Evil

Looking at Adam and Eve as a case study. If Eve consumed the fruit without knowledge and understanding the notion of obedience, how then do we define original evil? Is evil an entity that in paradise was separate from humankind? Or does evil stem from the choices we make, regardless of whether we have the knowledge of right and wrong? If the serpent is seen as an the personification of evil that lingered on from primordial chaos, could the serpent not have tempted Adam and Eve to sin in other ways apart from consuming the forbidden fruit?

Simple enough, one might think. They lived in innocence before the fall, with no concept of right and wrong or good and evil. They only sinned when they disobeyed God's one single commandment! Let's reconsider that. Since innocence and ignorance absolved them from guilt in the garden, wouldn't innocence have then absolved them from the sin of lust(for the fruit) as well? After all, the concept of obedience can only be understood when placed next to the notion of disobedience, and disobedience did not exist, intellectually as a sin, for they were ignorant of good and evil as they had not consumed of the fruit. One can only exist with the coexistence or absence but foreknowledge of the other. True goodness only exists with the knowledge of evil, darkness only exists in the absence of light, obedience is only obedience when there is the deliberate denial of disobedience.

What then, if we view the serpent as an externalisation of our implicit desires, instead of the temptress and the instigator of evil? Is there then a way to give ourselves an explanation that might allow us to have a clearer picture of what sin truly is?

Consider.

Hohoho

In The Know: Should We Be Shaming Obese Children More?

Welcome to Foster Shea

So this is what Foster Shea looks like. And that's what we do at 4 am in the morning when the entire floor comes back intoxicated and not so sane, more often than not back only because all the parties in town have been busted by cops (Do notice the 2 very drunk boys in the background of the picture). Welcome to college life in a small town. No zouk, no mos, no attica, no arena, no clinic, not even the faintest whiff of an establishment like timbre. Just 200 sweaty bodies packed into the same house and getting high on keystone light.

Nasty really.




On an entirely different and unrelated tangent altogether,

Boremington

I know that this is not the best way to start of my college life here, but perhaps you'll understand after I reveal to you exactly how I have spent the past 2 days here.
Wednesday-Walked 30 min to get to downtown for a relatively more decent meal and 30 min to get back to the room.
Sat in car for 40 min from 11 onwards for lack of a better place to hang out(everything apart from the hospital's a&e dept is closed(on second thoughts, that might be closed as well)).
Thursday-Woke up at 930.
Looked for a place to have brunch at at 11. Most shops were still closed. Substandard sandwich which I did not finish.
Went back to bed from 12 to 3pm
Played squash from 3 to 5pm
Typed out inane blog entry at 706pm
Shall go to have pizza for dinner at 8pm

Ok, fine I saw a wild fox running through the grounds as I was walking back from downtown last night and it was really quite magnificent. One silver lining in the oppressive cloud that I fear might be iub. But I'm saving judgment for after the whole rhythm of school kicks in.

Oh and people are quite nice.

p.s. I'm singaporean, not korean damnnit!

Why We Love the Irish

I was walking down Fisherman's wharf today and saw this letter hanging at the window of an Irish gift shop. Hilarious much =)




Dear Son,

Just a few lines to let you know I'm still alive. I'm writing this letter slowly because I know you can't read fast. We are all doing very well.

You won't recognise the house when you get home - we have moved. Your dad read in the newspaper that most accidents happen within 20 miles from your home, so we moved. I won't be able to send you the address because the last Irish family that lived here took the house numbers when they moved so that they wouldn't have to change their address.

This place is really nice. It even has a washing machine. I'm not sure it works so well though: last week I put a load in and pulled the chain and haven't seen them since.

Your father's got a really good job now. He's got 500 men under him. He's cutting the grass at the cemetery.

Your sister Mary had a baby this morning but I haven't found out if it's a boy or a girl, so I don't know whether you are an auntie or an uncle.

Your brother Tom is still in the army. He's only been there a short while and they've already made him a court martial!

Your Uncle Patrick drowned last week in a vat of whiskey in the Dublin Brewery. Some of his workmates tried to save him but he fought them off bravely. They cremated him and it took three days to put out the fire.

I'm sorry to say that your cousin Seamus was arrested while riding his bicycle last week. They are charging him with dope peddling.

I went to the doctor on Thursday and your father went with me. The doctor put a small tube in my mouth and told me not to talk for ten minutes. Your father offered to buy it from him.

The weather isn't bad here. It only rained twice this week, first for three days and then for four days. Monday was so windy one of the chickens laid the same egg four times.

We had a letter from the under-taker. He said if the last payment on your Grandmother's plot wasn't paid in seven days, up she comes.

About that coat you wanted me to send you, your Uncle Stanley said it would be too heavy to send in the mail with the buttons on, so we cut them off and put them in the pockets.

John locked his keys in the car yesterday. We were really worried because it took him two hours to get me and your father out.

Three of your friends went off a bridge in a pick-up truck. Ralph was driving. He rolled down the window and swam to safety. Your other two friends were in back. They drowned because they couldn't get the tailgate down.

There isn't much more news at this time. Nothing much has happened.

Your loving Mum

P.S. I was going to send you some money but I had already sealed the envelope.

Woohoo!

The parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here the parentals are here! And I'm broke no more =)

More Of

At this very kerb, I learnt my very first lesson in this country. People here are very direct. VERY. Don't feel insulted then, when they offend your finer asian tendencies. Boo. They're still generally good at heart though, and try their best to help you when you do need help.

The Palace of The Legion of Honour was well worth the trek down to the other end of the island. Paintings, sculptures, Trojan amphorae, decorative art. I'm not about to bore you with the details of the exhibits and my uneducated opinions on them, so here are the pictures!

One thing I cannot help noticing though. The eyes. Look at the eyes of the saint in the painting and of the boy that is the sculpture.

Haunting isn't it? Just looking at the photo makes my hair stand.

Now it just wouldn't do to end of this post like that won't it? So, say hello to the double chin! Oh and I'm sorry Liang but when I saw this amphora I couldn't help but draw certain parallels.

on a side note, banana republic here doesn't have the invisible socks.=( I did however, get a pair of loafer socks. No more olfactory assaults when wearing the blue pair of deck shoes!