Running and Thinking

So.. whilst running, a couple of thoughts coalesced in my mind (notes here for future post ideas):

1. Opposite of love isn't hate, it's apathy. Like how some of my ex's simply stopped caring to tell me where I was going wrong. That's the problem- we need to deal with apathy and engage those that don't care anymore. 
2. Importance of physical fitness and the clarity of thought during those moments.
3. Dealing with failure (perceived failure).
4. Having opinions but having opinions shift with facts.
5. Books that encourage a love for learning.
6. Some friends have reached out and convinced me to re-title the blog. Apparently you need a certain level of IQ not to jump the conclusion that I'm "anti" this or "anti" that or a hater just based on the blog title at all.

Baby girl, there's so much I want to pass on to you and so many people I want you to meet like Uncle Don, my krav maga instructor and so forth. Can't wait to see your face in January 2013. 

Talk soon,

daddy

Love and hate are two sides of the same coin

Baby girl,

Many years ago, I was one of a trio of best friends. One of them was a wise gongfu trainee, for his privacy, I'll nickname him Wudang. He told me this, "Love and hate are two sides of the same coin."

You see when Will McAvoy from the Newsroom goes off tangent on a rant about how the United States has turned into a rabid mass of UN-AWESOME, we can tell that he's a man deeply wounded and deeply confounded by the state of things in HIS country today.

Sweetie pie, I grew up on a smorgasbord of "Stand Up for Singapore", "Count on me Singapore" and "One people, one nation, one singapore"- those were good times. You can sing those songs without irony because it did indeed represent how the people felt.

Growing up in the 80s was a period of optimism, to me, it's is Singapore's true golden age. Maybe it's Singapore through a child's eyes but people were happier and aunties less grumpy- it was the age of "Soundblaster? That's Creative Technologies baby- that's SINGAPORE DESIGNED AND MADE!"

Growing up in the 90s, was even better. Foreign talent wasn't a dirty word back then. We LOVED our foreign talent. They had names- Alister Edwards and Abbas Saad. Baby girl, we OWNED (sorry baby girl, gamer term used to describe how soundly we defeated someone) the Malaysian Football League so hard, they asked Singapore to stop competing (which is why we have our own league today).

I want Singapore to be great the way I remembered it to be. I want Singapore to be awesome for everyone not just for us. If in the future, anyone like "Maxsee" over there tells you that being critical about something is hate- I can tell you that it's not.

Mommy nags daddy to put his socks away regularly, that's not hate, she does it because she loves me and wants me to be more than who I am already. She sees daddy for the intellect but has aspirations for him to be neater.

When I "criticise" you for having a messy room in the future, it's not because I love you less, it's because I love you enough to what to see you reach your full potential.

I love this one statement from Maxsee, "Your daddy believes that his opinion is the end all of opinions and no one else is entitled to have a differing one."

First, that's not true because I appreciate his view. I appreciate that he took the effort to point I was wrong about "Janise". I appreciate that he has taught me something. Second, the irony is that that is the problem with PAP today- their opinions are the best, no one else is entitled to having a different one. Which is why they are attempting and mostly likely failing in this "national conversation"- everyone on the internet is deeply cynical about it. There's a reason why daddy hasn't said much about it yet, because I still hope.

You must dare to hope baby girl because we are nothing without dreams and aspirations. You must be bigger than yourself, you must want the best for people around you because we lift each other up.

Baby girl, I have to apologise. Why you ask? As Uncle @Longadin and Maxsee proved ad hominem attacks are not the best form of the argument. They should never be used, especially if you don't properly research something as crucial as the spelling on someone's name. But that's for tomorrow because daddy has to go train for IPPT.

NOT PROPERLY RESEARCHED!? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SHIT!?

Talk soon,

daddy.

Dear Daughter...

My child,

By the time you read this, I really hope you will have been old enough to have heard the words "fuck" and "shit" already uttered by your peers. If you haven't, I really owe you and mommy an apology- FYI mommy will explain what those words mean.

Anyway-

My child, you are about to be born into one of the oddest countries in the world. A nation where citizens pay for Chanel bags but are really ok with Giordano quality, a city-state where the people are as woefully ignorant of their own surroundings as they are of their political destiny.

You will have a tough battle ahead, but it's alright; because daddy will be helping you in this fight. Daddy will give you the most important gift you will ever receive (no, it's not a pony because we're not rich, in fact our public housing is pegged to private prices- but that's for another day)- critical thinking skills.

You see baby girl, critical thought is what separates us from mindless morons. It's going to be uphill because the Ministry of Education is dedicated to making sure you become a mindless moron (otherwise how else can we accept that it's ok to get Giordano quality but pay thousands for a Chanel bag like the pretty one mommy has?). There will be things to memorize, there's no running away from that BUT I want you to question everything and form your own well thought out opinions.

Newton was proven wrong only because Einstein dared to question. That was in 1930s. Today, in the year of our lord (anno domini) 2013, is no different.

Today's first lesson:

In my time, there was this website called theonlinecitizen.com, please don't confuse it with STOMP. Only one of them has real citizen journalism, anyway- back in the day, there were 2 athletes. 1 was "recruited" from China, Feng Tianwei, she plays table tennis. The other was locally born, Laurentia Tan, she rides horses in a sport called "equestrian".

Setting the Context

On recruitment, Feng Tianwei received a monthly salary, accommodation and sports coaches. Laurentia on the other hand, had to leave Singapore on her own pocket, pay for her own coaches and train by herself, no salary. This is called "setting up the context". States Straits Times will probably be around by the time you get around to reading this, so I better explain "setting up the context".

You see baby girl, PAP and ST don't like setting up the context because it leaves too many open ends. It is far easier to frame the question in a way to force the answer that you want. In court, it's called getting lawyered. In a social context, it's called "douchebaggery" (mommy will explain).

How Idiots "Frame" the Question

Context is important, because it lays the foundation for all the relevant facts for you to make a logical assessment. I will show you how a question gets "framed".

You see baby girl, Adrian Tan has framed the matter into "Olympian versus PARALYMPIAN"- by spelling alone, you will notice that the two words are different already and so therefore, when he makes the analogy, "next you will be saying that a dog is a cat. Different." - other idiots who don't see the broader context will be forced to agree with him- because- hey look, spelling IS different. See, already one idiot agrees with him.

But daddy is nice because he wants you and other Singaporeans to learn. So he sets up the context for Mr. Tan. Paralympian is a short form way of saying "Olympian with disability"- this opens the discussion by defining what an Olympian and Paralympian is so that the debate is not merely about the spelling. By providing definition, we see that the similarity between the two are there. So daddy goes a step further to help clear the confusion.

Olympian = doggy. Paralympian = doggy with three legs. But both are still dogs, only that the three legged one is disabled. Do you see the difference baby girl?

Using Facts to Support Lame Arguments (without context)

Now look at this lady, she's a bit more intelligent (but not much)

Baby girl, if you end up like a name like Janise, I'm really REALLY sorry. Daddy will do everything to make sure you don't get some weird name like your classmate Beckham or Jackson but sometimes, when mommy wants certain things then daddy LL (i'll explain when you're older).

Anyway, Janise Tan reframes the argument into something more potent- nonsequiter argument with facts and stats! You see, you cannot argue facts and stats- but when interpreted in the wrong context, facts and stats help you sell LIES.

She equates the olympics with that of private games like NBA basketball or EPL soccer. But the Olympics are an international event, the primary objective isn't really about making money (daddy is joking of course it is) but seriously, the real rational is about fostering the human spirit and unity- unite the world as one as we watch these humans push themselves to the limits of human capability.

But here's the thing- Olympics are funded by corporate sponsors. The athletes are sponsored by their home countries. When players play in the NBA, they are sponsored by teams who in turn are sponsored by corporations. The key difference is when Kobe Bryant plays for Team USA in the Olympics, he is wearing national colors. When he plays in the NBA, he's wearing his team uniform (yes) but with corporate logos.

One is service to country (which doesn't pay very well usually) and the other is professional athletics (which pays VERY well).

Now baby girl, you see the difference? One is playing for country (where you hope to earn national pride and glory), another is playing for salary (where you hope to earn a living wage). So daddy tries to explain to Janise (if mommy really wants to name you Janice, I'll make sure it's the proper spelling- deal?)

What has daddy done again? I have set up the context in the form of a question. I've broken the issue up for the nice lady and provided a simple to understand analogy using her ROI (return on investment) logic.

First I remind her that Olympics is very different from professional sports. Furthermore, I establish that if both Feng Tianwei and Laurentia Tan are representing SINGAPORE the country and not their own professional teams. So in this case, as public servants to Singapore in sports.

Second, I draw the analogy, we agree they are sports public servants playing under Singapore colors. So I take the lady's ROI argument and point to another type of public servants- Firemen. You see baby girl, firemen don't fight fires everyday, they only have "work" to do when there is a fire or civil emergency. But firemen still need to eat because they have to be on standby for disasters- does that mean we don't pay them when there's no "work"?

Obviously not.

Does that mean we should pay firemen who do less "work" less? Obviously not.

WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?

Sorry baby, daddy normally doesn't get upset like that but I fear that with you growing up in this environment, you might start thinking like that lady Janise.

Is Janise a moron? Obviously yes. Please don't be like her.

Talk to you soon,
daddy.