Skip to main content

The Missing Link


Everybody should write a poem, or doodle a sketch. Everyday or once in a while. But regular is better. When we were small, the first thing we do was not to write, but to draw. We remember songs, and poetry - not the statistics of war.

We were happy with crayons, and pencils and white walls. But when we grow up we were told they won't bring us money to happiness, and to be doctors and engineers instead. Or teachers or department heads. And maths became important, together with science, and biology and grades, and exams and failures – no one is going to tolerate.

The future is bleak with a crayon and watercolours, but is made of calculators and set squares and rulers and norms. Technology is important, so we ditch pencils and papers and became friendly with the mouse, and lcd screens and dvds and tvs and modems and engines and vending machines.

Where have we been? So far we've seen.

It is sad that only kids get to receive crayons and papers, and magic markers and pencil colours. I miss watercolours and dreams they bring, and big A3 artblocks filled with screams. Water splashing wet all over, as i picked up the brushes and everybody take cover.

Watercolours, markers, crayons, pencils and ink.

Where is happiness – have we missed the link?


5 August 2013

Popular posts from this blog

How to Create Fun-To-Read Children Picture Books

Creating Children Picture Books Workshop, Universiti Putra Malaysia. July  2015. Photo courtesy Dr Noris Norowi. Have Fun Creating Your Own Picture Books Workshop, Bedok Library, Singapore - for the Asian Festival of Children's Content ( www.afcc.com.sg ). 31 May 2015. Photo courtesy of En Zamri Mohamad. For the past one year, I’ve had the privilege of sharing/giving talks to primary school students, university students, parents, fellow writers and librarians. Subject: How to create your own picture books for children With these sharing sessions, came great feedbacks. I think it would be useful to share some of what I shared during the sessions with you today. Hopefully we both can learn a thing or two, and can put them into good use :) What I would normally do is present slides on the ingredients of a children picture book (story, characters, settings, backgrounds, story arches, conflicts, scenes setups, motifs, and if the audiences are up to it - layers). I w

Ketupat

My sister asked if i could draw her some ketupats for her school's Raya invitation card.

BUDAYA BERTERUS TERANG, ANDA BERANI TEGUR BOS?

 Saya sedang menelaah buku THE NO RULES RULES. Ini kisah bagaimana NETFLIX mengubah tradisi innovasi. Ditulis bersama oleh CEOnya Reed Hastings dan profesor pengurusan Erin Meyer (yang juga penulis buku The Culture Map). Ya, ini buku tentang pengurusan. Dipendekkan cerita, pendekatan Netflix ini bukan untuk semua orang. Bukan senang-senang saja kita boleh tiru dan  terus indeks kegembiraan pekerja naik ke tangga nombor satu (Netflix tangga kedua daripada beribu yang lain, lebih hebat daripada Google dan Apple.) Ada tiga prinsip utama perlu ada sebelum pengurusan memulakan polisi cuti tanpa had (tiada polisi), pekerja beli aset tanpa perlu tandatangan boss, atau junior exec boleh naik kapalterbang kelas perniagaan tanpa perlu minta kebenaran Jabatan Akaun. Satu: Mereka yang diambil bekerja mestilah golongan high-performers. Bukan cukup-cukup bagus atau sederhana bagus, tapi terbagus. Dua: Ada budaya berterus terang dalam organisasi (candour. US: candor) (dalam konteks bu