Tuesday, September 22, 2015
I am the great lord
I am the lord of Singapore
I inherit this legacy
All who oppose me shall suffer
I have my gang
My riff-raff comes from near and far,
The elites and the foreigners
Those who kowtow to my command
Only fools don’t
I will be here smiling
always
I have heard you
grumbling in the night
You are stupid I
have told you
Only sycophants
will benefit
I am the lord of this island
Will make use of it as I please
Buy people to support my stand
Fix all who don’t
Be with me I will care for you
Do your duty and strength me
All services at your bidding
Judging be mine
I will be here smiling
always
I have heard you
grumbling in the night
You are stupid I
have told you
Only sycophants
will benefit
I control all institutions
NTUC handy
vouchers
My red guards the old PA breeds
They do my will
You are gone case now you have lost
Do not think it’s your tomorrow
You cannot change us as you’d wish
We rule always
Carry babies singing
parties
Open ceremonies is
my style
You should wake up beg
for mercy
Then we will be one
big family
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Angling
Angling
is a way of catching fish. Basically, this is done with a hook, the angle,
attached to a line, and usually extended with a rod. Angling is simply tricking
the fish by hooking it and hauling it up from its habitat. The technique of
catching fish by angling has been adapted and developed accordingly into a sophisticated
art using special tackles with various types of reeling mechanisms attached.
Fish may be found in ponds and lakes, streams and rivers, all over in the seas and oceans, and even in volcanic craters. To catch the fish the angler needs to know its physical structure, its behavior, its hunting ground and its favourite preys. Fish may hunt near the surface, at the bottom, at various depths, or even under rocks. The trick then is to lure it with the hook; a fish will not be caught if it does not open its mouth to swallow it. Thus the hook has to be presented such that the fish would spot it and go for it as if that is its prey. This is done by using a sinker to weigh it down, a float to keep it up, or both sinker and float to maintain it at the desired depth. A skillful angler could cast the hook to where the fish is expected to be, like fly fishing. Man is always ingenious, and will bait the hook with whatever he can contrive to deceive the fish, whether using live food, fake food or even the bare hook itself made cunningly.
One may say that the fish has nary a chance of survival with man around; the chance is there if it does keep its mouth shut, and not be led to swallow the hook, line and sinker, so to say. Angling, unlike commercial fishing, is done for various purposes, usually for personal living and often for casual food. It is also done for leisure, for solitude, for meditation, for relaxation, and for sport. The practice of releasing the fish which does not meet an appropriate size is slowing being adhered to where the angler is aware of it.
Angling is not totally confined to these types of activities. For sports enthusiasts catching fish is a big time expensive adventure. They employ the latest technique of angling and hunt for deep sea fish like marlin and tuna using fast sleek motor boats, and they troll, using smaller fish as bait. Commercial tuna fishing is an awesome spectacle; small fish harnessed and kept alive earlier are scattered into the sea where the tunas are spotted and many anglers on the huge barge-like ship just haul them up with unbaited hooks at the end of their long tackle. The tuna would get itself unhooked in its struggle on deck, and the process of angling the next tuna is repeated in this mechanical way physically.
The necessity to catch fish for survival has challenged man to persist in whatever way he could devise. Along the Sri Lankan shoreline between the towns of Unawatuna and Weligama the folks eke out a living at dawn and dusk by fishing from stilts planted in the sea. Crudely made by tying two cross pieces with twine the stilt becomes a platform from which the man dangles the fishing line while the water rises as the tie comes in. This method is primitive and very restrictive and without scope. But interestingly, it is slowing being turned around to appeal to tourists and photographers; one for the adventure and the other for his expertise. Even female tourists risk the ordeal, climbing up to the stilt and thereon having themselves photographed.
Fish may be found in ponds and lakes, streams and rivers, all over in the seas and oceans, and even in volcanic craters. To catch the fish the angler needs to know its physical structure, its behavior, its hunting ground and its favourite preys. Fish may hunt near the surface, at the bottom, at various depths, or even under rocks. The trick then is to lure it with the hook; a fish will not be caught if it does not open its mouth to swallow it. Thus the hook has to be presented such that the fish would spot it and go for it as if that is its prey. This is done by using a sinker to weigh it down, a float to keep it up, or both sinker and float to maintain it at the desired depth. A skillful angler could cast the hook to where the fish is expected to be, like fly fishing. Man is always ingenious, and will bait the hook with whatever he can contrive to deceive the fish, whether using live food, fake food or even the bare hook itself made cunningly.
One may say that the fish has nary a chance of survival with man around; the chance is there if it does keep its mouth shut, and not be led to swallow the hook, line and sinker, so to say. Angling, unlike commercial fishing, is done for various purposes, usually for personal living and often for casual food. It is also done for leisure, for solitude, for meditation, for relaxation, and for sport. The practice of releasing the fish which does not meet an appropriate size is slowing being adhered to where the angler is aware of it.
Angling is not totally confined to these types of activities. For sports enthusiasts catching fish is a big time expensive adventure. They employ the latest technique of angling and hunt for deep sea fish like marlin and tuna using fast sleek motor boats, and they troll, using smaller fish as bait. Commercial tuna fishing is an awesome spectacle; small fish harnessed and kept alive earlier are scattered into the sea where the tunas are spotted and many anglers on the huge barge-like ship just haul them up with unbaited hooks at the end of their long tackle. The tuna would get itself unhooked in its struggle on deck, and the process of angling the next tuna is repeated in this mechanical way physically.
The necessity to catch fish for survival has challenged man to persist in whatever way he could devise. Along the Sri Lankan shoreline between the towns of Unawatuna and Weligama the folks eke out a living at dawn and dusk by fishing from stilts planted in the sea. Crudely made by tying two cross pieces with twine the stilt becomes a platform from which the man dangles the fishing line while the water rises as the tie comes in. This method is primitive and very restrictive and without scope. But interestingly, it is slowing being turned around to appeal to tourists and photographers; one for the adventure and the other for his expertise. Even female tourists risk the ordeal, climbing up to the stilt and thereon having themselves photographed.
The most memorable fishing was done
in front of where I once lived, less than a furlong from the sea. It was
another simple way of fishing. That was in the 1950s along the East Coast beach
in Singapore. I just sat in the big fishermen’s boat moored near the beach as
the tide rose and hauled up the ikan pasir, a cylindrical fish less than a
foot long. My equipment was a No. 18 size hook tied with a six yards 10 lb.
nylon line and a two inch iron nail tied about a foot from it as sinker. No rod
was required and the other end of the line was secured to the boat, leaving my hands
free. It was so simple. My bait, sea worms, was caught the day earlier by
spitting where the waves broke and quickly gripping the worm’s head as it came
out with the thumb pressed against the arched forefinger; these worms were
later coated with the dry fine sea sand available at the top of the beach to
prevent it from wriggling when putting it on the hook. The ikan pasir coming
in with the tide were really voracious; and the unforgettable part was that the
water was so clear I could see the action happening right below. There were two
short periods in a month when the tide rose and ebbed calmly. My cost was negligible,
going home with the fish strung with the fishing line. Those were the days
before the beach was reclaimed.
Saturday, September 12, 2015
KLTC alumni – ondeh-ondeh ode
On 13 September 2015 at 13:53, Ronald Koh wrote:
KLTC alumni – ondeh-ondeh ode
K L T C alumni
Meet once a month on Friday
Greet each other happily
Funan center our usual place
Lo Loke Yee’s the motherhen
Keeps tabs on coming guests
Variety of yum yummy fares
Charkuayteow kopi or tea
crack a joke sneak a secret
Yarns to tell politic to sell
Pry and probe round and round
Nostalgic reminisces
One to one or in a group
Talk cock talk shop as pleases
On course off course discourse
Lowbeh comes the Lord’s blessings
Siow Keng Cheng the dessert-man
Twin standard assorted fruits
Teh Hong Kia our video-man
Makes movies with the noisy din
Rain or shine our spirit alive
Famous mark with the stallholders
One chatty group a feature there
Of men with well-worn respect
Ron
CHean,
OK hurray, this is the first step with a few more faltering following.
It is more a camouflage of Jabberwocky phrases to fit the Beethoven symphony.
The shortcomings are glaring and the notes are out of synchronisation.
But we will get it done TTTT, ho ho with a bucket of rum.
Stretching or compressing (ha ha you know what they mean) the notes is within your forte, and Daniel cheong will bend those rigid notes with his harmonica expertise.
And finally, after you have hung the towgays, that would be the masterpiece.
KLTC alumni – ondeh-ondeh ode
K L T C alumni
Meet once a month on Friday
Greet each other happily
Funan center our usual place
Lo Loke Yee’s the motherhen
Keeps tabs on coming guests
Variety of yum yummy fares
Charkuayteow kopi or tea
crack a joke sneak a secret
Yarns to tell politic to sell
Pry and probe round and round
Nostalgic reminisces
One to one or in a group
Talk cock talk shop as pleases
On course off course discourse
Lowbeh comes the Lord’s blessings
Siow Keng Cheng the dessert-man
Twin standard assorted fruits
Teh Hong Kia our video-man
Makes movies with the noisy din
Rain or shine our spirit alive
Famous mark with the stallholders
One chatty group a feature there
Of men with well-worn respect
Ron
Sunday, September 06, 2015
Heroes at Mount Kinabalu
Heroes are ordinary people
Mount Kinabalu is a mountain which top rises about 4,096
metres above sea level. It is in the state of Sabah
on the Borneo island of East Malaysia. It is renowned by its topographic prominence and has been
designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
Kinabalu Park, wherein Mount Kinabalu is sited, is one of the most important
biological sites in the world, boasting of over 5,000 species of plants, over
300 species of birds, and more than 100 species of mammals and of snails.
Mount Kinabalu is easy to conquer and physically fit
persons could climb up and rest near the top for the night, reach the top and
return to base the next day. The park and the mountain thus easily lures some
415,360 visitors and 43,430 climbers as recorded in 2004.
On 5 June 2015 at 07:15, the area around Mount Kinabalu shook. It was an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake was very sudden and showers of tumbling blocks of rocks left little room for escape for the people on the mountain slopes. Eighteen people, including hikers and mountain guides, were killed by the earthquake and a massive landslide that followed it. A group of student climbers and accompanying teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School of Singapore were caught in the disaster.
In the chaos of the disaster, amidst cascading rocks and boulders, injured and dead bodies of tourists, climbers and guides and hikers, ordinary people rose to the need and became heroes. These were from the very adventurers who were not injured or were still physically able. The call for helping their fellow companions was spontaneous and self-motivated. Amidst the unfolding danger of death, while the mountain continued shaking and more people getting injured, the sprung-up heroes went about the rescue work the way they just knew how. They ferried the injured by piggy-backing them down any tortuous path of loose rocks and shifted dirt that paved any way forward. Against the cold and difficult ordeal they relentlessly searched for and helped in whatever way they could, ignoring hunger and tiredness. For two days the heroes persisted, succumbing to fatigue or only when only dead bodies were discovered.
Heroes normally come and go, but one particular mountain guide turned hero became very famous. He was Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin whose action was captured by a photographer. The image of him carrying an injured boy on his back to safety was strikingly exceptional. This is the one picture that brings honour to a photographer. Many newspapers and news media carried this picture in their pages.
Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin was not the only hero like that; he happened just to have his action captured for posterity. This image of him, carrying an injured fellow human being about his own size while bringing him to safety has become iconic, a symbol of heroism at the catastrophic earthquake. The boy that was rescued by him was a student at Tanjong Katong Primary School. Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin with two other guides were accordingly honoured in Singapore and featured in their national news media for days. But Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin himself insisted that there were others who were as deserving of the credit as they themselves.
On 5 June 2015 at 07:15, the area around Mount Kinabalu shook. It was an earthquake of magnitude 5.9 on the Richter scale. The quake was very sudden and showers of tumbling blocks of rocks left little room for escape for the people on the mountain slopes. Eighteen people, including hikers and mountain guides, were killed by the earthquake and a massive landslide that followed it. A group of student climbers and accompanying teachers from Tanjong Katong Primary School of Singapore were caught in the disaster.
In the chaos of the disaster, amidst cascading rocks and boulders, injured and dead bodies of tourists, climbers and guides and hikers, ordinary people rose to the need and became heroes. These were from the very adventurers who were not injured or were still physically able. The call for helping their fellow companions was spontaneous and self-motivated. Amidst the unfolding danger of death, while the mountain continued shaking and more people getting injured, the sprung-up heroes went about the rescue work the way they just knew how. They ferried the injured by piggy-backing them down any tortuous path of loose rocks and shifted dirt that paved any way forward. Against the cold and difficult ordeal they relentlessly searched for and helped in whatever way they could, ignoring hunger and tiredness. For two days the heroes persisted, succumbing to fatigue or only when only dead bodies were discovered.
Heroes normally come and go, but one particular mountain guide turned hero became very famous. He was Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin whose action was captured by a photographer. The image of him carrying an injured boy on his back to safety was strikingly exceptional. This is the one picture that brings honour to a photographer. Many newspapers and news media carried this picture in their pages.
Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin was not the only hero like that; he happened just to have his action captured for posterity. This image of him, carrying an injured fellow human being about his own size while bringing him to safety has become iconic, a symbol of heroism at the catastrophic earthquake. The boy that was rescued by him was a student at Tanjong Katong Primary School. Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin with two other guides were accordingly honoured in Singapore and featured in their national news media for days. But Mohd Rizuan Kauhinin himself insisted that there were others who were as deserving of the credit as they themselves.
