Socialism can rock!

I was reading my October edition of The Atlantic when I came across the name The Correspondence Publishing Committee. It was in a review of a book about cricket (and many other things) called Beyond a Boundary by CLR James. James was a cricket buff, Marxist, black activist, Pan-Africanist and a lover of literature. He founded two Marxist splinter groups: the Johnson-Forest Tendency, a faction of the Socialist Workers' Party, and the Correspondence Publishing Committee, an off-shoot of the Workers' Party. As the author of the article, Joseph O'Neill, pointed out, the first sounds like the name of a bad rock band and the second sounds like the name of a cool rock band. Both are catchy and have an element of meaninglessness, but The Correspondence Publishing Committee is snarky. It sneakily jibes at the meaninglessness of most committee work. If there is anything rock-and-roll is against, it is committees.

Meet Zorro!

Unfortunately, Lumos has returned to the SPCA. He was a very noisy cat, much too noisy for a person who lives in an apartment. He has now been adopted by someone else and I hope that he has happier now.

Leo and I went back to the SPCA last weekend to try and adopt another cat. Leo fell in love with Zorro above. He's a big muscular cat, definately a hunter. Every evening he pounces on the geckos and bugs which come in through the windows. He's much mellower than Lumos. He usually likes to postion himself somewhere with a good view and keep his eye on everything around him. Leo, especially likes his mouth. It curves upward more than other cats, which gives him a very cheerful expression.

Chinese Lion Dance

Bloger just added a new feature: showcasing videos. I've tried this before on other sites. After a week or so, the video would no longer work. We'll see what happens with the Blogger version.

I shot this in 2006 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. There's a sizable Chinese community in the capitol. This a short portion of one of the best lion dances I have ever seen. Lion dances are usually part of Chinese New Year celebrations. The dance cleanses places of bad luck and invites good luck. Here the lions are reaching for the ang pow (a red envelope with their payment).

New addition

Meet Lumos -- the newest addition to my Singapore home. He's a 4 year old male cat, although as playful as a kitten. His name is from Harry Potter. Wizards say "Lumos" when they want their wand to become a light. He really reminds of light with his ginger coat, big lanteru-like eyes and light-hearted personality. He's also a true Asian cat. His tail ends in a ball rather than tapering like most Western cats.

For the past several years I have felt like I was camping in my various apartments. I always knew that I'd be moving on in a year or two. Singapore is the first place where I have felt at home. Lumos's purr is a confirmation of that.

Photos from Bali

Here are the pictures from my trip to Bali last May/June. Follow the link at the bottom to see them all.

Teaching the children there was an entirely different experience. They were motivated to learn English because they wanted to communicate in it with people that spoke that languge. Most people say they want to learn English for that reason, but their more immediate goal is to score high on an exam, enter a prestigious school or get a promotin at work. English lessons are usually centered around a topic that assumes the students know about the world outside the their immediate experience or have free time. So a lesson might be about current events, favorite books, cultural differences, dream vacations, hobbies or pets. The school children in East Bali knew only about life in their village. They might have only once been to the district center. The district center would be conidered a village by most people in the world. They spent most of their time helping their families survive. Everyday they would haul drinking water, collect grass for the cow, weed the garden, collect firewood, mind younger children, etc. They didn't have the free time that most young people have. They don't really have their own possessions; they share everything with their brothers and sisters. They don't have the time to devote to a hobby. All the animals in their homes have a utilitarian purpose. Most available materials aren't suitable because they assume the children know who are Shakespeare and Gandhi, about being in a cafe, have bought something in a department store, etc. This made an interesting challenge to build the lessons and materials around a topic that would be relevant to them and not require too much explanation from the teacher.

Bali

Reception Venues

The top two photos are of Tamarind Springs Restaurant where we will have the Kuala Lumpur reception on December 9th. The restaurant is surrounded by green jungle on almost all sides which gives it a wonderful intimate feeling. It's also on a hill and open to breezes so it stays cool naturally rather than exposing people to air conditioner drafts. The menu is Indo-Chinese rather than Malaysian. The restaurant has consistently won awards and is ranked in the top 100 in KL.



The bottom picture is where we will hold the reception in Kuching on December 8th. It is a gallery in the parish hall of the church where we will hold the ceremony. We chose this spot because it is pleasant, casual and also convenient for the older members of Leo's family. The food here will be more Malaysian. We'll definately have some Kuching delicacies such as, seafood, fish and wild fern salad.

Getting fit at the National University of Steps

A popular name for NUS around campus is the National University of Steps. The campus is situated over a series of hills. All of the buildings on campus go up and down to accomodate the terrain. Many of my classes next semester will be in the Faculty of Engineering. They have about 10 buildings all linked by covered walkways and staircases. It's a bit like an MC Escher painting. Today I went looking for the discussion room I'll be using for tutorials. I went up some stairs that climbed a hillside to the engineering canteen on the ground floor of one building. I went out the other side, up some more stairs and ended up on the 4th floor of Engineering Building 1. After going along an outdoor walkway, I ended up on the 6th floor of Engineering 1A. Down another a small flight of stairs and I found a cafe on the 2nd floor of Engineering 2. I gave up looking for the classroom by myself and stopped to have lunch. On the way back, I got lost and went up and down 4 more flights of stairs to reach my office out-of-breath.

In Malaysia, I drove almost everywhere because buildings are spread out like in the US and there are seldom sidewalks or other safe places to walk. My first week here in Singapore felt like the first few days of a backpacking trip -- my feet swelled, blisters developed, knees ached and I was often winded. Now during the second week, my muscles and joints are no longer complaining and I'm not as often out-of-breath. The National University of Steps is making me fit after the soft life in Malaysia.