TR EMERITUS

One of the things about the internet and the advent of social media is the creation of what some people would call bullshit jobs. For someone like me, a misfit who screwed up a traditional career, the creation of bullshit jobs was a godsend of sorts. We, the world’s misfits, suddenly had an avenue to express ourselves, build a personal brand and in some cases make a few pennies (the more successful ones have made a lot of money) I started blogging back in 2006. I started the blog with no particular vision in mind and back when PR work was plentiful, blogging it didn’t occur to me that blogging could be anything more than a place to store my rants or at least the rants that the mainstream would not publish (this being in the days when the mainstream offered stringers a few dollars for their rants.) For me, I only looked at blogging as a potential source of income much later. It was at a stage when I noticed that I had a follower or two and the numbers started going up. While my adsense account is currently suspended, I did notice that my income could go from a few cents a month if at all to about a dollar or two on monthly basis. I’m not making enough to give up anything else but I figured that getting a few pennies here and there for something I’m going to do anyway is better than not getting anything at all. I’ve also reached the stage where I ask for the odd donation from readers, though I’ve not been terribly successful at this. Despite not earning enough, blogging has helped get my name about and its always good to have a place where people might find you. One day, I hope blogging might help finance an old age pension when the body is no longer able to wait tables and nobody in corporate wants an old dude. While I was a gradual convert to blogging and volgging as a job late in life, I’ve been following guys who have been very successful at it. Watching this makes me wonder how things could have turned out if I took the plunge and set my mind earlier on. One of the guys that I follow from time to time is a guy called Sam Chui, who reviews first class seats on airplanes. He’s living the life that most can only dream of. I, for example, can only look at internet pictures of first-class cabins and indulge in fantasies. At this stage in life, I wouldn’t fly in Etihad’s residences because even if I had US$20,000 to spare, I’d be thinking of things like paying down debts like the mortgage. However, it’s nice to see one’s dreams in action and I wonder what life would be like if I could actually get paid to live the high life. A sample of Sam’s videos can be found at: [LINK] Another fellow that I’ve grown very fond of is a little Jewish boy called Drew Binsky, who decided early in life that he wanted to travel to every country in the world. He’s managed to do it by making travel videos. While Sam Chui lives the life of luxury, Drew Binsky does things at the ground level and I like the fact that he likes to portray the optimistic side of the places he’s been to. In a way, he’s doing important work by showing us that we’re probably more similar in our wants and needs than in our differences. One of the videos that I remember is the one on why this American Jewish boy loves Muslim majority nations. Amongst his favourite places are Iran and Syria, not exactly the place where you’d expect an American Jewish boy would be welcomed. Here and here. Mr. Binsky’s videos are a god send in a world dedicated to stressing the differences between cultures and stressing the need for conflict. Mr. Binsky is doing us a service by showing us people at a ground level: [LINK] The other things that I give Mr. Binsky is the fact that he tries to get a picture of what the cost of living is like so that his Western audience can understand costs of living elsewhere. One of his main themes is what US$10 can get you in various places. Take a look at the following videos: Madurai, India - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugwDTDwb6Vc ; Lagos, Nigeria - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRLCoKmLLA; and Karachi, Pakistan - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrRLCoKmLLA There’s something appealing about people having the ability to do what they love and being able to earn a living from it. The age of so called “Bullshit” jobs has shown us that the standard nine to five or nine to six in an office is not the only way that one has to live. However, while the idea of getting paid to live your dreams is appealing, it’s also a lot of hard work and quite often you have to find your earnings elsewhere. I remember Alex Au telling me to not think about monetizing my blog for the very reason that I’d be beholden to my paymasters, thus not being able to be truly independent. However, I’m in the “social commentary” business, which is notoriously unrewarding in the financial sense. There are other spaces where people have made a decent living. It is, however tough work as Mr. Binsky explains: [LINK] [LINK] The key to success in a “bullshit” job of being a blogger or vlogger is content and traffic. The higher the traffic, the more you can get out of the people who pay. However, this takes time and effort to develop. The creation of bullshit jobs has helped the world. It has created an avenue for those who didn’t fit into the standard corporate world. It has created happiness, which is something we should all celebrate.   Tang Li *Although I’ve been based mainly in Singapore for nearly two decades, I’ve had the privilege of being able meet people who have crossed borders and cultures. I’ve befriended ministers and ambassadors and worked on projects involving a former head of state. Yet, at the same time, I’ve had the privilege of befriending migrant labourers and former convicts. All of them have a story to tell. All of them add to the fabric of life. I hope to express the stories that inspire us to create life as it should be.      Read More →

"But we are not a people who will shrink from struggle. It took us blood, sweat and tears to get here," he (PM Lee) said, adding that Covid-19 is this generation's challenge. [ LINK ] Wrong ! This generation’s challenge is to make sure that old people are not ‘exercising’ by picking up cardboards. In that fundamental challenge, make no mistake, it is a humongous challenge, we need to redefine our ethos, remake our political structure and reimagine our economics. The famous or infamous verbiage by the Speaker Tan Chuan-Jin (formerly of Ministry of and Family Development (MSF). “The normal perception that all cardboard collectors are people who are unable to take care of themselves financially is not really true,” Mr Tan said. “There will be some who do this as their main source of income. Some do so to supplement what they have. Some prefer to earn extra monies, treat it as a form of exercise and activity rather than being cooped up at home. They do this to remain independent, so that they can have dignity and not have to ask their families for help.” He added that “[more] often than not, people make judgements without finding out the facts of the matter, in this instance, the stigma surrounding cardboard collectors.” [ LINK ] Let me say that this is indeed the political lobotomy of PAP leaders. In their defense of sparse and pathetic social spending, they crave and craft a narrative of poor people who are ‘heroes’. These heroes don’t need help. That is why PAP never help, to help is to hinder their routine of ‘exercising’, God forbid ! And this narrative has, true to form, reappeared in the Covid 19 cases whereby the migrant workers are ‘heroes’, and the infected ones are ‘superheroes’. Everytime, PAP ‘screws’ someone, that guy suddenly becomes a hero. So now you know why Josephine Teo refutes any suggestion of saying sorry to the migrant workers, why is there a need to say sorry to a hero? Let’s stop being labeled a hero. Let’s just start asking ourselves what are the ethical questions within a changing global political and economic landscape. I think many Singaporeans are not taking these changes seriously, they are not getting enough information, and we are relying on mainstream news and ‘experts’ opinions on issues that have little current historical precedence. An example is the Covid 19, we are guessing as we move along. And this applies to politics and economics as globalization accelerates its fraying. The fundamental challenge at its core is simple, the social cohesiveness of our people, our country. We are multi-ethnic and multi-religious, let’s not argue about whose heaven is real, let’s do the simple things right, caring for our old and very young, every religion or non-religion agrees with that. As we secure that platform of social cohesion, we will face food security, slowing down of global investments, headwinds of nationalism and possible warfare. How can our nation deal with these crises when PAP thinks that picking up cardboards is but an ‘exercise’? Thus, let’s be real, the challenge of our generation is to prepare for new political leadership to face upheaval in the global landscape. We cannot afford to only have one dominant political voice.   BK      Read More →

PAP Inter Agencies Task Force is apparently very confused about masking. Masking is important but when we are having Universal Masking, we must understand the new context and different situations that warrant different masking needs. China is apparently more systematic in its approach to put up detailed advisory on masking in different situation or context. We may not follow China example fully but at the very least, we should have simplified guidelines for different masking needs. When Lee Bee Wah worn a face shield in Parliament, some people started to laugh at her or attacked her to say that she should put on a face mask as well. I find it unnecessary, even though a doctor has made such recommendation. Lee Bee Wah did the right thing of putting on a face shield without a face mask. In fact, she could have given her speech with the face shield on! Different environment and situations will warrant different masking needs and strategies For example, those who are visiting high risk venues like hospitals or even hotspots like FW dormitories, we may require them to put on Full Face Shield together with proper disposable surgical masks. Many patients in hospitals may not put on masks for many reasons, thus, maximum protection will be needed for that. In other places, a cloth mask or faceshield would do. For Parliament, it is not likely to be a place full of infected persons, thus a face shield would be appropriate. For people with asthma problems, a face shield would be very good for them. Even for people who go for exercise, either face shield or spit guard that could cover both the mouth and nose would be good instead of having a total exemption. The idea is, there are two functions of masking. 1) To prevent wearer from transmitting virus unknowingly to others when they are asymptomatic carriers. 2) To protect wearer from being infected. In the situation whereby there is Universal masking, the first function becomes the most important aim because when everyone is wearing a mask to prevent transmission, then the function of protection will become secondary. The exception is when you are in a place with higher possibility of infections due to congregation of numerous suspected infected persons, then we need to put up maximum protection as well. Thus when it comes to food handlers, we must adjust our masking strategy accordingly if we want a sustainable and effective prevention of transmission of virus in the Food industry. Spit guard which covers both the mouth and nostrils is most effective in preventing contamination of food by cooks and chefs because unlike disposable mask or cloth mask, it does not irritate the wearer under high heat condition filled with steam and smoke. Wearing full mask is impractical for cooks and chefs under such environment. Besides, they are not in close contact with customers. For counter staff or front line staff serving customers, they may wear full face shield. If they are serving food or come into contact with unpacked food, it would be best for them to put on appropriate spit guard as well. For the long run, if we want to have a sustainable masking policy, I guess face shields will have to play a more important role. Many young kids, teenagers and elderly people are not used to wear face mask and tend to take them down from time to time. Some may not even wear their masks properly. Face shield and spit guard will prevent all these problems. If everyone wear a face shield or even just a spit guard, the effectiveness in preventing transmission of virus will be quite high.   Goh Meng Seng      Read More →