Singaporean Entrepreneurs

It’s bad enough that all of us have to deal with fake (paid) comments which are now getting more sophisticated but still obvious … now we have to deal with fake review after review.

According to this New York Times interview with U Of I, Professor Liu Bing, getting a 5-star review comes as cheap as US$2. I wonder what the actual cut is of the person who is posting up the review.

Below is my own comments section which is constantly flooded with spam comments I’ve stopped looking at my comments section and tend to dismiss more than bothering to take the time to sift through the crap.

So more than ever, buyer beware. Identity thieves are getting more sophisticated, with our own recent ATM scam by Chinese nationals who stole information from ATM machines in Singapore and used it to withdraw money in Malaysia. So yeah, the paranoid survive, cover your fingers when you are punching in your passcode.

The Year of Black Water Dragon is upon us. I really have no idea what that means, but at the same time it sounds so much cooler than just being appended a number such as 2012.

For the Mayans, this would be the last year on earth. For the Chinese, this is supposed to be a very auspicious year and here’s what’s abuzz in the Feng Shui Universe:

(1) It will be a very different year for everyone depending on their birth sign. Some will do very well, like the rats and monkeys who jive with the dragon but others may not like 2012.

(2) There will be a lot of political turmoil throughout the world because there are ascendant stars that will not align well with others. However, these bad vibes can be neutralized by using certain feng shui methods. (If only it were so easy to neutralize bad governments!)

(3) Major natural calamities will occur in 2012 because of the birth of new seedlings that need to break ground (earthquake). More explanation: In Chinese Metaphysics the term Dragon symbolizes the massive mountain range, the powerful energy of the land and is strong earth element. So an active dragon indicates strong movement of the earth. Also Dragon and Dog are symbols of Gates to Heaven and Hell. Of the 12 animal signs the Dragon and Dog are considered as strange places or twilight zones where ‘Noblemen’ will not present themselves. ‘Noblemen’ are helpful deities that can rescue people from bad luck. However in Dragon and Dog years there is no such rescue angels coming forward to save people from tragedy and as such, the disasters usually will have higher death tolls or casualties.

I think that’s enough stuff to ruminate on or have a hearty chuckle about.

For those born in the year of the dragon, here are some supposed personality traits that should shine through. Those who are born in the dragon year are innovative, self-assured, brave, enterprising, conceited, passionate, and quick-tempered. WOW! The Dragons are often referred to as the free spirits of Chinese Zodiac. Their creative sparks get destroyed when they are restricted. Hence dragon people always look to be free and uninhibited. A beautiful creature, Dragon happens to be flamboyant and colorful. Dragon personality traits range from being energetic, irrepressible and gifted. They are fearless and confident and ready to take up any challenge. In most cases they happen to be successful.

Helping others is something that they find pleasure in. One can always count on the dragons for help. They make friends very easily because of their generous personalities. Yet they can be solitary reapers at heart. Those who are born in the Year of the Dragon have a love for outdoor activities and nature. They are extroverts who have a deep love for nature.

Having an explorative spirit, the dragon people are very imaginative. They are suitable for any occupation owing to their adaptable nature. They like spending money for charity. When it comes to finances, they are ready to take up risks and big chances. They are very straightforward in their approach when it comes to matters related to financial dealings and can therefore be trusted.

George Whitman, an American who set up a bookstore/boarding-for-the-poor-artists-but-trying was an incredible man who became a landmark all on his own in Paris, France. The New York Times paid tribute to this entrepreneur when he passed away at 98 on Wednesday (14 Dec 2011).

His bookstore later became a favorite haunt even for the established poets and authors, especially for readings and book signings. Some that you may know include: Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Samuel Beckett and James Baldwin. Beat writers William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso also became George Whitman’s friends.

Very telling is his philosophy to be like famed poet Walt Whitman- not in what he wrote, but what he liked. “Perhaps no man liked so many things and disliked so few as Walt Whitman,” George wrote, “and I at least aspire to the same modest attainment.”

Indeed, how many of us have lost that sense of curiosity about the world even as we are inundated with information. We dismiss so many things readily in search for the new and the latest. Our curiosity is only in so far as the first search page that Google gives us. Can we, do we, persist when the technology is absent?

Another thing he tried to live by is one of the sayings on his bookstore’s walls. He quotes Yeats, “Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise.” Amen to that.