A book that evoked this blog entry

Diary of A Taxi Driver is written by a cab driver who chronicles the different customers he meets everyday. I browsed this book and found it interesting.

I am a regular cab customer due to my physical condition and met three cab drivers who made my rides more outstanding than the rest. The first one gave his take on the customers of the different races; Chinese, Malay and Indian. The second one saw me as a food expert on the stalls in Chomp Chomp, since I have lived in the estate for more than thirty years. He wanted to know which stalls were the original ones and I gladly shared my knowledge with him. The third one discussed with me the hawker food in the estate as well.

I am blessed to have encountered all cab drivers who have been nothing but nice to me. I cannot fathom why people warn me against them. I know that this is a gift from my dear Mother Mary. She also answers my urgent prayers for a cab when I am running late. Thank you, my Mother!

Pride and Prejudice variations

I saw 2 sequels to P&P in Times at Plaza Sing. Pride and Prejudice by Ann Herendeen and Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy by Abigail Reynolds have made a powerful impact on me.

The former is one of repulsion. There are forbidden lovers included in the story. Darcy and Bingley are gay lovers and there are descriptions of gestures that indicate their relationship with each other. The mutual consent given to allow the contact is implied.

The latter is not so bad but it still causes a negative reaction in my mind. The story explores the possibility of Darcy and Lizzy marrying after his first proposal but it is different in terms of how the proposal was done. He included sexual advances in his proposal and before she could even reject them, Colonel Fitzwilliam saw them. Darcy immediately claimed that she had accepted him and in order to protect her family's reputation, she did not dispute that. However, her married life with Darcy is far from blissful. She feels stifled as Darcy is always with her, and when she is finally by herself, she feels lonely.

These sequels are definitely deviant from the original plot. I can never bring myself to read the former. As for the latter, it makes me appreciate the real story even more. The visit to Pemberley was probably the climax for her change in perception towards him. Thus, when they married after his second proposal, and after being a guest there, as well as confiding in him Lydia's misdeed, the marriage was meant to be and their life ahead was more than perfect. :D Thank goodness though, the second book still ends happily for the married couple and they learn to truly love each other :)

Laptops banned during classes in US unis

Facebook has been one of the tremendous sources of distraction for students during their lessons. They are tempted to go on it instead of diligently taking notes on their laptops, as the lecturer speaks. Is there thus a problem with the banning of laptops?

I am glad that some unis and lecturers have actually implemented this. What is wrong with taking notes using pen and paper? Personal handwriting is very telling of a person's personality and is an expression of elegant beauty in its strokes and curls. Granted, paper is wasted and trees are cut down to be made into paper. The reason why this method has to be resumed is really because the students themselves are at fault. They choose to do the wrong things instead of focusing on what the lessons require. I do not blame a professor who destroyed a student's laptop as a warning to the rest. I think he had probably been driven to the edge.

A 20-year-old student gave the excuse of the lecturers being unable to comprehend the importance of technology to the students. That is a poor one. I am glad she has been proven wrong by a professor who carried out a study on the grades of students who flit between these distractions and the taking of notes during their lessons. Their grades were really low. Also, I am glad that there are students who understand the reason behind the ban. They acknowledge the right of the lecturers to implement it and the importance of education to the students.

Crime fiction - input leads to a desire for output

I was having a whale of a time today at Borders, Parkway Parade. I went to the crime/thriller section to look at the books. That was the second time I checked them out in detail ever since I started on them in Kinokuniya, Bangkok.

A flow of thoughts assailed my mind as I did that. I wondered how I got started on crime fiction and realised that it had been implanted in me when I discovered Famous Five and Secret Seven books as a child. Then I went on to Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mysteries, which I still do read :) Those earlier fiction preferences have influenced my present ones.

I have discovered so many gems in the section of those two bookshops. There are crime cases chronicled in the setting of food outlets or craft shops, amongst others. Other cases are based on the protaganist's job, for example, an antique collector or a food writer. Even literary writers have been 'misused' to be admired anew as detectives. There are books portraying Oscar Wilde and Jane Austen as mystery solvers. It would be an experience reading their logical musings, despite the fact that the thoughts are fictional in nature, instead of solely their literary thoughts.

I could not resist buying a book with Pride and Prejudice's signature couple, the Darcys, as its main characters. The plot does not exclude their strong love for each other and even includes characters from Austen's other novels. It goes on to make the mystery paranormal by having an element of the supernatural within it.

I then toyed with the idea of writing my own crime series. I started thinking of possible settings to place my cases in. What about a singles' or a book club? The daunting aspects came into my mind too. The length of a novella is too long for me and so I thought of short stories within a novel, similar to Arthur Conan Doyle's books on Sherlock Holmes.

My mind then recalled the personal ambition I have: to publish a book of poetry by the age of 40. I had decided to give it up a few years back due to the fact that I felt that some of the poems were too personal and I could not include them. With this, the remaining poems would be too few. With this catalyst from the crime fiction I read, I now feel that it would be a waste to give up on this dream. If I feel a certain topic is too personal, I can expand my horizons to include others in my range of poetry. After all, anything around us can spark off creative musings. Therefore, I think I will focus more on my poetry than on this new idea.

I ended off my stream-of-consciousness with the desire to leave a legacy of such formalized literary output for people when I have gone back to my true home. It is not to show off my creativity but to share it with them. I am aware that this is probably uttered by the existing authors in the market and so there is an element of being cliched within it. However, I will leave it to my readers to judge the degree of sincerity it entails. Through it all, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. There are so many things to do in life. I do hope I can fulfill this desire...

Local viewers' unfair grouses

Some television viewers are simply ludicrous in their perspectives towards two variety shows focusing on loving help and generosity towards the needy. Suffice it to say that I love watching Life Transformers, but some of them are simply devoid of understanding towards the underlying objective of the show.

An episode evoked some viewers' disgruntlement towards the production team's choice of family on the list of needy recipients. The living conditions were noticeably in need of an improvement for the sake of the children, and yet these viewers chose to dwell on how the husband's parents treated his wife. They have no sensible reasons to protest against the help anyway, since the neighbours of the family shared the same view as the team. It is ironic how the show maintains very high ratings despite such nonsensical rantings. Perhaps these very viewers watch it to continue noting trivial areas for them to complain about?

Other viewers question the lower value of given furniture as compared to that of another show. They obviously based it on the superficial appearance since the cost of the furniture is not stated. Thank goodness both shows have the same executive producer and she clarified things.

I am impressed by the reply given to the two senders who had expressed their concerns over the episode about the hearing-impaired couple. It addressed their concerns and clarified them so completely, without any tinge of unhappiness or arrogance. This goes to show the importance of diction and how it can assure its readers. The senders should let their case rest after reading the reply.

Subjective font colour in headline for emphasis

An article on the flaws of online shopping has had its headline presented in a subjective manner, I feel. Instead of highlighting words to do with this topic, it highlighted the physical disability of the customer who was dissatisfied with the website. This shows how subjective editing can cause misconception.

The condition of the customer has nothing to do with the topic and this highlighting seems to shower unwanted attention on her condition, on the contrary. It does make things worse for her already miserable state of mind, if any, over her condition.

World's Strictest Parents Show

A Singaporean family took up the challenge of housing two wayward Australian teenagers for a week, and to attempt to change the teenagers. The teenagers stayed with the family and participated in the family's activities. They had to adhere to the rules followed by the children and go to school with the children too.

The reality programme shown on Australian TV chronicles the struggles faced by the teenagers and the family. The teenagers found it very difficult to follow the rules while the family had to rein them in when they showed disobedience.

The irony is that after the project was over, it was the boy who made a change for the better. The girl became worse. People make the stereotypical assumption that the girl would respond positively instead, and it is such a pitiful disgrace to note the contrary result. It is heartening to note that the boy has expressed his filial love for his mother and has changed his bad habit of waking up late. Also, respectfulness was ingrained in both of them during the show. :)

A debate has ensued over this show as to the level of strictness parents should employ. I am glad that some youths actually agree that parents should be strict with their children so as to make them morally upright individuals. Indeed, children in the West are brought up too liberally and thus some become delinquents. I do acknowledge that some of the rules enforced in the programme are a little uncalled for, such as the banning of sleepovers. If they merely consist of girls, as initiated by the daughter for her friends to participate in, then such sleepovers are not wrong. Rules specifically for the sleepovers can still be imposed, such as no alcohol intake.

The rule about computers being installed in the living room for the parents to monitor their children's internet activities, is not unreasonable. If the children are allowed to have computers in their own bedrooms, then the parents will not be aware should they unintentionally visit adult-only websites, and the parents will not have the opportunity to explain the unhealthy nature of such websites to their children.

At the same time, R is not wrong in his opinion of the unnecessarily high level of strictness which may cause rebellion from children towards their parents in the later years. Sometimes, parents need to let their children fall down, learn what causes that fall and then climb back up with the knowledge that they should avoid that catalyst that had caused them to fall. In other words, they learn life's lessons in the hard way. It is heartbreaking for parents but the children learn the lessons better in this way.

I am also glad to note that some youths understand the difficulty of being parents, as they are unable to discern when to be strict or otherwise. They are human too and sometimes tough love can instill the fear of losing their children's love, in them as a result. All I can say is that they yearn to keep us safe in what they do, even if it borders on protectiveness.

Mr Daniel Koh puts it best when he expresses the fact that some parents are strict only towards their children's studies but not towards their moral upbringing, which is really far more important in helping them lead good lives. He cited physical punishment as a taboo however. This is something I beg to differ.Without such methods my parents used on me as a child, I would not have turned out to be who I am.