Had this been a century ago, talking about the ability to communicate across geological boundries like continents and mountains instantaneously would often be met with disbelief, bemusement and the thought you are a fanatic kook that belongs to the nearest mental hospital. If we go back further into the past, say 4 centuries ago, a person claiming of being able to do such instantaneously communication might be accused of witch craft and burned on the stick. It is without a doubt possible right now. With the invention and technological advancement we have, we have the tools and utilities to read up news and communicate to each others without any boundries. However a new era is upon us right now. This is completely, in my point of view, unprecedented in history.
Those who have kept up with recent news would have heard the overthrowing of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. Yes, his party was the major political party in Egypt and he ruled Egypt with an iron fist. Having secret police around like how Hitler and Josef Stalin had and seemingly allowing other parties to run for election to give the illusion of a democratic society. It is to be noted however, that though Hosni Mubarak is now the evil tyrant that was overthrown, early in his reign he was a good leader. Now it is not new that there were people against Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's president. There were parties who stood against him in election (with an obvious "to no avail" result) and a major party or rather a group who has been outlawed in Egypt due to their "criminal activites" in trying to oust Hosni Mubarak from his high seat of power. Yet the people who succeded in doing so were not the fore-mentioned old and hardened political groups but they were the youth of the nations. It was the people who had access to the internet and able to communicate without any obvious suspicion unlike the older generations who had to meet up in houses or places to discuss their movements. Who would imagine, that an entire revolution would happen through communications over the internet? An entire revolution without a clear leader but just the will of the people I say! It is really mind blowing to me. This is an entire new era. Yes, communication without a boundry has now existed for several decades but for something as drastic as the overthrowing of a leader in a country is completely off the charts. Its like a bubbling happening in America and suddenly President Obama has been overthrown. Or in Singapore people suddenly starting a riot large and strong enough to suddenly force the ministers to resign. (Note: I am NOT in ANY WAY endorsing any of this in the 2 mentioned countries).
See, this is the importance we have to face. This new era allows the youth or pretty much anyone to cause an uprising at anytime and any place without the real need to make any real face to face communications. Can you imagine the possibilities that this can cause? Of course, with Egypt being overthrown, it is all possible in our minds now but could we have said that a decade ago? Back in the days, running less than 10 seconds in a 100 metres race was thought to be impossible. In fact, it was declared by scientist of those days to be an impossible feat as it would kill the athlete (specifically the lungs would blow up or something). Now, after 1 person (albiet a scientist who wanted to prove that it is possible) managed to do so, every athlete in the olympics has been able to do so. Is it because the previous generations were not able to? I strongly believe no, it is because the mentality has now been shifted to: it is now possible for a person to run 100 metres under 10 seconds. Similarly, revolutions through the internet will cause far more repercussions and consequences that we can expect. For example, I strongly believe the internet will now be far more monitored than before and selective censorships will definately be imposed in certain countries. Now, in less than 2 weeks over what has happened in Egypt, look what has already happened in the world! Tusnia's president has also been overthrown, protest are happening in Algeria, Bahrain and Yemen, Libya is now big focus in the news (due to the similar protesting and attempt to over throw the maddened leader: Muammar Gaddafi that has so far, resulted in over 200 deaths) and even far away from Egypt, the mystical movement in China: Jasmine revolution (which now looks to have failed).
It is to be acknowledged that this is a completely new era. We may not realise it till a decade later when we feel the real impact of it upon our society or we may not even understand how it impacts our society in the future as well. The chaos theory: the butterfly effect states that a small change may have a massive impact elsewhere. Look at the rippling effect this revolution (through the use of the internet) has caused so far! A science fiction book that I once read stated an interested comment that was in line to the chaos theory: A butterfly flapping it's wings in China can cause a tornado in in California. This is the beginning of a new era. Just like how the invention of machineries has vastly impacted the world, this is going to be something that will definately leave a mark in the pages of history.
A revolution, without any leaders. Without any clear meetings except through the forums and pages of the internet. To be able to trust one another without even seeing each other face to face. A protest or something more guided by just a single mentality that would not have worked if one had done the conventional "meeting in a place to discuss our strategies" method. This is exciting times we are living now. Thats all I can say
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
Monday, 31 January 2011
Flooding
Anyone who has kept up with any news should know the sort of recent floodings all over the world. Australia in particular (Queensland) has been hit really badly. One of the news report included various amusing facts such as: A man on his balcony and saw a bull shark swimming around the flooded areas. FYI, bull sharks are actually the most ferocious shark in the world. Yes we blame the biggest and the supposedly bad-ass Great White Shark (which is really no innocent shark) but Bull sharks are responsible for most of the shark attacks around the globe. Doesn't help that this salt water shark can tolerate fresh water so it pretty much can live in both fresh and salt water areas. Another tickling article is how people react to this floods. One man, despite the floods (torrents and torrents of water) decided to swim across the Murray river. Not the brightest idea my dear man. Sadly, I can't interview him to ask him why he chose to do that as his currently MIA.
There are other stories here and there that do tickle my fancy. Yes its not funny in reality. Not funny to those involved and those who are related. But in the view point of a third person, its just a sadly entertaining news, somewhat akin to reading those FML posts I read online whenever I'm bored.
After looking at this floodings. I wonder why people actually blamed the Singapore Government for the 2 major floodings last year in 2010. Yes, there was a flood in a major area in Singapore. Yes, it affected business but it was a freak flood. No one expected it. Take Queensland for example. It is common for floods to come. To be exact, it is an expected occurance for there to be swelling but last year / this year it is particularly very bad. We can reflect on this and ask "Australia, you were expecting floods yet why were extremes not taken into consideration?". Now Singapore did take into consideration of heavy rains obviously, not big floods like what happened last year (though there were other factors that did affect the drainage system thus helping to contribute to the floodings) but why are we blaming the government for a "once in a 50 years event". Of course when the 2nd one came, more people were upset. But honestly can the government really do much in such a short period of time? It takes time to build bigger drains and canals, to chose locations to release the water to etc. Not to mention the underground system / infrastructure has to be changed to accomodate to these changes. I think its fair to say that the government was not prepared for this but that should draw the line. If its anything, the government should always try to think of possibilities of possible calamities that is coming down on earth these days. Blaming the government and asking for cash back? Pls, thats ridiculous. Thats like asking the insurance company for insurance when lightning strikes ur car.
I'll just like to end this little rant of mine by saying: I'm NOT a PAP member, I'm NOT working for the Sg government nor am I on anyone's side. Just a little rant of mine before Chinese New Year!
There are other stories here and there that do tickle my fancy. Yes its not funny in reality. Not funny to those involved and those who are related. But in the view point of a third person, its just a sadly entertaining news, somewhat akin to reading those FML posts I read online whenever I'm bored.
After looking at this floodings. I wonder why people actually blamed the Singapore Government for the 2 major floodings last year in 2010. Yes, there was a flood in a major area in Singapore. Yes, it affected business but it was a freak flood. No one expected it. Take Queensland for example. It is common for floods to come. To be exact, it is an expected occurance for there to be swelling but last year / this year it is particularly very bad. We can reflect on this and ask "Australia, you were expecting floods yet why were extremes not taken into consideration?". Now Singapore did take into consideration of heavy rains obviously, not big floods like what happened last year (though there were other factors that did affect the drainage system thus helping to contribute to the floodings) but why are we blaming the government for a "once in a 50 years event". Of course when the 2nd one came, more people were upset. But honestly can the government really do much in such a short period of time? It takes time to build bigger drains and canals, to chose locations to release the water to etc. Not to mention the underground system / infrastructure has to be changed to accomodate to these changes. I think its fair to say that the government was not prepared for this but that should draw the line. If its anything, the government should always try to think of possibilities of possible calamities that is coming down on earth these days. Blaming the government and asking for cash back? Pls, thats ridiculous. Thats like asking the insurance company for insurance when lightning strikes ur car.
I'll just like to end this little rant of mine by saying: I'm NOT a PAP member, I'm NOT working for the Sg government nor am I on anyone's side. Just a little rant of mine before Chinese New Year!
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Remembrance
Its strange really, how man kind has always desired to be remembered. Its as if its our innate desire or rather something everyone has within them that has this longing for something about them to be remembered.
Of the great accomplishments that the ancients has done, one of them: The Temple of Artemis which was once a magnificent temple found in Greece was the object of arson due to a man's desire to achieve fame and an everlasting name throughout history. The Temple of Artemis as one would know is one of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world. So grand and magnificent was its structure that Antipater of Sidon gave a very bold statement when talking about the 7 wonders of the ancient world
"I have set my eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labor of the high pyramids, and the vast tombs of Mausolus; But when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other mavels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand"
Herostratus, the much famed or rather infamous arsonist destroyed this wonder in order to achieve everlasting fame. Sure enough, his name is remembered to this day but unfortunately his life ended quite abruptly thanks to the rightly outraged Ephesians.
Perhaps its vanity, perhaps its an innate thing that everyone has within them which trust me, no one who is true themselves can deny. Personally, I do desire to work in the background, I do not want to be known but there is a part of me that cries out to be remembered. This desire has caused many many many mistakes in history and at the same time so many more beautiful monuments. It has influenced the rise and falls of empires as well as the culture of people. It may not be self remembrance. Who has not heard of the Taj Mahal? The beautiful story which an Indian king built a magnificent monumental mausoleum in memory of his beloved one? This whole "Innate desire" may not always be bad in the sense of pride of wanting others to remember me kind of thing. But it could be something so heart warming as the Taj Mahal. We leave a mark in history, hoping that this golden sands of time would not bury us within the pages of history for what we hold dear, we wish to make it be everlasting in memory.
Sadly enough, that will never be true. Of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world, only 1 still exist and sadly for it, it has been kicked out of the list. Angkor Wat, Stonehenge, Colosseum, Petra, Machu Picchu are but a number of once famous and widely populated areas that has disappeared into the pages of history. Thankfully, mankind (not all a.k.a the tomb robbers etc) do try to preserve fragments of history here and there so that we will always remember who we truly are.
As a person who loves history, I am so thankful for those who has painstakingly preserved this important bits and pieces of history. But heres the question: How about the ordinary? The common folks? How about those who has lead mundane lives? What about them? Those that hold interest and importance to them? What happens to them? In the end, all it is is a touch in that person's life, something that leaves an impact but not in the history of the world. Though it does impact in a most seemingly negligible way as stated by the Chaos Theory (From which the saying "Does the flap of a butterfly's wing in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" comes from). This is known as the Butterfly Effect.
For me, I do not wish to make an everlasting remembrance of myself. But rather of people who I love. People like my sister. Perhaps this is my selfish desire to always want others to remember who she was, who she is till the light of her life extinguished but I know, with much sadness that that will never hold true. Of the Billions of human life in the planet, she is but one. As much as I want others to remember, its futile to fight it anymore. All I can do in the end, is to be like the many other billions out there, before me, with me and after me. To just leave that somewhat miniscule and trivial effect on the pages of man as the sands of time goes on. What has been a major impact of my life and surely, I know it a major impact in others too, I believe that the memory though it may fade as new generations come, this impact that my sister has left behind will never fade.
R.I.P
My dearest sister.
These 3 years has taught me much and I wish you were here next to me so I could share it with you.
Never a forgotten moment. Never a forgotten feeling. Always a remembered memory.
I love you and wish I could have said it to you before you left :)
R.I.P
Of the great accomplishments that the ancients has done, one of them: The Temple of Artemis which was once a magnificent temple found in Greece was the object of arson due to a man's desire to achieve fame and an everlasting name throughout history. The Temple of Artemis as one would know is one of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world. So grand and magnificent was its structure that Antipater of Sidon gave a very bold statement when talking about the 7 wonders of the ancient world
"I have set my eyes on the wall of lofty Babylon on which is a road for chariots, and the statue of Zeus by the Alpheus, and the hanging gardens, and the colossus of the Sun, and the huge labor of the high pyramids, and the vast tombs of Mausolus; But when I saw the house of Artemis that mounted to the clouds, those other mavels lost their brilliancy, and I said, "Lo, apart from Olympus, the Sun never looked on aught so grand"
Herostratus, the much famed or rather infamous arsonist destroyed this wonder in order to achieve everlasting fame. Sure enough, his name is remembered to this day but unfortunately his life ended quite abruptly thanks to the rightly outraged Ephesians.
Perhaps its vanity, perhaps its an innate thing that everyone has within them which trust me, no one who is true themselves can deny. Personally, I do desire to work in the background, I do not want to be known but there is a part of me that cries out to be remembered. This desire has caused many many many mistakes in history and at the same time so many more beautiful monuments. It has influenced the rise and falls of empires as well as the culture of people. It may not be self remembrance. Who has not heard of the Taj Mahal? The beautiful story which an Indian king built a magnificent monumental mausoleum in memory of his beloved one? This whole "Innate desire" may not always be bad in the sense of pride of wanting others to remember me kind of thing. But it could be something so heart warming as the Taj Mahal. We leave a mark in history, hoping that this golden sands of time would not bury us within the pages of history for what we hold dear, we wish to make it be everlasting in memory.
Sadly enough, that will never be true. Of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world, only 1 still exist and sadly for it, it has been kicked out of the list. Angkor Wat, Stonehenge, Colosseum, Petra, Machu Picchu are but a number of once famous and widely populated areas that has disappeared into the pages of history. Thankfully, mankind (not all a.k.a the tomb robbers etc) do try to preserve fragments of history here and there so that we will always remember who we truly are.
As a person who loves history, I am so thankful for those who has painstakingly preserved this important bits and pieces of history. But heres the question: How about the ordinary? The common folks? How about those who has lead mundane lives? What about them? Those that hold interest and importance to them? What happens to them? In the end, all it is is a touch in that person's life, something that leaves an impact but not in the history of the world. Though it does impact in a most seemingly negligible way as stated by the Chaos Theory (From which the saying "Does the flap of a butterfly's wing in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" comes from). This is known as the Butterfly Effect.
For me, I do not wish to make an everlasting remembrance of myself. But rather of people who I love. People like my sister. Perhaps this is my selfish desire to always want others to remember who she was, who she is till the light of her life extinguished but I know, with much sadness that that will never hold true. Of the Billions of human life in the planet, she is but one. As much as I want others to remember, its futile to fight it anymore. All I can do in the end, is to be like the many other billions out there, before me, with me and after me. To just leave that somewhat miniscule and trivial effect on the pages of man as the sands of time goes on. What has been a major impact of my life and surely, I know it a major impact in others too, I believe that the memory though it may fade as new generations come, this impact that my sister has left behind will never fade.
R.I.P
My dearest sister.
These 3 years has taught me much and I wish you were here next to me so I could share it with you.
Never a forgotten moment. Never a forgotten feeling. Always a remembered memory.
I love you and wish I could have said it to you before you left :)
R.I.P
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Great Firewall of China
The Art of War, Confucianism, Lion dance, Chinese opera and Kung Fu are all great symbols that simultaneously refer one's thinking back to China and its rich culture and history. Dating back to over 5000 years, this great nation has stood the test of time that many other cultures (e.g. Mayans, Olmecs, Persians & Egyptians) did not. I am in no way looking down on other cultures or other civilisations but what I'm trying to say is that China unlike most other ancient civilisations does not follow the trend of disappearing (the people may still exist but they will not reach the same peak of glory nor uphold the same traditions as before). Of course there are other civilisations that are able to boast of the same achievement (such as the India). Of all the national symbols and words that represents China, besides the very negative image (by the Western world) of Communism, another one is the Great Wall of China. Not needing to enter into this part of History about its function, purpose, date it was built etc etc because it has no connection to the topic I'm discussing besides the fact that it is used as a pun regarding China's decision on its internet policy.
As all people who read the newspapers or kept up with current times should know, China, because of it's country's law and policy, is under fire from United States of America (US / USA) because of the internet giant: Google is pulling itself out of China due to China's censorship laws. Honestly, there is nothing more than to applaud Google regarding it's decision to withdraw if it clashes with its company's policy of no censorship. However, this has sparked into a worldwide news where political leaders of America has stepped in to criticize China's law and policy. Of course, like in many issues, there is more than what meets the eye. In this time of depression, America should just focus its attention on improving the economy first instead of diverting the focus and critics onto China.
Do onto others what you want others to do onto you
I'm sure America would not appreciate it if Vietnam, Iran, China, France or frankly any other country tries to change their law, tradition and policies. Instead of imposing their will and thoughts on others, they should analyse the concept that if another nation has pestered and intruded their laws on them e.g. being ruled by the Pope in Italy or having to conscript all 18 year old males into the army like Singapore what would they feel like? Its not like America is right in everything. That is probably why the 51 states of America is divided on many issues that plague the country. Firstly even IF you were right in all that you do, that does not give you the right in any way to push others around with ur policies. A well doing businessman should not go around telling everyone around him to follow his career. In the same way, America should not start being a critic on other country's policies and only offer constructive advice and help when the it is really needed or helpful. If America is right in what they do (freedom to surf anything etc), then they should just set an example and surely, other people will follow their lead.
Censorship that was politically motivated
Hillary Clinton mentioned in a press conference : "I hope that refusal to support politically-motivated censorship will become a trademark characteristic of American technology companies" - This was taken from a speech given at Newsuem journalism musuem regarding Internet freedom.
There is no doubt that the censorship in China is politically motivated. I have no qualms on that claim. But as a side note, China does censor other topics or issues such as Adult films. The question we should be asking is if politically motivated censorship is wrong then when is it right to censor information? Later I will give examples on information that was not released to the public and purposefully hidden by the Americans (which if you ask me is as good as censorship. At least with censorship, your honest with the public). Is it right to censor information when it bridges Moral values? Education Values? Religion issues? The word "censor" does have a negative tone to it, which to me is often linked to communist Russia for God knows what reason. Instead of stopping the flow of wrong information (this is why we have laws to prevent underaged sex as many of the victims do not understand the position they are in which can lead to future problems in their life), the encouragement to provide free access to information will bring about many problems in the future of the individual and society. The above statement regarding free access to information is again taken from Hillary Clinton's speech where she addressed that "Countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century". Just to let you know, as of right now, China is still one of the most progressive countries in the world (especially economically).
It is a fact, America is the top producer of Adult films. Racism, sexism and whatever -ism is far more rampant in their country in comparison to any other country and statistics has shown that one in three people in America visit a psychologist/psychiatrist. This number is expected to go up to one in two people visiting psychologist. Problem that afflict America is probably primarily due to it's liberal access to information that allow individuals including children to watch and learn wrong values from a young age. This includes rebellious attitudes, violence, racism, sexism, lack of self-control and other myraid number of problems. So the question we should ask right now is, America is imposing a system that does not encourage the censorship of information that led to so many problems it itself cannot deal with. Should it allow another developing nation join in it's toil?
One of the consequences of free access of information
The American information-technology security firm Symantec released a startling statistic last month which featured the top keyword searches of 2009. It showed that the fourth most searched word for teens (ages between 13-18) and tween (8-12) is the word "sex". For children (ages 7 and under), the word "porn" ranks fourth. Again, the word "porn" is the sixth highest keyword searches by teens. This statistics is shocking. Even if we were to say it is normal for teens (which it should not be), for tweens and children ages 7 and below to be exposed to such sexually graphic content could have a possible detrimental effect. Psychiatrist Marcus Tan from Healthway Medical said "The danger is that some teens who are sexually curious might try out the acts they see on pornographic websites and view promiscuity as acceptable" (from My Paper). Though this only says teens, I believe that when Children are exposed to such content at a young age, this will lead to a characteristic that is very problematic to remove.
US govenment stepping in
Interesting to note, the US government stepped into an issue where it did not affect national security. Though Hillary Clinton again claimed that "In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation's networks can be an attack on all". Well of course we do know that the world is not just connected by the digital online network of course (though it is the easiest and more convenient). The hacking of humanist activity does not in any way implicate China's government is at fault. The most China can do is find the hackers and issue a warning. Of course again, Google company which is not related to the US government at all and humanist who MAY be related to the US government (though it should not be at all. In almost every case I've seen they are at most minimally related) does not give US the right to assault China with words directed at it's regulations and rules. So in this case, if the government stepped in for the sake of Google which is a MNC (multi-national company), would it step in for a small business too?
Google was already in trouble with the law
Google was being sued by a number of Chinese writers for scanning a large number of books into their google library without seeking the approval of the writers or checking the copyright laws. This is without a doubt a backslap to Google. Not only has this occured before the censorship issue was rised up but it showed the clear ignorance Google has for the copyright law. This copyright law is obviously not some communist made up law as its an international law abided by every nation. As a MNC (multi-national company) that has crossed every continent, it should have known better. This is an obvious flouting of law that got them in trouble. Perhaps this could be the real reason why Google wants to leave China, due to its bad image and reputation there.
China and America's unstable relationship
It is clear by this point that Hillary Clinton has made some very bold and unwise statements that has worsened the relationship between China and America. Obama too (Yes we can!) has demanded answers from China. As leaders of America, both Obama and Clinton should be very careful over what they say and how they handle the situation. Instead of trying to curry flavour with the people/crowd, like what George Bush did with the Iraqi War that lead to his eventual downfall, Obama and his team should just focus on improving America in its economy & medical welfare (which Obama is now reviewing). Of course, with the recent elections that shocked Obama when the opposition won, Obama claimed that he is not in touch with the people. Pointing fingers and asking questions from China is not the right thing to do if he just wants to re-direct the people's attention onto outside matters and gain favour through it .
Motivation behind the political involvment
Not in favour of starting any conspiracy theory or anything, I'm not going to state any reasons such as Google being a pawn of the American government in order to research on people (thus the government wants to protect their research) etc because that is just plain silly honestly. What I have to ask though is the motivation behind this "attacks" by the American government. Is it not because of their great pride? America has always been trying to protray itself as the "Big brother of the world" or the "defender of justice" etc. This of course extends to its ardent decision in interfering in another country's politics. For example, America was involved in the Vietnam war which as we all know, had diasterous results. Not just the Vietname war but also the Korean war, the Gulf war (the recent one in Iraq thanks to Bush) etc. America views itself as the world's standard, the perfection of systems and the liberator of tyranny. Thus it wants China to conform to America's standard. Whether it is free speech or politics or culture or acceptance etc. If China gives in to America's demands, sooner or later America would once again request for further change. This is a never ending pattern that would deprive us of a culture so unique and a country of great possibilities. I personally think its time for America to realise this is reality. Not some man-made fantasy where they can just intrude into any culture and country and impose their believes and yet fit into their culture. It is nonsensical to even have the fleeting thought that a person or country will be able to join another culture (be part of it) and yet at the same time be different. The earlier statement does not make sense because it is an oxymoron. By now, some of you intellects will probably realise that is possible, but if one is sincere, you will admit that it is nothing more than a dream because it is something unacheivable by man-kind. Only by the intervention by a God can we do that. I liken this thought to the GREAT and OP movie Avatar (it is one of the greatest films of all times), where a white man/ang moh/ caucasian who is superior in thought and technology will always be accepted by those who are supposedly beneath him such as oriental and afro cultures (even if its blatant that they do not fit in at all).
Hypocrite
The very idiom "Pot calling the kettle black" really applies to America. Is America really a country of freedom? Does it really allow absolute free speech and not censor any information? This is obviously not true! Veterans of the Vietnam war can all testify against the absolute lie regarding no more Prisoners of War (POWs) in Vietnam when America disgracefully pulled out when it's defeat was imminent. The government repeatedly gave out statements that no more American soldiers were left behind in Vietnam and purposefully ignored the constant cry from families to investigate the disappearance of their lost ones or from veterans who still claim their comrade in arms were left behind. In the middle of 2009, Obama was under the spot light for planting questions within a press conference in order to avoid sensitive topics and to stir the conference in a specific direction. This my friends, are just mere examples on how America is a hypocrite when it is asking other countries to have free speech.
Hacking Issue
Hacking into someone's computer and data is never a good thing. What we have to ask however is whether this warrants the US government to take a step into this matter. Afterall, the one that was hacked were not the US government, why should it take such a preceded step into this affair when its not even paying such attention to its country's own hackers. Yes, I have to agree, we should always try to crack down on problems and try to address it. China has hired thousands of people regarding this matter though some are for politically motivated reasons. We have to understand that by surfing the internet, as Hillary Clinton put it, is "joining a digital world" where one is connected to everyone else through a network that is not limited by continents or distance. As I mentioned before (because I find it paramount to make this clear), it is in no way good to have hackers at all. We should all play a part to stop hackers and create a safe environment for everyone. By joining a digital online world, one has to be careful for any attacks and it is your own responsibility to ensure your safety. There is no such thing as absolute safety, that is just a myth and if you believe that, you live in some deluded world. Even in reality, just taking a step out of your house and walking down the street puts one into a possibility of being mugged and murdered. This does not account or promote for anyone to just stay at home out of fear. Rather it is important to take preventive measures such as do not dress up in overly expensive clothings that begs people to rob you or to even stay fit so one can make an escape. I'm currently digressing from the topic and I apologize. There is no such thing as absolute safety and besides, its not like Americans have never hacked before. If you ask me, I believe the world's first hackers came from America and they have a large number of hackers that have not been caught or even been given any attention. How about cracking down on your own people before starting on others?
As all people who read the newspapers or kept up with current times should know, China, because of it's country's law and policy, is under fire from United States of America (US / USA) because of the internet giant: Google is pulling itself out of China due to China's censorship laws. Honestly, there is nothing more than to applaud Google regarding it's decision to withdraw if it clashes with its company's policy of no censorship. However, this has sparked into a worldwide news where political leaders of America has stepped in to criticize China's law and policy. Of course, like in many issues, there is more than what meets the eye. In this time of depression, America should just focus its attention on improving the economy first instead of diverting the focus and critics onto China.
Do onto others what you want others to do onto you
I'm sure America would not appreciate it if Vietnam, Iran, China, France or frankly any other country tries to change their law, tradition and policies. Instead of imposing their will and thoughts on others, they should analyse the concept that if another nation has pestered and intruded their laws on them e.g. being ruled by the Pope in Italy or having to conscript all 18 year old males into the army like Singapore what would they feel like? Its not like America is right in everything. That is probably why the 51 states of America is divided on many issues that plague the country. Firstly even IF you were right in all that you do, that does not give you the right in any way to push others around with ur policies. A well doing businessman should not go around telling everyone around him to follow his career. In the same way, America should not start being a critic on other country's policies and only offer constructive advice and help when the it is really needed or helpful. If America is right in what they do (freedom to surf anything etc), then they should just set an example and surely, other people will follow their lead.
Censorship that was politically motivated
Hillary Clinton mentioned in a press conference : "I hope that refusal to support politically-motivated censorship will become a trademark characteristic of American technology companies" - This was taken from a speech given at Newsuem journalism musuem regarding Internet freedom.
There is no doubt that the censorship in China is politically motivated. I have no qualms on that claim. But as a side note, China does censor other topics or issues such as Adult films. The question we should be asking is if politically motivated censorship is wrong then when is it right to censor information? Later I will give examples on information that was not released to the public and purposefully hidden by the Americans (which if you ask me is as good as censorship. At least with censorship, your honest with the public). Is it right to censor information when it bridges Moral values? Education Values? Religion issues? The word "censor" does have a negative tone to it, which to me is often linked to communist Russia for God knows what reason. Instead of stopping the flow of wrong information (this is why we have laws to prevent underaged sex as many of the victims do not understand the position they are in which can lead to future problems in their life), the encouragement to provide free access to information will bring about many problems in the future of the individual and society. The above statement regarding free access to information is again taken from Hillary Clinton's speech where she addressed that "Countries that restrict free access to information or violate the basic rights of Internet users risk walling themselves off from the progress of the next century". Just to let you know, as of right now, China is still one of the most progressive countries in the world (especially economically).
It is a fact, America is the top producer of Adult films. Racism, sexism and whatever -ism is far more rampant in their country in comparison to any other country and statistics has shown that one in three people in America visit a psychologist/psychiatrist. This number is expected to go up to one in two people visiting psychologist. Problem that afflict America is probably primarily due to it's liberal access to information that allow individuals including children to watch and learn wrong values from a young age. This includes rebellious attitudes, violence, racism, sexism, lack of self-control and other myraid number of problems. So the question we should ask right now is, America is imposing a system that does not encourage the censorship of information that led to so many problems it itself cannot deal with. Should it allow another developing nation join in it's toil?
One of the consequences of free access of information
The American information-technology security firm Symantec released a startling statistic last month which featured the top keyword searches of 2009. It showed that the fourth most searched word for teens (ages between 13-18) and tween (8-12) is the word "sex". For children (ages 7 and under), the word "porn" ranks fourth. Again, the word "porn" is the sixth highest keyword searches by teens. This statistics is shocking. Even if we were to say it is normal for teens (which it should not be), for tweens and children ages 7 and below to be exposed to such sexually graphic content could have a possible detrimental effect. Psychiatrist Marcus Tan from Healthway Medical said "The danger is that some teens who are sexually curious might try out the acts they see on pornographic websites and view promiscuity as acceptable" (from My Paper). Though this only says teens, I believe that when Children are exposed to such content at a young age, this will lead to a characteristic that is very problematic to remove.
US govenment stepping in
Interesting to note, the US government stepped into an issue where it did not affect national security. Though Hillary Clinton again claimed that "In an interconnected world, an attack on one nation's networks can be an attack on all". Well of course we do know that the world is not just connected by the digital online network of course (though it is the easiest and more convenient). The hacking of humanist activity does not in any way implicate China's government is at fault. The most China can do is find the hackers and issue a warning. Of course again, Google company which is not related to the US government at all and humanist who MAY be related to the US government (though it should not be at all. In almost every case I've seen they are at most minimally related) does not give US the right to assault China with words directed at it's regulations and rules. So in this case, if the government stepped in for the sake of Google which is a MNC (multi-national company), would it step in for a small business too?
Google was already in trouble with the law
Google was being sued by a number of Chinese writers for scanning a large number of books into their google library without seeking the approval of the writers or checking the copyright laws. This is without a doubt a backslap to Google. Not only has this occured before the censorship issue was rised up but it showed the clear ignorance Google has for the copyright law. This copyright law is obviously not some communist made up law as its an international law abided by every nation. As a MNC (multi-national company) that has crossed every continent, it should have known better. This is an obvious flouting of law that got them in trouble. Perhaps this could be the real reason why Google wants to leave China, due to its bad image and reputation there.
China and America's unstable relationship
It is clear by this point that Hillary Clinton has made some very bold and unwise statements that has worsened the relationship between China and America. Obama too (Yes we can!) has demanded answers from China. As leaders of America, both Obama and Clinton should be very careful over what they say and how they handle the situation. Instead of trying to curry flavour with the people/crowd, like what George Bush did with the Iraqi War that lead to his eventual downfall, Obama and his team should just focus on improving America in its economy & medical welfare (which Obama is now reviewing). Of course, with the recent elections that shocked Obama when the opposition won, Obama claimed that he is not in touch with the people. Pointing fingers and asking questions from China is not the right thing to do if he just wants to re-direct the people's attention onto outside matters and gain favour through it .
Motivation behind the political involvment
Not in favour of starting any conspiracy theory or anything, I'm not going to state any reasons such as Google being a pawn of the American government in order to research on people (thus the government wants to protect their research) etc because that is just plain silly honestly. What I have to ask though is the motivation behind this "attacks" by the American government. Is it not because of their great pride? America has always been trying to protray itself as the "Big brother of the world" or the "defender of justice" etc. This of course extends to its ardent decision in interfering in another country's politics. For example, America was involved in the Vietnam war which as we all know, had diasterous results. Not just the Vietname war but also the Korean war, the Gulf war (the recent one in Iraq thanks to Bush) etc. America views itself as the world's standard, the perfection of systems and the liberator of tyranny. Thus it wants China to conform to America's standard. Whether it is free speech or politics or culture or acceptance etc. If China gives in to America's demands, sooner or later America would once again request for further change. This is a never ending pattern that would deprive us of a culture so unique and a country of great possibilities. I personally think its time for America to realise this is reality. Not some man-made fantasy where they can just intrude into any culture and country and impose their believes and yet fit into their culture. It is nonsensical to even have the fleeting thought that a person or country will be able to join another culture (be part of it) and yet at the same time be different. The earlier statement does not make sense because it is an oxymoron. By now, some of you intellects will probably realise that is possible, but if one is sincere, you will admit that it is nothing more than a dream because it is something unacheivable by man-kind. Only by the intervention by a God can we do that. I liken this thought to the GREAT and OP movie Avatar (it is one of the greatest films of all times), where a white man/ang moh/ caucasian who is superior in thought and technology will always be accepted by those who are supposedly beneath him such as oriental and afro cultures (even if its blatant that they do not fit in at all).
Hypocrite
The very idiom "Pot calling the kettle black" really applies to America. Is America really a country of freedom? Does it really allow absolute free speech and not censor any information? This is obviously not true! Veterans of the Vietnam war can all testify against the absolute lie regarding no more Prisoners of War (POWs) in Vietnam when America disgracefully pulled out when it's defeat was imminent. The government repeatedly gave out statements that no more American soldiers were left behind in Vietnam and purposefully ignored the constant cry from families to investigate the disappearance of their lost ones or from veterans who still claim their comrade in arms were left behind. In the middle of 2009, Obama was under the spot light for planting questions within a press conference in order to avoid sensitive topics and to stir the conference in a specific direction. This my friends, are just mere examples on how America is a hypocrite when it is asking other countries to have free speech.
Hacking Issue
Hacking into someone's computer and data is never a good thing. What we have to ask however is whether this warrants the US government to take a step into this matter. Afterall, the one that was hacked were not the US government, why should it take such a preceded step into this affair when its not even paying such attention to its country's own hackers. Yes, I have to agree, we should always try to crack down on problems and try to address it. China has hired thousands of people regarding this matter though some are for politically motivated reasons. We have to understand that by surfing the internet, as Hillary Clinton put it, is "joining a digital world" where one is connected to everyone else through a network that is not limited by continents or distance. As I mentioned before (because I find it paramount to make this clear), it is in no way good to have hackers at all. We should all play a part to stop hackers and create a safe environment for everyone. By joining a digital online world, one has to be careful for any attacks and it is your own responsibility to ensure your safety. There is no such thing as absolute safety, that is just a myth and if you believe that, you live in some deluded world. Even in reality, just taking a step out of your house and walking down the street puts one into a possibility of being mugged and murdered. This does not account or promote for anyone to just stay at home out of fear. Rather it is important to take preventive measures such as do not dress up in overly expensive clothings that begs people to rob you or to even stay fit so one can make an escape. I'm currently digressing from the topic and I apologize. There is no such thing as absolute safety and besides, its not like Americans have never hacked before. If you ask me, I believe the world's first hackers came from America and they have a large number of hackers that have not been caught or even been given any attention. How about cracking down on your own people before starting on others?
Monday, 7 December 2009
Honour
What is honour? The word and meaning that has permeated into every ancient society, culture and civilisation in the world. What has happened to it? Honour is beyond that of respect, distinction, esteem, prestige and privilege. It is a set of values within a person, it is treating something with great importance and value. How often do we see this in today's society where values and character are treated with disdain with the typical "his so old fasion" attitude. We should ask the question, is life about breaking all the rules? Is it about shedding our morality, our set values and good character in exchange for an exciting life? Definately an "exciting life" is debatable by individuals and perhaps breaking the law is one form of excitment for a person.
What do you gain in exchange for discarding one's value and character? If its anything to brag about, it would only be something in the short term. Honestly, there is nothing more foolish for a person to trade something so valuable (a good set of values) in exchange for something short term.
I think of the days when people used to say something, mean it and keep it. Definately not everyone in the past did it but according to the impressions i have from speaking to the elderly and the books about olden society, it has certainly taught me that life in the past was way more respectable than today's.
A man's word was all it took in the past (though evidence did show that there were still contracts involved in certain areas but an insignificant percentage in comparison to today's). If i were to say i promise you a chair, it would certainly be done. No contracts, no reciepts, nothing at all.
I wish for a day when everyone could be totally honest. Where at one time honour was so highly regarded, it is now no longer looked upon as something so inspirational. But we live in an era where all cultures and society are no longer limited by a geographical boundary. Indeed, the world is evolving too fast, we are so different from previous generations. Where values of the olden society is no longer treasured. It is a sad thing honestly but i believe that there will be a day when values from the past will once again flourish and i look forward to that day and era...
What do you gain in exchange for discarding one's value and character? If its anything to brag about, it would only be something in the short term. Honestly, there is nothing more foolish for a person to trade something so valuable (a good set of values) in exchange for something short term.
I think of the days when people used to say something, mean it and keep it. Definately not everyone in the past did it but according to the impressions i have from speaking to the elderly and the books about olden society, it has certainly taught me that life in the past was way more respectable than today's.
A man's word was all it took in the past (though evidence did show that there were still contracts involved in certain areas but an insignificant percentage in comparison to today's). If i were to say i promise you a chair, it would certainly be done. No contracts, no reciepts, nothing at all.
I wish for a day when everyone could be totally honest. Where at one time honour was so highly regarded, it is now no longer looked upon as something so inspirational. But we live in an era where all cultures and society are no longer limited by a geographical boundary. Indeed, the world is evolving too fast, we are so different from previous generations. Where values of the olden society is no longer treasured. It is a sad thing honestly but i believe that there will be a day when values from the past will once again flourish and i look forward to that day and era...
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
In the interest of fairness
How often has it been that our minds are clouded by the injustice and biasness of the world. As soon as a person is born in any urbanised life, his enveloped by a cloud of deception that covers truths and all other pathways to wisdom due to the illusionary decisions of the leaders of the world. How is everyone presented equally? So much for the "politically incorrect" terms and words that are trying to be rooted out in great America.
Digressing now... Think about it, i personally have nothing against America or Americans but i'm just evaluating them from a 3rd person point of view. I'm not being racist or an American basher or anything, its just the plain truth. America is without a doubt one of the most advanced nation discounting Japan, Germany, Korea and perhaps one or two more countries. America is in fact the centre of modern human culture. Think about it, which other country/nation holds as much sway as America in politics, resource, being a busy body and cultural issues. If we talk about education, about perhaps science, many technologies may not have originated from America but they have assimilated most of them. Furthermore, most of the education is based on what America has found. Of course this is so because of their political and military power to give them to edge on demanding and getting new technologies. How many countries out there are willing to say "no" to giving a machine for the American scientist to reverse engineer. There is no need to enter the topic of humanities, as soon as you enter there, there are terms that are sexist, racist, i don know what -ist. I could go on but its really no point complaining about all of these.
I wonder, how much in the interest of fairness is education being taught fairly?
Take the education of biology for example. The topic of evolution. How many people actually believe in it? I would bet a huge number of people do believe in it. This is because every recognised school is teaching about the theory of evolution, speaking with such emphasis despite the theory having quite a few loopholes. This is blasphemy for many religions which i must add are a driving force in every country. Religion's teachings are being ignored due to the lack of fairness. I know there are so many different religions, who is to decide which is the correct one and its obviously offensive to teach a different religious teaching to someone. But this is what i'm getting at. The major religions : Christianity, Muslims, Buddhist (taoist etc also included), Catholics, Hindus etc have permeated society in many countries. All of them without a doubt teaches about creation, though some of them have creation being taught differently, its still a fact that at the end of the day that it is still creation. Yes, there are many points of difference between all of these religions but they have at least that one common point, creation. So why isn't creation being taught? Its not even being mentioned in textbooks or as a possibility.
It is a statistic that America is 90% Christians (according to PM Lee in one of his speeches) and 80% of Americans do take religion seriously. That means a majority of citizens in America do in fact include religion in part of their daily lives. The idea of creation is totally discounted because it cannot be proven which in comparison, the Big Bang theory cannot be proven but is one of the more well taught subjects on the formation of the Earth.
I'm not driving at the point that America is boo hoo bad, but that many theories, cultures and beliefs are ignored and disappearing because of the ignorance displayed by the leaders of the nations. How do we expect to preserve traditions, culture and stories when no one wants to practice it out of disbelief?
Digressing now... Think about it, i personally have nothing against America or Americans but i'm just evaluating them from a 3rd person point of view. I'm not being racist or an American basher or anything, its just the plain truth. America is without a doubt one of the most advanced nation discounting Japan, Germany, Korea and perhaps one or two more countries. America is in fact the centre of modern human culture. Think about it, which other country/nation holds as much sway as America in politics, resource, being a busy body and cultural issues. If we talk about education, about perhaps science, many technologies may not have originated from America but they have assimilated most of them. Furthermore, most of the education is based on what America has found. Of course this is so because of their political and military power to give them to edge on demanding and getting new technologies. How many countries out there are willing to say "no" to giving a machine for the American scientist to reverse engineer. There is no need to enter the topic of humanities, as soon as you enter there, there are terms that are sexist, racist, i don know what -ist. I could go on but its really no point complaining about all of these.
I wonder, how much in the interest of fairness is education being taught fairly?
Take the education of biology for example. The topic of evolution. How many people actually believe in it? I would bet a huge number of people do believe in it. This is because every recognised school is teaching about the theory of evolution, speaking with such emphasis despite the theory having quite a few loopholes. This is blasphemy for many religions which i must add are a driving force in every country. Religion's teachings are being ignored due to the lack of fairness. I know there are so many different religions, who is to decide which is the correct one and its obviously offensive to teach a different religious teaching to someone. But this is what i'm getting at. The major religions : Christianity, Muslims, Buddhist (taoist etc also included), Catholics, Hindus etc have permeated society in many countries. All of them without a doubt teaches about creation, though some of them have creation being taught differently, its still a fact that at the end of the day that it is still creation. Yes, there are many points of difference between all of these religions but they have at least that one common point, creation. So why isn't creation being taught? Its not even being mentioned in textbooks or as a possibility.
It is a statistic that America is 90% Christians (according to PM Lee in one of his speeches) and 80% of Americans do take religion seriously. That means a majority of citizens in America do in fact include religion in part of their daily lives. The idea of creation is totally discounted because it cannot be proven which in comparison, the Big Bang theory cannot be proven but is one of the more well taught subjects on the formation of the Earth.
I'm not driving at the point that America is boo hoo bad, but that many theories, cultures and beliefs are ignored and disappearing because of the ignorance displayed by the leaders of the nations. How do we expect to preserve traditions, culture and stories when no one wants to practice it out of disbelief?
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Decision making
Theres really nothing to argue or debate here. Obviously everyone has made decisions before and I can plainly state that decisions are what defines what and who we are. In fact, you can quote in me my earlier statement because thats what i really believe in.
Very often in life, we see many of these kind of decision making people and yes, i believe all of us are guilty of this one as well. For example in a test there is a multiple choice and you are stuck between two choices. In the end you go for say (B) when the answer is (C). At the end of the day, no matter how much u "thought" (C) was correct and "knew" it was correct you still chose (B). What matters is Not the process actually but the end result. Just like how it doesn't matter what training process a person did, even if he did the best training process if he still loses the competition he still loses. That will not change the fact that perhaps he had made the decision to have the best diet, the best trainer, the best training process, he still lost. Very often we get caught up with the middle part, the process which don't get me wrong, its still important but know that its the end result that matters. Maybe a good example for gamers say 2 teams are playing against each other in a game of Dota. What matters at the end is who won the game by killing the world tree/frozen throne at the end, not the number of players the team has killed. Usually the team that is higher level and has higher players killed wins but it still does not mean a thing till the end of the game. Its the end result thats important. Just in case you guys still don't get it, no matter how skilled a player is in a soccer game, as long as the opponent team just scores more points than you, you still lose. What matters is NOT how many tricks you did nor the speed you run at. All of these as mentioned is important still (the process) but its the end result that should always be the focus because that is what settles everything.
I've noticed over my life different type of decisions and decision makers. I may have missed out a few here and there but then again, i'm not writing some kind of thesis for Bachelor of Something (most likely Arts cause they deal with stuff like this) and depending my future career on it.
These are what I term the immature decision makers:
Crowd Followers
Very often these type of people are those who follow what other people's opinion is in life. Their decisions are based on other people's decisions and they to a certain extent lack what i call a backbone. Examples of these type of decision makers are people who follow a certain fashion because thats what is "in" now, not because they like it nor because it defines them but because thats what is cool and therefore will want to join in. They include people who are afraid to speak out their likes and dislikes because they do not want to be seen as someone who is weird etc. For example in a group, say person D just says the roasted chicken taste average/bad because everyone is saying that. Now a very important thing to note is that crowd followers tend to know what is going on so you are not one if one of the similar instance happens to you: You travelled to another foreign country and you ask the recommendation of a friend living there for a long time for a good dish to eat. That is not being a follower to say, but that is what you call smart.
The "Placebo" effect
The phenomenon is often witnessed in many fields. Its been incorporated into my current list due to its unique characteristics. Basically its better to give an example than to give a full description on what a Placebo effect is. For example a person is suffering from cancer and he is given a tablet that is said to have cured thousands before him though its really nothing but a sugar tablet (so yes its a lie obviously) and strangely enough he really gets cured because he believed in it and yeah its some kind of miracle. Thats what is a Placebo effect, where a Placebo (a substitute) is used to achieve the same effects as the real thing. The placebo effect decision makers are people who have made up their minds but change them once they find out the truth. So say the man who had cancer finds out he has been eating nothing but sugar candy tablets all these time and though he is cured of cancer, he gets it back again (abit extreme of an example but its just an example). A real life example from what i have personally seen (no names revealed) just a couple of days ago. I just eating at Noodle Kingdom and the Placebo effect decision maker person was having some noodle soup thing. It has been a thing for him it seems to note the degrading quality of places as well as having a note that the food is strangely not up to his standard (as the best i've EVER heard is "yeah its not bad" or once in a while "ya, its good"). Thats what you call really high standard. Anyways, he looked and tasted the noodles and said it was one of those cheap and lousy noodles to my amusement so i plainly told him that it was all handmade. Now this is where the placebo effect comes in, he looks at the noodle and looks at me and looks again at the noodle. Scratches his head then strangely his butt simultaneously he looks up at me and says "actually come to think about it, you can see it is all different like in size etc, yeah it really taste great actually". Now that is what i call a placebo effect. There are numerous examples to give but i think you should already get it.
Rebel/counter type
Something i'm guilty to sometimes. Its really the type of decisions that is based on other's decisions but we do the opposite. For example due to the high amounts of internet explorer (IE) users, there has been a wide range of computer viruses etc that has been targeted at IE users. Now, i'm a user of IE, not a vivid fan or anything but i like the way it works. But due to the large number of viruses etc, everyone around me seems to be using firefox instead much to my chagrin. And many of them too have been asking me to convert over due to its "safety" issues but because of the number of people telling me that, i've made a rebel decision to choose IE over firefox. This is can be commonly called "reverse psychology" due to its huge similarities however my discovery is Original so i claim Originality over it (and yes there are differences actually). Another example is perhaps a person ahd the decision to either stay at home and play games or had the choice to go out and play. He/she really has no preference but because his/her parents told him/her to stay at home, the person decided to go out. Amazing rebel decision!
I want it that way
These are often the irritating types and to be honest the trend setters of many societies. Sticking to their own opinions only and often imposing theirs on others, these decision makers are what usually set the trends and are irritating to the core if you ever disagree with them. Just like the title i have given them which i admit is the same as the song sung by Backstreet Boys, they often do not really care about other's feelings. Though there are many instances in history because they cared so much for a person, they will base all their decisions for the better welfare of that particular person and others around him/her will be >>> ( =.='') to the max. I do not think an example is needed because i've came across so many of these people that if you have not came across such a person your crazy. But for the sake of those crazy people (I was taught to be nice to mentally handicapped people), i'll impart an example. Say a place is really dirty etc etc, and we know as a fact that it needs cleaning. The "I want it that way" person would just insist on his/her decision that it does not need cleaning cause its clean (actually because his/her is lazy)
Now this is what i call a Mature decision makers
Mature Decision makers/making
It is a mix of "I want it that way" and "Crowd followers". These type of people are not afraid to say their preference and their interest. They may modify their believes upon openly and willingly listen to other people's opinion but should admit their previous preference. Not to mention that they also make their decision based not only on their on preference etc but on listening to other people's advice. A good example of this is ME! Yes ME! Alright! Wad up! Awesome!
o.k, maybe not really me but i'm getting there. lol.
Very often in life, we see many of these kind of decision making people and yes, i believe all of us are guilty of this one as well. For example in a test there is a multiple choice and you are stuck between two choices. In the end you go for say (B) when the answer is (C). At the end of the day, no matter how much u "thought" (C) was correct and "knew" it was correct you still chose (B). What matters is Not the process actually but the end result. Just like how it doesn't matter what training process a person did, even if he did the best training process if he still loses the competition he still loses. That will not change the fact that perhaps he had made the decision to have the best diet, the best trainer, the best training process, he still lost. Very often we get caught up with the middle part, the process which don't get me wrong, its still important but know that its the end result that matters. Maybe a good example for gamers say 2 teams are playing against each other in a game of Dota. What matters at the end is who won the game by killing the world tree/frozen throne at the end, not the number of players the team has killed. Usually the team that is higher level and has higher players killed wins but it still does not mean a thing till the end of the game. Its the end result thats important. Just in case you guys still don't get it, no matter how skilled a player is in a soccer game, as long as the opponent team just scores more points than you, you still lose. What matters is NOT how many tricks you did nor the speed you run at. All of these as mentioned is important still (the process) but its the end result that should always be the focus because that is what settles everything.
I've noticed over my life different type of decisions and decision makers. I may have missed out a few here and there but then again, i'm not writing some kind of thesis for Bachelor of Something (most likely Arts cause they deal with stuff like this) and depending my future career on it.
These are what I term the immature decision makers:
Crowd Followers
Very often these type of people are those who follow what other people's opinion is in life. Their decisions are based on other people's decisions and they to a certain extent lack what i call a backbone. Examples of these type of decision makers are people who follow a certain fashion because thats what is "in" now, not because they like it nor because it defines them but because thats what is cool and therefore will want to join in. They include people who are afraid to speak out their likes and dislikes because they do not want to be seen as someone who is weird etc. For example in a group, say person D just says the roasted chicken taste average/bad because everyone is saying that. Now a very important thing to note is that crowd followers tend to know what is going on so you are not one if one of the similar instance happens to you: You travelled to another foreign country and you ask the recommendation of a friend living there for a long time for a good dish to eat. That is not being a follower to say, but that is what you call smart.
The "Placebo" effect
The phenomenon is often witnessed in many fields. Its been incorporated into my current list due to its unique characteristics. Basically its better to give an example than to give a full description on what a Placebo effect is. For example a person is suffering from cancer and he is given a tablet that is said to have cured thousands before him though its really nothing but a sugar tablet (so yes its a lie obviously) and strangely enough he really gets cured because he believed in it and yeah its some kind of miracle. Thats what is a Placebo effect, where a Placebo (a substitute) is used to achieve the same effects as the real thing. The placebo effect decision makers are people who have made up their minds but change them once they find out the truth. So say the man who had cancer finds out he has been eating nothing but sugar candy tablets all these time and though he is cured of cancer, he gets it back again (abit extreme of an example but its just an example). A real life example from what i have personally seen (no names revealed) just a couple of days ago. I just eating at Noodle Kingdom and the Placebo effect decision maker person was having some noodle soup thing. It has been a thing for him it seems to note the degrading quality of places as well as having a note that the food is strangely not up to his standard (as the best i've EVER heard is "yeah its not bad" or once in a while "ya, its good"). Thats what you call really high standard. Anyways, he looked and tasted the noodles and said it was one of those cheap and lousy noodles to my amusement so i plainly told him that it was all handmade. Now this is where the placebo effect comes in, he looks at the noodle and looks at me and looks again at the noodle. Scratches his head then strangely his butt simultaneously he looks up at me and says "actually come to think about it, you can see it is all different like in size etc, yeah it really taste great actually". Now that is what i call a placebo effect. There are numerous examples to give but i think you should already get it.
Rebel/counter type
Something i'm guilty to sometimes. Its really the type of decisions that is based on other's decisions but we do the opposite. For example due to the high amounts of internet explorer (IE) users, there has been a wide range of computer viruses etc that has been targeted at IE users. Now, i'm a user of IE, not a vivid fan or anything but i like the way it works. But due to the large number of viruses etc, everyone around me seems to be using firefox instead much to my chagrin. And many of them too have been asking me to convert over due to its "safety" issues but because of the number of people telling me that, i've made a rebel decision to choose IE over firefox. This is can be commonly called "reverse psychology" due to its huge similarities however my discovery is Original so i claim Originality over it (and yes there are differences actually). Another example is perhaps a person ahd the decision to either stay at home and play games or had the choice to go out and play. He/she really has no preference but because his/her parents told him/her to stay at home, the person decided to go out. Amazing rebel decision!
I want it that way
These are often the irritating types and to be honest the trend setters of many societies. Sticking to their own opinions only and often imposing theirs on others, these decision makers are what usually set the trends and are irritating to the core if you ever disagree with them. Just like the title i have given them which i admit is the same as the song sung by Backstreet Boys, they often do not really care about other's feelings. Though there are many instances in history because they cared so much for a person, they will base all their decisions for the better welfare of that particular person and others around him/her will be >>> ( =.='') to the max. I do not think an example is needed because i've came across so many of these people that if you have not came across such a person your crazy. But for the sake of those crazy people (I was taught to be nice to mentally handicapped people), i'll impart an example. Say a place is really dirty etc etc, and we know as a fact that it needs cleaning. The "I want it that way" person would just insist on his/her decision that it does not need cleaning cause its clean (actually because his/her is lazy)
Now this is what i call a Mature decision makers
Mature Decision makers/making
It is a mix of "I want it that way" and "Crowd followers". These type of people are not afraid to say their preference and their interest. They may modify their believes upon openly and willingly listen to other people's opinion but should admit their previous preference. Not to mention that they also make their decision based not only on their on preference etc but on listening to other people's advice. A good example of this is ME! Yes ME! Alright! Wad up! Awesome!
o.k, maybe not really me but i'm getting there. lol.
Sunday, 2 August 2009
1 year
Sometimes in life we dream, dream of the future and the beauty of the future. How marvelous it would be, the perfect life with the people we love. I dreamt throughout my life, an ever going Christmas dinner, family events where I would never seem to grow up, where i was surrounded by those i love and those who love me.
Its been exactly a year since my sister passed away. Many fond memories come back to me, some were not funny then like how she broke my fingernail (though it is now) and the many times she has helped and shaped my life.
If its anything, its regret. I regret not being there when she needed me, when she needed people who loves her by her side. I was not there by her side throughout the whole ordeal nor did i hear her voice for a few weeks. This really taught me to treasure things around me, everything because nothing last forever. I took my sister for granted and this is the price i payed.
The pain is there and i believe those who knew my sister personally would feel the same. Its not something anyone can simply describe, a joyful person who is always an inspiration and motivation to everyone around despite all circumstances, a patient person who listened to all my babbling without discounting anything i said, a strong person who never wavered under any circumstances, an influencer of lives just like how she has influenced my life. There are many things to harp about, i feel the loss and i know its going to be near impossible to find it again. No matter how i search, i can't find the same person, the same love that i once had.
I miss you che and wished for eternity with you
Its been exactly a year since my sister passed away. Many fond memories come back to me, some were not funny then like how she broke my fingernail (though it is now) and the many times she has helped and shaped my life.
If its anything, its regret. I regret not being there when she needed me, when she needed people who loves her by her side. I was not there by her side throughout the whole ordeal nor did i hear her voice for a few weeks. This really taught me to treasure things around me, everything because nothing last forever. I took my sister for granted and this is the price i payed.
The pain is there and i believe those who knew my sister personally would feel the same. Its not something anyone can simply describe, a joyful person who is always an inspiration and motivation to everyone around despite all circumstances, a patient person who listened to all my babbling without discounting anything i said, a strong person who never wavered under any circumstances, an influencer of lives just like how she has influenced my life. There are many things to harp about, i feel the loss and i know its going to be near impossible to find it again. No matter how i search, i can't find the same person, the same love that i once had.
I miss you che and wished for eternity with you
Human nature
Its really sickening, it really is. Are we humans really the people we look ourselves to be? We hope for the better, we believe that we are better but are we truly like that? Just because we talk that we believe in the better side of life does nto mean we really deep down mean it.
Its really tiring really, go through life with so many people so cynical, so contradicting. We look at others and often (perhaps not all the time) believe that it would not change. In fact its surprising over the fact that a person can change. However what even more sickening is that we believe that the change to the worse is always an open option whereas a change to a better person is not possible. That person is just faking it. What kind of prejudice world is this? Why are people like this? If this is truly human nature wouldn't it be better to be an animal then? Free of all these disgusting thoughts?
For example, you have a friend that is average. He/she turned to the worst, starting smoking, started doing drugs etc. The most amount reaction that I have seen is the "Oh thats a pity", "What happened? Why did he turn to be like this?". But never have i seen a "Nah, his still the same, his just faking the whole thing". However if the opposite happens, say someone was bad, he changed or at least is trying to change for the better. What the most common reactions? "Think that guy is faking it", "Cannot be la". Why are people always out there trying to find something negative about someone?
Is it the fact that they are insecure? That they believe only in the worst of others? That person cannot change, he couldn't have done that, she was useless so how can she be able to accomplish this? Its almost as if its human nature to want to look down on others, to see others through a negative window and pinpointing out everything that a person did wrong. I do admit that i'm guilty of this too and you the reader, can u say ur not guilty of it?
Even when a person truly wants to change, and is trying to change. Is it possible that you didn't spot it? Change is not instant nor is it immediately noticable. Rather, if a person who has tried to change for the better tells others he/she really is trying ot change for the better, others would just point out the mistakes they have made, the things they still do and other things they have not apparently "changed". Is this what humanity is reduced to? All these negativity in the world just to look at a person and say he cannot change because he was born like this, something happened to her or perhaps i remember him/her like this so i highly doubt it. I do not doubt that fact that many people would believe in a person changing if something extrodinary happened. Why not? In this wretched world, what better fairy tale is there? One that gives us that tiny glimmer of hope. Even then how many cynical people are there? Many of them saying he would not last for a long time. Now how about if a person is sick and tired of their life, perhaps a robber who had many past records in jail and hid in a village to prevent the police from catching him/her. Now if those people from the village knew he was a robber and he has been stealing small stuff to survive. An annoyance they know, but something they would accept out of pity for this man/woman. Say one day he really believes that he wants to stop stealing and live a proper life, how many of those villagers would believe in the fact that he would change?
Its tiring really, to look at humanity and look at all these apparent self-righteous people who pretend they know the stuff there are talking (and some do) but do not even live out that life. Thats what you call a hypocrite. All these people who press down their answers, their constant questions when they themselves have no clue and do not even live out the advice they give out. I really look down on those people.
Human nature is corrupted. I do not believe that we are like this, but due to people around us, hypocrites and others of their class have changed many of us into their own kind. Its a sad truth, is human nature truly evil? I do not believe we are naturally evil yet why is there so much evil in the world? Its not that we are born evil but rather because we were exposed to evil and we not only accepted it but practised it. Its a sad thing really, to know that all of us who were not born evil in the end took up such a human nature.
Its really tiring really, go through life with so many people so cynical, so contradicting. We look at others and often (perhaps not all the time) believe that it would not change. In fact its surprising over the fact that a person can change. However what even more sickening is that we believe that the change to the worse is always an open option whereas a change to a better person is not possible. That person is just faking it. What kind of prejudice world is this? Why are people like this? If this is truly human nature wouldn't it be better to be an animal then? Free of all these disgusting thoughts?
For example, you have a friend that is average. He/she turned to the worst, starting smoking, started doing drugs etc. The most amount reaction that I have seen is the "Oh thats a pity", "What happened? Why did he turn to be like this?". But never have i seen a "Nah, his still the same, his just faking the whole thing". However if the opposite happens, say someone was bad, he changed or at least is trying to change for the better. What the most common reactions? "Think that guy is faking it", "Cannot be la". Why are people always out there trying to find something negative about someone?
Is it the fact that they are insecure? That they believe only in the worst of others? That person cannot change, he couldn't have done that, she was useless so how can she be able to accomplish this? Its almost as if its human nature to want to look down on others, to see others through a negative window and pinpointing out everything that a person did wrong. I do admit that i'm guilty of this too and you the reader, can u say ur not guilty of it?
Even when a person truly wants to change, and is trying to change. Is it possible that you didn't spot it? Change is not instant nor is it immediately noticable. Rather, if a person who has tried to change for the better tells others he/she really is trying ot change for the better, others would just point out the mistakes they have made, the things they still do and other things they have not apparently "changed". Is this what humanity is reduced to? All these negativity in the world just to look at a person and say he cannot change because he was born like this, something happened to her or perhaps i remember him/her like this so i highly doubt it. I do not doubt that fact that many people would believe in a person changing if something extrodinary happened. Why not? In this wretched world, what better fairy tale is there? One that gives us that tiny glimmer of hope. Even then how many cynical people are there? Many of them saying he would not last for a long time. Now how about if a person is sick and tired of their life, perhaps a robber who had many past records in jail and hid in a village to prevent the police from catching him/her. Now if those people from the village knew he was a robber and he has been stealing small stuff to survive. An annoyance they know, but something they would accept out of pity for this man/woman. Say one day he really believes that he wants to stop stealing and live a proper life, how many of those villagers would believe in the fact that he would change?
Its tiring really, to look at humanity and look at all these apparent self-righteous people who pretend they know the stuff there are talking (and some do) but do not even live out that life. Thats what you call a hypocrite. All these people who press down their answers, their constant questions when they themselves have no clue and do not even live out the advice they give out. I really look down on those people.
Human nature is corrupted. I do not believe that we are like this, but due to people around us, hypocrites and others of their class have changed many of us into their own kind. Its a sad truth, is human nature truly evil? I do not believe we are naturally evil yet why is there so much evil in the world? Its not that we are born evil but rather because we were exposed to evil and we not only accepted it but practised it. Its a sad thing really, to know that all of us who were not born evil in the end took up such a human nature.
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Limitation
Forenote: Its my 33rd post! Congrates to all those who survived my ranting and weird ideas that ranged from important scientific matter such as santa claus all the way to serious issues regarding human nature and characters. I trust that you have now received a portion of my mentality and thus i'll impart the most fundamental knowledge now before i continue with my normal ranting of news. Police actually do know alleys just as well as you so there is no use of running into an alley pretending your some kind of alley kid genius. This is Paramount advice as you probably have been turned into a little Jeremy mind set that is considered too great for the current society to bear thus the police are out to silence you.
Remember.... Beware....
For all those who have just started reading, don worry. Sit back and relax. Continue reading and you will know what all those "strangers" stalking you for.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Limitation.
Yes people, sadly we humans are limited too. We cannot fly, we cannot breath under water, we cannot look right and left simultinously, we cannot become God, we cannot become a president (As if a president will look at my blog. If u are one, I'm a talented Young Man that would gladly work for a minimum of US12,000 starting pay), we cannot produce alcohol by running, we cannot etc... I think you get what i'm talking about.
I understand that there are people especially in the debate club that like ancient man in ancient Greece that have nothing better to do but spend time argueing and debating over matters that should already be settle like the above statement that humans are limited. Yes we can "fly" through aeroplanes, i'm not born in the 17th century where i'll be screaming witchcraft when i see a plane take off. Similarly, we can look at our left and right using a mirror.
Thankyouverymuchforyourwisdom,ishallseeyounexttimebyebye
We are limited still, try jumping off a plane and see if you can fly in the sky by yourself? We have sort of overcame these limitations but we have not nearly conquered it. Just like how the newspapers wrongly puts it that blah blah has overcame Mount Everest. I do not think thats true because they were obviously struggling to survive and find a path to the top, they did not majestically stride up to the top and place a flag there.
Despite our many physical and mental limitations, we ourselves set up some other limitations upon ourselves. For example, degrees. Do degrees limit us actually? As ironic as it is, degrees actually do limit us. This of course do nto apply to everyone, let me give an example. A man wants to start working, he can become a factory worker, a labourer etc. Mostly hard labour type of work. He cannot become say, a doctor because he does not have a degree to enable him the job opportunity. This lack of a particular degree limits him. However, what happens now a days is that its the opposite way around. As ironic as it is, a person having doctor degree is going to become a doctor obviously. A person having a science degree is also going to become a researcher/scientist. Yes yes and again i acknowledge that there are many people who perhaps do science degree and want to do an arts degree job such as writing articles in newspapers and serving in Mac Donalds. It works in many ways. But like how many people do suffer from cancer, there are MORE people who do not suffer from cancer. Just like how this whole H1N1 is an epic overblown proportioned news. Many people do go down that path even though there are many who do not want to do that course. Instead of opening another pathway or maybe a few paths ways (e.g. arts students: Mac Donalds, KFC, Psychology etc) for job opportunity, they in the end limit themselves to that one singular path. Its kind of sad actually but its true. This is one wierd way man actually limit themselves.
(p.s. I do not have anything against arts students, if offended, pls understand it was a joke)
Now everyone reading this blog, do not limit yourselves PLS! Stop limiting the amount of $$$ you want to give to me... Do not worry about the amount you are giving, its not important. Do not limit yourselves :)
(and again, that was a joke BUT feel free to donate money to me anytime)
Remember.... Beware....
For all those who have just started reading, don worry. Sit back and relax. Continue reading and you will know what all those "strangers" stalking you for.
Anyways, back to the topic at hand. Limitation.
Yes people, sadly we humans are limited too. We cannot fly, we cannot breath under water, we cannot look right and left simultinously, we cannot become God, we cannot become a president (As if a president will look at my blog. If u are one, I'm a talented Young Man that would gladly work for a minimum of US12,000 starting pay), we cannot produce alcohol by running, we cannot etc... I think you get what i'm talking about.
I understand that there are people especially in the debate club that like ancient man in ancient Greece that have nothing better to do but spend time argueing and debating over matters that should already be settle like the above statement that humans are limited. Yes we can "fly" through aeroplanes, i'm not born in the 17th century where i'll be screaming witchcraft when i see a plane take off. Similarly, we can look at our left and right using a mirror.
Thankyouverymuchforyourwisdom,ishallseeyounexttimebyebye
We are limited still, try jumping off a plane and see if you can fly in the sky by yourself? We have sort of overcame these limitations but we have not nearly conquered it. Just like how the newspapers wrongly puts it that blah blah has overcame Mount Everest. I do not think thats true because they were obviously struggling to survive and find a path to the top, they did not majestically stride up to the top and place a flag there.
Despite our many physical and mental limitations, we ourselves set up some other limitations upon ourselves. For example, degrees. Do degrees limit us actually? As ironic as it is, degrees actually do limit us. This of course do nto apply to everyone, let me give an example. A man wants to start working, he can become a factory worker, a labourer etc. Mostly hard labour type of work. He cannot become say, a doctor because he does not have a degree to enable him the job opportunity. This lack of a particular degree limits him. However, what happens now a days is that its the opposite way around. As ironic as it is, a person having doctor degree is going to become a doctor obviously. A person having a science degree is also going to become a researcher/scientist. Yes yes and again i acknowledge that there are many people who perhaps do science degree and want to do an arts degree job such as writing articles in newspapers and serving in Mac Donalds. It works in many ways. But like how many people do suffer from cancer, there are MORE people who do not suffer from cancer. Just like how this whole H1N1 is an epic overblown proportioned news. Many people do go down that path even though there are many who do not want to do that course. Instead of opening another pathway or maybe a few paths ways (e.g. arts students: Mac Donalds, KFC, Psychology etc) for job opportunity, they in the end limit themselves to that one singular path. Its kind of sad actually but its true. This is one wierd way man actually limit themselves.
(p.s. I do not have anything against arts students, if offended, pls understand it was a joke)
Now everyone reading this blog, do not limit yourselves PLS! Stop limiting the amount of $$$ you want to give to me... Do not worry about the amount you are giving, its not important. Do not limit yourselves :)
(and again, that was a joke BUT feel free to donate money to me anytime)
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Pride
What is pride? How would one define pride? Pride is the inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, superiority etc and can be easily said as a state or feeling of being proud (according to the dictionary). I doubt there can be much discussion on the meaning of pride or the defination i just gave. Pride, one of the deadly sins has plauged mankind since the beginning of the world, or even before if one follows the Christian, Catholic, Judaism and Muslism faith where Lucifer (once a great angel) out of pride fell from a seat of glory. Sad indeed is the proverb that talks about pride, for pride comes before a fall.
How does one catch this pestilence that releases such great disasterous drift that would pull down even the highest of positions, the wealthiest of man, the strongest of powers? Pride may come in many forms, its like a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing or actually maybe include cow, goats etc. It may come from wealth, being of a certain class, a certain position in society, a strength, a talent whatever, it still burdens us with its relentless hunt for our downfall.
These days, pride is looked upon as a sign of ignorance, the lack of humbleness in man. Why do man insist of gaining materialistic power and strength when all it brings about it just a fall and utter disgrace that would be inscribed on their tombstone till the memories of their foolishness withers away as time passes by.
I now ask, what is more humble? Saying "I'm good at this" or saying "I'm not good at this"? This could be the question of the century if you ask me, beside the usual whats the meaning of life etc etc. To be honest, i've found throughout my life, more people that actually say "I'm good at (something perhaps) design" are often the ones that are more humble. Why do i say this? Think carefully, i really believe that many many people including you and myself did this before. Maybe you achieved something, or good at something. Your a genius, ur smart, ur attaining good grades and whole usual amount of things many people can be proud about. You just say (e.g.) ohhh, i'm not that good at design, i'm just lucky. You know deep down within you, YOU want to protray a humble look to the people around you. To give you that sense of "I'm talented, with just no hardwork, i could do it". You really want others to respect you, to acknowledge your work.
I'm very sure, those who have reached high heights, those who are great yet humble will always acknowledge their feats. They would say "I did this, i did that but for every mountain there is another mountain higher". I may be good but i know that there would always be someone better than me. When one has reached the supposed pinnicle of that art, trade or whatever possible measureable vocation, he or she would realise that there will always be so much more to it than he/she has previously encountered. Thats a fact and i speak from experience.
Humbleness does not originate from saying i am not good, i am lucky but stating the plain facts that I am able to do this, I was able to achieve this. That is simply what we really need to do. That is true humbleness and believe me, doing the right thing is not easy in this world where people has just simply grown blind and stupid. They have eyes yet only see the physical and not the substantial, their minds have grown dull and concern themselves with things that belong to the foolish. Now not everyone is like that, but many people are becoming like this. Its a sad thing, but its true. Now this law of humbleness i'll say, is not really a law, but a philosophy i'm living by. I state what i believe and I say what i did. Many people are not able to see the humbleness behind it even though i say I am little in comparision with those before me and those that will come after me.
The decision to live a life of humbleness is always difficult and not always rewarding. But its not a man's duty to judge but rather to believe (well thats what i believe).
p.s. DON go around say I'm a God, I'm Jeremy Lim, I am the best in the world. Now that is plain silly, give yourself a slap across the face if you ever do that.
How does one catch this pestilence that releases such great disasterous drift that would pull down even the highest of positions, the wealthiest of man, the strongest of powers? Pride may come in many forms, its like a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing or actually maybe include cow, goats etc. It may come from wealth, being of a certain class, a certain position in society, a strength, a talent whatever, it still burdens us with its relentless hunt for our downfall.
These days, pride is looked upon as a sign of ignorance, the lack of humbleness in man. Why do man insist of gaining materialistic power and strength when all it brings about it just a fall and utter disgrace that would be inscribed on their tombstone till the memories of their foolishness withers away as time passes by.
I now ask, what is more humble? Saying "I'm good at this" or saying "I'm not good at this"? This could be the question of the century if you ask me, beside the usual whats the meaning of life etc etc. To be honest, i've found throughout my life, more people that actually say "I'm good at (something perhaps) design" are often the ones that are more humble. Why do i say this? Think carefully, i really believe that many many people including you and myself did this before. Maybe you achieved something, or good at something. Your a genius, ur smart, ur attaining good grades and whole usual amount of things many people can be proud about. You just say (e.g.) ohhh, i'm not that good at design, i'm just lucky. You know deep down within you, YOU want to protray a humble look to the people around you. To give you that sense of "I'm talented, with just no hardwork, i could do it". You really want others to respect you, to acknowledge your work.
I'm very sure, those who have reached high heights, those who are great yet humble will always acknowledge their feats. They would say "I did this, i did that but for every mountain there is another mountain higher". I may be good but i know that there would always be someone better than me. When one has reached the supposed pinnicle of that art, trade or whatever possible measureable vocation, he or she would realise that there will always be so much more to it than he/she has previously encountered. Thats a fact and i speak from experience.
Humbleness does not originate from saying i am not good, i am lucky but stating the plain facts that I am able to do this, I was able to achieve this. That is simply what we really need to do. That is true humbleness and believe me, doing the right thing is not easy in this world where people has just simply grown blind and stupid. They have eyes yet only see the physical and not the substantial, their minds have grown dull and concern themselves with things that belong to the foolish. Now not everyone is like that, but many people are becoming like this. Its a sad thing, but its true. Now this law of humbleness i'll say, is not really a law, but a philosophy i'm living by. I state what i believe and I say what i did. Many people are not able to see the humbleness behind it even though i say I am little in comparision with those before me and those that will come after me.
The decision to live a life of humbleness is always difficult and not always rewarding. But its not a man's duty to judge but rather to believe (well thats what i believe).
p.s. DON go around say I'm a God, I'm Jeremy Lim, I am the best in the world. Now that is plain silly, give yourself a slap across the face if you ever do that.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Death of a Legend
Its not too often in life when one can really stand around and say this is a moment in time when History is made and remembered. The treaty of Versailles after World War One was perhaps looked upon as a defeat for the Germans, a contract signing, something that everyone does after the war. But no one expected it to lead to something of bigger proportions namely World War 2. Sometimes in life, we can look at something and realise that it begins a chain reaction of epic proportions that engulfs our worlds.
There are times however that a singular news alone will be a momentum by itself. It is not like a tidal wave that starts off small before revealing it's destructive doom upon the dear mortals that cower before it. These news often mark significant events whether it would be personal or world wide. Such events (20th and 21st century) include the death of Elvis Presley, September 11, Communism saying bye bye in Russia, the birth of yours truly etc...
I feel the death of Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop is such an event. I've never been one of those screaming fans of his, namely because i'm not one of those crazy fans and i was not born in that era. However i do admit of all the stars that perform, his is one of the only one that i would actually open my wallet (being very stingy with the music industry which can be seen by my downloading of songs and "borrowing" tracks from friends which is bascially copy and paste) and pay a large sum just to see MJ dance around on the stage. His life and career is what impacted the world, the King of Pop. Similarly Elvis Presley I believe is known as the King fo Rock or something. I do not listen to Elvis because that was really really far before my time but MJ on the other hand was sort of near my time plus my parents listened to him which helped in the exposure of the eccentric pop king.
If i were to say, truly say in my heart and what i know so far, the people who really impacted the music industry were people like Mozart, Elvis and MJ. Looking at people like Justin Timberlake, whose OBVIOUS music video show an almost identical nature to that of MJ. In fact his former manager (from his Nsync days before he threw in the tower being that arrogant prick and destroyed one of my favourite boy bands) said there goes a MJ wannabe (something along that lines). Before MJ, seriously think about it, was there any bands and individuals that had the same theme as MJ? If there were any, haha they sure didn't make big in the world to impact it as much. Its only after the king of pop debuted and showed the world his style that everyone has to admit, met with much success, that the MTV of today copies MJ's style. Be it the video effects or even the mass number of people dancing and syncronising. For example, at one time the princess of pop Britney Spears (and she is still one to me) and other pop stars during the turn of the century marked an era where their videos made big due to the constant copying of styles of MJ.
MJ is really pitiful if u ask me, he wasn't the most understandable person (note the world eccentric above) but then again who is? Especially in the music industry with all those #*&$^ paparazzis around. Now some stars got banged in the head and WANT to be followed whereas others just want a normal life.
His life has been a constant facade and a constant life of ridicule by others. Plastic surgery, being a pedophile, being eccentric. I admit, if i have kids i'll be apprehensive to let them stay with him but as a whole i've never insulted MJ at all. This can be asked by anybody, anyone around me. Now during this period of time, a hell of alot of people will be saying "Oh My God MJ, we love you. We've always said nice stuff" and the immediate thing we have to go is "bullshit". Now i'm not trying to say i'm saying his good now, because thats what my stand has always been. The kid story, MJ did try to settle the case out of court but wouldn't you? He alreayd had so much bad publicity and one more isn't going to help make it better. That stupid obese kid made money i tell you, you think he just went around sobbing all the time? I bet after that he was laughing his fat ass to the bank, he got interviews etc, that makes heaps of money. Look if MJ wanted someone to "play around with", i know i'm hot, so he would have gone for me! This is obvious bullshit so pls do not go around saying i want to "play with MJ", that was just a joke.
You know who would i respect in this period of time? 3 types of people.
1) Those who made fun of MJ and admit making fun of him (comedians, public etc)
2) Those who made fun of MJ and still continue to make fun cause thats what being honest and true is about. Not one that trys to go with the flow of sympathy (ESP comedians)
3) those who DIDN'T make fun but do not broadcast it around the globe so that they can earn worldwide fame or get more fame (especially superstars).
Now on the lighter note, MJ had a concert in Britian that was coming up. It was sold out within the first few hours. LOL to the people to bought it... and Damn if it happened in Singapore i would be one of them. No offence MJ but the oxygen tank didn't really help much.
There are times however that a singular news alone will be a momentum by itself. It is not like a tidal wave that starts off small before revealing it's destructive doom upon the dear mortals that cower before it. These news often mark significant events whether it would be personal or world wide. Such events (20th and 21st century) include the death of Elvis Presley, September 11, Communism saying bye bye in Russia, the birth of yours truly etc...
I feel the death of Micheal Jackson, the King of Pop is such an event. I've never been one of those screaming fans of his, namely because i'm not one of those crazy fans and i was not born in that era. However i do admit of all the stars that perform, his is one of the only one that i would actually open my wallet (being very stingy with the music industry which can be seen by my downloading of songs and "borrowing" tracks from friends which is bascially copy and paste) and pay a large sum just to see MJ dance around on the stage. His life and career is what impacted the world, the King of Pop. Similarly Elvis Presley I believe is known as the King fo Rock or something. I do not listen to Elvis because that was really really far before my time but MJ on the other hand was sort of near my time plus my parents listened to him which helped in the exposure of the eccentric pop king.
If i were to say, truly say in my heart and what i know so far, the people who really impacted the music industry were people like Mozart, Elvis and MJ. Looking at people like Justin Timberlake, whose OBVIOUS music video show an almost identical nature to that of MJ. In fact his former manager (from his Nsync days before he threw in the tower being that arrogant prick and destroyed one of my favourite boy bands) said there goes a MJ wannabe (something along that lines). Before MJ, seriously think about it, was there any bands and individuals that had the same theme as MJ? If there were any, haha they sure didn't make big in the world to impact it as much. Its only after the king of pop debuted and showed the world his style that everyone has to admit, met with much success, that the MTV of today copies MJ's style. Be it the video effects or even the mass number of people dancing and syncronising. For example, at one time the princess of pop Britney Spears (and she is still one to me) and other pop stars during the turn of the century marked an era where their videos made big due to the constant copying of styles of MJ.
MJ is really pitiful if u ask me, he wasn't the most understandable person (note the world eccentric above) but then again who is? Especially in the music industry with all those #*&$^ paparazzis around. Now some stars got banged in the head and WANT to be followed whereas others just want a normal life.
His life has been a constant facade and a constant life of ridicule by others. Plastic surgery, being a pedophile, being eccentric. I admit, if i have kids i'll be apprehensive to let them stay with him but as a whole i've never insulted MJ at all. This can be asked by anybody, anyone around me. Now during this period of time, a hell of alot of people will be saying "Oh My God MJ, we love you. We've always said nice stuff" and the immediate thing we have to go is "bullshit". Now i'm not trying to say i'm saying his good now, because thats what my stand has always been. The kid story, MJ did try to settle the case out of court but wouldn't you? He alreayd had so much bad publicity and one more isn't going to help make it better. That stupid obese kid made money i tell you, you think he just went around sobbing all the time? I bet after that he was laughing his fat ass to the bank, he got interviews etc, that makes heaps of money. Look if MJ wanted someone to "play around with", i know i'm hot, so he would have gone for me! This is obvious bullshit so pls do not go around saying i want to "play with MJ", that was just a joke.
You know who would i respect in this period of time? 3 types of people.
1) Those who made fun of MJ and admit making fun of him (comedians, public etc)
2) Those who made fun of MJ and still continue to make fun cause thats what being honest and true is about. Not one that trys to go with the flow of sympathy (ESP comedians)
3) those who DIDN'T make fun but do not broadcast it around the globe so that they can earn worldwide fame or get more fame (especially superstars).
Now on the lighter note, MJ had a concert in Britian that was coming up. It was sold out within the first few hours. LOL to the people to bought it... and Damn if it happened in Singapore i would be one of them. No offence MJ but the oxygen tank didn't really help much.
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