I want to touch the other side
I must write about yesterday!
As usual, my Wednesday mornings are jammed packed with lessons that have gone stale. I find myself struggling to understand ideas and concepts because lecturers simply go too fast. Certain tutorials become dreadful when they try to shove a message, implicitly or explicitly, down our throats, and at times even guessing my own tutor’s writing comes close to impossible which affects my train of thought during supposed learning. While there are some lessons that I do look forward to even though I may not be good in it, there also other subjects I know I can be good at, yet, I do not feel any sort of desire at all to attend that tutor’s tutorial. Anyway, I find lessons in JC miserable and I long for the IP and Sec School days when teachers seem more humane and understanding. While most of the time I really do not know where to and why we are all rushing, what I do know is that friends make everything become so much more bearable.
In the afternoon, there was CCA walkabout which meant that some precious queue time would be sacrificed! Alas, I feel extremely grateful to my teammates who had chose to help out at the booth. They could have chosen to shirk away responsibility in exchange for a few precious hours, but yet they didn’t. Well, even though we may be a small team, at least we are a bunch of passionate, initiative and dedicated people. I was still in a mental struggle during the last one hour of the walkabout – of whether to stay with my teammates or head straight for the indoor stadium with the A12 people. And I guess my passion to see Muse live seemed to override everything yesterday, even as a guilty conscience grows.
We left Cathlin’s house a little later than expected. Although I had a strong inclination that they would never open the doors on time, we still rushed there by cab because it was Muse!!! (we tapaoed BK and ate while in the queue) We chose to believe them that they would open the doors at 5.30pm although my doubts were proven right. Heh, the demarcated queue lines for Standing Pen A was arranged side by side of each other and were separated by flimsy red-and-white-striped tapes which obviously broke (like duh!). I guess if they had more sense, they would have put up metal barricades but anyway, I’m not complaining because it is indeed wonderfully conducive for people to cut the queue sideways. Whoops! 
I must say what nearly killed me was not the heat of being deprived of water in the standing pen, neither was it the intense moshing of Saosin and Rise Against (although I do count myself extremely lucky to have survived through Rise Against), but rather it was the anticipation of waiting and waiting for Muse to come on. And whenWe Are The Universe was finally played, the entire stadium absolutely went crazy!!
We Are The Universe (Intro)
The silhouettes of people climbing up staircases in the buildings erreily drew parallels to the September 11 attacks, but that thought was cast aside when Matt Bellamy, Dom Howard and Chris Wolstenholme finally entered and played Uprising! I will never forget how exhilirating it was during the starting verse of Uprising and how everyone moshed and sang along!!!
(We Are The Universe Ending + Entrance + Uprising)
I thought that their set list was quite good as they managed to play 19 of their epic well-known songs. Although I had really hoped that they would bring back Butterflies & Hurricanes (like they did in Seoul), Bliss (during the Japan leg) or Citizen Erased, well, at least SUNBURN was played!!! Now that’s awesome shizz 
Sunburn
Also, the video for United States Of Eurasia had a message which I did not realize while listening to the song – a message of hope that the future is in our hands and that we can change the world if we choose to believe that there can be only one, the united states of eurasia. (idea influenced from picture of the earth at beginning and end as well as emphasis on Europe and Asia on the world map)
Nishe Ending + United States Of Eurasia
I thought the interlude (Nishe) played before United States Of Eurasia was very sweet of them. It began with a collection of the many portrait faces of ordinary people and as the video gradually zoomed out, more and more faces appeared till a few flashed white, revealing the logo of Muse. Even though it was a short instrumental, I felt that it was heartwarming as it showed that they truly care about touching the lives of people around the world through their music and awesome live shows.
Which kinda brings me to one of the most distinctive feature of the entire concert, which only can be felt by being there itself – and that is their ASTOUNDING LIGHT SHOWS! The green lasers during Starlight and Undisclosed Desires, the apocalyptic devil red lights during Unnatural Selection and MK Ultra, the epic yellow of Knights Of Cydonia etc etc. Indeed, it was a colourful visual treat for the eye!
I was quite sad after Knights ended cause I didn’t want them to leave so fast, so soon. What I wanted was more! I really hope they come back next year or the year after next!
I only managed to video MK Ultra and Starlight. I also took some pictures here and there but the quality ain’t that good so I don’t think they should be uploaded. Instead, I koped pictures from other people who were at the concert but managed to snap better quality pictures.
No one’s gonna take me alive,
The time has come to make things right,
You and I must fight for our rights,
You and I must fight to survive
During Knights Of Cydonia. Daym, the person who got Chris’s Harmonica is so freaking lucky. I wished I had been right at the front.
Awesome laser lights
Freaking amazing crowd. They were more violent during Rise Against though. I guess Muse simply awed everyone.
Matthew Bellamy and Dominic Howard.
Cool visual displays!
Matt Bellamy, musical genious. Lead singer, guitarist and pianist.
To the plackcard “FUCK ME BELLAMY”, Matt replied – “Ill think about that!”
ZOMG.
Damn I can’t spot myself ):
Youuu’ve got the love got the love got the love
Sometimes it seems that the going is just too rough and things go wrong no matter what I do. Now and then it seems that life is just too much, but you’ve got the love I need to see me through.
When food is gone you are my daily meal. When friends are gone I know my savior’s love is real.
Your love is real.
- The Source Feat Candi Staton
On another note, this is Samvel Yervinyan, the magnificant violinist who played for the legendary Yanni.
Just watching both of them perform live and you cannot help but admire the pure music genius within them.
And in my honest opinion, I think Yanni kind of looks like Jesus.
Why can’t we just break out from it all?
I won’t stand in your way, let your hatred grow.
And she’ll scream. And she’ll shout. And she’ll pray. And she had a name, yeah, she had a name.
And I won’t hold you back, let your anger rise. And we’ll fly. And we’ll fall. And we’ll burn. No one will recall.
This is the last time I’ll abandon you and this is the last time I’ll forget you.
I wish I could.
Look to the stars, let hope burn in your eyes
And we’ll love. And we’ll hope. And we’ll die
All to no avail.
This is the last time I’ll abandon you and this is the last time I’ll forget you,
I wish I could.
Sherlock Holmes, Dr House and TV Serials
Dr Sherlock House?
One of my favourite TV series is House M.D. and while watching the movie Sherlock Holmes, I kind of see huge similarities between the thinking of these two characters. In their own ways, they are astouding in their deductive reasoning ability – Sherlock Holmes in solving mystery cases and Dr House in curing seemingly-uncurable medical mysteries.
Episodes of Dr House somewhat mirror that of Sherlock Holmes. It often begins with an intriguing case or a mystery, yet there exist no obvious solution that can be thought of offhand. Both Dr House and Sherlock Holmes rejects the ordinary making them unique and interesting to watch. For example, Dr House hates being put on clinic duty because he thinks its a waste of time seeing to the needs of everyday patients and Sherlock Holmes has many cases at hand and chooses the more difficult ones to work with. Yet, often, when a case is worth undertaking, both Dr House and Sherlock Holmes would acknowledge in a cool-smarty like fashion and get to work on it.
Another interesting characteristic about Dr House and Sherlock Holmes is that they often rely on drugs in order to cure their pain or the experience of boredom. In fact, the character of Dr House was created with inspiration from Sherlock Holmes and it is not surprising to see that both are actually very similar in nature. Like how the two of them are arrogant at times, play musical instruments (Sherlock Holmes – the violin and Dr House – the piano), frequently rely on things around them to keep them occupied and thinking (its quite common to see them lazing around, yet you know deep down that they are thinking), and only have one true friend which they can confide in – Watson for Holmes and Wilson for House. Even their names sound similar! And if I’m not wrong I think Dr House lives in 221B, the exact same number as Sherlock Holmes!!!
I became a House M.D addict after watching one of the episodes at Friday midnight on channel 5. And that was before J1 life started two years ago. But I stopped watching it ever since then cause of the lack of time. During that blissful 5 month study-free break (5 months cause IP2 End Of Year Exams was in beginning of September and school started in early Feb), besides House M.D, I also watched almost all the episodes of The Simpsons and catched up on Prison Break.
There are quite a lot of good shows online, on cable and on channel 5 (after all Ch 5 brings in more American shows than producing their own shows) but too many reality game shows on cable. My favourite reality game shows are still the classics – The Amazing Race, Survivor and The Apprentice. Although Grey’s Anatomy is a bit like House M.D, I think its still nicer to, just for pure entertainment sake, watch someone with super duper ultra cool deductive reasoning skills make everyone else look as if they don’t know anything at all.
(Ohh yea, not to forget Breaking The Magicians Code which I just remembered my sister downloaded but I haven’t started watching it yet. Oh well, I just have to wait for another 11 months!)
Haiz, being the last year of school, I just can’t wait for my contract with the moe to end. Officially.
And to prolong my future blissful period before the thing that Singaporean guys must go to at the age of 18, I resolve to do well in the physical fitness aptitude test so that I don’t need to go in and get tortued for 3 months when I can make use of that time to do other more useful and meaningful things like watching TV serials
Welcome Twenty Ten!
Welcoming twenty ten from my perspective:
I spent New Year’s Eve at home watching television. Of all the things that could have possibly been done to bring in the year of twenty ten. Hmm, I should have listened to my New Year’s resolution three years ago (which I made while watching TV) and go watch the fireworks again last year. Even though it would be another long wait sweating it out with masses of people for hours just to see eight minutes of brilliance, I’m now finally convinced it is a whole lot better than staying at home watching TV.
Anyway, my New Year Resolution for this year is to have more confidence in myself and of the people around me. I am aware that I often have thoughts and feelings which I prefer to keep to myself than to share with others, knowing that even if I try to share them they might not treat me seriously. But I resolve to change my attitude slowly one experience at a time and see how I can work towards fulfilling my resolution, though I’m quite sure I don’t want to undergo a dramatic metamorphosis to become someone that I’m not. I guess that even if I can’t change, well, at least I know I have tried.
Welcoming twenty ten from the world’s perspective:
I’ve managed to chance upon a Boston Globe article which documented how people from around the world brought in the year Twenty Ten in pictures. It’s kind of nice to see how different people welcomed in the start of twenty ten with countdowns, fireworks and all. I’ve selected some of the best pictures depicting the awesommmeest moments, starting off with the capital of London
In this picture, we can see workers throwing water on people to celebrate the end of the year. This is in the city of Montevideo in Uruguay nad during the last working day of the year, it is a tradition to throw water on people and discard old calendars.
Here, people prepare for carbide-shooting, a tradition on the last day of the year to scare off evil spirits in Zevenhuizen, the Netherlands.
Aaah. Finally, a tradition I could relate to. In this photo, residents prepare to release a wishing lantern to usher in the new year in Chengdu in southwestern China’s Sichuan province.
I remember reading the papers which wrote an article that the best place in the world to see fireworks is none other than the continent down under! The above picture was taken over the Sydney Harbour from six barges three hours before midnight on December 31, 2009. Over 1.5 million Sydneysiders and tourists lined the harbour foreshores to watch 120,000 pyrotechnics usher in New Year’s Day. The theme was “Awaken the Spirit
Fireworks light up the skies of downtown Beirut. Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. I remember being quite surprised when The New York Times Best Places To Visit in 2009 ranked Beirut in Lebanon the number one place to go.
I also remember clearly that number two was Washington DC, number four was Berlin, Penang and Phuket was ranked somewhere in the tens and twenty positions and Singapore was not ranked.
Here, people bring in the New Year with Fire crackers in Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya.
In this picture, people pack Westminster Bridge to watch the fireworks.
In St Mark Square, Venice where people gather to watch New Year Eve fireworks.
In Berlin, Germany. Fireworks explode over the Quadriga sculpture on the Brandenburg Gate as thousands of revelers descended on the area in front of the Brandenburg Gate to celebrate. I love the fireworks.
Here, Russians celebrate the New Year on Red Square in Moscow, with the Kremlin and St. Basil’s cathedral. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the Square to view the fireworks as the clock on the Kremlin’s Spassky Tower, right, struck midnight.
They have such nice weather in Germany, as well as countries that have the four seasons. You don’t have to worry about sweating profusely even if the crowd numbered 100,000 or a million, unlike Singapore.
This is nice. 400 spotlights illuminate the Eiffel Tower during the New Year’s Eve in Paris, France on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2009.
I like the way this picture was taken. Fireworks explode in the country down under, above downtown Jakarta’s Welcome Monument, in Indonesia.
Here, about two million people observe fireworks from Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to celebrate the beginning of New Year’s Day
Fireworks explode in the sky over the ocean as seen from Waikiki beach in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 1, 2010.
Fireworks light the sky in front of Mayon Volcano during New Year’s celebrations in Legazpi city, Albay province, south of Manila. Mayon Volcano, known for its near-perfect cone shape in the coconut-growing central Bicol region, has been spewing ash and burning mud and rocks for more than two weeks/
And the mess they left behind in New York’s Times Square
This is, in my opinion, the best picture and probably an awesome way to welcome the new year!!! Here, people admire the moment the sun rises above Mount Fuji, which is known locally as the Diamond Fuji, from atop Ryugatake mountain in Fujikawaguchiko town, southwest of Tokyo on New Year’s Day. Mount Fuji, at 3,776 metres is believed to be sacred and is seen as a symbol of good luck, more so during the New Year period. Too bad during we don’t have mountains, only hills.
A New Year’s reveller runs in for a dip in the icy sea during the Saundersfoot annual charity swim on January 1, 2010 in Saundersfoot near Tenby, Wales. Hundreds of brave swimmers ran in to to the sea to welcome in 2010 and raise cash for charity
A rescue diver watches as a man leaps from a bridge into the River Dove during a traditional New Year’s Day annual charity event in Mappleton, central England. Teams paddle down a half-mile stretch of the river and then jump off a bridge into the River Dove, one of the coldest rivers in the United Kingdom. Contestants then have to run 500 yards to a pub.
Awesome!
Simply pure fun!!!
And last but not least, Singapore!!!
Yesh, being in a small island with only us as our only source of resource, we have indeed come far, although we also know that there is much more that is ahead of us. Its nice to see our hopes and aspirations floating as little balloon balls
Here’s to a brilliant 2010!
My other idealistic wish
After A levels are over, to travel the world or at least parts of it. First visiting daddy in Doha before going to Germany or England or France or Netherlands or all of them! Then, spend Christmas/New Year in New York before visiting Osaka in Japan and heading home thereafter. I’m being ultra idealistic here but its nice to have fantasies which may or may not come through once in a while. I insist life should not kill the dreams I dream.
Part III – Anne’s Legacy (The Diary Of Anne Frank)
This is third and final part of The Diary Of Anne Frank which discusses Anne’s legacy left behind to the world. It is a continuation from the previous two journal entries, Part II – Memories, and Part I – Aftermath.
I’m my best and harshest critic. I know what’s good and what isn’t. Unless you write yourself, you can’t know how wonderful it is; I always used to bemoan the fact that I couldn’t draw, but now I’m overjoyed that at least I can write. And if I don’t have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself. But I want to achieve more than that. I can’t imagine having to live like Mother, Mrs van Daan and all the women who go about their work and are then forgotten. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death! And that’s why I’m so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that’s inside me!
When I write I can shake off all my cares. My sorrow disappears, my spirits are revived! But, and that’s a big question, will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer?
I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies.
‘I want to go on living even after my death!’ Anne Frank wrote these words in her diary on 4 April 1944. 63 years later, her diary has achieved worldwide popularity, has been translated into 75 languages and sold around 35 milllion copies. She is perhaps the most famous child of the 20th century, her face an icon of the Holocaust, and the Amsterdam house where she wrote her diary attracts nearly one million visitors a year.
The story of how this happened begins when her diary ends, at her arrests, and the man behind it is the sole survival from the Secret Annexe, her father, Otto Frank. Otto Frank took 4 months to get from Auschwitz to Amsterdam. He knew that his wife was dead, but was hoping to find his daughters there. When their fate became clear, Miep handed him Anne’s writings, with the words: “Here is your daughter Anne’s legacy to you” He took them to his private office and stayed away for a few hours. Later, in his memoir, he wrote: “I began to read slowly, only a few pages each day, more would have been impossible, as I was overwhelmed by painful memories. For me, it was a revelation. Here was revealed a completely different Anne to the child I had lost. I had no idea of the depth of her thoughts and feelings.”
Otto was captivated by the diary. He wrote to his mother: “I can’t put Anne’s diary down. It’s just so astonishing… I never allow the diary out of my sight because there is so much in it that no one else should read” However, he decided to copy some extracts for family and friends. On reading them, they urged Otto to publish the comlete diary. At first he hesitated, but then recalled Anne’s own words in her diary: “You’ve known for a long time that my greatest wish is to be a journalist, and later on, a famous writer. In any case, after the war, I’d like to publish a book called The Secret Annexe.”
At first it seemed impossible to find a publisher. The diary was rejected by at least 4 leading Dutch publishers before Otto gave it to Jan Romein, a well-known historian, to read. He was so impressed that he wrote an aritlcle for the Dutch newspaper on 3 April 1946 saying: “When I had finished, it was nighttime, and I was astonished to find that the lights still worked, that we still had bread and tea, that I could hear no aeroplanes droning overhead and no pounding of army boots in the street – I had been so engrossed in my reading, so carried away back to that unreal world, now almost a year behind us.” As a result of this article, a publisher printed a limited run of 1500 copies in June 1947 under the title Anne herself had chosen: The Secret Annexe.
The diary was moderately successful in the Netherlands but it remained a relatively slow start. In America, it was a different story and contrary to expectations, all 5000 copies published were sold out on that afternoon. A 2nd edition of 15000 copies were rushed out as theatrical agents, producers and television executives clamoured for dramatic rights.
On 5 October 1955, a Broadway play based on the diary opened at New York’s Cort Theatre, watched by Marilyn Monroe among others. In a letter to the director and actors, which was pinned to a bulletin board backstage, Otto explained why he wasn’t at the premiere: “You will all realize that for me this play is a part of my life, and the idea that my wife and children, as well as I, will be presented on the stage is a painful one to me. Therefore it is impossible for me to come and see it. My thoughts are with every one of you, and I hope the play will be a success and that the essage which it contains will, through you, reach as many people as possible and awaken in them a sense of responsibility to humanity”
The following year, the play was put on in Germany. One reviewer wrote: “In Berlin, after the fainl curtain, the audience sat in stunned silence. There was no applause. Only the welling sound of deep sobs broke the absolute stillness. Then, still not speaking and seeming not to look at each other, the Berliners filled out the theatre” Over the next few months, it was performed 1984 times in 58 other German cities and was seen by more than a million people. Germans named streets, schools and youth centres after Anne Frank.
By now, Hollywood had also come into the frame. On 20 May 1957 Otto signed a contract with 20th Century Fox for the film version of the diary. It had a budget of $3 million. The exterior scenes were filmed in Amsterdam while the Secret Annexe was created to scale on a Hollywood studio lot. Otto’s first choice to play Anne was Audrey Hepburn. She had herself lived through the war in the Netherlands. In 1947 she had read the published diary, which she said destroyed her, and she was one of the first visitors to the Secret Annexe at 263 Prinsengracht. In the end, however, Hepburn turned down the part. She told Otto: “I didn’t want to exploit her life and her death to my advantage – to get another salary, to be perhaps praised in a movie… I could not have suffered through that again without destroying myself… I just couldn’t deal with it” In the end, a 19th year old model from New Jersey was cast as Anne.
After the war, many people who had read Anne Frank’s diary were keen to visit the Secret Annexe. Meanwhile, the whole block in which the Secret Annexe contained was sold to a firm called Berghaus which planned to demolish it and build new offices. Together with Mr Kleiman, Otto set about trying to save the building. The Dutch press rallied to the cause declaring: “The Netherlands will be subjected to a national scandal if this house is pulled down.” Campaigners staged a protest outside the house on the day demolition was scheduled and the house won a stay of execution. In 1957, with the help of Amsterdammers, Otto and Mr Kleiman set up the Anne Frank Stichting, a foundation which stated as its goal: “The restoration and, if necessary, renovation of 263 Prinsengracht and especially the preservation of the attached annexe, as well as the propogation of the ideals, left as a legacy to the world, in the diary of Anne Frank.” Later that year, Bergaus, which was celebrating its 75th anniversary, donated the house as a gesture of goodwill and the Stichiting’s collected funds were used to buy the adjacent house.
3 years later, on 3 May 1960, the Anne Frank House officially opened to the public. That morning, Otto, Miep, Jan, Bep, Mrs Kleiman and the Mayor spent some time alone inside the Secret Annexe. Later, at the opening ceremony, Otto was overcome with emotion. He cut short his speech, saying: “I ask forgiveness because I can no longer speak of the events that took place here during the war. It’s too hard for me. I can’t” He told journalists that the house was intended “neither as a museum nor a place of pilgrimage. It is an earnest warning from the past and a mission of hope for the future”
The front part of the building had been modernized, but the annexe was left in its original condition. Some members of the Stichting’s board had been keen to furnish it so that visitors could understand the everyday life of those in hiding, but it remained unfurnished, according to Otto’s wishes. “During the war, everything was taken away and I want to leave it like that” he said. When members of the public commented that the rooms were very spacious, he told them they were getting a wrong impression: “You mustn’t forget the unbearable tension that was constantly present”
A tour of the house begins with a moment of reflection, in which visitors are shown a picture of Anne Frank and read an extract of the diary. “Most of our visitors are on holiday, so we have to refocus their minds,” says Hans Westra. “They tend to have an icon in their head of a young girl, so the first thing we do is show that the text of Anne Frank is not that of a young girl but someone capable of deep thought.” Visitors are then taken on a carefully constructed one-way tour of the Secret annexe. “People quite often know the facts and figures of the Holocaust, but when they go inside the house it becomes very real,” says Mr Westra. “They realize that normal people like you and I were living in fear and were killed. It brings the injustice very close.”
During the tour, the sight of the pictures on the wall is often what moves visitors most. “Their reaction is silence,” says Mr Westra. “It’s something that impresses them so much that they don’t speak to each other.” On the wall of Anne’s parents’
After the tour, people are invited to sign a book. In 1994, Roger Moore wrote: “This house should exist forever to make the world agree that it must not happen again” Also, in 1994, Steven Spielberg wrote: “Anne Frank died so others would remember. An extraordinary journey.” In 1998, Dan Ackroyd wrote: “Such a simple place in which to imagine a moving experience in man’s search for compassion and tolerance. Thank you for this great work of preserving an incredibly vital monument.”
Otto was adamant that the house should be more than a museum dedicated to his daughter’s memory. He wanted it to be a meeting place for young people from all over the world. Anneke Steenmeijer, who worked at the STichting early on, recalled: “For him, the educational side was the most important. He absolutely did not want it to be only a museum.” To this day, the museum hosts international conferences and training workshops to highlight all forms of persecution. In line with the way Otto promoted Anne as a universal symbol of tolerance, visitors to the Anne Frank House learn not just about the Holocaust but about human rights, discrimination and racism.
Over the years, Otto gave up wanting to identify the person who had betrayed them and concentrated instead on spreading the spirit of Anne’s ideals for peace and understanding.In an interview, he said: “We cannot change what happened any more. The only thing we can do is to learn from the past and to realize what discrimination and persecution of innocent people means. I believe it’s everyone’s responsibility to fight prejudice.” Otto was a strange role as he shared: “In the normal family relationship, it is the child of the famous parent who has the honour and the burden of continuing the task. In my case, the role is reversed.” A year before he died in 1980, he said: “I am now nearly ninety and my powers are slowly waning. But the duty Anne left me continues to give me strength – to fight for reconciliation and human rights”
Now the work begun by Otto is continued through Anne Frank Fonds, in Switzerland, which owns the copyright to Anne’s diary, and the various Anne Frank organizations around the world. The Anne Frank house has moved with the times. For example, the horse chestnut tree is 150 years old and suffering from a fungus which means it must be chopped down, but it has gone virtual through an interactive website. Launched by Emma Thompson in 2006, annefranktree.com is a site where people can choose a virtual leaf and link up with a community of people who feel connected to Anne Frank. At the end of the tour of the house, visitors are asked to think about present-day boundaries of freedom. “We think it is important to ask questions of our public,” says Mr Westra. “We force people to re-evaluate their values because that is what is going to keep our democracy alive and democracy is the answer to dictatorship”
Through such activities, as well as via the pages of her diary and the fabric of her hiding place, Anne Frank is certainly living long after her death.
Extracted from “The Legacy Of Anne Frank”.
Part II – Memories (The Diary Of Anne Frank)
This journal entry is a follow up from my previous journal entry Part I – Aftermath (The Diary Of Anne Frank). It is highly recommended that Part I is read first before Part II.
Part II – Memories (The Diary Of Anne Frank) contains extracts from the diary itself. These extracts are amongst some of the most beautiful thoughts in which Anne Frank had penned down during her time at The Secret Annexe.
The following is an extract from 19 November 1942:
Mr. Dussel has told us much about the outside world we’ve missed for so long. He had sad news. Countless friends and acquaintances have been taken off to a dreadful fate. Night after night, green and gray military vehicles cruise the streets. They knock on every door, asking whether any Jews live there. If so, the whole family is immediately taken away. If not, they proceed to the next house. It’s impossible to escape their clutches unless you go into hiding. They often go around with lists, knocking only on those doors where they know there’s a big haul to be made. They frequently offer a bounty, so much per head. It’s like the slave hunts of the olden days. I don’t mean to make light of this; it’s much too tragic for that. In the evenings
when it’s dark, I often see long lines of good, innocent people, accompanied by crying children, walking on and on, ordered about by a handful of men who bully and beat them until they nearly drop. No one is spared. The sick, the elderly, children, babies and pregnant women — all are marched to their death. We’re so fortunate here, away from the turmoil. We wouldn’t have to give a moment’s thought to all this suffering if it weren’t for the fact that we’re so worried about those we hold dear, whom we can no longer help. I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while somewhere out there my dearest friends are dropping from exhaustion or being knocked to the ground.
I get frightened myself when I think of close friends who are now at the mercy of the cruelest monsters ever to stalk the earth.
And all because they’re Jews.
The following is an extract from 13 June 1944, the day after Anne Frank’s birthday:
Is it because I haven’t been outdoors for so long that I’ve become so mad about nature? I remember a time when a magnificent blue sky, chirping birds, moonlight and budding blossoms wouldn’t have captivated me. Things have changed since I came here. One night during Whitsun, for instance, when it was so hot, I struggled to keep my eyes open until 11.30 so I could get a good look at the moon, all on my own for once. Alas, my sacrifiice was in vain, since there was too much glare and I couldn’t risk opening a window. Another time, several months ago, I happened to be upstairs one night when the window was open. I didn’t go back down until it had to be closed again. The dark, rainy evening, the wind, the racing clouds, had me spellbound; it wasthe first time in a year and a half that I’d seen the night face-to-face. After that evening my longing to see it again was even greater than my fear of burglars, a dark rat-infested house or police raids. I went downstairs all by myself and looked out of the windows in the kitchen and private office. Many people think nature is beautiful, many people sleep from time to time under the starry sky, and many people in hospitals nad prisons long for the day when they’ll be free to enjoy what nature has to offer. But few are as isolated and cut off as we are from the joys of nature, which can be shared by the rich and poor alike.
It’s not just my imagination – looking at the sky, the clouds, the moon and the stars really does make me feel calm and hopeful. It’s much better medicine than valerian or bromide. Nature makes me feel humble and ready to face every blow with courage.
As luck would have it, I’m only able – except for a few rare occasions – to view nature through dusty curtains tacked over dirt-caked windows; it takes the pleasure out of looking. Nature is the one thing for which there is no substitute!
One of the many questions that have bothered me is why women have been, and still are, thought to be so inferior to men. It’s easy to say it’s unfair, but that’s not enough for me; I’d really like to know the reason for this great injustice!
Men presumably dominated women from the very beginning because of their greater physical strength; it’s men who earn a living, beget children and do as they please… Until recently, women silently went along with this, which was stupid, since the longer it’s kept up, the more deeply entrenched it becomes. Fortunately, education, work and progress have opened women’s eyes. In many countries, they have been granted equal rights; any people, mainly women, but also men, now realize how wrong it was to tolerate this state of affairs for so long. Modern women want the right to be completely independent!
But that’s not all. Women should be respected as well! Generally speaking, men are held in great esteem in all parts of the world, so why shouldn’t women have their share? Soldiers and war heroes are granted immortal fame, martyrs are revered, but how many people look upon women too as soldiers?
In the book Men against Death, I was greatly struck by the fact that in childbirth alone, women commonly suffer more pain, illness and misery than any war hero ever does. And what’s her reward for enduring all that pain? She gets pushed aside when she’s disfigured by birth, her children soon leave, her beauty is gone. Women, who struggle and suffer pain to ensure the continuation of the human race, make much tougher and more courageous soldiers than all those big-mouthed freedom-fighting heroes put together!
I don’t mean to imply that women should stop having children; on the contrary, nature intended them to, and that’s the way it should be. What I condemn are our system of values and the men who don’t acknowledge how great, difficult, but ultimately beautiful women’s share in society is.
I agree completely with Paul de Kruif, the author of this book, when he says that men must learn that birth is no longer thought of as inevitable and unavoidable in those parts of the world we consider civilized. It’s easy fo men to talk – they don’t and never will have to bear the woes that women do!
I believe that in the course of the next century the notion that it’s a woman’s duty to have children will change and make way for the respect and admiration of all women, who bear their burdens without complaint or a lot of pompous words!
The following is an extract from Thursday, 6 July 1944:
Margot and Peter are always saying to me, “If I had your pluck and your strength, if I had your drive and unflagging energy, I could…!”
Is it really such an admirable trait not to let myself be influenced by others? Am I right in following my own conscience?
To be honest, I can’t imagine how anyone could say “I’m weak” and then stay that way. If you know that about yourself, why not fight it, why not develop your character? The answer has always been: “Because it’s much easier not to!” This reply leaves me feeling rather discouraged. Easy? Does that mean a life of deceit and laziness is easy too? Oh no, that can’t be true. It can’t be true that people are so readily tempted by ease…and money. I’ve given a lot of thought to what my answer should be, to how I should get Peter to believe in himself and, most of all, to change himself for the better. I don’t even know whether I’m on the right track.
I’ve often imagined how nice it would be if someone were to confide everything to me. But now that it’s reached that point, I realize how difficult it is to put yourself in someone’s else’s shoes and find the right answer. Especially since “easy” and “money” are completely alienconcepts to me.
Peter’s beginning to lean on me and I don’t want that, not under any circumstances. It’s hard enough standing on your own two feet, but when you also have to remain true to your character and soul, it’s harder still.
I’ve been drifting around at sea, have spend days searching for an effective antidote to that terrible word “easy”. How can I make it clear to him that, while it may seem easy and wonderful, it will drag him down to depths, to a place that he’ll no longer find friends, support or beauty, so far down that he may never rise to the surface again?
We’re all alive, but we don’t know why or what for; we’re all searching for happiness, we’re all leading lives that are different and yet the same. We three have been raised in good families, we have the opportunity to get an education and make something of ourselves. We have many reasons to hope for great happiness, but…we have to earn it. And that’s something you can’t achieve by taking the easy way out. Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.
I can’t understand people who don’t like to work, but that isn’t Peter’s problem either. He just doesn’t have a goal, plus he thinks he’s too stupid and inferior to ever achieve anything. Poor boy, he’s never known how it feels to make someone else happy, and I’m afraid I can’t teach him. He isn’t religious, scoffs at Jesus Christ and takes the Lord’s name in vain, and though I’m not orthodox either, it hurts me every time to see him so lonely, so scornful, so wretched.
People who are religious should be glad, since not everyone is blessed with the ability to believe in a higher order. You don’t even have to live in fear of eternal punishment; the concepts of purgatory, heaven and hell are difficult for many people to accept, yet religion itself, any religion, keeps a person on the right path. Not the fear of god, but upholding your own sense of honour and obeying your own conscience. How noble and good if, at the end of each day, they were to review their own behaviour and weigh up the rights and wrongs. They would automatically try to do better at the start of each new day, and after a while, would certainly accomplish a great deal. Everyone is welcome to this prescription, it costs nothing and is definitely useful. Those who don’t know will have to find out by experience that “a quiet conscience gives you strength”!
The following is an extract from 15 July 1944:
“Deep down, the young are lonelier than the old” I read this in a book somewhere and it’s stuck in my mind. As far as I can tell, it’s true.
So if you’re wondering whether it’s harder for the adults here than for the children, the answer is no, it’s certainly not. Older people have an opinion about everything and are sure of themselves and their actions. It’s twice as hard for us young people to hold on to our opinions at a time when ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when the worst of human nature predominates, when everyone has come to doubt truth, justice and God.
Anyone who claims that the old people have a more difficult time in the Annexe doesn’t realize that the problems have a far greater impact on us. We’re much too young to deal with these problems, but they keep thrusting themselves on us until, finally, we’re forced to think up a solution though most of the time our solutions crumble when faced with the facts. It’s difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It’s a wonder I haven’t abandon all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.
It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. Perhaps the day will come when I’ll be able to realize them!
The following is an extract on 1 August 1944, the last entry that Anne Frank wrote in her diary -
Dearest Kitty,
“A bundle of contradictions” was the end of my previous letter and is the beginning of this one. Can you please tell me exactly what “a bundle of contradictions” is? What does “contradiction” mean? Like so many words, it can be interpreted in two ways: a contradiction imposed from without and one imposed from within. The former means not accepting other people’s opinions, always knowing best, having the last word; in short, all those unpleasant traits for which I’m known. The latter, for which I’m not known, is my own secret.
As I’ve told you many times, I’m split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things. By that I mean not finding anything wrong with flirtations, a kiss, an embrace, a saucy joke. This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper, and finer.
No one knows Anne’s better side, and that’s why most people can’t stand me. Oh, I can be an amusing clown for an afternoon, but after that everyone’s had enough of me to last a month. Actually, I’m what a romantic film is to a profound thinker – a mere diversion, a comic interlude, something that is soon forgotten: not bad, but not particulary good either.
I hate having to tell you this, but why shouldn’t I admit it when I know it’s true? My lighter, more superficial side will always steal a march on the deeper side and therefore always win. You can’t imagine how often I’ve tried to push away this Anne, which is only half of what is known as Anne – to beat her down, hide her. But it doesn’t work, and I know why.
I’m afraid that people who know me as I usually am will discover I have another side, a better and finer side. I’m afraid they’ll mock me, think I’m ridiculous and sentimental and not take me seriously.
I’m used to not being taken seriously, but only the “lighthearted” Anne is used to it and can put up with it; the “deeper” Anne is too weak. If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts up like a clam the moment she’s called upon to speak, and lets Anne number one do the talking. Before I realize it, she’s disappeared.
So the nice Anne is never seen in company. She’s never made a single appearance, though she almost always takes the stage when I’m alone. I know exactly how I’d like to be, how I am . . . on the inside. But unfortunately I’m only like that with myself. And perhaps that’s why – no, I’m sure that’s the reason why – I think of myself as happy on the inside and other people think I’m happy on the outside. I’m guided by the pure Anne within, but on the outside I’m nothing but a frolicsome little goat tugging at its tether.
As I’ve told you, what I say is not what I feel, which is why I have a reputation for being a boy-chaser, a flirt, a smart aleck and a reader of romances. The happy-go-lucky Anne laughs, gives a flippant reply, shrugs her shoulders and pretends she couldn’t care less. The quiet Anne reacts in just the opposite way.
If I’m being completely honest, I’ll have to admit that it does matter to me, that I’m trying very hard to change myself, but that I’m always up against a more powerful enemy. A voice within me is sobbing, “You see, that’s what’s become of you. You’re surrounded by negative opinions, dismayed looks and mocking faces, people who dislike you, and all because you don’t listen to the advice of your own better half.”
Believe me, I’d like to listen, but it doesn’t work, because if I’m quiet and serious, everyone thinks I’m putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke, and then I’m not even talking about my own family, who assume I must be ill, stuff me with asprins and sedatives, feel my neck and forehead to see if I have a temperature, ask about my bowel movements and berate me for being in a bad mood, until I just can’t keep it up any more, because when everybody starts hovering over me, I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world.
Yours, Anne M. Frank
Three days later, Anne Frank was discovered and imprisoned.
She died sometime in February/March and was dumped in Bergen-Belsen’s mass graves.
The camp was liberated by British troops on 12 April 1945.
Part I – Aftermath (The Diary Of Anne Frank)
I’ve just read finish The Diary Of A Young Girl: Anne Frank.
Prelude
In this three-part series of journal entries, I will not be reviewing the book. Instead, I’ll be sharing the legacy in which Anne Frank has left behind for all of humanity.
I felt I cannot bring myself to review this historical documentation because the experiences and emotions expressed in her diary is beyond what I could have imagined and comprehend. To have reviewed the book would have been akin to judging Anne Frank and the life she had lived in. And I feel I’m not in a position to do so given that I had not lived through the war being ostracized as a Jew. I would be lying if I claimed that I can empathize fully with her thoughts and feelings when I can’t.
This is the first of a three part series of journal entries which I intend to end this decade with. This post, Part I will be on the aftermath of Anne Frank. The nature of how she and most of the people living with her during the war had perished after their hiding place had been discovered and also how her diary had came about will be shared. Part II will be on the diary itself and it will contain some of the most beautiful thoughts in which she had penned down during her time at The Secret Annexe. Part III will be on the legacy that Anne Frank has given to the world. Parts I & III will contain extracts written by other people whilst Part II will contain only thoughts written by Anne Frank herself.
Part I – Aftermath (The Diary Of Anne Frank)
Anne Frank kept a diary from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944. Initially, she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, Gerrit Bolkestein, a member of the Dutch government in exile, announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specifically mentioned letters and diaries.
Impressed by this speech, Anne Frank decided that when the war was over she would publish a book based on her diary. She began rewriting and editing her diary, improving on the text, omitting passages she didn’t think were interesting enough and added others from memory. At the same time, she kept up her original diary.
The last entry in Anne’s Diary is dated 1 August 1944.
On the morning of 4 August 1944, sometime between 10am and 10.30am, a car pulled up at 263 Prinsengracht. Several figures emerged, armed but in civilian clothes. Someone must have tipped them off.
The eight residents of the Annexe were arrested and were first taken to a prison in Amsterdam and then transferred to Westerbork, the transit camp for Jews in the north of Holland. They were deported on 3 September 1944 and arrived in Poland thereafter. Seven of the eight residents died in the Nazi Concentration Camps. Otto Frank was the only one of the eight to survive.
After the arrest, Miep Gies and Bep, the two secretaries working in the building, had found Anne’s diaries strewn all over the floor. Miep Gies tucked them away in a desk drawer for safekeeping and after the war, when it became clear that Anne was dead, she gave the diaries, unread, to Anne’s father, Otto Frank. After long deliberation, Otto Frank decided to fulfill his daughter’s wish and publish her diary. When Otto Frank died in 1980, he willed his daughter’s manuscripts to the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam. Because the authenticity of the diary had been challenged ever since its publication, the Institute For War Documentation ordered a thorough inspection and once its genuineness had been proven, it was published in its entirety which became known at that time as The Critical Edition.
Anne Frank, who was thirteen when she began her diary and fifteen when she was forced to stop, wrote without reserve about her likes and dislikes. In writing with the intention of publishing a book on her diary, Anne invented pseudonyms for the people who would appear in her book. She initially wanted to call herself Anne Robin. However, Otto Frank opted to call his family by their own names and to follow Anne’s wishes with regards to the others. Over the years, the identity of the people who helped the families in the Secret Annexe has become common knowledge and are now referred to by their real names as they so justly deserve to be.
In The Diary Of Anne Frank, Anne’s spelling and linguistic errors have been corrected. Otherwise, the text has basically been left as she wrote it since any attempts at editing and clarification would be inappropriate in a historical document.
(Adapted from Foreword and Aftermath in The Diary Of A Young Girl: Anne Frank)
Anne Frank
Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.
The Best Band You’ve Never Heard Of
Poets Of The Fall
Poets of the fall are truly a musically poetic band. They write exceptionally beautiful lyrics in a time when its hard to find bands writing about such deep stuff nowadays. What’s really amazing about their music is that their songs possess the power to convey an additional layer of meaning each time you listen to it with each layer being different from the previous.
And I think that’s how meaning making comes about – when it becomes impossible to fixate a certain paradigm of thinking on a subject matter. To claim that’s the way or the only way that everyone should have thought just because one feels it should be as such destroys the beauty of the process in the creation of meaning. Such a single-mindedness approach is superficial and erodes precisely what true meaning can be about.
True meaning should not be what it should be about but rather what it can be about. Meaning will differ from people to people and even in one’s own personal experiences, a meaning derived now will be different from a meaning felt at a later time. This will give rise to its many forms so its really up to ourselves to decide what is our own form of meaning which, in essence, unleashes the true beauty of meaning.
While this is how I see meaning derivation is suited for me based on reasoning, other people may have their own form of what meaning means to them which is fine. When meaning is dissimilar, then there is true meaning in meaning.
Oh daym, I sidetracked a lot from what I wanted to write about today. But oh well, I feel that Poets Of The Fall will probably be one of the best bands that very few people would have heard of so I guess it would be good to share a bit about why I like them a lot.
Besides their lyrics, I also think their choice of music when bringing out the meaning of their lyrics is very suiting throughout their songs. It is their choice, creativity and diversity as illustrated in their songs that makes them unique and, from what I feel, amongst the best both lyrically and musically. And it’s very difficult to describe music in words because I believe that music is meant to fill the void of inexpressibility that sometimes written words cannot bring out. Poets Of The Fall does this very well and the only way to feel it is to experience it and create your own meaning.
A lot of their songs are very deep. The following are the few that have particularly striked a chord with me, arranged in no particular order -
What does tomorrow want with me?
What does it matter what I see
If it can’t be my design,
Tell me where do we draw the line.
2. Carnival Of Rust (Remastered Special Edition HD) – Probably one of the best music videos ever made. Also voted the Best Finnish music video of all time.
It’s all a game, avoiding failure, when true colors will bleed
All in the name of misbehavior and the things we don’t need
I lust for after no disaster can touch us anymore
And more than ever, I hope to never fall, where enough is not the same it was beforeCome feed the rain.
Don’t walk away, don’t walk away, oh, when the world is burning
Don’t walk away, don’t walk away, oh, when the heart is yearning
In my opinion, through the video, I think a part of this song reflects one of the many dilemnas we often face everyday. Of choices we make – when there are people who need our love yet we choose to spend on stuff we don’t need. And of society, it is as if we are playing a game, making decisions to mask our own faliure at every level, choosing to ignore when the plain obvious is staring at us. The best part is when watching the video, my interpretation is totally not at all related to the video which is why it’s my own form of meaning.
3. Maybe tommorrow is a better day
This day will die tonight and there ain’t no exception
Why should I wait for nothing to wait for
I won’t cry for my solitude, lay my head and dream of you
And hope that you’ll come knocking on my door
And maybe tomorrow is a better day
I know tomorrow is a better day
4. You Know My Name – Casino Royale theme song cover
One of my previous journal entries contain a quote from this amazing song. So I shall not quote again.
Is it a lost cause,
Can we overlook this taint
Are these the dead laws
Like a doubt eating the saint
Is there a hero somewhere, someone who appears and saves the day?
Someone who holds out a hand and turns back time
Is there a hero somewhere, someone who will never walk away?
Who doesn’t turn a blind eye to a crimeAnd in the emptiness, there’s a solution,
just look within yourself for absolution
7. Save Me
Save me, You’re the only out I see, And I need your love the most when I least deserve it.
Poets Of The Fall
Poets of the fall have given an additional layer to my understanding of meaning making. They write exceptionally beautiful lyrics in a time when its hard to find bands writing about such deep stuff nowadays. What’s really amazing about their music is that their songs convey an additional layer of meaning each time you listen to it, and each layer is different from the previous.
I think that’s truly how meaning making comes about because it is impossible to fixate a certain paradigm of thinking on a subject matter. To claim that’s the way or the only way that everyone should have thought just because one feels it should be as such destroys the beauty of the process in the creation of meaning. Such a single-mindedness approach is superficial and I feel that it erodes precisely what meaning can be about. Meaning should not be what it should be about as it will differ from people to people, and even in a person’s own life, a meaning derived now will be different from the meaning derived at a later time as different periods in a person’s own life and experience give rise to different forms of meaning so its really up to ourselves how we want to decide how our own form of meaning is derived. And this is how I see how meaning derivation is suited for me, which is based on reasoning. Other people may have their own form of what meaning means to them which is fine by me because when meaning is dissimilar, then there is true meaning in meaning.
Oh daym, I sidetracked a lot from what I wanted to write about today. But oh well, I feel that Poets Of The Fall will probably be one of the best bands that very few people would have heard of so I guess it would be good to share a bit about why I like them a lot. Besides their lyrics, I also think their choice of music when bringing out the meaning of their lyrics is very suiting throughout their songs. It is the choice, creativity and diversity as illustrated in their songs that makes them unique and amongst the best both lyrically and musically. And it’s very difficult to describe music in words because I do believe that music is meant to fill the void of inexpressibility that sometimes written words cannot bring out. Poets Of The Fall does this very well though and the only way to feel it is to experience it and create your own meaning.
A lot of their songs are filled with meaning. The following are the few that have particularly striked a chord with me, in no particular order -
2. Carnival Of Rust (Remastered Special Edition HD) – Probably one of the best music videos ever made. Also voted the Best Finnish music video of all time.
3. Maybe tommorrow is a better day
4. You Know My Name – Casino Royale theme song cover
7. Save Me
Save me
I’m my own worst enemy
Running headlong to the wall cos i want my freebe
Save me
You’re the only out I see
And I need your love the most when I least deserve it
Link it to the world, link it to yourself
With the revival of the Singapore-Malaysia bullet train project and the possibility of a future South East Asian community similar to that of the European Union, who knows exactly how developed Singapore will get in the future?
Some interesting stuff from the above futuristic MRT Map.
1. Wth a Fish Farm Station?! LOL imagine “Fish Farm. Fish Farm. Please mind the platform gap.”
2. Siglap and Bedok ain’t that far.
3. There will be one station right outside my house!!! Whoohoo!
