Courage is:
"A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must no merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine"
From Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton (Project Gutenberg version)
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Zite vs Flipboard
There are many news-aggregating apps for the iPad, the two of which are Zite and Flipboard. It's actually a really effective tool to read on the iPad, because of the pretty quality, and of course, the fact that the news are up-to-date. But after having both apps for awhile, I eventually deleted Flipboard yesterday.
This is actually in interests of space (I'm running out), and I realised that once I downloaded Zite, I gradually stopped using Flipboard. What I liked about Flipboard was the face that I could look at my twitter feed and facebook (although I use it mainly for facebook).
However, it seemed harder to get the content I wanted, and by-and-by, I got tired of those same few sections. Plus, while the format is pretty, the grid-like boxes were annoying because they updated individually and it took a really long time, especially if I didn't go onto Flipboard for a time.
The nice thing I like about Zite was how it can personalise content, which led me to spend more time reading it. The way the sections are arranged are also convenient, and it's easy to add or delete a section. In fact, the reason why I got a delicious account was because I wanted to save some of the articles I read. And this is the main "flaw" of Zite, that unlike Flipboard, the articles 'disappear' much faster. There was this recipe of a s'mores pie I forgot to copy, and now it's gone ):
Another difference between the two was that while they both need the Internet to update their content, at the very least, I could browse through the previews of the different articles on Flipboard. With Zite, I can't even go to the main page (perhaps that's something they could improve on?)
But ultimately, I think I choose Zite because of it's user-friendliness, and the fact that I prefer the content it offers (I'm not sure how they choose the content, but in the Japan section of Zite, I found all the things that I liked, while Flipboard only had a Tsunami section, which was mainly twitter posts).
This is actually in interests of space (I'm running out), and I realised that once I downloaded Zite, I gradually stopped using Flipboard. What I liked about Flipboard was the face that I could look at my twitter feed and facebook (although I use it mainly for facebook).
However, it seemed harder to get the content I wanted, and by-and-by, I got tired of those same few sections. Plus, while the format is pretty, the grid-like boxes were annoying because they updated individually and it took a really long time, especially if I didn't go onto Flipboard for a time.
The nice thing I like about Zite was how it can personalise content, which led me to spend more time reading it. The way the sections are arranged are also convenient, and it's easy to add or delete a section. In fact, the reason why I got a delicious account was because I wanted to save some of the articles I read. And this is the main "flaw" of Zite, that unlike Flipboard, the articles 'disappear' much faster. There was this recipe of a s'mores pie I forgot to copy, and now it's gone ):
Another difference between the two was that while they both need the Internet to update their content, at the very least, I could browse through the previews of the different articles on Flipboard. With Zite, I can't even go to the main page (perhaps that's something they could improve on?)
But ultimately, I think I choose Zite because of it's user-friendliness, and the fact that I prefer the content it offers (I'm not sure how they choose the content, but in the Japan section of Zite, I found all the things that I liked, while Flipboard only had a Tsunami section, which was mainly twitter posts).
Thursday, August 25, 2011
The Chrysanthemum and The Sword by Ruth Benedict
After I read Japan Through The Looking Glass, I was quite interested in reading about The Chrysanthemum and The Sword.
But I keep thinking, maybe it's a bias with me, how much Caucasians can understand Asians. Even within Asia, it's hard for us to understand each other, how much can others, who have a very different set of traditional values, understand us? There are even books called Can Asians Think? which aim to give a defence of our cognitive capabilities.
This book, while interesting, has a few inherent flaws in it. Firstly, the authoress never actually went to Japan. This is due to WWII, but still, it does hinder the accuracy. Secondly, she depended mainly on interviews with Japanese living in America. To me, ABC (American Born Chinese) are already very far from our culture, (please, even Singaporean Chinese is far from Chinese culture), and there are Chinese movies poking fun of it. Hence, I really doubt the accuracy of the Japanese descended people she interviewed. If they even wished to leave their home for America, it might imply that there was something they inherently disliked about Japan (remember, it was a very insular nation at that time), which just means the findings would have error.
The book itself, though, is very interesting. She talks about the concept of on, and how it differs from China radically. But unfortunately, because she did not provide any kanji of the word, it's hard to see if that's even true. Much of the book, I have to believe at face value, because really, it could be a lot of words that she's talking about.
There was even a sense, at one point of time, that she was coming from a viewpoint which thought that American culture was superior, although she does take care to avoid it most of the times.
But even though I've pointed out all my doubts about this, the book is still worthwhile reading. The Japan that she talks about cannot really be seen now, with all the modernisation and influx of other cultures (which is the downside of Globalisation). So in a sense, this is a window into the past. Just be careful, this 'window' may not be the clearest. As Robert Frost says in After Apple Picking (my IOC was today)
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary glass
(From North of Boston)
But I keep thinking, maybe it's a bias with me, how much Caucasians can understand Asians. Even within Asia, it's hard for us to understand each other, how much can others, who have a very different set of traditional values, understand us? There are even books called Can Asians Think? which aim to give a defence of our cognitive capabilities.
This book, while interesting, has a few inherent flaws in it. Firstly, the authoress never actually went to Japan. This is due to WWII, but still, it does hinder the accuracy. Secondly, she depended mainly on interviews with Japanese living in America. To me, ABC (American Born Chinese) are already very far from our culture, (please, even Singaporean Chinese is far from Chinese culture), and there are Chinese movies poking fun of it. Hence, I really doubt the accuracy of the Japanese descended people she interviewed. If they even wished to leave their home for America, it might imply that there was something they inherently disliked about Japan (remember, it was a very insular nation at that time), which just means the findings would have error.
The book itself, though, is very interesting. She talks about the concept of on, and how it differs from China radically. But unfortunately, because she did not provide any kanji of the word, it's hard to see if that's even true. Much of the book, I have to believe at face value, because really, it could be a lot of words that she's talking about.
There was even a sense, at one point of time, that she was coming from a viewpoint which thought that American culture was superior, although she does take care to avoid it most of the times.
But even though I've pointed out all my doubts about this, the book is still worthwhile reading. The Japan that she talks about cannot really be seen now, with all the modernisation and influx of other cultures (which is the downside of Globalisation). So in a sense, this is a window into the past. Just be careful, this 'window' may not be the clearest. As Robert Frost says in After Apple Picking (my IOC was today)
I cannot rub the strangeness from my sight
I got from looking through a pane of glass
I skimmed this morning from the drinking trough
And held against the world of hoary glass
(From North of Boston)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan
I have to admit, I've never been able to finish a book by the Bronte sisters. I was given Wuthering Heights, but stopped after a few chapters. As for Jane Eyre.... I'm not sure when I stopped, but it was early in the book. Yet for some reason, I picked up a fictionalised version of the lives of the Bronte sisters.
Initially, the writing style, which seemed a bit different to me, threatened to make me abandon the book. But after a while, I got the hang of it, and the captivating story just drew me in. According to the author, he tried to make it as close to the facts as possible, although there will always be a bit of license involved when it comes to their thoughts and feelings (letters and the such are limited after all).
The book actually makes me want to try reading from one of the Bronte sisters again. With the background of their lives, it'll probably be easier to understand their books.
But I'm not sure where all the books are. It's possible that they're somewhere in Malaysia, and it's equally possible that their thrown out. Right now, I'll probably just try to download them on the iPad, but it may just distract me from reading the books.
Still, despite what others say, I find Jane Austen an infinitely better read than all of the Bronte sisters combined (Sorry Mark Twain). I think because she combines readability with acute social observations, I enjoy the books. However, I may be defining readability too narrowly, since there are plenty of people who enjoy reading them. I guess it's just me. But I wonder, how much of the 'cannon' is really relevant for today's reader. And if they're not relevant, does that still make them literary?
Initially, the writing style, which seemed a bit different to me, threatened to make me abandon the book. But after a while, I got the hang of it, and the captivating story just drew me in. According to the author, he tried to make it as close to the facts as possible, although there will always be a bit of license involved when it comes to their thoughts and feelings (letters and the such are limited after all).
The book actually makes me want to try reading from one of the Bronte sisters again. With the background of their lives, it'll probably be easier to understand their books.
But I'm not sure where all the books are. It's possible that they're somewhere in Malaysia, and it's equally possible that their thrown out. Right now, I'll probably just try to download them on the iPad, but it may just distract me from reading the books.
Still, despite what others say, I find Jane Austen an infinitely better read than all of the Bronte sisters combined (Sorry Mark Twain). I think because she combines readability with acute social observations, I enjoy the books. However, I may be defining readability too narrowly, since there are plenty of people who enjoy reading them. I guess it's just me. But I wonder, how much of the 'cannon' is really relevant for today's reader. And if they're not relevant, does that still make them literary?
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