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• “george orwell’s critique of internet english”
  on May 20, 2013 in english grammar English language "George Orwell's Critique of Internet English" by Robert McCrum "Politics and the English Language" by George Orwell 21st century civilisation a sentimental archaism abuse and impoverishment of English online banality Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Benjamin Chew Hongjie Benjamin Chew Hongjie Blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog cost of doing business in the digital age crassness cyberspace David Astor English grammar English Language English prose English prose in the age of global communications English usage George Orwell grammatical violations Jonathan Swift language on the Internet liberation online literary standards Robert McCrum self-expression Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie the digital age The Guardian The Guardian UK the Internet the new lexicon the new media the prescriptivists the world wide web
  by Robert McCrum   Some while ago, with reference to Orwell’s essay on “Politics and the English language”, I addressed the language of the internet, an issue that stubbornly refuses to go away. Perhaps now, more than ever, we...
• dan dennett’s seven tools for thinking
  on May 18, 2013 in Good Books philosophy "Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking" by Daniel Dennett a clear falsehood shared with critics is better than vague mush analytic philosophy Anatol Rapoport argumentative essays Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog brains Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog contradiction Criticism cultural anthropology Daniel Dennett deepities do not multiply entities beyond necessity human beings ideologues intelligence macroeconomics make your mistakes in public mistakes Occam's Razor philosophical theology pillar of wisdom plastic surgery profound reflecting on past errors Richard Dawkins Rowan Williams rubbish science sociology Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie The Guardian The Guardian UK truism uncharitable interpretation use your mistakes William of Ockham wisdom Wolfgang Pauli
  by Daniel Dennett       Use Your Mistakes   We have all heard the forlorn refrain: “Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!” This phrase has come to stand for the rueful reflection of an idiot, a sign of stupidit...
• ac grayling on humanism
  on May 16, 2013 in atheism humanism AC Grayling AC Grayling on Humanism achieving lives animism arts astrology beauty belief systems beliefs Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Biology Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog classical antiquity close relationships company of friends conversation courage crystal healing current quarrel debate ethical interaction ethical thought experiment falsehoods Feng Shui great tradition great tradition of ethical thought historical history honest minds human beings human intelligence human life human nature humanists humanity humanity's best efforts to understand its own nature and circumstances humankind inanities increments of understanding integrity kindness knowledge literature Love music mutuality myths natural science new questions nonrational open-endedness opposed to convention people personal experience philosophy progress questions rain real human need real people real things reason reflection Religion religious belief religious outlook respect result of reflection rigorous and testable foundations science social Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie sunshine the arts the decline of religion the ethical life the fragile world the rise of natural science the value of things human theologians think for themselves this life this world to be free to do good to others to live good lives Tradition uncertainty Western philosophy writings by AC Grayling
  by AC Grayling   The current quarrel between religious and non-religious outlooks is another chapter in a story whose previous main incidents are to be found in the mid-nineteenth century and the early seventeenth century, in connection respecti...
• “the dark side of homeschooling”
  on May 15, 2013 in religious fundamentalism education Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles evolution modern society Benjamin Chew blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew the religious right corporal punishment The Guardian UK public policy Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog The Guardian "the dark side of homeschooling" by Katherine Stewart Katherine Stewart homeschooling activists ideology machine home schooling an army of culture warriors Department of Education Christian Fundamentalist sects homeschooling children Ryan Lee Stollar home schooling student Christian Home Schooling the Quiverfull concept Home Schoolers Anonymous Christian Homeschooling science curriculum cliche refutations of evolution fundamentalist home schooling Christian extremists have cornered the Christian Home Schooling market Christian Reconstructionists Rousas John Rushdoony a Christian takeover of the political system purify the nation cleanse the nation of the sin of secularism retaking the nation for Christ silence submission the parental role children's rights fundamentalist indoctrination false education
  by Katherine Stewart   Several decades ago, political activists on the religious right began to put together an “ideology machine”. Home schooling was a big part of the plan. The idea was to breed and “train up” an army...
• “murder is our national sport”
  on May 15, 2013 in contemporary affairs "A Checkered Past" by William van Poyck "Murder is Our National Sport" by Chris Hedges "Quietus" by William Van Poyck "The Third Pillar of Wisdom" by William Van Poyck 26 years on death row a better world a cruel trick a life squandered away abuse and murder of prisoners on death row Afghanistan armed robbery bank robberies beatings by the guards Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog blood baths carbon monoxide poisoning cell Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Chris Hedges clinic isolation cell Contemporary affairs crime crime and punishment current affairs dead end existence Death death and dying death of a corrections officer death row death warrant death watch cell deathrowdiary.blogspot.com did not pull the trigger downtown West Palm Beach drones Eastern Airlines established execution protocol Florida Florida House of Representatives Florida State Prison Frank Valdes God bless America Governor Rick Scott hopelessness in the name of justice industrial killing machines Irag Joyce Carol Oates juvenile home killing machines law and order lethal injection Lisa van Poyck lung cancer many years in prison mass incarceration Matt Gaetz mental breakdowns mock execution murder murder is a sign of strength murder is a symbol of resolve murder means law and order national sport North Carolina on death row our Christian duty Pakistan PEN prison writing program people of color pilotless drones prison prison life prisoners punishment rape reckless abandon regeneration Robert Waterhouse San Francisco scheduled to die by lethal injection solitary confinement Somalia Southern California Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie suicide Texas the electorate the execution chamber the innocent the United States the United States believes in regeneration through violence Timely Justice Act to be fully human Truthdig.com U.S. current affairs U.S. news violence we have killed the innocent we murder prisoners West Palm Beach William Van Poyck world news World War II writings by Chris Hedges Yemen
  by Chris Hedges   Murder is our national sport. We murder tens of thousands with our industrial killing machines in Afghanistan and Iraq. We murder thousands more from the skies over Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen with our pilotless drones. We murd...
• horror story from pensacola christian college
  on May 10, 2013 in religious fundamentalism all female students must be in proper attire before they leave their rooms for a fire drill Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog blood sport Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog christian education Christian fundamentalism discourage people from skipping class excellence fire drill Fundamentalist Christianity high standards horror story from a christian college Junior year on-campus clinic Pensacola Christian College Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Stuff Fundies Like blog the Dean's Office
  by “Darrell”   Pensacola Christian College loves to talk about its high standards and the way it strives for excellence. What they don’t highlight so much is that excellence is a blood sport that often puts students at risk. It se...
• “michael gove and correct grammar”
  on May 10, 2013 in education english grammar English language "correctness" doesn't help us understand language "Michael Gove and Correct Grammar" by Michael Rosen acceptable forms of Standard English all language has grammar Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Correct Grammar Debra Myhill English Education English grammar English Language Grammar grammar of standard English grammar teaching grammar test Guardian Letters from a Curious Parent linguistics Michael Gove Michael Rosen new grammar test pleasurable learning of poems and songs questions about grammar are not simply a matter of right and wrong reading real reading real speaking real writing Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie speaking standard English taught out of context teaching English grammar The Guardian The Guardian UK the place for grammar teaching is the secondary school there is no such thing as grammar there is no such thing as one single correct grammar writing writings by Michael Rosen Year 6
  by Michael Rosen   I should have guessed that if Michael Gove was going to reply to one of my Guardian Letters from a Curious Parent, he wouldn’t engage with what I actually wrote. Expert though he is in linguistics, he seems to find it...
• embarrassing partisanship
  on May 9, 2013 in contemporary affairs "Gang rape is democracy in action." a democratic vote a sacred right Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog bird-brained populist leaders Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog civil rights comprehension Contemporary affairs creme de la creme current affairs Current Affairs in Singapore democracy democracy in action democracy must relate to individual human rights demos Edwin Thumboo embarrassing partisanship Facebook Facebook page failed basic English comprehension fallacious fallacy freedom gang bang gang rape gang rape motif human rights illiterate Singaporean Facebookers individual right individual rights justice kratos Minister Minister of Parliament mob rule motif MP MP Zainudin draws flak for posting "offensive" quote out of context PAP Parliament partisan fanaticism people people power People's Action Party political opposition in Singapore political philosophy power Quotations Quotations by Terry Goodkind rational philosophy rule of the masses rule of the people sacred right school days Singapore singapore current affairs Singaporean Facebookers Singaporean MP Zainudin Nordin Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Terry Goodkind the inalienable rights of the individual the individual the New World the PAP the People's Action Party the political opposition the political opposition in Singapore the ruling regime Yahoo News Singapore yankee politics Zainudin Nordin
    “People use democracy as a free-floating abstraction disconnected from reality. Democracy in and of itself is not necessarily good. Gang rape, after all, is democracy in action. All men have the right to live their own life. Democracy mu...
• lowbrow fare from taiwan
  on May 6, 2013 in contemporary affairs popular culture "Lady First" "the cinema" a hooker a sexist culture AsiaOne AsiaOne News AsiaOne Showbiz au naturale Barbie Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog bimbotic bimbotic vanimal cerebral nightmare Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Contemporary affairs culture current affairs darling dress sense fake eyelashes family outing to the cinema family outing to the mall I spurn Taiwanese television James Bond K-pop pussy Lan Xin Mei less than tasteful pontifications about the Singaporean woman looking pretty lowbrow lowbrow fare from Taiwan make-up making efforts to look pretty man middle-class hooker my favourite pair of sandals neanderthal mumblings not a priority objectification Orchard Road organic eroticism Pauline Lan Pauline Lan in Singapore Pauline Lan rates Singaporean women three out of ten Pauline Lan rates the Singaporean woman a three out of ten for dress sense Pauline Lan Xin Mei Popular Culture rabble of vainpots riotous popularity sandals sartorial sense sartorial trends she looks radiant au naturale Singapore Singapore culture singapore current affairs Singapore pop culture Singapore Popular Culture Singaporean men Singaporean woman Singaporean women Singaporean women and their dress sense Sinophone Sinophone culture skin-shallow bourgeois piffle Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie stroll along Orchard Road Taiwan Taiwanese television Taiwanese variety programme tee and bermudas the CEO the hawker the mall the Singaporean man the Singaporean woman the Statesman the worker three lovely children three out of ten vainpot vainpots women
      Pauline Lan Xin Mei   Without mentioning the Sinophone culture, bimbotic vanimal Pauline Lan is one reason among many I spurn Taiwanese television. I would have left Lan and her rabble of vainpots to their neanderthal mumblings ab...
• “the corrosion of reason”
  on May 5, 2013 in anti intellectualism education philosophy science superstition "Mary" "The Corrosion of Reason" by AC Grayling AC Grayling airline bombers ancient story Anthony Grayling antique belief systems anything goes apostate appeal to faith atrocious behaviour being in the right belief belief systems Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog bible belt certainty Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog children christian Christianity control Creationism danger degree level courses divinity dogma fairy tales faith faith-based schooling fanatics fascist fundamentalism fundamentalist religion garden gnomes gnomes God Greek mythology Hercules higher education humankind immunises against tolerance and pluralism infidel intellectual infancy intellectual rigour intelligent design Islam Jesus John Major July 2006 justice Madrasah major religions mass murderers mental culture mercy Middle Eastern mythology monolithic more than 30 per cent of UK university students believe in creationism multicultural society muslim myths Nazism New Testament nonrational mindset nonrationalism Northern Ireland old canard opinion panel oppression Pakistan pluralism political correctness polytechnics postmodernism primitive science private private sphere public examinations public money reason relativism Religion religions religious belief religious commitment religious segregation research survey science and technology secondary school level secular arrangements Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie special interest groups Stalinism superstitions superstitious belief the Dark Ages the Heavenly Twins the Inquisition the New Testament the Stasi the Taliban tolerance trade unions universities unreason voluntary organisations world writings by AC Grayling writings by Anthony Grayling Zeus
  by AC Grayling   An opinion panel research survey conducted in July 2006 found more than 30 per cent of UK university students believe in creationism or intelligent design. This raw detail is gasp-inducing enough in its own right, as indication...
• “are religions respectable?”
  on May 4, 2013 in secularism society "Are Religions Respectable?" by AC Grayling AC Grayling against evidence against reason ancient superstitions Anthony Grayling Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog civil liberties commitment to belief consideration contrary to evidence contrary to reason Criticism custom deserving of respect everyone is free to believe what they want evidence faith free of proselytisation free speech human beings humanity humankind ignoble ignorant immunity irrationality irresponsible kid gloves moral consideration morality noble nonrational offence organised religion organised religious bodies political party private sphere proselytisation protected by custom reason Religion religions religious bodies religious commitment religious faith respect ridicule shared humanity Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie special interest group special status special treatment superstitions the Pope the Southern Baptists trade union unsupported claims virtue writings by AC Grayling writings by Anthony Grayling
  by AC Grayling   It is time to reverse the prevailing notion that religious commitment is intrinsically deserving of respect, and that should be handled with kid gloves and protected by custom and in some cases law against criticism and ridicule...
• internet prudes
  on May 2, 2013 in contemporary affairs sexuality society a good life a misguided sense of dignity baby boomers Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog cheeks and giggles Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog children Contemporary affairs current affairs Darling and I dignity disgusting honeymoon hot and horny hug hugging hugs and kisses human decency indecent Internet prudes kiss kissing loving couples in Singapore marriage morality obscene our local Asian patriarchal culture PDAs prohibition of PDAs prudes Prudish Singaporeans moralising over young Singaporeans displaying affection for each other public areas public displays of affection public transport relationship religious police self-righteous Singaporeans Self-righteous Stompers sexual promiscuity Sexually repressed Stompers Singapore singapore current affairs Singapore society Singaporean prudes Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Stomp Stomp News the Internet times have changed train young Singaporean couples young Singaporean couples hug and kiss each other on public transport young Singaporeans young Singaporeans and their public displays of affection
    Unless there are Internet-savvy, smartphone-toting and Stomp-loving baby boomers lurking at every corner in Singapore, I am surprised at how Wahhabi-an some of our young can be. They finger-shake at every candid camera opportunity, stomp thei...
• “why people believe in conspiracy theories”
  on May 2, 2013 in science "The Empire of Conspiracy" by Timothy Melley "Why People Believe in Conspiracy Theories" by Sander van der Linden 21 per cent of Americans think the US government is covering up evidence of alien existence 37 per cent of Americans believe global warming is a hoax a recent study acceptance of science Alex Jones alien existence Area 51 articles from Scientific American Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Boston Boston Marathon Boston Marathon Bombing Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog climate science cognitive bias conspiracism conspiracy theories conspiracy theories help people make sense of the world conspiracy thinking delusional delusions Did NASA fake the moon landing? distrust of authority England explain the ultimate cause fallacy fallacy of conspiracy theories feeling of powerlessness feeling of uncertainty global warming globalist agenda higher-order beliefs hoax ideological lens inside job intentional Is global warming a hoax? Is the US government hiding Martians in Area 51? Karen Douglas Karl Popper lack of agency and control lung cancer martians Michael Wood moon landing NASA national poll Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden is still alive Osama bin Laden was already dead before the military raid took place paranoia paranoid powerlessness price of gold Psychological Science public mistrust random nature rejection of science research team Richard Hofstadter Robbie Suton rule the world Sander van der Linden scepticism schizotype paranoia Scientific American secret alliance secret elite power severe distrust of authority sinister plot smoking social science social scientists Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Stephen Lewandowsky the Boston Marathon Bombing was a hoax the fundamental attribution error the implausible visions of a lunatic fringe the paranoid style of American politics the tendency to overestimate the actions of others as being intentional rather than the product of random situational circumstances the truth is not always convenient Timothy Melley Transport Security Administration uncertainty undermine democratic debate unintended consequences University of Kent US politics Youtube videos
  by Sander van der Linden   Did NASA fake the moon landing? Is the government hiding Martians in Area 51? Is global warming a hoax? And what about the Boston Marathon bombing…an “inside job” perhaps?   In the book “The Empire of Co...
• oxymoron alert: the thinking theist
  on May 1, 2013 in atheism philosophy "What Do Philosophers Believe?" by David Bourget and David Chalmers 1972 philosophers from 99 leading philosophy departments 2009 study analytic philosophers analytic philosophy Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Christian theism confirmation bias critical thinking David Bourget David Chalmers demonic philosophy evidence existence of god godless philosophy human knowledge Islamic Theism Jewish Theism lack of evidence oxymoron Protestant Theism rationality Roman Catholic Theism sectarian theism Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie survey the "thinking theist" is an oxymoron the anglophone world theism theism and critical thinking are incompatible
    In a survey that was conducted by David Bourget and David Chalmers in 2009 (full report out only this year) on what analytic philosophers really believe, it seemed that an overwhelming majority did not accept the existence of god as true. The...
• some singapore may day protest placards
  on May 1, 2013 in contemporary affairs society "100% originally and locally produced" "Animals have more humanity than our government" "Burn the Population White Paper" "High HDB Prices" "I welcome foreigners but when I am home I want to feel I am in Singapore and not in China or India or Vietnam or Philippines" "It is Dangerous to be Right when the Government is Wrong" "Kick Ah Loong Out in 2016" "Made a Singaporean not make to be a Singaporean" "No 6.9 million" "No Foreign Talent" "Policy Stop at Two" "Robin Hood Singapore Inc Version 2.0 Rob from the Poor Help the Rich get Richer" "Singapore for Singaporeans" "Singapore need Public Transport not World Class Transport" "Singaporeans Extinct in 2030" Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Contemporary affairs current affairs Hong Lim Park Hong Lim Park Protest Labour Day Hong Lim Park Protest Labour Day protest May Day Hong Lim Park Protest May Day Protest May Day Protest images Singapore singapore current affairs Singapore May Day Hong Lim Park Protest Singapore May Day Hong Lim Park Protest images Singapore society some Singapore May Day Protest Placards Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie
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• “UN human rights council may act against lgbt discrimination”
  on Apr 28, 2013 in contemporary affairs sexuality society "UN Human Rights Council may act against LGBT discrimination" by Heather Collister 23rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council 34 students in Ghana were expelled from school on suspicion of being lesbian 76 countries continue to criminalise same-sex relations anti-homosexuality in Malaysia anti-homosexuality in Singapore anti-homosexuality law Ban Ki-moon Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog bestial bisexual Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Contemporary affairs current affairs detestable discrimination equal rights for all France gay gay couple badly beaten in Paris gender identity Geneva global post government-sponsored anti-gay musical Heather Collister High Commissioner for Human Rights historic 2011 resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity homophobic attacks homophobic harassment homosexuality human rights lesbian LGBT community LGBT discrimination LGBT issues LGBT rights mainstream newspaper Malaysia marriage marriage equality Navanethem Pillay New Zealand no distinctions no exceptions Norway same-sex relations Senegal sexual orientation Singapore Singapore High Court South Africa Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie the 14th country to legislate for marriage equality the historic French law transgender UN Human Rights Council Un Secretary-General unfair discrimination Uruguay violence world world news
  by Heather Collister   While supporters celebrated France becoming the 14th country to legislate for marriage equality, across the world lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people continue to struggle against violence and discrimin...
• rare interview with julian barnes
  on Apr 27, 2013 in great writers "A History of the World in 10.5 Chapters" by Julian Barnes "Levels of Life" by Julian Barnes "Pulse" by Julian Barnes "The Rachel Papers" by Martin Amis "The Sense of an Ending" by Julian Barnes "Through the Window" by Julian Barnes 1970s a published writer a short story astonishing memory Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Cambridge Poetry Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Christopher Hitchens contemporary England David Cameron David Caute Death deputy literary editor desk job Dignity in Dying Dying Ed Miliband Englishness euthanasia Flaubert flawlessly structured sentences Fleet Street freelancer freelancers Gordon Brown government Great Turnstile grief grudge-bearing heavy drinking culture historical essay human life interviews James Fenton John Coleman journalists Julian Barnes literacy Love love and truth Man Booker Prize 2011 Martin Amis mass closure of public libraries Maurice Girodias medicine memoir memory mourning neocon New Statesman old boho Paris Pat Kavanagh Patrick Wintour philistine country pleasure prose is like hair Rare Interview with Julian Barnes reviewers Richard Branson shocking act Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie Student Forum Ted Hughes television critic terminal illness the business of dying The Guardian the International Socialists The Labour Party the Man Booker prize the most brilliant talker The New Review The New Statesman The Observer The Spectator The Sunday Times The Times The Times Literary Supplement Thom Gunn Tony Howard Tory US Senate hearings very left-wing wife of 30 years writing wrote pornography
  by New Statesman   In his 33-year-long career as a published writer, Julian Barnes has, in terms of themes, always been a big-game hunter. His work has concerned itself with dying, death, memory and English-ness  but the most central theme o...
• an actual primary school “science” quiz
  on Apr 25, 2013 in anti intellectualism pseudo science religious fundamentalism A 4th Grade Science Quiz A Grade 4 Science Quiz Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Christian fundamentalism christian fundamentalism in the US Creationism fundamentalist christian piffle disguised as science Fundamentalist Christianity fundamentalist christianity in the US North Carolina pseudo-science Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie US christian fundamentalism
      A Grade 4 (primary 3 or 4) Science Quiz worksheet from a private elementary school in North Carolina:     (source)   This is pseudo-scientific anti-intellectual crazy fundamentalist christian rubbish. Thank goodness there...
• the wise creatures had to die
  on Apr 24, 2013 in philosophy quotations Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Friedrich Nietzsche once upon a time Quotations quotations by Friedrich Nietzsche solar systems Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie
    “Once upon a time, in a far-away corner of the universe’s glimmering effusion of countless solar systems, a star existed where wise creatures gave birth to knowledge. This was the most arrogant and the most dishonest minute of R...
• tasteless and mindless
  on Apr 24, 2013 in contemporary affairs Andre-Josef Leonard Archbishop Andre-Josef Leonard Archbishop Leonard's views on homosexuality Belgium Benjamin Chew Benjamin Chew blog bigoted views Blasphemy Brussels Chew Hongjie Chew Hongjie Blog Contemporary affairs current affairs Femen four topless women homosexuality I cannot and do not respect bad and stupid ideas madness mocking one does not protest against contrary views by attacking elderly men radical women's rights group Sparrows and Sandcastles Sparrows and Sandcastles blog Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Benjamin Chew Sparrows and Sandcastles blog by Chew Hong Jie tasteless topless women women zealots women's rights women's rights group world news
    Two days ago, four topless women from the radical women’s rights group Femen entered a university in Brussels, Belgium and interrupted a debate on blasphemy by baptising the Belgian catholic archbishop Andre-Josef Leonard with bottles of...

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