Singapore's Olympic Education Programme

National Education, Olympic Education, what's the next WAYANG programme?

Yours truly was unfortunately in a pilot programme for the introduction of the National Education Programme. No thanks to that, me and my comrades were encumbered by up to an extra 2 hours a week to listen to propaganda. In later years, Social Studies even became a compulsory subject in school exams in Singapore. Like school hours weren't long enough.

It's like one of those things where you learn more about something to dislike that something. You just can't force it. Have a National Education musuem, and leave it as that. Maybe hand out flyers or broadcast this to students in school assemblies. No one likes strong-arm techniques. Neither did we enjoy national heritage tours. Some will always be rebels. Like me.

Olympic Education! How daft. Just because Youth Olympic Games is around the corner. Chief aim? One can assume its to be better hosts next year for the games. In plainer words, to make our young sportsfans. Not sportsmen. You want more sportsmen, then make specialized sport a subject throughout education years. Never ever let our young think that "it's time to get real, study hard and get good grades and get a good job". That's happening right now! I'm so frustrated. Singapore produced so many world-beaters in international Olympiads, in international sports meets, but what happened after Secondary School level, JC level? Where have they gone? Why have we come to such a sorry end that we had to make up for our lack of sports talent and sports diversity by having a largely table-tennis and badminton contingent?

Educate Singapore's parents. Not the kids. Kids will know about sports and develop interest in it. Parents on the other hand have got to stop being such prudes as to think that their kids are wasting time pursuing a sporting career. Professional sportsmen are highly respected in other parts of the world. Not here. If you tell someone here that your profession is "athlete", they'll look at you like they said the worst swear word.

Scrap all this stupid programmes and let our kids learn and develop naturally.

I AM AGAINST EUTHANASIA

I am against euthanasia, and drugs used for it like Valabarb. However I wasn't always against euthanasia. I used to think that elderly people who've gone through a lot of suffering deserved to preserve their dignity in dying, even if it meant dying beyond their time. Such used to be also my thoughts given that “their time (to die)” is really their time anymore, owing to the wonders and freaks of medical science advancement.

While euthanasia is an induced death, and a speeded exit from this world, medical science (that you encounter in hospitals and clinics), or Medi-Care, serves to do the exact opposite – its prerogative is to have a person live till he is EVEN incapable of being artificially sustained.

Medi-Care, is equally debate-able. Daniel James, 23, of Britain who was paralysed from a rugby accident lived to have to try to kill himself the second and third time before resorting to Valabarb – no thanks to Medi-care which did not leave him to die.

The Vatican and many activists lobby against Euthanasia because it is “playing God” to decide when one dies. Yet, why does Medi-Care go un-objected for “playing God” in letting the terminally wounded and ill, live?

Medi-Care's argument perhaps is in that somewhere down the road, some doctor from somewhere in the world with the help of some doctor from some other part in the world will be able to come together and give a total turnaround solution that would enable the near dead to be fully alive. Present day examples might include highly advanced prosthetic limbs that operate on the body's micro-currents that enable an amputee to resume his regular activities. The obvious assumption, is, that people in dire straits can afford the wait.

Medi-Care's posture is that a person should not be left to die so long he or she has the will to live. By the same token, why doesn't euthanasia receive the same treatment. Moreover these days, a hospital's medical team would resuscitate and do the required surgeries to revive the ghastly near-dead found on the road whether he happened to be there, or that he chose to be. They also put an elderly person with multiple-organ-failure on life support whether or not he will ever be capable to live without it.

Yet, the reason why I disapprove of euthanasia lies in the fact that life is a gift, and many still do not feel that it is so because they are negative. Some could be born out of wedlock and abandoned, some could be born to a pair of incapable parents, some could be born to an over-bearing family, while some were spoiled with every comfort from a young age – all developing negativity and intolerance for life. Positive people pick themselves up and have a good stretch and a laugh after they trip and fall. Negative people wallow in self-pity and strike out at their “hard life” and people around them. Positive people resent every additional second they are warded in hospital following an accident, and probably do get discharged in half-time because science has proven that positivity energizes and repairs the body on a cellular level. Negative people relish every new day they are warded in hospital and the concern of all their visitors who fear this person is really going to die.

Nick Vujicic, a limb-less motivational speaker, of http://www.livingwithoutlimbs.org has transformed many lives to be in tune with the positivity note. Yet, people who avert themselves from help continue to go down that negative path. Some day, they might hear of the positive note, but what if it comes no sooner than a mishap.

As a positive person who needed no assistance in wheeling myself out from my ward, to crutch-walking to a nearby shopping centre for a normal person's lunch, I would let Medi-Care do everything they can for me so long I will once again resume regular life. While life is a gift, life is also a choice. But so long one breathes, he can develop the choice to live, and see a reason worth living for. So long there is life around me, there I shall be.

Learned Helplessness

My paternal grandmother, who recently turned 88, is terminally ill. My relatives spend hours a week on ding-dong debate with the hospital doctors and medical practitioners in the family about my grandmother's condition. Not too long ago, when she was still walking fit, the same relatives spent copious amounts of time, mapping out fuss-free and effort-less solutions to her every care in life. As simple as: taking a bath, reading the newspaper, a medicine shelf, a supplement shelf, walks in the park, to more complicated things like: kitchen organisation, things she might need to buy, clothes she might need to buy after she lost weight, a roster of which family member attends to her which day and what time of the week, medicine consumption schedules, gram-mage of carbohydrate and protein and dietary fiber per meal – so that she would need as little mental or physical input as possible.

I don't agree about the physical part, and I can't disagree more about the mental part. Impact activity increases bone density. Weight-bearing activity keeps muscles in tone. Mental activity preserves neuro-linkages. Lack of activity, like excessive sleeping, is not good for health.

Spiritually, while she wasn't curtailed, she was much-marketed Christianity, to the end that her birthday invitation card resembled a eulogy in print, only describing her journey to being Christian.

As vocal as I am, I'm born into a family where kids are to be seen and not heard- which explains why I just have to rant over here. I hope someone from the family looks here and sees my account. Probably a few folks might sit me down for a talk of sense and morals, but it's not going to make me think any better about why things were the way they were.

Welcome Julian and Vanessa to Stomp!

There it is.. Griblit and I are both in the Stomp, Star Blogs line up! 

I could be happier about this if my left profile was used. And Griblit would prefer if her right profile was used.  Photographer just wouldn't understand our reasons for standing a certain way. Hello.. we look at ourselves at the mirror daily.  But thankfully! The profile pic is way better.

This one sure gives Kwon Sang Woo a run for his money. If you haven't seen my Stomp Blog, my direct link is http://starblog.stomp.com.sg/post.php?blogid=1003

Ok.. gonna make way for Griblit to use the internet connection now.. More posts on its way.

Greetings!

It's been a long while since I've been blogging! 

I decided that a long break begets a new beginning, so here I am starting out on blogger. I figured that it's more searcheable. Honestly, Xanga works better on Mac.. but whatever.

Guess what? I'm now on Stomp Star Blogs! Life's gone a full circle since way back during Moblog Idol days.

You can check out my blog entry on http://starblog.stomp.com.sg

Meanwhile.. here's some crack video of mine I'm sure you'll enjoy!