我心中的中峇鲁

After using "中峇鲁" in Chinese text and google , I found this article today:

文章标题：我心中的中峇鲁 发表日期：2010-07-20（2010-08-05修改）


作　　者：骆宾路
2010年07月20日，星期二
2010-8-5 13:26:22   被依林编辑过


For full text of the article, visit the link:
http://sgcls.zhongwenlink.com/news_read.asp?NewsID=8700

Here are some interesting facts and history related to Tiong Bahru Estate mentioned in the article:
* 中峇鲁是英殖民政府属下改良信托局于上世纪四十年代初所建的居屋，是目前属于政府管辖下屋龄约七十年的最老的组屋区。
　　
* 二次大战前，中峇鲁区只限于中峇鲁路（即现今的大牌五十五座至威镇庙）、中保路、成保路、英云街、永发街、源全街、齐贤街、炳源街及薛华街一带，人口不是很多。二次大战之后至新加坡独立，中峇鲁区扩建至成保路右侧，今之中峇鲁巴刹及食阁一带以及中峇鲁路南面原属坟山一带，即原南洋工商补习学校对面并延至今之中峇鲁广场。

* 中峇鲁在二次世界大战期间，遭受日军空袭。中峇鲁五层楼炳源街有一个单位受炸。我家齐贤街前的草坪也落过两枚炸弹，一枚爆炸，一枚是死弹。日军蹂躏新加坡百姓三年八个月，中峇鲁也不能幸免。我们这些适龄学童都成了失学儿童。新加坡光复之后，华校复课，中峇鲁这批失学儿童都拥到南洋工商补习学校就读。

* 当年住在中峇鲁一伙小伙伴，已经走的据知有前华语话剧资深导演、演员张维明（维爵），恐怕他是住在中峇鲁区最早走的一个（一九七六年）。前《人闻月刊》创办人杨明兴（笔名鸣人）也在几年前走了。

* 曾经住在中峇鲁老区的，还有老报人傅无闷一家，夫人刘韵仙、公子傅超仁、傅超贤。他们就住在我家（齐贤街）斜对面（源全街）四楼一个单位。

* 前杨协成酱油厂老板昆仲，弟弟也是住在源全街和傅无闷一家比邻；哥哥一家是住在齐贤街和我家比邻。

* 前南洋工商补习学校龙姓美术老师也是住在源全街，龙老师的公子郁君贻年少负笈英国，是英国皇家钢琴学院的教授，二十一世纪中，曾在新加坡出任南洋艺术学院院长。龙家千金郁君谋是钢琴家。

* 此外同在中峇鲁区的玩伴，还有前国会议员政务部长庄日昆、前宏文学校校长杨先景、南大史地系第一届毕业生林肯俐、留学澳洲（不知有没有记错）著名建筑师杨树先，还有杨柳芳、杨柳青等。在南洋工商补习学校和我同班的何炯照（据说他留学英国后曾出任海港局高职）、朱智生（其父，一时记不起他的名字，是前中国银行高级职员）等。

* 住在齐贤街还有两家吴姓家庭，吴敬山和我大哥曾是中国银行同事，弟弟吴仰山，另有一个和我年龄相近的弟弟就记不起他的名字了。他的姐姐和我姐姐年龄相近，如果没有记错名字是叫吴楚燕。

* 另一家吴姓家庭有两个姐妹是前南桥女中的学生，篮球打得顶好，是校代表队主力球员，一叫吴楚文，一个好像叫吴楚珊。

* 当年我的小学（南洋工商补习学校）老师住在中峇鲁的有前南洋工商补习学校校长陈国祥、陈姓英语老师，听说现在旅居美国，今年高龄应该有八十几了。

* 余松年（已故）以及夫人马老师住在成保路。庄令昭老师（已故）住在今中峇鲁路大牌五十五座二楼一个单位。已故资深作家姚紫也曾住在中峇鲁路南后期扩建的居屋。至今仍扬名歌坛的资深女歌唱家潘秀琼也曾住在战后扩建的中峇鲁路的居屋。

* 有人说，中峇鲁是个老化了的老区。守在这里的老一辈，心中仍有很多中峇鲁说不完的、精彩的、动人的故事。不管你今日住在哪个角落，只要听到你是在中峇鲁住过的，大家会格外感到亲切。这是一个原住民缅怀的地方。

For full text of the article, visit the link:
http://sgcls.zhongwenlink.com/news_read.asp?NewsID=8700

I get very nostalgic when I read the article. I was very touched by the author as he is very detailed in recalling the names, past events and fill the lines with sentimental statements.  I wish I could do the same when I am at his age!  Reading his narration of event happened in the estate for the past 70 years is like watching a documentary on screen!  

Highly recommended for reading!

Dexterine Ho

Tiong Bahru: Article in Chinese found via Google's Cache

I just run a google search on Tiong Bahru and found the following Chinese article:

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TuWW_4RtT3oJ:big5.17u.com/blog/article/153971.html+%22tiong+poh+road%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg&lr=lang_zh-TW

中峇魯，拐個彎就是一道風景

This is Google's cache of http://big5.17u.com/blog/article/153971.html. It is a snapshot of the page as it appeared on 27 Aug 2010 00:05:34 GMT. The current page could have changed in the meantime.

中峇魯，拐個彎就是一道風景

[原創]作者：佳寶 日期：2008-6-12
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TuWW_4RtT3oJ:big5.17u.com/blog/article/153971.html+%22tiong+poh+road%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=sg&lr=lang_zh-TW

中峇魯是繁忙市區的一片清涼之地，空氣彌散著一種悠閑的味道

　　沒有到過中峇魯，你很難想像繁忙的城市裏還有這麼一片清涼之地。它範圍不大，小小的住宅區裏都是戰前的舊式組屋，空氣裏彌散著一種悠閑的味道，偶爾會看到有人走過，但多數時候看到的只是趴在墻角的懶洋洋的貓。

　　一個地方的氣質跟歷史的厚度有關。

　　中峇魯發展於1936年，是英殖民政府在新加坡興建的第一批公共住屋，經歷了戰火，仍然完整地保存下來。2003年，政府宣佈中峇魯為保留區，它與眾不同的建築外觀，它的一磚一瓦，將永久成為我們歷史遺產的一部分。

　　中峇魯是繁忙市區的一片清涼之地，空氣彌散著一種悠閑的味道。

　　看到、聽到、嗅到生活

　　老區的房子，連一樓都住滿了一戶戶的人家，黃昏時分從他們的門前走過，生活，可以看到、聽到、嗅到。中峇魯從很久以前就是一個令人垂涎的地方，咖啡店、菜館、餐廳、煮炒店，加起來超過15家，鎮中心的巴剎與熟食中心遠近馳名，翻新以後，很不幸的變得格格不入，反而成了區內最煞風景的地方。

螺旋形樓梯是中峇魯戰前祖屋的一大特色

　　每一條街都是一部人物史

　　中峇魯一帶都是蜿蜒的小路，轉一個彎就是一道風景。

　　從中峇魯路轉進忠坡路（Tiong Poh Road），包括英雲街（Eng Hoon Street）、林烈街（Lim Liak Street）、成保路（Seng Poh Road）、成保巷（Seng Poh Lane）、永發街（Eng Watt Street）、齊賢街（Chay Yan Street）、永錫街（Yong Siak Street）、茂源臺（Moh Guan Terrace）、源全街（Guan Chuan Street）、有進街（Eu Chin Street）、金榜路（Kim Pong Road），都構成中峇魯的命脈。

　　根據《南洋年鑒》和《南洋歷史》記載，這些路名都是為紀念19世紀華社名人而取的。如金榜路是為紀念大慈善家劉金榜，有進街是為紀念義安公司的主要創始人佘有進，忠坡路是為紀念福建籍富商邱忠坡，齊賢街則是紀念陳篤生的孫子陳齊賢。他是新馬橡膠業的開路先鋒，最早把樹膠作為園丘式經營。每一條街都是一部人物史。

　　在中峇魯，還有百年老廟、古早的咖啡店、50年不變的雜貨店和當鋪、傷痕纍纍的防空壕，以及郁達夫在《星洲日報》擔任副刊編輯時，曾經住過的房子。

　　今年底，中峇魯第53和第54座組屋將改建成酒店，屆時，可以想見，這個老區將有另一番風景。

吳玉桂是齊天宮的顧問，也是中峇魯的“地方領袖”，是中峇魯的活字典


　　找到中峇魯的“字典”

　　寫中峇魯的故事，最大收穫是認識了吳玉桂老先生。吳玉桂肖猴，今年76歲，是齊天宮的顧問，廟裏理事說：“他是第一百零一個老中峇魯，其他的搬的搬、走的走（故世），現在只剩他一個了，中峇魯的歷史你問他吧，他最清楚。”

　　吳老先生為人風趣，學養很好，問起我的父母親，都用令尊令堂。他老當益壯，但不認老，開一輛馬賽地轎車，每天還到自己的公司上班。開頭我叫他老伯，他作惱怒狀，於是我趕緊改口叫他大叔。哈哈。

　　看著一棟棟房子建起來又看著它們拆除

　　吳大叔在中峇魯出世、長大，父親是齊天宮的乩童，一家人就住在齊天宮樓上。他指著英雲路上的老房子說：“我看著它們一棟棟建起來，現在又看著它們一棟棟的拆除重建。”吳大叔一直住在中峇魯，間中有段時間搬到烏節一帶，不久又搬回老地方，現住在金殿路，跟我算是街坊。大叔是中峇魯的“地方領袖”，擔任中峇魯聯絡所主席有30年之久，現在還是聯絡所的顧問。

　　他看盡中峇魯的變遷，在情感上，一輩子與中峇魯有著千絲萬縷的關系。他說：“中峇魯以前都是有錢人住的地方，生活起碼要在中等以上才有資格住進來。這裡住了很多文人，也有很多人在這裡包二奶。”

　　齊天宮斜對面是忠坡路，吳大叔說：“郁達夫當年就住在忠坡路的一個單位。”後來我回報館查資料，發現記載的是第65座組屋三樓24號。大叔還說，中國大畫家劉海粟也住過中峇魯。

        訪問第二天早上，約了吳大叔拍照，他知道我想到防空壕看看，慷慨的充當我的車夫，用他的馬賽地把我載到茂源臺。

　　茂源臺的老房子俗稱五層樓，建成一個馬蹄形，樓房後面是停車場，廢棄已久的防空壕就在樓房後面的底層，面對停車場，大門深鎖，並不是我原先所以為的什麽秘密通道。要不是吳大叔帶路，我恐怕找上一天都找不到。

　　大叔說，這是英國人設計的老房子，建得銅墻鐵壁，堅硬非常，釘子釘不進，大戰期間炸彈下來，也只是打穿一個小洞，底層拿來做防空壕最合適不過。大叔曾經帶電視臺的攝影隊到裏面拍攝，被蚊子叮得全身又紅又腫，他問：“你想進去嗎？可以跟市鎮會申請，讓他們給你開門。”我想到他的慘痛經歷，當然不敢輕舉妄動。

Here are the links with the same article:

http://cbbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?tid=4221&extra=page%3D34
Wtih "稿件来源：联合早报"
This link have some photos included, yet with some typo errors and irrelevant text added!

http://www.chinabaike.com/article/316/tour/2007/20071024609409.html

Fort Canning Park with LAS members

Just went for a heritage guided walk of Fort Canning Park, conducted by NParks board, on 17 Sep 2010, Friday (3 pm – 5.30 pm).

This guided walk is organised by LAS (Library Association of Singapore) and our guide is Ms Lee Wei Ling from National Park.  (Ms Lee is in her Twenty, and her full name is the same as the daughter of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. She said it makes her and her name hard to forget for most Singaporean.)

We are pleased to have a nice and cold walk in the afternoon as the heavy rain in the morning wash the heat away.  We are so fortunate to have a good day for this outdoor activity.

We enjoyed hearing many good tips on plants, some legends and interest story about Fort Canning from Ms Lee.  Ms Lee was surprised to note that what she thought as something uncommon or not easy to guess are well answered by the group members.  I think the Fort Canning is the Library of plants and LAS have a lot of good Librarians who love and know plants very well.

I enjoyed the afternoon walk with a group of knowledgeable Librarians.

As the walk were limited to 30 participants, and on a first-come, first-served basis, I am glad that I had signed up on 18 Aug and get myself registered!

About the walk

It is a leisurely stroll back into time to rediscover Fort Canning and its rich heritage within this verdant oasis in the heart of the city.

"Standing serenely amidst the bustling sprawl of the city, Fort Canning Park has plenty to be discovered and much to behold."

The walk let us find out about the many historical layers of this hill which is irrefutably intertwined with the history of Singapore. 

Being an old resident of Tan Tye Alley (A small lane no longer existed in Singapore street directory after mid 1970), the hill is my childhood play ground and it is nice to revisit it once in a while.

Tan Tye Alley which was a small lane adjacent to Tan Tye Place, it was just opposite Fort Canning Hill.  During my childhood time, our family was a tenant living on the third story of a unit (The address was 4A, Tan Tye Alley).

We used to enjoy watching fireworks showering down in front of us when we lay down to watch the show at our small open air roof-top balcony cum garden after dinner.  No firework can be watched as close and look as beautiful when I compare it with what was imprinted in my memory!

Tan Tye Alley (Some 3 storey units with the address No. 2, 4, 6, 8, etc and a big Ware House) is now part of Liang Court (Chinese: 亮阁) at Clarke Quay, near Singapore River. 

When our family members visited Liang Court the first few times, we always felt that we are visiting our old home and like to guess which shop is at our old home location! 

Now back the the walk!  Guided by Ms Lee, we climbed the hill and visited some other interesting sites:

• Fort Gate and the nearby sites: Once the seat of Malay royalty in the 14th century and home to colonial governors in the 19th, it became a military base during the Second World War. Today, a display of ancient relics dating back to the 14th century as well as the Fort Gate, remnant of the fortress built in the 1860s, are reminders of Singapore’s rich past.

• Spice Garden: Explored the world of spices which was part of the original tract of Singapore's first botanical and experimental garden, we learn about the importance of spice back then as well as how it has integrated into our lives today.

Whether it is botanical or historical, learning about our heritage is not possible through just a walk in the park, yet, it is a good starting point for some and good revision for me today!


What to take note if you plan to walk on your own in future:

• Walk is moderately easy but will involve walking up slopes and steps so do come dressed comfortably. Sport shoes is the best!
• It is also good to bring along a bottle of drinking water, hat/cap/umbrella/poncho, sun glasses and sunblock!
• Apply insect repellent if you are likely to attract them.

Here is some good information:
Meeting point for the group: Courtyard opposite NParks Visitor Centre, Fort Canning Centre

Nearest MRT: Dhoby Ghaut or City Hall

Nearest carpark: carpark B off Percival Road


Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points
Eligible for PDS Points:
This activity attracts 26 points under Category C – Personal Development. " Participate in any self-development or productivity course not directly related to library and information work (half day) “ 2. Reference: See para 4.6 of the PDS Guide [:http://www.las.org.sg/PDS-Guide-2008-LAS.mht ]

Source of information: Email from Programmes & Social Committee Dated 18 Aug 2010

Book as a gift

When you give someone a book, you don't give him just paper, ink, and glue. You give him the possibility of a whole new life.

-- Christopher Morley (1890-1957)

I like to give book as birthday gift for nieces and newphews, I hope it benefits them like what Christopher Morley said in the above quote!

Dexterine Ho

Simon Calder's 48 Hours in Singapore

Simon Calder, an Independent Traveller spends two eventful days in Singapore and experienced the diverse and welcoming city!
For those who are planning to have a short visit of Singapore, even if you only have 48 hours, you still can bring back great memory of Singapore.
 
As a Singaporean, I find the New Majestic Hotel interesting !

I like the interial deco of New Majestic Hotel (http://www.newmajestichotel.com/) and it would be interesting to experience the pool one day!
 
Cheers!
 
Dexterine Ho

Leadership

Leadership is no longer about your position.

It's now more about your passion for excellence and making a difference.

You can lead without a title.



-- Robin Sharma

Reason vs emotion

The sign of intelligent people is their ability to control emotions by the application of reason.


-- Marya Mannes (1904-1990) American Journalist

Happiness

Man is happy only as he finds work worth doing --
and does it well.


-- E. Merrill Root (1895-1973) American Writer

The Library of Congress  (http://www.loc.gov/index.html) in Washington D.C. has over 33 million books and 12 million photographs, millions of maps, sheet music, and other manuscripts.

Its holdings make it largest library in the western world; and having been founded in 1800, it is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country.

Source of information:
The World Almanac 2010, original source
The Refdesk 2 Sept 2010, indirect reference source
The Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/index.html)

Teaching with the Internet

If you need to use Internet for teaching, "GERSH'S GUIDE FOR EDUCATORS: TEACHING WITH THE INTERNET" created by Dr. Sheila O. Gersh, City College of NY - Center for School Development may be a good site for your reference and here is the link:

http://www.schoollink.org/twin/

In the list, the following are compiled and you can just click your way to some good Internet resources like:
 
CultureQuest, ScienceQuest, Child Safe E-mail

Acrobat Reader Real Audio/Video, Skype

Projects ProjectWorksheets,  Citationmachine

NYS Learning & Teaching, Internet Curriculum ResourcesELEM sites

Sites for young children, Refdesk,  Participating in Projects Virtual Architecture

Post It Add It Conference Presentations For Administrators, CyberGuides video conf. with Japan

Tech Tips (videos),  Interesting Sites, NYS Standards

Literacy Sites, Internet Basics, Subject Matter Links

Science News, Make Your Own Rubrics, Hints for Creating Rubrics WebQuests

WebQuest Resources,  Graphic Organizers

Evaluating Web Sites, ESL Sites , Best WebQuests

Searching on the Internet, Searching strategies, More Searching Tips

Lesson Plans, Project Based Learning

Searching HANDOUT,  Searching with Google Schoolnotes, 
Blackboard Portfolios, Personal Portfolios, Multimedia resources  

Learn to Keyboard

And many more...

Everything starts with just a thought

Thought manifests as word.

Word manifests as deed.

Deed develops into habit.

And habit hardens into character.

So watch the thought and its ways with care.

And let it spring from loveBorn out of concern for all beings.


-- The Buddha (563?-483? B.C.E.)Siddhartha Gautama

Travel light

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.

-- Glenn Clark


It is great to read something like that today as it is very meaningful to realise why I can have a different world of experience when I reflect it in retrospect.

Travel light physically and mentally!

Even with motion sickness on plane, in car and ship, I find ways to many places with friends who enjoy visiting and experiencing the life of different places together.

I think we are able to travel light physically and emotionally!

Having very light luggages ease the physical journey and with light emotional baggages make the choice of tour mate an easy task!

Cheers!

Dexterine Ho

一個“放”字

Just received the followings today from a friend:

千般哲理, 一個“放”字
有一種養心方法叫“放下”。
擅樂者希聲，養心者留空。
何時放下，何時就會獲得一身輕鬆。


有一種處事方法叫“放棄”,
放棄無法擁有的，
重要的是放棄之後就不要悔恨。
獲得幸福的不二法則是珍惜所擁有的。

有一種辦事方法叫“放置”。
放置不是閑置，
今天無頭緒可能明天有條理，
因為事緩則圓，事緩就有變。


有一種管理方法叫“放手”。
管理不是緊緊抓住不放，
更非事必躬親，
而是有條有理地調動大家的積極性，
捆住了手腳當然就無活力而言。


有一種思考方法叫“放飛”。
放飛思緒才會天馬行空。
創造源於想象，想象力遠比知識重要。


有一種表達方法叫“放聲”。
若不影響他人，不妨放開喉嚨，
壓抑是致病的罪魁。
需要注意的是，放聲之後應知道何時收聲。


有一種觀察方法叫“放眼”。
能放眼時應放眼，放眼之處皆風景。
目力所及可見銀河星瀚、
高山流水、雲卷雲舒，遠比眼前風景好看得多。


一個“放”字，千般哲理。

運用得好，就會使復雜的生活回歸簡單，
紛亂的思緒回歸明晰，浮躁的心境回歸淡然。


“放”作為生存之態，是化繁後的睿智，
是畫龍後的點睛，是深刻後的平和。


梭羅說：“一個人越是有許多事能夠放得下，
他就越是富有。”


“提得起”常被人稱道，
“放得下”則更令人贊嘆。

Source of original information: Unknown

Attachment

I like these quotations someone sent me:

"The worst in life is "ATTACHMENT", it hurts when you lost something!"

"The best thing in life is " LONELINESS", because it teaches you everything and when you lose it, you get everything!"

Creation of something

It is wonderful to be in on the creation of something, see it used, and then walk away and smile at it.
-- Lady Bird Johnson (1912- ) American First Lady


It is a joyful journey when I travelled the path of creating something I like and have a smiling day after doing it!
 
I enjoy the mode of doing something creative and innovative.  It can be just as simple as cutting something out from paper, planting something green and beautiful in the garden, or just doing some arrangement and re-arrangement of artifacts around me etc...
 
Creating something just take a few minutes or less than an hour, yet the joys of looking at it last for the whole days or, some time, years!
 
It is a good way of trading time for something that please your and other's heart that is everlasting!
 
Dexterine Ho

Singapore - Crossroads of the East 1938

A tour of the British colony of Singapore in 1938.  Footage from this film is available for licensing from http://www.globalimageworks.com



I can identify some of the scenes taken in Singapore River then as the River in the late 1950s and 1960s when I am a child was like that in my memory, especially the sights of Chinese workers (Ku Li) walking on planks with loads of goods on their shoulders brought back many fond memories of my childhood living near boat quay (Tan Thye Alley)

My father came to Singapore in the 1940s, if he is still around, this film will bring back some of his fond memories:

Singapore in 1938:
- the Gibraltar of the East!
- the cheapest shopping centre in the whole world!
- with modern buildings and large boulevards!
- thriving harbour!
- a lively city with lively people!
- religious freedom and harmony!

When I heard this in the movie, it is like what is like reading printed text in the geography text book in school in the late 1960s. Yet is was the achievement 30 years before Singapore's Independence.

We were told that Singapore was a poor city and it is very enlightening to see 1938 with all the modern facilities already in place!

I really enjoy this movie as it made me understand the way Singapore is today are the toils and hard work of our ancestors.

During that period of time, the whites are the ones who enjoy themselves while our ancestors toil. 

Now some of us are engaging foreign maid and doing the same like the white did in the past. 

The population in 1938 was only 500,000.  Our ancestors were immigrants then and now in 2010, the population is 5,000,000+ and many of our maids and workers etc are immigrants.

If history can help us reflects and projects into the future, it will tell us whatever we have at present will not be permanent!  Things will change and evolve from time to time.

The future of our Singapore is for all of us to create!

Whoever toils and hard work, like our ancestor may harvest the fruits of their labour, if not within their generation,  it will in their next generation.

What will Singapore be in 2050 and who are the Singaporean then?

亲爱的潮州

潮剧艺人张长城，黄盛典，郑舜英等以潮曲介绍美丽的潮州。

With whom you are going to spend most of your waking hours

The people with whom you work reflect your own attitude. If you are
suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely traits echoed all about you.

But if you are on your best behavior, you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend most of your waking hours.

-- Beatrice Vincent


For those who are in working world for years, you will have enough experience that boss attracts only like-minded subordinates.

If you do not like to be re-format by your boss and you cannot change your boss's ways of doing thing, the only way out is to ask for transfer or post yourself out. 

There are lot of rooms for exploration if you try another way of living your working world.  We are not obliged to work for one organisation or one boss for life.

If we like the way the organisation run and identify our dream with their mission and vision, we stay longer and become a loyal staff.

If we entered to a work place with disillusion and misconception, and after a while your realised that it is not a place for you as it is not healthy for your body, mind and soul, you will know that it is time to say "I had tried and I understand I can be better elsewhere" and you moved on ...

Work is just a place for your mind and soul to explore the potential it may extend.

If your mind, body and soul is at a stand still or degrading and you have to create a new place and made new room for the body, mind and soul to breath freely and healthily, you will make the choice, however costly it is. 

Dollars and cents will not make much sense at this juncture, as it is the value in the decision you make that benefit the rest of your life.

The cash that you chase and trash yourself in at work day and night, may ruin your mind, body and soul!

If you choice the way you work, you will have the like-minded with you and you will never be alone!


Dexterine Ho

Singapore - The Lion City, 1957

A visit to Singapore in 1957. To license footage from this film, visit www.travelfilmarchive.com




I was filmed in 1957 and I was too young to have any impression of Singapore at that time!

"Singapore was once so pretty!" I can see that places and things changed so much within 50 years if you compare the places of interest THEN and now.

On making the right decision

In addition to self-awareness, imagination and conscience, it is the fourth human endowment-independent will-that really makes effective self-management possible.
It is the ability to make decisions and choices and to act in accordance with them. It is the ability to act rather than to be acted upon, to proactively carry out the program we have developed through the other three endowments.

Empowerment comes from learning how to use this great endowment in the decisions we make every day.

-- Stephen Covey


Of all the abilities that one has, decision making is most crucial in one's life journey!
 
In my personal journey, I would like to exercise self-awareness, imagination and guard against my own conscience, with that, I have made a decision lately:
 
I would rather "Live in a world with "Vision", and not "Blinding" myself with work!"

With the loads of work I have for over 30 years in the library and teaching world (labour of love, most of the time), I have the awareness lately that my I had overloaded my eyes too much which cause retinal tear of my left eye. 

Born with the mind set of wanting to explore creative way of doing things, I may had exhausted my eyes with all the visual treats I received or created in my personal and work life.  Now, I have come to a decision that even the work is valuable and meaningful, it will not be "visible" to me if I am unable to view it in the future. Hence, what I am doing is doing more harm than good for my "Vision".  To do or not to do, a painful decision is now made with ease!

If you do not have any problem with your eyes and vision, it is hard for anyone to make a decision not to overwork as all the work now required overtime and over strain of eyes.

If you are in the situation that your eye is so painful, dye, and need lubrication every 1-2 hours, even the decision is made, it is already too late for the good for the rest of your life!

Nevertheless, it is better late than never! 


Dexterine Ho
 

任何事情都会过去的

Here is what I just received from a friend:

＝＝＝＝＝
没有任何事情是不会过去的

****

不顺心是必然的，顺境不是境界如自己的愿，
而是顺应境界而进退取捨。

当任性时立即有不顺心的烦恼。

人事如海滩不可胜数的沙子，一个人寡不敌众，一个境界
怎能满足千变的心呢？

其实没有任何事情是不会过去的，没有人是
不会改变的。

不顺心也是一时的心情。

****

施比受更有福。
人生无常，把握《当下》！

＝＝＝＝＝

Dexterine's life journey with LAS (Library Association of Singapore): Part 1 of 5

Here is something I wrote and forwarded to Nurul at NLB (Nurulhuda_SUBAHAN@nlb.gov.sg) as a Volunteer Memory Agent after attending a Saturday morning "Singapore Memory workshop" in June at NLB!

If you like to join the Group, email to Nurul (Nurulhuda_SUBAHAN@nlb.gov.sg) and she will send you an invitation to join the Yahoo Group.

Cheers!

Dexterine Ho

===

Dear Nurul,

I wanted to write more, yet time is not with me now!

Here is something simple and easy for me to start with:


TITLE
====================================

Dexterine's life journey with LAS (Library Association of Singapore)

====================================

If you are a librarian, you would know what LAS stands for: Library Association of Singapore.

If you are not working in the library and information field, LAS may not be anything significant in your life journey. You may just skip this article.

For those who are still reading, please note that unless you would like to know more about library professionals and their links with their professional organisation, you may find the article irrelavant to your experience of memory in Singapore.

*****************
History of LAS
*****************

"The LAS traced its history to the days when Malaysia and Singapore were not independent yet. In the 1950s, Singapore was a British colony, and Malaysia, then known as the Federation of Malaya, was a British protectorate. At that time, libraries and librarians in the two territories were far and few. Only a handful of government research libraries and a few subscription libraries existed, the latter, as Jean Waller had described, "masquerading'' as public libraries."

(Source of information: Library Association of Singapore: About us http://www.las.org.sg/about_us.htm)

If you are keen to learn more about the history of LAS, just read the webpage cited above.

************************************
Dexterine's life journey with the library world in general and LAS (Library Association of Singapore) in particular
************************************

As this article is about 150 words, if you would though like to take a glimpse into some of my personal experiences of the library world in general and LAS in particular, just read on and visit "Travel down memory lane with Dexterine" at http://dexterine.blogspot.com/ to get more.

You will find out some facts and views about librarians from the my personal perspective, the state of development of librarianship and the professional association through my personal life encounters.

Notes: Since I know very little about the library world and LAS before 1981, I look forward to reading other senior librarians’ write-ups to fill my knowledge gap about the first 25 years of Library world in Singapore and LAS history.

To start, I have the following Q and A for easy narration:

Q: Why did Dexterine become a librarian?

Answer:
Teaching was her first career prospect and librarianship, her second. Since she could not become a teacher in the 1980s, she chose to become a librarian. To her, librarians and teachers are all helping others to share the fruits of knowledge.

End of Part One, to be continued...

If you would though like to have a glimpse into some of her personal experiences of LAS, read "Travel down memory lane with Dexterine" at http://dexterine.blogspot.com/ to get more or wait for Part Two of this post.

Cheers!

Dexterine
=======================
Dexterine Ho Soo Miang
http://dexterine.tripod.com/
http://dexterine.blogspot.com view my other blogs through my profile

email: smho@pmail.ntu.edu.sg
dexterine@yahoo.com
*************************************************************
INNOvative HANDS-ON, INNOvative minds-on
*************************************************************

Myths, Stories, and Possibilities

The Programmes and Social Committee organised a talk by Dr Paul B. Gandel today:


Topic : Myths, Stories, and Possibilities

Date : 9 July 2010, Friday

Time : 3.00pm-5.00pm

Venue : Possibility Room, Level 5, National Library Building

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points: 46
(Applicable only to librarians who are participants of PDS)

About the talk

As technology has developed over the past years moving from the Web to Web 2.0 to the Cloud, barriers have dropped and possibilities seem limitless. Our world is becoming ever more interlinked.

This presents both an opportunity and a dilemma for those of us in information services that need to plan for an increasingly technology-enabled future of interconnectedness.

How do you plan for the abundance of possibilities?
How do you plan in the absence of good predictive models?
What is really true about all the technological hype?
What really will change?
What core values and services will remain the same?

Planning for the future may be as much of process of discovery as a planning process. Success will be finding the right ingredients and partners. It also requires a bit of luck!

From the perspective of a former library dean, CIO, and now university professor, Paul Gandel leads a conversation about the challenges and opportunities he sees for this complex and cloudy future.

He illustrates these trends with stories from his own personal experiences: Creating new governance and consortium models in the face of changing technologies; green computing—an example of turning slogans into reality; and building new models of education and services for the information professional of the future.

About the speaker

Paul B. Gandel
Acting CIO, Singapore Management University
Professor of Information Studies, Syracuse University

Paul Gandel is Professor of Information Studies at Syracuse University. His teaching and research areas include the management of information technology systems, information management, leadership, information policy, and the visualization of information. Currently while on leave from Syracuse he is serving as acting CIO and senior consultant for Singapore Management University (SMU). He also is a visiting professor in the School of Information Systems at SMU.

Previously he served as the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Syracuse University.

As Chief Information Officer, Gandel was responsible for all aspects of information technology and information services—computer services, voice and data networking, instructional technology services, business process improvement, and distance learning technology.

During his tenure as CIO he was instrumental in modernizing the University’s technology infrastructure and IT support services to ensure that SU remains competitive with the growing demands of providing high-quality information resources for research, teaching and student learning environments.

Before coming to Syracuse University, Gandel was Vice Provost and Dean of Libraries at University of Rhode Island.

Before Rhode Island, Gandel was Associate Provost and Chief Information Officer at the Ohio University, Senior Director of Academic Computing and Associate Professor of Library Science at the University of North Texas, Supervisor of the Computing Technology Group at Bell Laboratories, Head of Media Services at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, and Director of the Research Library at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester, New York.

Dr. Gandel earned his Ph.D. in Information Studies from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Wisconsin, and an M.F.A. in Photography and B.A. in History from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

What impressed me is that being a history major, he has advanced to IT field and travelled a very different path from general history graduate of his time! 

I will always remembered him as he is also a graduate of University of Wisconsin.

Source of information: email from The Programmes and Social Committee, LAS dated Jun 14, 2010 

Your vision

If your vision is for a year, plant wheat.

If your vision is for ten years, plant trees.

If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people!


-- Chinese Proverb

Top 10 Sites for Creating Slide Shows by David Kapuler

Top 10 Sites for Creating Slide Shows by David Kapuler

I just received this email alert on the Top 10 Sites for Creating Slide Shows by David Kapuler

from:

Linkedin Groups: Technology Integration in Education

"Now that there are several free sites that let users create amazing slide shows, it's no longer necessary to have a program such as iPhoto or Power Point for the job.…"

"Slideshows are one of the most popular ways to integrate technology into education. Now that there are several free sites that let users create amazing slide shows, it’s no longer necessary to have a program such as iPhoto or Power Point for the job."


"Top 10 Sites for Creating Slide Shows:

1. Kizoa
- Creates beautiful slide shows, with a variety of music, effects, transitions to choose from.

2. Shwup
- Great site for creating private collaborative slide shows with features such as the ability to allow comments.

3. Photo Peach
- Unique site that allows users to create quizzes in their slide show through multiple choice questions.

4. Animoto
- One of the most popular sites around with an educational instance.

5. Slideroll
- A very nice site site that allows the user to make private or allow comments.

6. Flixtime
- Easy to use site where a user uploads photos and selects audio and transitions and then gets a code to embed into their site.

7. One True Media
- Great site to create animated slide shows with video.

8. PhotoSnack
- Very user friendly site with a drag & drop interface.

9. Pho.to
- Create flash based slide shows and get an embed code to put it on a site.

10. Vuvox
- An excellent site for creating beautiful multimedia slide shows.

David Kapuler was the media and technology specialist at Greendale (Wis.) School District. Read his blog at cyber-kap.blogspot.com."

Source of information:

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=145374083&gid=108447&type=news&item=145374083&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Etechlearning%2Ecom%2Farticle%2F31270&urlhash=UfyD&goback=%2Egde_108447_news_145374083

If you have time to try any of the above, would appreciate it if you could post your comments and let me and others who use ppt for training know the + and - of the new applications!

Cheers!


Dexterine Ho

My Singapore Memory

What's Your Singapore Memory?

Free workshop @ National Library, 26 June & 3 July, 8.30am - 12pm

As part of the my Singapore Memory Project, I responed to NLB's invitation and joined as storywriters of Singapore's "rich" heritage.

As the announcement stated that participant needs not be a writer to start with, I just take the challenge and join the workshop to learn proper writing techniques.

"Neuro-Linguistic Programming" techniques was introduced and I find it easy to follow. It is a simple ways to source for our own stories.

Superior vs average

One of the marks of superior people is that they are action-oriented.

One of the marks of average people is that they are talk-oriented.

-- Brian Tracy


From my work life experience, I think sometime the reverse is true:

Top management are talk-oriented, middle management and those below their level are action-oriented.


Dexterine Ho

Library of Singapore American School: LAS Library Visit

This morning, I joined the LAS Programmes and Social Committee for a tour of the Library of Singapore American School (High School).

The details for the visit are as follows:

Date: 2 June 2010 (Wednesday)
Time: 9.45 am – 12.00 pm
Meeting Point: Foyer of High School

Programme
9.45am-10am
Assemble in Foyer of High School

10am-10.30am
Welcome and Refreshments at the Magazine Area

10.30am-11.10am
Library Presentation in Multi Media Theater 11.10am-11.30am High School Library Tour

11.30am-12pm
Q & A, Casual Interaction and Walk to Middle School Library for a quick library tour

Location map: http://www.sas.edu.sg/about/directions.html

Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points
Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category." Study visit to other libraries (local and overseas)"

NAFA (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts) Library

The LAS Programmes and Social Committee organised a visit to the NAFA Library (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts) for 50 members today.
Date: 21 May 2010 (Friday)

Time: 3 pm – 5 pm

Meeting Point: NAFA Campus 1 lobby, NAFA Campus 1, 80 Bencoolen Street , Singapore 189655


Here is the itinerary of the tour:

3.00 pm – 3.15 pm Meet at NAFA Campus 1 lobby

3.15 pm – 3.30 pm Introduction & watch NAFA corporate video at Board Room at Level 3

3.30 pm – 4.00 pm Tour of the library on 6th and 7th floor

4.00 pm – 4.15 pm Refreshments

4.15 pm – 4.30 pm Back to boardroom / staff lounge for an online demo on NAFA library’s digitization project

4.30 pm – 5 pm Tour of NAFA Gallery, Skylight Studio and possibly the Jewelry Workshop

The group was guided by Ms Carol Sim Soek Cheng , Director (Information Resources & Technology).  We have the afternoon visit extended till 6pm as we enjoyed the viewing of the special collection on Local Artists Catalogue, the talk to the student artists, the Instructor of the Jewelry Course and many other unexpected sight of various NAFA studio/gallary. 

At the end of the visit and tour, we are given a table of Art books for our selection.  Even though all of us are tire and exhausted after the full afternoon programme, most of us are overjoyed to bag many heavy volumn of books home.

Thanks to NAFA and Ms Carol Sim for making the day filled with visual treats. The tangible reward of our visit are bags of valuable art books which is hard to afford or obtain in the bookshop for most of us. 

If you miss this visit, the NAFA web site http://www.nafa.edu.sg/ may give you some good information to fill you gap.  Yet, nothing can replace a real visit and I am glad to be with the group today!
Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

Eligible for PDS Points:

This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category. " Study visit to other libraries (local and overseas)"

Maturity

Maturity begins when we're content to feel we're right about something, without feeling the necessity to prove someone else is wrong.

-- Sydney J. Harris (1917-1986)


It is the same as creating a win-win situation in any human relationship.

When you have this mind set, it is easy for you to go ahead with what you choose to do which may be very different from what others around you are doing!

You do what you feel right about something and concentrate on that! The chance of being successful in your pursuit is 50% higher as you do not need to spend time and energy to prove that someone else is wrong!

Dexterine Ho

Happiness

Happiness is essentially a state of going somewhere,

wholeheartedly,one-directionally,

without regret or reservation.


-- William H. Sheldon


Most of us do things half heartedly and regret for not putting in more efforts at the first place.

We are not happy with what we have chosen to do, or not to do most of the time!

Happinese is being able to match what inside you with what outside there in the real world!


Dexterine Ho

Life is ...

"Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed."

- Corita Kent

Be the bearer of good news

Here's a task: Be the bearer of only good news today. In living out this task, note whether you find it difficult to maintain.

And if so, discover why within yourself.

-- Caroline Myss and Peter Occhiogrosso


If you reflect on how you choose the news that you like to share with others, you will understand how your inner emotion process the things outside you!

Being human, it is hard for us to be the bearer of only good news. Using only kind words and kind thought need a lot of internal discipline and decision making in the information process.

Librarian needs to apply search strategies to collect and choose useful information and knowledge for users.

Library skills is acquired through years of practice and with Internet, everyone can google, and the chances of having a good search is possible if you have time to browse and select!

If you google long enough, you will understand that browsing and selecting is also an inner process of which you apply your decision making! What is out there in the result list is only relevant to you when you choose to look at it in details.

With news from all sources, if one choose to be the bearer of good news, one needs to pause and reflect what is good and do the gate keeping job. What is available on the Internet is not critical, it is what you choose to share that is critical. Try it, it is hard work even for one day.

If you try it for a day yourself, you will understand it is not easy. Hence, when you listen to others who are the bearers of bad news or bad+good news, you will understand it is human nature and you may be less emotional when the bad news or bad words hit you from time to time!

It is hard, it is not easy to be bearer of good news!

As you go through the task yourself, you will understand and find the task difficult to maintain. With that, if you reflect, you will discover the reasons within yourself.


Dexterine Ho

Deliberately choosing our thoughts

When we take control of our mental state by deliberately choosing our thoughts and attitudes, we can alter the meaning we associate to the experiences we have and results we see in our life.

-- Clayton J. Moore

Life is ...

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.

-- Viktor Frankl


We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn.

Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service.

-- Earl Nightingale (1921-1989)


Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life.

-- Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)


When you do nothing, you feel overwhelmed and powerless.

But when you get involved, you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better.

-- Pauline R. Kezer

Life Difficulties and choices you make

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.

-- Peter Marshal


A sign of wisdom and maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that your decisions cause your rewards and consequences.

You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success depends on the choices you make.

-- Denis Waitley

Singapore Press Holdings Information Resource Centre

The LAS Programmes and Social Committee organised a tour of the Singapore Press Holdings Information Resource Centre for over 30 members today.

The tour included briefings by three SPH departments and a visit to RazorTV, the “100 per cent Singaporean video news channel”.

Date: 9 April 2010 (Friday)
Time: 2:30 pm – 5:15 pm
Meeting Point: Reception area, Podium Block, SPH News Centre, 1000 Toa Payoh North, Singapore 318994

Here is the programme:

2:30 pm - Meet at the reception area, Podium Block, SPH

2.45 – 3.05 pm Welcome & Briefing on IRC services

3.05 – 3.20 pm Presentation by IBU

3.20 – 3.30 pm Q&A Session

3.35 – 3.55 pm Visit RazorTV

4.00 – 4.20 pm Presentation by STPress

4.25 – 4.45 pm Tour of IRC

4.45 – 5.15 pm Refreshments and End of Visit
I enjoy visiting SPH Information Resource Centre from time to time.  I think I am a frequent visitor of the Library, hence, Mr Idris, the Librarian said I may be able to help briefing the new members who are first time visitor.

Well, I do not think so as SPH Information Resource Centre had evloved from time to time to match the new demands of the organisation. 

Every visit to the library allow me to update my understanding of their roles and services.  This visit is extremely inspirating as we are invited to view not just the Information Resource Centre, but also have a glimpse of 90.5 radio station/studio, RazorTV, and meet some DJ who are on duties.

It is an eye opening experience to me and I appreciate this visit organised by LAS Programmes and Social Committee. For LAS members who miss this opportunity, you may view http://www.sph.com.sg/ and explore it the e-way!

Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points

Eligible for PDS Points: This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category. " Study visit to other libraries (local and overseas)"

Eye care

After having retinal tear on my left eye, I started to explore various ways to care for my eyes. Here are some good video that I like to revisit:


Retinal Tears and Detachments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBGuVym7eeA


How to Relax Your Eyes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZLDKGT1ELY&feature=PlayList&p=CB121417A83B025E&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=3

Computer Eye Strain Eye Exercises

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W10j2fL0hy0&feature=related


Eye Exercise - Advanced Moving Eyes & Head Exercise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TuIZjOCvS4&NR=1


Do exercise your eye care and you will see the different after a while!


Dexterine Ho

Data Services and Hot Issues in American Libraries

Terrence Bennett, Business & Economics Librarian from The College of New Jersey have a talk at Li Ka Shing Library in the Singapore Management University this afternoon between 3.30pm to 5pm.

Terrence discussed his research concerning data services in academic libraries, including preliminary findings from his current investigation of data acquisition, creation and use among researchers at SMU.

In addition, he also shared some interesting findings concerning the causes of emotional toxicity among coworkers in libraries.

Terrence in his closing remark highlighted some of the recent issues in librarianship that have become catalysts for concern and controversy among US librarians.

What I take home and have it linger in my mind is: If the online catalog in the library is just "card catalog" online, would that be replaced by the other more efficient methods of online record format for books etc...

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):
Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)

Today I joined the Programmes and Social Committee, LAS for a tour of the Library of Nanyang Polytechnic.

Date:
19 March 2010 (Friday)
Time:
3:15 pm – 5:30 pm

Meeting Point:

Library main entrance located at Block A, Level 4

The itinerary of the tour is as follows:

Time
3.15 pm
Meet at the Library main entrance. The Library is located at Block A Level 4

3.30 pm - 3.50 pm
Introduction to NYP Library

3.50 pm - 4.15 pm
Powerpoint presentation on library services

4.15 pm - 5.00 pm
Library Tour

5.00 pm - 5.30 pm
Refreshment & Interaction with Library Staff

I am glad to meet many old friends, ex-colleagues, counterparts and TP students!

Many thanks to LAS and the Programmes and Social Committee


Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points
Eligible for PDS Points:

This activity attracts 46 points under the Industry Knowledge Development (ID) category. "Study visit to other libraries (local and overseas)"

如何把小事做大

Just to share the inspiring message I have from youtube today:

俞敏洪讲述如何把小事做大

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vapr0i3mKrw


俞敏洪语录 :

如果你要引人注目，就要使得自己成为一棵树，傲立于大地之间；而不是做一颗草，你见过谁踩了一棵草，还抱歉地对草说：对不起？

当你是地平线上一棵草的时候，不要指望别人会在远处看到你，即使他们从你身边走过甚至从你身上踩过，也没有办法，因为你只是一棵草；而如果你变成了一棵树，即使在很远的地方，别人也会看到你，并且欣赏你，因为你是一棵树！

人生的奋斗目标不要太大，认准了一件事情，投入兴趣与热情坚持去做，你就会成功。

人的生活方式有两种，
　　第一种方式是像草一样活着，
　　你尽管活着，
　　每年还在成长，
　　但是你毕竟是一棵草，
　　你吸收雨露阳光，
　　但是却长不大。

　　人们可以踩过你，
　　但是人们不会因为你的痛苦，而他产生痛苦；
　　人们不会因为你被踩了，而来怜悯你，
　　因为人们本身就没有看到你。

　　所以我们每一个人，
　　都应该像树一样的成长，
　　即使我们现在什么都不是，
　　但是只要你有树的种子，
　　即使你被踩到泥土中间，
　　你依然能够吸收泥土的养分，
　　自己成长起来。

　　当你长成参天大树以后，
　　遥远的地方，人们就能看到你；
　　走近你，你能给人一片绿色。
　　活着是美丽的风景，
　　死了依然是栋梁之才，
　　活着死了都有用。
　　这就是我们每一个同学做人的标准和成长的标准。

水的精神
　　每一条河流都有自己不同的生命曲线， 但是每一条河流都有自己的梦想——那就是奔向大海。我们的生命，有的时候会是泥沙。你可能慢慢地就会像泥沙一样，沉淀下去了。一旦你沉淀下去了，也许你不用再为了前进而努力了，但是你却永远见不到阳光了。所以我建议大家，不管你现在的生命是怎么样的，一定要有水的精神——像水一样不断地积蓄自己的力量，不断地冲破障碍。当你发现时机不到的时候，把自己的厚度给积累起来，当有一天时机来临的时候，你就能够奔腾入海，成就自己的生命。

Source of information:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/5395.htm


人最坏的习惯之一就是抱住已经拥有的东西不放，其实一个人只要舍得放下自己的那点小天地，就很容易海阔天空。

Source of information:
http://baike.baidu.com/view/1080449.htm

Development of Institutional Repository using DSpace Software: An experience @ JIIT Noida

I just attended the following professional talk at NLB today:

Topic : Development of Institutional Repository using DSpace Software: An experience @ JIIT Noida

Speaker : Dr Sanjay Kataria, Head, Learning Resource Centre, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology University

Date : 4 March 2010 (Thursday)

Time : 4.00pm - 5.30pm (Please be seated by 3.50pm.)

Venue : Visitor's Briefing Room, Level 1, National Library Building

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points: 46
(Applicable only to librarians who are participants of PDS)

The presentation emphasize the development of Institutional Repository (IR) by using open sources software for maintaining, sustaining, and preserving of scholarly contents of an institution/university.



It also focus on the possible difficulties before and after development of an institutional repository.



The presentation include live experiences and experiments. Further, the components for building institutional repository/digital library was being discussed and Dr Kataria concluded the presentation with important lessons learnt during the experimenting and development of institutional repository @ Jaypee Institute of Information Technology Noida UP India.

Dr Sanjay Kataria is working as Head, Learning Resource Centre, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology Noida UP India.



He has also accredited the libraries of Jaypee Group of Institutions i.e. JUIT, JIET, JBS and Extended centre of JIIT Noida. Dr Kataria is an innovative and active library professional. He has more than one decade of experience from various reputed organizations including United Service Institution of India.

Dr Kataria has earned Master of Philosophy and Doctoral of Philosophy in Library and Information Science. He has contributed 14 research papers in various national and international conferences and journals, edited two books, three souvenirs and one proceeding of International Symposium.

Inner attitudes

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives."

- William James

Creativity vs uncertainties

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."

- Erich Fromm

Wisdom, Knowledge and Education vs Religion

Religion, like water, may be free, but when they pipe it to you, you've got to help pay for piping. And the Piper!

--Abigail Van Buren


Wisdom, like water, may be free, but when they pipe it to you, you've got to help pay for piping, and the Piper!

Knowledge, like water, may be free, but when they pipe it to you, you've got to help pay for piping, and the Piper!

Education, like water, may be free, but when they pipe it to you, you've got to help pay for piping, and the Piper!

That may explain the cost of education nowadays as the pipes are getting longer and become very complicated.

The Pipers are working so hard to sort out the various pipes, colour coding them and try to match a unique pipe to a unique learner.

On top of that, water, though inexpensive, is not free in most countries now! Hence, if you are willing to learn and can learn by self study, it will cost you very little beside your time and your effort.

If you cannot learn it through self study, you have to pay the school fee, additional tuition fee and other fees like transportation etc...


Dexterine Ho

Self-love vs self-abuse

We have the need to be accepted and to be loved by others, but we cannot accept and love ourselves.

The more self-love we have, the less we will experience self-abuse.

Self-abuse comes from self-rejection, and self-rejection comes from having an image of what it means to be perfect and never measuring up to that ideal.

Our image of perfection is the reason we reject ourselves the way we are, and why we don't accept others the way they are.

-- Don Miguel Ruiz

It is not what happens to you, it is what you do about it!

...what I focus on in life is what I get.

And if I concentrate on how bad I am or how wrong I am or how inadequate I am,

if I concentrate on what I can’t do and how there’s not enough time in which to do it,

isn’t that what I get every time?

And when I think about how powerful I am,

and when I think about what I have left to contribute,

and when I think about the difference I can make on this planet,

then that’s what I get.

You see, I recognize that it’s not what happens to you;

it’s what you do about it.

-- W. Mitchell

For more information, visit: http://www.wmitchell.com/

The meaning of life

Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rathermust recognize that it is he who is asked.

In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his ownlife; to life he can only respond by being responsible.

--Viktor E. Frankl (1905 - 1997) Psychiatrist & Author

Icebreakers

I am now attending Advanced Certificate in Training & Assessment (ACTA) course, and the assessment report for Module 4A "Prepare and facilitate classroom training" motivated me to search for some Ice breakers.

I found the following sites with comprehensive collections for teaching big or small groups:

Ice Breakers from About.com: Continuing Education
http://adulted.about.com/od/icebreakers/Ice_Breakers.htm
"Whether you're teaching a class, facilitating a meeting, hosting a group, or attending a casual summer party, getting to know the people around you can be intimidating or very fun. Break the ice! All ice breakers are printable!"

Icebreakers, Fun Games, Group Activities
http://www.icebreakers.ws/
"This site features instructions to several playtested, high quality free icebreakers, fun games, and team building activities - perfect for group facilitation, the first day of class (teaching), training, and icebreakers for meetings of all kinds. To achieve good group dynamics or just for fun, these free icebreaker games can be useful as youth group activities, party games, business and corporate training activities, college group activities, activities for kids, or simply good icebreaker games for family or friends on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Enjoy!"

Think Creatively

The mentor moment: think creatively
By John Bittleston

The article is published on today's My Paper, 16 Dec 2009, page A6

I like the article and the way he expanded the concept of creativity.

Instead of cutting the paper and keep it, I thought it will be nice to have an e-copy to share with like-minded. I was thrilled to find the article on terrificmentors.com, the bonus of reading it online is, you have the choice of reading the text or listening to the audio:

http://www.terrificmentors.com/2009/12/11/think-creatively/

I like many of his thought and here are some that I would like to quote and share:


"Everyone thinks they are creative; very few people actually are."

"If we can get over the fear of failure we can think creatively. "

'The four Nobel Prize winners who discovered penicillin did not have financial accounts or Key Performance Indicators."

"Of the seven rules for being creative observation, ... is the first."

"Creativity is the ability to perceive relationships."

'You perceive only when you are alert"

"We score an “A” for focus and a “Z” for peripheral vision."

'Sensitivity is the most difficult of the creative tools."

"Insensitive people cause most of the accidents in the world. They don’t have their antennae tuned to danger. It can be fatal."

"Reflection is the tool that is hardest to define. It is part analysis, part interpretation, part projection."

"Humour is, to me, the most important of all the tools, and the most neglected."

"If creativity is the ability to perceive relationships, humour is the ability to create them."

"Vision and foresight are ways of describing imagination."

"Imagination is itself creativity, so not an ingredient."

"To achieve foresight we must forecast."

"Every decision in life is based on forecast."

"Foresight is extrapolating what we know. Vision is seeing what we cannot see. Together they form a vital element of creativity."

"Problem solving means overcoming an unresolved obstacle in order to achieve a desired objective."

"Problems are a mixture of trouble (sometimes potentially disastrous), inconvenience, emotional upset, irritation and opportunity."

"Unfortunately, we often let the emotional aspects of a problem cloud the usually simple solution."

"If we approached each problem with the question ‘what do I want to achieve?’ and forgot all the side issues we should see the solution quickly."

"With easy access to data why do we need memory?"

"The very speed of today’s communication determines what we must be able to call up without delay – or miss an opportunity that may not present itself again."

"The rule for modern memory is relevance. Where in the past showing off knowledge was often a way to command respect we now need to demonstrate that the knowledge we are displaying is relevant to the subject and, even more important, to the moment."

"My rule is to try to remember the future, not the past."

"Stories – and exercises – are the best way to learn creativity"

"What of the educational needs for creativity? We admire teachers and those educating the young. They are hugely important. But they are stuck in knowledge-based formula teaching quite unsuitable for our present needs."

"Today we must have a new, broader-based form of education encompassing the 98% of the brain we are not using."

"Such education is not about fact and experience but about imagination and creativity."

"I am what I eat; I become what I think; I will be what I decide."

I like the article very much and read it again and again!

Listening to the audio when I write this blog make me reflect on my understanding, you may like to do the same and get the full text or audio from:

http://www.terrificmentors.com/2009/12/11/think-creatively/

Second shot - precision heritage photography

I visited the Second shot blog today and like to recommend it:

http://2ndshot.blogspot.com/search/label/2nd%20Shot

Here is the words from the author of the blog:

"This blog is my attempt at second shot - precision heritage photography - and my search for little nuggets of Singapore history and heritage. When free, I can be found wandering along the streets and elsewhere, trying to uncover our geographical past."

If you like to link the present to the past, you would not like to miss this blog and the photos of the "then and now" taken in Singapore!

Dexterine Ho

U.S. Academic Libraries Today: Challenges and Opportunities

This morning, I attended the following talk hosted by NUS Libraries:

U.S. Academic Libraries Today: Challenges and Opportunities

Speaker: Dr Wendy Simmons, Information Resource Officer, US Embassy, Thailand
Date: Wednesday 9 December 2009
Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm
Venue: Theatrette 2, Central Library, NUS Libraries

About the talk:

Technology, increased demands for accountability, and a changing student population over recent years have posed major challenges to academic libraries in the US.

This talk describes how American librarians have responded, by designing new physical structures and entering the social networking world, to reach out in new ways to students and continue in their role as the heart of their institution.

About the speaker:

Dr Wendy Simmons is the Information Resource Office for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.

She provides professional guidance and assistance to the Information Resource Centers and American Corners in US embassies in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Vietnam, as well as in Thailand.

Prior to joining USIA, she lived for eight years overseas, and worked in academic, government and non-profit libraries and archives, in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)

Source of information: email dated 30 Nov 2009 from lassec@las.org.sg

Finding the Best of the Internet

The Programmes & Social Committee, LAS have the following talk for LAS members:

Topic: "Finding the Best of the Internet"
Speaker: Dr Wendy Simmons, Information Resource Officer, US Embassy, Bangkok, Thailand
Date: Wednesday 9 December 2009
Time: 3.00pm – 5.00pm
Venue: Theatrette 2, Central Library, NUS Libraries

About the talk

This presentation is intended for librarians and information seekers who want better results from their web searching. It offers a guide for searchers to develop a strategy to find quality information online and then using it in appropriately. Basic reference tools, Internet searching, advanced use of Google, citation builders and copyright issues are discussed.

About the speaker

Dr Wendy Simmons is the Information Resource Office for the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. She provides professional guidance and assistance to the Information Resource Centers and American Corners in US embassies in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore and Viet Nam, as well as in Thailand.

Prior to joining USIA, she lived for eight years overseas, and worked in academic, government and non-profit libraries and archives, in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC.

LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)

The Concept of Property in Virtual Worlds and Online Spaces

As I subscribe to Singapore Law Watch Daily Update, I was alerted to the following seminar and just attended it this afternoon.

Seminar on "The Concept of Property in Virtual Worlds and Online Spaces"

Date: Tuesday, 8 December 2009

Time: 12.15 p.m. - 1.30 p.m.

Venue: Conference Room, Level 1

Oei Tiong Ham Building
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy
469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772


SYNOPSIS

The rise of virtual worlds and massively multiplayer online games has brought with it an understanding of how people treat property in online spaces.

This, coupled with the rise of social media games, has seen the emergence of a billion dollar market for assets that don't exist.

This presentation maps out what we know about virtual property, and present some theories about what this means for the nature of online markets, intellectual property systems in Asia and the rest of the world, and the way that humans will live in a computer-mediated future.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Dan Hunter is an expert in internet law, intellectual property, and artificial intelligence & cognitive science models of law. He holds a Ph.D. from Cambridge University on the nature of legal reasoning, as well as computer science and law degrees from Monash University (Australia) and a Master in Laws from the University of Melbourne.

Before joining New York Law School, he held a chair in law at the University of Melbourne, was a tenured professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and taught on the law faculty at Cambridge University...

Source of the above information:

http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/legal/ln2/rss/legaledu/64949.pdf?utm_source=email%20subscription&utm_medium=email&title=The%20Concept%20of%20Property%20in%20Virtual%20Worlds%20and%20Online%20Space%2C%20NUS%2C%208%20Dec&notShowClose=y

I find the topic relevant to information and library world, yet I am the only Library Professional at the seminar.

I learnt about the orginal of private property law:

* Ownership of property is not just about control and security for individaul, but is also for better management of property for the country and society.

* If property are all common property, everyone will exploit it without caring for it.

* Private property is the transfer of right: common right to private right

* All ownership come with responsibility, and private property owner have the responsiblilty to take care of what is being possessed.

If we look at virtual property (all the objects/elements in Second life, World War Craft or Games in Facebook etc...) as a record in database, or an entry in the computer, it is created by someone, and maybe common or private in ownership depending of the intention of the creator.

In the library world, MARC record is created by cataloguer and have the same nature. Some are free for downloading, yet some are owned by database vendors.

I find it enlightening to look at the database vendor from this perspective. It is the ownership that make records accessible. It is the care of the record owner that create systematic and searchable field that increase the accessibility.

With that mindset, I search on the net and find some good read on "Property", here are two that I would like to recommend:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2009/11/property-ownership/

Towards Archiving and Managing Community Formation in Web 2.0

As 20 vacancies are available for LAS member, I just take an afternoon off to attend the talk by Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh, Senior Fellow (Wee Kim Wee School of Comm & Info), NTU


Topic : Towards Archiving and Managing Community Formation in Web 2.0 environment

Speaker : Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh

Date : Monday, 30 November 2009

Time : 3.30pm - 5.30pm

Venue : Toa Payoh Public Library / Agatha Room (level 3)

6 Toa Payoh Central

Singapore 319191


LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS):

Participant can earn 46 points under Industry Knowledge Development – Participate in library related talks, forums, discussion sessions and business meetings organized by LAS or other libraries (category ID1)


Outline of Talk

In this talk, Dr Paul Wu Horng-Jyh, Senior Fellow (Wee Kim Wee School of Comm & Info), NTU present a case study on the formation of learning community.

He first explained the functioning of the learning community as an activity system constituted by spirals of offline as well as online SECI (socializing, Externalizing, Combining and Internalizing) knowledge creation activities. The online activities are supported by a cascade of Web 2.0 tools consisting of blog, forum and wiki to reflect distinct SECI cycles.
About the Speaker

Dr. Paul Wu Horng-Jyh is a Senior Fellow with the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

Presently, he researches and directs the academic areas of Digital Preservation and Archival Informatics, particularly in the e-Learning and e-Social Science domains.

Before joining NTU in 2004, he had been involved in technology start-ups for almost a decade and was a co-founder and CEO of Mustard Technology, which specializes in multilingual search and data quality technologies for businesses and government agencies in the region and beyond.

After obtaining PhD in Artificial Intelligence from University of Michigan, he served as a Senior R&D Member of Kent Ridge Digital Labs in the 90’s, during which he invented two US Patents on search and language processing technologies.

He has two decades of experiences in theoretical and practical consultancy in information science and technology. The most recent project he consulted was the Web Archives of Singapore (WAS) project – a collaborative effort between National Library Board (NLB) and NTU, which created the first Web Archives in this region.

Currently, he is conducting a general study on Website Preservation and a case study on preserving e-Learning records, under the InterPARES 3 framework.

Source of information: email dated 25 Nov 2009 from lassec@las.org.sg

How to Write a Memoir

Just attended the talk: "How to Write a Memoir"

Saturday, 28 November, 2.00 - 4.00pm (Registration starts at 1.50pm)

Visitor's Briefing Room, Level 1, National Library Building

The session is conducted by Mr Wong Chai Kee. The talk walks through the four-year writing journey of a first-time author – of how the difficulty in getting out the first 1,000 words and other experience related to writing.

A Melbourne University-trained psychologist, Wong Chai Kee has run his own management consultancy firm, with a 190-strong client list of multinational, government-linked and mainboard-listed companies, for twenty-two years. He loves writing, and has written numerous articles on psychology and on Christianity. A voracious reader, especially of memoirs and history, he has an insatiable urge to buy books, despite reading at least a page of every book bought.

Here is the title of the book by the speaker available from National Library Online Catalogue:

Title
Even when she forgot my name : love, life and my mother's Alzheimer's / Wong Chai Kee.

Author
Wong, Chai Kee, 1952-

Publisher
Singapore : Epigram, c2009.

Physical Description
182 p. : ports. ; 22 cm.

Notes
Some pages contain repetition of words, words crossed out, words jarred together or no words at all, to represent the state of an Alzheimer's mind.

Graphic Organizers

When I teach mind mapping using the Software "Inspirations", Graphic Organizers http://www.graphic.org/goindex.html is a site that I use to explain and expand the concept of mind map.

The Graphic organizer, a mind mapping software similar to "Inspirations" illustrates concept mapping, and mind mapping with good examples.

Some resources you might find useful for teaching mind mapping and concept mapping can be found on the "References and Links" page at"

http://www.graphic.org/links.html

You can use the rich resources to help motivate the students to organize their thoughts. After they understand the use of mind map, they can apply and it to increase recall and assist understanding.

Teaching mind mapping this way can create interest and combat boredom!

NLB Professional Talks: Driver or Passenger - Responding to Changes

Here is some backgroup of the Professional Talk series and brief information on the talk:

Source of information: 28 Sept 2009 email from Petrina_ANG@nlb.gov.sg
===============

NLB's Professional and International Relations (PIR) is expanding their Professional Talks to include prominent local library and information professionals in addition to the current overseas speakers.

The speakers will share with us best practices and their respective areas of expertise and specialisation.

We seek to engage the various libraries across Singapore through these sharing sessions which will serve as excellent platforms for networking and bonding within the local library community.

In addition, NLB staff and LAS members will benefit from the sharing and imparting of knowledge during the talks.

PROFESSIONAL TALKS

Topic : Driver or Passenger - Responding to Changes - NTU Library

Speaker : Mr Choy Fatt Cheong, University Librarian, Nanyang Technological University Library

Date : 22 October 2009 (Thursday)

Time : 4.00pm - 5.30pm

Venue : Imagination Room, Level 5, National Library Building


LAS Professional Development Scheme (PDS) Points:

46 (Applicable only to librarians who are participants of PDS)


Summary of the talk by the speaker:

"Libraries today exist in an environment that is bubbling with rapid and often disruptive changes in the technological, social and cultural dimensions.

These changes have and will continue to alter the nature of many of the core functions of libraries and perhaps create new roles for librarians.

The biggest challenge for libraries is to find ways to respond to these disruptive changes, which by definition cannot be predicted or anticipated.

I believe the key lies in how we prepare our staff and how we organize our libraries to meet these challenges successfully as and when they come.

These thoughts were very much on our mind when NTU Library reorganized itself four years ago. This talk reflects on some of the major initiatives we undertook and discuss some problems and issues we encountered in our attempt to respond successfully to the challenging environment. "


About the speaker:

Choy Fatt Cheong is University Librarian at Nanyang Technological University.

He started his career in librarianship at NUS Library in 1984. Since then he has worked in MINDEF to set up the SAFTI Military Institute Library, at Temasek Polytechnic to set up two diploma courses as Course Manager and Principal Lecturer and finally ran his own consultancy company for four years before joining NTU in 2004.

He had served as the President of the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) from 1997 to 2005 and also as Board member of the National Library Board for six years until 2003. He contributes actively to the profession and recently helped to initiate the LAS Professional Development Scheme as Chairman of the Working Committee.

Currently, he is also a Board member of the International Association of Scientific & Technological University Libraries (IATUL).

Source of information: 28 Sept 2009 email from Petrina_ANG@nlb.gov.sg

IFLA Journal

For your reading pleasure, if you are a librarian or like the subject...


IFLA Journal Volume 35, No. 3 (September 2009) available at: http://www.ifla.org/files/hq/publications/ifla-journal/ifla-journal-35-3_2009.pdf

Contents:

Editorial: Reading, Information Literacy and Professional Development Stephen Parker 211

Letters to the Editor: Nunavut and the Inuit Peoples Stephen Salaff 213

The President’s Page
Claudia Lux, President of IFLA, 2007–2009 214

Reading Sources and Reading Spaces in Honduras Denice Adkins 215

Information Literacy and Scholarly Investigation: a British perspective Andrew K. Shenton 226

Our Space: professional development for new graduates and professionals in Australia Fiona Bradley, Alyson Dalby and Andrew Spencer 232

Open Access Repositories in Computer Science and Information Technology: an evaluation Mohammad Hanief Bhat 243

The Library Services to People with Special Needs Section of IFLA: an historical overview Nancy Panella 258

REPORTS
Indian Library Association International Conference 2008: a report N. K. Swain and Satish Kumar 272

NEWS (with separate Table of Contents) 274

INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR 283

SOMMAIRES 285--ZUSAMMENFASSUNGEN 286--RESÚMENES 288--Pефераты статей 289

Notes for Contributors 291

----

Each issue covers news of current IFLA activities and articles, selected to reflect the variety of the international information profession, ranging from freedom of information, preservation, services to the visually impaired and intellectual property.

Sign up for Email Alerts from Sage! (http://ifl.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts)

• Editor: J. Stephen Parker (zest@bart.nl) • Frequency: Quarterly • ISSN: 0340-0352 • eISSN: 1745-2651 • List of previous issues (http://www.ifla.org/en/publications/ifla-journal)

Supporting Faculty Knowledge Production

This morning I went up to NTU and attended the following talk:

Supporting Faculty Knowledge Production:
Challenges and opportunities for information professionals in a digitally connected world

Speaker: Mary Lee Kennedy
Executive Director, Knowledge and Library Services,
Harvard Business School

Date: Wednesday 25 November 2009

Time: 10.30am – 11.30am

Venue: Lecture Theatre 5, Nanyang Technological University


About the speaker:

Mary Lee Kennedy is responsible for Harvard Business School’s knowledge and information management strategy and its implementation.

Prior to Harvard, Mary Lee held knowledge management positions with global responsibility for Microsoft Corporation and Digital Equipment Corporation.

In this talk, Mary Lee Kennedy shares about:

1.Primary shifts in digital scholarship and the related changes in the nature of the information profession

2.Challenges in a time of transition

3.Opportunities to create significant value for constituents

4.The work at Harvard Business School

5.New opportunities for Global Knowledge Exchange via GKEN


Source of information: 11 Nov 2009 email from lassec@las.org.sg

As I like to know more about the speaker, I run a search on youtube and found the following clip:

Interview with Mary Lee Kennedy on Information Types



I also found the following article "The knowledge: Mary Lee Kennedy" posted on 18 Jan 2006 in Volume 9 Issue 5, Inside Knowledge.

http://www.ikmagazine.com/xq/asp/txtSearch.competitive+intelligence/exactphrase.1/sid.0/articleid.737ADABC-1138-455B-8F1C-FDD3943C699C/qx/display.htm

Here is what I like to quote:

"Today we realise we can’t document everything. By understanding the nature of human discussion, conversation, collaboration and communities, we can create environments for knowledge sharing that may not be accessible to large numbers of people.”

"We can now do things we hadn’t even dreamed about. It has changed what we do and has made things more complicated as we accommodate how different people choose to use and share information.”

Some interesting facts and background of her are listed at the end of the article:

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Name: Mary Lee Kennedy

Place of birth: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Education: B.A. Social Psychology, MLS

Employment history: Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Mexico; Sherritt Inc., Canada; Digital Equipment Corporation, USA; Microsoft Corporation, USA; The Kennedy Group, Harvard Business School, USA

Personal strengths: Determination, a sense of humour, critical thinking

Must improve: patience

Biggest inspiration: People who think and do things a lot bigger than themselves

What I do to relax: Talk to my kids

Favourite film: Shakespeare in Love or The Mission

Must read: Anything by Shakespeare or, for professional reading, "When Sparks Fly" by Dorothy Leonard

======================

I enjoyed her sharing at NTU and I think her success in her information work is not because she can uses IT well, but have her main focus on users.

"My career has focused on understanding how different people use and share information, expertise and ideas, and what motivates them to do so to create a free-flowing exchange of knowledge.”

I think it is this core focus that make her do her work differently and win the heart of the people around her!

The Paradox of our Age!

The paradox of our time in history is that...

We have taller buildings, but shorter tempers.

Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less. We buy more, but enjoy it less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families.

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense.

More knowledge, but less judgment.

More experts, but more problems.

More medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly,

laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry too quickly,

stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little,

watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life;

We've added years to life, not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We've conquered outer space, but not inner space;

We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul.

We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We write more, but learn less;

We plan more, but accomplish less;

We've learned to rush, but not to wait;

We have higher incomes, but lower morals;

We have more food, but less appeasement;

We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.

We've become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion;

tall men, and short character;

steep profits, and shallow relationships.

These are the times of world peace, but domestic warfare;

more leisure,but less fun;

more kinds of food, but less nutrition.

These are days of two incomes, but more divorce;

of fancier houses, but broken homes.

These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the show window and nothing in the stockroom; a time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to make a difference, or to just hit delete...

Dr. Bob Moorehead

The essay appeared under the title "The Paradox of Our Age" in Words Aptly Spoken, Dr. Moorehead's 1995 collection of prayers, homilies, and monologues used in his sermons and radio broadcasts.

Read the Urban legend about the essay

Stinking thinking

Just found some good reading on "Stinking thinking" and here it is:

Our own reality is created by our thinking.

"Stinking thinking" generate thoughts that cause us pain. The more we pay attention to our own stinking thinking, the more we increase our inner pain.

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How to Get Rid of Stinking Thinking
By Jeff Herring
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Stinking-Thinking&id=60091

"Have you ever tried to drive your car looking only through the rear-view mirror? It's a silly notion, but it's how we live our lives when we get caught up" in Stinking thinking!

"When you catch yourself using this particular brand of self-defeating thinking, stop and ask yourself some better questions, such as: "What can I learn from this situation?" "What mistakes did I make that I never want to make again?" "How can I use what I've experienced and learned to live better the next time I face a similar situation?

... Then you are able to live in such a way as to create few, if any, future regrets."

To read the article, visit:

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Stinking-Thinking&id=60091


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The Top 10 Types of “Stinkin’g Thinking”
by David Burns, M.D.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1787


"As you learn to better identify them, you can then learn how to start answering them back with rational arguments.

In this manner, you can work to turn your internal conversation back to being a positive in your life, instead of a running negative commentary.

1. All-or-nothing thinking - You see things in black-or-white categories...

2. Overgeneralization - You see a single negative event, such as a romantic rejection or a career reversal, as a never-ending pattern of defeat by using words such as “always” or “never” when you think about it...

3. Mental Filter - You pick out a single negative detail and dwell on it exclusively, so that your vision of reality becomes darkened, like the drop of ink that discolors a beaker of water...

4. Discounting the positive - You reject positive experiences by insisting that they “don’t count.” If you do a good job, you may tell yourself that it wasn’t good enough or that anyone could have done as well...

5. Jumping to conclusions - You interpret things negatively when there are no facts to support your conclusion...

6. Magnification - You exaggerate the importance of your problems and shortcomings, or you minimize the importance of your desirable qualities...

7. Emotional Reasoning - You assume that your negative emotions necessarily reflect the way things really are: “I feel terrified about going on airplanes. It must be very dangerous to fly.” ...

8. “Should” statements -You tell yourself that things should be the way you hoped or expected them to be...

9. Labeling - Labeling is an extreme form of all-or-nothing thinking. Instead of saying “I made a mistake,” you attach a negative label to yourself: “I’m a loser.”...

10. Personalization and Blame - Personalization comes when you hold yourself personally responsible for an event that isn’t entirely under your control...

To read the article, visit:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1787