The most popular internet searches on my blog.

It is bizarre what having a blog tells you about people. Most bizarre of all is what they are interested in.

I would like you to have a guess at what are the two most popular searches to arrive on my blog? Both searches have been popular for a long time, so this is not just a one off: I have been seeing them, in high prevalence, since the day I posted about their subjects, some long while ago.

What kind of thing most interests people? What concerns them most? To give yourself a better chance of getting the right answer, think of a few top answers, likely to end up on my blog.

Got them? Well, I don't know about you but I am surprised to observe that for several months now, the two top regular searches to my blog are: "What is Macaulay Culkin's net worth?" and "Is August Rush a true story?"

I would like you to further guess at what percentage these searches are, today, on my blog. Out of all the infinite possible searches, how prevalent are these two?

Well, coincidentally, they are both at 5% of my visitors' searches, today. There is fluctuation, however, with both reaching higher, Macaulay Culkin in particular sometimes reaching two or three times that prevalence.

Anyway, I find the situation both incredible, and revealing. Firstly, a lot of people are very curious about the net worth of famous individuals. It is as if they are using their "worth" as a proxy for their, well, worth (in terms of how important they are as an individual). What is very surprising in the case of Macaulay Culkin is that he hasn't done any high profile work since he was a primary school kid...and yet people still remember him and are curious about one thing: is he still rich?

As for August Rush, that tells a different kind of tale. It tells that in the modern world, people have lost sight of what is fiction and what is reality. They are not able to distinguish the two, readily, for themselves and so have to seek out online verification for their misplaced suspicions. Anyone, with a strong understanding of the real world, and a knowledge of literature would see the derivative nature of August Rush's plot and recognize it as a reworking of old fictional stories. Even had they not read those prior works, someone with a strong sense of reality and understanding of the world, would know that this could not have been based on real people. However, people nowadays are not very discerning...hence the untold numbers of searchers who think that August Rush was real, and want to find out who it was "based on".

The other thing that is notable about these searches is that they are trivial. It doesn't matter whether Macaulay Culkin is rich, or how rich. So, too, August Rush is just a minor film, telling an obviously fictional story of an unbelievable boy. It is quite derivative of both films and books and is not, therefore, a great work of art, in itself. Thus, it should not inspire the degree of interest that it does: it is not important enough. Yet, now, people don't know what is important - so they trawl the internet for the trivial.

On another note, a rather surprising note, I still get searches landing on my site, occasionally, for David Hartanto Widjaja, the Indonesian student who allegedly attacked his Singaporean lecturer and then supposedly committed suicide. I also receive searches for Singapore's two other high profile suicides: Dr Allan Ooi, who preferred death to a life of servitude working for the Singaporean armed forces and Nordin bin Mondong, who, in my view, was not paid enough to feel it was worth staying alive and threw himself, literally, to the tigers.

That people still search for these three individuals up to a year after their deaths, prompts me to marvel at the impact their passing made in Singapore. Perhaps people are shocked that so many people would consider Singapore's artificial "utopia", so disagreeable that they would rather be dead. There is a message in their choice, concerning the nature and pressures of Singaporean life...and I think anyone who has lived there, and is not a multi-millionaire Minister, would know what those pressures are.

My condolences to their families. Perhaps they will gain some consolation, should they stumble across my words, that people still care enough about their loved ones, to be searching for them, so long after the events in question. In a sense, there is hope in their interest, that not all searches on the internet are trivial: some people are actually thinking about other people and perhaps, valuing their lives.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals. If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

Where sympathy is a crime.

In Singapore, sympathy is a crime. At least, it seems so, from the way posters respond to me whenever I express sympathy for the plight of anyone, at all. I find this both revealing and perturbing. It reveals the Singaporean psyche - such as it is - and perturbs all who understand what is laid bare.

Recently, I have written with sympathy of David Hartanto Widjaja, Zhou Zheng and Dr. Allan Ooi: they all share one common bond - the manner of their deaths. Their suicides have brought them together in a way that life did not, for I doubt that they knew each other. Yet, in death, they are one: the Singapore suicides.

Now, my posts on the pressures that led to their deaths attracted a response that I should have expected, but didn't. Many of the respondents were quite harsh. They blamed the victims. They called them (in some places on the net): "losers", for killing themselves. They were looked down upon for their "weakness". In all, the general thrust of the comments was most unforgiving, not at all sympathetic and altogether rather cold. The impression was left that Singaporeans are a heartless lot, without feeling for their fellow humans - indeed, without any care for them at all. To me, this observation is a greater tragedy than the deaths of the three young men. It is tragic that Singaporeans should care so little for each other that the manner of these deaths should not inspire any sympathy. One begins to understand why, living in this heartless, cold, uncaring society, that three young men would decide to kill themselves. Surely, life, in some quarters in this city, cannot be very pleasant, when one is surrounded by such heartless, unfeeling people.

Another thing that surprised me about the comments I received and read on other sites on the web, is that some of the commenters are noted for their intelligence. They are relatively well-known writers on the net and have, in the past, seemed intelligent on quite a few topics. Yet, on the subject of these recent suicides they are blunt, dismissive, unmoved, unfeeling and uncaring. Quite simply, they react as if at the passing of three cockroaches, rather than three intelligent young people. I found this rather perturbing, for it indicates that in the Singaporean "elite" there is a lack of feeling for one's fellow man. In its place there is cold reason.

This observation of mine is not one based on one instance. It is based on the fact that EVERYTIME I am sympathetic towards someone or something, on the net, I get coldhearted, uncaring and even nasty comments. It happened when Nordin bin Mondong climbed into the tiger enclosure, too. I find this really rather concerning. It indicates that Singaporeans have never really learnt the value of the lives of others. They have never really learnt to appreciate the general concept that life itself is valuable and that each of us is uniquely precious. They have, in its place, a detachment from each other - and a disregard for the fate of their fellows. In particular, they don't care for those who "couldn't cope", those who were overwhelmed by the stresses of this society. There is the general opinion that they were "weak" and therefore deserving of their fates. There is no sympathy, here, for those more sensitive than ourselves. Indeed, sensitivity, as a characteristic, is seemingly despised.

As an outsider, I see a society that has lost sight of what matters. People matter. Lives matter. Money doesn't. Yet, in Singapore it is the latter that matters, and the former which are undervalued.

There is also a general lack of insight from the respondents concerning the causes of the suicides. They never look at themselves and their society to see if it could be to blame, they always blame the victims, instead. In Singapore, the victim is always at fault - for Singapore is a thing of blameless perfection and flawless wonder that could not possibly have played a part.

Well, it is clear to me, as an outsider, that were Singapore a kinder, warmer, more human society, that none of those three men would have killed themselves. It is the very harshness of the Singaporean people before human sensitivity, that led to their deaths. It is also that very harshness they show in response to those deaths.

The funny part of this is, of course, that when anything befalls the coldhearted respondents, no-one around them will give a damn - and so they will come to know what it feels, to have done to themselves, what they have so often done to others.

I shall continue to be sympathetic to those on whom misfortune or too much of life's pain has fallen. No doubt, my commenters shall continue to be unsympathetic and heartless, too.

I am not going to change my outlook simply because the people around me don't share it. It is important to retain one's deeper humanity, even if the society in which one lives has lost its - or never really known it.

Singapore has yet to learn what to value. At present, they have selected the wrong things to worship. Here, Mammon is God - and, in all else, they are unbelievers.

Perhaps it would take the fall of Mammon (which might be happening) to wake them up to more meaningful aspects of life.

However, it will not be until there is a flood of shared sympathy, when I post, again, on something unfortunate, that I will finally know that Singapore has matured to become fully human. Until then, sympathy shall, no doubt, remain a crime.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

The Dr. Allan Ooi Act.

Perhaps, it is time for a Dr. Allan Ooi Act, in Singapore. I shall explain.

As many of my readers will know, Dr. Allan Ooi was a Singaporean doctor working for the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) on a bond. This was a legal restraint of his right to do anything else but work for the SAF. He had no freedom to do so, until his bond had expired. The problem, for him, was that the bond, originally twelve years long, had been extended to fifteen or sixteen years - and then made unbreakable - meaning he had no escape option, under any circumstances. Dr. Allan Ooi killed himself to escape his bond.

In many countries, the tradition is to name new laws after the people whose lives inspired those laws. Perhaps, in Singapore, there could be a new law called the Dr. Allan Ooi Act, which could either outlaw the practise of bonding entirely, or restrict its scope so that bonds are short-term affairs, with get out clauses so that anyone can leave the bond by fulfilling certain requirements which must not be impossible or too onerous.

Dr. Allan Ooi took his own life, because he could see no other way out of the living hell he faced. He hated his job and the life it gave him, but was bonded to it, for what must have seemed a lifetime. No-one should have to face such a life again. It is time to change the law: let there be a Dr. Allan Ooi Act to bring humanity into Singaporean employment law.

Dr. Allan Ooi could not have made the point of his distress clearer. Let us listen to the message of his short life and change the law, to make Singapore a kinder place in which to work. Let not his short life, have been in vain.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)

End the practise of bonding.

Singapore has very strange employment practises. One of them is called "bonding". This is slavery that comes in two flavours: a scholarship with a "bond" and a job with a bond.

Now, I am aware that I shall have to explain the concept of bonding for those who reside in countries that abolished slavery a century or two ago. Singapore has yet to understand the value of a free people.

In Singapore, many people find themselves tied down to jobs or situations that they don't want to be in. Yet, they have no choice but to continue for periods which really can be quite long. If they try to escape these "bonds", they will find themselves financially ruined - thus they labour on, unhappily, in what amounts to bonded servitude, without any freedom to leave their position.

In Singapore, youngsters, who are really too young to understand what they are getting into, are often offered "bonded" scholarships. These are scholarships with a big sting in the tale. For the privilege of receiving tuition fees and the like paid (which in many countries would be free anyway), they have to serve a number of years with an organization, thereafter. They have no choice, in this job, once they accept the scholarship: they must do it, or else.

In Singapore, people in the job market often encounter a job contract with a "bond" attached. This means that once you sign, you cannot leave that company for a certain period. You have no choice but to continue, unless you wish to pay ruinous financial penalties. So, if you stay you might be very unhappy, with your work circumstances, if you leave, you will be very unhappy with the "fine" you have to pay.

I must say it is really all quite evil.

Now, I have brought up the matter of bonding in Singapore for a reason. There has been yet another high profile suicide among Singapore's academic elite. Dr. Allan Ooi, killed himself, to escape his bond with the Singapore Armed Forces. That is right: his bond was such an onerous burden upon him that he would rather be DEAD than complete the term of his servitude.

Singapore has really got a lot to learn about treating humans like, well, humans.

Dr. Allan Ooi committed suicide, according to his suicide email, sent 24 hours after his death, largely because of his awful job at the SAF. "My job was terrible, no joy, no satisfaction" he wrote. That was bad enough. However, what sent him over the edge, it seems, from his own words, was that his TWELVE YEAR BOND was extended to FIFTEEN OR SIXTEEN YEARS, then "UNBREAKABLE". It seems clear that his employer, the Singaporean government in the shape of the Armed Forces, was treating him as a possession and not as a human being. Well, this particular "possession" didn't want to be possessed - and so killed himself to escape being possessed.

The worst part of this case was the way the media tried to lie about it. They painted him in various ways and none of them remotely reflected the truth of his suicide letter. They even portrayed him, in some quarters, as broken hearted! Other suggestions included excessive online wargaming and addiction to gambling - none of which is true. It is really more than a little disturbing that the local media should rush in to smear a dead man's name, just to protect the image of a "terrible" employer - the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF).

Bonding treats human beings as possessions to be used and abused. It is nothing but slavery renamed. It should be stopped. No civilized country practices this procedure, nor especially would they condone the way it is used in Singapore: to remove choice from human beings. In Singapore, people are often placed in terrible employment situations from which there is no escape, because they are bonded to their jobs. I, too, have been offered bonds but have always declined jobs that come with such conditions.

I think it is no coincidence that Singapore has had this rash of recent suicides among the brighter of its people. Quite simply, many people are suffering, in their own, individual ways, in this state, largely because there is too little regard for people, in Singapore's institutions. Employers and Universities alike have, the evidence suggests, created circumstances that have not considered the frailties and vulnerabilities that many people have. In Singapore, human beings are outlawed: only robots are required. If you are not robotic enough, you will just have to suffer in silence, until one day, you crack as, recently, David Hartanto Widjaja, Zhou Zheng and, now, Dr. Allan Ooi did.

None of these deaths were necessary. All of them would have been prevented if the institutions in question had been a little more humane. In one case, if a scholarship had not been withdrawn, one scholar would probably be alive. In another, if a bond had not been extended, a young Doctor would still be alive (he was only 27). I have no information on Zhou Zheng and so cannot say why he died. These are not inevitable causes of death. A little more kindness would have prevented these suicides.

The justification for bonding is all one-sided: the organization that paid the scholarship wants to ensure that it is "reimbursed" by enforcing a certain number of years labour from the scholar. Yet, if the experience of working for them is unbearable, the scholar has no escape. In the case of Dr. Allan Ooi, his only escape from the terrible existence he faced was death itself.

Good organizations don't need to bond their scholars. If an organization is good to work for, scholars will voluntarily stay with the organization. It is only BAD organizations that need to use this kind of force. Clearly one can come to some sort of conclusion about an organization that needs to extend a 12 year bond to 15 or 16. Perhaps no-one wants to be a doctor with the SAF voluntarily. They could remedy that, by becoming a pleasant place to work. It really is quite simple.

I rather hope that Dr. Allan Ooi's death will lead to a reassessment of the practise of bonding. It is time Singapore caught up the developed world and accepted the general concept of VOLUNTARY labour. Slave labour should play no role in the employment landscape of Singapore: that it does, is a matter of great national shame.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

We are the founders of Genghis Can, a copywriting, editing and proofreading agency, that handles all kinds of work, including technical and scientific material. If you need such services, or know someone who does, please go to: http://www.genghiscan.com/ Thanks.

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication prohibited. Use Only with Permission. Thank you.)