lee is trying to demostrate that we do.

Interesting choice of moderator, who happened to be one of my cohortmates.

And Eveline risked getting stoned by the audience for our FYP. Before the forum I was telling her maybe PM Lee will do a LKY on her by answering her qns with another qns, maybe by asking where she is from. And he did! Talk about me being Murphy Version 2.1.

I don't know about those who went for this year's Forum, but somehow PM Lee can't quite match up to his dad's witty and sharp responses to questions. I know because I went for the forum two years ago that featured the great man.

"I think I've stopped aspiring to be happy a long time ago because happiness is such a temporary state."

I should probably stop posting YouTube videos when I have nothing much to blog about. But it's my source of relaxation when I don't have mountains nearby to climb or cliffs to leap off from.

Alanis speaks some truths about life:

Go green today, start getting rid of those nice-ambience-creating orange lightbulbs and use energy-saving flourescent ones!

The value of ignorance and simple living

A recent chat with a Nepali friend put some things into perspective for me. For all my complaints about the amount of work I have to do here, I am reminded how lucky I am to be having work to do at all. Many Nepalese want to study or find work to do, but they simply cannot for various reasons. I always say that I am broke, but no matter what I know I have some puny savings in my bank that I can count on for emergency use. Or at worst, I can ask my parents for some loan to tide me through. While in Nepal, I have seen friends who are broke to the last rupee. And their parents are either nowhere near them or equally broke. And I'm not talking about the extreme poor who are born into begging for survival. I'm talking about fellow middle-class folks like me who can speak pretty good English and have a house to stay in.

On one hand, I bristle at the way they seem to be unable to save and just spend what they have. On the other, I think I can see their perspective of living by the day as anything can happen tomorrow so why not just spend it all? Their lives are revolved around acquiring material things; a bike to get around the chaotic city of Kathmandu, a laptop so that they are less vulnerable to sudden power cuts, a pair of good walking shoes that will last the rocky roads of Nepal, or even a good mobile phone that has better network connectivity. But who can blame them for pursuing these material things? To me, their lives seems pretty narrow yet blissfully ignorant. They will never understand the stress of having to do well in a final year project, complicated novel-like BGR problems (their parents just push a photo of a potential spouse to them and within one month they are married), and the stress of finding a good job that allows one to "grow". Their concerns are so starkly different from us in Singapore that I sometimes wonder if it's better to just worry about food and lodgings. Yes they have to stay hungry at times but they don't lie awake for 7 hours unable to sleep for reasons unknown even to themselves.

So when my Nepali friends ask me how's my life here, I really don't know how to put it in a way for them to understand and to make it seem less trivial than having to worry about surviving the next day. No wonder I've seen many people from developed countries moving to Nepal even though they can have it so much better in their own countries. One even hears of people from these rich countries who gave up everything they had to go live in a remote mountain high up in the Himalayas. After awhile, all the search for the perfect life and happiness comes full circle - finding the meaning in living simply, for the day and not worrying too much about the future.

There is a small group of Singaporeans in Nepal who have lived there for more than a decade, with some even setting up their families there. They tend to complain alot about the corrupt and inefficient Nepali government, the sad state of affairs in the Himalayan country. But for all their complaints, they would rather rough it out there than come back to Singapore. Why is that, I asked. They replied that they are just tired of everything in Singapore. I really don't think they should be labelled as quitters, just because they do not enjoy running the rat race anymore and living the luxurious life. In fact, I think these people are much more brave in taking that step to pursue a more meaningful life.

I just feel that I was much more alive in Nepal than in Singapore, and that idea scares me because I don't want to feel dead ironically when I have so much more to do and at stake here than in Nepal.

PS: They have cheap and good milkshakes in Nepal, and I miss having cheap and good food.

I know it's too early but I want this for Christmas

The musically-diverse and ever-expanding Pink Martini in their new album Hey Eugene!

I admire musicians who can sing in any language and feel comfortable doing it as though it were their native tongue. China Forbes is one of those. Throughout the years, she has sung in English, French, Spanish, Portugese, Greek, Japanese, Italian, Arabic etc. Try to beat that. Maybe Chinese next time.

In 2 weeks, I'll be heading back to all these

The spontaneous river kids by the Buriganga.

The random road users of Dhaka, which seemed to include everything else but cars.

Using our hands for our daily dal bhat with fish/chicken.

Tasting the sweetest sweets in the world. Made of pure sugar plus sugar syrup. No wonder South Asians have the highest diabetes rate in the world.

And just engaging in the colourful night life of downtown Dhaka, which puts Singapore's nightlife to shame.

And not forgetting the crazy rickshaw rides, where the rickshaw drivers will be meandering the chaotic streets of Dhaka at breakneck speed, only to brake suddenly, sending all of us behind flying like arrows out into the roads.

We have since labelled that phenomenon "The Bangla *pregnant pause* Dash!!!"

More of our adventures at:

http://www3.ntu.edu.sg/gofar/gofar2009/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=235961170636

One year from now I am going to smile at this post

I have a gazillion things to do and I did a million today. That still leaves me with many billions more. So is the cup half full or empty at this point?

Allez, not alu, Purnima!

Wiener Sängerknaben

Guess what? I'm going for the Vienna Boys' Choir concert in November. My third time watching them, and I don't think I'll ever get bored with hearing them sing. And I found this gem on YouTube. They sang the same song the last time I heard them in 2006.

Brings back great memories of my childhood. My mum used to sing this as a lullaby to me since it was one of the only few songs she can sing well. :)

Not that I'm sexist, but I think boys choirs are still better than girls or mixed ones simply because males have bigger lungs and hence more powerful voices. I'm not talking about grown up choirs, but children ones where girls just don't seem to have enough air in their lungs, especially the sopranos. Here is what I mean by boy sopranos with powerful lungs:

Too bad their voices always break when they grow up. JBM was a real angel before his voice broke. Sighs.

Weak teacup humans

I don't see what's all the big fuss about the Twilight series when Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series are so much better. The tv adaptation, titled True Blood, has one more episode left in season 2 and this latest episode had especially good dialogue...

True Blood Season 2 Episode 11

Sookie: How come there's so much wrong in the world, Lafayette? How come so many people are willing to do bad things and hurt other people?

Lafayette: Because they are weak.

Sookie: Well I am not weak! And I am not afraid. I am gonna kick that bitch's evil ass out of my gran's house and then you're gonna shoot her.

Lafayette: In the f*****g head.

Sookie: Right!

In another scene:

Boy:Can we see your fangs?

Eric the vampire obligingly bares his fangs.

Eric: Don't you like vampires little girl?

Sam: Eric!

Girl: Our stepdaddy hated vampires. But we don't.

Boy: He went on a vacation with Jesus.

Pam (another vampire): You made me so happy that I never had any of you.

Eric: Now come on Pam they're funny. They're like humans with miniature. Teacup humans.

A while later...

Eric: Goodnight tiny humans.

Eric shoots into the sky a la Nathan Petrelli in Heroes.

Boy: Woah he can fly!

A clip from the episode (warning, NC16):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0SB9zIChZQ

Yes I should be working but I'm still procrastinating in gear 1.

How not to show your appreciation

I am quite amused by the kinds of Teacher's Day gifts that my sister received from her class of rich and spoilt brats. Just like Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, Teacher's Day has also evolved from a special day to show our appreciation to our teachers to another commercial ploy by bookstores, gifts and flower shops to milk more money from the parents of the kids. Instead of thinking what one should do to show some appreciation to one's teacher, the kid of 2009 now thinks what he or she has to buy in order not to "lose out" with their classmates on the gift-giving. I remember when I was in school all I ever thought about on Teacher's Day was what kind of card I would draw and what message to write on it for my teachers. I think the most expensive thing I had ever given to a teacher was a Zebra brand red ballpoint pen that my Chinese teacher mentioned in passing when asked what she would like to have for Teacher's Day (the other thing she asked was that we made fewer mistakes in our work so that she didn't have to use up so many red pens).

My sister offered me the cookies that one of her students made (which I kindly declined due to my lack of confidence in a Primary 2 boy's baking skills). I thought that was the only decent gift she received. The rest were those tacky Popular brand notebooks/paper thingy or stuff toys or flowers or photoframes and even a Parker pen.

My point is, I really don't know what the parents today are thinking in allowing their kids to splurge on expensive Teacher's Day gifts. I don't see how these gifts can teach their kids to show their appreciation to their teachers. If I had a kid I'd refuse to buy anything for him to give his teacher on Teacher's Day. He can either make something himself or do nothing. At least his present to his teacher would have been his own effort.

On a related note, I once had a wealthy friend who would just treat his friends to expensive meals or plurge on expensive gifts on them to show his appreciation or to apologize. I remember feeling frustrated and telling him that actually a simple face-to-face "Thank you" or "Sorry" is more than enough for me. As our society gets more materialistic, I think it will become more important to instill the value of showing due appreciation in the approprite way. Afterall, all the money in the world can't buy the important things in life - love, happiness, appreciation, respect, etc.

This is why I never watch Singapore Idol

One of my favourite college acappella groups. Anyone has friends from Columbia Uni who can help me buy their CD?

Mizzou Forte did a similar rendition of the same song. Good effort, but Nonseq is obviously superior.

Mizzou Forte's version (Look carefully Eveline and you'll see Mandy and Jill in the video;>):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im1EoGAiMoM

Now why can't Singapore produce musical talent a fraction of these people's?

The degeneration starts at 22

It seems pretty unbelievable that we are already heading towards Week 4 of school. Why am I still barely treading water in my readings and still on the platform for FYP? I don't feel that I am slacking, but still I struggle.

The only conclusion is that I am aging and my mind is running on Windows ME instead of Vista.

The bane of online chats

Why is it that the people you want to talk to online never comes online and the people you don't feel like talking to are always online 24-7?

Does it mean that there are such things as online fate?

I often get this feeling that I should not talk to one person too much online because I'd feel like I am irritating the hell out of that person.

Am I am online irritant? Because I can think of a bunch of people who are...

What compels you to want to talk to someone online, especially to people whom you see almost on a daily basis? I really want to know.

Our very own Cashmere Mafia

My relationship vocab skyrocketed last night with 4 of my long time friends. Here is a list of what I learnt:

1. "I'm so up there!"

2. "Eh your heart got beat faster or not?"

3. "It's all in the mind, that's why I don't believe when people say follow your heart."

4. "I salute you!"

5. Obligations

6. One-sided

7. Break

8. Driven

Too bad it got canned after one season for lipstick jungle, which was crappy to say the least.

I think Singaporean women are a difficult and scary species.

Another attempt

I wrote this 10 minutes before my Singapore's Foreign Policy lecture this afternoon.

Stuff unsaid

Goodbye she said

See you he said

When she said

Soon he said

Good luck she said

For what he said

Everything she said

Thank you he said

Write me she said

I'll try he said

Promise she said

Alright he said

Take care she said

You too he said

Come back she said

Perhaps he said

The lone haiku

Goodbyes

Just another way

Of toasting to the good times

Till we meet again.

But we carried on anyway

A fun song that inspired many aspiring acappella groups:

You Don't Know Me - Ben Folds featuring Regina Spektor

Cranking up the school gear

My half-baked attempt at poetizing the start of school.

Mindless scampering and mental maps

Ants we become, bees we are

Mundane worries

To print or not to print

To buy or not to buy

To go or to pon

Where to eat what to wear and

mostly to work hard or slack through it all.

Classes I'm taking this semester:

1) Media Law, Ethics & Policy

2) Singapore's Foreign Policy

3) Creative Writing: Poetry

4) Going Overseas for Advanced Reporting (GO-FAR) aka my Bangladesh trips aka my unofficial photojourn FYP...

Hence the poetic attempt. Contrary to popular belief, poets don't just sit and sprout out elegant poetry in one sitting. My professor made it clear it's alot of drafts and endless revision. Still, it's a fun change from all the heavy law jargons and airy fairy political theories.

Not a bad bunch of classes this semester I believe. See what I can make out of them by the end of the semester.

Oh and how can we forget the all-important FYP...

Two days in school and I still feel like I am in neutral gear. Not even in gear one yet. I hope my inner-school accelerator works better than my mum's car's.

Count me out?

In recent years, whenever national day comes around I get friends with very extreme views on what Singapore meant to them. On one end, we have the über-patriotic à la Majulah-Singapura-count-on-me Singaporeans who kept asking the rest of us what we have done to deserve to be Singaporeans. On the other extreme end, we have the I-got-kicked-out-of-Singapore-so-count-me-out Singaporeans who question what Singapore had given them besides a muggertoad attitude towards work. I don't know where I stand exactly, but I suspect that I am able to identify with both extremes and counter-argue their point of views effectively. I guess it depends on how you choose to perceive your successes and failures in life. Do you attribute it to a quality education and secure upbringing when you succeed, or do you attribute it to your own hard work, independent of your environment?

To me, Singapore is a good place to work, and I am grateful for the kind of stable life I've led here. But I do not think it is a good place to live and grow old, simply because with the quality education I've received, I know I can be better off someplace else. So does it mean that the Singapore education system is backfiring on us. I think so. Because while I am equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in the globalized world, I am ill-equipped with the heartware that is telling me that Singapore is a place I grew up and should therefore call home. I am unlikely to be able to actively participate in the voting process (due to walkovers), I am not given a chance to show that I care about my homeland (due to the government's inability to listen to the people), and I know that anyone with talent and money can become a Singaporean so why should I care if I am a local or foreign-born Singaporean? There just isn't much telling me that Singapore is a place worth defending for. If Singapore were to fall tomorrow, we can always head off to somewhere else and start all over. Do I have anything great to lose? Nothing much except maybe the good education and great variety of food. I can live and survive anywhere in the world, so what then is keeping me in Singapore?

One of our nation's shared values is that no one owes us a living. And I think ironically that is true. Because yes, no one but ourselves owe us a living, so why should we defend Singapore for purely altruistic reasons? We don't owe Singapore a living too.

Back from the brink

With flu, cough, a severe lack of sleep but a load full of memorable experiences that will certainly be talked about for years to come.

Nomoshkar! Apni bangla janen?*

I leave the comfort of our lil' red dot once again for a week to face the harsh realities that confront the South Asian nations daily. We go at a time of monsoon and floods in Bangladesh, and two days ago there was a huge downpour in Dhaka that caused some flooding and killed 9 people who stepped on live wires during the floods.

I hope I'll not sink into the floods with my heavy camera bag.

Lucky my haphazard Nepali is still not rusty yet, and Bengali is similar to Hindi and Nepali. (Mutters to herself: ek, dui, teen, char, pach...)

*Hello! Do you understand Bengali?

Ami bujhi na! (I don't understand!)

"It was a time of love and laughter, happy ever after."

I recently read an opinion piece in the ST about how Americans are starting to feel discouraged by the breakdown of the marriage institution in the States with a recent spate of high-profile breakups. Maybe not many people here watch Jon and Kate Plus 8, but I actually follow the show whenever I can (it airs on weekdays at 11am on SCV Ch16). It's pretty amazing how this couple can take care of 8 kids (a pair of twins and a group of sextuplets). Imagine my dismay when I read on the ST story that the couple have called it quits recently. My first thought was, what'll happen to the poor kids now? Even while growing up, I've seen my fair share of friends/relatives coming from broken families. And perhaps that's why I've become cynnical in the marriage instituition. Often, the children suffers the most when it's not their fault. So if you are planning to start a family, please be less selfish and more responsible. Otherwise, don't have kids if you decide to get married. Don't be tempted by what the Singapore government offers in exchange for more babies.

Dixie Chicks - You Were Mine (Official Music Video) - The top video clips of the week are here

"He's two and she's four and you know they adore you. So how can I tell them you've changed your mind?"

The nerd

On average, I read one book a week, which means 4 a month, 48 a year. Considering that I really started seriously reading in Primary 1, it would mean that I have been reading for the past 15 years. This works out to be 720 books in all. Tsk. Still short of the targeted 1000. But these are the books I read for leisure. I suppose if I factor in textbooks and books I read for some purpose other than purely leisure it will make up to a thousand. But that would somehow lessen the satisfaction.

Last book I finished reading was John Steinbeck's 'Of mice and men'. Short but powerful novella. Next up: Kipling's 'Kim'.

Just taking a break from my Bangladesh trip preparations. I leave in 4 days. Wish me luck.

Signals and Scott

This song has been stuck in my head for months ever since I was woken up every morning by Zak's hp alarm which was set to this song. Funny how he never wakes up to switch it off until at least the second verse. Sometimes it even got to the chorus before he wakes up.

Snow Patrol "Signal Fire"

And another piece of news. Scott is coming to town for a visit! I think he got tired of teaching Korean brats already...

Get ready for some crazy antics because Mr and Miss Unmeltable are sure to have some up their sleeves!

Frustration rules

Nothing beats the feeling of wanting to tear your hair out when you realized you are totally uninspired and fast running out of ideas. And you have no one but yourself to blame.

"I killed Sirius Black, I killed Sirius Black!"

Funny that's the most memorable line for me in the latest Harry Potter movie (now you know who is my fave HP 'evil' character). This time round, I thought it was pretty awesome, although my favourite will always be Chamber of Secrets. I was wondering how the scriptwriters were going to portray the details required in such a complex plot of the penultimate HP series, and while some subplots were left out, the decisions to keep and leave out what scenes were pretty well-made and some even cleverly altered to suit the movie without the audience feeling pretty betrayed such as Azkaban as directed by Alfonso Cuaron, who proved too good at what he does best-making controversial films. My only concern for the HBP movie was that it seemed to be made for the young adults/older audience than for the kids. Almost every scene was pretty dark, and some downright scary. I saw quite a few in the audience "eject" during some of the scary scenes. If you watch the B-rolls, you'll see the amount of work the crew put in, especially the animation and graphics peeps. They seemed to transform the raw footage into the magic that JK Rowling created more than a decade ago. Here's the first part of the B-rolls if you are interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUlv0NUmQXg

I thought the movie was a refreshing change from the all-wow effects of GOF and OOTP, and focused more on the nuances of the development of many of the major characters. Especially commendable performances from Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Helena Bonham Carter (Go Bellatrix!), Alan Rickman and Evanna Lynch (who plays my fave HP 'good' character). And newcomer Jessie Cave (Won-Won!) was irritatingly like what I imagined Lavender Brown to be.

So this one is worth heading to the cinemas for, and it will be interesting how they are going to split Deathly Hallows into two-parters for the next two years. I think it will be split at the part when the first Horcrux in Deathly Hallows is destroyed. But that's just my guess. Sigh, another year to look forward to the next movie. And no more fantasy books to escape into. Christopher Paolini hurry up and finish the last Eragon book!

The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift

"Maybe I have been here before, I know this room; I have walked this floor, I used to live alone before I knew you. I've seen your flag on the marble arch, love is not a victory march, it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah..."

Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen, performed by Rufus Wainwright

How can anyone write such great songs?

On holiday

I recently spent a week rearranging my entire bookself. The result is this:

Serious books

Equally serious books

Fantasy book section which is dominated by what else:

Imagine about 10 shelves worth of these books and you will have an inkling to the number of books I have in my room. My mum says I should start charging library fees to those who want to borrow my books.

A recent primary school class gathering. Bad turnout, good conversations and I realised we have all changed but yet we are still the kids we were 10 years ago.

Man, those were the days.

Why don't they ever get Mansfield Park right?

"Oh! do not attack me with your watch. A watch is always too fast or too slow. I cannot be dictated to by a watch." -Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Download the e-book for free at: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/141

Of all of Austen's novels, I must say my favourite is Mansfield Park, the one which Austen fans seemed to hate the most. Simply because it is very different from the rest of her better-known ones such as P&P and S&S. To me, it is a wonderfully complex novel that is totally unlike her fluffier novels and the closest she'll ever get to the style of Elizabeth Gaskell. So imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that BBC has made a TV adaptation of Mansfield Park in 2007 and someone put that up online. So I gleefully sat down to watch it all at once. Now I've watched the movie version starring Frances O'Connor, and I didn't really like it because the director kind of changed the essential parts of the plot, simplified and sensationalised many parts of the novel. So I was hoping that the TV version would do better justice to the novel. Well it did in some ways, although I'm not sure if Billie Piper was a better choice than Frances O'Connor as Fanny Price. And I'm still not satisfied with this latest adaptation of Mansfield Park, because while it's less dramatic as the previous version, it omitted many parts of the plot and the many important issues were not conveyed in the tv adaptation. I should think that almost all of Austen's novels have been adapted well-enough except for Mansfield Park. Maybe because it's the most complex and deals with many different themes such as education, perception, slavery and morality that makes it difficult to adapt into a screenplay. Or maybe it's simply because the great Andrew Davies has not tried to adapt Mansfield Park. His versions of P&P, S&S, Northanger Abbey and Emma gave justice to Austen's novels. So I really hope he does Mansfield Park soon.

If you don't understand why I get so caught up with movie adaptations of classics, well it just means you haven't read any yet. Mansfield Park is not something I would reccomend as light reading, but if you can get through it then I assure you it will give you plenty of food for thought.

PS: And you'll also discover why JK Rowling gave the name of Mrs Norris to the cat companion of Argus Filch in Harry Potter.