Tony's stash of textual information

One moon cycle has passed, once again.

I've been disciplined about applying betamethasone cream to my eczema skin.

Weather has been pleasantly cool – albeit a little grey – and

Let me replay some oft-repeated statements.

“This island suffers from a scarcity of land.”

“This is not just population density, this is hyper-density.”

(source: a 46-minute documentary. Metropolis – The Search For A Third Place. Hosted on Channel News Asia. includes advertisements. Published on 13 Sep 2025. Accessed on 15 Sep 2025.)

Hi, by way of introduction: I have gone by many names, and now I'm trying to move 3C humans (Curious, Creative, Crazy) from a place of suffocation and over-crowdedness in urban settings, to a sense of spaciousness and easy (or at least, easier) breathing. I do this through the following methodologies:

• connecting people to their own inner wisdom and intuition
• nurturing high-performance team-mates, who are themselves able to teach others, and
• practising diligence in housework, such as sweeping the floor (don't laugh)

To do this, I must first:

• follow – and esteem – my own intuition,
• allow myself to be nurtured by sincere and ethical professionals (including food providers; good food is very important), and
• commit to a regime of physical discipline, although my body may dislike it.

The hoped-for outcome of all these practices: a sense of joy, identity, and meaning, in the life of a human being whom I shall term Hearth-Dweller Aleph.

My heart is stone The moon is silent and absent Like my mother

O Mother — Thou art dead!

My Buddhist friend, Maia Duerr, publishes a public newsletter upon every moon cycle, and I want to follow suit.

And I believe that this moon-aligned behaviour is alive in practitioners of the Jewish tradition.

Different faiths, same moon. Different beliefs, same planet.

without further ado, here are snapshots from my part of the world:

Warning: image-heavy content follows

A big Thank You to the magnificent vocalists – and distinguished instrumentalists – who have given me an education in jazz repertoire.

This list is, of course, not exhaustive.

1. Don't talk about me when I am gone
2. The bell song
3. The end of a love affair
4. Watch what happens
5. It had to be you
6. Feeling good
7. Charity
8. I wish you love (by Ella Fitzgerald)

The somewhat provocative title of this post is a nod to Simone de Beauvoir's famous book, “The Second Sex”, where sex is a somewhat quaint word for gender.

As an aside, a quote that has stuck with me from that book is: “a woman finds her value in her reflection in a man's eyes.”

And: “a young girl is taught from toddler-age that she has to behave in a feminine way. She must not open her legs wide; she must make sure her skirt does not reveal her panties while she is playing with other four-year-old children... These norms are imposed by a congregation of much older women, who confine her with a multitude of rules that delineate feminine behaviour and un-feminine behaviour.”

Okay, back to my post.

If the second sex is female, and the first sex is male, what is the third sex? I submit that the Third Sex is the male that crumbles apart in a family context, when he navigates married life with a spouse. Suddenly he finds that his own boyhood has not prepared him to handle the storms in “adult” life. All his life he has whined about – and resented – his domineering father, and now, suddenly, he himself has a mewing infant in his arms.

Now what?

I enjoy collecting nuggets of information and someone suggested that I share it with an appreciative audience. That's you, right? Right?

Ahem, let's get started, then.

I shall apply Chatham House Rules, as I deem appropriate.

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6 July 2025

I heard about SEA Punk. Like solarpunk, but with a focus on the region of SEA: South-east Asia.

This is the pain point: “We're in the same geographic region but we have no common identity! can we change that?”

source of Venn diagram: “What is Seapunk?”

8 July 2025

about the intersection between Intellectual Property (IP) laws, and creative practitioners.

I heard that design patents are only enforce-able in Singapore, if they are registered in Singapore. That means that a “pirate” in, say, China, can reproduce and mass-manufacture your designs without penalty, as long they operate within China (and possibly export to the world).

From 8th August 2024 to the present day, I have been frequenting a Fourth Space.

And what is a Fourth Space, one may ask. If a Third Space is a physical location that is neither one's home nor office – think: Starbucks – then a Fourth Space is a Third Space with the co-existence of the Internet sphere. Think about conference venues with a live-stream where remote viewers can participate in the Question-and-Answer segment of a discussion panel. [footnote 1].

What I have learnt

I refer to a book by Brené Brown, titled: “Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone”.

That particular Fourth Space was – has been, and still is, and quite likely will be – a frightening wilderness. After almost a year, I have nearly forgotten how intimidating it was for me, to first open the door. Hence I think newcomers to the space will probably still feel that fright today. (Hence the importance of a welcoming host, behind the door.)

One year later, I can say to myself: you're doing fine by yourself in the wilderness. Congrats, you did it all alone. (With the help of your spiritual disciplines, of course.) And other people have appeared in the wilderness, and they are doing fine by themselves too. It's solitude meeting solitude.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 9

It is interesting how the Buddha has calmed down the warriors of two separate clans, who were on the verge of a war. (the story is there.)

I didn't set out to be a mediator. But, lest readers think more of me than my low estate, I shall keep the details of certain shenanigans to myself. Suffice to say that both professional workplaces and domestic abodes have seen their share of strife, whether overt or covert.

I have been working hard to find a peace-of-mind, which is so sought-after and yet so elusive. (Not even Prime Ministers and business-owners may find this peace-of-mind, though they may certainly boast of more gold bullions and nuclear bombs than me.)