Sunday, 28 August 2011
Saturday, 6 August 2011
By the way: Bad Composition
I do apologise for the bad composition of this picture:
My excuse is, I took it in a hurry.
But, there is something interesting about it, you'll find,
if you'll bear, a little bit, with me.
At the bottom of the picture, you see some wooden planks,
and then some slabs of stone,
and two bigger stones, green with algae,
and then some pots on top of them, and at the back, some plants.
Just in front of the bigger stones, green with algae,
there's a kind of chain of blackish things on the ground;
and if you were there, to breathe the air,
you won't be surprised to find, the blackish things to be a pile of dog shit.
And before you think, "This silly spoilt person thinks that dog shit is interesting? Why?"
It's not the dog shit I find amusing,
But how, look closely now,
on the dog shit, there rests a rather large orange-black-brown-winged butterfly.
It was there for quite a while -
long enough for me to have had hesitated then hurried to take the picture -
flapping its wings slowly, like how butterflies sometimes do,
when they rest to feed on nectar.
Okay. Then, take a look around you, at the dainty butterflies with pretty wings,
Adorning your own or your wife's, daughter's, niece's girly things,
Curtains, blankets, clothes, bags, hair clips, necklaces, rings,
And imagine them to be resting, and maybe feeding, on dog shit.
Come on, you've gotta agree with me, at least a little bit, that it is entertaining.
My excuse is, I took it in a hurry.
But, there is something interesting about it, you'll find,
if you'll bear, a little bit, with me.
At the bottom of the picture, you see some wooden planks,
and then some slabs of stone,
and two bigger stones, green with algae,
and then some pots on top of them, and at the back, some plants.
Just in front of the bigger stones, green with algae,
there's a kind of chain of blackish things on the ground;
and if you were there, to breathe the air,
you won't be surprised to find, the blackish things to be a pile of dog shit.
And before you think, "This silly spoilt person thinks that dog shit is interesting? Why?"
It's not the dog shit I find amusing,
But how, look closely now,
on the dog shit, there rests a rather large orange-black-brown-winged butterfly.
It was there for quite a while -
long enough for me to have had hesitated then hurried to take the picture -
flapping its wings slowly, like how butterflies sometimes do,
when they rest to feed on nectar.
Okay. Then, take a look around you, at the dainty butterflies with pretty wings,
Adorning your own or your wife's, daughter's, niece's girly things,
Curtains, blankets, clothes, bags, hair clips, necklaces, rings,
And imagine them to be resting, and maybe feeding, on dog shit.
Come on, you've gotta agree with me, at least a little bit, that it is entertaining.
Monday, 16 May 2011
Alternate Reality TV
Once upon a time, in a world far away, surveying committees were formed with representatives from Heavens and Hell to collect data on the Human realm for assessment of future residency demands. The cosmic laws dictated that this would be done every now and then. The data reports would be submitted to a council of Heaven and Hell Gods' and Demons.
One time, a powerful spirit medium of the Human realm learned that one such committee was about to survey his county, so he went to inform the local magistrate. The medium was so resourceful that he even knew that the committee would make their assessments from watching an hour of local news programme.
The county magistrate rewarded the medium with a lot of money and quickly commissioned a fabricated news programme. He hoped that the committee would think that his beloved people were rich and happy, and save all of them places in Heaven. The News reported about additions of beautiful buildings and parks, new hospitals that treated for free, and a rich vibrant Arts scene. It reported bad weather ahead with a reminder for people to bring extra umbrellas when they go out so that they could lend it to people who forgot to bring umbrellas.
The surveying committee members were impressed by the state of events in the county and were inclined to assess that these people were likely to go to Heaven, as they must have been leading good and honest lives to deserve such a peaceful and prosperous place.
But one of the members, a ghost, who was banished to hell for mistreating poor people, stood up and said, "Wait! Didn't you all notice what was playing during the advertisement break?"
Someone replied that he missed it becuase he went to the toilet. The others were chatting and weren't paying attention, so the ghost rewinded the video tape and pointed out,
"Three commercials were aired during the break. One was on a slimming product. The other two were from competiting pawn shops broadcasting their services. How could this county and society really be doing well when the pawn shops are prospering (at least enough to advertise over television)?"
The magistrate had forgotten to tell the television station to suspend their commercial breaks.
The committee changed their assessment and applauded the vigilant ghost. They said that to his credit, the people in the county would have a place to stay when they eventually end up in Hell.
When they submitted the report, however, the Heaven and Hell Gods' and Demons reprimmanded the committee for their biased data collection. They were supposed to make independent observations, and not recommend if the people should be routed to Heaven or Hell.
The Gods and Demons said that in times of prosperity, there might be a high chance for greed and corruption to proliferate, so a lot of people might be sent to Hell. In times of poverty, there might be a lot of opportunities for people to show compassion and kindness, so a lot of people might go to Heaven.
The committee was sent back to collect data, and they were forbidden to do so from watching television, so they read newspapers instead.
One time, a powerful spirit medium of the Human realm learned that one such committee was about to survey his county, so he went to inform the local magistrate. The medium was so resourceful that he even knew that the committee would make their assessments from watching an hour of local news programme.
The county magistrate rewarded the medium with a lot of money and quickly commissioned a fabricated news programme. He hoped that the committee would think that his beloved people were rich and happy, and save all of them places in Heaven. The News reported about additions of beautiful buildings and parks, new hospitals that treated for free, and a rich vibrant Arts scene. It reported bad weather ahead with a reminder for people to bring extra umbrellas when they go out so that they could lend it to people who forgot to bring umbrellas.
The surveying committee members were impressed by the state of events in the county and were inclined to assess that these people were likely to go to Heaven, as they must have been leading good and honest lives to deserve such a peaceful and prosperous place.
But one of the members, a ghost, who was banished to hell for mistreating poor people, stood up and said, "Wait! Didn't you all notice what was playing during the advertisement break?"
Someone replied that he missed it becuase he went to the toilet. The others were chatting and weren't paying attention, so the ghost rewinded the video tape and pointed out,
"Three commercials were aired during the break. One was on a slimming product. The other two were from competiting pawn shops broadcasting their services. How could this county and society really be doing well when the pawn shops are prospering (at least enough to advertise over television)?"
The magistrate had forgotten to tell the television station to suspend their commercial breaks.
The committee changed their assessment and applauded the vigilant ghost. They said that to his credit, the people in the county would have a place to stay when they eventually end up in Hell.
When they submitted the report, however, the Heaven and Hell Gods' and Demons reprimmanded the committee for their biased data collection. They were supposed to make independent observations, and not recommend if the people should be routed to Heaven or Hell.
The Gods and Demons said that in times of prosperity, there might be a high chance for greed and corruption to proliferate, so a lot of people might be sent to Hell. In times of poverty, there might be a lot of opportunities for people to show compassion and kindness, so a lot of people might go to Heaven.
The committee was sent back to collect data, and they were forbidden to do so from watching television, so they read newspapers instead.
Friday, 29 April 2011
Politics and Policies
Once upon a time, there were four parallel universes and one not so parallel universe. In these universes, there each lived a School of fish of many different types and colours. There were green, blue, red, yellow, purple, pink, white, black, big, small, fat, thin, handsome, ugly, kind, greedy, clever, stupid, etc.
These Schools developed along their own paths. They had some differences, like their political environment and decisions. The fish in Universe A chose predominantly Green fish to lead their School. The fish in Universe B chose fish who were Green or Handsome. The fish in Universe C, like Universe A, chose Green fish, but amongst them, there were a bunch of Green and Clever fish who loved the School very much. The fish in Universe D chose Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish to lead the School. The fish in Universe E didn't really have leaders that decided everything by default that's why it was not so parallel with the rest.
These universes also shared some similarities, one of these similarities was that the Schools of fish were sometimes presented with the same decisions to be made. They sometimes conclude with similar or different decisions, for varying reasons. One day, it was time to decide whether or not they should open an opium den. An underwater opium den, imagine how attractive that would be!
Universe A. Where the Green fish ruled.
In the history of Universe A, the Green fish united all the fish in the School, despite their various differences, by one common love: that of money. They knew that of power, wisdom, and wealth, wealth was measurable and objective, and all the other communities that just started out, like the Birds and Amphibians, needed money to get anything done. And all the other fish were simple and smitten by the lure of wealth, they were eager to learn how to love money better and make more money. All the fish learnt to love money and those who were rich were envied and despised. And those who were poor were ignored and despised, even by themselves.
When it was time to choose their leaders, the fish chose those who were most capable of helping them keep their wealth and luxuries, despite resenting having to pay them so much to do so. But that was ironic because the only fish who were willing to rule and lead would do so only because they, like the rest of the community, loved money too. The Green fish were capable and had a good track record of keeping the School rich, so they were always chosen to lead again and again, and allowed to make all the decisions.
When the rest of the fish felt like lamenting (a luxurious past-time of the rich, so it was very fashionable), they'd complain about the Green leaders, and criticise the rich Green leaders on being elitist, and whatever.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
Universe B. Where Green fish and Handsome fish ruled.
In the history of Universe B, the Green fish used to rule predominantly, and when they did, they also united all the fish in the School, despite their various differences, by one common love: that of money. Money was measurable and objective unlike too many other things, like sanity.
Universe B used to be like Universe A, but somewhere along the line, they also voted for Handsome fish to be leaders, so the community came to be ruled by the Green fish and the Handsome fish, who made all the decisions.
They chose the Handsome fish, who were the bravest and loudest "lamenters" against the exclusive Green leaders, and who voiced their sentiments articulately, preferably in good English. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered because they had wanted to share the elitism and high salaries enjoyed by the Green fish. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered for love of the attention or the opportunity to lead. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered because they genuinely loved the common fish and wanted to do their parts for the community.
Some fish decided to support the Handsome fish because they were bored of complaining about the Green fish being elitist and whatever, and wanted new faces to complain about. They liked the idea that, no matter what colour they were, as long as they were born Handsome, or pretty, they stood a chance to be chosen as leaders, too one day. Besides, ceteris paribus, the Handsome fish were much nicer to look at.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders and the Handsome fish leaders called each other names for a while before deciding to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
And nobody, neither the Green fish leaders, the Handsome fish leaders, nor even the other non-leading fish who freed up some time from lamenting about the Green fish being elitist, thought of any alternatives to the opium den. Most of the non-leading fish became busier, having to lament about the Green fish, the Handsome fish, and how they were similar and different.
Universe C: Where there were Green and Clever Fish who ruled with love
In Universe C, the School of fish were all united by one common love: that of money.
However, amongst the Green fish, there were some Green Clever fish, who loved the common fish very much and wanted to do their bits for the community. They were very smart and intelligent. So, they decided to join the Green leaders, because they thought joining the Green leaders was the most efficient way to allow themselves to do some good work for the School. Some Green Clever fish even loved the common fish more than money itself. But they continued to earn a lot of money so that they would not be ostracised by the other Green fish. Ostracism would only waste time that could be better spent serving the School.
Even though the complaints against the Green fish leaders being elitist and whatever hurt the Green Clever fish leaders' heart, they still loved the School very much and wanted to protect the common fish from harm.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
But for the harm the opium den was going to cause the School? The families it would break up? The Green Clever fish couldn't sleep for many nights due to the moral dilemma. Some of them wanted to leave the community and live as recluses, but they thought, hey, if they stayed, they could help to prevent the second or third or forth opium den from opening. So, they stayed and tried to save the School from itself.
Universe D: Where the Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish ruled.
In Universe D, the School of fish were all united by one common love: that of money.
Along the way, Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish were voted into positions of leadership.
When they were done arguing over their differences, and disliking each other's faces, the different leaders made decisions together. And got along quite fine because everyone were quite different anyway. The Green fish and Ugly or pretty or handsome fish taught each other their experiences and shared with each other generously. They reminded each other of that they were supposed to love the community and pretended not to love money.
The non-leading fish did not expect that the leaders would have gotten along. Actually, they kept voting for arbitrary new groups of fish to become leaders so that they had new drama to lament about and different sides to take, but that did not happen.
After a while, the common fish finally decided to lament about policies and alternatives. They talked about rights, about campaigns, about the environment, and fashion and paintings.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the school of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that. They loved the community who loved money after all.
Some alternatives were suggested: the Purple Clever fish suggested that fish could produce more eggs that could be sold off as slaves or food to the Community of Birds, Yellow Greedy fish suggested to have gambling dens instead of opium dens, the Pink Cool fish suggested to encourage all the fish to start their own businesses so that they could earn more money, some other fish (non-leaders who hoped to become new leaders) suggested cutting the existing leaders' pay (though everybody knew that that wasn't really help going to help save that much money and didn't pay much attention to them).
Ultimately, having ran out of good ideas, the leaders agreed that the opium den was the most efficient and sure way to bring in money. So, despite knowing the harm it was going to cause to the School, the families it was going to break up, the opium den was okay-ed.
Besides, if it was going to cause any harm, it would most likely harm those who were poor, who were ignored and despised, even by themselves, anyway. And if they all crossed their fish fingers, the lives of good and innocent fish would not be harmed.
Universe E: That which was not very parallel.
There was another universe that existed, Universe E. It was not very parallel.
The most fundamental difference, was that the community was not united by their love for money. They agreed that money was measurable, and objective, but it was also boring.
They loved their neighbours and friends and good food and simple pleasures, like good jokes, more than money. The rich was sometimes envied for this and that, and pitied for their this and that; the poor was sometimes envied for this and that, and pitied for their this and that. Nobody was really despised or ashamed of themselves. If there was any one love that united them, it was their love for their children, and their neighbours children. They want their children to be happy, not rich, and to have good friends and food and sense of humour. They even have formal education that gathered the children to learn jokes, and how to laugh healthily, and how to do silly dances, and how to make other people laugh. They were also taught how to make money but it wasn't the emphasis.
Another difference in the School of fish of many different types and colours, nobody really ruled, but were only put in their positions to administer the paperwork and filing, and they didn't get to make all the decisions.
Any suggestions that would impact the School, would have to be mooted, discussed and voted by the common fish who were persuaded by the arguments to vote. In other words, all the fish who cared enough about the decisions would cast a vote on whether to do something or not. Those that didn't, didn't. Selling of votes was punished severely. The arguments for and against different decisions were sensibly and carefully thought through. Everybody had the time to carefully think through any suggestions or decisions because they weren't in a hurry to make money.
The arguments would be clearly articulated in the newspapers that were printed on the corals and the little pebbles for the small fish to read, or scrawled in big letters on the giant underwater cliffs for the big fish to read. Those who could read would explain what they read, with limited personal bias to those who couldn't read. They would think for each other, and the impact of the decisions on each other's children. The common fish discussed these issues with each other passionately, intelligently, and developed their opinions actively. They had the time to do these things because they did not love money that much, and thus, saved time from not working so hard for money. They had time to think about how to build an environment for their children to grow up and become happy in. They want their children to be happy, not rich, not beautiful, not clever, not fat, but happy.
Happiness was difficult to measure, and super subjective, but it was okay because everybody had time.
When the time came to decide on the opium den, the School was asked to choose between money and the luxury of riches, such as better hospitals and roads, or the social stability, such as less suicides and simpler family problems. (They put it in more convincing and cohesive terms, of course, having more time than me.) A record breaking number of fish turned up to vote.
Some alternatives were suggested, but since they were unsuitable, the School finally decide to open the opium den. The Common fish, however, only approved it on the following additional conditions:
a) The only fish allowed in the opium den are those whose:
b) The revenue that the opium den generated was to be used solely for researching a cure for cancer.
The fish eventually found the cure for cancer and even several other previously terminal diseases. They mass produced the cure and subsidised it generously to even the neighbouring Community of Birds and the Community of Amphibians and anyone else who needed it such that, finally, they wiped out cancers altogether (like how the smallpox is an extinct virus in our world).
The thinking fish of Universe E realised their problem: they had longer lives, and so had more time to ruin them in the opium den. Their fellow fish were more and more obsessed about money so that they could squander it in the opium den or buying opium den quota. Their children were less funny because they looked to joking less, and opium and intoxicants more, for pleasure.
Every year somebody, perhaps one who came from the generation of fish who witnessed how opium poisoning ruined their parents' or their parents' friends', or their friends' parents' lives, would moot to outlaw the opium den.
Finally, in the year when cancer was wiped out from the face of Universe E, a record breaking number of fish turned up to vote again.
Against the tempting suggestions to keep the opium den open, so as to put the extra revenue into researching underwater fireworks, which would be ultra grand to watch and would make many fish very happy to watch, or put up trendy designer litter bins for use in the trendy shopping district, which would make many fish proud of the School, the School of fish decided to close down the opium den.
One of the popular messages against the underwater fireworks research was: underwater smoke from setting the underwater fireworks would be symbollic of that rising from the ashes of lives and families ruined by the opium den.
Universes F, G, H, I J...?
Actually, Universes F, G, H, I, J... also existed. In these universes, there each lived a School of fish of many different types and colours......
These Schools developed along their own paths. They had some differences, like their political environment and decisions. The fish in Universe A chose predominantly Green fish to lead their School. The fish in Universe B chose fish who were Green or Handsome. The fish in Universe C, like Universe A, chose Green fish, but amongst them, there were a bunch of Green and Clever fish who loved the School very much. The fish in Universe D chose Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish to lead the School. The fish in Universe E didn't really have leaders that decided everything by default that's why it was not so parallel with the rest.
These universes also shared some similarities, one of these similarities was that the Schools of fish were sometimes presented with the same decisions to be made. They sometimes conclude with similar or different decisions, for varying reasons. One day, it was time to decide whether or not they should open an opium den. An underwater opium den, imagine how attractive that would be!
Universe A. Where the Green fish ruled.
In the history of Universe A, the Green fish united all the fish in the School, despite their various differences, by one common love: that of money. They knew that of power, wisdom, and wealth, wealth was measurable and objective, and all the other communities that just started out, like the Birds and Amphibians, needed money to get anything done. And all the other fish were simple and smitten by the lure of wealth, they were eager to learn how to love money better and make more money. All the fish learnt to love money and those who were rich were envied and despised. And those who were poor were ignored and despised, even by themselves.
When it was time to choose their leaders, the fish chose those who were most capable of helping them keep their wealth and luxuries, despite resenting having to pay them so much to do so. But that was ironic because the only fish who were willing to rule and lead would do so only because they, like the rest of the community, loved money too. The Green fish were capable and had a good track record of keeping the School rich, so they were always chosen to lead again and again, and allowed to make all the decisions.
When the rest of the fish felt like lamenting (a luxurious past-time of the rich, so it was very fashionable), they'd complain about the Green leaders, and criticise the rich Green leaders on being elitist, and whatever.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
Universe B. Where Green fish and Handsome fish ruled.
In the history of Universe B, the Green fish used to rule predominantly, and when they did, they also united all the fish in the School, despite their various differences, by one common love: that of money. Money was measurable and objective unlike too many other things, like sanity.
Universe B used to be like Universe A, but somewhere along the line, they also voted for Handsome fish to be leaders, so the community came to be ruled by the Green fish and the Handsome fish, who made all the decisions.
They chose the Handsome fish, who were the bravest and loudest "lamenters" against the exclusive Green leaders, and who voiced their sentiments articulately, preferably in good English. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered because they had wanted to share the elitism and high salaries enjoyed by the Green fish. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered for love of the attention or the opportunity to lead. Some of the Handsome fish volunteered because they genuinely loved the common fish and wanted to do their parts for the community.
Some fish decided to support the Handsome fish because they were bored of complaining about the Green fish being elitist and whatever, and wanted new faces to complain about. They liked the idea that, no matter what colour they were, as long as they were born Handsome, or pretty, they stood a chance to be chosen as leaders, too one day. Besides, ceteris paribus, the Handsome fish were much nicer to look at.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders and the Handsome fish leaders called each other names for a while before deciding to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
And nobody, neither the Green fish leaders, the Handsome fish leaders, nor even the other non-leading fish who freed up some time from lamenting about the Green fish being elitist, thought of any alternatives to the opium den. Most of the non-leading fish became busier, having to lament about the Green fish, the Handsome fish, and how they were similar and different.
Universe C: Where there were Green and Clever Fish who ruled with love
In Universe C, the School of fish were all united by one common love: that of money.
However, amongst the Green fish, there were some Green Clever fish, who loved the common fish very much and wanted to do their bits for the community. They were very smart and intelligent. So, they decided to join the Green leaders, because they thought joining the Green leaders was the most efficient way to allow themselves to do some good work for the School. Some Green Clever fish even loved the common fish more than money itself. But they continued to earn a lot of money so that they would not be ostracised by the other Green fish. Ostracism would only waste time that could be better spent serving the School.
Even though the complaints against the Green fish leaders being elitist and whatever hurt the Green Clever fish leaders' heart, they still loved the School very much and wanted to protect the common fish from harm.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the School of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that.
But for the harm the opium den was going to cause the School? The families it would break up? The Green Clever fish couldn't sleep for many nights due to the moral dilemma. Some of them wanted to leave the community and live as recluses, but they thought, hey, if they stayed, they could help to prevent the second or third or forth opium den from opening. So, they stayed and tried to save the School from itself.
Universe D: Where the Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish ruled.
In Universe D, the School of fish were all united by one common love: that of money.
Along the way, Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish were voted into positions of leadership.
When they were done arguing over their differences, and disliking each other's faces, the different leaders made decisions together. And got along quite fine because everyone were quite different anyway. The Green fish and Ugly or pretty or handsome fish taught each other their experiences and shared with each other generously. They reminded each other of that they were supposed to love the community and pretended not to love money.
The non-leading fish did not expect that the leaders would have gotten along. Actually, they kept voting for arbitrary new groups of fish to become leaders so that they had new drama to lament about and different sides to take, but that did not happen.
After a while, the common fish finally decided to lament about policies and alternatives. They talked about rights, about campaigns, about the environment, and fashion and paintings.
When it was time to decide on the opium den, the Green, Ugly, Purple Clever, Yellow Greedy, and Pink Cool fish leaders decided to open it for the sake of money, because of the revenue that it would generate. If it were not done, the school of fish might risk becoming poorer and nobody wanted that. They loved the community who loved money after all.
Some alternatives were suggested: the Purple Clever fish suggested that fish could produce more eggs that could be sold off as slaves or food to the Community of Birds, Yellow Greedy fish suggested to have gambling dens instead of opium dens, the Pink Cool fish suggested to encourage all the fish to start their own businesses so that they could earn more money, some other fish (non-leaders who hoped to become new leaders) suggested cutting the existing leaders' pay (though everybody knew that that wasn't really help going to help save that much money and didn't pay much attention to them).
Ultimately, having ran out of good ideas, the leaders agreed that the opium den was the most efficient and sure way to bring in money. So, despite knowing the harm it was going to cause to the School, the families it was going to break up, the opium den was okay-ed.
Besides, if it was going to cause any harm, it would most likely harm those who were poor, who were ignored and despised, even by themselves, anyway. And if they all crossed their fish fingers, the lives of good and innocent fish would not be harmed.
Universe E: That which was not very parallel.
There was another universe that existed, Universe E. It was not very parallel.
The most fundamental difference, was that the community was not united by their love for money. They agreed that money was measurable, and objective, but it was also boring.
They loved their neighbours and friends and good food and simple pleasures, like good jokes, more than money. The rich was sometimes envied for this and that, and pitied for their this and that; the poor was sometimes envied for this and that, and pitied for their this and that. Nobody was really despised or ashamed of themselves. If there was any one love that united them, it was their love for their children, and their neighbours children. They want their children to be happy, not rich, and to have good friends and food and sense of humour. They even have formal education that gathered the children to learn jokes, and how to laugh healthily, and how to do silly dances, and how to make other people laugh. They were also taught how to make money but it wasn't the emphasis.
Another difference in the School of fish of many different types and colours, nobody really ruled, but were only put in their positions to administer the paperwork and filing, and they didn't get to make all the decisions.
Any suggestions that would impact the School, would have to be mooted, discussed and voted by the common fish who were persuaded by the arguments to vote. In other words, all the fish who cared enough about the decisions would cast a vote on whether to do something or not. Those that didn't, didn't. Selling of votes was punished severely. The arguments for and against different decisions were sensibly and carefully thought through. Everybody had the time to carefully think through any suggestions or decisions because they weren't in a hurry to make money.
The arguments would be clearly articulated in the newspapers that were printed on the corals and the little pebbles for the small fish to read, or scrawled in big letters on the giant underwater cliffs for the big fish to read. Those who could read would explain what they read, with limited personal bias to those who couldn't read. They would think for each other, and the impact of the decisions on each other's children. The common fish discussed these issues with each other passionately, intelligently, and developed their opinions actively. They had the time to do these things because they did not love money that much, and thus, saved time from not working so hard for money. They had time to think about how to build an environment for their children to grow up and become happy in. They want their children to be happy, not rich, not beautiful, not clever, not fat, but happy.
Happiness was difficult to measure, and super subjective, but it was okay because everybody had time.
When the time came to decide on the opium den, the School was asked to choose between money and the luxury of riches, such as better hospitals and roads, or the social stability, such as less suicides and simpler family problems. (They put it in more convincing and cohesive terms, of course, having more time than me.) A record breaking number of fish turned up to vote.
Some alternatives were suggested, but since they were unsuitable, the School finally decide to open the opium den. The Common fish, however, only approved it on the following additional conditions:
a) The only fish allowed in the opium den are those whose:
i) Total family income met a decent minimum sum that was equal toThe leading fish would administer these criteria more diligently and more carefully than how the fish divided and managed their public housing incentives.
$4,000 (beyond which each fish need not mandatory save 20% of that income for their retirement) X number of adults in the household; AND
ii) Family members (all living) gave their written consent; AND
iii) Quota for opium den entry (once a week) hadn't been used up.
b) The revenue that the opium den generated was to be used solely for researching a cure for cancer.
The fish eventually found the cure for cancer and even several other previously terminal diseases. They mass produced the cure and subsidised it generously to even the neighbouring Community of Birds and the Community of Amphibians and anyone else who needed it such that, finally, they wiped out cancers altogether (like how the smallpox is an extinct virus in our world).
The thinking fish of Universe E realised their problem: they had longer lives, and so had more time to ruin them in the opium den. Their fellow fish were more and more obsessed about money so that they could squander it in the opium den or buying opium den quota. Their children were less funny because they looked to joking less, and opium and intoxicants more, for pleasure.
Every year somebody, perhaps one who came from the generation of fish who witnessed how opium poisoning ruined their parents' or their parents' friends', or their friends' parents' lives, would moot to outlaw the opium den.
Finally, in the year when cancer was wiped out from the face of Universe E, a record breaking number of fish turned up to vote again.
Against the tempting suggestions to keep the opium den open, so as to put the extra revenue into researching underwater fireworks, which would be ultra grand to watch and would make many fish very happy to watch, or put up trendy designer litter bins for use in the trendy shopping district, which would make many fish proud of the School, the School of fish decided to close down the opium den.
One of the popular messages against the underwater fireworks research was: underwater smoke from setting the underwater fireworks would be symbollic of that rising from the ashes of lives and families ruined by the opium den.
Universes F, G, H, I J...?
Actually, Universes F, G, H, I, J... also existed. In these universes, there each lived a School of fish of many different types and colours......
Thursday, 21 April 2011
Friday, 8 April 2011
The Invisible Headache
A girl had a bad headache which got worse every night.
She felt like something inside her head was pulling her two temples together, being wound tighter, and tighter.
It turned out that it wasn't just a feeling, but that her head was really being clamped tight by an invisible clamp put in place by an invisible troll, who came to her to tightened it every now and then.
Ho, until her head was so tightly pressed together that her eyes popped out of her sockets one day. That was when they found out about the invisible troll, when they heard him say,
"Hey,
There they go!
Finalley!
Hello!"
He liked rhymes.
She felt like something inside her head was pulling her two temples together, being wound tighter, and tighter.
It turned out that it wasn't just a feeling, but that her head was really being clamped tight by an invisible clamp put in place by an invisible troll, who came to her to tightened it every now and then.
Ho, until her head was so tightly pressed together that her eyes popped out of her sockets one day. That was when they found out about the invisible troll, when they heard him say,
"Hey,
There they go!
Finalley!
Hello!"
He liked rhymes.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Opium Wars
One evening, as my father fell asleep in front of the television he pretended to watch, I overheard a news report on how revenues from the casinos "exceeded expectations".
Not having written anything in a long time, I thought of putting something about the casinos together.
So, for a few days after that, I went out of my way to read the newspapers, as a kind of research. I don't usually read the newspapers, you see. I'd do it if I were expecting to be tested on current affairs, like at an interview, and when it would be too complicated to explain why I don't read newspapers. I don't read the news because I find it quite uncomfortable to know so much about what happens in other people's lives. It gives me a headache to imagine. It makes me apathetic.
Anyway, I came across this article about someone being caught for breaking the law in order to finance his gambling debts. His wife had left him, taking his kids with her. His parents did not show up when he stood for trial, and were cited to have given up on him. He was jailed.
I wondered if this guy would have messed up through some other means, if not for having gambled too much. Perhaps he would have messed up anyway. But since he already messed up and his life was changed for ever... we shall not know what would have happened if he didn't gamble too much.
The casinos bring money to our economy. They help to sustain our economic prosperity and progress, which will in turn enable us to live better lives, have better teachers in better schools for our children, have better banks for us to put our money in, appreciate and create better art, read and write better writing. We would have better medical things, longer life-expectancy, re-employed to work until I don't know when... And more fireworks to watch every now and then.
Fireworks are always nice. They are pretty and generally... celebratory.
That's a whole lot of good, for a bit of bad, isn't it?
Tell that to someone who had messed up his life at the casinos?
But it was his own fault? He had a choice not to go? He could have spent his spare time volunteering as a Director of Traffic at his children's school instead of gambling? He was adequately informed of the ills of gambling?
This reminds me of the recent SARS epidemic, when everyone was told to wash their hands properly. And the elderly were especially cautioned to exercise extra care as they were more susceptible to the virus. When the elderly, or anyone else, did fall sick, we had heros who helped them get better. The victims did not have fingers pointed at them. Neither were they told that it was their fault for not locking themselves up in a ziplock bag.
Were those who were more susceptible to the gambling addiction adequately warned? And even if they were, is it entirely their fault if they get addicted? If it's not their fault, then is it ours?
Who is responsible anyway?
Who's responsible for the future SARS victims if we don't have better healthcare ready for them? Who's responsible if we have a shorter life-expectancy? Who's responsible for lesser fireworks?
And then, who is responsible for a higher suicide rate?
This is like asking who or what was responsible for the opium wars.
Where do we draw the line?
I have a headache imagining all this. Here I am, on a weekday, sitting up in my bed, writing on a laptop resting on a pink nine dollar plastic breakfast tray
Not having written anything in a long time, I thought of putting something about the casinos together.
So, for a few days after that, I went out of my way to read the newspapers, as a kind of research. I don't usually read the newspapers, you see. I'd do it if I were expecting to be tested on current affairs, like at an interview, and when it would be too complicated to explain why I don't read newspapers. I don't read the news because I find it quite uncomfortable to know so much about what happens in other people's lives. It gives me a headache to imagine. It makes me apathetic.
Anyway, I came across this article about someone being caught for breaking the law in order to finance his gambling debts. His wife had left him, taking his kids with her. His parents did not show up when he stood for trial, and were cited to have given up on him. He was jailed.
I wondered if this guy would have messed up through some other means, if not for having gambled too much. Perhaps he would have messed up anyway. But since he already messed up and his life was changed for ever... we shall not know what would have happened if he didn't gamble too much.
The casinos bring money to our economy. They help to sustain our economic prosperity and progress, which will in turn enable us to live better lives, have better teachers in better schools for our children, have better banks for us to put our money in, appreciate and create better art, read and write better writing. We would have better medical things, longer life-expectancy, re-employed to work until I don't know when... And more fireworks to watch every now and then.
Fireworks are always nice. They are pretty and generally... celebratory.
That's a whole lot of good, for a bit of bad, isn't it?
Tell that to someone who had messed up his life at the casinos?
But it was his own fault? He had a choice not to go? He could have spent his spare time volunteering as a Director of Traffic at his children's school instead of gambling? He was adequately informed of the ills of gambling?
This reminds me of the recent SARS epidemic, when everyone was told to wash their hands properly. And the elderly were especially cautioned to exercise extra care as they were more susceptible to the virus. When the elderly, or anyone else, did fall sick, we had heros who helped them get better. The victims did not have fingers pointed at them. Neither were they told that it was their fault for not locking themselves up in a ziplock bag.
Were those who were more susceptible to the gambling addiction adequately warned? And even if they were, is it entirely their fault if they get addicted? If it's not their fault, then is it ours?
Who is responsible anyway?
Who's responsible for the future SARS victims if we don't have better healthcare ready for them? Who's responsible if we have a shorter life-expectancy? Who's responsible for lesser fireworks?
And then, who is responsible for a higher suicide rate?
This is like asking who or what was responsible for the opium wars.
Where do we draw the line?
I have a headache imagining all this. Here I am, on a weekday, sitting up in my bed, writing on a laptop resting on a pink nine dollar plastic breakfast tray
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Hierarchy
The hair on the left leg of a human being did not get along well with the hair on the right leg. The two groups of hair would compete to get ahead of the each other, and in doing so, try to make their opponent fall behind. In other words, there was sabotaging, espionage, war, strife.
Things got especially exciting when the human being went dancing. The competition was fierce. The human being took two steps forward, one step back. Things got especially rowdy when the human being sat on the swing - it would be windy and the legs would be swung around rather violently.
They didn't know that their competition was futile, since they were destined to never get that far ahead of each other. They were just obsessed with the competition. It was all they lived for.
They did not know that the pubic hair, residing between the legs, observed their strife for sport, and laughed at their foolishness.
The pubic hair, however, too, took their perspective for granted.
As the groups of left and right armpit hair watched the pubic hair watch the leg hair's unrest - they thought about the meaning of life and philosophised on what they were meant to understand. They thought about whether there were any other groups of hair up there watching them watching them. Sometimes they would think they were close to understanding everything, until they remember it was impossible for them to ever know for sure. Both groups of left and right armpit hair would never know of the other's existence.
The hair on the human being's head couldn't be bothered with all the gossip and politics with the groups of hair below, being too busy with getting dyed, groomed, cut, done-up for off-showing to other human beings and whatever. The hair on the head was too busy with being concerned about being watched by other human beings to do any watching.
Things got especially exciting when the human being went dancing. The competition was fierce. The human being took two steps forward, one step back. Things got especially rowdy when the human being sat on the swing - it would be windy and the legs would be swung around rather violently.
They didn't know that their competition was futile, since they were destined to never get that far ahead of each other. They were just obsessed with the competition. It was all they lived for.
They did not know that the pubic hair, residing between the legs, observed their strife for sport, and laughed at their foolishness.
The pubic hair, however, too, took their perspective for granted.
As the groups of left and right armpit hair watched the pubic hair watch the leg hair's unrest - they thought about the meaning of life and philosophised on what they were meant to understand. They thought about whether there were any other groups of hair up there watching them watching them. Sometimes they would think they were close to understanding everything, until they remember it was impossible for them to ever know for sure. Both groups of left and right armpit hair would never know of the other's existence.
The hair on the human being's head couldn't be bothered with all the gossip and politics with the groups of hair below, being too busy with getting dyed, groomed, cut, done-up for off-showing to other human beings and whatever. The hair on the head was too busy with being concerned about being watched by other human beings to do any watching.
Sunday, 26 December 2010
The Chilli sauce and Ketchup at Jack's Place
The chilli sauce and ketchup met on Table 29 in Jack's place.
Standing side-by-side,
day-in-and-out,
in the dimly-lit restaurant,
with slightly too-cold air-conditioning...
It was hard for them to not to fall in love
Against the checked
green-and-white plastic table cloth,
they made an attractive
couple.
They longed for the next time
to be poured on or beside each other
on the same corner of a plate
or a dedicated saucer,
so that
they could swirl
into
one
another
and
make
hot
sweet
love.
Standing side-by-side,
day-in-and-out,
in the dimly-lit restaurant,
with slightly too-cold air-conditioning...
It was hard for them to not to fall in love
Against the checked
green-and-white plastic table cloth,
they made an attractive
couple.
They longed for the next time
to be poured on or beside each other
on the same corner of a plate
or a dedicated saucer,
so that
they could swirl
into
one
another
and
make
hot
sweet
love.
Friday, 22 October 2010
On Art and Writing
(My Studies)
I have been a rather serious student about art in the recent few years. My “serious” efforts include putting myself through related courses and undertaking other forms of research.
My interest in the arts started with my chance discovery of the Surrealists. I was surprised to find how they articulated what I was intuitively doing with my stories then. For example, Rene Magritte was explaining his concept of mystery: “The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.” I could relate to this with my story about a bear with a biscuit face (close to Magritte's painting of men with apples blocking their features from the viewer). A bear with a biscuit face was also a curious juxtaposition of elements, which is a surrealist theme. I was already practising automatic writing, a technique which I later came to learn was Surrealist as well.
Learning what they were consciously doing helped me realise better what I was unconsciously doing with my writing. For example, I was interested with how in different readers’ mind, the phrase “bear with a biscuit face” conjured up in some the image of an oreo biscuit, or chocolate biscuit, as opposed to my image of a “ritz bitz” biscuit. The minimalist writers were writing with sparse descriptions so that the audience's imagination would fill in the gap (e.g. they would articulate these things in an article or interview). The critiques of the Surrealist movement would also point out limitations of the way I was writing in (e.g. it was likely to be obscure and taken as random arbitrariness). In this way, I was able to quickly develop and evaluate my approach or concepts.
Wanting to know more about other art theories, I attended Dr Sian Jay's appreciating western art course (at NUS extension) thinking it would be a crash course to “download” the knowledge into my head – as opposed to reading 300 books myself. Through this course, I gained confidence in my way of interpreting art and art theories, and learnt how to think about art more systematically and effectively – in other words, I learnt how to learn better.
(On Art and Writing)
As writing becomes more important to me, and developing my writing gains higher priority, I try to learn more about art and explore new concepts.
Prior to this attempt, I have never tried to explain how art influences my writing in words – not even my private journals, not even in my conscious thought. It had been a very organic process, which I hope it would still largely remain to be.
I take in what I learn, I absorb what I can, and it becomes a part of my brain. It's like how I eat a plate of char kway teow and it becomes a part of my body (as in the nutrients and fats would fuse with my cells and become a part of my body forever after). In the same way all the char kway teow I’ve ever eaten in my life will come to affect the way my heart beats – my art education (or any other experience) will fuse into my thoughts and state of mind, affecting the way I produce anything and what I produce.
Honestly, I'm not sure if putting this process into words would ruin it. If the words are ill-chosen, the idea would be “set” in the wrong way. If ideas were gems, then words that articulate these ideas would be the gold or silver that encases and frames ideas to highlight their brilliance. Passages and poems are crafted jewelleries, then. My role as the writer is akin to the jeweller – we’re both craftsmen, and we both have to search for materials – ideas and words or gems and metal – that we can be inspired by and will (here, i want to use "will" like "wield" because I think it's a better verb to mean "wield").
Rather ironically, the above two analogies in my “disclaimer” already hint at how art affects my writing. When I study the arts (like the art of char kway teow or the art of jewellery making), I study the philosophies or states of mind of the artists (who are also like the cooks and jewellers) that may distinguish them and affect their paintings or sculptures (like their char kway teow or jewelleries).
When I look at a painting from an artist, I try to imagine what he's thinking, appreciate his sense of aesthetics, and decide where I agree or disagree with him. From these processes, I develop ideas and my aesthetic sense. In addition, having “consumed” the painting, it will affect my thoughts and state of mind, which will in turn affect what I produce.
(On Ideas, Reality, Images and Words)
Another concept that I have is in part influenced by Michel Foucault’s This is not a pipe where he discussed some theories on the relationships between reality, images, and words, with reference to Magritte’s paintings; that is, words (being just words) and images (being just images) only refer to the idea of what that is real; the idea is also distinct from that which is real. The word “pipe” refer to the idea of a pipe which refers to a real tangible pipe.
It brings us to the question then, what is it that a painting is trying to conjure? And how that compares to what is it that a written story is trying to conjure?
In my haste, I could over-simplify and say a painting and a written story are similar in both trying to conjure ideas in the audiences’ mind. The idea in the audiences’ mind – becomes new and different altogether – being neither the reality, the image, nor the written story, nor my idea in the first place. And this process is another very important factor of a story – not that which is described explicitly with words – but the ideas it intends and manages to conjure in the audience’s mind.
(On state of Mind, Soul, Heart)
And how effectively the art work (story or picture) conjures up an idea in the audience’s mind and heart can also be affected by the quality of the art work’s soul or heart – which is in turn, affected by the state of mind, soul, or heart of the artist.
I know I’m being confusing, suddenly introducing more elusive things like “heart” and “soul” here. But “state of mind” seems to only refer to the intellect and reason, which is somewhat lacking. I am really referring to the heart and soul, which besides the mind, are faculties capable of creating ideas, albeit of a different nature, property, and cultivation.
This is where the char kway teow analogy is effective. Have you tasted the char kway teow of a master who fry his kway teow with heart, with concentration and sincerity? Compare his kway teow to another that’s fried by his son while chatting to his friend about going to the casino? The difference in the taste between both plates of noodles is just the stuff of how state of mind and heart of the artist affects the soul of his work.
(On Chinese Art)
In a way, tasting char kway teow cooked with heart (referring to how we say in Chinese, to use one’s heart to do something, and not how Westerners say “I heart New York”), would help to cultivate my sensibilities and discernment. In a similar way, studying the arts and contemplating how artists paint with their heart, helps the cultivation of my heart. I hope you know what I mean, these matters are very difficult to explain.
In the process of cultivating myself, I also turn to Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian art. To me, the artist’s heart is especially prominent in Chinese ink paintings, perhaps due to how they’re created. Usually a painting would begin with spontaneity and completed in a single sitting. Because of the properties of the paper, every stroke or dash is irreversible. When things are created spontaneously, implying that it comes instinctively, there is less room for planning ahead, and the heart takes over. Because there is no room to retract any move, the heart must be skilful, not to make mistakes and will (wield) the ink skilfully.
Moreover, my Chinese lifestyle and environment predisposes my ideas, aesthetic sense, and my general state of mind, to be similar to those of Chinese artists. Despite using English as my writing and reading language and consuming a lot of American and European culture and education, I realised that there was a large part of me who can’t empathise with Western culture. I really have an Asian soul, you know. If I die and become a ghost, I will be a Chinese ghost (who can speak in English), but I will have the properties of a Chinese ghost (which seem to differ quite a bit in properties of being from that of an Ang mor ghost). Of course, there is still much to learn from the Surrealists and the other Angmors, but say Chinese ink painting really relates to the part of me that has been fed by the soya sauce that I’ve eaten all my life (and really, there’s soya sauce in everything in our diet, including char kway teow). Surrealism is really like French food, or mayonnaise, which, frankly, I still don’t quite understand because my grandma doesn't know how to use it in her cooking. It’s interesting, but cannot take the place of soya sauce in my life.
Being in caught in the mundane East-West conundrum of modern Asia, I need to amalgamate East-West ideas. But what that is more important than how East-West are conflicting and complementary, is that after I’ve consumed them, they’re a part of me, and they’re no longer just East or West – they’re my left or right brain, right or left lung, and I only have one heart.
(In summary)
So, I write, then I learn things, I change, and then I write about different things differently. Being aware of how this process works helps me grasp the concepts and learn and change faster. For example, being aware of how art affects my writing enables me to use art better. For another example, thinking about how ideas, reality, and images differ helps me understand how ideas, reality, and words differ. My stories conjure ideas in the readers’ mind which are different from my idea. How effectively my stories (or essays) conjure these ideas in my readers’ minds also depend on the cultivation of my state of mind, heart, and soul. (This summary, for example, does not conjure the same ideas as what was explained above with analogies and details.) Studying Eastern and Western art cultivates my perspective and my heart from which I write.
I have been a rather serious student about art in the recent few years. My “serious” efforts include putting myself through related courses and undertaking other forms of research.
My interest in the arts started with my chance discovery of the Surrealists. I was surprised to find how they articulated what I was intuitively doing with my stories then. For example, Rene Magritte was explaining his concept of mystery: “The mind loves the unknown. It loves images whose meaning is unknown, since the meaning of the mind itself is unknown.” I could relate to this with my story about a bear with a biscuit face (close to Magritte's painting of men with apples blocking their features from the viewer). A bear with a biscuit face was also a curious juxtaposition of elements, which is a surrealist theme. I was already practising automatic writing, a technique which I later came to learn was Surrealist as well.
Learning what they were consciously doing helped me realise better what I was unconsciously doing with my writing. For example, I was interested with how in different readers’ mind, the phrase “bear with a biscuit face” conjured up in some the image of an oreo biscuit, or chocolate biscuit, as opposed to my image of a “ritz bitz” biscuit. The minimalist writers were writing with sparse descriptions so that the audience's imagination would fill in the gap (e.g. they would articulate these things in an article or interview). The critiques of the Surrealist movement would also point out limitations of the way I was writing in (e.g. it was likely to be obscure and taken as random arbitrariness). In this way, I was able to quickly develop and evaluate my approach or concepts.
Wanting to know more about other art theories, I attended Dr Sian Jay's appreciating western art course (at NUS extension) thinking it would be a crash course to “download” the knowledge into my head – as opposed to reading 300 books myself. Through this course, I gained confidence in my way of interpreting art and art theories, and learnt how to think about art more systematically and effectively – in other words, I learnt how to learn better.
(On Art and Writing)
As writing becomes more important to me, and developing my writing gains higher priority, I try to learn more about art and explore new concepts.
Prior to this attempt, I have never tried to explain how art influences my writing in words – not even my private journals, not even in my conscious thought. It had been a very organic process, which I hope it would still largely remain to be.
I take in what I learn, I absorb what I can, and it becomes a part of my brain. It's like how I eat a plate of char kway teow and it becomes a part of my body (as in the nutrients and fats would fuse with my cells and become a part of my body forever after). In the same way all the char kway teow I’ve ever eaten in my life will come to affect the way my heart beats – my art education (or any other experience) will fuse into my thoughts and state of mind, affecting the way I produce anything and what I produce.
Honestly, I'm not sure if putting this process into words would ruin it. If the words are ill-chosen, the idea would be “set” in the wrong way. If ideas were gems, then words that articulate these ideas would be the gold or silver that encases and frames ideas to highlight their brilliance. Passages and poems are crafted jewelleries, then. My role as the writer is akin to the jeweller – we’re both craftsmen, and we both have to search for materials – ideas and words or gems and metal – that we can be inspired by and will (here, i want to use "will" like "wield" because I think it's a better verb to mean "wield").
Rather ironically, the above two analogies in my “disclaimer” already hint at how art affects my writing. When I study the arts (like the art of char kway teow or the art of jewellery making), I study the philosophies or states of mind of the artists (who are also like the cooks and jewellers) that may distinguish them and affect their paintings or sculptures (like their char kway teow or jewelleries).
When I look at a painting from an artist, I try to imagine what he's thinking, appreciate his sense of aesthetics, and decide where I agree or disagree with him. From these processes, I develop ideas and my aesthetic sense. In addition, having “consumed” the painting, it will affect my thoughts and state of mind, which will in turn affect what I produce.
(On Ideas, Reality, Images and Words)
Another concept that I have is in part influenced by Michel Foucault’s This is not a pipe where he discussed some theories on the relationships between reality, images, and words, with reference to Magritte’s paintings; that is, words (being just words) and images (being just images) only refer to the idea of what that is real; the idea is also distinct from that which is real. The word “pipe” refer to the idea of a pipe which refers to a real tangible pipe.
It brings us to the question then, what is it that a painting is trying to conjure? And how that compares to what is it that a written story is trying to conjure?
In my haste, I could over-simplify and say a painting and a written story are similar in both trying to conjure ideas in the audiences’ mind. The idea in the audiences’ mind – becomes new and different altogether – being neither the reality, the image, nor the written story, nor my idea in the first place. And this process is another very important factor of a story – not that which is described explicitly with words – but the ideas it intends and manages to conjure in the audience’s mind.
(On state of Mind, Soul, Heart)
And how effectively the art work (story or picture) conjures up an idea in the audience’s mind and heart can also be affected by the quality of the art work’s soul or heart – which is in turn, affected by the state of mind, soul, or heart of the artist.
I know I’m being confusing, suddenly introducing more elusive things like “heart” and “soul” here. But “state of mind” seems to only refer to the intellect and reason, which is somewhat lacking. I am really referring to the heart and soul, which besides the mind, are faculties capable of creating ideas, albeit of a different nature, property, and cultivation.
This is where the char kway teow analogy is effective. Have you tasted the char kway teow of a master who fry his kway teow with heart, with concentration and sincerity? Compare his kway teow to another that’s fried by his son while chatting to his friend about going to the casino? The difference in the taste between both plates of noodles is just the stuff of how state of mind and heart of the artist affects the soul of his work.
(On Chinese Art)
In a way, tasting char kway teow cooked with heart (referring to how we say in Chinese, to use one’s heart to do something, and not how Westerners say “I heart New York”), would help to cultivate my sensibilities and discernment. In a similar way, studying the arts and contemplating how artists paint with their heart, helps the cultivation of my heart. I hope you know what I mean, these matters are very difficult to explain.
In the process of cultivating myself, I also turn to Japanese, Chinese and Southeast Asian art. To me, the artist’s heart is especially prominent in Chinese ink paintings, perhaps due to how they’re created. Usually a painting would begin with spontaneity and completed in a single sitting. Because of the properties of the paper, every stroke or dash is irreversible. When things are created spontaneously, implying that it comes instinctively, there is less room for planning ahead, and the heart takes over. Because there is no room to retract any move, the heart must be skilful, not to make mistakes and will (wield) the ink skilfully.
Moreover, my Chinese lifestyle and environment predisposes my ideas, aesthetic sense, and my general state of mind, to be similar to those of Chinese artists. Despite using English as my writing and reading language and consuming a lot of American and European culture and education, I realised that there was a large part of me who can’t empathise with Western culture. I really have an Asian soul, you know. If I die and become a ghost, I will be a Chinese ghost (who can speak in English), but I will have the properties of a Chinese ghost (which seem to differ quite a bit in properties of being from that of an Ang mor ghost). Of course, there is still much to learn from the Surrealists and the other Angmors, but say Chinese ink painting really relates to the part of me that has been fed by the soya sauce that I’ve eaten all my life (and really, there’s soya sauce in everything in our diet, including char kway teow). Surrealism is really like French food, or mayonnaise, which, frankly, I still don’t quite understand because my grandma doesn't know how to use it in her cooking. It’s interesting, but cannot take the place of soya sauce in my life.
Being in caught in the mundane East-West conundrum of modern Asia, I need to amalgamate East-West ideas. But what that is more important than how East-West are conflicting and complementary, is that after I’ve consumed them, they’re a part of me, and they’re no longer just East or West – they’re my left or right brain, right or left lung, and I only have one heart.
(In summary)
So, I write, then I learn things, I change, and then I write about different things differently. Being aware of how this process works helps me grasp the concepts and learn and change faster. For example, being aware of how art affects my writing enables me to use art better. For another example, thinking about how ideas, reality, and images differ helps me understand how ideas, reality, and words differ. My stories conjure ideas in the readers’ mind which are different from my idea. How effectively my stories (or essays) conjure these ideas in my readers’ minds also depend on the cultivation of my state of mind, heart, and soul. (This summary, for example, does not conjure the same ideas as what was explained above with analogies and details.) Studying Eastern and Western art cultivates my perspective and my heart from which I write.
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