Thoughts from the Nobel Peace Center

The ancient Greek word for peace is eirene: a pause in fighting, typically lasting only one or two generations.

Happy National Day (Almost)

I’ve been thinking about writing this for a long time, but this is my first time reading this since writing it over a year ago and perhaps I shall just lazily annotate and expand on what I’ve already written.

Thoughts from the plane & BART

The woman sitting in front of me on the plane loves her husband. He is bald, and he is asleep across the aisle (they have swapped seats multiple times, caring for their son). He falls asleep with earpieces on (though he doesn’t have anything playing), and she puts on music by Yonder Dale, and pats his bald head.

A Little Rant

I learnt the names of countries and could identify the flags of the 193 UN member states by the time I was seven.

queer adjective (STRANGE)

Thinking about poor media, again

I only started thinking about poor media again while watching Sweden lose their World Cup game against Netherlands yesterday. I (and many others) stood behind a barricade, almost 100 metres away from the small screen they had to screen the match.

2006 The 2006 FIFA World Cup was held in Germany; I was then only 13 days old. I can’t say that I know anything about this World Cup. I know that Italy won (and the standard of its football team has since declined).

During my evening hike today I made a wrong turn and only realised when I reached an unfamiliar traffic junction, more than a few hundred metres away.

In preparation to write this post here I reread the post I made at this time last year; life really isn’t too complicated.

So far away...

Day 5 Day 5 begins slowly; it is a very windy day. It will rain later in the day, but the morning is cloudy.

Day 1 I arrived on Saturday in the early morning. Having only slept 30 minutes (!) on the ten-hour flight, I knew I was in for a long day.

If I had a nickel for every time I wrote a Substack article instead of studying for a CS midterm, I'd have two nickels.

Every year as I get older I bump into news articles that remind me of the milestones that have passed in my life.

And what it means to be an activist

When people talk about being an activist, we think about people who lead large movements. They organise large-scale events, with well-made platforms that reach people around the world.

“I look up and the world emerges before my eyes and fills my heart.” — Wings of Desire (1987)

In Wong Kar Wai’s 2046 (2004), we follow a man, Chow, as he writes a story of the eponymous 2046, an endless train where people go to relive their memories. As he writes this story, he finds himself incorporating various lovers from his life, and we see him reflect on these characters in a non-linear manner.

I’d suppose that first and foremost they’re looking for your empathy. It’s not that they need help; they’re not looking for someone to pity them (which would be fundamentally different from empathy), ultimately they’re just looking for someone who understands the pain of what they are going through.

And why you should

Introduction

Discorrelation?

Analysing technology through precarious images

The Marvels of Communication Technology

0. Backstory

Recently in my film class we discussed the topic of “Algorithmic Images and AI” to deepen our understanding of poor images. I found this lesson to be particularly insightful since it linked very directly to our world today, and to a vastly different emerging field that has yet to fully grasp its existence.

This series was actually recommended to me by my mother multiple times over the years, but it was only last week that I started actually getting into it, and I sped through the first two volumes in that time.

To call these “love stories” would be a stretch…

In 1859, Charles Baudelaire declared that photography would mean the end of man’s creativity; art no longer portrayed creative works but rather reality itself, merely capturing reality in a shallow manner instead of exercising one’s imagination and emotion.

Thank you, Bill Watterson

Last night I was thinking about Calvin and Hobbes out of the blue, so today when I went to the library I knew I just had to pick up some of the comic books just for old time’s sake. It was The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes, one of the comic collections.

Brokeback Mountain the Musical (derogatory)

The History of Sound was adapted from a short story of the same name (this is the same origin story as Brokeback Mountain), telling the story of a romance between two young men who bond over folk music in the late 1910s/early 1920s.

4 weeks of school

It’s shocking that four weeks of class have gone by. Since then I’ve already had one midterm (our term is 15 weeks long), too much coffee, too many coffee chats, too many interviews, and a surprisingly good amount of sleep.

Is what I'm doing instead of studying for the CS 61A midterm.

I don’t know if I should consider myself as a writer.

What it means to be a friend

I first thought about writing this from seeing someone else’s Substack post about friendship: it distinguished between a friend and an acquaintance, and how people fall into one of those category (with very few people falling into the “friends” category).

05/09/2025

It’s actually ridiculous that I managed to get myself out of bed today, we woke up with alarms, probably the most useful invention for college students. I could’ve slept another hour but I didn’t, it was too late, I had to get up. Maybe one shouldn’t fall asleep in someone else’s dorm (just kidding, would definitely do again, 11/10 experience).

I'd hate to think that all my current experiences will someday become stories with no point.

We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The princess is caged in the consulate. The man with the candy will lead the children into the sea. The naked woman on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth floor is a victim of accidie, or the naked woman is an exhibitionist, and it would be "interesting" to know which. We tell ourselves it makes some…

Another story

There is another story.

I swear I've told this story a million times

There is a story of how I got into watching movies (there is always a story). I’ve said this story so many times now that it has probably become repetitive.

Growing up and getting lost

Originally published: 12 May 2025

A personal goodbye

#1 The first time I visited The Projector was in October 2023 was with Veron (hi Veron!!! I miss you so much.) and we went to watch Past Lives. We had no idea how to get into the cinema at Golden Mile but eventually found the lift outside the mall (is it a mall? I will never know) and we made it to the screening. The room was really small, cozy and compl…

What it means to be "American"

Not enough ecstasy for me. Not enough life, joy, kicks, darkness, music. Not enough night. - On The Road, Jack Kerouac

In Cal

The quietest time of the day is always 5am. Always we sleep with the windows open, for ventilation, and there are somehow always people making a commotion outside. Except early in the morning. The world is asleep at 5am.

100% inspired by Faye's post; thank you for inspiring me

Recently I read a Substack post (should I hyperlink it? Original author, let me know!) which defined a fulfilling life as one that is “filled to the brim with love, joy, peace, and growth”. It outlines three qualities that are needed for a fulfilling life: self-love, self-trust, and self-respect.

So thankful :)

(Please let me indulge myself one more time.)

The Robert Reich Story

Today I had the pleasure of watching “The Last Class” at the cinema (first United States cinema experience!).

This is my first National Day that I’ve not spent in Singapore.

Prologue

It feels rather normal

(Yes I know I am reposting this; just needed to keep a record.)

Musings from a Middle Child

I first learnt about middle child syndrome while doing an English comprehension paper in 2020, during the end-of-year exams no less.

Our true self is not entirely within.

Notre vrai moi n'est pas tout entier en nous.

2 years apart

2 June 2023

A five-day journey

Day 1: Cycle.

The safety.

I never thought I would ever attend a Lady Gaga concert.