Despite the many changes in profession Thian Leong Lim has had, the one constant has been his love for cats.
"Cats are wonderful creatures, full of possibilities. I have three cats, Kitty, Gatti and Sammy. The oldest is 10-year-old Kitty. They share a big part of my life," explains the current Masters student in visual arts at University of Malaya.
Coincidently, the former network and systems engineer, who also has formal training as an environmental scientist, calls Kuching, Sarawak, his hometown.
"I’m interested in science, in technology, as well as in art and culture, especially in photography. So, my blog is as eclectic as one can be," said Thian Leong, describing the scope of his blog ( limthianleong.wordpress.com ).
Such an eclectic range of interests, when taken in its entirety, emerge as a delightful blog – photography portfolio in one light and philosophical musings on life in another: it is an expression of self that is at once unique, yet strikes a vaguely familiar chord.
Throughout, cats remain the central theme and why not? As author Mark Twain once observed: "If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat."
How and when did you start to blog?
I’m still very new to this. I only started blogging in March this year, but I have always wanted to start a blog. Not so much to document my personal life but to write about the world around me. I must thank my lecturer Dr Zulkifli ( www.saloranseni.blogspot.com ) for ‘forcing’ me to start a blog as part of my assignment.
Although this was not the original one I started, I continued writing. My blog is training ground for me. I am training myself to express my opinions. Being able to reason rationally and express our opinions properly is something that we never really learn in school in Malaysia.
Getting over the fear that people may read and judge what I write is a big hurdle for me. Writing is not exactly part of our culture. The great thing about putting your thoughts in writing is that it forces you to read it yourself and think about what you’ve written.
What were your reasons?
I hope to share the things I’ve learnt from my studies and my readings about art history, different cultures and ideas with others and at the same time, practice my writing skill. There is still a long way to go. My blog is also a place for me to talk and relate my feelings about my photographs and serve as a link to my Picasa photo album ( picasaweb.google.com/thianleong.lim ).
What have you achieved through blogging?
I’m contended with the fact that some of my close friends and family members do read my blog regularly and enjoy it. I do hope that by starting to write myself, I can encourage my friends to do the same as well.
Has blogging changed your life?
Yes. It has changed me from a passive reader to an active thinker. And I really hope all bloggers have or have had this experience as well.
The "Blogosphere". What does it mean to you?
On one hand, there are many intellectual people who can write and provide well-written comments on their blogs but, on the other hand, a blog also provides the opportunities for irresponsible people to introduce a lot of white noise that makes useful information seem less credible and less valuable. I think the most amazing thing about the Web, not so much the Blogosphere, is how much your presence on the Web is searchable. Have you ever tried to Google your name?
Absolute favourite blogger?
I spend most of my time browsing through the latest scientific discoveries in www.sciam.com or read about new happenings in the art scene at kakiseni.com, so I don’t have a favourite blogger. Though, I would very much love to read Carl Sagan’s blog. It is, however, no longer possible because he died in 1996. He was a great scientist and passionate about promoting the understanding of science to the public. He has written many science books, and also produced a television series called Cosmos, among other things. Reading his books now is, to me, almost like reading his blog.
If there were someone you could influence to take up blogging, who would it be?
I have been trying to get my coursemates to start blogging. We talk too much during teh tarik sessions, but what we need is to document those ideas in writing. There are just too few exchanges of intellectual ideas relevant to visual arts in Malaysia.
I have been playing with the idea of a collective blog for visual art students in University of Malaya. That is, if I can get everyone to commit to write regularly, which even I cannot do.
Additional thoughts?
I think all students, from primary to tertiary, should be encouraged to start blogging. Effective communication is such an important part of our social life. It is a skill that needs a lot of practice. How can we exercise our basic human rights if we don’t know how to express our freedom? Cats know their rights. If you want to love them, you have to respect their rights. Sadly, we can't communicate with them effectively. Yup, I wish cats can blog too.
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