Bill's Blog

Colson Whitehead makes the underground railroad literal in this fictional account of slavery. In the story, it is an actual network of railroad tunnels taking runaway slaves north. The novel starts in early 1800s Georgia, USA and follows the life of a young slave girl named Cora. Whitehead is an African-American and each state Cora goes through during her escape is a commentary on a different aspect of slavery. Ranging from North Carolina, where African Americans are wiped out in a genocide to South Carolina, where they are helped to rehabilitate from slavery, but also black women are coerced to undergo voluntary birth control.

The graphic (I hope historically accurate) violent depiction of slavery really made me realize the  true horror of slavery in the USA. Combined with Quentin Tarantino’s Django, I now understand the brutality of capturing, transporting and putting Africans to work in America in the 19th century. I think it also hurt southern white culture as well. Treating fellow human beings like that has to do something to one’s soul.

The book kept my attention throughout, with a good mix of action and plot development with Whitehead’s messages he wanted to put forth regarding slavery and race. The book had special resonance this year with a divisive election and discussions of race.

The story also made me ponder the economics of cotton. Because the production of cotton, tobacco, indigo and other subtropical plants was so labor intensive, plantation owners felt they needed slaves to make a living. Whitehead proposes using poor Irish immigrants for 2 years at a time to work on the plantations before getting their own piece of land. I wonder if slavery was necessary. I know this happened in other places as well. Even here in Singapore where I am staying for the New Years, there are lots of Chinese and Indians who originally came to work here as coolies, however they came as poor immigrants, not as slaves, which is different. My ancestors were escaping poverty and oppression from Poland to come to the USA for a new life. They had a tough go of it in the coal mines, winter forests and steel mills of Pennsylvania and Michigan, but not to the extent of African slaves.

The novel gets a thumbs up from me and I highly recommend it.

Singapore in one sense is one big shopping mall. It is astonishing the number of retail shops there are on this island. I kind of feel that the one of the results of Lee Kwan Yew’s economic miracle is that everyone can buy a top at H&M, eat nachos at Chilis and ride a roller coaster at Universal Studios. Being an American, I would be a hypocrite to criticize Singapore’s devotion to consumerism, coming from a family that at one time when my brothers and I were in high school and university, having five cars. It must be that being confined to an island, you can’t get away from it like in the USA with much more space.

Yesterday we went to Sentosa Island, a small island just off the southern coast of Singapore. Getting out at Harbour Front Station, the final stop of the North East Line of Singapore’s excellent Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), we walked into another massive commercial mall. It seems like there is a mall above every station in the MRT! We walked along the boardwalk, also dotted with restaurants and shops, so the island. Once there, it turned into another huge mall with Universal Studios, an aquarium and “luge” hill among the numerous attractions. We finally got through the capitalist morass to Siloso Beach. The imported white sand and beach bar made for a pleasant afternoon and we really enjoyed ourselves, despite the crowds to get to the beach. Relatively few people were swimming compared to the numbers on the island. I liked watching all of the big cargo ships hauling thousands of containers entering and leaving the nearby port as we were swimming. We didn’t get back to our apartment until 8:00 PM. We had a nice late dinner on the rooftop terrace and watched the fireworks in the distance.

I don’t want to sound like I am against high standards of living and people trying to make money, but there is no escape from people on Singapore.  It is a very well manicured city with parks and gardens, but with over 8,000 people per kilometer, it is really densely populated. I live in one of the largest urban areas in the world in Kobe/Osaka/Kyoto metropolis, but within 10 minutes, I can be in the middle of a forest all by myself. There is not that option here. The housing is surprisingly spacious, more so than Japan, but what is lacking here is an escape to the countryside, unless one drives into peninsular Malaysia, which is not that far away, but probably still a couple hours.

We got out of the city and took a short ferry ride over to Pulau Ubin, a small island just off the coast of Singapore. The highlight was riding rental bikes on the roads and trails of the island. In the video above, Nadia and I are on a tandem bike and a long-tailed macaque hops on our bike to retrieve a bag of food in the front basket. I didn’t capture it on film, but Nadia’s reaction is funny. The monkey was unsuccessful in getting the bag and all parties were unharmed.

It was nice to get back to nature a bit and we all enjoyed the day. We had a nice dinner and the kids went for a swim at the Changi Sailing Club beach upon return to the main island of Singapore. Pulau Ubin is a nice day trip, although on the island there are no swimming beaches. It is nice to tour the island on bikes. There were numerous monkeys and the platform path through the mangroves and tidal flats on the east end of the island allows you to see a habitat that difficult to move through.

The sign of the day is one of the mascots the Singapore government uses to get people to behave politely on the trains. My favorite is “Bag Down Benny – A bag on the floor, means space for more” is his tagline. The nanny state of Singapore does a thorough job of communicating to its citizens and residents how to be civil to each other.

We spent Christmas day in the financial district of Singapore, among the imposing skyscrapers and impressively developed waterfront. In trying to find a connection to Christmas, the economic growth of Singapore from 1965 to the present day is like a miracle. To go from a third world, mosquito and mud laden trading post to the glitzy world first world city of today, is amazing. It was the autocratic capitalism and strict rule of Lee Kuan Yew   that did ti. The Chinese are similarly using this model with limiting citizen’s individual freedoms, but promoting the economy is a capitalistic style. In the photo above, I am using a new panoramic technique with my iPhone to capture tall structures.

The skyline reminded me of lower Manhattan, although without the rest of New York behind it. The huge banking and finance companies’ buildings demonstrate that Singapore is an financial services hub and truly a global city like London, Dubai or New York  They also did a great job of becoming a transportation hub in the Asia Pacific region, with the second busiest port per volume in the world (behind Shanghai) and the 16th busiest airport in the world.

We had an overly-priced lunch on the bay and took some photos at the famous, Merlion, the symbol/mascot of Singapore. “Mer” represents its origins as a fishing village and “lion” comes from the original name, Singapura, meaning lion city. There were never lions here, but probably stems from the Malaysian tiger. The statue is in front Fullerton Hotel and all the area in Marina Bay is reclaimed land.

We plan on heading back at night to get another view of area. I would like to go for a run downtown sometime before I leave as well. There is a nice running path alongside the Singapore river which runs through the central business district.

Yesterday we went for a long hike in the MacRitchie Reservoir trail system. The Mac Ritchie reservoir is the one of four nearby large reservoirs that provide fresh water for the city. The forests surrounding the reservoirs are protected as a catchment area and the government has many walking trails winding through it. The highlight was finally seeing the long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) as we were leaving the reserve. In the video above, on the Country Club Road, a troop were wrestling with each other and they take a bottle from the group of kids behind us. They are omnivores and have a long relationship alongside humans. They are numerous in the central catchment area of Singapore.

In typical rules dominated Singapore, the goal of our hike, the tree-top walk, closed at 4:45 PM and we arrived at 4:51 PM so we couldn’t finish the final loop. I was tempted to hop the chain crossing the entrance to the walkway, but Oliver reminded us of the possibility of caning, a common form of punishment, besides jail and high fines, for breaking rules here. The videos I showed of the case of Michael Fay  and an actual caning earlier in the day, was a good reminder for us to obey the rules while we are here.

I am happy they preserved this forest, on an island that was once all mature forest. The early settlers of Singpore would not recognize fully developed island today. With over 5 million people, here, I see what the island needed to be developed. There were some impressive mature trees and it was nice to walk in the silky humidity of the forest and away from development for the afternoon. We walked about 7 kilometers in total. Outside of the country club, we called my first Uber, and a nice young man who just got off his main work, came and picked us up.

We had a nice meal in the Little India section of the city. Nadia joked that this is the closest she will be getting to India. Although I’ve never been to India, with all of the colors, odors and sounds, it probably was an approximation of India. There are over a quarter million Indians living in Singapore. Most came through contact with the British empire as workers in the 19th century. Today there is immigration from India and the community is noted for its economic and cultural diversity.

We were chased out of the market by an oncoming storm. There has been some spectacular lightning and storm clouds and loud thunder. There are thunderstorms on 40% of the days in Singapore. December and January are in the “wet phase” of the 4-month north east monsoon season, and there are usually storms or heavy clouds every afternoon and early evening. I am loving the 1 degree north tropical heat, the sounds of the birds and the lush gardens. It reminds me much of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, except much cleaner and better maintained.

Finally to wrap up this Singapore journal entry, I have to leave with “the sign” of the blog post. We are loving the ubiquitous signage, educating and informing Singaporeans and tourists how to live an orderly life. The sign below was outside of the restrooms at the Mac Ritchie Reservoir visitor’s center.

I rarely watch movies let alone go to the cinema. On long flights and during the Christmas holidays are about the only times I see them.

Last night we took the kids to the latest installment in the Star Wars franchise, Rouge One. It was an enjoyable, action-packed war movie, but nothing life-changing and similar to the many Star Wars films in the series. It reminded me of World War II films. The raid on the kyber refinery reminded me of the Norwegian resistance assault on the Nazi heavy water refinery. The scenes of rebel soldiers running across beaches and under palm trees on the tropical planet that held the Empire’s data archive, was reminiscent of the War of the Pacific.

On the plane I watched The Hollars. A synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes below:

John Hollar, a struggling NYC artist is forced to navigate the small middle-American town he left behind when news of his mother’s illness brings him home. Back in the house he grew up in, John is immediately swept up in the problems of his dysfunctional family, high school rival, and an over-eager ex-girlfriend as he faces impending fatherhood with his girlfriend in New York. From a script by Jim Strouse that is at turns hilarious and heartbreaking, John Krasinski’s second feature is a poignant look at the bonds of family and friendship.

There are some good characters, especially John’s brother. It reminded me a bit too much of my mother’s death and the impact on my father. It kept my attention but I wouldn’t go out of my way to see it.

I also watched Captain Fantastic, a story about a father raising his children in the redwood forests of California. The mother dies and he brings the family to civilization to attend the funeral. It has some uplifting moments, but the a bit thin on the portrayal of the pros and cons of such a radical parenting style versus the traditional suburban America lifestyle. I would recommend seeing it and there are some good performances.

I’ve enjoyed getting to know Singapore in the first few days of our stay on the island. Orchard Road is the retail and entertainment center of an island, I feel, that is devoted to shopping. It is amazing that every train station we disembarked is basically a shopping mall. These are not small or run down malls, but comparable to the best Japan malls. Stations are a natural place for businesses because of the high pedestrian traffic, but Singapore has taken it to a new level. Besides shopping malls, the other big impression are the numerous apartment buildings. There is a lot of people here!

We are staying in the suburb of Kovan, in the north east part of the island. It is known for the high number of Teochew, 19th century immigrants from southern China. 77% of Singaporeans are Chinese, but I noticed lots of Indians, more so than in Kuala Lumpur. I have not seen as many Malays.

We went to Chinatown the other night (photo above). The traditional shop houses, which are buildings with a store on the first floor and the family residence on the second and third floor, have all been restored. We ate at a nice Thai restaurant, which was once an opium den in the 1800s when it was a popular recreational drug with the Chinese.

It is funny to see the graphic public service announcement signs in the train stations. Lee Kwan Yew’s strict rules are apparent everywhere, with $500 – $1,000 fines for smoking, eating/drinking on the trains, etc. After seeing other south east Asian cities, I see why he needed to be so Draconian to have a neat and orderly city. It is pleasant to walk and move around the city. The wide sidewalks are well-maintained, lots of palms and other trees planted for shade and beauty, and many little “national parks” interspersed throughout. It looks like Florida, but probably a little nicer because the lack of income inequality one sees in Miami.

We escaped the city a bit yesterday afternoon and went for a swim on the far north eastern part of the island near the airport. Changi Beach park was quite pleasant. The amount of planes landing in Singapore from everywhere was impressive. There were several big ships coming through the Johor Straits, the body of water separating Singapore from Malaysia. I imagine between the heavy ship traffic and land reclamation projects, the environment is quite degraded. It made for a nice afternoon. Changi village reminded me a bit of Ada Ciganlija, the inland “sea” of Belgrade.

I try to make a point of acknowledging those small moments in life that are meaningful, but happen so quickly or you think they are insignificant. Last night was a great example.

We were packing our bags our winter holiday in Singapore. It had been a super busy day at school and then a rush home and 2+ hours of cleaning packing. We were debating whether to take Christmas presents for the kids with us, leave them under the tree for when we get back in January or let them have them last night.

Oliver has been begging for a 3DS game system and the Pokemon Sun & Moon games for months. He eagerly anticipated the release of the new games on November 19. He was relentless, but we held firm. We don’t buy game systems for our kids because we feel they get addicted to them and do not do other things in their life. Since Oliver is absolutely obsessed with the Pokemon video series and cards, we broke down and got the 3DS and games. We were planning to take it with us and give it to him at Christmas. We gave Oliver and Ocean the books they wanted, for Ocean 3 books in the Dork Diary series and for Oliver, 2 books in the Magnus Chase series. When Oliver got the books, he was bitterly disappointed because he was expecting the 3DS. He was crying and saying that we didn’t love him. He wasn’t like a brat, but I felt, genuinely sad, thinking that we would never get him a video game. Yes, I am from the 1980s and still call them “video” games. He was on our bed inconsolable when I took it out of the suitcase and walked in the room. He sat up and I presented the game console, and the DVDs and he was in a state I never saw him like. I would describe it has half shock / half ecstasy. The look on his face and his reaction made all of the tears and months of hearing him moan and negotiate worth it. He was so happy, hugging us both!  It was so cool to experience his total happiness!

So it was a Christmas miracle that “santa” came early and brought Oliver exactly what he wanted, and something he thought he would never get.