{"id":6353,"date":"2013-01-17T22:27:14","date_gmt":"2013-01-17T14:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/blog\/?p=6353"},"modified":"2025-03-06T16:53:27","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T16:53:27","slug":"summary-of-entire-blog-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2013\/01\/17\/summary-of-entire-blog-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"summary of entire blog, part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

(part 2<\/a>, part 3<\/a>, part 4<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Gig Reviews:<\/p>\n

Stasis 10: Curtain Call<\/a>
\nBaybeats 08 Results
\nFlybar & Ronin
\n<\/a>Valentine’s Letter<\/a>\u00a0and Juxtapose<\/a>
\nWake Up Your Weekend<\/a>
\nMessage from the local music scene, by Levan Wee<\/a><\/p>\n

on judgement<\/a>\u00a0– a reflective post, thinking about the gossip and in-fighting in the scene, and an apology for participating in negative energy.<\/p>\n

negative elements within the local music scene<\/a> – frustration with musicians insulting and badmouthing each other instead of focusing on their own craft<\/p>\n

RIP JBJ<\/a>\u00a0no commentary, just a thank you.<\/p>\n

Taxi Fare Increases<\/a><\/p>\n

Smoking\/Sucidal Thoughts<\/a>, Correlation does not imply Causation<\/p>\n

2009<\/p>\n

Paramore than Hayley<\/a>– frustration with Hayley-mania overshadowing the actual band. (Short, simplistic post)<\/p>\n

Adam Lambert’s Marketability as a Gay Man<\/a>\u00a0it’s good to be different.<\/p>\n

Narcissism and having many online friends: bad?<\/a>\u00a0I didn’t think it was necessarily so.<\/p>\n

Republic vs. Democracy<\/a>\u00a0commentary on a 28 minute video on MySpace about political structuers in the US. This was the video that first made me properly realize that “ultimate freedom” is no freedom at all, that we have to give up some freedoms to access greater ones. Interesting to note that the Founding Fathers of the US didn’t support a “pure” or “absolute” democracy.<\/p>\n

The Unbearable Melancholy of Being<\/a>\u00a0– Written when I was thinking about what it’s like to feel down, rather than when I was actually down. Contemplative. Decided the solution was to direct attention outwards rather than inwards, to seek to serve others instead of wallowing in self-pity (however justified).<\/p>\n

Religion isn’t just personal<\/a>\u00a0this was based on a discussion in SOFT’s forums. Describes my sense of discomfort with the way some people have no freedom of choice when it comes to religion.<\/p>\n

Singapore: Good, Bad, Ugly<\/a>\u00a0– I wrote this in 2006 on sg_ljers, a livejournal community for Singaporeans. Expresses my frustration with the levels of social capital in Singapore- graciousness, support for local arts, overly mercenary approach to life.<\/p>\n

Discuss the influence of celebrities on teenagers<\/a>\u00a0– an essay I wrote for English class in Secondary school. (2006). Celebrities can have positive or negative influences on teens. What’s important is that we teach teens to decide what’s best for themselves.<\/p>\n

The Economics of Ignorance<\/a>\u00a0based on a discussion at Typology Central forums. Why do people love to make ignorant assumptions? Probably because it’s an easier way to live, and the incentive to do otherwise isn’t strong enough (for most people, in most circumstances.) Perhaps we could work on changing this. Revisit?<\/p>\n

The Inadequacy of Critical Thinking<\/a>\u00a0Critical thinking is great, and too many people are terrible at it, but it is not enough. We also need lateral thinking, imagination, creative thinking.<\/p>\n

Why I stopped reading<\/a>\u00a0Reflections about my journey from being a voracious reader, stopping, and going back again. The urge to learn and see. Revisit this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Soulmates<\/a>\u00a0Apparently one of the best things I’ve written- about how the idea of soulmates is actually limiting and relatively unromantic to the idea of building something together with someone you choose to be.<\/p>\n

2010<\/p>\n

confessions<\/a>\u00a0this was a response to a typologycentral thread. I describe how easily I am moved by climaxes in music, movies and art, and how easily I get nauseated, too.<\/p>\n

advice-free pity<\/a>\u00a0don’t feed people’s self-pity too much. Don’t become the shoulder to cry on. Erhm… I’m not so sure if I still feel this way. A bit strongly worded, a bit too simplistic. Some people might be clinically depressed. I did say to be honest about your own limits, and that still holds.<\/p>\n

2010<\/p>\n

acknowledging inflated self worth<\/a>\u00a0this is a recurring issue for me.<\/p>\n

justin bieber: hardworking but annoying and destined for douchebaggery<\/a>\u00a0in this post I become a presumptuous old man frustrated with the state of affairs today, and describe Bieber as destined to never put out anything of serious worth. He’s lasted long than I expected. We’ll see.<\/p>\n

paramore<\/a>\u00a0thoughts about the band’s journey and my personal relationship with that.<\/p>\n

Why JC students do not deserve priority over poly students<\/a>. I was a JC student, and I do not feel in any way more deserving of a university place than a hardworking poly student. Let the admissions decide.<\/p>\n

Incentives<\/a>\u00a0if a CEO spots someone on his staff who would be a better CEO than him, he should have the incentive to replace himself. Existing systems don’t really encourage this. Revisit this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

JC censors Valedictorian’s speech<\/a>, and Maddy’s Speech<\/a>. Was personally frustrated and upset with the bureaucracy and the moralizing of school administrators thinking they knew what was best or right.<\/p>\n

Truth is seen, not heard.<\/a>\u00a0Something from 48 Laws that struck me hard. (Delete after revising)<\/p>\n

wisdom of the infatuated<\/a>\u00a0me rationalizing my schoolboy crush on the idea of a girl that never existed anywhere other than in my mind<\/p>\n

familar empty feeling<\/a>\u00a0this was a response to a friend’s livejournal post, which really hit me in the heart. I don’t feel like my response was adequate.<\/p>\n

Why local music?<\/a>\u00a0response to a formspring.me question. Used home cooked food analogy.
\n“support all local music”- shortsighted?<\/a> yes. (another formspring question)<\/p>\n

Thoughts on virginity?<\/a>\u00a0be sex-positive, but also be sensible and thoughtful.<\/p>\n

Love is alive<\/a>\u00a0it’s something you nurture and grow, not something you fall into. (Use for poached)<\/p>\n

malays in the SAF<\/a>\u00a0formspring question. I admit I don’t know enough to give a significant response. Should revisit this.<\/p>\n

political nature of SG’s mandatory death penalty<\/a>\u00a0I believe that we kill people primarily for political purposes. don’t know if it’s good or bad, but not too proud of it.<\/p>\n

mrt graffiti and insecure foreign policy<\/a>\u00a0mild disgust and dismay at our knee-jerk “punish the bugger” mindset. wish we could afford to be more kind.<\/p>\n

in poker as in life, develop the right mindset<\/a>\u00a0heh, at one point I was planning to do an entire series of blog posts based on poker. I sound like some self-help guru. ew.<\/p>\n

hayley williams<\/a>\u00a0pictures and a thoughtful quote<\/p>\n

improving life with small changes: daily tracking<\/a>\u00a0don’t always follow my own advice.<\/p>\n

perfectionism as excuse<\/a>\u00a0I’m just afraid to confront myself, and to fail<\/p>\n

growing pains<\/a>\u00a0– written to try and understand why I was getting so irritable all the time (at the time.)<\/p>\n

bingeing and moderation<\/a>\u00a0enlightened hedonism means knowing when to stop<\/p>\n

would you rather be rich and hate your job or poor and love it<\/a>\u00a0poor<\/p>\n

on fearlessness and enemies<\/a>\u00a0beautiful quote about the setting-sun warrior’s POV, which I used to have and sometimes still do. Broadened my perspective on the range of possible outcomes to a given conflict.<\/p>\n

Baybeats 2010: “I went to Baybeats, on the first and third days. I liked catching bands like Postbox and Trella, but it was Hong Kong’s Modern Children that I fell in love with. They reminded me of what it is about live music that tugs at the heartstrings. I want to remember this feeling.”<\/p>\n

Diminishing the smoking<\/a>\u00a0I’ve written many posts about quitting or trying to quit smoking. I still haven’t. But i’ll just leave the posts here as a reminder of my own fallibility and inconsistency.<\/p>\n

Q&A Time<\/a>\u00a0me cheekily answering a bunch of rhetorical questions from a friend’s blog<\/p>\n

What makes you happy but not others\/would you lose memories or the chance to make new ones?<\/a>\u00a0some Q&A<\/p>\n

candid assessment of my weaknesses<\/a>\u00a0i deceive myself, have bad work ethic and am nowhere nearly as perceptive as I like to think I am<\/p>\n

[XKCD] A picture of all 786 planets to scale<\/a>\u00a0we should be a lot more excited than we are<\/p>\n

how my mind works: mind explosion<\/a>\u00a0a word vomit before i started doing word vomits<\/p>\n

Singaporean Education System:<\/a>\u00a0Not defined by govt alone. Not a very pleasurable experience. Outdated. Overly bureaucratic.<\/p>\n

On Efficiency<\/a>\u00a0I want to be efficient, want to be productive. Still not there.<\/p>\n

Falling sick sucks<\/a>\u00a0but illness is an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is, regarding stoicism.<\/p>\n

Work hard? Me? But I’m Gifted!<\/a>\u00a0addressing my learnt lackadaisical attitude and my desire to appreciate the value of hard work.<\/p>\n

Workout picture updates. Deleted because the pictures are gone<\/p>\n

Changed my mind about routines<\/a>\u00a0used to hate them, then realized I have bad routines, and might as well use good ones to give me some freedom. this is consistent with and similar to\u00a0no absolute absence of structure, no true anarchy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

how to deal with an existential crisis<\/a>\u00a0using buddha’s poisoned arrow analogy<\/p>\n

Questions for you<\/a>\u00a0I remember I wrote this on pen and paper when I was feeling a certain “perseverance” feeling. REVISIT<\/strong><\/p>\n

Marginal Differences Change Your Life (Tony Robbins)<\/a>\u00a0a bit of self-helpy ness<\/p>\n

Sex in the ACJC<\/a>\u00a0frustration with all the moral bullshit being brandished around over two girls making out in a school toilet. (One of the most popular posts on my blog, lol)<\/p>\n

Ideas, purpose, excellence, progress<\/a>: use blog as a crucible for ideas, use blog to keep track of life and empty thoughts into<\/p>\n

snippets of memoirs<\/a>\u00a0thoughts about being a video game geek, musician etc<\/p>\n

goals, routines, habits and hesitation<\/a>\u00a0: blog more, workout more, read more<\/p>\n

Transcending domain specificity:<\/a>\u00a0talking about productivity again<\/p>\n

Haze, Herd Mentality and Effective Solutions:<\/a>\u00a0Opening the second door, seeding the tip jar.<\/p>\n

brain vomit: leaves<\/a>\u00a0this isn’t supposed to make sense<\/p>\n

why I believe in people:<\/a>\u00a0I am a person, no better than anybody else. I believe in myself- so I have to believe in people.<\/p>\n

What I learnt in 2010<\/a>\u00a0whole bunch of stuff that I take for granted now<\/p>\n

Resolutions for 2011<\/a>\u00a0same for 2012 and 2013 really<\/p>\n

3 kinds of problems<\/a>: ordered, complex, chaotic. ordered and chaotic are easy, complex is hard.<\/p>\n

workout paradigm shift:<\/a>\u00a0from 2-3 times a week to lighter daily workouts<\/p>\n

Smile Experiment<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0I practiced smiling more, and it made me happier and increased my positive interactions with others. Behaviour is contagious. Let’s all smile more.<\/p>\n

How to Save Singapore<\/a>\u00a0this was one of my stunning failures where I completely screwed up and pissed off almost everybody who read it. I left it intact as a reminder to myself of how things can go wrong, and to the reader that we all make mistakes.<\/p>\n

Personal Responsibility and Illness<\/a>\u00a0if you take care of yourself responsibly, you fall sick less, and impose\/frustrate your loved ones less, too<\/p>\n

Conditional Self-Esteem<\/a>\u00a0is a losing game. If you peg your self-worth to anything about yourself, you’re either not good enough, or you have to constantly struggle to be good enough. That struggle actually prevents you from doing your best work, because you’re so afraid of failure. One should be able to be happy and content while simultaneously failing and learning.<\/p>\n

Going Meta<\/a>\u00a0blogging about blogging, and deciding that i’m going to focus more on myself. (In a “increased self-awareness” kind of way.)<\/p>\n

Things I’d like to work on:<\/a>\u00a0Being more clear and organized as a thinker. I could delete this post.<\/p>\n

Do yourself a favour<\/a>\u00a0this was a passive-aggressive message to a friend- take a little bit of trouble to be nicer to people, and the world will treat you better for it.<\/p>\n

Now How?<\/a>\u00a0decided I’m not interested in academia, and that I want to be a problem solver, connecting academics and practitioners. I want to be useful to people in peddling information.<\/p>\n

Lumberjack, Major and Conductor<\/a>. Lumberjack sharpens his axe. Major works out to be at least as fit as half of his men. Conductor doesn’t make a sound (Ben Zander).<\/p>\n

There Are No Bad Experiences<\/a>\u00a0I got some bashing for writing this, perhaps because I wasn’t clear in my expression. Revisit!<\/p>\n

Last week of 2010<\/a>\u00a0you have to climb the ladder before you can discard it; i’m not a happy-go-lucky guy, everybody is everything<\/p>\n

Efficient Seat Distribution<\/a>\u00a0Here’s an idea to solve the bad distribution of seats: place the “burden” of interaction on the person who wants the seat. Remove unnecessary\/awkward guessing games- if you want a seat, ask for it, kindly.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

These are my posts up until the end of 2010.<\/p>\n