Notes From the Underground

Racial?

2010-08-10T00:27:00.000+10:00

Why do people from minority races like to point out their race whenever they talk about their sucesses yet, they seem enraged about racism? I suspect, they don't hate racial prejudices at all. Afterall, if racism were eliminated, what are they to boast about?

Race is only one of many factors people can be bias against. Sex, age, BMI, religion, the list goes on. Maybe stop having the preconception that everything is about your race and start working harder? Blaming your failure on your race only goes to show your character.

I am not condoning racism. I am ardently against it. But not everything is racially motivated.

The Human Condition

2010-07-24T16:10:00.000+10:00

Do people change?
Or do they just fake who they were before?

Why do I like analysing Human Behaviours?
Because people are all so different, yet the same.

There is a great deal of difference between not knowing, and pretending to not know.
And many are unable to spot the difference.

Is it wrong to vote for what's best for me, instead of what's best for the country?
No. Because altruism does not exist. Not for me, not for society-at-large. Even if it does, it would be statistically insignificant.

But sometimes I do wonder, are my judgements affected by personal bias?
I think so. When they're wrong, afterthoughts seem to indicate that they were often marred by what I want it to be. It is not always easy to be objective.

The Catholic Church is a political organisation

2010-04-05T16:11:00.001+10:00

Sorry for the hiatus, I have been busy, lazy and lacking in writing inspiration. But enough excuses, now I am marking my return with a post on my favourite topic: Religion. Or is it politics? What's the difference?

Truth is, all organised religions are as much politics as they are religion. To hold power over the masses, politics is undeniably vital. And to say that they are not about power would be akin to saying Megan Fox is ugly. In other words, denial.

But here I point you to the sex abuse crisis the Catholic Church faces, and the Pope's avoidance of the issue. The Pope made no mention nor apology on the issue during the three hour Easter Mass. But what's worse is that some leaders of the Catholic Church called the sex abuse issue a "smear campaign aimed at the Pope." That is no different to what politicians say when their sex scandals were made public. Plus the fact that these were not allegations, these were cases where the clergies themselves have admitted to committing. What happen to the Church that preaches repentance? Clearly, politics is more important than God's forgiveness. Hypocrisy is a virtue in politics, remember?

To their credit, there were a few Archbishops who criticised the Church's handling of the issue. They deserve to be commended for that. I urge more Catholics to do the same.

Despite his silence towards the sex abuse crisis, the Pope did however, say that humanity faces a "profound crisis" and that it needs to undergo a "spiritual and moral conversion." I fully agree. However, I hope the Pope does not regard sex abuse and spreading HIV to others as morally acceptable. If he does not, then I think the Pope should tackle the problems in his own backyard first before trying to "fix the world." Like Michael Jackson said, look at the Man In the Mirror.

There are many other Catholic clergies more deserving to be the Pope than this idiot. The only way to make sense of his election is to draw parallels from how George Bush was elected: He played politics.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2010-01-24T20:45:00.000+11:00

"The choices we’re working with here are a block universe, where past, present and future all coexist simultaneously and everything has already happened; chaos, where anything can happen and nothing can be predicted because we can’t know all the variables; and a Christian universe in which God made everything and it’s all here for a purpose but we have free will anyway."
--The Time Traveler's Wife (2003)

Speaking of Thomas Aquinas:
"He wanted order and reason, and God, too. He believed in both Aristotle and angels.”
--The Time Traveler's Wife (2003)

Free will = meaninglessness?
If everything happens for a reason, is there still free will?

Thought provoking. Which do you think it is? And, which do you WANT it to be?

Still here

2010-01-12T19:43:00.000+11:00

I have had no motivation to write lately. Still don't. Don't know why. And I am way behind on my Summer Reading, doesn't look like I'll complete my list. Would be great if I can finish just half of it.

But anyway, I wanted to share this article from Huffington Post:
Science Denial on the Rise

Please read, whether you are in to science or not.

Blasphemy Law

2010-01-04T18:38:00.000+11:00

Warning: This post is blasphemous. But thankfully, this account is not registered in Ireland. Oh, thank Darwin! Thank Science! Thank the Big Bang it's not!

If you still don't know what I'm talking about: Ireland enacted the Blasphemy law which came into effect on the 1st of January 2010. No, this is not an Onion piece, this is real. You wouldn't be the only one if you think you're back in Ancient Rome. Fundamentally, this poses two problems.

Firstly, the death of Freedom of Speech. Secularists have time and again criticised religions for the religious dogmas who do not respect human rights, and this just proves it once again. Freedom of Speech is one of the most basic elements of Human Rights, hence by suppressing it, religions have once again shown that Human Rights is less important than protecting their religion. Is this rational? Am I wrong when I claim religions are irrational?

Secondly, by requiring a law to protect religious ideas, wouldn't that be blasphemy in itself? Isn't God all powerful? So why is he not capable of taking a few criticisms? By requiring a law for this purpose, they are in fact claiming that God isn't all powerful after all. I don't know how they think, but to me, that is blasphemy. I think whoever enacted that law should be fined under that very same law. Paradox. Yes. I love it.

At the end of the day, I think religions should be more careful and stop doing stupid things to undermine themselves. Religions' popularity has already declined over recent decades. Flaunting their stupidity is not going to help their survival. Oh, and may I remind you, these are the same people who criticise Muslim fundamentalists in the Middle East. And the same people who condemn countries that lock up political prisoners.

What is the difference between political prisoners and religious prisoners? As far as I am concerned, they are both based on ideologies.

Food for thought: The Ancient Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses have lost all their followers. So have many other religions. In fact, contemporary society seems to think it's funny people in those day believed in such absurd God as the God of Love (Cupid). Abrahamic religions are only about 2000 years old. Who is to say that they will not disappear one day in the future? And people then would think it funny that we, now, think God created humans in his image?

When your religion dies, will your heaven still be eternal? I say best forget your religion and make full use of your current life.

Post-Copenhagen

2009-12-20T17:53:00.001+11:00

Indeed, Copenhagen has been a disappointment, but not unexpected. The great divide between the rich and the poor is nothing new either. As for the final agreement reached, I am on the critics' side: It is a "cop-out". The agreement is there for the sake of having an agreement. Perhaps to justify Obama's Nobel Prize.

To my understanding the main rift between the rich and the poor nation stamps from the fact that developed nations does not want to be legally binded by an agreement unless the same happens to the poorer nations. And, they are not willing to commit the money to help the poorer nations. This is what I think: If the rich nations aren't willing to commit the money to help the poorer nations, they have no right to legally force the poorer nations to cut emissions. On the other hand, if they do commit a sufficient amount, which we all know add up to be less than the cost of the Iraq war or the bank bailouts of America alone, then I am all for legally binding the poorer nations to cut emissions. After all, it is your money.

But no, the rich, as always, want something but don't want to give anything. Yes, they agreed to $10 billion, but $10 billion can't buy you majority share in Barclays. Not even close. Who are you kidding?

Climate change is more politics than science

2009-12-09T22:23:00.001+11:00

Following up my previous post on climate change, I have realised that the debate on climate change is much more politically motivated than scientifically based. Call me naive, but I thought such an issue would rely on the science more than anything else. Now I know better.

If you have been following the news, it is blatantly obvious most of the activists are politically left inclined whereas almost all of the skeptics (and outright deniers) are from traditionally right winged factions. It is not difficult to understand the reason behind this.

The right winged have always been known as "by the rich, for the rich," and it is easy to see that climate change policies, on the international scale or the national level, affects the rich more than the poor.

Taking action against climate change requires money from developed nations, but relatively speaking, benefits them little. True, the Great Barrier Reefs will be gone. But that is nothing when compared to losing your entire nation, which is what will happen to hundreds of island nations. Or, having insufficient water supply for your entire population. This is why, like the starving population of Africa, developed countries cannot care less.

On the national level, reducing emissions will greatly increase the cost of power companies, industrial companies and countless other companies who are million, if not billion, dollar profit making companies. Let's face it, we promote Earth Day to 'save the earth', but our individual emissions are no match for major industry players. Hence, the rich, which are relatively few in numbers, and not everyday folk, which make up most of the population, will be carrying the burden if such a legislation is passed. This is why the right wing politicians are so strongly against the carbon tax.

The sad part is, these politicians then go on to use scare tactics to win over voters. They say that the cost of the tax will be passed on to consumers as the companies will sustain higher cost of operations. My question is, why can't the CEOs of the companies, or the owners, or all the million dollar employees of the companies, take a pay cut? Will the $100,000 less in their $2million paychecks cause starvation in their families? Or just a few less Gucci?

From my point of view, the science clearly points to climate change from carbon emissions. Leaked emails are not scientific data. And the data does not come from just one study, or just one scientist. They come from all over the world from multiple different industries. Even if the evidence for it is not conclusive, there currently exist no evidence AGAINST it. It is safe to say, the debate is not about the science, but about the burden of it to the rich.

Who says you can't rule the world with money?

My Take on Climate Change

2009-11-28T19:21:00.002+11:00

With the United Nations' Copenhagen summit on climate change just around the corner, I thought it apt to write on the topic of climate change. Not having an overwhelming interest on the subject means my knowledge on this issue is frankly limited. However, I do have a basic understanding of what climate change is and I have been following the news of late.

So far, the pledges by governments around the world have been pathetic, to say the least. President Obama's pledge to cut emissions by 17% of 2005 levels within ten years is simply not enough. That amounts to only 3% of 1990 levels, the level most countries base their targets on. Australia is planning to cut its emissions by 25% of 2000 levels. What's more? Both these legislation have yet to pass the Congress and Senate's vote respectively, and look increasingly unlikely to be passed before the New Year. The only promising sign seems to come from today's Commonwealth summit in Trinidad and Tobago: France and the UK pledge to set up a $10billion fund to help developing countries cut emissions. Hopefully, politicians around the world will face up to the situation in the next week or two.

As for climate change skeptics, all I have to say is, the Earth deserves the benefit of the doubt. Although there are no conclusive evidence that rising CO2 levels is the cause of global warming (but I think it's pretty convincing), doing something for nothing is definitely preferable over doing nothing and risk facing a catastrophe. After all, since this is a global phenomenon, the financial burden from cutting emissions will mostly go towards creating a new industry, and thus jobs. Therefore, drastic measures should be taken.

While I don't consider climate change to the biggest challenge of our times, I believe actions can and should be taken. So if you would like to make a difference, you should approach your local politicians as soon as possible and let them know you are in support of emissions cut. A simple email can make a difference.

Let's hope something productive comes up from the Copenhagen summit.

Summer, summer, time to read

2009-11-27T02:16:00.002+11:00

Since I have such a long list of 'to-read' books, I have decided to come up with a list of books I will attempt to read this summer. Hopefully, I can finish them all. 24 in total. That is indeed a tall order for a slow reader like me, but I figured I have approximately 12 weeks, 2 a week should not be too much to ask for. When making the list, I tried to have a balance between fiction and non-fiction, as well as covering a wide range of topics. Below is some brief words about the books, and I hope to review at least half of all of them as I go along. Won't be reading in this particular order, but I will be starting with The Book Thief.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This book has had some impressive reviews and is set in the WWII era. Since it is about the character's love of books (I think), I hope it will inspire to read more.

Candide by Voltaire
This one's said to be one of the best satires ever. I'm a huge fan of satires, so I am looking forward to reading this. It will provide some comic relief too.

Stiff by Mary Roach
This will fill the medical/science part of my readings and, I hope this is funny.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
This, I hope, will fill the comedy part of my list. And I can't have a list without a book about drugs, can I?

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
I have not seen the movie, but this book seems to have won many prizes. If it's bad, at least its small size will mean it wouldn't take long.

Capital (Vol. 1) by Karl Marx
Can't have a list without a book on politics, right? Hopefully I can understand most of it.

The Holy Bible (International Edition)
We have all heard of fascinating stories from The Bible. This will be an interesting read and hopefully improve my understanding of Christianity. I wanted to read the King James edition, but I found the international edition on the shelve at home, so international edition it is.

Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
After writing an essay on Darwin and the Nazis, I decided Hitler would be an interesting person to read about. What better place to start than a book by the man himself.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
A suspense novel. Just for some entertainment, seeing as this book has had quite the hype.

The Iliad by Homer
I'm trying to learn poetry. Don't know if this is a good place to start, but Trojan War, should be interesting anyway.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
This should perhaps be counted as 2. About 1500 pages, depending on which version, I hope I get through it alive. I will trust the reviews on this one.

Old Goriot by Honoré de Balzac
A novel on social criticisms, I hope it's entertaining and interesting. Can't discount the fact that Balzac is Oscar Wilde's favourite author.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Said to be thought provoking, should be a good non-fiction to add to my list.

Little White Slips by Karen Hitchcock
One more to fill in the medical/science part of my list, not many so far.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Again, have yet to watch the movie. But I hope the popularity of this book is justified.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Similarly, I hope this one is too.

Direct Red by Gabriel Weston
Having too few medical books, this biography will fill the void. Female surgeon, should be interesting.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
A suspense involving a novelist. Might be interesting, or at least, entertaining.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer
Another novel that somehow involves reading. Don't know why but I'm fascinated about that stuff.

Martin Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
A medical novel published in 1925. Said to be underrated. Looks good. We'll see.

The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
I need to understand my dreams and learn how to psychoanalyse people, just for the sake of it. Good variety for my list too.

Essays by George Orwell
I'm an Orwell fan, so some assorted essays should do me good.

Ideas That Matter by A.C. Grayling
I've read The Meaning of Things by Grayling. It was an interesting read and I hope this philosophical book would be just as good, if not better.

Soul Mountain by Gao Xingjian
Apparently an amazing journey of self-discovery and self-reflection, hopefully gives me something to ponder over summer.

Stupid White Man by Michael Moore
Another one for politics!

New Layout

2009-11-27T00:29:00.000+11:00

Finally, done with my new layout, I hope you like it. New features include the cool, sliding widget at the top, as well as the links on the header. I tried my best to make things more organised.

Any comments, feedback, suggestions, feel free to use the comment box. I am still reluctant to open up comments to anonymous users as I hold firm to my believe that, you are free to say anything you like but, you need to be responsible for it.

So that's what free speech means

2009-11-21T14:31:00.003+11:00

"Talking about free speech--you should have the right to keep them out as much as they have the right to bring him here." --Kay Anderson

Now I know. So Stalin was just exercising his rights all along. Preventing others from speaking is part of free speech rights. I see. Glad you cleared that up. So, can I prevent you from preventing others? My rights, isn't it?

Anyway, I have a few unfinished posts waiting to be completed. I hope to get them done soon. One particular one is my own reflections on why I write about the stuff that I write about. And I'm going to change the colour coding of the blog. Don't like it (anymore).

See you soon,
Free Speech

Knockin' On Heaven's Door

2009-11-11T21:28:00.001+11:00

Some, perhaps most, of you would have seen the Youtube video of the cheerleader who was paralysed after receiving the Swine Flu vaccine. The caption even stated, "experts claim serious side effects of flu shots amount to about one in a million - well this is what that one in a million looks like."

If that sucked you in, you seriously need to consider doing more critical thinking. Here's why. From April to August, 593 deaths and 9079 hospitalisations from H1N1 swine flu were reported in the US. That puts the death rate at 2 per million Americans, and serious cases at 3 per 100,000. Furthermore, this is based on the entire American population, where many live in rural areas where contact with the virus is much lower. If you are in a city, chances are those numbers are lower than a conservative estimate would be. Plus, that's only up to August. If you don't live under a rock, you would have noticed that lately the situation has escalated. Hence, comparatively, one in a million chance of developing severe side effects to the vaccine doesn't sound too bad to me.

If you were brainwashed by one of those anti-vaccine groups. Here's an article for you to read. It dispels most of their claims. Just because Jenny McCarthy has big boobs doesn't mean you should always listen to her. (Megan Fox would be harder to resist.) There are no adjuvants or thimerosal in the H1N1 vaccine. Do the research for yourself and decide.

Then again, these anti-vaccine people aren't necessarily a bad thing. Although I believe everyone has equal rights to life, less stupid people in the world never hurts. And when an epidemic strikes, it will be those unvaccinated who dies. Win-win. Your choice.

Won't Get to Heaven

2009-11-07T14:49:00.005+11:00

So, you have probably heard about the Texas Military base shooting by now, or at least I hope so. And guess what is the latest development? That's right! Right-wing media respond to attack by demonizing Muslim.

What's better, you ask? Less than 24 hours later, Orlando office shooting occurred. Wait for it, oh, man is not Muslim. Theory debunked. The man is probably Catholic too.

These religious conservatives should really stop blinding themselves. They choose to see what they want, and close out the rest, even if it means not seeing the truth. It's ironic they'd claim atheists "can't see the light." (You know the joke? "How many atheist does it take to change a light bulb? None, because they can't see the light." Though they fail to realise, without science, there would be no light bulb for you to change, idiot!) They like to believe what they believe is true, even with overwhelming evidence against it. When your 14-year old gets pregnant, why blame her for being a slut? Blame parthenogenesis (virgin birth) or blame the Pope for stigmatising condoms. Makes more sense to me.

Jesus is cool. The Bible is cool. The Qur'an is cool. But if you need to take them all literally, you might as well believe my shit smells like roses. They do.

Your friendly atheist,
TY

What a Wonderful World

2009-11-07T13:38:00.002+11:00

This sums it up.

Playing God

2009-11-07T01:44:00.003+11:00

(Yes. Title from latest Paramore. Don't get why all the hype though. It's good but not great to me. Maybe it's a Twilight type thing. Speaking of which, a forty plus year old lady was reading Breaking Dawn on the train. Oh My! It is the end of literature!)

This is an embarrassing attempt by a believer to defend religion.

A plague of atheists has descended, and Catholics are the target

Seriously. How can something like that match up to the likes of Dawkins, Hitchens or Singer?
The article is written by Greg Cravens, Vice Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University.
I honestly feel sorry for Catholics and students of that university. His credibility is gone. I doubt any believers themselves would think that the article would do them justice.

Since you are unlikely to read the article, I'll show you some of the comedy.
He started off with:
"Attacking Christians is not really clever, witty or funny."

but apparently attacking atheists is.
Why would anyone start an essay with that but go out of your way to try to be funny in their essay? Oh, hypocrisy!

Now for my favourite part:
"This is not to say that believers - and perhaps especially Catholics - do not get seriously irritated by atheists. They do, but not because atheists are fearfully clever or Wildely funny."

So he thinks Wilde is funny. Oh my, wait, Oscar Wilde? The atheist? HAHAHA!
Hypocrisy or misinformed?
Not to mention that in itself is a lame attempt at trying to be funny.

Next, for the most disgusting part:
"In an average week of atheistic bigotry in the Melbourne media, we can expect to learn that Catholics endorse child molestation, hate all other religions, would re-introduce the crusades and the auto de fe at the slightest opportunity, despise women, wish to persecute homosexuals, greedily divert public moneys for their own religious purposes, subvert public health care, brainwash children, and are masterminding the spread of the cane toad across northern Australia."

He brushed those claims aside just like that. He rather devote his essay to unsuccessful attempt at wit, which he says isn't cool.
Let's see, Catholic sex abuse cases. Oh, not much, just an entire Wikipedia article about it. Let's not count the ones for each country. He offered no solution, no apology, nothing. As though it was not an important matter. Maybe he's part of it. Like wise for all the other "sins" he mentioned. No solution, just as though they weren't true. Only an idiot will think atheists made those facts up. Who's against Gay Rights? Who's against Feminist Rights?

Let me remind you, the upcoming atheists convention in Melbourne in 2010 (largest ever in Australia, which is what sparked the increased number of debate between atheists and believers lately) is funded entirely privately. World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney cost the government $185 million.

What's fair? You tell me.

If believers want to be taken seriously, they ought to come up with better arguments. So far, I have yet to witness a believer defeating a non-believer in one of these debates on religion. Either it's ignorance, or just not as intelligent. I think the former, they aren't stupid.

Believers, if you got this far, don't get me wrong. Most atheists don't hate you. We simply do not like you imposing your believes on to us. Public money in a secular country should be spent without the interference of religion. Islamic country can spend it on Islamic activity, it makes sense, but not secular country. If you want to practice your religion, do so, but don't impose it on others. You don't see atheists attacking Buddhism.

Your friendly atheist,
TY

Insane

2009-11-01T01:34:00.001+11:00

I'm alive! Do not worry, just busy, will continue posting about religion and politics and what not soon. Here's Happy Halloween!

Scare FAIL!!

21st Century Breakdown

2009-10-21T20:05:00.002+11:00

Cyber attacks smite atheist websites

I bet you these same people hate Stalin and champion for the freedom of speech.
We all love hypocrisies.

I think, that these religious idiots just feel way too insecure about their own religion. And they say religion is based on faith. Oh the irony!

If your god is so powerful why are you afraid about some atheist undermining his authority?

So many unanswered questions. Religious idiots, please shed some light on these questions. Or else, I have no choice but to accept the theory that common sense is dead. Or soon to be. Sooner than punk.

Punk's not dead. Common sense is.

TY

Don't Stop Dancing

2009-10-18T13:35:00.001+11:00

One year on.

This Boy

2009-10-13T15:44:00.003+11:00

The 'youngest headmaster in the world'

When the poor will go to these lengths to learn, whilst the rich constantly whine about having to study, you know that calling the poor "uneducated" will only make you a fool.

It also makes government funding for private schools unjustifiable. And if the Labor government is doing that, maybe it's time for my vote to go to the communist party.

Now kids, stop blogging or tweeting about how much you don't want to go to school.

TY

No God Only Religion

2009-10-11T21:25:00.002+11:00

This is a good piece on religion in Australia.

Editor, The Age: Sir, The spectre of religion has affected me from an early age.

AT SCHOOL: If you are not attending religious instruction, sit outside in the passage!
JOIN A GANG: Not a Protestant or Catholic? You're out!
IN HOSPITAL: No religion? You must have one! We will put you down as CoE.
IN COURT: (giving a character reference for a teenager). You must swear to tell the truth on the bible. There will be no affirmation in my court!
ADOPTING A CHILD: You must get two Ministers of Religion to recommend you!

And so it has gone on for over 70 years, as I witnessed in our secular country, governments going to war in the name of God, granting vast funds to religious schools (rich and poor) and church institutions, giving tax concessions and rate exemptions to large church holdings and investments and exemptions from equal opportunity legislation.

Under the misapprehension that religion is the sole foundation of ethics and morals, we open our Parliament sessions with prayers and - fearing opposition from religious groups - our representatives disregard popular demands for abortion, voluntary euthanasia and official recognition of same-sex relationships.
Now, while I continue to try to join with my religious and atheist friends in responding to the bells tolling for justice and equality, I look forward to the 2010 atheist conference in the hope that it will foster a greater understanding of atheistic thought.

- Keith McEwan, CLA member, Bendigo.Victoria

Secular country? Is this what you call a secular country?

Hey hypocrites, stop condemning Islamic countries. Look at the Man In the Mirror first. No difference to me.

TY

On The Run

2009-10-01T23:42:00.002+10:00

The Deaths of "Lucy in the Sky" and "Sexy Sadie": A Tale of Two Women

I really liked this article. It is about two girls, whose lives were affected by the music of The Beatles, one for the better, one for the worse. The final sentence summed it up best:
"The Beatles, through words and deeds, presented a generation of young souls with a simple challenge: To find their authentic selves, discover their potential, cultivate love, and live in peace. Lucy succeeded where Sadie failed."

TY

Kaleidoscope

2009-09-30T19:41:00.002+10:00

Lost in life? Lost faith in your religion? Depressed? Don't know what to do in life anymore? Lost faith in your God? Facing an existential crisis?

Fear not! Google has the answer to life the universe and everything.

That's right! They have the answer you've been looking for! You don't have to start your own religion, nor jump off a bridge anymore!

If you think I doctored that link, feel free to search it yourself.

On a similar note, do you think I need to write a suicide note if I were to invite all my Facebook friends to an atheist convention?

On another similar note, I am interested in reading the bible. King James Bible to be specific. No, I am not considering converting. It is highly unlikely a radical atheist like me can be persuaded to convert, even by the scariest and most realistic dream, not to mention a book. I simply have an interest in philosophy and history, and the bible seems to fit somewhere in between. There seems to be quite a few interesting stories in there too. Noah and the ark, The Four Horsemen, David and Goliath, to name a few. While I'm there, I could perhaps pick up some "morals" the Christians so readily claim we atheist lack as well.

However (there is always a however), the book is huge and it is not exactly written in the simplest English either. I guess it just has to go on my "list." There, another book.

TY

Master of Puppets

2009-09-27T01:52:00.000+10:00

"The rich don't have good taste, they pay people to have good taste for them."

"I would rather have an intelligent enemy, than a stupid friend."

--Both from Frida (2002)

"All writers, by the way they use the language, reveal something of their spirits, their habits, their capacities, and their biases." --E.B. White

I agree with this quote. I guess it is why I like psychoanalysing people's personalities from their blog writings. They may act phony in person, or even selectively choose what they write about on their blogs. But the way they write it says a lot about their personalities. Maybe not always, but I'd say more often than not.

Feel free to psychoanalyse me.

TY

A Day in the Life

2009-09-26T02:56:00.005+10:00

Charles Darwin film 'too controversial for religious America'

A movie about Charles Darwin!!! I just discovered it today! Oh, what a joy! I doubt it'll be historically accurate but I'm sure I'll enjoy it nonetheless. Plus it stars Jennifer Connelly. How can I not love it?

Poor Americans, ignorant enough as it is, will now have to suffer more! Ignorance brings ignorance, I guess. Just like how the rich get richer. This is my favourite part of that news article.
"The film has sparked fierce debate on US Christian websites, with a typical comment dismissing evolution as "a silly theory with a serious lack of evidence to support it despite over a century of trying"."

I love it when creationists argue that natural selection lacks evidence. I suppose there are millions alive today that saw God created the world in 6 days? Surely there must be! They can't all be hypocrites, can they?

Oh, I'm too lazy to find a Youtube trailer for you, but there's one in that article.

I'm looking forward to it!

Your dearest evolutionist,
TY

Where Boy Fear to Tread

2009-09-24T20:01:00.002+10:00

Here I share with you the picture of the day!

All credits to New Yorker

For the record, Charles Darwin is a genius, and he writes brilliantly. The Descent of Man is a joy to read, not a dull scientific/philosophical book at all.

TY

Kyoto Song

2009-09-23T20:19:00.004+10:00

I loathe ignorance, but not ignorance in those who realise their ignorance. After all, in the words of Louis L'Armour "Only one who has learned much can fully appreciate his ignorance."

It is those who think they are "well-read" when in fact they aren't that gets on my nerves. Shoot them.

In similar veins, my "to-read list" now features over 350 books, and I don't even list more than 1 book by the same author. I finish one first and upon finishing, if I decide to further pursue books by the same author, only will I replaced the read book with the "next book I'd like to read by this author."

At my current reading rate of 1 book a week, the list grows faster than it shrinks.

On the issue of reading, learning and ignorance, here's a quote by one of my favourite author, Douglas Adams.
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so."

TY

Amazing

2009-09-22T02:15:00.002+10:00

Check this out. "Non-Reader Kanye West Publishes Book"

So, erm, he is a "proud non-reader." But well, he expects other non-readers to "read" his book?
Man, the guy has brains.

He is fast becoming my favourite entertainer. After all, he is entertaining me in the true sense of the word.

TY

Lyla

2009-09-21T04:50:00.002+10:00

From Fmylife.com

Today, my girlfriend of a year broke up with me because I didn't fight some guy that started hitting her right in front of me... In a dream. She was totally serious. FML

Funniest. Thing. Ever.
This would be one of those times I wouldn't know if to laugh or to cry if it happens to me. Likely the former.

TY

River of Dreams

2009-09-12T15:15:00.000+10:00

I just read Louis L'Amour's autobiography, Education of a Wandering Man(alright, I didn't finish it). Anyway, here are some quotes I find interesting and one day, would like to revisit them.

From the introduction by Daniel Boorstin:
"We are often told we are what we eat. In our world since the printing press it might be more accurate to say we are what we read."

And from the book:
"The idea of education has been so tied to schools, universities, professors that many assume there is no other way, but education is available to anyone within reach of a library, a post office, or even a newsstand."

"Often I hear people say they do not have time to read. That's absolute nonsense. In one year, I read twenty-five books while waiting for people."
One may say, if you are waiting for me, that would easily be more.

"What is comfort to some is cruel hardship to others."

"We do not at present educate people to think but, rather, to have opinions."

"Adventure is nothing but a romantic name for trouble."

"Only one who has learned much can fully appreciate his ignorance."

Finally, to end it all, one from Charles Darwin:
"I discovered, though unconsciously and insensibly, that the pleasure of observing and reasoning was a much higher one than of skill and sport."

Portugal oh, Portugal!
TY

Down Boy

2009-09-07T20:45:00.001+10:00

Trapped girls raised alarm on Facebook

I am lost for words. The internet generation is indeed disturbing.

TY

False Pretense

2009-09-03T00:45:00.004+10:00

The more I come into contact with the private healthcare system, the more disheartened I get of the system in place. Everything in the system seems to depend on only one thing. Money. The general feeling I get from the people working in the system, be it the doctors, nurses or the receptionist, is that, no matter what happens, as long as there is a profit, everything's fine.

They don't really care if you live or die, as long as you pay your bills. For all they care, even they've killed hundreds of patients, it doesn't matter, as long as new patients keep coming and the law suits are under control. At the end of the day, it is the billion dollar profit they care about, not you, the patient. The patient is only a means to an end. The end, I would state again, is money.

For quite some time now, I have been a staunch supporter for a health care system whereby the universal health care coverage provided by the government should co-exist with the private sector. I believed such a system would bring about healthy competition to keep each other in check. At the same time, people who can afford the private health care should be allowed to opt for a faster, more efficient service, while the poor still get the essential health coverage from the government. But my recent revelations have led me to think that maybe this isn't such a good idea at all. After all, do you think a doctor would run as fast to a cardiac arrest of a patient he does not care about, as he would to a patient he sincerely cares for? No. In other words, you are jeopardising your health by submitting your care to such a doctor, motivated by only money.

However, little can be done as of now, because the public hospitals are terribly under-funded, has severe staff shortages, and many are operating at near capacity. These all lead to a decrease in quality of care. Hence, opting for public health care really isn't going to improve your care.

For as long as I can remember, the subject of money has been a taboo when an aspiring doctor is asked "why do you want to study medicine?" Be it during a medical school interview or when asked by a friend. Yet, the bureaucrats running the system are all about money. Maybe this hypocritical nonsense is something I have known for years, but have just been desperately hoping it wasn't true. Maybe it's time I get out of my denial phase and accept the fact that the health care system is just like any other industry, motivated only by money. The pharmaceutical industry has long since sold out. There is no reason why the health care industry, one of the largest industry in the world, would not.

TY
Next post is likely to be about secularism. Religious leaders sitting on government committees in a country that openly declares is a secular country, is plain absurd. And a picture post about Canberra too, if I'm not lazy.

My Generation

2009-08-29T21:16:00.002+10:00

A couple of interesting quotes from this article.

Referring to Gen Xers:
"a generation who would rather work to live than live to work. Or, in fact, get stoned, eat ice cream and not work at all."
Don't worry, Gen Ys are worse.

"The children of Generation X: sarcastic, bored and a bit spoilt, but nevertheless great at selling the idea of being "sarcastic, bored and bit spoilt" by publishing and publicising each other's work on websites."

It is an interesting article about inter-generational writers. It's not too long. Worth a read.

TY

Dazed and Confused

2009-08-13T22:54:00.003+10:00

Hypocrisy, oh hypocrisy!

I just came across a blog accidentally 5minutes ago which was thoroughly fascinating. Why? Because the second latest post on the blog was about 40 hour famine, and the latest post was about...iPhone. Yes, iPhone.
Oh, the irony!
"People are starving, what are you doing about it? See I'm helping. Oh and I got a new iPhone too!"

Hang on folks, that's not all of the hypocrisy news for today. There's more.

"A new study has found more than 40 per cent of Australians believe it is acceptable to torture enemy soldiers in certain circumstances."

These are the same people who campaign for Tibet's freedom. The same people who want Mugabe to resign. I thought they stood for Human Rights. But now I can safely say they just like campaigning, joining rallies, wearing badges, and looking like they're useful to society. Fuck off.

And remember, Australians aren't the only ones. US has been pressuring China to stop suppressing the Uighurs and Tibetans all while operating this extremely humane prison known as Guantanamo Bay.

Don't you just love hypocrisies. I do.

"A man who moralises is usually a hyprocrite"
-Oscar Wilde

TY

The Weight

2009-08-09T15:25:00.002+10:00

Some quotes by Thomas Edison.

"The three great essentials to achieve anything worth while are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense."
O', where for art thou common sense?

"Restlessness and discontent are the necessities of progress."

The reason why most people don't read but when they do they can't stop:
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work."
It looks like hard work to get through a long article/book but the insights gained is insurmountable.

"There is no expedient to which a man will not go to avoid the labor of thinking."
Sigh. He's right.

"As a cure for worrying, work is better than whiskey"
Now, if only I study every time I'm worried.

"Hell, there are no rules here-- we're trying to accomplish something."
I like this. I'm quite the anarchist.

America

2009-08-07T19:44:00.003+10:00

Do you think Americans are stupid? Or the smart Americans just don't give a rat's ass about polls?

I am of the idea that it is one or the other.

Here, have a look at this.

A healthcare system such as the American's cannot even be close to good, if you ask me. They spend the most money per capita on healthcare but their system has been ranked in the 30s by various studies. If that is good, my fart smells like roses. Not to mention the 50million who don't even have healthcare coverage.

Then again, Americans also have this remarkable belief.

"God created man in present form" - A whopping 44%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

44% of Americans still think we descended from Adam and Eve!!!
You tell me!!

The debate isn't even between Creationism and Evolution anymore. Most creationists have taken the side of Intelligent design since overwhelming evidence have shown WE ARE FROM APES!!!

Would you Americans please accept the fact that we are all once upon a time from Africa, and very probably had dark skin colour. Not some guy and girl with English names. Are you trying to believe in the contrary to show that your brain has not evolved, hence evolution does not exist?

Oh and your health system is fucked. Stop saying it's "excellent" just because you don't want higher tax. Don't kid yourself.

TY

I Looked Away

2009-08-02T20:36:00.003+10:00

Click here for full article.

Evolution must be getting rid of brains.

Now, where's my scanner? I need to scan a mirror.

Only God Knows Why

2009-07-30T11:12:00.004+10:00

I can't hold my silence anymore. Inter religion war MUST STOP.

Religious fundamentalist thinks their religion is "morally superior" to every other religion. They kill and brutally bomb everyone of a different religion. Where is the morality in that?

Fascism must go. There are no difference between Bush, Osama and Hitler. Fascists.

If you can't tolerate other religious beliefs, I suggest atheism.

This is what religious fundamentalists has done.Iraq WarSeptember 11

I need not add various others.

Here is what atheist do.
Richard Dawkins

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html

Leading researchers

So clearly, religious fundamentalist bomb and kill, while atheists have been debating in a civilised fashion, with formal attire and words, rather than guns and bombs, and doing research for the progress of human knowledge.

Inter-religion war has killed millions and counting. Science vs religion war has barely killed any since the days of Aristotle.

This is what sparked this blog post.
Noordin claims Jakarta bombings

Whether or not it is from the man himself, I find it funny.
This is the best part.
"previously conducting serious surveys and thorough observation."

And your bomb didn't explode? HAHAHAHAHA! Maybe Allah didn't want it to go off? Ever thought of that? Ay, Top? No? When it's for your cause it's Allah, when it's not it isn't Allah? What fuckin' hypocrite.

Well, my religious friends, may I ask that instead of trying to convert non-believers to your religion, try preaching tolerance and acceptance among your fellow believers. If the image your religion is portraying to the public is violence and stupidity, no one will ever believe your religion is "morally superior" to anyone else. (No atheist will believe that anyway but, you don't want to be seen as morally inferior do you?) No one will belief your religion will be good for the progress of humanity. Atheists are not undermining your religion. People from your own side of the fence are.

Peace. That's all I ask for. Is it so much to ask for?

Apparently so.

TY

Love Me Two Times

2009-07-17T21:42:00.002+10:00

I am madly in love with books.

One more week of holiday for me. I've been reading a fair bit during this holiday and I'm more in love with literature than I've ever been. Ironically, the more I read the longer my "to-read list" gets. I am rather picky with the books I read but somehow there are still so many books that seem to fit my taste. For example, I'm not a fan of fantasy, so Harry, Frodo and Stephanie Meyer aren't my type. (Kristen Stewart is though). I don't read most motivational/inspirational books either. Only a few really good ones. Neither Jeffrey Archer or Dan Brown type novels.

I love Penguin Classics though. And that alone perhaps has way too many for my own good. I recently had my first taste of Dostoevsky too. His short stories. He is awesome! I'm currently in the midst of Notes From the Underground, one of his most acclaimed works.
I'm also reading my second J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey. So far, it is as good as Catcher in The Rye, except it seems to have quite a few grammatical errors and that gets on my nerve, especially when it's from such a famous author.

And of cause, I love satires. My favourite genre.
Here's my Goodreads. Come talk to me if we have the same taste. I love talking literature.

TY

The Man In Me

2009-07-12T22:41:00.001+10:00

Inspirational article

Highly recommended. Please read.

Now, stop whining about how fucked up your life is and do the world some good.

TY

Heal The World

2009-07-08T18:09:00.004+10:00

I am not a part of Generation X. I am a part Generation Y. Hence Michael Jackson wasn't exactly a staple of my generation. But which kid who grew up in the 90s and 00s and had access to TV and the internet would never have heard of Michael Jackson, the Moonwalk, or seen the music video of Thriller? He isn't the main course in my childhood culture but he certainly was there. Ever present. Kids in school imitated his dance moves, his music would come on the radio and, who could've missed the allegations against him, not once, but twice?

But there was something more important, something worth more publicity, about Michael Jackson, that many never knew. His altruism. If altruism exist, it was Michael Jackson.

It wasn't until the events of late stirred me to read up about Michael Jackson that I discovered this charitable side of him.He had done so much for the greater good of humanity that I don't know where to start.

Firstly, his music. Humanity and human suffering have constantly been a prominent feature of his music. How many pop stars sing about the state of the world more than they do love songs that rarely mean anything? His efforts in the production of We Are The World had a profound impact in promoting awareness, perhaps rivaled only by Bob Geldof's Do They Know It's Christmas. Man In the Mirror, Heal The World and Beat It were all inspirational.

Secondly, his charitable donations. Michael Jackson was inducted into the Guiness Book of World Record in 2000 for the "most charities supported by a pop star". How many can claim that accolade? Only one. Many of those charities were at the verge of collapsing when he helped them. On top of that, in 1992, despite allegations against him, he staged the Dangerous World Tour, where all profits from the tour were donated to charity. All. He played 69 shows around the world, often requiring painkillers to get through them, all for charity. How many pop stars have done that? More importantly, how many will? I hope more will be inspired by him to do so.

Additionally, he founded the Heal The World Foundation. His aim was to heal the world, one person at a time. Needless to say, the 2003 allegations against him caused the foundation to take beating. It lost its tax exempt status, and its operations grind to a halt. However, as of 2008, the foundation has undergone restructuring and is now back. Jackson's untimely death would no doubt be a bump in the foundation's road to recovery, but let's hope it can continue his legacy.

Besides that, he has done numerous other good deeds. He often voiced out on issues concerning humanity, he bridged racial barriers, he visited hospitals and underprivileged homes. He truly gave humanity all he had.

Here is one man. Perhaps the greatest entertainer ever lived. He loved performing. Not for the money, but for the fans. A dancer and a musician whose talents are almost unrivaled. Every time he was knocked down, he came back up. The This Is It tour was to be yet another evidence of that. But above all, one man who gave everything he had for humanity. A man who had a dream, a dream to Heal The World. The world did not only lose the greatest pop star ever, but lost one of the greatest humanitarian to have graced the earth. Here's to hoping his legacy carries on. Let's start with the Man In The Mirror.

TY

As an aside, I thought the memorial yesterday was a very fitting farewell. Perhaps the most apt among the words by friends and families were those of Sharpton, to Jackson's kids.
"There were nothing strange about your daddy, it was strangeness that your daddy had to deal with, but he dealt with it."

Someone's Looking At You

2009-07-08T02:32:00.003+10:00

My English isn't flawless. Far from it. But I try my best and I'm still learning. However, terrible English hurts my head. When I come across a badly written news article, or a badly written article of any sort, it is highly likely I'll give up, however interesting the article would have seem. One or two mistakes are fine, we're only human, but needing to re-read every second sentence just to understand what it means severely hurts my head. Would it kill to re-read what you wrote before submitting/publishing it?

On the other hand, I detest those who tell others to "learn the language" when they themselves do not seem to know the difference between "it's" and "its". Please "learn the language" yourself first before telling others to do so. Or else, you'll be entertainment to many. Me especially.

TY

Learn To Fly

2009-06-30T22:23:00.002+10:00

...or drive.

I am of the idea that majority of drivers do not know BLIND SPOTs exist. And of those, majority thinks indicator lights are for aesthetic purposes.

How else can you explain someone not seeing my fuckin' huge car next to his? (It is no optimus prime but it does have 4 wheels.) And then proceeds to change lane and only turns on his indicator lights when his car has almost occupied half my lane. What the fuck is the point in that?

If it isn't for my break jamming skill I would have wasted hours dealing with insurance fuckers.

My advice to you, if you are one of those that do know blindspots exist, is not only to check it before changing lanes, but also to stay clear of someone else's blindspot. Chances are, you'll meet someone who doesn't know it exist and thinks indicator lights are pretty. Stay back or overtake fast.

On a lighter note, name the type of bond in sodium chloride.

Ionic bond?

Nope! James Bond!
I love funny kids. They don't know the answer but at least they have a sense of humour.

TY

The Day The Music Died

2009-06-26T19:32:00.002+10:00

The good die young.

He didn't leave the world, he left a legacy.

Peace out, Jacko!

TY

The Kids Are Alright

2009-06-25T18:11:00.003+10:00

A kid wrote "WTF!!!" on a sheet I marked at work today. I was tempted to give him/her a mark for it.

Another kid, drew this smilie ":S" beside his/her answer. Poor thing. I understand how they feel.

One more included "!!!!!!!!!Mwahahahaha!!" after their answer. Somewhat overconfident, but they got that one wrong! Hah!

Fullmoon

2009-06-14T15:47:00.002+10:00

This is scary, freaky.

Airplane crash. Miss flight. Died days later in a car crash. Final Destination. No?

My my.

TY

Another One Bites The Dust

2009-06-14T15:07:00.003+10:00

With all the hype around Christiano Ronaldo's departure, I can't help but wonder what it would be like when Sir Alex eventually decides to retire. Because the truth is, Sir Alex is a genius. Or perhaps, Sir Alex is THE genius. Why sell Ronaldo for a couple of millions when you can keep him for one more season, win a few more trophies then sell him for 80 million pounds?

That money will buy 7 more junior Ronaldos. Surely, at least one of them will be as successful? For those who think the gap left by Ronaldo will be hard to fill, let's just say Sir Alex will fix it, probably already has. Beckham left, United was unaffected, probably stronger. Van Nistelrooy left, same deal happened. You see, United doesn't need star players. Sir Alex finds the new kid, and turns him into a star. That's how it works at Old Trafford. Ronaldo will merely be one of the many.

When Sir Alex retires, that's when the problem will arise. The man is a genius and if you don't think so, you are merely living in a state of denial. Let's hope he is as good at finding his own replacement when the time comes as he is at finding young talented players.

On a related note, this article is highly highly recommended by me. From the British TimesOnline. It's about a survey of British sports people. And it has concluded that joy far outweighs winning. Do it for the love of it, the medal is of no importance. You know how I've always championed for this, and how I loathe those who are so desperate to win, they fail to enjoy the moment. At least now I know I'm not the only one who thinks that way.
From the article,
"Sport is not a means to procure the joy of victory, sport is a joy in itself."

This is why the most entertaining football is played in the slumps of Brazil, not on your TV.

Apply that to life.

She's Nubs

2009-06-08T15:51:00.004+10:00

Click to view. It's too long. Pun unintended.

Nerd jokes make me laugh. Ah.

Old Habits Die Hard

2009-06-05T06:53:00.002+10:00

Should I wear a mask to work? I really don't want to get swine flu right before my exams. I know it ain't fatal, the strain is mild, but it might be fatal to my exam results. Sucks!

Anyway, this is meant to be a music post. If you don't know yet, Eminem is back yo!!!
So is Green Day. Their albums are pretty good, can't say it's their best work to date, but they are good.

Green Day's latest, 21st Century Breakdown, has a sound closer to that of American Idiot than that of their older stuff. If you're a fan of American Idiot, you should check it out, if not, don't bother.
My personal favourites on the album are 21st Century Breakdown, Before The Lobotomy, Viva La Gloria and 21 Guns.
I thought the first single, Know Your Enemy, was a little weak though. Any of those mentioned above would have done a better job. And I was slightly disappointed that there aren't any epic Jesus of Suburbia type songs on it. Jesus of Suburbia was(still is) my favourite on American Idiot.
All in all, I'd still give it a 8/10. Well worth a listen.

Eminem, as you might know, is the only non-rock artist that I listen to regularly. So, his return was more than welcomed by me. Relapsed(title of the album, if you didn't know), was just marvellous. In my opinion, it supersedes that of Encore. Even though we all know he wouldn't retire, I'm glad he's actually back. Personal favourites? We Made You(Just Lose It type song), Beautiful(inspiring), Must Be The Ganja, Stay Wide Awake.
And Medicine Ball follows close behind.
What's more? I think Eminem has more pharmacological knowledge than a surgeon. Plus, he doesn't even use "ass" anymore, he now uses "gluteus maximus".
He is one talented dude. 8.5/10 from me.

Finally, a song by Mick Jagger, or shall I say Sir Mick Jagger. Old Habits Die Hard.
Here's the best I can find on Youtube. It's not the original but obviously still Mick(if you can't tell I should shoot you). Look for the one on Alfie's soundtrack if you're interested.

Bout time for a new Stones album too perhaps? Gotta love 'em.

TY

Old Newspaper

2009-05-31T00:24:00.004+10:00

My horoscope tells me to be selfish. It says I should keep my altruistic idealism aside and prioritise myself.

Awesome. I can now do those selfish things guilt-free.

In other news, marking Year 9 exam papers is the best job you can get if you need a confidence boost in your command of the English language. I thought my grasp of the English Language was bad but wait till you see how 15 year-olds spell greatful, oh I mean grateful. Seeing it spelt that way 1500 times has made me confused as to which is the right one.

And a letter to Kim Jong Il.

Dear dictator Kim,

If you would so kindly develop missiles that are smaller in size, and aim it at the swine flu virus, it would be much appreciated. That way, other countries can buy those missiles from you too, and you will be rich. On top of that, you can always decline to sell them to our northern friends who speak funny and produce TV stars named after capital cities and tries to sing but really can't sing, but dominates your TV sets anyway, be it on the news or on mtv, just because her father owns hotels. When you do so, they will die of the virus because they have sent all their bullets to Iraq and have none left, which I'm sure would make you a very happy man.

Take care. Leave me a comment if you need help.

Yours sincerely,
TY

White Riot

2009-05-26T14:21:00.002+10:00

Chaos is a friend of mine.
- Bob Dylan

Chaos was the law of nature. Order was the dream of man.
- Henry Brooks Adams

Who's Gonna Save Us

2009-05-23T13:38:00.002+10:00

After several weeks, I still cannot get over the fact that authorities renamed the latest Flu pandemic as H1N1 Influenza A, or something long and scientific along those lines.

The 1918 flu pandemic was named Spanish Flu, 1957 Asian Flu, 1968 Hong Kong Flu and 1978 Russian Flu.

So why the fuck can't the 2009 flu be named North American Flu?

Do you see the hypocrisy and the imbalance of power among seemingly "international" authorities like WHO? Now you know why so many countries are strongly against organisations such as World Bank and IMF.

Fuck the dictators who so vocally oppose dictatorships. Fuck the hypocrites.

On another note, do you think the people who coined the term common sense have seemingly little of it? Seeing as common sense is rather uncommon, it would have been stupid to name it as such, isn't it? It would have been better off as Seventh Sense. I'm pretty sure there are more people with sixth sense than common sense, whatever sixth sense is.

Now to weather, yesterday was the foggiest day I've seen around my area. Visibility was about 20-30m. It was fascinating yet slightly scary driving through the fog. Today isn't as foggy, there's even sun. Fogs are way cooler than floods though. Poor Queensland.

Keep Talking

2009-05-11T19:55:00.003+10:00

Now I'm on to An Ideal Husband, also a play by Oscar Wilde. I must say Lord Goring is awfully witty.

"I love talking about nothing. It is the only I know anything about."

"It is a very dangerous thing to listen. If one listens one maybe convinced; and a man who allows himself to be convinced by an argument is a thoroughly unreasonable person."

" I always pass on good advice. It is the only thing to do with it. It is never of any use to oneself."

"It is always worth while asking a question, though it is not always worth while answering one.

"My doctor says I should not have any serious conversation after seven. It makes me talk in my sleep."

TY

Wave of Mutilation

2009-05-10T14:02:00.006+10:00

And now here are quotes from A Woman of No Importance I find worthy. Also by Oscar Wilde.

"The youth of America is their oldest tradition. It has been going on now for three hundred years. To hear them talk one would imagine they were in their first childhood. As far as civilisation goes they are in their second."

"Taking sides is the beginning of sincerity, and earnestness follows shortly afterwards, and then human beings become a bore."

"The soul is born old but grows young. That is the comedy of life."

"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future."

"The world is simply divided into two classes -- those who believe the incredible, like the public -- and those who do the improbable."

"There is no secret of life."

"All thought is immoral. Its very essence is destruction."

"Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess."

Ah, sometimes I wish I came up with these quotes!

TY

Imitation of Life

2009-05-10T11:34:00.003+10:00

I've been reading Oscar Wilde's Lady Windermere's Fan, a play. Here are a few quotes that I found interesting.

"Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality. A man who moralises is usually a hypocrite, a woman who moralises is invariably plain."

"Women like to find us[men] quite irretrievably bad and to leave us quite unattractively good."

"What on earth should we men do going about with purity and innocence? A carefully thought out button hole is much more effective."

"In this world there are only two tragedy. One is not getting what one wants, the other is getting it."

"Cynic is a man who knows the price of everything but the value of nothing."

"A sentimentalist is a man who sees absurd value in everything and doesn't know the market price of any single thing."

"Experience is a question of instinct about life."

"Good women may have terrible things in them, mad moods of recklessness, assertion, jealousy, sin. Bad women, as they are termed, may have in them sorrow, repentance, sacrifice."

All by Oscar Wilde, of cause.

TY

The Modern Age

2009-05-09T15:27:00.000+10:00

"There are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely-or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands."
-Oscar Wilde(Lady Windermere's Fan)

Comem Out And Play

2009-05-07T21:11:00.002+10:00

An Ethical Dilemma

I will only go if there is alcohol. But if there is alcohol, I can't drive. Without driving I can't get home. If I drive I can't drink. If I don't drink, there's no point going.

This is when I need a girlfriend that doesn't drink and doesn't mind driving me home despite my home being way out of the way.

The Scientist

2009-04-29T21:16:00.004+10:00

If you believe in Intelligent Design, you were most probably made by Stupid Design.
- Me

Sometimes it is quite difficult to believe that so many people believe in things that are so difficult to believe in.

TY

The Legend of Xanadu

2009-04-24T01:12:00.001+10:00

When you have to choose between the truth and the legend, print the legend.
-John Ford

Light My Fire

2009-04-16T14:19:00.002+10:00

“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias.”
- Oscar Wilde(The Soul of Man Under Socialism)

I have nothing much to write about lately. Don't see it changing anytime soon either, especially since I have so many things I've yet to do and can't seem to get around to doing them. When the deadlines loom, I'll just have to savour the whoosing sound they make as they fly by(Adams, Douglas).

But I love the quotes section of this blog. Such as nice place to keep all the quotes I love together. So it is very likely that in the coming weeks I'll be posting only quotes here.

Currently reading: The Double Helix by J.D. Watson
If you love DNAs, it's a rather captivating book about how they arrive at the structure of DNA as we know it now.

Here's to Utopia.
TY

Working Class Hero

2009-04-16T01:27:00.002+10:00

US Congress passes 3.5-trillion-dollar budget plan

Finally, someone who sees the importance of health care and education. Now, Fidel Castro isn't such an idiot after all is he?'

TY

Astronomy Domine

2009-04-12T23:18:00.002+10:00

If we want our species to survive in the long term, human beings cannot afford to stop reaching for the stars.
-Peter Doherty, Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology 1996

Dead Souls

2009-04-07T13:00:00.002+10:00

"He's competing with the sun for the center of the universe." -- Jay from Lords of Dogtown

Imagine

2009-04-06T19:20:00.004+10:00

Apparently he created a whole new language. It wasn't a slang. It's a language he created called Nadsat. I'm talking about A Clockwork Orange.

Reading barely 20 pages of it and I've learn more words that are not in the dictionary than I have in my life. A different language makes sense.

Saturday by Ian McEwan(author of Atonement) is pretty good too.
I found the first half of the book pretty slow but once it took off it was really good.
It's about a day(a Saturday, duh) in the life of a neurosurgeon. The main topics were war, Huntington's disease, neurosurgery and poetry. These all tied in with family life.

Oh and it is a novel, not a biography. Ian McEwan isn't a neurosurgeon.

Wouldn't make my favourite books list, partly because I do not agree with some of his views on certain issues, but story's good. I'll give it a 4/5.

Now, maybe I should read Atonement. I think I'm the only person that has not read Atonement but has read his other works.

TY

I'm Against It

2009-04-02T19:37:00.003+11:00

I don't like substituting Clinically Oriented Anatomy for A Clockwork Orange on train rides. Even though I do not understand all those cockney slangs.

Yes, I have no idea what babooshka or viddy meant...until I googled it.

TY

Vienna

2009-03-22T14:33:00.003+11:00

Hectic, hectic week. Finally it'll ease off a little in the coming week. But things will pick up again after that. It's not all bad, it's just mentally and physically draining. I was so tired last night I couldn't even read a book. Took me 5mins to read a paragraph so I decided to just watch a DVD.

Anyway, here's my favourite song when I'm living life in the fast lane. Not Eagles, Billy Joel.

Best live version I can find.

Just the song.

And my favourite song when in need of motivation.

Oh and I finished reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and A Man Without A Country.
Vanessa, A Thousand Splendid Suns isn't 2000 times better than The Kite Runner, maybe 1.5 times. Not enough to put Khaled Hosseini on my favourite writers list though.

Kurt Vonnegut on the other hand, is the funniest writer I've discovered since Douglas Adams(Nobody beats Douglas Adams!!!). A Man Without A Country is the first and only book I've read of his but I'm certain it won't be my last.
"If you want to really hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be gay, the least you can do is go into the arts. I'm not kidding."

Currently reading: Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer(still not done!!!)
Saturday by Ian McEwan

TY

Across The Universe

2009-03-13T01:43:00.005+11:00

I watched this movie two days ago. Absolutely brilliant.
For those who don't know, it's a rock 'N' roll musical based around the music of The Beatles. I haven't yet seen Mamma Mia, but I know The Beatles kicks ABBA's ass anyday. So I would think that I'll like this one more.

Most of the covers are obviously not as good as the originals, but I thought Bono did a marvellous job with I Am A Walrus. Here's what I found on youtube. Oh and I'm now addicted to the song.

And here's Eddie Izzard playing Mr Kite with awesome, cool rhyming by Bono before it.

How can a movie with character names such as Prudence, Rita, Lucy, Jude and Dr. Robert go wrong? There're even characters meant to reflect Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix!

In other news, drivers who stop at green light amazes me. Not those who refuse to move but literally those that come to a halt at green lights. But at least they aren't as dangerous as those who run red lights, even though it does get frustrating when you're behind them and travelling at 80km/h and weren't expecting to stop.

Back to listening to I Am A Walrus. Oh and Strawberry Fields Forever too!! Psychedelic!!!

TY

Space Oddity

2009-03-09T00:03:00.006+11:00

I have a rather peculiar perception of the world. (That's not the revelation, knew that 32 millenniums ago.) But only today did I realise that, whenever I meet someone new, I have no interest whatsoever in things like where the person lives*, what the person does for a living, where the person is from or how many cars does the person have. Instead, I'm more interested in what the person likes or their thoughts on things.

It happens rather subconsciously. I'd much rather talk about their favourite writer or TV show than the fame and fortune they acquired last year. But now that I've given it some thought, it seems to make sense. I've never really been interested in all these material goods society seem to place so much importance on. Which explains it. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, I'm interested in what the person is, and not what the person has.

And this makes things rather difficult. Because as we all know, people like to talk about themselves. But unfortunately, the societal norm would much rather talk about what they have than what they are.

Perhaps this is why I am so anti-social.

Just to fit in. Oh, just to fit in.

On a related note(which might have contributed to my revelation), I highly recommend Oscar Wilde's essay called The Soul of Man Under Socialis m. Print it out. Read it. Or just read it from there if trees are your thing. Well worth your half and hour or so. And no, it is not about communism. Don't be deterred from reading it just because of what you think it's about. The man is a genius.

For the record, I'm not an anarchist either.

And I'm done with Catch-22. Awesome, awesome book. Ought to review it later. Now on to Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. Oh and I don't know why, but the pages of this book smells really nice. Even from reading distance away. None of the books from the library has smelt good thus far.
Also wondering what people think about Oasis's latest album. I have yet to check it out despite being an Oasis fan. So What's the story, morning glory?

* Sometimes I do like to ask about where people live for the sake of car-pooling or to have a new train buddy. But it has never crossed my mind to do so for the sake of class-categorising.

TY

Echoes

2009-03-06T23:18:00.002+11:00

I wasn't dropping acid. I wasn't hallucinating. The house was shaking. It wasn't a side effect of Catch-22 either. The news confirmed it.

4.7 magnitude 50km from here.

In other news, I find it increasingly difficult to refrain from punching slow walking people on the back of the head. One in particular that happened today involved a bitch who was taking her time strolling in front of me. I started to suspect a conspiracy against me when I was just about to take a turn so as to break free from her when she decided she'll stop right there and then in front of me for reasons I do not wish to know. And to top it off, just when I had enough and tried to overtake her by squeezing through the tiny path her fat ass isn't occupying, she decided to take the same turn and walk at the speed I was walking, thus leaving me stuck in that small path her ass isn't occupying. She even tried to edge pass me to get through the door first afterward. Normally, I'd be glad to let the lady go first, but when there's a conspiracy against me, nope, not going to happen.

I think I should join the Facebook group. Apparently over a million people know how I feel.

Happy When It Rains

2009-03-03T21:17:00.002+11:00

It's RAINING!!!

Not usually a fan of rain as I like outdoor sports but when it hasn't rained for 890440449389020 years, it's always a good thing. Moreover, it's nighttime.

Ah, sweet rain. Can't remember the last time it was raining at bedtime.

About the fire the other day, favourable winds and excellent firefighters brought the fire under control overnight. It seems that only 1 or 2 houses were burned down at this particular fire, though the fire took with it several hectars of the reserve park. A few suburbs evacuated but it wasn't so much because they were burning but because they were swamped with the debris, ashes etc from the fire.

Anyway, I hope the rain doesn't stop till five minutes before I wake up tommorow. I love the smell of fresh rain in the morning.

Don't Panic

2009-02-23T18:22:00.003+11:00

Ok, so the houses and trees and what not is burning in the suburb next to mine, maybe 1-2km from here. The smoke can be seen from here, as the picture taken from my house suggests. Me thinks tonight we'll be taking shift to keep watch.

If the wind blows in this direction at 50km/h, it'll mean we'll have 1.2minutes to get the fuck out.

See you soon.

TY

Burning Bridges

2009-02-21T14:15:00.005+11:00

I finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini last week.
(This was the cover of the one I read, I know there's another cover.)

I thought it was a little below my expectation, though still a good book no doubt. Just that with all the hype around it, I expected it to be mind blowing. Or maybe my taste just differs. I'll give it a 7.5/10 though.

For now, I'm reading non-fiction again. Paul Krugman's The Great Unravelling.
It is a compilation of articles he previously wrote for various publications and though a little outdated, it still seems relevant and interesting. Krugman does have a unique writing style too.

I suspect I'll be back to fiction after this. I've already had A Thousand Splendid Sun checked out from the library. I hope it's better than The Kite Runner. And I need to read some Kurt Vonnegut sometime soon.

TY

Whatsername

2009-02-20T00:42:00.003+11:00

So after doing some blog surfing, it seems that Valentines' Day is a day where the "guy" showers the "girl" with gifts and flowers, and in most cases, it isn't reciprocal. I wonder if that is how it is suppose to work. Doubt it.

But if it is, then equal pay wouldn't be fair anymore! As far as I'm concerned, there isn't a reciprocal celebration day for Valentines' Day.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against equal pay. After all, I'm a leftist, remember?
It is just that, as much as I despise conservative right wing radicals, I despise hypocrites!

I sincerely hope none of these females are activist or even supporters of equal pay!

TY

Easy Livin'

2009-02-18T22:24:00.002+11:00

According to this article addressing doctors shortage,

"One doctor he knows has slumped into a depression because his net worth has fallen to $2.2 million from $3 million."

I'm entering depression soon. Current net worth: $22.53
The next candy I buy will put me into a depression. Ironic.

TY

Did You Steal My Money

2009-02-14T23:28:00.003+11:00

The Australian Senate has finally passed the $42 Billion stimulus package. Good thing if you ask me.

But somehow I think that some parts of the package are a little "weak". Here I have 2 proposals. Despite being a little too late and nobody reads my blog, I'd still like to write about it.

Firstly, I thought that the money should be spent on expanding satellite cities. Capital cities in most states are overloaded as it is now, and experts have predicted that population will keep increasing. Now, while population increase is not a bad thing, the rate it is increasing by seems to be unsustainable. Commute time will double in the near future, along with overloading of many infrastructure.

Hence, to me it seems reasonable that the money be spent on stimulating activities in those cities, creating jobs there. That way, jobs are created while the burden on capital cities do not increase. 2 birds with 1 stone if you ask me.

Secondly, it seems to me that most of the money in the stimulus package would be going to low income families/individuals. While this is a good thing, I thought more of it should be concentrated on those who have lost their jobs or are unemployed. My reasoning being that in a recession, inflation decreases. This would mean that low income earners would be better off than prior to the recession as petrol and food prices, among others, drop, provided they can keep their jobs and hours. Hence, they are not the ones who most need the money.

Looking from a less altruistic view, my point will still seem reasonable. This is because the purpose of the stimulus package is to stimulate the economy. In other words, the government would hope that the cash bonuses would be spent by the recipients rather than saved. And how better to ensure it is spent than by giving them to people who need the money just to survive? The unemployed are the ones who would most likely spend the money on daily essentials. They still need to eat after all.

Despite all these, I must applaud the government for promising it would make available money from the stimulus package for the reconstruction of bushfire ravaged communities. I guess, they, of all people, would be most in need of help.

Why then, you might ask, that I did not support the Opposition in blocking the stimulus package? The answer is simple. A slightly flawed stimulus package triumphs over a bad stimulus package, or in this case, the lack there of. The right-wing Liberal Party has handled the financial crisis terribly, in my opinion. All they ever talked about was tax-cuts. Nothing else. They opposed the package, but did not seem to provide any logical and acceptable alternatives. Useless. They are called the opposition, but their job is not just to oppose, but to provide an alternative. Tax cut isn't it. A 12 year old can propose tax cuts.

TY

Sunday Bloody Sunday

2009-02-10T16:36:00.003+11:00

I'm safe. Thanks for asking.

But my heart goes out to all those affected.

The arsonists should be burnt alive. They shouldn't be treated any differently from terrorists. They've taken more lives anyway. Just because they aren't Muslim doesn't mean they should get lighter sentences. Bali bombings killed 202. The toll for this one is 173 and counting.

TY

Pretty Fly

2009-02-07T00:32:00.002+11:00

She talked to me.

I sat next to her.

She gave me her number.

I gave her my address.

Damn it! I lost!

TY

Taxman

2009-02-06T21:44:00.002+11:00

If you are a right wing capitalist, can you please explain to me how would tax cuts save the world?

Why does every right wing party in the world think that tax cuts can save the world?

Do they know that several million people has already received a 100% tax cut when they were fired?

I think saving the cheerleader would give you a better shot at saving the world than tax cuts do.

TY

Under The Influence

2009-02-05T16:51:00.004+11:00

This is what Jeremy Clarkson of Topgear have to say about Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister.

'It's the first time I've ever seen a world leader admit we really are in deep shit.'
'He genuinely looked terrified. The poor man, he's actually seen the books.'

And here's the best bit.

'(In the UK) we've got this one-eyed Scottish idiot, he keeps telling us everything's fine and he's saved the world and we know he's lying, but he's smooth at telling us.'

Awesome.
Original article

On a related note, this is what the Australian Opposition government has to say about the Lower House debate on the latest stimulus package that went into the wee hours of the morning.

"Senator Brown said he hoped the Senate would not sit the same hours as the lower house because parliamentarians needed to be alert and awake to debate the package."

Senator Joyce
'It's arrogance, and it doesn't lead to good legislation.'

Senator Xenophon
'Legislation by exhaustion is never a good way to determine the laws of this nation.'

So dear leaders, why are doctors given 36 hour shifts regularly, or sometimes more? Does treating patients not require one to be 'alert and awake'?

Fucking hypocrites. Once again shows that when it happens to you, it's not OK. When it happens to someone else, that's perfectly fine. Bastards.

Kiss my ass. The package can wait. 3ooo jobs a day gone. What's one extra week? 15,000 jobs? Ah, we can wait. Enjoy your sleep. Please don't wake up too. At least you'll free up a position that way. Fuckers.

TY

The KKK Took My Baby Away

2009-02-01T16:54:00.001+11:00

This song is stuck in my head.

Ramones

TY

She's Hot

2009-01-29T02:52:00.001+11:00

They say if a woman's on fire, you have to roll her around and cover her with your body. - Anonymous

Genius.

TY

Factory Girl

2009-01-23T20:26:00.007+11:00

Just a compilation for those of you who feel the same as I do on material culture. And also to remind me many others feel the same too and have expressed themselves in books and music and even wild adventures.

Pink Floyd - Money(Live at Live 8)

Perfect song choice for the occasion don't you think?

Blur - Country House

A Humourous take on Greed.

The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger
Brilliant.

Into The Wild
The book by Jon Krakauer
Or the movie by Sean Penn(based on the book)

And perhaps countless more that slipped through my mind.

But for the sake of including one of my favourite bands and because the song title reminds me of the social circle that directly or indirectly produced/influenced some of my favourite stars(ironic I know), bands and songs, I shall include this.

The Rolling Stones - Factory Girl

TY

Far Gone And Out

2009-01-20T16:52:00.004+11:00

I suspect this will be a long post. Haven't written in a while after all. The main theme for this post would be my view of humanity and my new approach to life.

You remember the scandal about that Singaporean MP's daughter's blogpost? Nevermind if you don't, here's a blog post about it, to fill you in on the details.

Anyway, that clearly shows the stupidity of the higher classes. Firstly, It's amazing how she criticises the poor dude on his English, yet aptly enough, she has no idea how to use capital letters. Not for names, not for the first letter of sentences. Smart kid. Secondly, I wonder if the girl knows that her dad is a member of PAP, a socialist party. She advocated for Darwinism so openly I wonder if she even knows anything about politics. Yet, happily enough, she dares touch on the topic of politics. Kids from Raffles Junior College aren't exactly very bright after all are they? The only thing she seems to be an elite at is making a fool of herself.

Well now for the best part, her dad defended her and her far right capitalist view. It's forgivable if the kid doesn't know PAP is a socialist party, but the dad? The person in the party himself? Genius. Absolute genius. And guess what? Wikipedia tells me her dad is from Raffle Institution, the top school in Singapore. Oh and Imperial College too. Top school, top univeristy. Not very smart though. Not bright at all. To top it all off, he wasn't fired or forced to resign, which allows me to conclude that Singaporeans have very different definition to "smart" than I do. Apparently everybody shared his views. The Socialist International should really revoke PAP's membership.

Fuck hypocrites.

I don't even know why there were so much debate about elitism after that incident. They don't look or sound very "elite" to me. Not the slightest bit. My dumbfuck mind can point out their stupidity in 2 seconds. If that's elite, I must be Einstein's reincarnation. Dumbfuckism would have been more appropriate. Since dumbfucks think they're superior.

Comes to show how society these days, are defined by the rich and powerful(not smart). They define what is "normal" and what is "elite". To paraphrase Gregory House "You see, skinny, socially privilege people, gets to draw this neat little circle, where everyone inside is normal. Everyone outside the circle should broken, beaten and reset, so that they can be brought into the circle. Failing that, they should be institutionalised. Or worse, pitied."

If you don't get where I'm coming from, read The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger and Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer. The latter is also a major motion picture now. Watch it if you don't want to read it.

All this has made me give up on humanity. Humanity is dominated by selfish, ignorant, power hungry, STUPID and egotistic people. And I see no way back for it. It is going downhill, and it is irreversible. I am now officially a misanthrope. But no, I am not going to commit suicide, instead, I am going to embrace HEDONISM.

So to all my hedonistic friends out there, I'm sure there are plenty, this is to you(and now me, too).
“My doctor says that I have a malformed public duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes.”
-Douglas Adams

Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll, don't care about anything else you think you know.

TY

Fuck The World

2009-01-18T13:59:00.003+11:00

It is interesting to see how so many advocate for Fascism in the Israel-Gaza conflict, yet are opposed to Hitler. Just comes to show that when it happens TO you it is not OK. But when it is done BY you, it is absolutely fine.

Hypocrisy at its best. I was never wrong in my hypocrisy theory of mankind.

"I'm going to paraphrase Thoreau here... rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness... give me truth."
-Into The Wild(2007)

TY

Cocksucker Blues

2009-01-08T16:30:00.003+11:00

I started that "other blog" I was talking about after all. Link's on the sidebar.

This post is for the sole purpose of pointing you to the sidebar. No offence meant if you took that as a negative implication on your eyesight.

TY

Shine A Light

2009-01-02T21:19:00.005+11:00

PARIS HILTON'S LATEST STUNT!!!

Oh My God! Like so Totally Hot!

Hah, suckers! I bet I had 2 extra clicks on that link than I usually would get thanks to my "stunt".

Good article though, Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia, writes brilliantly about what I've tried unsuccessfully to write about in more than a 100 posts now.

You really shouldn't blame your boyfriend for treating you as an "object" rather than a person if you idolise Paris Hilton.

Hopefully she turned up on time for the New Year's countdown. I don't think there were many Sydneysiders sober enough to accompany her for the countdown to the first 1am in 2009.

Anyway, I haven't been writing in a while because I didn't have anything to write about. Lately I've been doing lots of reading and watching lots of DVDs, and that's about it. I'd like to mention one book in particular though, as it brings a glimmer of hope back to humanity, despite the world being dominated by people like Paris Hilton. It's aptly titled too.

The Hospital by The River : A Story of Hope

by Catherine Hamlin

Here's the Amazon page.

If you're lazy enough to click on that, it's a story about a husband and wife, both gynaecologists, that took up a job in Ethiopia back in the 50s, and eventually staying on there and establishing the world's first Fistula Hospital. It is an entirely free hospital that is sustained mostly by donations.

The first few chapters are rather boring but once they get to Ethiopia, the story was just amazing. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Africa, especially Ethiopia, as it does have quite a bit about Ethiopia in general and life over there, not just about the hospital.

In other news, I have been considering starting another blog. Not to replace this one, but in addition to this. To write perhaps, about my academic life. But so far the decision is leaning more towards "no", as I feel selfish occupying a blog address for one post a year - hardly anything interesting about molecules and bacterias.

Anyway, the blog title comes from a song of The Rolling Stones, which is also the title of a Martin Scorsese film that follows a gig of The Rolling Stones' themselves in 2006. Truly amazing film/gig. I ought to dedicate an entire post to one of the greatest Rock N' Roll bands of all time sometime soon.

TY

Do They Know It's Christmas?

2008-12-22T02:23:00.002+11:00

I forgot to leave you with this song at the end of the last post. I intended to. So here it is. 3rd post today.

Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?

TY

Endless Sacrifice

2008-12-21T22:43:00.004+11:00

So, it's the time of the year again, where people write blog post reflecting on their year and making resolutions for the upcoming year, and I thought that maybe I should do the same too. After all, the blog address does say "Just to fit in".

Well the past year has been, (can't find the word). It doesn't really work if I can't find the words, does it? Well, maybe it can be described as messy?or roller coaster? good? sucks?
Nope, none of the words appeal to me or fit the situation. Yes I have a very limited vocabulary.

Anyway, many things have happened in the past year that has led to me to see the world from a different perspective. You can say I have had countless epiphanies. However, I have still, as of now, not saved the cheerleader and hence the world yet. I have however, picked up reading, of which I am very glad.

Now, enough of reflection, and on to next year.

I foresee a very busy year ahead, perhaps the busiest to date. I have already committed myself to extra academic workload. And I plan to increase my community and sporting commitments. Perhaps the word commitment isn't exactly accurate here, as these are not things I am forced to do, but rather, things that I have a genuine interest in. I'm planning to join a football(soccer) club and a development aid organisation and then maybe another.

If things go to plan, I'll also be taking a test in March which I still have not started preparing for, and I'll be applying to join an undergraduate research program as well, mainly to get my hands on smallpox for my quest on world domination.

All in all, it seems that the first half of the year will be a lot busier than the second, but I'm already looking forward to it.

As for advice for those who are questioning the purpose of Life, Universe and Everything, I'd say, don't count on next year getting any better. It won't. But consider this, maybe the Hunt is better than the Catch?

If you need me to spell it out, it means, perhaps, the journey you take to reach the "good" no matter how hard or unpleasant it is, might actually be better than the "good".

Anyway, that's it for now. By the way, the answer is 42.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

TY

That's The Way

2008-12-21T19:54:00.006+11:00

This post is about

Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature, and more particularly, his Nobel lecture.

Click for Lecture

That's his lecture in text form. There is also a video version on there, but I read the text instead. I don't know why, maybe because I'm crazy.

He truly amazes me with the amount of knowledge he has and the amount of reading he has done. 90% of the references he made was never seen before by me, further substantiating my ignorance. (But of cause I shrieked like one of those teenage girls catching sight of Zac Efron when he made a reference to Catcher In The Rye.)

But most importantly, the message he sent out in his lecture rang loud and clear in my head. Seeing that it is likely none of you would read the lecture, and the lack of writing capability on my part, I will paste his conclusion here.

"For all his pessimism, Stig Dagerman's phrase about the fundamental paradox of the writer, unsatisfied because he cannot communicate with those who are hungry—whether for nourishment or for knowledge—touches on the greatest truth. Literacy and the struggle against hunger are connected, closely interdependent. One cannot succeed without the other. Both of them require, indeed urge, us to act. So that in this third millennium, which has only just begun, no child on our shared planet, regardless of gender or language or religion, shall be abandoned to hunger or ignorance, or turned away from the feast. This child carries within him the future of our human race. In the words of the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, a very long time ago, the kingdom belongs to a child."

Perhaps the only thing I do not agree with him on is that he believes poverty and illiteracy should be eliminated by the end of the millennium, whereas I believe it should be achieved much, much sooner. Perhaps in my lifetime.

But nevertheless, the message is clear. "No child on our shared planet, regardless of gender or language or religion, shall be abandoned to hunger or ignorance."

Similarly, I too, feel a sense of un-satisfaction, knowing that the people that this message should get across to, will never read this. Time and again, I have wrote about ignorance and how it shouldn't exist, knowing damn well that what I wrote would make no difference, as the truly ignorant have long ago ceased visiting my blog. Despite my ignorance, I am very aware of that fact.

Perhaps my next post should be about Paris Hilton or Jay Chou. Or I should write stories using pop culture or materialistic things as metaphors to get my point across. I'll think about it.

TY

How Far We've Come

2008-12-19T14:39:00.002+11:00

Have you heard about the strange "disappearance" in Zimbabwe?

It truly is fascinating. Here's the article.

It seems George Orwell predicted the future pretty well. They abduct people who go against the government. They do it at night. And they do it without anyone knowing whether the person's dead or alive. Orwell was spot on.

I am somehow very fascinated by writers and novelist who predicted the future so well. They saw it coming. This has happened more than once. If you've read Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy(trust me, it's fuckin' funny, british humour) you'll notice that "The Guide" is extremely similar to that of modern day Wikipedia.

These are just 2 examples. There are countless more. It seems humankind had the ability to predict the future long ago but unlike in Heroes, they make no attempt to shape it, or change it.

Leaves you wondering.

TY

Back From The Dead

2008-12-13T12:02:00.002+11:00

People are such hypocrites.
-George Orwell

He knew that decades ago. I am merely a descendant.

TY

The REAL Slim Shady

2008-12-08T17:28:00.003+11:00

Grab your left, make your right one jealous.
-Eminem

I am pretty sure the political connotations in that quote was intentionally meant by Em.
Ah, another reason to love Em, he's a leftist too, not surprising though.

Now, you can stay at the train station with your cigarettes and beer, but I have to go save the cheerleader, save the world.

TY

A Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy

2008-12-07T01:28:00.002+11:00

This is the 100th post of this blog, so I figured I'd use this post as an introduction to this blog, which I will link to the sidebar for navigation purposes as well.

So about this blog, some of you may already know, but some may not, that most, if not all, of the post title on this blog makes absolutely no sense to you. Therefore, do not crack your head trying to navigate this blog using the post titles. Instead, I have recently took the time to use what they call "tags" and that will be your best bet on trying to get around this blog. The older posts may not have tags but occasionally I do revisit them and add tags to them, plus, there aren't any interesting ones anyway.

As for the subjects I write about, they can vary quite a bit. Generally, they range from Social Issues and Politics to Sports and Medicine, which you most probably already figured out from the tags. I have an interest in Medicine, Sports, International aid and development as well as population behaviour/social perceptions. Hence, it would right to think that my post will revolve around these, with the occasional post on Music, Movies and whatever strikes a thought in my head while I'm sober.

You should also note that if you do not follow world news, you are unlikely to pick up on many of the issues I refer to. However, that might mean that you might be spared from countless lame, unfunny jokes.

That is all for now, from time to time I will re-amend this post to suit the lastest "style" of the blog.

TY

Cocaine

2008-12-03T23:58:00.006+11:00

I had an epiphany(or enlightenment or thought or whatever you want to call it) earlier today about entitlements.

It seems that we Generation Y have moved on from merely taking things for granted to thinking we are entitled to many things. I'm not saying that this does not happen among other generations but it seems far more prevalent in Generation Y, and I'm not the only one that thinks so.

It goes from simple things like thinking we are entitled to the right of way while driving just because it's green to thinking that we are entitled to our parents paying for our higher education. And I'm sure, when the time comes, we'd all think that we are entitled to our parents' possessions as well.

I think we Generation Y are not ready to shoulder the responsibilities of the world yet but it seems that we should be(you can tell that the baby boomers can't even count money anymore). So perhaps we should start by taking on more responsibilities and not take it that we are entitled to anything.

Some day to day events that I think you would find useful. I did.

Do not think that you are entitled to the road just because it's green for you. Have a look left and right before you go. Baby boomers' eyesight aren't exactly getting better anymore. Also, give way to emergency services that are on an emergency mission, move aside, slow down, stop.
Regardless of whether your parents have the money or not, do not expect them to pay for your education. Look for a loan, scholarship, job etc.
Stop thinking that you are entitled to allowance. Don't ask for it, get your own money.
Stop believing that the previous generation will pass down the world to you in one piece, learn about how they are destroying it so that you could fix it when you need to.
Stop thinking that just because there is a shortage in your profession you are entitled to a job.

That's all I can think off for now.

Oh and this is a prelude to an essay I'm currently writing, on "Generation Y". I might or might not post it here. I'll see.

In other news,
Sienna Miller is now my latest favourite girl. So hot. Love her Edie Sedgwick accent on Factory Girl and her British accent on Layer cake. Sorry Scarlett.

Note: Apologies for the terrible sentence structure and broken grammar. Not exactly in a grammar-ry mood.

TY

Underclass Hero

2008-12-03T13:35:00.003+11:00

Reading or visiting websites about humanitarian and development aid always remind me of this.

"Save the cheerleader, save the world."

I don't know why. It just does.

TY

I Am The Resurrection

2008-11-25T03:13:00.001+11:00

Tiger Woods Walks on Water

"It's not a glitch. He's just that good."

City of The Dead

2008-11-25T00:56:00.004+11:00

You shouldn't be surprised by the ignorance level of many city folks. It really isn't hard to believe many aren't aware of current happenings around the world, or important histories, or rather, common and important histories that are actually making a huge impact on them and society at large.

Don't believe me? Go around and find someone that doesn't know there is a Global Financial Crisis going on. Or someone who doesn't know that the man who killed thousands in the Middle-east and tortured hundreds in Guantanamo Bay will finally be replaced.

What worries me isn't the ignorance of society, but rather the ignorance of people in my generation, the generation that the future depends on. They seem to be so caught up in the material culture that they care more about what is Paris Hilton going to do next than the billions(not a typo) starving around the world.

True, they might be selfish and couldn't be bothered more by these people starving. But, shouldn't they at least find out who their Prime Minister/President is, or the Finance Minister, or if they're in the healthcare profession, the Health Minister(you should care even if you're not in the profession, after all, you need healthcare too right)? Sure, they know the names of these people, but do they know anything more than just the name? Their background? What do they have planned? Credentials?

Enough wordy stuff, feeling adventurous, I'm going to spontaneously come up with a quiz for you to self-test your ignorance. Let's see. (For best result, complete without consulting google/wikipedia)

1. Name the current British Prime Minister.

2. What is the current population of China? 2 significant figures will do.

3. In what year did the Berlin Wall fall?

4. What is the most significant global event of 1929?

5. What is the name of the device that scientist claim can create small black holes? Hint: 3 words

6. How does a nation gain automatic qualification for the Football World Cup?

7. Name the current United Nations Secretary General.

8. Name the African country that has been on the news lately due to internal war.

9. How many planets are there in the Sun's(our) Solar System?

10. What religion is the Vatican City significant for?

11. Name the current President of Zimbabwe.

I'm too lazy to provide answers, it's all over google anyway. Maybe I'll put it in the comment tommorow. Just a tip, number 11 was purely for entertainment purposes. The bastards are still fighting for that post over there while the rest of the country experience starvation, economic crisis, never-seen-before inflation, Cholera epidemic and billionaires who can't afford bread.

So, how many did you get out of ten?

TY

Storm The Embassy

2008-11-20T17:40:00.003+11:00

I've decided(oh, the fickleness) that I will not write extensively about Global Health or War or anything like that on my blog. Instead, I will write on Microsoft Word and then if I wish so post them up here. This is so that I can practice writing essays(oh how terrible I am at that).

Anyway, here's something for you to think about. You decide if Iran or USA(maybe it's just Bush, but we'll wait for Obama) is the "bad guy" here.

You see, Iran's military doctrine is based of the concept of Deterrence. That is, to put it simply, "I will retaliate with my nuclear weapon, WMD, long range missles etc etc (that might not even exist), only IF you attack me first. Hence, why I build these fun stuff - to prevent you from attacking me."

However, the Bush doctrine is based of the concept of Preemptive strike. That is, "I will attack you as soon as I, triple emphasis on "I", think that you are a threat to me, or WILL BE a threat to me, doesn't matter if you really have no food to eat in your country, leave alone WMD."

So this I ask you, who is a bigger threat to world security? Who's nuclear weapons are potentially more dangerous to human kind? In other words, who should be the FIRST to be disarmed of their nuclear weapons? You can answer these seemingly complex questions, I'm sure.

In other news, Brazil trounced Portugal 6-2 last night. Amazing.

Though a Manchester United fan(Christiano Ronaldo), Brazil reigns supreme on the International stage. Love 'em. Since 1994.

TY

The Card Cheat

2008-11-19T13:54:00.004+11:00

So today, my card collection in my wallet has just expanded. I now have my own Medicare card. With this increasing number of cards in my wallet, it now looks like a huge bulge. A stranger who sees it would think that I have a stackload of cash in it, when in reality, being jobless and all, I have little to no cash in there, not even a credit card(yes, no credit card and I already have too many cards).

Mind you, these aren't the Dragonball Z type of cards, they're cards you get in a socialist country especially for the poor. They're used to get you free or discounted services if you can't afford them. And of cause the cards for identification purposes like Student card and Driver's License.

In other news, this guy in the car in front of me today was driving at 40 on an 80 road. I was just about to let out a buckload of obcenities when I realise the reason for his slow pace. There were 3 blonde girls crossing the road on the opposite site of the road. Suffice to say, the speed of his driving weren't on my mind(eyes) for the next 10 secs. I hope his girlfriend sitting next to him wasn't as observant as I was.

TY

Sway

2008-11-19T00:49:00.004+11:00

Everytime I get out of the shower I think to myself, If I can get through that, who's to doubt my ability to pull a Charlize Theron?
Here, watch this to get what I mean. It's the last part. But the first 5mins is worth a watch too.

Eddie got it all perfectly right.

In other news, do people use Sheltox as a deodorant? No? My train ride this morning tells me otherwise. Hmm.