Interest in colour.

Every time I hear about an issue with race in my country (which means everyday) and which usually involves one race crying out that they are being endangered (as always, by another race), I am reminded of a parable as told by Jesus. To paraphrase and make relevant that parable somewhat:

A Malay man is waylaid and robbed on the roadside. Another Malay drives past, sees the injured man and quickly drives off. Somewhat later, an Indian man sees the victim and drives him to the hospital, paying all his medical bills.

Who, do you think, is that man's neighbour?

I am tired of people of one race (or ethnicity or skin colour; whichever taxanomical word you prefer) feeling endangered and threatened by others. As if their "own" kind will treat them any better.

To dream

I've met my fair share of disillusioned adults. The common theme is that when they were young they were full of passion and energy. Naturally, as the years went on, they realized that they could not actually take on the world anymore. So much for dreams and hopes.

"Wait till you're older" is what I'm told often. Indeed, time is one of the greatest judge of all things. I am 20 years old and I realize how much I've grown. When I was eleven and had just left school there was absolutely nothing for me to do. And then on a rainy evening, with nothing to do, I sat down and typed out my first real story on our new PC.

And from then onwards, I knew quite clearly what I wanted to be "when I am grown up", despite the occasional advice to be a businessman here and a lawyer there. I've had occasional detours along the way, but I always somehow ended back on the main road.

Right now, this is a detour albeit a necessary one. I'm young and full of dreams and hopes. At the very least I should try. Dear time, at least allow me that.

To learn.

On quite a few occasions in conversations with strangers and acquaintances the topic of my education comes up. Very often shock and awe is expressed as I tell them that I didn't quite attend "school".

All homeschoolers follow a curriculum. I had my own. Rather than following the educational philosophies of a bunch of North Americans (ha), I decided to learn what I wanted to learn.

Now this tends to raise questions. Perhaps I missed out on a few "essential" areas of study? Indeed, I did miss out on quite a few areas if you consider physics, chemistry, additional mathematics (a uniquely Asian subject, I noticed) as compulsory life skills.

But somehow I've survived. My knowledge is extremely uneven, that I admit. In the place of equations (the beauty of which I've sadly yet to grasp) I substituted the study of ideas, dreams and doings of (mostly) dead white men. They would be known as history, philosophy and maybe theology. I've picked up what would be called Information Technology skills as well, something which is helping me most tremendously in my current job.

In my current state of busyness I've sadly fallen far short in the schedule of my grand education plan (indeed, who does not?). I remember, of course, that knowledge does not equal wisdom and that learning for the sake of learning is a time-waster that is admirable but a time-waster nonetheless.

But enough about my experiences. To learn what you want to learn. That's a radical thought. Almost like saying do whatever you want to do. Actually, it's the exact same thing. We're too afraid to let our young do what they want to do. And we probably have good reasons for that. But there is mostly bad reasoning behind the current process. I'm not just referring to the local education system of this country (indeed, people in the US [1] and Europe [2] have expressed the same concerns about their own educational systems).

I chose to do what I wanted to do. I have no regrets for not reading the textbooks I was supposed to read and for not going to the classes I was supposed to be in. But I do regret one thing - now that I have looked beyond the teachers and the classroom walls, I only see a vast sea of knowledge I dare not swim in.

___________________________________________________

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Superman

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

Logs of War

The publishing of "The War Logs" by Wikileaks [1] has been seen as a seminal moment by many, comparable to the release of the Pentagon Papers. And while I think this is a great leap forward for freedom of information and brings renewed attention to an increasingly futile "war", I suspect that by making the U.S. once again the target of global scorn, this will only draw attention away from countries that should also be brought into the light.

To name a few: China, North Korea, Iran. I take a special interest in China especially - I have read and heard all too many stories of abuses of government officials (see this revealing case [2]).

Transparency, like sunlight, should shine down on everyone.

Inception

Not much superlatives this time. Ah, where do I start.

Firstly, Christopher Nolan has saved the summer. We had the disappointing Iron Man 2, the so-so Robin Hood and the dreadful Prince of Persia. Let's just say The Last Airbender doesn't count. There's Toy Story 3, but unfortunately no decent entertainment for the more sophisticated set (ha).

Until now.

Inception is about dreams. Best description? Imagine The Matrix as a heist film. The whole idea about entering dreams (besides the having fun part) is so that you could steal ideas. In this case, however, our ensemble attempts to plant one. Ah, gone are the days when there was truth serum and low-tech Manchurian candidate mind-control.

The whole concept is very,very interesting. The execution could have been better. Nolan can't have it both ways - a movie set in a dream world, which by definition is wispy and evanescent. Instead he treats us to a world as lucid as The Matrix. It's a slightly complicated story. The framing and editing of the scenes don't help, and I am always unimpressed with films who chop up their chronology in order to look complex.

I confess I am a little disappointed. Come on - you're in a dream world with infinite possibilities for an action sequence and all we get is a generic car and snowmobile chase, the latter much less entertaining than the one found in Modern Warfare 2. There is, however, an outstanding but all too short zero- gravity sequence. Give me more folding cities, please.

Inception is one of those stories that seems to cry out for multiple viewings. I would say that isn't quite necessary - despite it's many layers, it's easily deciphered if you're quick enough. Satisfying and disappointing.