May 2018 - You Write

Learning Mandarin through Video Clips

May 31, 2018 FLAI40 Leave a comment

Perhaps I should add the words “for free” at the end of the title above. I started taking up Mandarin lessons seriously some five years ago using YouTube videos and google translate. I did not engage any tutor as I was then able to speak a smattering of Mandarin from memories of the past, living in Singapore for the first half of my life. During those colonial days of Singapore, the education system was such that you either go to the English stream or the Chinese stream and my mother decided that it was best for my career to be […]

The Return of Dr. Mahathir

May 24, 2018 FLAI40 Leave a comment

We shall start this story with a quotation from Alex Josey’s biography of Lee Kuan Yew, at the ending paragraphs on page 390 of Alex’s book: Dr. Mahathir, an Alliance MP had said in Parliament (in the 1960’s), ‘Malaysia as originally conceived was best of all, Malaysian Malaysia; let us all stick to the Constitution; honor racial society, with everybody equal, Malaysian citizens regardless of race, language, religion. This is the message I want to give. It is not in Singapore that people are not accustomed to Malay rule.’ ‘Let me tell him this,’ said Lee. ‘When we joined Malaysia, […]

Over in eleven (11) moves

May 20, 2018 FLAI40 Leave a comment

This is the shortest chess game I have played for as long as I can remember. And, I won. Yes, I won in eleven moves against a stronger opponent. Instead of cherishing the victory, I have decided to take a closer look at the opponent’s moves, and analysing them to see where I can learn from the mistakes he had made. Move # 1.: e3 d5. The e3 move by White appears to be ineffective. Its primary motive is to clear the way for his Bishop to move towards the right hand side of the chess […]

Prayer for the Sick and the Saddened

May 16, 2018 FLAI40 Leave a comment

“Heavenly Father, “We give thank to You for all Your blessings You have showered upon us. “We give thanks to You for having Your Holy Spirit to guide us in saddened times when we are sick, worried and simply depressed. “We give thanks to You for having family and friends around us praying for us as we struggle with our daily assortments of sicknesses and sadness. “This morning in particular, we place before You the condition of our neighbour Hugh Brown who is suffering from a spinal nerve disorder and the sadness of his dear wife Zanna. “We pray for […]

Love’s Lies - A Chinese Drama worth viewing

May 9, 2018 FLAI40 Leave a comment

The story in this drama is both interesting and intriguing. It is a pity that the drama has not as yet been translated into the English Language. Neither is there any English subtitle for any of the episodes. St the time of posting this, the drama is still ongoing in Beijing television, two episodes a night. As at the evening of 6th May, episode 30 has been broadcasted. According to the internet previews, the last episode in this series is 44. The Plot: The drama centres on six main characters as follows: (1) Actor Luo Jin as Police undercover agent […]