ALL THINGS BIG AND SMALL 2.0

If, by 'God', you mean an old man with a long white beard, Sitting on a Cloud, then count me out... I have sometimes wondered what it means when people say they believe in God. I, myself believe in a God. But my definition of ‘God’ may be very different from others. When Einstein famously said , “ Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”, religious leaders promptly and gleefully seized upon these words as proof that the greatest brain in the Universe believes in God. However, there are also many other words said by Einstein, which should be mentioned: “ I don’t try to imagine a personal God; it suffices to stand in awe at the structure of the Universe, insofar as it allows our inadequate senses to appreciate it”. “ I have never imputed to Nature a purpose or a goal, or anything that could be anthropomorphic [* i.e. anything that causes God to be moulded in the human image, in my opinion , a result of the vanity of Man: my words]What I see in Nature ...

The type of guitar on which a person plays jazz is usually an Archtop, a big hollow-bodied guitar that gives the fat, mellow tone typical of a jazz guitar. [for picture of an archtop, see my previous article on Eastman:Made-in-China jazz guitars]. Although no one can argue that archtops give a superlative tone for jazz, they do have one problem: feedback. That hollow body is very prone to feedback, and makes an expensive archtop [those with the carved instead of laminated top] become like an uncontrollable thoroughbred horse when playing in a live band situation. Trying to do some inspired playing while that big wooden body is vibrating underneath you, and could at any moment suddenly turn into a howling monster is impossible. Also, archtops are great when you are playing alone or in a very quiet small band setting. At open jamming sessions, in noisy clubs, and playing with drums and horns, archtop tones, though sweet, cannot cut through the noise. A Fender Telecaster, on the other ha...

At every Fed meeting, whether Bernanke raises interest rate or not depends on whether he thinks there is Inflation. Understanding Bernanke means understanding clearly the concepts of Inflation, Economic Growth and Productivity. And so What’s Hot for this week features a short lesson on Inflation, Economic Growth and Productivity. Inflation happens in an Economy when Price growth outstrips Output growth, resulting in spiraling prices [including spiraling wages, the price of Labor], and loss of incentive to work and save as costs living became unmanageable. Extreme cases of inflation [such as sometimes happens in third world countries like Zimbabwe or Indonesia] will mean you have to carry a wheelbarrow full of notes to Wal-Mart. And you would not want to keep money in the bank or under the bed when you know $1 will be worth less than $1 tomorrow. One way Inflation can happen is when the rate of Productivity growth is less than the rate of Economic Growth. Simplified Example: There is a ...

Chris Anderson's book "The Long Tail: Why The Future of Business Is Selling More of Less" highlights a statistical phenomenon of the modern business environment brought about by the revolution in information technology: The much increased efficiency in bringing together suppliers and buyers of goods and services means that sellers of very niche products can now reach out to buyers of such products in the furthest corners of the world. The term "Long Tail" is derived from the shape of the bell-curve representing a Gaussian [Normal] statistical distribution, where the greatest frequencies occurs at the top of the curve. [see images above] The Long Tail means a greater number of frequencies at the extremes, or "more of less" as the book title says. The Long Tail is the reason why I can indulge in my very niche interests. I can buy books on esoteric subjects like Evolutionary Programming, stochastic modeling or mathematics in Nature from Amazon. I can also...

There's an old Hokkien* ditty that I remember from childhood days. It's surrealistic, if this term can be applied not only to visual art, but to songs and poetry as well. Like Salvador Dali's art, it conjures up images that can only possibly appear in dreams. Like "Alice in Wonderland" , it is nonsensical, and yet profound. When I hear it, it seems to be saying something important to me that lies beyond the words, though I know not exactly what. This photograph of a busker at the Mass Rapid Transit Station in Tampines, Singapore playing the traditional Chinese guitar the Pi-Pa was taken many years ago. He was singing this ditty: The Sky is black, its going to Rain, Grandpa went to dig a Drain, Tortoise carried the Lantern, Snake beat the Drum; they said The Beggar broke wind, and the Tiger was dead * Hokkien, or in Mandarin Fujian are the people of Fujian province, on the South-Eastern coast of China bordering Taiwan. Living in an area with not much arable la...

The sound of an electric jazz guitar playing a jazz standard in the quiet of the night, with all those luscious chords and chord melody sends thrills and chills up and down my spine. The sound of an electric jazz guitar has come to epitomise urban sophistication, cool factor and maybe wealth. Look at all those advertising clips from banks to luxury cars or chic restaurants that use the sound of an electric guitar jazz quartet playing in the background. Look at the popularity of Diana Krall's band which always includes a jazz guitarist. And marvel at how her guitarists Russell Malone and Anthony Wilson so fittingly complement her music. In my view the sound of an electric jazz guitar has a charm and authenticity all it's own. An instrument in it's own right, distinct from the acoustic guitar from which it was derived. Until about 4 years ago, a jazz guitar player who wanted a good carved- top would probably have to buy an American-made Gibson . An L-5 would set you back abo...

More than Char Kway Teow [a messy, greasy plate of fried flat noodles garnished with squid, cockles, Chinese sausage, eggs, chive] and Roti Prata, [ a crispy Indian pancake eaten by dipping it into a Curry]; I miss the Singapore dish called Yong Tofu. Basically Yong Tofu is a dish that uses minced fish meat to be the stuffing for vegetables and items made of tofu. Above, you can see the brown triangular pieces of dried bean curd which has been stuffed with the fish paste. You can also see Chinese bitter gourd, large peppers, white pieces of soft tofu, and fish balls. There are many versions of Yong Tofu, and the number of items can be in the dozens as the newer food stalls become more inventive. Some stalls have their stuffings made of a mixture of fish and pork. Many stalls offer Convolvulus, also known as water spinach, as an item. Another common item is rehydrated cuttle-fish. But I like the simpler, purer versions of days gone by best, like this one from a shop in Telok Kurau cal...