giving back to the climbing community

musings from the edge

ben started a climbing blog and promptly arrowed Tim and myself to be editors. here's your account and your password. thanks! sheesh.. how to turn down the man like that? the aim of the blog is to engage the climbing community in singapore, and get them to reflect/think critically/have their say. put several hours of effort into discussions and mulling over what to write. from beginning with nothing, to at least having some semblance of a plan now, things are looking up. in my first contribution, i touched on the concept of a 'project' and penned my opinions. these opinions are based on my experiences, gathered as a result of pursuing excellence in the sport for close to 7 years. no doubt, my experience pales in comparison against those of veteran climbers - that much i readily admit. will be most honored if a veteran climber steps forth to rectify any misconceptions, which i may have the misfortune to be afflicted with. overall, i hope i didnt do too badly =x

seeing it was the first topic, i wrote a safe, docile post - nothing too controversial. incidentally, i looked through another article due to be published in the future and almost had an heart attack. the piece was brutally honest, and certainly will affect the sensibilities of certain climbers. this editor job is a turning out to be quite a biatch. dont want to cramp the style of other contributors, yet reluctant to place my head on the chopping board and incur the backlash of readers. no rest for the weary..

for those whose curiosity i managed to pique, do take a peek at www.sgclimb.com/edged. any comments/insights/constructive criticisms will be much appreciated =)

DYNO articles

also doing up some articles for the latest edition of DYNO. got the opportunity to interview some of the giants in the climbing scene here. the subject is regarding work/life/climbing balance - a topic close to my heart. having started an intern position at some company here, i've a first hand experience at how (mentally and physically) draining a 9-6 job can be. so far, i'm inspired at my interviewees' replies. attempting to bring out my sense of wonder at their candor, sincerity and down-to-earth attitudes.

to do the subject justice and to inspire the younger generation to walk in their footsteps of their giants, this mandate i gladly choose to shoulder.

facebook mail cont. (from a christian passer-by)

Hello, I read this note of yours. I ain't anybody you know but I happen to view your writings via multiple links on facebook.

Just want you to know that i'm in awe of your writing. the style you use, you certainly deserve to have your opinion expressed. I couldnt sense any hate; only heartbreak. Please continue to do what you're doing and there are people like me who will take interest in reading. Please, disregard those intruders and keyboard warriors.

That was dated February so a few months have passed, I really hope you've gotten over her. So sorry to have read about such a situation. My heart goes out to you. Really. That's my whole purpose. To empathize with you.

I would just say be strong, the next one that comes along will be a better one. I cannot fully relate to you but i definitely feel your anguish. Wanna say that many Christians' approaches to things and peoples around them are to hopelessly bad. I cannot judge whoever because I have no idea.

We all look back on things of the past and almost certainly smile about folly or fondness. I see capability in you and admire your enduring personality. Your future is up to you to carve. Go ahead find a better one, earn lots of money and enjoy your golden years to come. I'm sure you have a wide pick of fishes in the sea.

-concerned passerby.

Musings in June

earlier in the day, my aunt's financial adviser had some free movie tickets to the Prince of Persia. lets call her Amy (not her real name). Amy invited my aunt and i tagged along. we were joined by Amy's husband, Bob (not his real name).

being ever inquisitive, i struck up a conversation. they are a young couple, with 2 children aged two and six. like all parents, Amy and Bob want the best for their children. Bob is a stay-home dad in charge of bringing up the children plus assisting Amy in the technical aspect of the business. i think they wanted a third-person perspective, because they asked me about my background, and my opinion on how children should be brought up.

i shared with them how strict my parents were with me as i was younger. for example, if i scored 94/100 for a math paper, they would cane me 6 times. Amy and Bob were flabbergasted. i shared with them how i think that a child should be motivated using a balanced approach - carrot and stick. the kids of today are very smart. after watching jack neo's "i'm not stupid" movies, they know how to use the stigma associated with punishing your child as generated by the movie. some of them can blatantly tell their parents how they are facing a lot of stress at school/cannot withstand the pressure cooker environment when they actually arent putting in much effort. of course, we should be on guard against such children and not be led around by the nose.

we discussed a whole range of topics. they shared with me their job experiences (Bob was previously an army regular). all in all, it was a pleasant conversation until.. the sticking point.

at one point, Bob went: i am quite impressed with you. you are a person with a lot of positive values. are you a christian?

Me: erm.. hmmmm.. ahhhh..

Amy and Bob: *smile expectantly*

Me: this is a tricky question. are you sure you want to hear my answer?

Amy and Bob: *smile awkwardly*

funny how to them, a person with positive values must be christian. it is as if they think their holy book to be the source of all morals. interestingly, the first 3 commandments of Moses' tablet had nothing to do with morals. which part of you shall have no gods before me, you shall not make wrongful use of the name of your god, or remember the sabbath and keep it holy teaches you anything about morals? from these 3 lines, parallels between a petty, jealous, dogma-touting and bigotry-spouting tyrant can be easily drawn.. the other 7 commandments can also easily be condensed into the golden rule. so much for the 10 commandments being the definitive source of morals in this world.

in another gaffe,

Amy: the bible is the best guide there is to bringing up my children. everything that i need to teach my child, the bible has.

Me: *smile politely*

deep inside, i smirked an incredulous what?! are you sure you have read the bible in its entirety? perhaps they glossed over the more nasty Levicticus or Numbers passages advocating genocide, slavery, discrimination and what not. they're lucky i wasn't in a particularly combative mood today.

overall, they were decent, pleasant and hardworking people. but i was hurt (love to employ the same pathos arguments often used against me) at how they asked the 'are you christian?' question. after not providing a conclusive 'yes' reply, i could almost see their erecting of invisible barriers between us. they appear to systematically refuse to connect on a deeper level with someone outside their group. this in-group versus out-group mentality is very damaging for social relations and runs counter to the cosmopolitanism of our country. not being aligned to any particular faith does not make me less of a person. this is especially so for a faith so intolerant and dogmatic.

in another similar case, i was having a perfectly happy conversation with my colleague at work until she asked if i were a christian (why does this always happen to me?). it is as if i am some christian magnet or something. after i didnt provide the reply she wanted, i could instantaneously feel a chill emanating from her.

maybe next time i should launch the first strike. perhaps i should go up to a christian and go are you a rock-climber? or are you a mathematician? or are you 23 years old? and instantly discriminate anybody whose fault is simply just being different. hurt me so deep (yay used it again!). too bad, because unless i remember wrongly, Jesus taught his disciples not to judge others. have the lessons been lost along the way? seems that poking little boys' asses, excommunicating nuns who decide for abortion to save a pregnant mothers life and discriminating against non-christians, among others, have taken center-stage lately, as opposed to living a life of frugality or spreading love and compassion.

in the movie there was a scene whereby the main female character chided the male lead. dont do that the gods will be angry. the male lead replied, yeah. your gods, not mine. i wonder what Amy and Bob must be thinking when they watched the film.

The Strait's Times 2/6/10 article

THINK-TANK
Pray, let's just live and let live

By Lee Wei Ling

LAST Friday was Vesak Day, when Buddhists celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death (or passing on to Nirvana) of Buddha.

When asked about my religion, I classify myself as an atheist who tries to live by the principles of Buddha. Whether the written record of his teachings conforms accurately with his words can never be known for sure. For example, whether Buddha specifically approved of the notion of reincarnation, or whether Buddhism tacitly accepted the then prevalent belief, I am not sure. I myself see no clear scientific evidence for reincarnation.

What seems certain is that Buddha denied he was God. But the now accepted practice of praying to Buddha - or his relics such as his hair, tooth, nails, etc - for things that he taught would bring suffering, began not too long after his demise.

Most people find the notion of a set of rules unattached to a central human-like figure inadequate for the purposes of consolation. The god of Abraham is a human-like supernatural being - all-powerful, all-knowing and all-benevolent. But while humans are made in his image, he specifically prohibits those who believe in him to visualise him concretely. The need to have a concrete figure to turn to is nevertheless present in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, with believers turning to the Virgin Mary as well as a host of saints to intercede on their behalf.

Islam prohibits the representation of the Prophet. In September 2005, Danish newspaper The Jyllands-Posten published cartoons depicting the Prophet. Muslims everywhere objected and some of the protests escalated into violence (resulting in a total of more than 100 deaths).

Judaism also disallows any representation of God. As Judaism is not a proselytising religion, there has been no recent episode of widespread violence when the stricture is contravened.

I have just returned from Tokyo where I visited Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. I was amused by the practice of buying pieces of paper which purportedly foretell one's future. If the prophesy is considered unlucky, the piece of paper can be tied to a wooden frame erected just beside the shop selling these pieces of paper. By doing so, the bad luck can evidently be 'left behind'. Such shops can be found at both Shinto and Buddhist shrines. I got one piece from a Shinto shrine and another from a Buddhist. Both were 'lucky'.

I also saw little wooden pieces hanging on wooden frames carrying written wishes for various things, worldly or otherwise, such as success in exams, good health, wealth, etc. This practice is not very different from what happens in many of our Buddhist and Taoist temples.

It is also not dissimilar to the practice of many Singaporeans who copy the licence numbers of cars involved in accidents, or make up some 'lucky' number derived from a significant date, to be used in betting. And some Singaporeans give thanks to the source of such a 'lucky' number.

For example, apparently the date when Huang Na, an eight-year-old girl from China, was cruelly murdered, won many punters prize money. In gratitude, some of this prize money was 'donated' to Huang Na's mother. The total sum received by the mother was several hundreds of thousand of dollars, enough to build a three-storey house in Huang Na's home town.

Karl Marx is reported to have said that 'religion is the opiate of the masses'. His actual words were more sympathetic: 'Religious distress is at the same time the expression of real distress and the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people. The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness.'

What Marx is saying is that religion creates illusory, compensatory fantasies for the poor. Economic realities prevent them from finding happiness in this life, but religion tells them that this is OK since they will find true happiness in the next life.

People are in distress, he acknowledges, and religion provides them with solace - just as people who are physically injured receive relief from opiates. One might rephrase Marx thus: 'Religion is an analgesic (painkiller).' It must have some survival benefit since all human societies have religions of some kind. Whether or not one can look down on 'pagan' religions, I would venture to say 'no'.

The two major Japanese religions created works of great beauty as well as instigated horrendously cruel acts during World War II. Perhaps Shintoism was twisted to brainwash Japanese. Their willingness to die for the then emperor-god, Hirohito, is mimicked today by the jihadist suicide terrorists.

Whether a belief in the supernatural constitutes a superstition or a religion may be arbitrary. On the whole, superstitious beliefs that are more organised are considered religions. I hope I have not antagonised any of my readers who are believers. I will admit that it is as difficult to prove my atheist beliefs are true as it is to prove religious beliefs are true. With those caveats, I would emphasise that all religions encourage us to do good. Let us be tolerant of all religious practices that do not encourage us to maim or kill or otherwise harm each other; live and let live.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute. Think-Tank is a weekly column rotated among eight leading figures in Singapore's tertiary and research institutions.

a little too gay for my liking (cont)

on a more serious note, i've been friends with bernard for 7 years and counting now. all these while he's been patient, always ready to lend a listening ear, and remain stoic and silent while i banter on and on about mundane things that hold little interest to him. he's more pragmatic - gunning for that 5 digit monthly salary (of which he's giving me a cut), whereas i'm more idealistic - cooped up in a dreamy-headed contemplation of life's issues.

as i grow older, the qualities of a person that used to be endearing to me, e.g. cool to hang around with, having all the latest boy toys (for a guy) or pretty face/big boobs/tight ass (for a girl, NO i'm not shallow) have all lost their appeal. what i hold close to my heart now are people who cherish their relationship with others, who remain steadfast in their friendship, and dont break my heart.

although i sucked big time at this comp (only touched 7 tiles - possibly my worst record so far), i must say that i had LOADS of fun competing in it with him. shoulder to shoulder, as a peer. one who understands how hard it is to juggle the demands of school, work and climbing.

ahh the nostalgia.. those days spent training and competing together back in tj. our pre-comp ritual of thrash-talking each other and post-comp analysis of each and every move and how we could have done it better.. little wonder then, that we do the exact same sequences for our routes. am glad how some things dont ever change.

thank you bernard. for being always there, always dependable. let the good times roll..