Formal or Casual?

Formal or Casual?

A big-shot complaint how a 6-star hotel staff refused his entry to the restaurant because he was wearing shorts. These days, Singaporeans even wear jeans to the wedding and gala dinners. Even a movie star was seen wearing a tuxedo with short at a gala event. Singaporeans also wear shorts and sandals to church.

Casual
Mr Brown said that his God is a very casual one. So he thinks that his God won't mind.
In this hot tropical climate, we should go the way of the Hawaiian. Have you seen a bar served by macho guys with the most splendid uniform - topless? Their 'six durian seeds' in the abs are a sight to behold. That's visual art, man!

Wearing a suit and tie is a Western thing. Reminds one of the colonial heritage. And a tie is like a dog latch on the collar. Feel stifle like a slave. I hate suit and will never wear one. We are Asian, not Western copycat. Like Jacky Chan, feeling proud wearing the 'kungfu' suit.

Now that the President of country dress casually while touching base with the commoners, our perception of royalty has somewhat change.


Formal
But some say formality is a show of respect and professionalism.

If you are to come to the presence of the king, surely you want to dress your best? What more in a church, coming together in HIS presence?

Surely, you don't want your friends to come to your wedding in shorts? Being formal means being at your best. We say that we should not judge a book by its cover. But the fact is that we do judge a book by its cover. That's why it has to be well packaged to give it a professional look.

Say, I have good content in a book. If I self print in a ring-binder without a book cover, would you buy it?

Me? I don't care about form or packaging. I care about the content. If I know the content is priceless, I will get it even if the pages are worned out, stained with coffee mark and the cover is damn ugly.

If the coffee is good, I will go for it even if it is in the lowly neighbourhood coffee shop.

Singaporeans Losing their Asian Soul

Singaporeans Losing their Asian Soul

Mr Ngiam Tong Dow said that Singaporeans are in danger of losing their roots and their Asian souls.

Schools neglect to teach history and literature.

Dialects were banned from the mass media. With it, the death of our cultural roots.

The young are becoming more westernised. How not, when we are fed on a daily diet of Hollywood culture.

Look at the mandarin channel TV. All I heard is shouting and quarrelling. Is that the way people resolve conflict.

Look at the English Channel TV. Not happy? Bang Bang. Violence seems to be the answer.
The programmes you see on TV are a cheap imitation of the West.
Where's the originality?

Kid's Talk - Where's the Money

Kid's Talk - Where's the Money

I was deep in thought.
Sarah asked me what was I thinking.
I said, "You want burger for breakfast. I can only get you bread. I don't have the money to buy you a burger."

She comforted me, "Don't worry dad. I'll go to the shop and buy some money for you!"

.Kid's Talk: Where's the Woman

Kid's Talk: Where's the Woman?

Sarah, 4-year old daughter and I were waiting for Aunty Lilian at the airport.
"Where's him? Where him?", she keep asking me at the waiting area.
"It's not him. It's her. She's a woman, not a man!" I corrected her.
"Where's the woman?" she asked me again.

How to be Acquainted with a Subject

How to be Acquainted with a Subject
"The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write a book about it."

~ Benjamin Disraeli

How to Help Your Children learn Languages

How to Help Your Children Learn Languages

The following activities can help your child practise using different languages:

Describe daily routines such as bath time. Initially, children hear lots of unrelated sounds but as the activity becomes more familiar and predictable, they begin to learn words such as shower and soap, and the objects or actions these refer to.

Name things together. A simple way is to look at picture books over and over together and ask your child to repeat the names of objects after you.

Vary your child's experiences by visiting different places - the bird park, shopping centres, Botanic Gardens and others. Every new experience provides opportunities to learn new words and different ways to express oneself.

Look at, listen and respond to your child. Besides bonding with him, you also provide him with a role model from whom he can learn to produce speech sounds.

Play games with your child. For example, when he is two or three years old, he may pretend to go shopping, visit a doctor or behave like a storybook character. This will let him practise expressing what he thinks and engage someone else in communication.

Read to your child and talk about the stories. He will pick up phrases, sentences and words, and how to use them. This is important to improve vocabulary and grammar, among other things.

Talk to your child at mealtimes. This will require him to use language in different ways, such as to recount events that happened at school. He will learn how to make information explicit so it can be understood by others.

Use different languages often, and well. If you want your child to learn English well, ensure you and other family members use the correct grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.

Finally, give your child plenty of opportunities to hear family members conversing with others in a variety of languages in his early years.

Besides acquiring new languages, your child will also learn to appreciate the cultural diversity that surrounds him.

-- Dr Christine Goh and Dr Peter Gu are assistant professors of English language at the National Institute of Education.

Dr Goh is a specialist in linguistics and language. Her interest is how language is acquired and developed, especially in the areas of listening and speaking competence.

Dr Gu is a specialist in language learning strategies, particularly in learning vocabulary.

Their work has been published extensively in academic journals. They spoke to LYNN LEE.

(Extracted From Straits Times dated 18 Oct 2004)

I learned That

I learned That

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned....
That I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.

I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned...
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life-threatening situation.

I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Author Unknown
(Contributed by Dr Mani)

The Joy of Giving

The Joy of Giving

"What you keep to yourself, you lose. What you give away, you keep forever." --Axel Munthe

Rent a Hubby

Rent a Hubby - He Tries Harder

That's the advertisement from Straits Times dated 12 Oct 04.

"What if you can rent men of your choice to do what good husbands are suposed to do?. What is Hubbies4Hire? For full details, please go to http://www.e-ws.comhubbies..."

Isn't this a modern variation of social escort services?
Wonder what could be next?

Wife for hire?
Maid for hire?
Boyfriend for hire?
Girlfriend for hire?

In South Korea, couples who are getting married can rent a 'parent' or friends to make up the numbers in a wedding dinner.

Gems of a Writer

Gems of a Writer

Today I discovered a wonderful writer in Robert Harris
He wrote some stuff on satire, creative problem solving, plagiarism and a book called
Writing with Clarity and Style: A Guide to Rhetorical Devices for Contemporary Writers.

His stuff are a must-have for writers and speakers.

What are they Singing About?

What are they Singing About?

My 4-year old Sarah was sitting on the sofa with me, watching a rock band singing on TV. The singer was screaming rather than singing. I couldn't catch the lyrics.

Turning to her, I said:"I have no idea what they are singing".
"Do you what they are singing", I asked her.

"I know what they are singing", she smiled.
"They are singing in MALAY!"

Ps: Sarah don't understand Malay. She watches the cartoon series 'Sesame Streets' on the Malay Channel.