Friday, 14 June 2013

Read all about it, read all about it, oh.

Hi readers, just a short one for me from now, I am working on some longer articles but I was listening to a beautiful song that I shared again last night on my blog and I want to talk about it. I was challenged today by a reader who accused me, "Can you don't politicize every thing that went wrong in your life? Get a grip! You made the decision to give up your pink IC, so be a man and don't whine. Be responsible for your actions. If you are truly happy foreign citizen, why you keep harping about Singapore's system? An axe to grind? Sore loser? Whats your motive?"

Well, what is my motive for writing? I am clearly in no position to influence the government of Singapore from a distance, but I write for my readers, aka LIFTers. I am a social commentator, I write about things that happen in the world, I write about the things that my readers care to read about and sometimes they are difficult issues, sometimes they are provocative and here's something you wouldn't understand: it is astonishing even to myself (it's incredible!) that I have this many readers and that millions of people are interested in what I have to say and are coming to me for information, wisdom, direction and advice. The fact that they want to read what I have to say overwhelms me and I intend to write my very best for them because I love my readers.
My motive is no more than to write in a way that people want to read, produce articles that people enjoy reading and to capture & hold their attention, so that they keep coming back for more and more. I have actually tried writing two novels many years ago and failed to get them published despite getting some initial attention from a couple of publishers and even if I did get published then, how many copies would I have sold? Would it have approached 4 million? Heck, I would've been lucky if I had sold 400 copies. Would I have a dedicated following and a fan base like I do now?

There is clearly a space in the alternative media sphere in Singapore which I have stepped in and filled. Even in the world of media, a lot boils down to supply and demand - I am stepping in to fulfill a demand for a certain kind of writing. Yes there is an element of preaching to the choir here as many of my readers tend to already agree with my point of view, but I would like to think that whether you agree with what I say or not, you will still find some pleasure in reading my pieces. People wouldn't come to my blog if I was no more than a sore loser with an axe to grind but nothing of interest to say. I would like to finish this by sharing with you the lyrics of Emeli Sande's Read All About It Part III which does capture the spirit of why I blog. It is such an awesome song that often brings tears to my eyes when I try to sing along. Please read the lyrics as you listen to the song on the Youtube clip.
"Read All About It (Pt. III)" by Emeli Sande

You've got the words to change a nation
But you're biting your tongue
You've spent a life time stuck in silence
Afraid you'll say something wrong
If no one ever hears it how we gonna learn your song?
So come on, come on
Come on, come on
You've got a heart as loud as lions
So why let your voice be tamed?
Baby we're a little different
There's no need to be ashamed
You've got the light to fight the shadows
So stop hiding it away
Come on, Come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers,
I'm not afraid
They can read all about it
Read all about it, oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh

At night we're waking up the neighbours
While we sing away the blues
Making sure that we remember, yeah
Cause we all matter too
If the truth has been forbidden
Then we're breaking all the rules
So come on, come on
Come on, come on,
Let's get the TV and the radio
To play our tune again
It's 'bout time we got some airplay of our version of events
There's no need to be afraid
I will sing with you my friend
Come on, come on

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers,
I'm not afraid
They can read all about it
Read all about it, oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh

Yeah, we're all wonderful, wonderful people
So when did we all get so fearful?
Now we're finally finding our voices
So take a chance, come help me sing this
Yeah, we're all wonderful, wonderful people
So when did we all get so fearful?
And now we're finally finding our voices
Just take a chance, come help me sing this

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers,
I'm not afraid
They can read all about it
Read all about it, oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh
Oh-oh-oh

I wanna sing, I wanna shout
I wanna scream till the words dry out
So put it in all of the papers,
I'm not afraid
They can read all about it
Read all about it, oh

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13 comments:

  1. Alan Wan15 June 2013 at 10:11

    The problem with this idiot (he/she is no sage) is that he/she thinks nobody else had any right to criticise Singapore unless they have a stake in it so much like how our ex-PM seat warmer who ridicule Catherine Lim as having no right to comment on Singapore politics unless she enters the field of it.

    It's so ridiculous as if these same mindset group of people only have exclusive rights to criticise the Singapore Govt. And some more this idiot sage thinks that it is ungrateful of a person not to come back to serve Singapore if one has taken some secondary school scholarship. I really can't envisaged which ancient cave this idiot sage belongs to?

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    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent15 June 2013 at 11:56

      He's just written another piece to attack me, claiming that I am anti-Singapore, I'm not! I'm anti-PAP. Good grief. Thee is a big difference. Anyway, I have 3.87 million views on my blog so far whilst he has less than 300,000 so I think he's just desperate to get some of my millions of readers to go to his blog.

      I have actually come across such crazy Singaporeans before - I remember in my NS days I was out with my army friends and we started chatting with this Australian couple who were rather elderly. We chatted about food as they wanted to try some local food but didn't know where to start and the Aussie woman said no to a few items (on the basis that it was spicy and she wasn't used to spicy food) and they opted for more bland options (such as chicken rice, yong tau hoo and popiah without any chilli sauce followed by local deserts like ice kachang, tau huay and bobochacha, but not something like Laksa, chicken curry, satay or Chilli crab).

      And guess what one of my army friends said? "Dat Angmoh char boh so racist one, look down on our food." And I'm like whaaaaaaaat? "She dowan to try our food just because got chilli one." And I'm like, not everyone can stomach the kind of chilli/spice we enjoy in Singapore - it has nothing to do with being racist or looking down on our cuisine, they are eating non-spicy options in a hawker centre, aren't they?

      Even if this Australian woman didn't like Singaporean hawker food, that's not being racist or anti-Singaporean, that's simply not liking one aspect of Singaporean life. Likewise, I am not liking one aspect of Singapore, specifically, the PAP. Big difference.

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  2. Chin Lam Toh15 June 2013 at 17:17

    Every leader has dissidents, every hero his haters. Nevertheless you are an inspiration to many more. Your blog has the power to change lives. It did mine! Keep writing please..

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    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent15 June 2013 at 17:36

      Kum siah kum siah.

      PS. Just booked my tickets to go to S'pore. I am so excited. I will spend a month travelling around Asia (via Oman, where I will also be spending some time).

      Delete
    2. Yoda16 June 2013 at 07:03

      Please drop by Speakers Corner when you are in SG! Don't worry, they won't arrest you for being foreigner because you still look Ah Beng enough

      Delete
    3. Limpeh Foreign Talent16 June 2013 at 13:26

      Hahahaha - I think I am a Lau Beng now that I am 37. What do you call an older Ah Beng like me? Sure I will pop by.

      Delete
  3. B Tiger15 June 2013 at 21:04

    Limpeh,

    Today is Fathers' Day and I hope you will have a good time with your own father when you come back to AMK.

    As a father, my sons' NS and university education are the top two things on my mind and thank you for so eloquently and without embellishments revealing to us a life and living outside Singapore. I certainly missed the opportunity to do engineering in UK in my time when I was accepted but lacked the funds to go. But my children will get a change to go if they decide to as their parents will be able to afford it when the time comes. Your blog is a great source of information and inspiration.

    Well done on your blog, and keep writing as you have many appreciative readers like myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Limpeh Foreign Talent16 June 2013 at 00:16

      Thanks so much for your kind words. I am looking forward to my visit to Singapore - I am going to be travelling for a full month (crikey, I have to arrange for someone to come to my flat to water my plants) and I have already planned trips to Muscat and KL on top of S'pore - I am now deciding between Seoul and Bali as I will already be in the region and whilst it's been so tempting looking at all these air fares... cos it's so cheap to go to Australia or Bali from S'pore, for example (compared to from London) - I also wanna make sure I spend enough time in S'pore with my family lah. I have already made arrangements to see many friends in KL and S'pore and it's going to be a busy trip man, I've never taken a month long holiday before. LOL. There is a part of me that's excited whilst another part of me that's dreading being away from my home for a whole month - like all my clothes, all my things etc.

      Delete
    2. Kevin Jang16 June 2013 at 01:23

      Seoul would be interesting for you, and I do recommend making a trip there if you can.

      Delete
    3. Limpeh Foreign Talent16 June 2013 at 01:27

      You know I totally love K-pop and am so tempted by the £250 KL-Seoul return air fares. Like, I totally love Korea so much and am so into my K-culture.

      But!!! I saw this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh5470oQ6IU and uh-oh, my trip happens to coincide with this season leh ... Jangma!!! What to do? I also then went to check the weather statistics and yup, it rains a lot in Korea in Jul-Aug. Sigh.

      Delete
    4. Kevin Jang16 June 2013 at 10:02

      Oh, you mean the 'jangma cheol' in South Korea. It actually gets sweltering hot during the months of July and August in Seoul, more so than Singapore and Southeast Asia, due to the humidity, and there are occasional days when the yellow sand from China comes in. But you know, I would not worry about that. You will probably be complaining more about the heat and the perspiration.

      I have been to South Korea numerous times(8 or more) over the last 3 years, and partially because I can speak Korean relatively well, I tend to avoid the tourist areas. But yes, for a first-timer, you ought to go visit the tourist areas such as Myeongdong, Gyeongbokgung Palace and Deoksugung Palace, and the lovely Samcheongdong and Insadong. Seoul is full of soul, but even Busan is actually quite beautiful too.

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    5. Limpeh Foreign Talent16 June 2013 at 13:30

      I have had a terrible holiday once to Portugal where it rained heavily every single day. There were brief periods of a few hours now and then when we could actually put our umbrellas away but goodness me, we got WET.

      We spoke to a local who asked us, "why did you come to Portugal in January! It rains a lot in January!" And I said, "£39 return from London Gatwick with Easyjet, that's why we're here." And he replied, "Why do you think there are dirt cheap tickets in January to Portugal? Cos it rains so much no one wants to come."

      I'm willing to pass on Korea this time and return in Winter, when I can go skiing in Korea. I think I will enjoy Korea far more in the winter months (and one could probably get good deals for Korea in winter right? when it's like -10 and frozen?)

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    6. Kevin Jang16 June 2013 at 13:42

      It's way colder than -10 over the last few years every winter in Seoul. The Kangwondo area up north is even colder, but that is one of the hotspots for skiing and holidaying in South Korea during winter. When I went the last winter, it was in fact minus 15 or so during some days. Maybe I was lucky because I am used to Canadian winter cold and the rainy season in Korea still does not beat Vancouver's winter rain which lasts for hours and even days on end sometimes.......

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