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念佛不分聖凡
» 萬法唯心 - Impermanence念佛不分聖凡。聖指三乘，即聲聞，緣覺，菩薩。凡指六道，即天，人，阿修羅，畜生，餓鬼，地獄。但天以樂故，不能念者多。三途以苦故，不能念者更多。修羅以瞋故，亦不能念。惟人最易念。而富貴之人，便被富貴所迷。聰明人，以聰明迷。愚癡人，以愚癡迷。芸芸眾生，能念佛者，有幾人哉。既知此義，當勇猛修持，勿致欲念而不能念，則不負此生此遇矣。 摘錄自《印光大師文鈔三編卷二複卓智立居士書三》 南無阿彌陀佛 -
地藏菩薩聖像結緣公告
» 萬法唯心 - ImpermanenceKsitigarbha Bodhisattva’s Statues for Free Distribution We’re very fortunate to have 8 Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva’s Statues in the UK for free distribution, they are kindly cast by Taiwan néng jìng association (能淨學會). The statue is around 290 mm tall. Collect in person only (London), please contact me for more details. 台灣屏東能淨學會公告 – 此次恭鑄之地藏菩薩聖像為坐姿，聖像連同底座，高約 9.25英吋，加上手持錫杖，高度共約 11.5英吋；底座為八角形，面積約為 5.5英吋見方。法相莊嚴慈悲，敬附照片，以供參考。本館將於今年夏天再度恭鑄同一聖像一百二十尊，因此，將共有二百四十尊菩薩聖像敬供十方結緣。 Follow this link [...]
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No perfect size
» talfryn.net
Sometimes I just wish that this country wasn’t so darned small and the world wasn’t so darned big.
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That colorful building
» talfryn.net
My sis had a visiting friend over the weekend, and my family invited her to join us for dinner at Clarke Quay. We passed by the river cruise ticketing box, and Mom thought that it would be rather exciting to take a river taxi down the Singapore River, and so we did, on the DUCK and HiPPO hybrid powered eco-friendly electric boat. There was a friendly tour guide who pointed out the sights as we went along.
When the then-Hill Street Police Station, now MICA Building came into view, the commentator introduced “that colourful building… which is now called the MICA Buildling. MICA stands for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts”.
And what do they do?
He had but a one-liner to share with the Japanese, Taiwanese and us pretend-tourists on board: “They’re the ones responsible for censorship in Singapore”.
And there you have it.
I’m not sure if I was the only one who appreciated his style of humour.
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1:13
Political musing
» The Summit TrailAristotle called Politics purely as things concerning the polis. When I look at politics I am often reminded of the scene when Socrates is at the centre of Athens waiting for judgement from the public about the fate of his life over the killing of a man. Of course he was convicted although it was told to us that Socrates was indeed an innocent man. I remember reading this story in one of John Locke’s collection in the school library as part of my musing about in the philosophy section, my favourite isle by far. After reading this, I always question what role does utilitarianism play in our democratic society.
I was watching my usual round of newsnight before bedtime, but frankly I couldn’t watch it anymore as world politics become more and more depressing. Well, I guess that is not news. My friend asked us in the car today at lunchtime what we thought about this whole Gordan Brown bullying incident. I do have my views on it, and although I have to say I am a conservative thinktank myself, I really don’t like David Cameron nor the way modern-Tories work in this country. Perhaps Labour politics have moved a long way since the days of the co-orperatives and unions, but I do believe the UK (without looking at British foreign policies) has progressed a lot under the labour government. The society has become more fair and accepting. Gone are the days when people are called Pakis or Chinks on the street of London, but rather the diversity is celebrated. The problem we face in this country is that we lack a charismatic leader (Brown) and those who are charismatic such as Cameron appears to me as some power-hogging Netanyahu who would deal in dark politics to get his way (e.g. smearing an opponent). This of course is a purely personal view. So, todays news of a bullying prime minister from a convervative backing charity makes me somewhat sinister about British poltics. Channel 4 tries to make it more colourful by asking women in spas down in Swindon who they would vote. I am again confronted with this ailing pain of the thought of a failed democracy. See, this is the problem I have with democracy as I’ve pointed out before in the Martin Lee’s post -> democracy is only a political model and in my opinion not a very strong one either. Also on the car we discussed how Rupert Murdoch’s influence in this supposedly deocratic western world. Here is the deal, the only way we will ever get any information about the world we live in is from the media. If you have control over the media in what we call Western civilisation you have control over people’s minds. When you have control over people’s minds, you control the political map. Once you control the political map, you control pretty much everything. Alright, I am quite a knowledge searching person when it comes to politics and I have been trained to cross examine sources before adopting any stance, so I watch BBC, Al-Jazeera, CNN, Channel 4 news and so forth to get my sources about what is going on in the world. Yet, I can’t help but conclude we live in a world where we have an illusion of choice. Where if women in spas (I’m generalising here) can have the same political say as an educated politics student from Cambridge university lets say (in terms of voting power), we are living in a fundamentally flawed system - because if newspaper starts to endorse a certain political party (e.g. Sun for the conservatives) apart from those page 3 girls, you would be subconsciously indoctrinated. What makes me laugh at the world even more today is the fact that Americans is increasing their national deficit on a trillion dollars defense budget trying to fight ideology in Afghanistan by military might when in the home ground people are indoctrinated by Hollywood everyday. I can’t help but think something is wrong…don’t you?
So lately I’ve been troubled by this apparent link between materialism (including money) and happiness. I just don’t buy it. Item number 2 on Newsnight at which I just couldn’t watch anymore was about Goldman Sachs. They talked about how they made money over the bailout of AIG, the ailing economy of Greece and so forth. I cannot understand till today, how bankers make money, drinking their champagnes and wine off people’s neccessary income. Can someone just explain that to me? There is so much moral injustice in this world I cannot bare to look at it sometimes. I guess my salvation is the fact that I believe in God and the afterlife, and that brings me peace and comfort - to think that justice will come ultimately. However, how do we tell right from wrong when an investment banker believes he is earning hard-earned money from a 7am-11pm job for his family, but he doesn’t know the full damage he creates to society? I guess with technology and different distractions its very easy to become desensitised and looses the big picture.
Finally, on religion and state. Lately there has been a row over Halal-only Quick outlets in France (6 out of 250 in the country). Its basically a French equivalent of McDonalds. Some French politicians has called it ‘a discrimiation against non-Muslims’ - that non-Muslim didn’t have choice to eat pork at their local Quick outlet. This leads me to think about the state-religion separation which is a European movement for around 200 years and is on-going (in my opinion becoming a world-wide phenomenon). Immanuel Kant is definitely one example I could think of in 1800s Germany who claimed that religion is a way to stop people from further enlightenment because it is a contract which meant that generations were not allow to think in a more progressive way. If we understand this struggle to separate Christianity from the state (hence now we have secular state) we can understand why France is so wary about this “Islamification of Europe”. After understanding this point, I finally understand what is happening in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan. Fatah is a secular government in Palestine for crying out loud. Before I thought this only contribution to this is Islamophobea but now I am starting to join the dots. Fear leads to control - as we could clearly see from the example of SARS in Hong Kong in 2003. Everyone listened to the government. Its by implanting fear in people’s mind that they get control over the population. Its also the fear of being politically incorrect that we sometimes fail to point out what is right, but instead go for what is popular. Today I’m challenging this notion of popular culture - this dumbing down of people - to make us like sheeps so we don’t think for ourselves.
Anyway, its getting late…time for bed, and by the way don’t be surprised if I get a mysterious heart attack.
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2:24
Longing for the past
» The Summit TrailIf I had a choice of when I am to be born I would have chosen the 60s in Hong Kong. I guess its the golden age of the city and opportunities arises which nowadays we, those who are born in the late 80s, early 90s often felt left behind. I guess my criticisms come from all dimensions. One obvious thing to look at is the economic crisis we’re in. Those of us trying to find jobs are left hanging high and dry. Well, I’m one of the lucky ones, very lucky when I think about it.
My friend/colleauge said to me: The graduates nowadays are so 1-dimensional. Well, I suppose I’m not 1-d as such but the way in which I was brought up and raised I’m given only 1 route to take, and everyone takes that same route: School -> Uni -> Work -> Get married -> Retirement. Safe route I suppose. The more I think about it, the more I am upset we’re being moulded by society’s definition of success.
My uncle sent me this blog: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/ekwleung/ I absolutely enjoy this blog. I don’t usually read many blogs which is not written by my freinds. However, I feel a great sense of nostalgia. People find it very strange that I am nostalgic over photographs of Hong Kong taken over 40-50 years ago, an era I have never experienced. However, its always an era I so looked forward to living in. People dressed differently, the routemasters roamed the streets of colonial buildings, foreigners spoke in Cantonese. When I was young, I collected models of buses. My favorite of them were the routemasters and those single decker non-airconditioned buses which they took off the roads when I was 9 or 10 years old. To see it in action on photographs and movies just reminded me of the fact I was born in the wrong era. That was also another reason why I looked forward to going to London when I was younger - the view of routemasters roaming down knightsbridge allow me to imagine what it must be like being 20 in the 80s. Of course there isn’t much left other than bus 9 and bus 15 acting as the heritage route for tourists to feel what its like to have a conductor selling tickets. I am glad though I manage to make it here before the last of bus 14 stopped their services which served me well between China Town and Evelyn Gardens.
Sometimes I think what it is that makes us happy, and sometimes I think about the images of the past. I remember the day when I was like 6 or 7 and there was a bus with a dryers ice-cream advertisement, and I begged my grandma to take me on. Those were the good times - when grandma and I would take the KCR (when it was still those yellow and grey trains) to Hung Hom and catch the star ferry to meet my dad in time for him to get off work in the island. Then he would drive us back using the car ferries run by Yau Ma Tei Ferry company which of course stopped running. Hong Kong is a fast changing place. Everytime I go back, something changes. The truth is, I get very saddened by it. Going back to where you grow up and see that everything is no longer the way it used to be. Even those days when Jackie and I used to hike Lantau Islands back in year 9 or 10. Now, they have flipping cable cars and a disneyland. I guess Hong Kong people just move on, those living in the city just see their homeland pass them by. Sometimes I look at old people who sit in the park, I wonder what it is that they remember, and how they must think how different today’s Hong Kong is.
I don’t really like to go back to Hong Kong now, contrary to what people might think. I cannot relate to the society anymore. As proud as I am to say I am from Hong Kong, I can’t really say I know the place anymore. The culture has changed so much. Mainland Chinese moving to Hong Kong, claiming that Hong Kong, which is rightfully China, should be considered Chinese. The fact is, Hong Kong was built up by the British with the contribution of Chinese and Indians (and Napalese) who would call themselves 香港人. However, its now politically incorrect to call yourself 香港人 (without attributing that phrase to equating 中国人), especially outside Hong Kong. Chinese would feel uneasy about it, they would say to you, well, are you saying Hong Kong is independent? Hong Kong IS part of China now. However, I don’t feel very Chinese (nor Pakistani for argument sake)! I have my very own identity and that is purely I’m from Hong Kong, and perhaps a Hong Kong I no longer recognise.
Sometimes I wished I was old enough to remember Margret Thatcher fall off the steps in China or lives under the governor which the Mclehose Trail or Wilson Trail was named after. I guess in a world where the Americans are bowing down to the Chinese, I am not that pro-Chinese. I do feel like a generation’s thinking has been changed by the on-going brainwashing of the Chinese Anthem, and a strong Chinese identity. Perhaps that is what Hong Kong needs for the future, we have to recognise that Hong Kong is part of China. However, a person cannot forget where he/she came and to do that one must understand their history. So, I’m really glad that Mr Leung has decided to keep a blog about the heritage.
I was really worked up about this apparent cultural white-wash of Hong Kong’s heritage (which in my opinion apart from the Chinese, also includes the British, the Indians and even the Jewish community (the Penninsula group, Kadoorie Farm)) but I guess no one in this politically polarised world wants to acknowledge that.
Sometimes I would sit in a chinese restaurants in London looking over my shoulders to a bunch of ‘foreigners’ who may be English or Indian, and I would think to myself, a bunch of foreigners who knows nothing about China having Chinese food. Then when they start to speak to each other in Cantonese I would find myself in shame of ignorance and stereotype. Then I remind myself: perhaps this is the destination for the true 香港人 (including myself) - the diaspora who will never belong in their own land.
I told my uncle how this blog makes me feel somewhat saddened by the loss of culture in HK with the increasing number of influx of people from Mainland China. My uncle wisely told me, “When I see this blog, I know that everything would be changed, nothing is forever.”
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The butterfly of freedom
» talfryn.net -
Trivial lessons
» talfryn.net
Today I did something on a public light bus that probably made the observer-passengers and the driver think, “she’s so stupid”. But inside me, I was laughing. I was happy, for I had learnt something.
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CNY in fog
» talfryn.net
View from my window this morning:
Quite typical up here.
It’s a mild winter – feeling like the upper 10s instead of a 11°C, yet the locals are all wrapped up like they’re training for an Arctic expedition. Something that amuses me greatly, every time.
* * * * *
“唔准哭,” he tells me. But how can I not? ‘Tis a sad, sad thing, for it’s beyond the point of no return, and everyone’s given up. So many have even left. I wonder if we’d still return every February… we were so close to not returning this round, for what’s the point, when we know that reunions are no longer possible?
People, even those you think are thought were closest to you, can be cruel. Even to you.
點解要搞成噉…?
Such a mess. -
The great snake stink
» talfryn.net
My hands smell a combination of rotting flesh and latex gloves, hours after exhuming a sludge of a month-long-buried Oriental whip snake to pick out its skeleton: its skull pieces, much of the vertebrae, and some ribs have been retrieved with some assistance from a colleague (she had previous experience in sorting caterpillar frass, which is arguably an even tougher task), who suffered the odour and the mozzie bites with me. I didn’t expect the bones to be this tiny. When I first fingered through the muck of soil, I thought the remnants of the snake had totally disappeared. It was only after washing the contents through a three-dish sieve set with a bucketful of water that there appeared to be the first inkling of anything bone-like.
Tried cleaning the pieces as well as I could, and laid them out to dry in my bathroom. Assembling them like one would an airplane model would be too impossible a task so I’ll be contented to just leave it at that!
The whole exercise was one great lesson in snake anatomy. Photos to come when I have the time.
Leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow, for the Chinese New Year. Packing, among other things, is always a pain.
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On vanity III: Judging
» talfryn.net
Man is always inclined to regard the small circle in which he lives as the center of the world and to make his particular, private life the standard of the universe. But he must give up this vain pretense, this petty provincial way of thinking and judging.
~ Montaigne, The Complete Essays (1587-88)
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Moths: before and after
» talfryn.net
Just a collection of what I’ve managed to rear in recent times:
Pericallia ricini (Family Arctiidae / tiger moths):
Eggs
2nd instar larvae
4th instar larva
AdultMetanastria hyrtaca (Family Lasiocampidae / lappet moths):
Early instars
Later instars
Adult
AdultPerina nuda (Family Lymantriidae / tussock moths):
Pre-pupal stage
Pupa
Newly-eclosed adult male
Adult maleEnpinanga borneensis (Family Sphingidae / hawk or Sphinx moths):
Final instar, pre-pupal stage
Adult which unfortunately eclosed
while I was out of the country
Adult
AdultCarea ?varipes (Family Nolidae / nolid moths):
Final instar… ‘melon head’ caterpillar!
Adult -
The mantid Diego II
» talfryn.net
Driven by curiosity and the urge to test the hypothesis that the smaller, similarly brown-mottled but black forlegged mantid was indeed the male of Diego’s species (ok, driven by the sheer excitement of having little Diegos to complete the whole cycle as well), we found and collected one of these, and in a social entomological experiment, chucked them together after ensuring that they were both well-fed and would highly unlikely bite each other’s heads off in the notorious cannibalistic manner of mating mantids. Diego was nearly two weeks into adulthood, and her sexual organs should have matured.
The first time we placed them together, yesterday, Diego would get ‘freaked out’ and dart away whenever the male approached, although the male was showing no signs of being consciously attracted to her. Not being able to observe them throughout the night, I separated them and vowed to try again this evening.
So I did… after Diego had consumed a grasshopper her size in the afternoon.
Both their antennae twitched continuously. Diego turned her head to look at the male, then faced front again, as if paying him no attention. Then the male sprung, and landed on her back to front. He about turned, then turned again. Wrong direction. He then got off… and they paid no need to each other. I removed him.
Tried again a second time a few moments later. This round, he pounced, re-orientated himself, and tried to connect. Success – after about 18 seconds. She stayed still throughout the entire process.
They were at it for 22 minutes, before he dismounted and flew off.
Now I can’t wait to see if she lays a fertilised ootheca!
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Upper Seletar
» talfryn.net
With long and graspy legs, nasty jaw-like mandibles and modified appendages through which they inject their prey with venom, these house centipedes look like the epitome of all that’s evil and dangerous in the wilderness at night.
Yet they do no more harm to humans than the average spider – if they do bite at all. Most just scuttle off into the undergrowth at the slightest hint of disturbance. One individual was most cooperative as we four photographers manoeuvred into position around it. It was so still that one of us made a remark along the lines of, “It wouldn’t be surprising if it was actually already dead and suddenly just dropped to the ground!”
Such close encounters are rare; and we made the most of this opportunity to capture whatever we could of this ‘pede as the clocks tick-tocked closer towards midnight.
More photos from the night here.
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Riders
» talfryn.net
The surest thing there is is we are riders,
And though none too successful at it, guiders,
Through everything presented, land and tide
And now the very air, of what we ride.What is this talked-of mystery of birth
But being mounted bareback on the earth?
We can just see the infant up astride,
His small fist buried in the bushy hide.There is our wildest mount–a headless horse.
But though it runs unbridled off its course,
And all our blandishments would seem defied,
We have ideas yet that we haven’t tried.~ Robert Frost
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23:56
Impermanence
» The Summit TrailFeeling unsettled over the fact that everything seems to be changing…
On another note, I feel the itch to go to Jerusalem and it seems to me that the calling is getting louder. In Islam its said that you should go to Jerusalem during a time of tribulation.When the tribulation comes I shall go. Meanwhile…Patience.
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The mantid Diego
» talfryn.net
Okay, so Diego’s a female.
We counted eight abdominal segments when Diego was a nymph, so we took a risk and named it a him even though we knew that we could really only tell when it reached maturity. We also knew that creatures should be its, but it’s got too much character to be called an it.
We thought Diego was going to explode. A month had gone by without him her undergoing ecdysis, yet she was still eating and growing. Her little wing buds looked as if they would burst at the seams any minute.
A couple of days ago, I transferred her into a bigger container, increased the humidity with a ball of wet wool, and provided her with some fibrous twine to hang upside down from.
Today in the afternoon, she moulted.
I watched, entranced, for an hour.
Right after she slipped out of her old exoskeleton – which took but less than five minutes, I took her out in her teneral state and placed her on a potted plant, letting the breeze dry her new wings, then still damp and clumped.
I observed the process of her transformation into full adult form as body fluids were pumped into her fragile and new structures. She lost a tarsus in her previous instar during a struggle with a grasshopper prey, but the lost appendage had regenerated in this final moult. After her cuticles hardened, she started grooming herself in her characteristic mantid way, brushing antennae and femurs with her mandibles and wiping her face like a cat does.
She’s so pretty…
Not entirely certain what species Diego is (this looks like a good fit), but we’re quite sure these are the males of her species, with handsome black forelegs and roach-like long antennae.
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Stumped by a name
» talfryn.net
Clinic staff [over the phone]: Can I have your name?
Me: Xxxxxx Xxx. Xxx is my last name, X-x-x.
Clinic staff: Chinese name?
Me: Um, Xxx is my surname…
Clinic staff: What is your full name?
Me: Xxxxxx Xxx is my full name.
Clinic staff: What is your Chinese name?
Me: It’s not in my full name.
Clinic staff: If I call you in Chinese, what is your name?
Me: Xxx Xxx, but it does not appear in my full name.
Clinic staff: No Chinese name?
Me: Yeah, no Chinese name in my full name. Xxxxxx Xxx is my full NRIC name.
Clinic staff: Ok, thank you Miss Xxx. See you later.
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1:54
Hedonism
» The Summit TrailNot a new word to describe our society, but our society is more and more tainted by hedonistic ideas. The need for fast and easy lifestyle, being impatient with people who inconvenience our life, the endless need and persuit for money has become the trademark for western lifestyle.
Just watched Newsnight on the tele. The first half of it was on the banks and the excessive bonuses which we expect. Goldman Sachs limiting their top 100 managers in the London office to a mere 1 Million pound bonus each with people below them having the opportunity to earn more. Got my payslip today, my bonus seems somewhat…abismal. Also on the news today, there is an increase in the number of children in the UK who is now suffering from severe poverty, some families trying to feed their family of 4 on a mere 20 pounds a week. They showed all the statistics of where the worst hit places are. As you would expect, Scotland, northern England - the north-south divide thing. But surprisingly, London had the largest figure. 19% of the children here were suffering from severe poverty. In a city where high-fliers limit their bonuses to 1 million pounds per head, we have 1 in 5 children living on ration. I really want to ask, where is the justice?
Here, another example of our hedonistic society - Ted Kennedy’s seat is taken over by an ex-male model for Cosmopolitan magazine. Do we live in a society where we merit the abilty to give us pleasure over the actual ability to make a change?
Haiti…Just got another message asking me to donate. I have been quite reluctant to donate, just like I was quite reluctant to donate to Szechuan Earthquake when it happened. Don’t get me wrong - its not that I am not charitable, when I donate I donate a very handsome amount of money usually for my affordability. However, I am very weary in donating to a highly publicised event orchestrated by the western media, or any media. It seems to me that the whole world has stopped, suffering in Niger, children and women living on the mountains in Afghanistan during these cold months, Northern Sri Lanka where Tamils are fleeing from the government forces and many other problems seem to ceased because CNN and BBC decide to report on Haiti. It is devestating what happened in Haiti, but I believe my money could be used in a much more constructive way instead of aiding the US army orchestrate a spectacular Ámerica to the rescue’campaign. I feel we are too easily influenced by the media and we don’t stop to think, and we are like herds of sheep following what authority tells us - and usually that is filled with Hedonistic ideas such as those propagated in American Idol and X-Factor.
But hey, who am I to speak? I am also guilty of living a Hedonistic lifestyle. Just today, I was searching up how much it costs to live in the penninsula suite in Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong with 24 hrs cheuffeur service by Rolls Royce. The advertised rate was HK$68,000/night, which works out to be around 5800 pounds. Then I wonder who on earth could afford to stay there. Then as I watched the rolls royce pulls into Goldman Sachs’ headquarter on BBC 10 o’clock news I was reminded of the fact that capitalism demands its people to adopt Hedonism for it to function. If middle class IT professionals don’t spend their money on 40″ TV, how would the investment banks make so much money speculating the price of metal?
We are all just selfish people who want more money and more convenient lifestyle at other people’s expense really. My Chinese colleauge told me in China you can have anything. If you want a star, someone will be able to get it for you. All you really need in life is money.
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Simplicity
» talfryn.net
How happy is the little stone
That rambles in the road alone,
And doesn’t care about careers,
And exigencies never fears;
Whose coat of elemental brown
A passing universe put on;
And independent as the sun,
Associates or glows alone,
Fulfilling absolute decree
In casual simplicity.~ Emily Dickinson
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Earless agamid at Venus Drive
» talfryn.net -
Night macro at Lower Pierce
» talfryn.net
Marbled forest gecko
Close-up
House centipede
Stick insect
Fulgoroid planthopper nymphs with ‘fibre-optic’ tails
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Chatterbrain
» talfryn.net
I keep hearing voices in my head. Not the schizophenic sort! but more like silent monologues, if you will. I’d be an observer to a scene or an earwitness to a conversation and the dialogue would just fade out and there’d go my voice, like a scripted voice-over in documentary, providing a running conceptual abstract commentary inside my head. They run so fast that my real voice would hardly be able to catch up. Philosophical and socio-political musings, mainly. At those moments I’d think: This is brilliant, I need to write this down! But when I grab a pen or get to my keyboard, all the thoughts just go pwoof! in a word cloud of lifting haze.
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Being true to oneself
» talfryn.net
I am not so much worried about how I am in the minds of other men as how I am to myself. I want to be enriched by me not by borrowings from others. Those outside us only see events and external appearances… They do not see my mind: they only see the looks on my face.
That is why all those judgements which are based on external appearances are unbelievably unreliable and dubious, and why there is no more reliable witness than each man is to himself.
~ Montaigne, The Complete Essays (1587-88)
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RSS
» talfryn.net
Using Feedburner now:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/talfryn
as some people reported difficulties getting the previous feed to display full posts and images properly. Please let me know if this works.
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Why I collect
» talfryn.net
Aside from pins and badges, I have a fetish for collecting dead creatures. Arthropods, mainly, and the odd vertebrate, stink though they may. I love being able to examine them up close, at all angles, an otherwise impossible task were they alive. Likewise with the exuviae, my containers of exoskeletons and skins, and zip-lock pouches of feathers.
Just before Christmas, I ordered some entomological supplies from Australia. This was long overdue; I should have acquired them when I still the net-swinging, butterfly-sweeping pre-teen. Or at least after my stint with NHM. Instead most of my specimens were left in vials, all dried up, some diptera headless, some hemiptera legless, and some had succumbed to the humidity and became enveloped in blobs of mould - these were usually promptly disposed of in the bin.
After recently depositing an unidentified species of tingid bug with the Raffles Museum and being given the opportunity to pierce a minuten through its thorax, a brilliant moment of NHM entom-ness struck, and it struck hard. Then I knew that I could hold off starting a proper collection no longer.
I think it’s human nature to want to collect stuff, just that perhaps not that many are into chitinous shells of nature, which is unfortunate. In Singapore, outside the biodiversity establishments, this pastime probably died with the departure of the British.
Whatever it is, it may be that we are deeply intriged by its intrinsic interestingness, its aesthetics, or we simply derive joy in ownership, or we may believe that it holds some potential value. To me, my collections speak to me in a temporal sense: It was [alive], it is [dead], and will continue to be [dead, yet existing]. And, like the photographs I take, I am attached to them through figments of my memory. I remember where I collected them (or how they came to me), with who, and how. Each has a story, and not just physiological ones!
My colleagues have been presenting me with ‘gifts’. The latest are a dead 178cm-long Oriental whip snake (it’s freakin’ long) and a juvenile spotted house gecko. As an experiment, I’ve arranged them in tupperware boxes ventilated with holes and buried them behind the office where ants abound. I’ll give them a while to decompose, and we’ll see what happens.
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On Looking up by Chance at the Constellations
» talfryn.net
You’ll wait a long, long time for anything much
To happen in heaven beyond the floats of cloud
And the Northern Lights that run like tingling nerves.
The sun and moon get crossed, but they never touch,
Nor strike out fire from each other nor crash out loud.
The planets seem to interfere in their curves
But nothing ever happens, no harm is done.
We may as well go patiently on with our life,
And look elsewhere than to stars and moon and sun
For the shocks and changes we need to keep us sane.
It is true the longest drouth will end in rain,
The longest peace in China will end in strife.
Still it wouldn’t reward the watcher to stay awake
In hopes of seeing the calm of heaven break
On his particular time and personal sight.
That calm seems certainly safe to last to-night.~ Robert Frost
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Akemashite omedetou!
» talfryn.net
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21:21
When a word’s meaning is lost in its usage…
» The Summit TrailI have come to noticed more and more from media that the word ‘Terrorist’ is used very lightly on everyone who goes against the norm in which violence is used. However, when it is committed by a political ally against a population, it is called a war against terrorism, defencing their own country from ‘terror’ attacks. I got a little annoyed after watching many hours of Al-Jazeera and it was on and on about what happened in Gaza a year ago. I remember I was in Sri Lanka last year doing the same thing, lying there on the sofa watching Al Jazeera in the hotel reporting on the war in Gaza. Sometimes you feel so helpless. However, I just watched this particular documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UChWtlMGBJ0. You can watch it on the embedded objects below as well. I urge you very strongly to watch this. I think it is an obligation as human to do something somehow for them:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4Today is the first time Karachi where I visited at the age of 9 is bombed. Finally…the south of Pakistan is also attacked. I think if we are to use the word ‘terrorists’ for suicide bombers…which I do believe they are. Then anyone who terrorise people’s lives irregardless of whether they are part of a government or not should be called acts of terrorism.
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Cellfuls of sweetness
» talfryn.net
A beautiful honeycomb, the nest of honeybees (likeliest candidate Apis dorsata), measuring 61cm at its widest and 41cm across - and that is by no means the full size of the nest since parts of it have been visibly broken off. It smells of honey… pure, sweet honey, although all its cells are clean. No larvae, no ants, no signs of life.
A colleague found it (or rather, it found my colleague) when it fell with a thud from the sky, presumably dropped by the raptor - likely a honey buzzard - he saw flying overhead.
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Keeping progress alive
» talfryn.net
The advantage to society of energetic intellectual activity is that it offers society self-awareness, wakefulness and clarity, inspiration and new ideas, and intelligence in debate and action. A sluggard community which never asks questions or inspects the world around it with a bright eye, and which never tries out different ways of understanding its circumstances, is sure first to stagnate, and then to slip backwards.
~ A. C. Grayling, The Form of Things: Essays on Life, Ideas and Liberty in the 21st Century (2006)
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Almost (at least) a photo a day
» talfryn.net
Susan Sontag: “To photograph is to confer importance”.
If I could, I’d just shoot everything I come across.
Failing which, I suppose these would have to do. Pickings from December so far -
‘Diego’ the mantis nymph, an early Christmas pressie from a colleague; and a female rhino beetle (both were photographed in a captive environment):
A mangrove shore pit viper, the last creature we managed to shoot before the torrent of rain caught up with us at Sungei Buloh:
While in the hide, we photographed everything that came within reach. An osprey and a greenshank in the heavy rain:
At Venus Drive at night, once again on the trail of the elusive bioluminescent mushrooms, we spotted a mygalomorph tarantula, firefly larviform female aka glow-worm, a weird species of lace bug and a hammerhead flatworm:
Meanwhile in the office, I documented more ‘pressies’ from colleagues - a green crab spider and this really cute jumper:
Then… back to Venus Drive again. A brown mantis greeted us on the way in, and I couldn’t resist but try to capture the magnificent architecture of a tiny Araneae spider’s web just before we left:
Upper Seletar Reservoir over the weekend; explored a new place. A lymantriid caterpillar, and a katydid with an ant:
Giant millipede and tiny bark scorpion:
Oriental whip snake, front (chin) and side portraits:
A (suspected huntsman) spider parasitised by entomogenous fungi:
And finally, over at Mandai… a masked lapwing (it was quite an amusing situation):
A lynx spider and St Andrew’s Cross spider:
Sunset over Seletar Reservoir:
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In times of postlessness and wordlessness
» talfryn.net -
November work and walks
» talfryn.net
In hindsight, I wonder how I managed to squeeze in all these other activities while working way overtime in preparation for an overseas conference…
All hyped up from the first recent re-discovery of the bioluminescent mushrooms, we organised a trip for colleagues and friends:
Then came the night of the Leonid meteor showers last Wednesday. We first drove to the Tampines biking trail, following the recommendations of the local astronomical community’s list of 5-star star-spotting locations, but having found it too bright from ambient light, we then made our way towards Tanah Merah, finally camping out on Changi Beach. It wasn’t the best, but at least the skies were relatively clear from 4-6am and we could see the stars. A pity there’s no escape from the lights in Singapore, unless you try the offshore islands.
We spent close to four hours before dawn staring at this patch of sky. Between four of us we saw about 20 Leonid meteors, including an uber-cool white fireball, but alas none were captured on camera.
(See this version with the constellations mapped out)Went down to check on the mushrooms the following night again. Not that many this time round, so I shot other things:
Bark scorpionWent back to work on Sat morning and after everything was finally over (for me), more night romping.
Sunset at Lower PierceExplored a new area - Upper Seletar. Found a couple of weirder versions of common things:
Predatory katydid with raptorial legs
Limacodid moth caterpillar
Tiger beetle
Sunbeam snakeMore of this month’s photos on Flickr.
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12:05
Ideology
» The Summit TrailCame across an article on Prospect Magazine which I want to share with everyone on British Politics. Written by Chris Goodall, Green Party candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon (no pressure Terry…)
Your editorial suggests that an ‘intelligent, unideological, technocratic politics is what is required’ to solve Britain’s problems. Technocratic we might be able to live with and no-one recommends stupidity. The case for ‘unideological’ politics is far weaker. After all, from John Major to today, it might be said that politicians have ruthlessly sought to detach themselves from any form of ideology and the results haven’t been that impressive. Successful politicians need strong ideology to push through change. Without a clear set of beliefs tied together in a coherent philosophical structure, political parties become weak and disorganised. Voters lose interest because they don’t know what politicians stand for. Faced with the strong tides of modern life, a politician without ideology is unmoored. He or she is able to keep a consistent direction and is tossed to and fro by what Harold Macmillan called ‘events’. Ideology gives politicians a star to guide them. In short, without ideological politics we descend into the relentless launching of minor initiatives and headline-grabbing policy changes rather than substantial and permanent shifts. Ask yourself to name the most effective (I choose the word carefully) British politician of the last half century. Was she ‘unideological’?
Huge ideological debates need to be had in this country. A large part of the UK electorate wants to withdraw from the EU in whole or in part. An increasing number of people believe that Britain’s high and possibly increasing levels of inequality are a moral stain on our country. Many would like a real discussion on whether continued economic growth is compatible with dealing with climate change. Are we going to get these debates in your world of ‘unideological technocratic politics’ where nobody has any fundamental beliefs? I suspect not. We will continue with disorganised drift.
Chris Goodall
Green Party candidate for Oxford West and Abingdon
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Been wanting too use this
» talfryn.net
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Magical mushrooms
» talfryn.net
I’d never have considered myself a mushroom hunter (more of a mushroom eater), but ever since I photographed that lone glowing ’shroom, I was nearing the point of a healthy obsession whenever I stepped onto that trail.
Last night, for once in many visits, we was not disappointed. The week’s downpours were not in vain.
They were everywhere, near the streams, on the opposite bank, next to the trail, on broken branches, in leaf litter, at the edge of the secondary forests. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen. With our lights off and eyes adjusted to the darkness, we could see them very clearly: little clusters of bioluminescent mushrooms, glowing an eerie, pale emerald green in the pitch blackness.
At that moment, I don’t think I would’ve have blinked had I seen a pixie or sprite or some other mythical folk. Or one of those kodamas from Mononoke.
There are globally only slightly over 70 (out of 14 000) described species of mushrooms known to be luminescent, and I’m pretty sure there were at least four difference species from that one little humble patch yesterday. No strenuous hike needed, even. Numerous explanations exist for their luminescence, but generally they still belong to the realm of the mysterious.
More photos on Flickr.
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0:15
Conspiracy Theories
» The Summit TrailOk, before everyone accuses me of being a conspiracy theorist, I just want to clarify I am not. I don’t like conspiracy theories. I don’t believe they serve any purpose other than political sabotage on a minor scale. I don’t even want to deal with so-call conspiracy on an intellectual scale. My concern is more with the spiritual/satanic links between for example the freemasonary and the antichrist. Furthermore, the recent films coming out just suggest more and more the antichrist is coming to town soon, and I feel obliged on some level to voice out my discontent towards the promotion of evilness on the mass scale.
I was just watching the TV as I always do nowadays, I feel suddenly drawn in my the tele which I know I shouldn’t do. But despite the low moral standards which in Christian sphere would point out to be a sign of evilness, its the sheep herd mentality which is getting the population towards some sort of agenda on a higher level.
Sometimes I just imagine myself living in times with no TV, internet, no mass sharing of information - the days when its alright to go to a cave for pure meditation. How much more would we connect with the truth. Somehow I feel our society has lost it, its like the world has past a certain tip-off point, not talking merely about moral disintegration, but that we would be sheep heading towards to the lions mouths. In Islam the greatest sin which will guarantee hell is the worship of other than God, i.e. idolatry. In this day and age you might laugh at the concept of idolatry quoting it as ’superstitious’, but yet idolatry has taken up a different form: pop idols, politicians, governments, the internet etc. What would a day be like without your phone, without the computer, etc? It is said that we are created as slaves of God in Islam, and that our sole purpose of existence is to worship Him. But it seems like we are slaves of our own desires. We are worshiping this material world too much.
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Ubuntu 9.10
» 萬法唯心 - ImpermanenceUbuntu 9.10 has been out for about a week now. Just got around to upgrade my desktop to Ubuntu 9.10. I skipped 9.04 on my desktop and only tried it on my laptop. Upgrading from 8.04 is very smooth and easy, I had 8.04 and XP dual boot on my desktop, used the manual partitioner [...]
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“Why clever people believe stupid things”
» talfryn.net
Talking about backmasking, about the Freemasons, about conspiracy theories, about puddles of water, about intelligence, about the media, about hoaxes, about intentions, about politics, about assumptions…
As human beings, we have an innate ability to make something out of nothing. We see shapes in the clouds, and a man in the moon; we take a perfectly cheerful heavy-metal record, play it backwards, and hear hidden messages about Satan. Our ability to spot patterns is what allows us to make sense of the world; but sometimes, in our eagerness, we are oversensitive, trigger-happy, and mistakenly spot patterns where none exist.
~ Ben Goldacre, Bad Science
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Paradise preserved
» talfryn.net
At 62.5cm, this paradise tree snake still had almost double its body length to grow. A victim of grass-cutting, it was found right outside the office and brought in by a colleague. I spent the better part of yesterday afternoon injecting and fixing it in formalin. It will join the ranks of my spirited collection as the first preserved reptile. To some, this might appear shoddy work I know, but I’ll learn…
One of my bosses was none too pleased, since I left a great stink of a rotting snake in his room - it used to be the wet lab, and in a way, it still is - when I first uncovered the lid of the container in which the snake was kept overnight. I made sure to make up for it and my unofficial activity by putting in extra hours of work time!
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Baby croc call
» talfryn.net
The next time you’re around the mangroves or Route 3 freshwater ponds at Buloh, listen out for this - the sound of a young estuarine croc calling out to its mom. This was recorded on my N97 about two months ago, while doing my bird-ringing mist net rounds. Apparently, (Nile) croc babies start making umph sounds even before they hatch!
If the player doesn’t work, try this.
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10:15
Remembrance
» The Summit TrailSuch, then, was their fear of death. But nowadays never do you see a group of people attending a funeral without the majority of them laughing and enjoying themselves, speaking of nothing but the inheritance and of what [the deceased] has bequeathed to his heirs; the sole thought in the minds of his friends and relatives being of the devices by which they might obtain some share in his legacy. Not a single one of them (save those whom God wills) meditates upon his own funeral cortege. The sole reason for this is the hardness which has afflicted people’s hearts through their many acts of disobedience and sin, whereby we have come to forget God (Exalted is He!) and the Last Day, and the terrors which lie before us. We have taken to playfulness and neglect, and to busying ourselves with that which is of no concern to us. We pray God (Exalted is He!) to rouse us from this heedlessness! For truly, the best of states in those who attend funerals is that they should weep for the deceased; moreover, if they had any understanding they would weep for themselves rather than for him.
Ibrahim al-Zayyat once watched a group of people who were praying for God’s mercy upon a dead man, and said, ‘It would be better for you if you were to pray for mercy for yourselves. For he has now been delivered from three terrors: the face of the Angel of Death, which he has now seen, the bitterness of death, which he has now tasted, and the fear of death, from which he has now obtained security.’
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Authentic fellowships
» talfryn.net
Synchronicity is played out in nature time and time again. Being in the right place at the right time, or, being in the wrong place at the wrong time, a series of coincidences leading to some meaningful outcome.
Then, enter the human: you, a non-actor in whatever that’s happening, yet a crucial influence in far too many others. To chance upon any one such event in the making is more than just a reflection of your ‘good luck’; the privilege to observe inspires a sense of unity with that precious and special natural world. It is refreshing to feel that you are not inhabiting human society, for a while.
Sungei Buloh yesterday was probably all I needed to recharge and recuperate from the previous weeks, and to prepare for what’s ahead. The day started off wonderfully, warm sun appearing after the rain, and an ad-hoc and extremely brief guided walk (literally just a few steps) and introduction to Buloh for a couple of visitors from Hong Kong. I also shared some locality highlights with a family who was bringing their seven-year-old son on his first visit to the mangroves.
Following a tip-off by Dr Chua regarding the sighting of a dead otter, we made our way towards the high-pitched barking that came from neither man nor bird, and then saw the family of smooth otters, to our left, on a mudflat not too far away, playfully sliding down the banks and splashing in the waters. Then we saw the carcass - loosely wedged between some rocks on the opposite side of the path, the subject of attention of visitors and one big monitor lizard. It was still largely intact, but thoroughly naked, the fur having disintegrated, leaving behind a shimmering, smooth and pale skin. The monitor stood possessively over the body, then attempted to rip a piece of the flesh near the pelvis. Budak called Otterman to ask if RMBR would be interested in its remains, while I requested for some assistance from the Reserve to help us secure the carcass.
After the dead otter was dealt with rather uneventfully - the monitor let out a loud disgruntled hiss as its meal was snatched away - we continued watching the otters. At one point, they climbed up onto the bund we were on, and one after another (there were seven of them), sprainted on a designated spot near the some vegetation less than 10 metres from where we were. Some started grooming themselves. Squatting to stay level with their noses and inching in slowly and respectfully, we squeezed our shutters and fired away. They were hardly bothered by our presence after ascertaining that we posed no threat. Those few moments into their private world were captivating.
Later that afternoon, we also managed to see three crocodiles - two from the Main Bridge, and the third and the largest passed right under our feet at a sluice gate at Route 3.
It wasn’t all fine and dandy though. The many dead milkfish that we saw scattered around the Reserve (some were left hanging on branches by the outgoing tide!) hinted at darker themes. Subaraj, whom we bumped into, was just as concerned. We hope it isn’t contamination, or some thoughtless and inconsiderate act of the upstream fish farmers releasing their diseased stocks. Was the dead otter we saw an early victim? Consequences of tiny actions can be tragic and severe, for ecological processes are impartial.
Water monitor feeding on otter carcass
Dead milkfish
Smooth otters on bank
Smooth otter sprainting
More smooth otter sprainting
Estuarine crocodile
Pacific golden ploversWhat a nice day to mark the 10th anniversary since I started volunteering with the Reserve. More photos from the day on Flickr.
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Kairos, VII
» talfryn.net
The realisation that I have been becoming a less confident person, in some aspects, is not entirely new. It is more evidently felt when I am engaging people, or set myself on some new task - assignments that may not be altogether alien to my experience. It is an unpleasant realisation, made worse knowing that the process can be accumulative and detrimental.
This is not an inferiority complex (neither is it, as this denial may suggest, on the other extreme: narcissism)… this is merely self-awareness.
The lack of confidence, I deduce, stems from not only the lack of independence in thought and action (or rather, the over-reliance on dependence and family), but also the feeling of a lack of control or direction over my life, instead being controlled by forces around me.
I had previously [private post] acknowledged - although not necessary accepted - that my drive to accomplish and achieve has been greatly diminished following a change in philosophy concerning the pursuit of contentment, but I had, in all honesty, not anticipated how this might then affect self-esteem. It is not that I am incapable of controlling how I respond to them - of course, we always have a choice - but the existence of these circumstances does propel me towards certain decisions, to continually make conscious decisions to go against what I would otherwise decide had these forces been absent. It is not healthy, but these forces do exist, and the values that admonish me to submit to them supersede all else.
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Riveries
» talfryn.net
For most of us, our bright promise will always fall short of being actualised… It will remain no more than a hope carried over from childhood, or a dream entertained as we drive along a motorway and feel our plans hovering above the horizon. Extraordinary resilience, intelligence and good fortune are needed to redraw the map of our reality…
Most of us stand poised on the edge of brilliance, haunted by the knowledge of our proximity, yet still demonstrably on the wrong side of the line, our dealings with reality undermined by a range of minor yet critical psychological flaws.
~ Alain de Botton, The pleasures and sorrows of work
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Adrenaline thoroughly drained
» talfryn.net
It’s been a heck of a week and more. My portfolio during this period could not have been any more varied: graphics designer, photographer, PR manager, personal assistant, driver, tour guide, nature guide. Appearances ranged from field trip garb, business executive look (Mom has been tremendously pleased), hiking boots, heels, flats, shorts, skirts, business jackets, hair let down, hair bunned up, ponytailed, contact lenses, spectacles, etc. etc.
Been round to Sungei Buloh, MacRitchie TreeTop Walk, Pulau Ubin and Chek Jawa, Singapore Quarry and Dairy Farm Nature Park, National University Hospital, KK Hospital - and somewhere in between was squeezed the main reason for everything in the first place: the three-day Asean Biodiversity Conference which my office co-organised.
I was attached to the keynote speaker - who flew in from Harvard - for the duration of his stay in Singapore. A man of great conviction, perception and knowledge, and youth, I might add, he is perhaps one of the most impressive personalities I have met across the continents so far. I have learnt much from our chats, and from listening in to the exchange of ideas he has had with the numerous dignitaries and who’s who we’ve met. Not only about his pet topic biodiversity and human health (the preface to his book can be found online), but just about anything under the sky: politics, philosophy, America and the world, culture, music, education, science, healthcare, architecture, economics, national identity.
Again I am inspired to write about what has been conversed but I have been reluctant to fend off this certain shyness about analytical writing in the public domain, on a personal blog…
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Nutty kiasuism
» talfryn.net
An encounter at a petrol kiosk yesterday marked the near-end of my liaison officer-ing stint.
I was waiting in line at the cashier’s when the lady in front of me, upon hearing of a promotion for peanut cereal bars, asked the sales assistant to hold off swiping her credit card. She stood by the side and ripped the packaging off one of the bars.
“I want to try one first. If it’s good, I’ll buy more.”
Fair enough, I thought.
She munched on. I looked on, and waited. The sales assistant was still holding on to her card. I waited some more. The lady then started picking bars off the shelf.
I asked, “So it’s that good, huh?”
She was busy counting her bars, “No, I just like the nuts.”
Uhh, whatever cracks your nuts, then.
She continued counting.
The cashier decided - good on her - that she would serve me first, for which I was grateful. When I left the kiosk, the lady was still crunching away and counting bars.
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On hold
» talfryn.netIt feels as if our normal lives have been put on hiatus since the previous week. It is finally here, and we’re keeping the show running, fuelled by reserves of adrenaline.
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Woods
» talfryn.netShe looked up from the book and said, ‘What?’ and I said it again: ‘Only the mockingbird sings at the edge of the woods.’
She pursed her lips. ‘It’s like the words I just read, isn’t it? It makes you feel something and you don’t know what it is.’
~ Walter Tevis, Mockingbird
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B.A.D.
» talfryn.netIt’s Blog Action Day today. I’m not going to talk about climate change per se, since I’ve recently been accused of writing ‘too much like a scientist’ (no, not on my blog… never on my blog, I hope) and I can’t really talk about climate change (you know, CO2, atmospheric gases and all that. But of course we know there’s much, much more to it…) without the science, so I’ll just write about what has been bugging me this week.
I don’t need Jiminy Cricket to sing me song about what’s right or wrong, or how I should be feeling bad. I am feeling bad.
In the process of assisting in the preparation of an upcoming major regional biodiversity conference, I have been churning out more waste paper, one-sided printouts, unused colour copies, than I have done so during the entire year so far. Not just paper… but other resources too. Sigh - that quest for quality, precision, perfection. It is difficult to enforce personal pro-environmental attitudes when situational influences impose constraints. Still, we try. Or those of us who really care enough, do.
A reminder from the wise talking cricket: “Conscience is that still, small voice that people won’t listen to. That’s just the trouble with the world today.”
Perhaps we could all be Jiminys. Perhaps our voices (reinforced by suitably disapproving looks (Fig. 1)) would lend weight to consciences, and perhaps people would then listen…
Fig 1. Man demonstrating a Suitably Disapproving LookI’m gonna scavenge the office for any bits of unclean paper and plastic tomorrow. I’m gonna make sure that the recycling bins remain generously fed. I’m gonna…
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Naughty c00kies
» talfryn.netWhile troubleshooting my recent GChat connectivity woes, I was examining and scrutinising every little corner of my FireFox browser. Gradually I came to notice that while surfing my blog pages, mysterious calls to ‘dg.specificclick.net’ were being made.
First reaction was: spyware!!
I Googled it, and traced it back to… Sitemeter, a popular statistics tracking service that I have been using for years. Apparently, they had started using the specificclick.net tracking cookie without informing us users. Following some common advice, I promptly removed the code from my blog.
And… ta-da. Pages are loading much faster too (apologies to my friends who have complained that my blog was draaaging, but hey - hurray for decontamination)!
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Biodiversity volunteering and participatory monitoring
» talfryn.netExcerpt from Lawrence, A. (2005) Reluctant citizens? The disjuncture between participatory biological monitoring and participatory environmental governance. Paper presented at the International Sociology Conference “Environment, Knowledge and Democracy” 6-7 July 2005. Faculte des Sciences de Luminy, Marseilles. Full paper available here.
On the one hand, participants are longing for the opportunity, indeed the ‘excuse’, to observe nature; on the other, they are disenchanted with governance opportunities howsoever presented to them, and displace responsibility for decision-making on to others. Their relationship with science is ambivalent; whilst sceptical about the link between scientific data and good decision-making, many discover a new relationship with science… through satisfaction derived from contribution to ‘the bigger picture’.
… in relation to the institutions of conservation, many expressed powerlessness, resignation… carefully distanced themselves from the processes of power. Most felt there was little likelihood of their activities changing anything: ‘I don’t see our roles as having any power to change things, I see our role as … providing records for other more experienced people to use … I mean the decisions that I would want to make are probably not the decisions that are going to be made. Because I would be biased towards keeping things natural, whereas this is not always possible.’
Most significantly, these people are doing something because it is important and meaningful to them, and also links them up with other people because of that shared sense of meaning. ‘… their experiences and related discourses are not significant purely in terms of the environment per se. They also enhance the personal meaning of these individuals’ lives and, consequently, contribute to their sense of well-being.’
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Nighty arty farty
» talfryn.netBuloh on Tuesday night; took some SP students out on a night survey. The mozzies there are evolving towards the likes of the Semakau-esque Commando breed, and in numbers greater than I’ve ever experienced before. Just the thought of them makes me shiver. Today was no better - no rain, nor wind, nor sun would stop them!
Delphacid planthopper
Eusocial bees
Crab-eating frog -
The purpose of a sole
» talfryn.netis to prevent you from slipping.
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12:51
The Arrivals
» The Summit TrailI have been asked to watch this documentary on youtube called “The Arrivals”. Its 51 parts series on the coming of the Antichrist. The Antichrist is basically the satanic form of the Messiah. Basically, at the end of time, this false messiah will come to earth and tell us that he is God. From the signs we are told about the end of time, many of which are being fulfilled such as the arab tribes will compete with one another to build tall buildings (as we can see in Dubai, Doha even Makkah). The sun will rise from the west (I could see that it might happen if the poles change and the earth is induced to turn the other way) - in which case the sign of a day would seem like 1 year might become true as the earth’s momentum stops the earth from spinning and change direction. The coming of the Dajjal or the antichrist is seen as a major sign for this. In this documentary, they say that one of the way in which the energy must be channeled through is by buildings. One of the most effective structure in which negative energy is being transferred through is the pyramid. I don’t know how true it is, but at least we know the Eyptian pharoahs who called themselves gods used to use it. It is narrated by the Messenger of God that the antichrist will tell you that he is god, and one of his eyes cannot be opened, i.e. blind on one eye. So Muhammad (pbuh) told us, “He is one eyed, but your lord is not one eyed.” Have a look at the eye of providence which is on every $1 bill in America:
Did a quick search in Wikipedia and this was what I found:
On the seal, the Eye is surrounded by the words Annuit Cœptis, meaning “He approves (or has approved) [our] undertakings”, and Novus Ordo Seclorum, meaning “New Order of the Ages”. The Eye is positioned above an unfinished pyramid with thirteen steps, representing the original thirteen states and the future growth of the country. The lowest level of the pyramid shows the year 1776 in Roman numerals. The combined implication is that the Eye, or God, favors the prosperity of the United States.
Wikipedia - Eye of Providence
Its recited that at the end of time, the only way you can get wealth is by following the antichrist and his system. And time and time over again, with examples from Hollywood, it shows us that celebrities such as Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Agulera are being used by this force to hypnotise the masses. In the video it claims that Madonna worships the devil (practicing Kabala and worshipping om, the Hindu chant representing the trimurti) and indeed had been very successful since.
I am not embracing this series 100% because I see it as sort of conspiracy theory video with its own agenda. The repeated antisemetic rhetoric presented in the documentary and pointing to the Protocol of the Elders of Zion - a fabricated Russian dossier pre-WWII - which painted the Jews as having control over the top corporation and is controlling the world. As a result Nazi Germany pointed their fingers at the Jews after the great depression of 1920s, and as a result the Holocaust. I am surprise, and frankly a little disgusted, by the antisemitism I see. I don’t like what Israelis are doing to the Palestinians and I don’t like how the republican government is always helping Israel, but I don’t like this racism going about in the Arab and Muslim world.
We see that the big corporations in the west are indeed run by the Jews. For instance, Marks and Spencers, a well known Jewish company, Tesco founded by the Polish Jewish merchant from East London, Warner Brothers, formed by Jewish brothers from Poland, Starbucks etc. The list goes on. There is something fishy there but is it that the Muslims are unhappy with the fact that Israel was established right on their footstep or is there something there? I have always told my friends that the Jews are very good merchants, they make very good business people, they are like the Chinese. However, does the growth of their businesses have to do with the fact that they are “Zionist”. Having studied Jewish Philosophy, I can say that the Zionist movement which established the state of Israel is mainly a secular one. The ambition is for Israel to be established between the river nile and Euphrates river (as seen by the 2 horizontal stripes of the Israeli flag) which covers the most of the middle east. It is true that there are religious backing for their land, however, most of their leaders and military are secular. With the exception of the military rabbi as mentioned in an earlier post. It is my view that we should hate the things people do but not the people themselves. Although sometimes even I myself run into the mistake of associating the action to the person. I however, don’t like stereotyping at all.
If you ask me whether there is a satanic force at work in this world and that we are being hypnotised on a mass scale. I would say yes. All the psychological theories being applied into adverts, the news media, movies, music points to further materialistic pleasure. Whether its selling sex, selling pleasure or selling consumerism. Its selling satanic ideas isn’t it? There is no way around it, we are being stuck in the matrix. How do we unplug ourselves from it? I shall blog about the financial system later on. If in fact we are waiting for the arrival of the antichrist, indeed the red carpet has already been laid down for him.
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18:45
From my father to my grandmother…
» The Summit TrailThere was always just the two of us: my mother and I. As if no one else, she was always there: tall, dark and beautiful.
I remembered my mother clearly. Every night, I would wait up for my mother returning from work. She always kept her promises – always brought me small things – something just to please me – always. But now she is gone, whenever, I walked passed her room, I could only see an empty room, empty bed and her no more. What is left: are memories – a lot of empty memories of my mother. I could only remember the tears and the pains – it was not easy to raise a child in the 50s with little money. Now, only one of us is left behind and I have to carry on, memories will have to do. I will always think of you - Ma.
My mother was born into a poor working class family between the World Wars. It was a very hard time. She received no education. Her father did not see the need to educate his daughter. Nevertheless, she was ambitious, she taught herself to read by watching Chinese Opera movies – learning from the sub-title. And she learned to do mathematic by buying and selling stocks. She did make a modest gain too – her grandsons were to ripe with a handsome deposit in their new homes.
My mother could be very stubborn – hardened through time. For her it was a struggle to raise her son in a hostile world. There was no man to protect her – her life was a daily struggle to feed her son. Not easy for an uneducated woman. Sometimes, I have the feeling she lost sight of the meaning of life. It’s not necessary for her to sharpen the spears every day. Life is so fragile – it suddenly collapsed right in front of you and then you realized it’s over already.
I remembered her clearly. Mother was a big fan of Chinese Operas and movies especially Yan Kin Fai and Lo Yim-hen. Whenever new movies came on screen, she would give me $0.75 to buy ticket. The money was for a seat in the front roll – we were so poor – and I had to sit on her lap. Half-way through the movie, I would fall asleep. She would carry me on her back home, up a flight of stairs. I often wondered what was it about the movies – I gradually realized it was a whole new dream-world for her – a form of escape from the harsh reality.
Last night, I took out some of her photos taken in the early 50s and 60s. She had a clear sharp feature. I must confess – I never really paid any attention before. Now, I tried to search for something – anything. I wanted to know what I had missed and lost. I only saw a hardworking woman – a tormented soul wasting away for others: for her children and grandchildren – not a moment for herself. And that’s my mother.
She never had a husband – not really. Marriage for her was never fulfilling. Yet, she struggled hard for her son – provided him with an education. In fact, my mother did quite well – in a way she was strong – much stronger than most men. She always suffered deeply when others looked down on us. But she was able to rise up once again like the Phoenix from the fire when her son had a stable job and her grandsons did well at school. She was proud of them.
It is a funny feeling for a 58-year old man and a strange one also. From now on, I will be an orphan – with no mother and father. I realize there will be no one looking out for me anymore. Whenever I ring the door bell, I wish mother could open the door for me – I miss her face. Perhaps, it is a fitting punishment for an unruly son.
Mother always longed for a home of her own. You know, we never had a home. When I was small, we used to live in my uncle’s house – depended on his charity. And charity never came easy – nothing was for free. We had to repay in tears and pains. My mother always cried in her sleep – I knew because I saw it. It is fitting, therefore, she finally found her home, in a quiet spot, a lonely grave marked with 1048, a small corner in Chai Wan cemetery. It is a place where my grandfather, grandmother, and uncle rested. Now the family of four re-united once again.
Mother, I love you for what you are and what you did. Thank you.
My mother - S.H.Shah
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One took off
» talfryn.netMe: 我有啲嘢想講畀你聽…
Then I tell her.
Mom: 呵, 你死咯你!
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10:31
Of Deceased and Bereaved
» The Summit TrailI’m of the view that whilst it is a loss for those around the deceased, what we can do for the deceased does not lie in what we think the deceased would have liked if he/she was still alive, but rather to facilitate the deceased in his/her journey into the afterlife. That to have the deceased facilitate the timetable, convenience and emotional need of the bereaving is somewhat wrong. We will ultimately follow this path of death in the end, would it not be better if we are to be assisted to moving into the new life rather than being pulled back from what is to come?
Said Ka’b [al-Ahbar], ‘When the righteous bondsman is laid in his tomb he is suurounded by his righteous acts, such as his prayer, his fasting, his pilgrimage, his engagement in the Holy War, and the charity he used to distribute. Then the Angels of Chastisement approach him from the direction of his feet, but are told by Prayer, “Get back from him, you have no authority over him, for upon those [feet] he stood in me at length for the sake of God”. Then they approach him from the direction of his head, but Fasting says, “You have no authority over him, for in the world’s abode he thirsted at length for the sake of God”. Next they draw near to him from the direction of his trunk, but Pilgrimage and Holy War say, “Get back from him for he exhausted himself and wearied his body when he accomplished the Pilgrimage and the Holy War for the sake of God; no authority do you have over him”. Then they approach him from the direction of his hands, but Charity says, “Back! Retreat from my master, for how many an act of charity issued from those two hands to fall in to the hand of God (Exalted is He!), while he acted only for His sake; no authority, do you have over him”. Then he shall be told, “Rejoice! Good you have been in life and in death!” Next, the Angels of Mercy come, and spread a heavenly cloth and resting-place out for him, and his grave is widened around him for as far as the eye can see. A candle is brought from Heaven, and from it he has light until God resurrects him from his grave.’
Al-Ghazali : The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife
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Without anguish
» talfryn.netNemo altero fragilior est: nemo in crastinam sui certior.
[No man is frailer than another: no man more certain of the morrow.]The usefulness of living lies not in duration but in what you make of it. Some have lived long and lived little. See to it while you are still here. Whether you have lived enough depends not on a count of years but on your will.
Do you think you will never arrive whither you are ceaselessly heading? Yet every road has its end. And, if it is a relief to have company, is not the whole world proceeding at the same pace as you are?
~ Montaigne, The Complete Essays (1587-88)
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1:39
21 Grams
» The Summit TrailIt was a few months ago when I re-watched this having forgotten most of what its about. It must be ranked amongst the best films I have watched. Then again, I like strange films with deep meanings, so I guess its no wonder why 21 grams is amongst the ones I liked. I started this blog post back then as it is a reminder for me of death.
They say when you die (in the film), you loose 21 grams and your life flashes in front of your eyes. I’ve been thinking about what death would be like and the moments before you die. Today I had to do the most difficult thing in my life: say goodbye to my grandmother. What do you say to someone you know you will never see again (in this physical world anyway)? For all this time, my grandmother was always sleeping on the bed, semi-conscious all the time, by the end she had become very unconscious. Most of the time when I call her, shake her, lift her up to feed her (through the tube), she would merely have a groan or staring blankly into space, rarely giving any response. But today…when I said goodbye…told her that I was going back to England…Even though her eyes were closed, she held my fingers so tight as if she didn’t want to let go. I couldn’t help but think that the uncertainty of death keeps us holding onto this life and everything real we had (such as love).
I told her…Don’t worry, we’ll meet again very soon, that we would spend everyday together again in jannah, told her that when she sees the angels of death to remember to recite ‘la illaha illalah wa muhammadah rasool lillah’ -> that there is no other deity worthy of worship other than God and that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His messenger. With that and knowing what it means all her sins will be forgiven and she will be amongst those who will dwell in the garden of Eden. Then I recited a few more verses in the Quran (in Arabic) and took her hands away and walked off.
Sometimes when we are so young, we forget what death means, and for someone staring at death in the face, all talks of the beginning of the universe, political power and many things that we as a humankind tries to work towards suddenly become quite insignificant. I was thinking if the plane suddenly blew up midair and I was to plummet 10,000m to my death, what would go through my mind. I think I would really care very little for this world and would prepare myself for the next world. Then again, how many 24 year old would actively think about his death when there could be so much other things going on with his life.
I shall move into my new flat which is 1/2 a gift from my grandmother - something she always wanted, give me the initial 1/2 and for me to mortgage the rest. She would be very happy with what I bought. Back in June she stared out of the windows of Prince of Wales Hospital and asked if I bought those flats across the river. I told her the flat was in England and that if she got better I’d take her there. She always held the view that she would get better and come and stay in my new flat for a month or so, and that she would be satisfied if God allowed her to. However, as she was staring out of that window, she said to me, “even if I don’t, whenever you look outside the windows of your flat, you know you can see me.”
I haven’t shed 1 tear this week back home. I don’t think its because my heart is hard, if anything, I think the last months had soften my heart and I had learnt self-control like I have never experienced before. Its not my heart which is hard, but its the certainty of the fact that this is only a temporary goodbye, that insh’Allah, we’ll meet again in a much more beautiful place where rivers flow and fruits are picked.
Until then, I shall remember the path we had taken together. Yesterday I heard a beautiful quote which I will share with you. “If you experience something bad, write it on the sand but if you experience something good scribe it on a rock.” I know that what we have been though would be enscribed on the tablet which no one except for God can erase.
They say we loose 21 grams at our death and our life flashes before our eyes. I wonder what my grandmother would see.
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Cued
» talfryn.net
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Grand Prix Saturday
» talfryn.net
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Uh-oh
» talfryn.net
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Midnight wanderings
» talfryn.netExploring the wilderness at night is a wholly different experience. More so when the grounds you tread are totally pitch black, shielded by the vegetation and canopies against any light straying in from the neighbouring civilisation. Hardly eerie. Instead, all is at peace.
The light from your headlamp is reflected off dew on the grass, or the backs of spiders or the eyes of frogs. Songs of the crickets, symphonies of the cicadas, calls of the owls and croaks of the toads. Creatures scamper through the bushes - nocturnals that you wouldn’t otherwise see during the day (not that you do see them at night; they move about so quickly that those glimpses aren’t sufficient for accurate identification).
No bioluminescent mushrooms this time, but there were scorpions, looking rather like aliens under the UV light, the fluorescence accenting the beautiful texture of their exoskeletons.
A bark scorpion (Lychas sp.) under normal LED torchlight
The same scorpion viewed under UV lightMore photos on Flickr.
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2:20
Doha…Again!
» The Summit TrailStuck in Doha Airport until 5am local time (3am UK time). So what can I do whilst I wait? Go on internet, but I have to stand here so I don’t know how much longer I can last. Go to the mosque - I found 2 mosques in this small terminal. I thought there is only a small one downstairs but I found out that there is a big one (well, relatively bigger) here. There are scriptures in all sorts of language from Arabic to English to Chinese :S I’m yet to see a copy of the Japanese Quran…
The service again top notch. Maybe I’m biased. But when they knew I was fasting, they gave me dates and yoghurt for breaking fast and when I prayed they quickly came with a mat for the floor :O And people are so friendly that you can strike conversation with anyone on the plane. Again…I think I’m biased - traveling an airliner from an Arab country. I can truly understand why they are 5 star airlines though, despite this delay. I wished the airport was bigger. The terminal is so small that there is nothing. Not even McDonalds!! Well they have A&W…Maybe I will have that.
Still deciding whether I should fast on the next flight. The law says that all form of travel which is not considered normal commuting can mean that I could refrain from fasting. One which I have to redo after Eid ul-Fitr. Spending Eid on the plane will truly suck though!! So its a good that Eid is on Sunday/Monday.
There were surprisingly a lot of people going to HK from the flight from London. With 10 direct flights to HK daily, you would think people would not want to spend an extra 2 hours waiting around.
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On educating children
» talfryn.netFrequent commerce with the world can be an astonishing source of light for a man’s judgement. We are all cramped and confined inside ourselves: we can see no further than the end of our noses. When they asked Socrates where he came from he did not say ‘From Athens’, but ‘From the world’. He, whose thoughts were fuller and wider, embraced the universal world as his City, scattered his acquaintances, his fellowship and his affections throughout the whole human race, not as we do who only look at what lies right in front of us.
~ Montaigne, The Complete Essays (1587-88)
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14:08
Just for fun
» The Summit TrailGot sent this from work today. Thought I would share! (Not 100% correct but you get the jisk…)
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1:59
The Alchemist I
» The Summit TrailI have a feeling I will blog about this again. Thinking back at Paolo Coehlo’s “The Alchemist”, Tariq Ramadan associate it to Islamic Sufism. I don’t know much about Sufism myself, but I shall go about finding out more about it. My initial understanding of Sufism is a Buddhist or Hindu interpretation of Islam - the need to reduce our emotional attachment so that we can detach ourselves from this world to be closer to God or Allah the almighty. In my opinion, its a very extreme practice and belief, one which deviates from the main teachings of Islam. For example the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to take a bath and wear perfume before going to the mosque because he wanted to come across as someone who is hygenic and presentable. Wealth in Islam is permissible as long as its been purified by Zakat, or obligatory Charity. I’m not sure what my readers think of Islam. People usually have a very simplistic model of what Islam is all about - the five pillars (The belief in one God, 5 times daily prayers, Charity, Fasting and Pilgrimage). But little do they realised these are purification methods to purify our souls in this world so that we will be ready for the hereafter. At the end of the day we will only be judged by our hearts.
However, Sufism was not always so extreme. Some consider Sufism to be outside the fold of Islam whilst others saw it was the inner embodiment (the thoughts and the heart) of Islam. I was listening to this talk by Yusuf Hamza (Hanson), an American Islamic Scholar on the purification of the heart. It talks about the various disease we have in our hearts. Its quite universal topic really, whether you are a Christian, Buddhist, Jew or even an atheist, we all suffer from the disease of the heart - whether it be envy, hatred, miser(y). I know I suffer a lot especially in the past. So its very interesting to try and improve myself over the next few years.
Back to the Alchemist, I was watching Panorama on BBC today about the Africans who were called Economic Migrants - who try to get from countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, Niger to Europe. With the need to cross the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean sea, most of them die trying. Then I ask myself, what would it take for me to do an epic journey like this, knowing that I will have to drink my own urine, see my friends die, or drown in the sea from a sinking ship. The only thing I could think of is knowledge. Thinking back at the story of the Alchemist when he travelled thousands of miles in search for his personal legend. Perhaps in enduring the pain and hardship one would gain some sort of knowledge which was not given to them <- This is purely my own idea.
Al Ghazali - a medieval scholar (it could be someone else, but I think its him) was once crossing the desert with his books at the back of a donkey or camel,and a thief came along to steal his books. He said to the thief, “Please don’t steal my books, all my knowledge is there.” Then the thief laughed at him and said “what kind of knowledge is that that someone could steal from you?” So he knows that true knowledge is that which is committed to memory. A bit like SQL codes - you have to commit the calls into the database.
There is no central theme to this blogpost, but just a random jumble of ideas. I just find that I am once again where I was 6 years ago, hungry for knowledge and hungry for wisdom. They say that Ramadan is a month where the gates of hell are closed (and satan is locked by chains) and the doors of heaven are opened. I do have a very strong feeling I have been pulled back from the torment of hellfire. Just remembering what I felt at the dome in Hiroshima where the atomic bomb fell - the despair in finding comfort in the Godlessness in a secular society - and comparing to now, its truth staring at my face. I’m sure those of you reading my blog might have a sense of frustration or unease because it seems that I have gone from someone who blogged about very generic things in life to suddenly a tone of preaching Islam. But this is part of my life and its a big part of my life, and I wished that I could share it with people around me who I know are most, if not all, from a non-Islamic background.
I wonder when I will embark on my journey in search of knowledge?
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There were plants and birds and rocks and things
» talfryn.netIt’s sad that the first thing I can think of to blog about is how peaceful it is to drive through the city centre at midnight. No cars honking, no taxis cutting into your lane, no fuss. Just you and the car. If only it could be just you and a horse (with no name… in the desert).
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Does anybody find it weird to be sending and addressing an email to a recipient who has the same name as yourself? Suddenly, you feel much less unique.
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My lappie is finding itself inadequate to the task of handling PhotoShop’s scratch disks and memory requirements. First time having to design a banner that would measure 8 metres across. SOS!
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A colleague fingers the fieldguide page detailing bird species descriptions.
Bird-ringing trainer: “What are you looking for?”
Colleague: “Sex and age.”
Laughter all around.* * * * *
Work in play. Play in work.
Why must that be wrong?
‘Cos “that’s not the way society works?”* * * * *
Ideas aplenty. Focus…
Focus.
Decide… hurry!
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3:41
Islamophobia
» The Summit TrailI was watching Riz Khan on youtube. For those who don’t know about Riz Khan, he is a talk host on Al-Jazeera who talks to people about issues in the world whatever they may be. This time they were talking about Islamophobia. Here is the link if you should in interested:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ipkXAqZnyQ&NR=1&feature=fvwp
I could go on here discussing about the existence of Islamophobia in the west and so forth but I will talk about something else: Christianity groups being persecuted in the Muslim world because of their beliefs. Although I believe in the truthfulness of Islam as the religion, it is true that in this day and age, there exist severe alienation of non-Muslims in major Muslim states such as Egypt, Morocco etc. So is it right that Muslims should have such a loud voice in condemning the western politicians for a lack of dialogue?
Muslims in the west enjoy much freedom. Much more than even moderate Muslims in the Muslim world. For example, Women rights in Afghanistan - the appalling ways women are treated in some parts of the Muslim world is scary. I was just in the mosque praying my Tawarih prayers and an uncle next to me started talking to me in Urdu. Realising that I couldn’t speak Urdu, he said something in English I barely understood but I suspected it was to do with the way I prayed. In this mosque - remember High Wycombe was where 2 of the men convicted of conspiracy to blow up transatlantic planes using liquid explosives came from - people have a very unique mix of culture and religion. It is not an English speaking mosque and the Friday sermons or Khutbas are delivered in Urdu (sometimes I forget I am in England and think I’m in some rural part of Pakistan). I could understand from just these months of practicing Islam in High Wycombe that sometimes it could be difficult for me even to practice Islam in the Muslim world. So imagine what it would be like for the Christians living in Egypt for example. Some Muslims, according to my ex-colleague from Nigeria, would go out to kill because they are Christians.
This is by no means correct way in which Muslims should conduct. Have a watch of this emotional speech by Yasir Qadhi - he was the Sheik who talk me Tawhid (oneness of God) and Aqeeda (Islamic Theology) a few months back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0kqmaxWQ_8
Don’t be put off by his display of emotions and perhaps there would be things you should not totally agree with. However, I want to point out a few points he made which I found to be essence in understanding the social message of Islam. Mercy was always practiced in the Muslim world for 1000s of years even in war. There is a very strict code of conduct in war and treating prisoners of war in Islam, one perhaps the blockbuster The Kingdom of Heaven has demonstrated shows the mercy of Muslims towards other faiths. Even in the Ottoman empire, Jews and Christians were free to practice. Taking for example the Ashkenazim Jews (who lived in the Northern Christian world) and the Sephardi Jews (living in the Islamic Empire), the Sephardi Jews had enjoyed much more freedom and wealth than their counterparts in the North. So the questions I always ask is, is there still a Muslim country - a true Muslim country who condones a diversity in faith especially those who are considers the people of the book (Jews and Christians)? I think Malaysia is very close to being ideal. Although there are still some problems, the way Malaysia is run, its the closest in my opinion to a Muslim state.
However, having acknowledged this fact, does it give us the rights as Muslims in the west to speak out against Islamophobia? I’m reading a book by Tariq Ramadan from what I have read so far, it reminds me of hint of Jewish enlightenment scholars such as Abraham Geiger who sought to integrate Jews into the wider German society back in the 1800s. (Bare in mind this was around 100-150 years before Hitler’s Germany) Of course Ramadan is much less extreme, but I have yet to finish the book to be able to comment on it further. I am just afraid with the rise of Islamophobia in the west and the need for Muslims to integrate into this society will give rise to another outbreak of world war 3. Well, for me it doesn’t matter because I believe in the antichrist and the messiah so it will probably all come to the end very very soon anyway. If antisemitism and Islamophobia are on the rise perhaps this shift to atheism shall signal the last few days of our world. Have a read on Islam Eschatology.
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2:57
Night of Power
» The Summit TrailSurely We have revealed this (Qur’an) in the night of Qadr.[1] And what will make you understand, what the night of Qadr is![2] The night of Qadr is better than one thousand months.[3] The angels and the Spirit (Gabriel) come down with every decree, by the leave of their Rabb,[4] that night is the night of Peace, till the break of dawn.[5]
We don’t know when this night is, but we know its one of these nights in the last 10 days of Ramadan. It is the night when our decree or destiny for the rest of the year is revealed to the angels. Its the last 10 days…Its easy to loose sight of the purpose of this month but I’ve been doing well and doing alright, just 10 more days.
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23:55
Joke of the day
» The Summit TrailI knew about this particular protest last week when my friend told us about it. He said the Imam had ordered specifically not to hold a counter protest because its not Islamic to do that. Well, Fascist groups who refused to be called left wing stage a protest outside a mosque in Central London today. I couldn’t help but laugh at the report. Fascist group protesting against Islamification of Europe, Anti Fascist groups (who aren’t Muslims) protecting the mosque, fighting the Fascists and the Muslims praying quietly and peacefully inside the Mosque. We don’t even know what we did wrong to be honest. Sometimes you just got to appreciate the jokes and have a few laughs.
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19:19
My Car
» Terry Wong
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23:54
War of God
» The Summit TrailThe question I am begging today is whether or not war is justifiable when its done on religious grounds. No, I’m not talking about terrorist attacks or freedom fighting by Muslims, but rather a Zionist movement backed by the orthodox Jewish community. I was shown this article yesterday, and I watched the programme today. First started off with a cliche debate of terrorism in the UK then went off to talk about how Rabbis took up weapons in the Israeli Army to fight the rather horrifying war last year in Gaza. I am not going to say whether that war on Gaza was fair or not but rather whether it is alright to fight a religious war in this day and age - and what is the repercussions of mixing religion, politics and war.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that wars nowadays are not religiously motivated. What is shocking to me watching this programme is not the fact that a war was religiously motivated, but rather it is encouraged on religious grounds. Inevitably, the scale of the atrocities committed enlarges significantly when you truly believe that there are no moral consequences for your actions since its sanctioned by God. By rights, in a religious context, moral absoluteness originates from God almighty. Therefore, in a true holy war, when you die, you die a martyr and you go to paradise. Believing that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a replay of the Biblical conquest is saddening. To me its not a replay of Biblical Zionism - the wanting of returning to the holy land given by Elohim (the lord in Hebrew - not going to use the ‘Y’ word since in Judaism is not respectful), rather is a replay of the crusades who thought they were fighting God’s war when in fact they were fighting Pope’s war. The same thing here, rabbis are encouraging people to fight the ’sons of darkness’ (the Palestinians) - when it clearly states in Genesis that ALL MEN are created in the image of God. So what’s going on? Forget about St Thomas Aquinas’ just war theory since that was an add-on for Christians, but what is the religious justification for taking machine guns into civilians home killing the innocent? Its all over my head.
I am going to pointing out the hypocritical or confused state this world is operating in. Since Israel is a legitimate state in the eyes of the western powers, religious leaders are suddenly given pardons for war crimes but if it were imams and sheiks taking up guns and WMD we’ll have a hot debate on whether or not Islam condone violence. Trust me though, if they did, Muslims - knowledgeable ones who know their religion - would be the first to come out to condemn it. Of course, reading this you too might recognise the biased in my message. Indeed, there are many Jews who voice their concerns over rabbis picking up guns. Surely we have to be careful when invoking God’s name in a war, especially religious leaders since they are all we have to look up to. For those who believe in a true salvation that we will have the final day of judgment, be very worried when making something lawful when its not because its God who would have the final say.
I’m still practicing my patience although the last few days had been challenging and I’ve been failing at it. I blame lawyers! What is the law without compassion? - I shall examine that later.
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Bunkering down
» talfryn.netSo it takes the flu and a couple of days’ MC to make me appreciate the simpler pleasures of life.
Why can’t we, in our working lives, ever seem to find the time to just sit on the sofa and read a novel? Or lay in bed and dream?
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Dance of the lions
» talfryn.net
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23:44
Muslim Tommies
» The Summit TrailWatching this documentary from the BBC brings about a greater meaning to my social-political role in this world. Sometimes world history plays out in such a way that I cannot fully comprehend. The documentary named The Muslim Tommies describes and recognises the soldiers who fought alongside the Brits and for the King. On a more personal level, it described or rather paid tribute to my grandfathers who fought with the British Empire and ended up in Hong Kong. My grandmother will probably be the last of those who will be able to tell of the stories from living memory when her father fought with the His Majesty’s Army from India. 4 generations down the line and here I am, living in the heart of remains of British Empire. It almost seems that I am the one benefiting from the fruits of 3 long and hard generations of service to this country of course including my parents who worked for Her Majesty’s service until 1997. Makes me appreciate my settlement here that much more.
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You are what you read
» talfryn.netChristians who do not read the Bible,
Muslims who do not read the Qur’an,
biologists who have not read Charles Darwin,
Scouts who have not heard of Scouting for Boys,
statesmen who have not touched Machiavelli,
and more.Does not reading what we are expected to, unmaketh us?
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Talfryn turns 6
» talfryn.netIt’s September already. For six years I’ve been blogging, six years of life chronicled.
Looking back, I realise how far I’ve come, and it’s now time to chart out where I’d like to go from here.
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To be of use
» talfryn.net
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Out on a limb
» talfryn.net
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1:34
Faith
» The Summit TrailI made a point in an earlier post that to have knowledge comes with great responsibility. Let me explain this case of mine further. It was told to me on one of the Islamic conferences that knowledge can be split into secular knowledge (like how to operate a washing machine) and religious knowledge (like what happens to our soul after we die). To acquire secular knowledge doesn’t improve one’s faith, whereas to acquire religious knowledge it lifts you to a new spiritual level as testament to these first few days of Ramadan.
I feel the urge to write this blog post not because I see that by writing my views it would convert any of my readers but its another account of another phase in life. I was listening to a lecture today by an American Imam (religious teacher) about the prophet (peace be upon him). He made a point that the life of the prophet (pbuh) had always been an oral tradition. That Islam, and I shall translate it as any eternal knowledge, is ultimately preserved by the people. Therefore, to have knowledge necessitates the responsibility to transfer this knowledge to mankind. I am still in an infant stage of my religious life and there is a big part of me which is too scared to take on more knowledge because of the responsibility which comes with it. Perhaps I am over analysing this point as I often do. However, I feel an uplifting spirituality in these 5 - 6 days of Ramadan which I have not felt in a very long time, and its making me happy.
I do not want to go into discussion of religious matter because I feel that I simply don’t know enough to preach. I am in a stage where I am just listening and taking in all that I can. I am just thinking of what it must be like for Moses (peace be upon him) at the presence of God and the enormity of responsibility with such a truth being presented. I can totally understand why God doesn’t just show up in front of us because its too much for our soul to bare. I know its definitely too much for me to bare.
Lately I have been seeing this life in a different light, and I can just begin to comprehend the tip of an iceberg of what life is about. It is different to feel the certainty of a hereafter, an afterlife. The teleological me would tell me that every action in this life has a consequence in the judgment day. However, this new view presents the world to me as of itself - that this is not all of it. If we can understand this is the whatever happens in this world is merely a second or two in a larger timescale of things, then the significance of everything material in this life becomes insignificant. Therefore, we must seek to hold on to the eternal truths, such as love, knowledge, faith.
Faith increases and decreases with life experience. It was said that the mountains do not want to bare the burden of faith which men is given. I can totally understand why. Sometimes I wished that I was not given the choice to believe, that God made me an angel whereby his commands would be absolute, that His grace would be a sufficient fuel. However, I know that a knife would not be sharp unless sharpened, so our souls need the necessary challenge in order to prove itself worthwhile.
And the fast continues…
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Whirl of a week
» talfryn.netWas manning the visitor services counter for GardenTech over last weekend and on Monday…
Meetings at work on Tuesday, followed by talks at NUS, part of the DBS 60th anniversary lecture series…
Went back home to find that my Pericallia ricini moth adults had copulated and laid huge batches of eggs…
Attended on Wednesday a sharing and discussion session with a researcher from UC Berkeley on the arboreal acrobatics of one of my favourite animals - the geckos…
Marine macrofouling buoy survey in the ports on Thursday morning, and brought my visiting cousin (the youngest of them at ten years’ old) to the Science Centre in the afternoon…
Mahler at night…
Scouts Centenary comm meeting on Friday night immediately after work…
Buloh guided walk and mangrove reforestation with the Scouts on Sat morning…
A recce around Buloh and another meeting in the afternoon…
The Japanese Association’s Natsu Matsuri (summer festival) later that evening…
The Ministry of Parrot’s Parrot Parade today at Sungei Tengah…
And all of sudden I’ve found myself the caretaker of a few hundred newly-hatched Pericallia ricini caterpillars…
And the proud new owner of a handsome, three-month old Ornate Lorikeet!
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To judge a man
» talfryn.netWhy do you judge a man when he is all wrapped up like a parcel? He is only letting us see only such attributes as do not belong to him while hiding the only ones which enable us to judge his real worth… You must judge him not by his finery but by his own self… Measure his height with his stilts off: let him lay aside his wealth and his decorations and show us himself in his shimmy. Is his body functioning properly? Is it quick and healthy? What sort of soul does he have? Is his soul a beautiful one, able, happily endowed with all her functions? Are her riches her won or are they borrowed? Has luck had nothing to do with it? Is she calm, unruffled and contented? That is what we need to know; that is what the immense distances between us men should be judged by.
~ Montaigne, The Complete Essays (1587-88)
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1:37
The Roman
» The Summit TrailOf His signs, one is that He created you from dust; and then behold you men are scattered throughout the earth. And of His signs, another one is that He created for you mates from among yourselves that you may find comfort with them, and He planted love and kindness in your hearts; surely there are signs in this for those who think about it. And yet others of His signs are the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors; surely there are signs in this for the knowledgeable. And among His signs is your sleep at night and quest for His bounty during the day; surely there are signs in this for those who pay heed. And of His signs is the showing of lightning, in which there is fear as well as hope, and He sends down rainwater from the sky and with it gives life to the earth after its death; surely there are signs in this for those who use their common sense. And of His signs are the firmly standing heaven and earth by His command; then as soon as He will summon you out of the earth, you shall come forth at one call. To Him belongs everything that is in the heavens and the earth; all are obedient to Him. He it is Who originates creation, then repeats it; and it is easy for Him. To Him belongs the highest similitude in the heavens and the earth, and He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.
Ar Rum: 20-27
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“Smile!”
» talfryn.netDad with toddler in arms walks over.
I do the usual “Hello, welcome to XXX!” and hand them a brochure.
The dad whispers something into the child’s ear.
The child reaches out and grabs the brochure.
Dad whispers something else.
Child says to me, “Hello.”
I respond in kind, “Hello!”
Dad whispers again.
Child goes, “Bye bye.”
I wave, “Bye bye!”
They walk off.
Colleague and I exchange quizzical looks.
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Can’t do sales. And visitor services. At the end of a 6-hour shift, I just feel like slipping into some forgotten cave somewhere to recuperate. It takes me a few minutes to ‘learn the ropes’ and get myself up to speed with the events of the day, one hour to stumble around and make myself look like an idiot by turning to one of the ‘regulars’ whenever a difficult question is posed by a visitor, a couple of hours to work my Extroversion out of its shell, an hour for it to reach its peak performance period, the one hour during which I’d start to sound like a pro, and then after that, fatigue sets in and the ambient furniture music (Kevin Kern, I recognised it as) (that one CD has been on re-loop the whole day) lures a tired brain into auto-pilot. Funny thing is, I do enjoy it when the E has taken charge…* * * * *
The Butterfly Garden was one of the more popular attractions, with visitors forming queues outside its entrance for a ‘tour’ in the aviary-style gardens that wouldn’t last past 10 minutes. Many were enthralled by the flying beauties, and there were all manner of poses with all models of camera-phones and cameras in there. My sis happened to be one of the visitors, and one of the Butterfly Garden staff attempted to enthuse some interest by asking her “do you know how caterpillars become butterflies?”.At this point, I should mention that my sister is perhaps one of the most scientifically-adept youngsters of her age I have ever known, and has manage to not only sit through a rather technical talk by fly expert Patrick Grootaert but also formed a few educated questions and comments during the process. The topic of lepidopteran metamorphosis thus, would be to her as elementary as which alphabet comes before ‘B’.
From what I heard (from my parents, who recounted the story), my sis gave the poor staff a blank ‘duh’ look and her answer, loaded with sarcasm: “By magic.”
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21:05
Avant de partir
» To look life in the faceAh le silence… je dois me bien reposer avant de partir…
Je ne serais pas la pendant trois mois. Je ecrirais peut-etre des Etats Unis, je ne sais pas…
… Et je reviendrais quand le nouveau vin est pret…
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Back to Venus
» talfryn.netVenus Drive this morning was wet… wet… wet… yet we continued shooting through the rain. A number of good catches and sightings, including two very beautiful bearded Dracos.
Black-bearded gliding lizard (Draco melanopogon)
Coeliccia octogesima (?) with blue markings resembling telephone handsets
Dolichopodid, long-legged fly (Subfamily Neurigoninae) -
Flight
» talfryn.netBirds in flight, claims the architect Vincenzo Volentieri, are not between places, they carry their places with them. We never wonder where they live: they are at home in the sky, in flight. Flight is their way of being in the world.
~ Geoff Dyer
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NDP 2009
» talfryn.netPutting my thoughts on NDP aside, I shall here pay tribute to the men and women who made NDP happen - it is a tremendous feat involving clockwork precision, manpower and logistics, planning and resource management, perseverance and sweat, plus many, many KFC drumsticks and bento boxes (and lots of wasted plastic and styrofoam). Having gone through two days of rehearsals with the contingents, I have come to understand a little better the sacrifices they have to make to pull it through. Yesterday under the heat of the afternoon sun, no less than five members of each of the Uniformed Groups had to be carried away on stretchers from the parade square, and even one of the contingent commanders had to be replaced. (The scene of the Colour Party in the first photo below was just a drill, thank goodness!)
Saluting at the playing of the National Anthem and saying the Pledge (haven’t done that for almost 10 years!) elicit an odd sense of programmed response and calm detachment.
Oh well, but who cares. The fireworks was awesome.
(Again, more photos on FB and Flickr.)
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“Cannot tahan”
» talfryn.netI went ‘fishing’ during two extremely boring and redundant 3-hour-long briefings today. Don’t mind me. I’m sure my bosses share the same sentiments, having been forced to sit through the same.
If there’s anything that turns me off and makes me squirm in my seat, it’s poor English. Or heavy Singlish, in what should be a professional setting. Mis-pronunciation of words, grammatical inaccuracies, punctuation errors, missing Ss…
‘Ambulance’ becomes ‘Ambulen’
‘Lamp post’ becomes ‘Lampo’
‘Dollars and cents’ become ‘Dollars and cen’I clench my jaws and breathe out sighs, and hope that the next presenter(s) would bring less pain to the ears. But nooo… it’s mediocere mesolectal English at best.
We were advised to read the FAQ guidelines so that we could “familiarise with your[our]selves”, and go to “bied early” to “rechar energy”.
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One more thing, also cringe-worthy.
Has anyone else noticed - and is bothered by - the increasing overuse and misuse of the word ‘actually’? Everything these days, it seems, is apparently not what we expected.
“The soup-of-the-day is actually cream of mushroom.”
“We will actually put up signs at the pick-up point.”
“If you click this button, it will actually bring you to this page.”
“Those who actually work outdoors, will actually have to come in earlier.”
(And the little voice in my head would reek of sarcasm: “Nooo kidding… Wow, really?!!”)
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Oh, actually, I’m not quite done yet.
Another pet peeve, an SOP for written communication especially prevalent in the civil service…
- I was on the line with a NatWest banking manager just now. British accent and all… very refreshing.
- When he learnt I was calling from Singapore, he told me that he had visited the island just last year during Christmas, and had found it to be a lovely, modern city.
- “The people speak a funny English,” he said.
- I laughed.
- Thank you.
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Crossroads
» talfryn.netWhat price, for the liberty of choice?
What price, of the liability of choice?
What cost, of a wrong choice?
Would we be better off without choices; 是福不是祸 是祸躲不过?
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Patriotic zeal and resistant indifference
» talfryn.netLeong (2001), in Consuming the Nation: National Day Parades in Singapore, explores the background, organisation and aim of the National Day parades of Singapore, discussing their impact on participants and members of the public:
The National Day parade is packaged and marketed for the largest possible number of Singaporeans. Although the costs of the parade run up to a hefty sum, the expected returns are obviously not economic, but socio-psychological. Given the accounting mentality of state élites, who expect monetary or tangible returns for every public expenditure and who take great pains to avoid any budgetary deficit, the commodification of National Day is calculated with intangible gains in mind: identification with the nation, pride and loyalty to the country, a sense of what it means to be ‘Singaporean’.
In sum, the militarization of National Day parades renders the parade a
ritual of power and hierarchy, dramatizes the state’s monopoly of force, personifies the nation by underscoring values of order, discipline and regimentation, and reassures the populace in the face of anxiety.
(More photos on FB and Flickr.)
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21:23
On lightness
» The Summit TrailThe unwritten contract of erotic friendship stipulated that Tomas should exclude all love from his life. The moment he violated that clause of the contract, the other mistresses would assume inferior status and become ripe for insurrection.
Accordingly, he rented a room for Tereza and her heavy suitcase. He wanted to be able to watch over her, protect her, enjoy her presence, but felt no need to change his way of life. He did not want word to get out that Tereza was sleeping at his place: spending the night together was the corpus deliciti of love.
Milan Kundera: The unbearable lightness of being
If there were no eternal consequences for our actions and intentions, then what is stopping us from living a life where we are free to do what we want? Of course I don’t believe in the non-existence of an eternal consequential state. But when men has desires beyond their realm they are capable of doing stupid things. I guess God made men and women opposites so that they could attract, but the responsibility which He places upon those attraction can be the heaviest burden of all. If men were created without any free will that is we are the product of divine predestination, then whatever I intend to do will have no weight on the eternal consequence because the eternal consequence is already preordained. Then why is it that we feel the lightness of being when we take away responsibility from the equation? Does lightness always equate happiness?
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Snouty moths
» talfryn.netTwo of the Metanastria hyrtaca have emerged and been released so far, about two to three weeks after pupation. Mortality rate was high - a few caterpillars died while in their final instar, and a couple were immortalised in their cocoon webbing while still in their caterpillar forms (failed to pupate).
This particular individual looks different from the previous ones though… most likely a male?
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Flights of non-fancy
» talfryn.netThe Singaporean passenger next to me slammed the paper snackbox on the table in front of him, shaking his head in disbelief. “China Airlines 15 years ago… this is what they give us. Who can imagine - UA, an American Airline? Why are they going backwards?”
We were on an evening flight, and you’d expect any decent airline to serve dinner - or at least something more substantive than a ham and cheese half-sandwich wrapped in gladwrap, and a small packet of Lay’s Sour Cream and Onion chips.
An air hostess, possibly in her 60s (they’re all old men and women), confirmed in her condescending accent that this was all we were going to get.
Not entire surprising, given that United Airlines filed for protection under the Chapter 11 bankruptcy code earlier this decade. They couldn’t even afford telly screens in their Boeing 747.
I was hungry, so I didn’t care much for it. I looked at my snackbox again. It told me, through the font size 80 print on its cover, to “ENJOY!”
So I tried.
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Conversely, my favourite carriers: Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and QANTAS. Thai Airways too, is not bad.
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Really?
» talfryn.net
Man, Tsim Sha Tsui, HK
