#8 I give thanks to my government for the two years of National Service that every able-bodied young man must go through for it instills discipline and forces most men to mature.

Most guys in Singapore hate it, especially if they are of age. But like it or not, we’ve all got to go through it. As the army song goes:

Training to be soldiers
Fight for our land
Once in our lives
Two years of our time
Have you ever wondered
Why this must be
Because we love our land
And we want it to be free to be free yah!

Actually, it’s my favourite army song.

Even now as I look back at my army days - and I do this every year for two weeks while hanging out with the guys I did my time with - I look back at it with gratitude, because they really took me out of the comfort of my home and thrust me into the hard world of the army.

Even today as I do my in-camp training (which admittedly is very easy compared to some other units), I appreciate the opportunity to don my green uniform. Nutella likes it, and so do I. I hate the cap though, but then again, I hate all caps.

The army helped form who I am today, and it tested my faith because I was able to remain relatively active in church during that time. It was through that experience that I got to meet all sorts of people from all walks of life.

Thank you, my government, for the experience of two years of National Service, and God bless all those who are still going through it (especially if you’re going back after your studies).

Reading list updated

I just updated my reading list on the right sidebar. I managed a total of seven books last month, just one book shy of my target of eight books a month, or two a week. Doubt I can come close to the target in this month of May, because I’ve got quite thick books on my hands.

Looking at the list, I think it’s time to pick up a spiritual Catholic book, since the last Catholic book I read was in March…. unless you count the tens of times I proofread Befriending Jesus.

I’m just going to take this opportunity to make a second announcement about this book of mine which I’ve written and published.

Befriending Jesus is an ideal gift book for those who are just starting to know Jesus, and for those who desire a deeper and more intimate friendship with our Lord.

Accompanied by verses from the four gospels and delightful illustrations, this affordable little book reveals the many ways in which Jesus became friends with those who met Him, and how He wants to be friends with you. It’s simple enough for even children to understand, but contains a lesson that will last a lifetime.

This makes it a simple and meaningful gift for Baptism, Confirmation, First Holy Communion, and those who are going through RCIC/RCIY/RCIA, ALPHA, or for someone you would like to introduce the person of Jesus to.

It was published on 21 April 2008, and in this past month, about 400 copies have been sold, the majority of which have purchased by those who have read the book and wanted to share it with their friends.

It is sold (at S$4) at the following locations:

Wellsprings Catholic Books (Singapore Catholic distributor for Befriending Jesus)
239 Lavender Street

Church of St. Mary of the Angels
5 Bukit Batok East Avenue 2

Church of St. Teresa
510 Kampong Bahru Road

Church of St. Alphonsus (Novena Church)
300 Thomson Road

Church of St. Ignatius
120 King’s Road

CANA - The Catholic Centre
55 Waterloo Street (2nd level)

Catholic News Book and Media
2 Highland Road, #01-02

For bulk orders, please email daniel@TheCatholicWriter.com.
Of course, I can handle single orders as well. (I’ll even autograph it for you.)

Below are the front and back covers of the book, so you can recognize it when you see it at Catholic bookshops.

Front Cover

Back cover

#7 I give thanks to my government for limiting pollution in the country so that we don’t have smog in the air.

When I went to Calcutta a couple of years ago, I could see from the plane window that there was a large patch of brown around a city on the ground. I wondered what the brownness was, and only when we drew closer to the city, I realized the brown was the air! It was smog!

In Calcutta, everything is brown - the trees, the grass, the buildings, and yes, the people too. You go out of the hotel room and when you come back, your clothes have a layer of brown dust on them. My asthma acted up when I went into the city, and if we had that kind of weather in Singapore, all the schools would be closed everyday.

While the Singapore air is far from fresh, it is relative clean. When I went to Bintan recently, I could see a generally haziness over the Singapore city, and that was when I realized that air pollution in Singapore can really become a problem if the government has not taken steps to reduce the volume of traffic inside the city through the ERP gantries.

Homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered

I attended a forum today held at CANA - The Catholic Centre. It is the second part of a series of forums titled “A Christian Response To Same-Sex Attraction”. This session was interesting because one of the speakers invited was Alex Au, of Yawning Bread fame. He’s shorter than I expected. The other two speakers were clinical psychologist Father Paul Lian-Kok Goh, SJ and Thomas Aqbal, a senior lawyer.

When Alex presented his points, I felt that he spoke well, but a good number of points were easily refuted. I think I’ll just touch on one particularly point for this post, because he addressed Catholic teaching and, at the same time, made it clear that he has no expertise on the subject. I agree: he doesn’t, because he doesn’t understand what the Catholic Church teaches about homosexuality, but thinks he does.

Alex referred specifically to a teaching in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2357

He says that the Church sees homosexuality as intrinsic to a person, and therefore cannot be changed or chosen. That’s not what the Church teaches, and that’s not what the specific teaching says.

Alex makes no distinction between the homosexual person and homosexual acts. He says that homosexual acts are what defines a homosexual person, and is part of who the homosexual person is. By that reasoning, heterosexual acts are what defines a heterosexual person. In that case, what is the sexual orientation of a person who has never committed any sexual acts, heterosexual or homosexual? Clearly then, a person’s identity cannot be defined by his sexual acts.

Alex also takes issue with this teaching:

Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 2359

He seems to say that the practice of chastity denies a homosexual person the very inclination that makes him homosexual. He forgets (or perhaps he doesn’t know) that all Catholics are called to chastity - the single person and the married person alike. At the same time, this chastity does not deny our sexual inclinations but helps us to control it, rather than have it control us. That’s what the teaching means by inner freedom.

Alex’s reasoning leads to a disturbing conclusion - if a person’s identity is defined by his (or her) acts, then the person cannot change. That means no second chances for a person. Is it then surprising to see much unforgiveness and anger present in the people involved in the gay lobby?

This brings me to the second point of this post. In the audience today were a significant proportion of Alex’s supporters, a number of whom clearly showed the rest of the audience member what takes place when one confronts the gay lobby head-on.

I have no doubt that somewhere in the blogosphere, gays in Singapore are going to blog something like how “we thrashed their Catholic priest” in the forum and how “we left the Catholic lawyer speechless”.

What must be made clear is that the forum was not a debate. It was not a battle of who’s right and who’s wrong, despite the name of the session “What’s Wrong With Homosexual Acts?”. Rather, it was a forum for the sharing of viewpoints - from the legal aspect and from the psychological aspect. It was a meeting point of different ideas to be shared openly and honestly.

I liked what Alex said early in his talk. He spoke about the difference between reason and rationality, and how rationality is coming into a discussion with a preconceived position, and coming up with points to support one’s position. This does not lead to open-ended discussion. It also leads to a situation where one side tries to force an opinion on the other. And this is what I saw happen at the forum.

In the words of a participant today who said she pitied Father Paul Goh, “It’s like you don’t want to attack them, but they attack you and try to make you angry at them.” There was a particular lady who kept trying to pin Father Paul down into saying whether homosexuality is a disorder or not. Two or three times, she tried to make him say it, but Father Paul was wise enough not to take the bait.

When questioned about the morality of homosexuality, Father Paul, despite his own training in moral theology, chose to say, “I don’t want to enter into this debate.” I think that was very wise, because that’s not why he was asked to speak at the forum; he was asked to speak because of his background in clinical psychology, and he stuck to it.

It is good that the forum did not end up as a debate, because that’s not what the forum was about - a meeting place where people of different opinions can come together and share. In that sense, I think the forum accomplished what it set out to do - to hear firsthand how the gay “lobbyists”, as the moderator put it, say.

I think some Catholics present must have left with a sour feeling, like as though the Catholics were beaten down and did not respond to the attacks. If you were present at the forum tonight, and you felt the same way, recall that this is exactly how Jesus behaved at his Passion - he did not defend himself, and he forgave those who attacked him. Imagine if Jesus had defended himself with his legions of angels. What would have happened?

Similarly, imagine what would have happened if the Catholics tonight had brought out the big guns? What would have happened? For one thing, there would have been a lot of debate, and probably escalated into something unpleasant. We would probably have lost all further opportunity to dialogue on the matter in a civil manner.

As it turns out, tonight’s session was an eye-opener for us, and an opportunity to respond in the way Jesus responds - with love. When Jesus calls us to love, he calls us especially to love those who try to do us harm. Our Lord understands that despite our differences, we share a common humanity, and what harm we do to others, we also do to ourselves.

However, love does not mean keeping quiet and letting people step on you. Rather, love means you have to speak the truth, and to do our best to create the proper conducive environment for our listeners to hear the truth. The worst way to do this is to attack the other person, because a normal human response is to be defensive and close our minds to what is being said.

The next session on Thursday May 22 will be given by Father David Garcia, OP, who will go into the moral aspect of homosexual acts which have been brought up a number of times these past two sessions and wisely avoided responding to questions beyond their scope. Dr John Hui, a member of the Catholic Medical Guild, will also speak from his background in medicine.

Older articles

- A great injustice to homosexuals

- Cocksucking to be legal in Singapore

Geladiso @ Square 2

I was at Toa Payoh Central with Nutella at a pasar malam after watching Iron Man at the nearby Eng Wah cinemas. Good show.

I went to get us ice-cream from the nearby Swensen’s - double scoop sticky chewy chocolate and sticky choco mix. When Nutella tried it, she asked me if I got it from the pasar malam.

Swensen’s standard of ice-cream has really dropped. Or maybe it’s because we’ve been eating too much good ice-cream lately at our newest discovery.

Located at the ground floor of Square 2, just behind Velocity @ Novena Square, sits a delicious local brand called Geladiso. The owner of this homegrown business graduated from NUS’ food sciences department and makes her own concoction of yummy ice-cream.

For a chocolate-lover like me, it’s a real treat with four different chocolate flavours - ciocolatto, ferrero rocher, belgian chocolate, and my personal favourite dark chocolate.

A single scoop costs $3, while a double scoop which Nutella always buys us, costs only $4.60, compared to Swenson’s $5.45.

This tasty treat is perfect for us after a day’s work, especially since Nutella’s shuttle service from work drops her just outside Novena Square. The ice-cream can keep frozen in a paper bag for a good 15 minutes without melting - enough time for Nutella to take the train to meet me at a station nearby.

It’s said that once you taste good ice-cream, you won’t want an inferior brand again.

That’s it! No more Swenson’s for me!

How children make you laugh

I know MOE is firing teachers for blogging about their students’ work. I’m just glad I’m not a teacher.

I got these in the email, and since I’m supposed to type less for a month, I thought I’d share this with you.

This post is dedicated to all the teachers who get increasingly stressed when they receive responses like these:

Movie Review: Iron Man

I caught the hot rod coloured Iron Man movie today. I’ve never been a fan of Iron Man, save for the time I used the character in X-Men versus Street Fighter, and when the character started to appear in Spider-Man comics. So it was with low expectations that I watched this latest Marvel addition to Hollywood.

Someone once told me that this is the best way to get your money’s worth from watching movies - go with low expectations. This is so that if it’s a lousy movie, you won’t be greatly disappointed. And if it’s a great movie, you’ll be surprisingly rewarded.

Well, folks, if you take my advice, Iron Man is one movie that will be well worth your $7. Of course you’re probably thinking two things right now.

1. Now that you’ve told me, I’ll be expecting a great movie and if I don’t get it, won’t I be disappointed?

and

2. Where in Singapore can you still watch a movie for $7?

In answer to the second question, you can catch a movie at Eng Wah cinemas from Monday to Wednesday evenings, or before 5pm on Thursdays. And in response to the first, just remember to keep an eye out for the gadgets. It’s definitely a movie for those who like gadgets, sports cars, and hot babes. No, wait, that’s James Bond.

The Iron Man doesn’t have lots of hot babes, short of one quickie Tony Stark has with a Vanity Fair reporter. But it has enough gadgets and fancy computers to make Bruce Wayne jealous… not that the latter couldn’t afford to build the same. In fact, Forbes places Bruce Wayne as richer than Tony Stark, while BusinessWeek places Wayne as one of the smartest superheroes in the comics universe, above Stark.

Indeed Iron Man is Marvel’s answer to Batman, with both superheroes being genius billionaires who inherited their genes and fortunes from their parents, who lack any kind of superpowers save for the use of their minds, and who live a playboy civilian identity.

But Iron Man is a lot more fun than Wayne, because of his outlandish and unpredictable behaviour compared to the broody Batman, which is why I’m hoping Heath Ledger’s Joker can bring some cheer to the next Batman movie opening soon.

While Batman has a particular Gotham City to clean up and protect, Tony Stark’s goal is a lot simpler - to clean up the mess that his own weapons manufacturing Stark Industries has created.

The original comic was set in Vietnam, but the updated script for the movie places Tony Stark in war-torn Afghanistan, where he learns first-hand how Stark Industries ordnance is being put to use to destroy lives.

Kidnapped by terrorists and forced to build the newest version of the missiles he built for the U.S. Army, Tony Stark recycles the scraps he’s been given and fashions a crude armor, the first prototype of the Iron Man armor which he will later perfect after breaking free from his prison.

Back home, Stark turns over a new leaf and finds that he has to contend not only with his company’s second-in-command who thinks he’s gone mad, but also with the terrorists who have found his prototype remains and upgraded it for their own purposes.

The movie wraps these two ends nicely by tying them into a knot for Iron Man to untangle.

For a great and uncomplicated movie to watch, catch Iron Man while you can! (Hey, that rhymes!)

Book Review - Infinite Crisis

Having heard so much about Infinite Crisis, I wanted to read it, but I first had to read Crisis on Infinite Earths. Having finished that last month, I was elated to find a copy of the collection of the mini-series Infinite Crisis at Bishan Community Library.

Infinite Crisis is a vast improvement, in terms of storyline, over Crisis on Infinite Earths It is a lot more violent as well, with decapitations and dismemberments, which I rarely see in D.C. comics to this extent.

One definitely has to read Crisis on Infinite Earths before embarking on Infinite Crisis however, as the villains of Infinite Crisis are really the heroes of Crisis on Infinite Earths, namely, Earth-Two’s Superman, Earth-Three’s Alexander Luthor, and Earth Prime’s Superboy.

As far as I can tell, Earth Prime is a world where the only superhero is Superboy. Earth Three is where Lex Luthor is the only superhero in a world of supervillains, and Alexander Luthor is his son saved from the end of the world in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Earth Two’s Superman belongs in a purer world, compared to Earth-One, which is the world that existed for the 20 years between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis. It is a more innocent world where the good guys are really good, and the good guys always win in the end.

After observing the years in between Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis, Alexander Luthor decides to create the perfect world and manipulates Earth-Two’s Superman into believing that Earth-Two is the perfect world to be recreated.

This illusion is shattered only when Earth-One’s Superman reveals a stunning truth: Any world belonging to a Superman is not perfect because a perfect world doesn’t need a Superman.

A major part of the plot involves comparing the older, purer world before COIE and the newer, more violent, and darker world post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. It is a D.C.U. (D.C. Universe) which my parents frequently complain about - where the good guys are not really good, and the bad guys are not really bad, and the moral line between good and evil is blurred.

Infinite Crisis is a great read, especially for those who, like Earth-Two’s Superman, long for the older, purer world.

The Stranger

Got this in the email today:

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family.

In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors:

Mom, from her limited consciousness taught me what she perceived to be good or evil, and Dad taught me to obey; the law, our teachers and religion’s rule etc. But the stranger…he was our storyteller.

He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.

If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science,he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future!

He took my family to the first major league ball game.

He made me laugh, and he made me cry.

The stranger never stoppedtalking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet.

(I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them.

Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home…

Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad didn’t permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis.

He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished.

He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked…

And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?….

We just call him ‘TV.’
(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)

He has a wife now….We call her ‘Computer’.

Do ergonomic keyboards really help?

I’ve always thought that keyboard manufacturers came up with ergonomic keyboards as some kind of marketing ploy, but I am now seriously considering getting one for myself. I am thinking of one of those where the keys are split into two sections facing diagonally away from each other.

Why am I suddenly considering it? Well, right now, typing this blog post is taking a very long time, because my left forearm is in a splint. I shouldn’t be typing actually, but I’ve not been a very good patient.

How did it come to this? Well, I woke up yesterday morning with a pain in my left wrist. I thought I must have somehow sprained it in my sleep. Not particularly unusual, since every morning I have blanket, bolster, and pillows on my bedroom floor when I wake up.

But this morning, I was actually woken by the pain in my wrist. It was far worse than yesterday and after spending an hour on the computer, I decided that it was pointless to try to type with my left hand. After a while, the pain got so bad that I decided to take a trip to the doctor to see what was wrong. My dad recommended that I go straight to the hospital instead of going to the GP, because I would most likely have to get an X-ray.

What I got instead was a jab in the bum and a splint on my wrist. The doctor at Mount Alvernia Hospital diagnosed it as Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI), caused by spending too much time on the keyboard. So it’s true - you can get injured from spending too much time on the computer. Occupational hazard for writers these days, I suppose.

Mine’s an inflammation of a tendon (tendonitis, I think it’s called), which causes lots of pain when opening and closing my hand. I should have realised it was going to be a problem when I found myself dropping things which were in my left hand last night, but today, without painkillers, I can’t even close my hand around things, much less pick them up.

With a good painkiller and a splint, I can go back to typing, but not easily. Writing just this post has taken me about half an hour, so don’t expect to see long posts or replies in comments from me for some time.