Exorcisms "R" Us

The block I live in has a row of shops on the first floor instead of the usual void deck, with one of the shops selling joss paper. That, in and of itself, isn't unusual; in fact, this block has always had a retailer selling joss paper, joss sticks, etc., since Milady and I moved here.

What is unusual is that the new retailer has a small sign posted outside their shop, which I took a photograph of today. Both Milady and I had our curiosity aroused at the first service offered: exorcisms. :) All of the other services offered are very commonplace here, especially among the Chinese community, but this is the first time I've ever seen anyone say they're willing to perform an exorcism. One wonders whether they've done this before and, if so, how successful they were in the past? :)

Are You Chinese, Japanese, or Korean?

I'm currently reading Yasutaka Sai's book, The 8 Core Values of the Japanese Businessman: Toward an Understanding of Japanese Management. In his third core value, "Aesthetics and Perfectionism," Sai retells a story about three different Asian perspectives as to what is aesthetically desirable (pp. 55-56):

Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) was tea master to the leaders Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi and founder of the Sen school of tea ceremony. One bright autumn day, having invited guests for a tea ceremony, he ordered a young monk to clean the small temple garden. The monk swept up every fallen leaf and told Rikyu that the job was finished. The tea master glanced at the scene and stepped down into the garden. He gently shook two or three trees until a few dead leaves fell to the ground. "Now the stage is set for our guests," he said.

A south Korean intellectual has criticized this incident as typical Japanese affectation. He said that a Chinese would probably have left the garden clear of leaves, as the priest had cleaned it, and a Korean would have held the ceremony with all the fallen leaves just as they were, in their natural state, finding that truly beautiful.

So what are you? Is your aesthetic sense "Chinese," "Japanese" or "Korean?" (I do think that Singapore, being a Chinese-majority country, does have a Chinese sense of aesthetics.)

Seen in Little India

Today's bumper sticker:

Terrorists don't scare me.
Your driving, that scares me!

SG Acrnyms

Pop quiz, hot shot! Think you know all the Singapore acronyms? (We're an abbreviated society here. ;) ) Here's a small sampling of the various three-, four- and five-letter acronyms that are commonly seen in Singapore. (I'm skipping the two-letter acronyms altogether.) Name the following:

ACM
AMK
AYE
BKE
CBD
CCA
CNB
COE
CPF
CTE
ECP
ERP
HDB
KJE
LTA
MAS
MOE
MOM
MRT
NKF
NLB
NTU
NUS
PAP
PCK
PIE
ROM
SAF
SBS
SGX
SIA
SPG

ACJC
CAAS
CHIJ
MUIS
NETS
NTUC
ROMM
PSLE
SMRT
TIBS

SAFFC
SINDA

Bonus Question: Name the 5 C's.

Now, before you get your knickers in a twist, here are some hints:
* Most acronyms are the same number of words as there are letters, but not always.
* Many of the acronyms ending in "E" are "expressways," but not always.
* Most of these acronyms are serious (e.g., government departments, businesses, educational institutions, etc.), but a few are cultural acronyms.
* Finally, almost all of these are or can be used in everyday conversations.

Answers can be found in the comments, or you can cheat and click here.