Sometimes, I wonder if people wonder if I will ever wonder if I should write more about my daily activities. ( By the way, LOL took you some time to understand it, didn't it?) And the answer is a definite NO. Life wouldn't be fun if everyone knows exactly who I am and what. These are here only to remind my future self of what I am today. For the better or worse, I do not know. But it's sure as hell to be an interesting read to me 10 years into the future. How far will maturity take me?
It is obvious this is not an interesting blog for anyone but myself. But to entertain others was never the point of this blog. When one writes for the self, no one really gives a damn. It is only when the writer writes for the readers will one get the money. Stephen King is right about this.
Writing sounds like a good part-time job. Especially the Fantasy genre ( genre is pronounced as zh-ahn-ruh where the "zh" is the same as the "s" in "pleasure"), because it seems like it has one of the best shelf life. Just look at Tolkien, who could still be reaping millions if he isn't dead. This is one type of story that readers do not require experience in anywhere or when to understand. And the best thing about Fantasy is that there is no limit to what you want to write! As long as the writer doesn't use too many deus ex machina (pronounced as dey-uhs ex mak-uh-nuh) that seem really ridiculous, anything is fine. People who die do not need to remain dead. Magic can do anything and be anything. And any way to do anything that you can ever imagine is fine.
One negative point about writing in this genre is that people tend to associate fiction with reality, and when things in the stories seem to much like the real thing, they don't look as cool anymore. But making them too absurd will result in the book being placed in the Humour category. So therefore, everything must be linked somehow. But that is okay, because magic can do anything. Well, everything except to create something from nothing, because that's reserved by the God of Christianity and most English-speakers will find it blasphemous if the main character has the power to create. But then, if you put some limits to it, it may be fine for your character. Hah! Maybe someday I will write about it. Or someone will steal this idea and write about it. Or someone will write about me writing about it. Or someone will write about me writing about someone writing about me. Or... okay enough of this.
Writing fantasy novels also require a huge fetish for details. Lots of details are needed to properly describe anything that do not exist in the real world, with the exception of old school stuff like elves and anything Tolkien has described. Fantasy writers really have to thank Tolkien for writing as much as he did to make modern writers' work so much easier. If someone writes "orc" everyone knows what it generally looks like. But if he writes about a creature named "Oguek" no one would know if it is a creature or a thing. And that is the difference Tolkien made.
But there must be some kind of problem with writing as a profession in Singapore. Rarely do I see Singaporean books being bought, compared to American books. That excludes the shitty series containing all sorts of ghost stories that some believe to be real. That's a real seller, to me, if you compare its sales to its quality. Or books by Catherine Lim, but that's cos her books are sometimes used as Literature textbooks.
I'm guessing the problem lies the lack of numbers. Too few people can write and are interested in writing as a profession.
Monday 26 February 2007
Sunday 25 February 2007
Rant 026 / "Fuck" Is Not My Middle Name
The best way to lie has always been to mix it with truth. The more truth, the better the lie, of course. And the best lie is the truth. Seriously!
Sometimes being known as a joker or a sarcastic person has its benefits. Both are supposed to say things that are not true in such a way no one dislikes them for lying often. But people tend to ignore the fact that such people often say things that are not true. Therefore, when they accidentally say something that is not true, people who know them may think they are saying it as a bad joke, or they're being especially nasty. Not that I'm encouraging people to be either of them, but at least you don't look stupid when you make a major mistake.
I have said many things that were and are wrong before. Everyone has. To err is human, to forgive divine. I do not ask for anyone to forgive me or I'll make it look as if you're divine. No, that is not the truth. But I will not ask for forgiveness from anyone, and that is the truth.
I wish I can demand things. It makes life feel so much easier, for a while. But I know the price of making demands is huge. It is like paying for merchandise by instalments - there is always a significant amount of interest. It is illogical to demand for things when you can ask/buy what you want. What would you be able to do when you really need something to save your life? And by "saving your life", I do not mean that teddy bear you must buy for your girlfriend who threatens to break up with you if you don't. And such girlfriends aren't worth having anyway, LOL! But to demand something, you need to have something to back you up. Something to force the other party to give in to your will. Unless you have an incredibly strong will relative to that poor guy. To demand for things is a better way to get what you want, in the short term.
There is no spoon.
It does not feel right when no one seems to thinks the way I do. But it is also wrong if everyone thinks the same way.
People say many things. But do they believe in what they say?
I do not play mind games. It is your fault that you think too much. LOL!
I do not think much, I must admit. Many things I do, I do without thought. To change this is hard. Slow response often make conversations seem awkward. Slow response in sudden events may seem only slightly better than no reaction at all. Therefore I have to think faster. Easier said than done. But it seems possible.
Many things are easier said than done. Which sucks for most of us normal people. For the rest of you, the ones who can split rivers, sent plagues of locusts and lead your people to paradise, simply by sucking up to your dads, you have different problems. I do not pretend to understand your problems, and I do not care for them. But why bother to do things that are hard? To improve ourselves? Hah! Bingo! All roads lead to sex, and here is another piece of evidence.
Often, I find people trying to discuss life when they do not understand much about it. Just like me. But why should I compare myself with them? Similarly, why should a country compare itself with other countries? Especially with countries who are supposedly inferior to itself in one way or another? That's stupid. If they're inferior in such a way, then why do you want to think about it at all? Everyone should look at those who are better than them, not to envy, but to learn and improve. Comparing yourself in such a way will serve no practical purpose but a temporary boost of ego. Even when you are the best, you should improve on other things too.
Sometimes being known as a joker or a sarcastic person has its benefits. Both are supposed to say things that are not true in such a way no one dislikes them for lying often. But people tend to ignore the fact that such people often say things that are not true. Therefore, when they accidentally say something that is not true, people who know them may think they are saying it as a bad joke, or they're being especially nasty. Not that I'm encouraging people to be either of them, but at least you don't look stupid when you make a major mistake.
I have said many things that were and are wrong before. Everyone has. To err is human, to forgive divine. I do not ask for anyone to forgive me or I'll make it look as if you're divine. No, that is not the truth. But I will not ask for forgiveness from anyone, and that is the truth.
I wish I can demand things. It makes life feel so much easier, for a while. But I know the price of making demands is huge. It is like paying for merchandise by instalments - there is always a significant amount of interest. It is illogical to demand for things when you can ask/buy what you want. What would you be able to do when you really need something to save your life? And by "saving your life", I do not mean that teddy bear you must buy for your girlfriend who threatens to break up with you if you don't. And such girlfriends aren't worth having anyway, LOL! But to demand something, you need to have something to back you up. Something to force the other party to give in to your will. Unless you have an incredibly strong will relative to that poor guy. To demand for things is a better way to get what you want, in the short term.
There is no spoon.
It does not feel right when no one seems to thinks the way I do. But it is also wrong if everyone thinks the same way.
People say many things. But do they believe in what they say?
I do not play mind games. It is your fault that you think too much. LOL!
I do not think much, I must admit. Many things I do, I do without thought. To change this is hard. Slow response often make conversations seem awkward. Slow response in sudden events may seem only slightly better than no reaction at all. Therefore I have to think faster. Easier said than done. But it seems possible.
Many things are easier said than done. Which sucks for most of us normal people. For the rest of you, the ones who can split rivers, sent plagues of locusts and lead your people to paradise, simply by sucking up to your dads, you have different problems. I do not pretend to understand your problems, and I do not care for them. But why bother to do things that are hard? To improve ourselves? Hah! Bingo! All roads lead to sex, and here is another piece of evidence.
Often, I find people trying to discuss life when they do not understand much about it. Just like me. But why should I compare myself with them? Similarly, why should a country compare itself with other countries? Especially with countries who are supposedly inferior to itself in one way or another? That's stupid. If they're inferior in such a way, then why do you want to think about it at all? Everyone should look at those who are better than them, not to envy, but to learn and improve. Comparing yourself in such a way will serve no practical purpose but a temporary boost of ego. Even when you are the best, you should improve on other things too.
Saturday 24 February 2007
Rant 025 / I came, I saw, I came again.
Education should be made mandatory and free. Why should education be seen as something the government supplies to meet the people's demands? Well, that's exactly why we are paying for our education. And by making education mandatory, it makes it seem as if the government wants you to pay them for something you may or may not want. Somehow it feels akin to Communism. Yes, it should be free of charge instead! Education is a type of long-term investment all governments must make at some point of their rule. It is of utmost importance if a country wishes to play with the big boys. Without a proper educational system, a country will always be a Third World nation. Therefore, it is something it should want the people to have, more than the people themselves want. In any negotiation, the party that wants the deal to succeed more than the others usually pays the most. That is only logical. I will not go to the extent of suggesting that they pay the people to go to school, but at the very least, it should be free of charge. For goodness' sake, there are people out there with children who can barely pay for their basic necessities, and yet do not fall within the zone that is allowed to get financial help. Making it free will not only not bankrupt the country, but it will allow more kids to receive a proper education and thus help the nation prosper. What is spent in the schools, the government will profit ten-fold from the revenues in the future.
In Singapore, there are several ( though the government would describe them as "many") funds to help the poor, but sometimes, there are those who are that poor but somehow do not meet all the right conditions. The so-called "gray area". It is disgusting the way no one gives a damn, unless you start to consider the truth of eugenics. In that case, they should jump off a tall building. Or do it in that amazingly dramatic way of jumping in front of a train at a station. Someone should shout "Encore!" to that. I wish people would do that more often. People these days are numb to those who need help. The government always repeat the mantra that there are many funds to help the poor and needy, but they do not care about those who fall in the gap between the 2 zones. It is almost as if these funds are there so that the government can say they have tried to help, and they are not there because they really want to help. It is not necessary for them to give a monthly allowance to everyone who is jobless, but at least give them an allowance that can barely meet their needs for a short period of 5-7 months, or until they get a job, whichever ends earlier. Long enough for anyone to get a job, but not so long it depletes the treasury. An easier, though inferior, idea is to give the people in charge of the funds more freedom to choose the people they feel are eligible for financial aid.
Quoted from somewhere:
People like to see what they prefer to see. I refuse to be a fool like that.
In Singapore, there are several ( though the government would describe them as "many") funds to help the poor, but sometimes, there are those who are that poor but somehow do not meet all the right conditions. The so-called "gray area". It is disgusting the way no one gives a damn, unless you start to consider the truth of eugenics. In that case, they should jump off a tall building. Or do it in that amazingly dramatic way of jumping in front of a train at a station. Someone should shout "Encore!" to that. I wish people would do that more often. People these days are numb to those who need help. The government always repeat the mantra that there are many funds to help the poor and needy, but they do not care about those who fall in the gap between the 2 zones. It is almost as if these funds are there so that the government can say they have tried to help, and they are not there because they really want to help. It is not necessary for them to give a monthly allowance to everyone who is jobless, but at least give them an allowance that can barely meet their needs for a short period of 5-7 months, or until they get a job, whichever ends earlier. Long enough for anyone to get a job, but not so long it depletes the treasury. An easier, though inferior, idea is to give the people in charge of the funds more freedom to choose the people they feel are eligible for financial aid.
Quoted from somewhere:
Because God is pure love, anybody, even good people, who don't believe in Him are forced into eternal suffering in Hell. However, evil selfish people can believe in God and get into Heaven because God loves them. God loves everybody equally, He even loves the people He has condemned to burn forever.
For more in-depth discussion of this subject, consult the Bible, which is the definitive authority on all things religious, as it was written by God Himself and directly given to us mere humans to treasure forever. Every word of it is literally true, without exception. He even translated the Bible for everybody in later years.
Note carefully that no human can ever know God's will. Except the Pope, because he has a mind-bogglingly cool hat. And a stick.
People like to see what they prefer to see. I refuse to be a fool like that.
Rant 024 / Air is incredibly addictive. One breath is all it takes to hook you.
Justice. The penal system is seen as something that punishes those who would break the law. I disagree. The penal system's primary purpose should be to deter, to create fear. It's existence should be used to prevent crime from being committed, but this is giving way, or has given way already in many places, to its secondary purpose: to punish. This is not right. People are making it seem like it is fine to commit crimes as long as the criminals are punished. Crimes should not be committed at all! Just take the innumerable assassinations in our history for example. If every single killer was found, tried, and sentenced fairly, would it be as good as not having them committed in the first place? Definitely not. Though I can say that no matter what, they would have been killed. Fate. But if I were to decide to disregard fate here and utilise the philosophy that fate is created by our hands, I must conclude that prevention is always better than a fair sentence. So therefore, the prescribed punishments need to prevent crimes from being committed at all! "How?", you may ask. By making them so obscene, yet short of death for everything, that no one would think about doing anything against the law. Not just increase the punishments when crime rates seem to rise. That would be too late!
When watching a documentary on Discovery, I learnt that the punishments are incredibly harsh in a certain top-security prison in the U.S.. A mere unarmed fight there gave a the one who started the fight over a hundred days in solitary confinement, in addition to his original jail term. Now we are not talking about the solitary confinement you would find in any jail. In this top-security prison, solitary cells contains a toilet bowl without seat nor cover, a mirror screwed into the wall tightly, a metal sink with no plug and a bed. The window is a pane of glass less than 2m tall, and about 5 inches wide. Basically you cannot see the person delivering food to you when you're inside, and only once a month do you see an living creature beside yourself. And that's only when you are cuffed and escorted by no less than 2 huge wardens for a haircut. Yes, in there, all you can see is yourself, and yourself in the mirror. There is not even a damned cockroach for you to see. When that person tried to appeal for a shorter sentence by claiming to see bugs in the room all the time from the corner of his eyes, the appeal was rejected by the head warden. Now that is the right way to do things. To have punishments so brutal that people would fear the sentence before they decide to commit crimes. Not to make those guys pay for what they have done. That should never be the intention of the punishments. I did explain why in a certain previous article, so I will not digress anymore.
Like, for example, refusing to return to Singapore for NS. The punishment should not be just 10 months of jail and the lousy fine. Goodness knows most Singaporeans who dare to avoid from NS also usually have barely enough money for such situations. But to make it so brutal that no one would consider such an option, it should be life imprisonment for such people. You were expecting me to say," Exile"? ROFL! That would be nice. But back to the topic, life imprisonment would also be suitable for such people because they truly do not understand the importance of a militia-like army for a country like ours. They do not understand that even if they have the ability to make US$800b by the age of 30, it would be pointless if their country is no longer a country on its own. Either that or they do not care about their country at all. Either way such people are dangerous to the nation and letting them out would only lead to their ideas spreading to other people. Unless you have read my previous articles, you would find the above possibility of our country losing its sovereignty absurd. Know that peace is not something that comes falling from the sky.
Peace comes from the fact that more people bother to enforce peace than people who want the chaos that lead to change. Countries and borders are still fluid matters. East Timor was considered part of Indonesia until 1999. And even before this, it had really been an independent state since Nov 28, 1975, though it was occupied by Indonesia 9 days later, until 1999. And that was a mere 8 years ago. Just 600 years ago, Western Europe was made up of an incredible number of nations, compared to what it is today. If you are able to take a look at an accurate map of what it was like back then, it would have shocked you. And China is another example. You see, borders are always fluid. Countries come and go. And they always go when the people and/or the rulers are weak. Following every change, is Chaos.
How I digress!
Forgiveness cannot be asked. Forgiveness cannot be demanded. Like respect, forgiveness must be earned. To pray for forgiveness is to demand something unreasonably from whoever you pray to. But many do not understand. They believe they need forgiveness in many things that no one should forgive them for. Or they believe they are wrong when they are most definitely not. So this is where religion comes in. Makes life easier for those who do not wish to dwell on the whole meaning of what they are doing. Religion is a shortcut. But I cannot say it is a bad one. Some people do need it when they find difficulty in walking alone.
for·give [fer-giv]
–verb (used with object)
–verb (used without object)
Basically to forgive is to treat it as if the offending act never happened. Why else would a person forgive? To forgive is to grant pardon for, to absolve, to cease to feel resentment and to cancel an indebtedness of liability. Is that not to "treat it as if the offending act never happened"? Well you would think that there is difference of the memory being there in the case of forgiveness. But that would be wrong on your part. I said "to treat it as if the act never happened", not to forget the whole matter. Heinous crimes have been forgiven, but never forgotten. When a person forgives another, the forgiving person must not have any dislike or bias against the forgiven person which is based on the forgiven offending act.
And to forgive someone who killed an innocent person for no good reason is illogical. A bad reason like a drug deal gone awry is no reason to kill anyone. Such person needs to be removed from the society in such a way that there is no possibility of parole or escape. Killers like this have proven to be unable to control themselves in their daily lives. Therefore they are very dangerous people. Death is most suitable for such murderers and it is much cheaper for the country than life imprisonment. If we were to replace the death sentence with life imprisonment, us, taxpayers, would be paying for their lives. Where is the logic in that? But one argument against death is that sometimes the wrong person is arrested and charged. Nothing would be enough to pay for such, and the whole country would be the murderer. Now the question that must be asked is this: are the prisons' escape rates low enough to gamble with our lives so that the few innocent people won't be killed by the state? Either way you run the risk of getting killed. An infinitesimally small possibility of both, but they exist nonetheless. If I were to choose between the 2, I'd choose being killed by the state. At least they treat you well just before you die.
Another point is that murderers can be counselled, or treated, so that they will not murder anymore. Now I do not know the murder rates of countries with capital punishment and those that do not, but what I expect is that countries with capital punishment should tend to have the lower numbers when they have their murder rates divided by the total population of the country. And to treat/counsel serial killers? No matter. All these counselling and treating should have started when they were young. Right, some people have lousy parents who do not teach their kids not to murder when they grow up. Why not? This I blame the parents, and the people of the country in general. Everyone has to have part of the blame for every murder that happens. This may sound absurd but everything everyone does plays a part in all events. Those parents may have been brought up in the same way as their kids, and no one taught them the right way. No one bothered. See the link? Or the parents were too busy to teach them, too busy working for a living. "Busy" is always an excuse, but never a reason. Lazy is the right word. Convincing themselves they were busy when they were really placing the priority of such important lessons below the priority of sleep, is the real reason. Screaming and shouting they were really too busy is pointless, because the truth is the truth and nothing but the truth. Convincing themselves otherwise is plainly self-denial.
The actual truth is never important. The perceived truth is all that matters. This is the cause of all Chaos.
When watching a documentary on Discovery, I learnt that the punishments are incredibly harsh in a certain top-security prison in the U.S.. A mere unarmed fight there gave a the one who started the fight over a hundred days in solitary confinement, in addition to his original jail term. Now we are not talking about the solitary confinement you would find in any jail. In this top-security prison, solitary cells contains a toilet bowl without seat nor cover, a mirror screwed into the wall tightly, a metal sink with no plug and a bed. The window is a pane of glass less than 2m tall, and about 5 inches wide. Basically you cannot see the person delivering food to you when you're inside, and only once a month do you see an living creature beside yourself. And that's only when you are cuffed and escorted by no less than 2 huge wardens for a haircut. Yes, in there, all you can see is yourself, and yourself in the mirror. There is not even a damned cockroach for you to see. When that person tried to appeal for a shorter sentence by claiming to see bugs in the room all the time from the corner of his eyes, the appeal was rejected by the head warden. Now that is the right way to do things. To have punishments so brutal that people would fear the sentence before they decide to commit crimes. Not to make those guys pay for what they have done. That should never be the intention of the punishments. I did explain why in a certain previous article, so I will not digress anymore.
Like, for example, refusing to return to Singapore for NS. The punishment should not be just 10 months of jail and the lousy fine. Goodness knows most Singaporeans who dare to avoid from NS also usually have barely enough money for such situations. But to make it so brutal that no one would consider such an option, it should be life imprisonment for such people. You were expecting me to say," Exile"? ROFL! That would be nice. But back to the topic, life imprisonment would also be suitable for such people because they truly do not understand the importance of a militia-like army for a country like ours. They do not understand that even if they have the ability to make US$800b by the age of 30, it would be pointless if their country is no longer a country on its own. Either that or they do not care about their country at all. Either way such people are dangerous to the nation and letting them out would only lead to their ideas spreading to other people. Unless you have read my previous articles, you would find the above possibility of our country losing its sovereignty absurd. Know that peace is not something that comes falling from the sky.
Peace comes from the fact that more people bother to enforce peace than people who want the chaos that lead to change. Countries and borders are still fluid matters. East Timor was considered part of Indonesia until 1999. And even before this, it had really been an independent state since Nov 28, 1975, though it was occupied by Indonesia 9 days later, until 1999. And that was a mere 8 years ago. Just 600 years ago, Western Europe was made up of an incredible number of nations, compared to what it is today. If you are able to take a look at an accurate map of what it was like back then, it would have shocked you. And China is another example. You see, borders are always fluid. Countries come and go. And they always go when the people and/or the rulers are weak. Following every change, is Chaos.
How I digress!
Forgiveness cannot be asked. Forgiveness cannot be demanded. Like respect, forgiveness must be earned. To pray for forgiveness is to demand something unreasonably from whoever you pray to. But many do not understand. They believe they need forgiveness in many things that no one should forgive them for. Or they believe they are wrong when they are most definitely not. So this is where religion comes in. Makes life easier for those who do not wish to dwell on the whole meaning of what they are doing. Religion is a shortcut. But I cannot say it is a bad one. Some people do need it when they find difficulty in walking alone.
for·give [fer-giv]
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | to grant pardon for or remission of (an offense, debt, etc.); absolve. |
| 2. | to give up all claim on account of; remit (a debt, obligation, etc.). |
| 3. | to grant pardon to (a person). |
| 4. | to cease to feel resentment against: to forgive one's enemies. |
| 5. | to cancel an indebtedness or liability of: to forgive the interest owed on a loan. |
| 6. | to pardon an offense or an offender. |
Basically to forgive is to treat it as if the offending act never happened. Why else would a person forgive? To forgive is to grant pardon for, to absolve, to cease to feel resentment and to cancel an indebtedness of liability. Is that not to "treat it as if the offending act never happened"? Well you would think that there is difference of the memory being there in the case of forgiveness. But that would be wrong on your part. I said "to treat it as if the act never happened", not to forget the whole matter. Heinous crimes have been forgiven, but never forgotten. When a person forgives another, the forgiving person must not have any dislike or bias against the forgiven person which is based on the forgiven offending act.
And to forgive someone who killed an innocent person for no good reason is illogical. A bad reason like a drug deal gone awry is no reason to kill anyone. Such person needs to be removed from the society in such a way that there is no possibility of parole or escape. Killers like this have proven to be unable to control themselves in their daily lives. Therefore they are very dangerous people. Death is most suitable for such murderers and it is much cheaper for the country than life imprisonment. If we were to replace the death sentence with life imprisonment, us, taxpayers, would be paying for their lives. Where is the logic in that? But one argument against death is that sometimes the wrong person is arrested and charged. Nothing would be enough to pay for such, and the whole country would be the murderer. Now the question that must be asked is this: are the prisons' escape rates low enough to gamble with our lives so that the few innocent people won't be killed by the state? Either way you run the risk of getting killed. An infinitesimally small possibility of both, but they exist nonetheless. If I were to choose between the 2, I'd choose being killed by the state. At least they treat you well just before you die.
Another point is that murderers can be counselled, or treated, so that they will not murder anymore. Now I do not know the murder rates of countries with capital punishment and those that do not, but what I expect is that countries with capital punishment should tend to have the lower numbers when they have their murder rates divided by the total population of the country. And to treat/counsel serial killers? No matter. All these counselling and treating should have started when they were young. Right, some people have lousy parents who do not teach their kids not to murder when they grow up. Why not? This I blame the parents, and the people of the country in general. Everyone has to have part of the blame for every murder that happens. This may sound absurd but everything everyone does plays a part in all events. Those parents may have been brought up in the same way as their kids, and no one taught them the right way. No one bothered. See the link? Or the parents were too busy to teach them, too busy working for a living. "Busy" is always an excuse, but never a reason. Lazy is the right word. Convincing themselves they were busy when they were really placing the priority of such important lessons below the priority of sleep, is the real reason. Screaming and shouting they were really too busy is pointless, because the truth is the truth and nothing but the truth. Convincing themselves otherwise is plainly self-denial.
The actual truth is never important. The perceived truth is all that matters. This is the cause of all Chaos.
Thursday 22 February 2007
Rant 023 / A Mung Bean Plant Hellbent On World Domination Is Not A Good Idea For A Movie.
I have always found it ironic that ppl would, after an argument, type "I DON'T CARE!" about the whole reason the spamming contest started. I mean, if u don't care, y did u start? "Don't care", aka "don't give a damn" means if u see it, u would ignore it. Once you give in to the impulse to say do something about it, you no longer "don't care". When you still insist that you "don't care" after the argument, you are effectively trying to tell everyone present that "I lost the stupid fight and I'm trying very hard not to cry here. So pls don't make me cry or I'll tell my mommy!" or something to this effect. Well, if you ever get into a situation that would make you want to say anything like that, the best thing you can do is NOT to say something like this. I will not state the best way to escape this, cos i don't want to lose the sadistic satisfaction of making ppl cry when they lose an argument with me. There are other ways to get the satisfaction from an argument but I won't go any further lest I reveal what I was refusing to say.
MLM can be seen a legal form of a pyramid scheme. In both plans, people sell stuff together and are paid according to their sales. In both plans, ppl can "hire", in some way, other ppl to help them sell stuff. In both plans, ppl sell stuff that are usually sold by companies in their "organizations". But MLM is distinctively different from a pyramid scheme due to the fact that in a pyramid scheme, the "hiring" provides a much better income than the sales. How MLM companies aren't getting sued for being pyramid schemes is a question only lawyers and anyone else who have studied law can answer.
An interesting article on MLM can be found here.
This article doesn't deal with the legality of MLM companies but discusses the basic flaws of the MLM concept.
Basically few ppl, if not none at all, who are not part of MLM companies actually believe that MLM is profitable for everyone involved. To hire ppl to sell the same stuff as you is foolishness, basically. The market is finite, you are not. If you get more ppl to sell the same stuff to the same number of ppl, what you would get is a reduction of sales. That is illogical. And here, the reason of "helping people start their businesses" comes in. It practically solves this problem of being illogical and reverses itself to being beneficial for all. But no matter what it is saying, the result is undoubtedly the same. Salespeople sell products. Salespeople hire more salespeople to sell the same products. GL HF. This is a very basic flaw in MLM. Yes I know some salespeople involved in MLM do not do much to hire more people, and try to sell stuff by themselves. They, at least, see some sense. Yet they do not see the much greater senselessness of this MLM company.
These days, MLM companies have phrased their words so beautifully people have been tricked into believing they have nothing to do with MLM. Some call it "personal distributor network", and some have moved the focus of their organization to the distributing companies, calling themselves a "corporate alliance"(even though the salespeople are still there below). I am surprised when someone told me a certain company isn't anything like MLM when it certainly is. I checked the website of the company but i cannot say what made me suspicious or i will reveal too much. But what made me confirmed my suspicion is the terms and conditions of signing up as salesperson.
"I will become a (company name) Distributor upon acceptance of this Application Form by (company name), and I will at that time have the right to sell (company name) products in accordance with the (company name) Marketing Plan..."
"Without prior approval from (company name) Management, I / distributors shall refrain from:
a)Recruiting new distributor through media or
b)Promoting (company name)¡¯s products and/or (company name) activities through any form of the advertisement."
"...and the Company shall not bear any responsibility for any financial loss to me resulting as a result of any failure to perform this undertaking. "
"I understand that no purchase is necessary for me to become an (name for some kind of post) other than to pay a Registration Fee of USD25, which does not contain any commissionable product."
"I understand that I am responsible for training and supporting my affiliates I sponsor under the Marketing Plan. I will perform a bona fide supervisory, soliciting distributive and/or selling function in connection with the sale of (company name) products to the ultimate. I also agree to train any affiliates that I may sponsor in the performance of these functions."
there were also many other conditions to make sure no responsibility falls on the organization if anything goes wrong, like "As (company name) Independent (name for some kind of post) I am an independent affiliate and not an employee, partner, agent, franchisee or legal representative of (company name). I agree that I solely responsible for my compliance with any and all laws and regulations related to my business in any jurisdiction exercising authority over me, including but not limited to the duty to license my business and pay self- employment income taxes and to comply with all other regulations. I will obey any and all Federal or local laws, statutes and regulations applicable to my business and me. "
basically the first condition already says it is a MLM company. I am surprised my friend actually told me it isn't. if it is as good as he makes it sound ( making money without going for work; helping others make money etc) it should have been on tv. Many times. This is fantastic! I can just sit at home, talk and help ppl make money! All these happening while money rolls into my bank account! Fuck! Who needs a job anymore? Just advertise this company on TV and the whole damn world can just sit at home and watch the money appear!
The first thing that got me suspicious of the first MLM i heard of was that its founder wanted to help others make money. Its founder was supposed to be an international corporation, listed on NASDAQ. now the problem with this seemingly amazing wave of good luck lies in the fact that corporations need to keep growing to stay healthy. And to keep growing, it needs fewer competition, or a growing market. Since it cannot enlarge a market by hiring salespeople or forming a network of companies, therefore it must decrease competition! To help others form successful businesses, it is increasing its competition whenever that company sells anything the founder sells. Even if it doesn't sell what the new companies sell, it must watch out for fact that they need to diversify to continue its growth in the future. Therefore encouraging companies to appear is not an obvious way to keep the original corporation going. The part about salespeople is fine for the corporation, because in the end, all salespeople are its customers. They buy products from them to sell! And to found a successful corporation, especially one listed in NASDAQ, its founder needs to care very much for it. The fact the the founder is willing to risk the well-being of the corporation to do good is illogical. Usually, to do good, they just donate to charity or create charity funds, like Bill Gates. Therefore i do not trust MLM. Any other reasons to mistrust MLM is good, though i do not need more.
I have always thought of myself as gullible. I guess even straight-As students can be more gullible than I am. I just hope those guys ruling my country aren't this bad.
MLM can be seen a legal form of a pyramid scheme. In both plans, people sell stuff together and are paid according to their sales. In both plans, ppl can "hire", in some way, other ppl to help them sell stuff. In both plans, ppl sell stuff that are usually sold by companies in their "organizations". But MLM is distinctively different from a pyramid scheme due to the fact that in a pyramid scheme, the "hiring" provides a much better income than the sales. How MLM companies aren't getting sued for being pyramid schemes is a question only lawyers and anyone else who have studied law can answer.
An interesting article on MLM can be found here.
This article doesn't deal with the legality of MLM companies but discusses the basic flaws of the MLM concept.
Basically few ppl, if not none at all, who are not part of MLM companies actually believe that MLM is profitable for everyone involved. To hire ppl to sell the same stuff as you is foolishness, basically. The market is finite, you are not. If you get more ppl to sell the same stuff to the same number of ppl, what you would get is a reduction of sales. That is illogical. And here, the reason of "helping people start their businesses" comes in. It practically solves this problem of being illogical and reverses itself to being beneficial for all. But no matter what it is saying, the result is undoubtedly the same. Salespeople sell products. Salespeople hire more salespeople to sell the same products. GL HF. This is a very basic flaw in MLM. Yes I know some salespeople involved in MLM do not do much to hire more people, and try to sell stuff by themselves. They, at least, see some sense. Yet they do not see the much greater senselessness of this MLM company.
These days, MLM companies have phrased their words so beautifully people have been tricked into believing they have nothing to do with MLM. Some call it "personal distributor network", and some have moved the focus of their organization to the distributing companies, calling themselves a "corporate alliance"(even though the salespeople are still there below). I am surprised when someone told me a certain company isn't anything like MLM when it certainly is. I checked the website of the company but i cannot say what made me suspicious or i will reveal too much. But what made me confirmed my suspicion is the terms and conditions of signing up as salesperson.
"I will become a (company name) Distributor upon acceptance of this Application Form by (company name), and I will at that time have the right to sell (company name) products in accordance with the (company name) Marketing Plan..."
"Without prior approval from (company name) Management, I / distributors shall refrain from:
a)Recruiting new distributor through media or
b)Promoting (company name)¡¯s products and/or (company name) activities through any form of the advertisement."
"...and the Company shall not bear any responsibility for any financial loss to me resulting as a result of any failure to perform this undertaking. "
"I understand that no purchase is necessary for me to become an (name for some kind of post) other than to pay a Registration Fee of USD25, which does not contain any commissionable product."
"I understand that I am responsible for training and supporting my affiliates I sponsor under the Marketing Plan. I will perform a bona fide supervisory, soliciting distributive and/or selling function in connection with the sale of (company name) products to the ultimate. I also agree to train any affiliates that I may sponsor in the performance of these functions."
there were also many other conditions to make sure no responsibility falls on the organization if anything goes wrong, like "As (company name) Independent (name for some kind of post) I am an independent affiliate and not an employee, partner, agent, franchisee or legal representative of (company name). I agree that I solely responsible for my compliance with any and all laws and regulations related to my business in any jurisdiction exercising authority over me, including but not limited to the duty to license my business and pay self- employment income taxes and to comply with all other regulations. I will obey any and all Federal or local laws, statutes and regulations applicable to my business and me. "
basically the first condition already says it is a MLM company. I am surprised my friend actually told me it isn't. if it is as good as he makes it sound ( making money without going for work; helping others make money etc) it should have been on tv. Many times. This is fantastic! I can just sit at home, talk and help ppl make money! All these happening while money rolls into my bank account! Fuck! Who needs a job anymore? Just advertise this company on TV and the whole damn world can just sit at home and watch the money appear!
The first thing that got me suspicious of the first MLM i heard of was that its founder wanted to help others make money. Its founder was supposed to be an international corporation, listed on NASDAQ. now the problem with this seemingly amazing wave of good luck lies in the fact that corporations need to keep growing to stay healthy. And to keep growing, it needs fewer competition, or a growing market. Since it cannot enlarge a market by hiring salespeople or forming a network of companies, therefore it must decrease competition! To help others form successful businesses, it is increasing its competition whenever that company sells anything the founder sells. Even if it doesn't sell what the new companies sell, it must watch out for fact that they need to diversify to continue its growth in the future. Therefore encouraging companies to appear is not an obvious way to keep the original corporation going. The part about salespeople is fine for the corporation, because in the end, all salespeople are its customers. They buy products from them to sell! And to found a successful corporation, especially one listed in NASDAQ, its founder needs to care very much for it. The fact the the founder is willing to risk the well-being of the corporation to do good is illogical. Usually, to do good, they just donate to charity or create charity funds, like Bill Gates. Therefore i do not trust MLM. Any other reasons to mistrust MLM is good, though i do not need more.
I have always thought of myself as gullible. I guess even straight-As students can be more gullible than I am. I just hope those guys ruling my country aren't this bad.
Wednesday 21 February 2007
Rant 022 / What if the dildo short-circuits?
Europa Universalis III has such great music. In fact, the two reasons why I play it is because it's fun and the music is good. Andreas Waldetoft is the composer. The game is extremely replayable because no two games are ever the same. In one game I was able to annex Aragon and in the next I could barely avoid a war with my two neighbours Aragon and Portugal( I was playing as Castille both times).
Dominions III seems like a very good game. Full of interesting choices and it has a random map generator. You can choose the physical form of your god from a hell lot of choices and there are so many races to choose from. Replayability is very high for this game but on the other hand, this game requires much reading and understanding because there are just too many things to know in this game. The manual is over 300 pages long and is considered essential to a understanding this game in a day. Without a manual, the best you can do is download the demo which comes with a short manual that only teaches the basic mechanics of the game. To try the game without any of these 2 manuals is the best way to get frustrated and delete the game.
Today I did something I do not want to describe. It is such an extreme thing that I have absolutely no desire to say it. Therefore I will not say it. Do not expect me to type anything that says anymore about it here in this article. You will not see it. There is no way I will type it down here. Wish all you want, but I will not go any further than this. It was so incredibly ..... something, but I will not say what.
Survival of the fittest. It does not necessarily mean the fittest individual.
If a person is able to have one special superpower, which can be chosen from anything he can imagine, what is the best choice? The power to create anything from nothing. With this power, you can fly by creating more air under you and vacuum above you. You can blast any walls by creating matter between each molecule in the wall. You can create the greatest anything. You can be invisible by creating space-time distortions. Yes, I did say anything! Why do your think Christians and Jews saw God as a being who can create anything from nothing? With that power alone you can even be immortal by creating the right cells in your body!
Since Albert Einstein has stated that we cannot leave our Universe, and that physicists have compared this with the possibility of words jumping out of a page, what is that dimension that we are unable to move in? For the words, it would be the height/depth.
I tried to spread the link www.lightamillioncandles.com but no one really cares. No one cares about internet child porn. No one cares that those kids are not just getting raped, but getting raped on videos, for sale. Child porn is an incredibly sick concept. I do not understand why no one gives a damn. Have we become so numb to others' suffering? Child porn is worse than kids with Down's Syndrome, or people who lost their limbs in war, because they get to live a normal life, at least for a few decades. But think of those kids! The average age is only 9! And it's becoming lower! They haven't even learnt about puberty yet. They don't even understand why the men are fucking them! And what is left for them is either a mad life thereafter, or a short life that ends horribly from STDs.
Dominions III seems like a very good game. Full of interesting choices and it has a random map generator. You can choose the physical form of your god from a hell lot of choices and there are so many races to choose from. Replayability is very high for this game but on the other hand, this game requires much reading and understanding because there are just too many things to know in this game. The manual is over 300 pages long and is considered essential to a understanding this game in a day. Without a manual, the best you can do is download the demo which comes with a short manual that only teaches the basic mechanics of the game. To try the game without any of these 2 manuals is the best way to get frustrated and delete the game.
Today I did something I do not want to describe. It is such an extreme thing that I have absolutely no desire to say it. Therefore I will not say it. Do not expect me to type anything that says anymore about it here in this article. You will not see it. There is no way I will type it down here. Wish all you want, but I will not go any further than this. It was so incredibly ..... something, but I will not say what.
Survival of the fittest. It does not necessarily mean the fittest individual.
If a person is able to have one special superpower, which can be chosen from anything he can imagine, what is the best choice? The power to create anything from nothing. With this power, you can fly by creating more air under you and vacuum above you. You can blast any walls by creating matter between each molecule in the wall. You can create the greatest anything. You can be invisible by creating space-time distortions. Yes, I did say anything! Why do your think Christians and Jews saw God as a being who can create anything from nothing? With that power alone you can even be immortal by creating the right cells in your body!
Since Albert Einstein has stated that we cannot leave our Universe, and that physicists have compared this with the possibility of words jumping out of a page, what is that dimension that we are unable to move in? For the words, it would be the height/depth.
I tried to spread the link www.lightamillioncandles.com but no one really cares. No one cares about internet child porn. No one cares that those kids are not just getting raped, but getting raped on videos, for sale. Child porn is an incredibly sick concept. I do not understand why no one gives a damn. Have we become so numb to others' suffering? Child porn is worse than kids with Down's Syndrome, or people who lost their limbs in war, because they get to live a normal life, at least for a few decades. But think of those kids! The average age is only 9! And it's becoming lower! They haven't even learnt about puberty yet. They don't even understand why the men are fucking them! And what is left for them is either a mad life thereafter, or a short life that ends horribly from STDs.
Rant 021 / I Fart Weapons of Mass Destruction
Go to www.lightamillioncandles.com to sign the petition to end child pornography! You know you want that sick shit to end! Go there, light a candle and enter your name, country and email! That's all. No money needed and no viruses! And spread the link! Let the motherfucking pedophiles suffer!!!!!
A few days ago when I joined the G4B2S server for the HL mod Natural Selection, there was an interesting discussion on life. One guy was saying that if a person really wants to do something, he will be able to do it. A person is capable to doing anything if he wants to. Then another guy asked him if anyone can be a brain surgeon. He couldn't answer. This proves that some people do understand this, but just not deeply enough. The answer should have been yes. The fact is, will is not an ability that does any specific things, the way strength or IQ do. Will is an ability that amplifies an or all abilities that you need to use. Normal people have lifted cars with their bare hands to save their loved ones. That is normal strength, amplified by an immense amount of willpower. There are people who receive their first degree in their sixties. That is normal intelligence and diligence, amplified by their great willpower. Therefore, any person can be a brain surgeon, if they want it hard enough to have sufficient willpower. But you see, thinking you have enough will and actually having enough will are two different things! You can scream and shout in your mind that you have enough will to do this, but in the end only the actual amount of your willpower really matters. The less able you are in the required way, the more willpower you need. For a mentally retarded person to be a brain surgeon will require an amount of will so huge, he'd need more reason than just seeing his parents die and wanting to do something to stop that sort of things from happening to others. In fact, seeing everyone he know die may not be enough. So therefore, yes anyone can do anything they want to, but only if they want it hard enough.
There was a time in JC when a close friend of mine just dated his first girlfriend. And there was this time when I said something offensive about her, jokingly. He looked at me in a fierce way and told me to stop. And I looked back at him smilingly and asked," Are you telling me this because you want to, or because you think you're supposed to?" He couldn't answer, and broke up with her after a few weeks. The fact is, people often like to believe they have fallen for girls who look damn good. This way, it is often their lust affecting their decisions, instead of their love. This is a grave mistake that has killed many marriages. A guy must figure out if he really likes the girl for her vagina, or for her soul/mind. To me, the mind/soul is the most important, but the looks cannot be repulsive in any way. Beauty/cuteness will be a mere bonus to me. To date a girl for her looks is foolishness.
Another thing is that people often behave the way they think they should. They learn that sort of behaviour from TV and such and think that is the right way to be in life. They do not bother to figure out for themselves what they, themselves, really want to do.
To date a girl for sex antithetical to civilization and society. Civilized society is founded on the concept of marriage. Free sex basically doesn't seem right. If marriage is abolished to make way for free sex for all, most children will grow up with single parents, or two merely co-habiting parents who may leave anytime without guilt. As free sex becomes rampant, marriage will seem less like a viable choice to adults. People are already seeing marriage not as a necessity in life, but a way to receive the legal and financial incentives marriage offers. If these do not exist, marriage would already be a thing of the past. Pre-nuptial agreements, increasing divorce rates, acceptance of single parents in society. All these point towards the fact that marriage is gradually become less of an important part of life, and more of a novelty for first-timers. But people will do as people will. No matter what, Man never does anything that will kill himself.
A few days ago when I joined the G4B2S server for the HL mod Natural Selection, there was an interesting discussion on life. One guy was saying that if a person really wants to do something, he will be able to do it. A person is capable to doing anything if he wants to. Then another guy asked him if anyone can be a brain surgeon. He couldn't answer. This proves that some people do understand this, but just not deeply enough. The answer should have been yes. The fact is, will is not an ability that does any specific things, the way strength or IQ do. Will is an ability that amplifies an or all abilities that you need to use. Normal people have lifted cars with their bare hands to save their loved ones. That is normal strength, amplified by an immense amount of willpower. There are people who receive their first degree in their sixties. That is normal intelligence and diligence, amplified by their great willpower. Therefore, any person can be a brain surgeon, if they want it hard enough to have sufficient willpower. But you see, thinking you have enough will and actually having enough will are two different things! You can scream and shout in your mind that you have enough will to do this, but in the end only the actual amount of your willpower really matters. The less able you are in the required way, the more willpower you need. For a mentally retarded person to be a brain surgeon will require an amount of will so huge, he'd need more reason than just seeing his parents die and wanting to do something to stop that sort of things from happening to others. In fact, seeing everyone he know die may not be enough. So therefore, yes anyone can do anything they want to, but only if they want it hard enough.
There was a time in JC when a close friend of mine just dated his first girlfriend. And there was this time when I said something offensive about her, jokingly. He looked at me in a fierce way and told me to stop. And I looked back at him smilingly and asked," Are you telling me this because you want to, or because you think you're supposed to?" He couldn't answer, and broke up with her after a few weeks. The fact is, people often like to believe they have fallen for girls who look damn good. This way, it is often their lust affecting their decisions, instead of their love. This is a grave mistake that has killed many marriages. A guy must figure out if he really likes the girl for her vagina, or for her soul/mind. To me, the mind/soul is the most important, but the looks cannot be repulsive in any way. Beauty/cuteness will be a mere bonus to me. To date a girl for her looks is foolishness.
Another thing is that people often behave the way they think they should. They learn that sort of behaviour from TV and such and think that is the right way to be in life. They do not bother to figure out for themselves what they, themselves, really want to do.
To date a girl for sex antithetical to civilization and society. Civilized society is founded on the concept of marriage. Free sex basically doesn't seem right. If marriage is abolished to make way for free sex for all, most children will grow up with single parents, or two merely co-habiting parents who may leave anytime without guilt. As free sex becomes rampant, marriage will seem less like a viable choice to adults. People are already seeing marriage not as a necessity in life, but a way to receive the legal and financial incentives marriage offers. If these do not exist, marriage would already be a thing of the past. Pre-nuptial agreements, increasing divorce rates, acceptance of single parents in society. All these point towards the fact that marriage is gradually become less of an important part of life, and more of a novelty for first-timers. But people will do as people will. No matter what, Man never does anything that will kill himself.
Tuesday 20 February 2007
Rant 020 / Hot Dogs Are Not Dogs. Hot Docs are not Hot.
Today I won a round of Citadels by not thinking very much! I lost many rounds before when I thought too much. I could predict most of my friends' choices of characters with about 50% accuracy, ± 30%( although sometimes people can screw me up by being a one-step thinker...). I dodged all the thievery and assassinations but lost the games. Yes I won all the battles and lost the war :P . This time, I didn't bother to predict much and took either King or Witch whenever I thought it wouldn't be too obvious for me to take them. True enough my money was stolen twice, but I was never possessed. And I won by a 1-point lead. Barely, all thanks to a great friend who chose Magician and randomly swapped hands with one player who was trying to build some fantastic structure at the last turn. Because my money was stolen at that last turn, and I could see that 2 players were hitting the 20-point mark( I had 29 points right then including 3 points for having 5 colours and 4 for being the first to get 8 structures), I decided not to drag the game on any longer to build the best structure in my hand, and finished my turn with a simple 3-gold structure. Someone could have just chosen the Architect and finished the game before I built my last( I was King) and stole that 4 point bonus. A close victory, but I learnt not to worry too much and think about dodging the thieves, assassins and witches all the time. They may steal from the King, but in the next round...
Citadels is a board game, but doesn't consist of any boards, only cards.
The law is a shield that protects its users only from people who use the same shield. People who do not use that shield are able to strike at such users with ease. In other words, if your attacker doesn't give a damn about laws, you're screwed. Therefore, should we follow the law? Yes, because laws guide a majority of the people of this world on how to live. Laws, therefore, protects a majority of Earth's population from itself. It may seem pointless to phrase it this way, but it is really the part about guidance that is the necessity. Yes, a majority of Earth's population will not know how to behave, and how to live decently if not for the Law. They cannot figure out for themselves that Order is really more beneficial than Chaos, in the long run. If you still do not get what I mean, here's the summary: Most people are stupid. But they are necessary as the foundation of civilization. Without fools, who'll need the help of leaders?
If you aren't stupid this way, you are stupid in that way. There is no escape. You are not perfect and you never will be, because perfection is this context(perfectly good/beautiful/etc) is imperfection. True perfection is a well balanced mix of both good and bad.
Short periods of Chaos is fine, like wars for example, because Chaos brings out the hidden strength in Mankind, kind of like exercise, and strips away the deadwood. To prove this, just check out how many great deeds are done, and how often, during war times and peace times. Check out the major scientific advances in both kinds of times, and you will notice that pattern. People work harder when in chaotic or rougher situations. But to have it for too long may have negative effects too, very similar to doing too much exercises. Therefore, wars must occur throughout the existence of humanity, because they are a necessity.
Beware the dogs. They mew.
Deliberately setting a house on fire is wrong. You kill an entire ecosystem with just a match and some liquid fuels. The ants, the flies, the house lizards and the pesticide. See the chain?
To remove old blood stains from a piece of cloth, cut it out.
Seeing a fish floating belly-up in a pond will require immediate action to remove the dead fish before it's rotting fluids ooze out and pollute the water. Therefore, turn head when you see a dead fish and forget you ever saw it. Life is easy when you move fast.
Loyalty kills. Be sensible, be disloyal. See where loyalty got Yue Fei?
Chinese monks are an oxymoron. The most famous and legendary monk in Chinese history ate meat, indulged in wine and encouraged cannibalism by giving away balls of dead skin the size of golf balls claiming its a miracle cure, while monks are supposed to be strict vegetarians, must abstain from alcohol and no one eats their black dead skin balls.
George Washington was a great capitalist. At a very young age, he knew it was wrong to cut down a cherry tree, simply because he understood that the cherries he could have gotten would provide a better income then that piece of timber he chopped down.
To fully comprehend the importance of life-and-death situations, proceed to smash a one-litre glass bottle on the head of a professional heavy-weight wrestler. Now sit down and observe the results.
Sex terrorists use sex bombs.
I saw, and I defied.
LOOK TO YOUR RIGHT!!!!!!!
Do you always believe what you read?
Citadels is a board game, but doesn't consist of any boards, only cards.
The law is a shield that protects its users only from people who use the same shield. People who do not use that shield are able to strike at such users with ease. In other words, if your attacker doesn't give a damn about laws, you're screwed. Therefore, should we follow the law? Yes, because laws guide a majority of the people of this world on how to live. Laws, therefore, protects a majority of Earth's population from itself. It may seem pointless to phrase it this way, but it is really the part about guidance that is the necessity. Yes, a majority of Earth's population will not know how to behave, and how to live decently if not for the Law. They cannot figure out for themselves that Order is really more beneficial than Chaos, in the long run. If you still do not get what I mean, here's the summary: Most people are stupid. But they are necessary as the foundation of civilization. Without fools, who'll need the help of leaders?
If you aren't stupid this way, you are stupid in that way. There is no escape. You are not perfect and you never will be, because perfection is this context(perfectly good/beautiful/etc) is imperfection. True perfection is a well balanced mix of both good and bad.
Short periods of Chaos is fine, like wars for example, because Chaos brings out the hidden strength in Mankind, kind of like exercise, and strips away the deadwood. To prove this, just check out how many great deeds are done, and how often, during war times and peace times. Check out the major scientific advances in both kinds of times, and you will notice that pattern. People work harder when in chaotic or rougher situations. But to have it for too long may have negative effects too, very similar to doing too much exercises. Therefore, wars must occur throughout the existence of humanity, because they are a necessity.
Beware the dogs. They mew.
Deliberately setting a house on fire is wrong. You kill an entire ecosystem with just a match and some liquid fuels. The ants, the flies, the house lizards and the pesticide. See the chain?
To remove old blood stains from a piece of cloth, cut it out.
Seeing a fish floating belly-up in a pond will require immediate action to remove the dead fish before it's rotting fluids ooze out and pollute the water. Therefore, turn head when you see a dead fish and forget you ever saw it. Life is easy when you move fast.
Loyalty kills. Be sensible, be disloyal. See where loyalty got Yue Fei?
Chinese monks are an oxymoron. The most famous and legendary monk in Chinese history ate meat, indulged in wine and encouraged cannibalism by giving away balls of dead skin the size of golf balls claiming its a miracle cure, while monks are supposed to be strict vegetarians, must abstain from alcohol and no one eats their black dead skin balls.
George Washington was a great capitalist. At a very young age, he knew it was wrong to cut down a cherry tree, simply because he understood that the cherries he could have gotten would provide a better income then that piece of timber he chopped down.
To fully comprehend the importance of life-and-death situations, proceed to smash a one-litre glass bottle on the head of a professional heavy-weight wrestler. Now sit down and observe the results.
Sex terrorists use sex bombs.
I saw, and I defied.
LOOK TO YOUR RIGHT!!!!!!!
Do you always believe what you read?
Rant 019 / Diamond-Studded Condoms Are Very Abrasive
Nigeria has the lowest GDP per capita among oil-producing countries. Venezuela, which is the 2nd lowest, has US$6100 per capita. But in Nigeria, the lowest, has only US$1400. Where did the oil money go? Why are the UN guys over there in Iraq when Nigeria obviously has worse things to worry about than a lack of Universal Suffrage? Their government is bombing innocent people to kill the rebels among them, for goodness' sake!!!!
Monochrome films are racist! If you're not white, you must be black!
People often have difficulty understanding what is typed here. I do not understand why they do not understand.
When I made a poll on whether something should be done about the fact that no Singaporean has ever voted for their Presidents before, no Singaporean voted for anything. It may be due to any of these 2 reasons: 1) They do not believe it is an important matter and thus do not care, 2) they don't dare to answer. Either way, this is precisely the problem with most Singaporeans. Do they not understand that technically the President is the one who chooses the Prime Minister? Does anyone see the implications of this fact?
My rants here are actually shallow and have no sources to prove most of the things typed here. As I have said sometime ago, faith is a powerful force. Belief is the key support of civilization. Believe what you will. Do some research if you are interested. Think about the more provocative lines. It's your life. Enjoy.
In view of my complete lack of knowledge and understanding of poetry I will no longer type anything that remotely resembles poems. You may now see the bullshit in the previous article as some kind of skit, or rap lyrics. :D
I am getting disappointed in the testimonials I am making these days. None of them that I gave in the last few weeks have the special impact that the one given to Hx had. Yes, all of them were very bombastic but that is all there is to them!
bom·bas·tic [bom-bas-tik]
–adjective (of speech, writing, etc.) high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.
Therefore I conclude that I was giving them only for the sake of writing junk like those. I shall stop typing testimonials until I feel the inspiration coming again, or else the style will become boring.
Lo and behold!
Ever wondered what "Lo" meant?
I still like that "PWNED!!!!" picture best.
Sleeping has become a sort of challenge to me. Every night I have to practice yoga just to fall asleep. How? I have to concentrate on the hum of the air-conditioner and push away all other thoughts for some time. I do not know how long cos I fall asleep once it is long enough. If not, I will not sleep till 5-7am.
Fear is the product of your imagination. Belief is what makes you you.
When I remove of my Trousers of Justice, I reveal my purple-veined Sword of Truth.
LOL got this from Uncyclopedia.
I just found out one of my pri sch friend has turned into this really cute girl! Not the kind who wears makeup and wear sexy clothes, but the type who doesn't need both and still look damn cute! Whoa! I can go on forever talking about her apparent character and such but I won't. MUAHAHAHA! The catch? She's in some life sciences course in NUS and graduating next yr. GEEGEE!! LOL!!!! Forget it! I'm going to continue my fishing someplace else. Life shall be as I will it to be!
I hereby claim the throne of Nothingness. Show proper respect to the the King of None, Lord of Naught, Ruler of Zero and the Master of Nil!
Ever laid under an open night sky and stared at the immense nothingness above? Ever seen the stars and fully comprehend your relative size? Understand this: No matter what you do, they will still be there. You can nuke the whole world, or bestow immortality to all living creatures, but the stars will continue twinkling, the moon will continue shining and the sun will outlast anything you can do. See the whole picture? If not here's another point. Scientists have predicted the Universe can only end in 2 ways. One is the Big Crash in which the process of Big Bang is reversed and all matter is squashed back to nothingness. The second is known as Heat Death to some, and by other names to others, in which the Universe does not have the energy to shrink back to nothing and it eventually stops expanding and stays still. All matter decays to iron and a humongous amount of heat is distributed evenly throughout the Universe. See? No matter what you do, all things must end. Therefore, do anything you want for your own future and the futures of your descendants, but there's no need to think any further than that. Don't see this as an excuse to commit crimes, though.
You see, evil is really about short-term goals while good is about long-term goals. When you kill someone for money, you do it and the money goes to you. You spend it and that is the end of the story. When you save someone, the person may give you anything he can afford, plus he will be more willing to help you and those close to you in the future. It is like dividends and cash. Evil is cold, hard cash vulnerable to inflation, and goodness is money given to you over a period of years and increases according to current rate of inflation. It is an easier way to look at things.
Monochrome films are racist! If you're not white, you must be black!
People often have difficulty understanding what is typed here. I do not understand why they do not understand.
When I made a poll on whether something should be done about the fact that no Singaporean has ever voted for their Presidents before, no Singaporean voted for anything. It may be due to any of these 2 reasons: 1) They do not believe it is an important matter and thus do not care, 2) they don't dare to answer. Either way, this is precisely the problem with most Singaporeans. Do they not understand that technically the President is the one who chooses the Prime Minister? Does anyone see the implications of this fact?
My rants here are actually shallow and have no sources to prove most of the things typed here. As I have said sometime ago, faith is a powerful force. Belief is the key support of civilization. Believe what you will. Do some research if you are interested. Think about the more provocative lines. It's your life. Enjoy.
In view of my complete lack of knowledge and understanding of poetry I will no longer type anything that remotely resembles poems. You may now see the bullshit in the previous article as some kind of skit, or rap lyrics. :D
I am getting disappointed in the testimonials I am making these days. None of them that I gave in the last few weeks have the special impact that the one given to Hx had. Yes, all of them were very bombastic but that is all there is to them!
bom·bas·tic [bom-bas-tik]
tɪk–adjective (of speech, writing, etc.) high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious.
Therefore I conclude that I was giving them only for the sake of writing junk like those. I shall stop typing testimonials until I feel the inspiration coming again, or else the style will become boring.
Lo and behold!
Ever wondered what "Lo" meant?
I still like that "PWNED!!!!" picture best.
Sleeping has become a sort of challenge to me. Every night I have to practice yoga just to fall asleep. How? I have to concentrate on the hum of the air-conditioner and push away all other thoughts for some time. I do not know how long cos I fall asleep once it is long enough. If not, I will not sleep till 5-7am.
Fear is the product of your imagination. Belief is what makes you you.
When I remove of my Trousers of Justice, I reveal my purple-veined Sword of Truth.
LOL got this from Uncyclopedia.
I just found out one of my pri sch friend has turned into this really cute girl! Not the kind who wears makeup and wear sexy clothes, but the type who doesn't need both and still look damn cute! Whoa! I can go on forever talking about her apparent character and such but I won't. MUAHAHAHA! The catch? She's in some life sciences course in NUS and graduating next yr. GEEGEE!! LOL!!!! Forget it! I'm going to continue my fishing someplace else. Life shall be as I will it to be!
I hereby claim the throne of Nothingness. Show proper respect to the the King of None, Lord of Naught, Ruler of Zero and the Master of Nil!
Ever laid under an open night sky and stared at the immense nothingness above? Ever seen the stars and fully comprehend your relative size? Understand this: No matter what you do, they will still be there. You can nuke the whole world, or bestow immortality to all living creatures, but the stars will continue twinkling, the moon will continue shining and the sun will outlast anything you can do. See the whole picture? If not here's another point. Scientists have predicted the Universe can only end in 2 ways. One is the Big Crash in which the process of Big Bang is reversed and all matter is squashed back to nothingness. The second is known as Heat Death to some, and by other names to others, in which the Universe does not have the energy to shrink back to nothing and it eventually stops expanding and stays still. All matter decays to iron and a humongous amount of heat is distributed evenly throughout the Universe. See? No matter what you do, all things must end. Therefore, do anything you want for your own future and the futures of your descendants, but there's no need to think any further than that. Don't see this as an excuse to commit crimes, though.
You see, evil is really about short-term goals while good is about long-term goals. When you kill someone for money, you do it and the money goes to you. You spend it and that is the end of the story. When you save someone, the person may give you anything he can afford, plus he will be more willing to help you and those close to you in the future. It is like dividends and cash. Evil is cold, hard cash vulnerable to inflation, and goodness is money given to you over a period of years and increases according to current rate of inflation. It is an easier way to look at things.
Sunday 18 February 2007
Rant 018 / Hell is blasphemy
Do Blinking Idiots blink or do they stare at you without blinking, wondering what Blinking Idiots mean?
The truth is the truth, and the truth can only be the truth.
But the truth is a lie, and the truth is made of lies.
Even then the truth is the truth and nothing but the truth.
Therefore the truth is a fraud and we cannot believe our eyes.
But why in the first place should we trust our eyes?
Why in the first place should we care about lies?
Do we really need to know anything about reality?
Cannot we just work in ignorance for the rest of eternity?
The truth may be too much for me to take!
Or worse, it may all be fake!
So why bother with the truth?
Who cares about the truth?
I just want to get what I want and move on!
And keep your motherfucking truth you moron!
Knowing the truth won't get me anywhere!
Only Money and Sex will get me up there!
So there, you see, is the problem.
We are born to get what we want and move on.
To know the truth may not be our purpose.
And herein lies the truth.
Imma continue bullshitting here and treat this blog page as a time capsule!
10 years down the road I may just come back and see how much I change!
The truth is the truth, and the truth can only be the truth.
But the truth is a lie, and the truth is made of lies.
Even then the truth is the truth and nothing but the truth.
Therefore the truth is a fraud and we cannot believe our eyes.
But why in the first place should we trust our eyes?
Why in the first place should we care about lies?
Do we really need to know anything about reality?
Cannot we just work in ignorance for the rest of eternity?
The truth may be too much for me to take!
Or worse, it may all be fake!
So why bother with the truth?
Who cares about the truth?
I just want to get what I want and move on!
And keep your motherfucking truth you moron!
Knowing the truth won't get me anywhere!
Only Money and Sex will get me up there!
So there, you see, is the problem.
We are born to get what we want and move on.
To know the truth may not be our purpose.
And herein lies the truth.
Imma continue bullshitting here and treat this blog page as a time capsule!
10 years down the road I may just come back and see how much I change!
Friday 16 February 2007
Rant 017 / Because of 50 Cent I will never look at a lollypop the same way again - And don't mention Chupa Chups to me again! ROFLMFAO!
Need I say more?
In mandarin, it's called zhou2 huo3 ru4 muo2
Too much gaming. Watch out, my chubby friends.
The guy in GIF in the previous article was doing something called "kitten huffing" and more information can be found here.
- Obtain a fresh, live kitten.
- Obtain a fresh, clean huffing tube.
- Place tube at rear end of kitten.
- Call local Poison Control Center
ROFL
check the webpage if u dont get what this is about.
Gandhian economics' emphasis on peace, "trusteeship" and co-operation seems like a good idea but if used on our society would be too idealistic.
After playing several empire-building games i finally get a feel of the importance of an army. If you still dont(well u can talk about its importance all day but to actually feel it would be a different matter), just try playing Europa Universalis III. Without a decent army, no matter your size, your reputation and prestige you will be prey. The army is completely necessary to the well-being of a country. In several situations, when someone declares war on me, i tried loading an older saved game and built a stronger army before the month when it declared war. Always works. Having an army that is both strong enough to slow their attack forces down, and at the same time siege their cities with another strike force is a great deterrent to voracious nations. Even in the game series Civilization a strong army is sometimes necessary to prevent a declaration of war in most situations.
This is one common trait in most empire building games, and from this I conclude that this is a reflection of the real world. The defense forces do not need to be strong in all these games, as long as it can slow down the attacking forces enough for the defending country's attack forces to do enough damage to the right cities. Once the offending side is feeling their butt kicked hard they will naturally want to pull back.
So now I understand why I need to go for NS, but I still don't have to like it
The world is not mad, even when you think it is.
If any "God"-like beings saved us from all the bad things people do, this world would be a really bad place to live in cos free will won't truly exist. Yes, even the Holocaust must not be interrupted by such "divine" presence. But on the other hand, natural disasters like earthquakes and volcano eruptions have nothing to do with free will. So if "God" or any such beings exist, they must be ignoring us. Therefore, even if they really are there, their presence would amount to nothing.
And prayers! Prayers and offerings that are given to higher beings freely are fine albeit wasted IMHO. But praying to gods for certain favours like saving your life, or offering food and objects while expecting the god will give you wealth or fortune in return, is complete B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T! Why, that is manipulation if it is anything at all! Such people are trying to bribe or tell a higher being what should be done! If higher beings like those that people believe in really exists, what makes them think they can be bribed at all? And to tell them what to do! Hell, they're supposed to know what to do better than you! Who are you, with your mere decades of life's experience? Or do you think they're are less intelligent, therefore with your little experience you can still know and think better than they do?
So therefore, if they think your life should be saved, you will be saved. There is no need to pray to them and ask them to do it. It must seem somewhat similar to an insult to suggest to them what should be done. Thanking them, if you actually believe in anyone of them, is enough. Or if you're Christian, it is worse. God is supposed to be all-knowing, omnipotent and etc. He won't even need your verbal thanks cos he knows. So you do not need to say anything or do anything physically because all these are not necessary. Unless you're Taoist or believe in another religion in which not all deities are telepathic, in which case you may need to thank them somehow. Or be like me, an atheist. Well no matter what you believe in, if u need to be saved, you will be saved. If you need to be helped, you will be helped. Even if you do not believe in anything, you still play a part in the great mechanism that is all that exists.
To pray for help, or give offerings in return for better fortune, is a kind of self-delusion. It is like saying that doing many good deeds can make everyone forgive your evil deeds. It is illogical and all it does is to allow such people to escape from the truth. And the truth hurts. Nothing you can do will offset your wrongs. What is done is done. What will be done after is a separate matter and should not be mixed in with history.
Jails! Never mistake them for places where people stay in order to pay for their crimes. No it should not be seen as such. Prisons are places where criminals should learn why they were wrong and why they should not have done it. Prisons are places where the most dangerous and most stubborn criminals should be kept for the rest of their lives. It is a facility to correct wrongs and keep the ones who are deemed too dangerous from the rest of society. Not a place where people stay and suffer to pay for their crimes. People cannot pay for their mistakes. They can only try to offset them by doing good. But that doesn't mean their mistakes will become as if they were not done at all. By offsetting their mistakes, they can make themselves seem a better person and people will be able to have something to balance the scale when they decide if hiring or befriending the person is worth the risk of the same crime being commited by that person again.
However, such a concept does have an exception. Child molesters should never be given a chance to stay near a child alone. No matter how long it has been since they last molested a kid. When people display a tendency to exploit the weak and helpless, it is almost impossible to detect whether they have changed. They can say for years that they have changed but how can one tell until it is too late? Yes, they can tell you in your face they have changed, even from the bottom of their souls, but that is still not worth the risk of a child being traumatised for the rest of his/her life! I don't know about you, but I can really understand the feeling of temptation even when I have promised from the bottom of my heart that I will never do something again. And I have succumbed to temptation under such circumstances when I know I will not be caught. It may not truly convince anyone who has never succumbed to temptation despite a promise given whole-heartedly, but for anyone who has, they know what I am talking about. The possibility of such an event is infinitesimally small, I admit, but it is there alright. And even such a minuscule chance is too much risk for the life of any children.
The price of free will, indeed.
Lily Allen sounds like a good singer.
Despite the fact that Oscar Wilde isn't all that great, he did make a big fuss by being known to be gay at such an early time. And they did make a big matter of him at uncyclopedia, for reasons i can only guess at.
The truth hurts, but the truth attracts people too. Like a flame that attracts the moths. They must know that they'd be burnt but they still fly towards it. Therefore, should I say that people live for pain? That they live to suffer? Or should I say that pain is the price to enlightenment?
Thursday 15 February 2007
Rant 016 / Single-Party Democracy works wonders!
Do not try this at home.
0\/\/ |\|3 [)!!!!!!1111eleventy11!!!The most obvious point in life is to make more lives. To reproduce. To what end? Why do we go on, generations and generations, making newer and different ages? We advance throughout the times, not knowing why we do what we do. We try to figure out the reason for what we do. We try to see through the veil of uncertainty. We are wading into a swamp, blind as a bat. But no answer has ever satisfied everyone. Which meant they are not, at the very least, not completely correct. "Why?" you may ask. "Why would the correct answer convince everyone that is it the right one?" The answer is simple. In the case of this "Ultimate Goal" of humanity(which it definitely is), everyone is working towards the same objective. What this objective is, may not be known but when it is, everyone will see that it fits everything that everyone has ever done. It is the whole point of humanity's existence after all. Comprehension of this Goal will explain the Universe. It is that vast. Some may, by a fluke or a moment of inspired brilliance, chip a few flakes off the Pillar of Truth. This flakes then becomes great milestones of our progress.
Some do not understand why anyone would bother to try figuring out our purpose. They see it as a waste of time and that the primary objective of Life is to fulfill its needs. Do they not see it is but a the short term goal of Life? Do they not see that there is something more to this than the fulfillment of our desires? Do they not feel the powerful mechanism working, powered by the sheer force of our wills? So why? Why is this mechanism here in the first place? Why everything?
It is simple for everyone to believe in various religions to explain this. It is easy to ignore the many discrepancies in the doctrines of all these religions. But to know that there are discrepancies, to know that some "facts" may not be facts at all, does make us doubt the rest of the beliefs. If this is wrong, who is to say that the rest aren't wrong too? Faith is a powerful drug for those who do not want to think. Ignorance is an efficient method to prevent thoughts in certain unwanted directions. And through faith, ignorance can be achieved. I do not see this as "wrong". Trying to dwell on our purpose isn't meant for all. Let each person complete their own tasks in peace, and not be disturbed by the obstacles of the rest. Only through this way can our survival be assured.
We know we have to survive. We know we have to advance. We know we must improve on ourselves. We know only the strongest can survive. What we now need to figure out is why. To be ignorant of what your purpose is is not a comforting thought. There are those who convince themselves their goal is what they have figured out to be. There are those who live aimlessly. Both ways are not exactly right. To live aimlessly is to exist as a hollow shell. It is a living hell. But to convince yourself that a certain way is the right way may be self-deception too. The third way is to try to scrape the immense Pillar of Truth, and to find out what you can. It is the logical way, but not the best way to live either.
Tuesday 13 February 2007
Rant 015 / A bright and sunny post, at least to my standards.
Interesting facts:
1) the amount of ozone-destroying materials in the atmosphere has recently stopped increasing. Scientists estimate that in about 10 yr's time we will begin to see some improvements in the situation. May even stop getting bigger!
2) there's an article on "Engrish" in Uncyclopedia.com
3) Single-party democracy does work.
4) my random bullshit that i type on my msn's personal msg section seems to be getting some positive response. maybe I'll record them all down and publish them sometime in the next 10 yrs.
5) some scientists believe we have gone passed the "point of redemption" in the subject of global warming. The best we can do is slow down the process and see what comes. I'm going to do my part by exercising less and thus producing less heat.
6) I am not funny.
7) the best one can do when talking to someone who's not funny is to smile politely.
8) I usually do not know when i've said something really nice until they tell me that i had. (YAY!)
9) I am not known for saying nice things. I believe I need to change that. (YAY! for you!)
Friendship is a strange concept. It can, all at once, be a farce, something to keep you from going mad from this mad, mad world, and the one thing that saved you from the greatest disaster of your life. It can cause one to experience anything deemed possible in one lifetime. Tragedies, great happiness, important lessons, and gloomy rants like this. Friendship can occur between any people( or any person and any object, as seen in the movie Castaway) and can result in just about anything you can think of: new friends, intimate relations, new opportunities, betrayals and many more.
The fact is, friendship is a necessary part of life. It derives from human interaction, which is essential for human life, as much as food or water. Humans cannot live without human interaction and friendship. Experiments have shown that people would rather commit suicide when faced with complete isolation from any humans for even a period of a year. Even with a complete array of entertainment choices. Yes it has been tried before. A volunteer was locked in a room with enough food for a year, a tv, computer(without an internet connection) and other forms of entertainment. When they returned after the agreed period(10 mths if I'm not wrong) he was found dead(hanged). Even in isolation cells in jails, people can interact with others when they receive their haircut or when their meals are delivered. Or in the case of sailing, all sailors sailing alone usually brings along a satellite phone or laptop. However there are cases of people being completely isolated for a year or more, and survive without going insane. A documentary on Discovery Channel on Asian religions includes an interview with a chinese Taoist priest who stayed in a forest alone and meditated for a year. A rare case.
But friendship does not necessarily follow interaction. Antisocial asswipes do exist. These people have problems instead of friends. When they interact with other humans they generate an intense aura of human repulsion that friendship never forms. It can affect people even miles away, via the internet. Such people usually do not live long, and no one cares if they do. In fact, no one cares about them to such extent that they almost do not exist, unless someone accidentally comes into contact with their magical aura of repulsion. In such cases, negative emotions form and loud noises(or voices anyway) will be heard, proving the existence of this aura, thus the person emitting it. It's almost like how black holes are detected( they are "seen" by observing the anti-matter that is ejected from it).
But in most normal humans who are at least not too repulsive, friendships usually causes good things to happen. Friendships in such cases can become memorable, and not in any way that is deemed sexual. The point is, friends are needed for a person to be a person. A person without friends will always be "that guy/girl", never "him" or "her". In any friendships, both parties always learn something from it. For me, I am learning generosity, and I have learnt how far people can be pushed. I have learnt to have my own ideas, my own way and that someone else's idea is not always better than mine.
Yes. If not for my friends, I'd still be a miser, an asshole and a mindless zombie. And an antisocial asswipe for that matter. I will not thank them, because firstly, they should have learnt as much from me as I them. And secondly, some of the lessons were pretty harsh. Not that I didn't deserve most of them, but it just doesn't feel right to thank someone who shouted almost childish insults at me.
Everyone is the way the are because of the way everyone else are. I am no exception to this rule.
1) the amount of ozone-destroying materials in the atmosphere has recently stopped increasing. Scientists estimate that in about 10 yr's time we will begin to see some improvements in the situation. May even stop getting bigger!
2) there's an article on "Engrish" in Uncyclopedia.com
3) Single-party democracy does work.
4) my random bullshit that i type on my msn's personal msg section seems to be getting some positive response. maybe I'll record them all down and publish them sometime in the next 10 yrs.
5) some scientists believe we have gone passed the "point of redemption" in the subject of global warming. The best we can do is slow down the process and see what comes. I'm going to do my part by exercising less and thus producing less heat.
6) I am not funny.
7) the best one can do when talking to someone who's not funny is to smile politely.
8) I usually do not know when i've said something really nice until they tell me that i had. (YAY!)
9) I am not known for saying nice things. I believe I need to change that. (YAY! for you!)
Friendship is a strange concept. It can, all at once, be a farce, something to keep you from going mad from this mad, mad world, and the one thing that saved you from the greatest disaster of your life. It can cause one to experience anything deemed possible in one lifetime. Tragedies, great happiness, important lessons, and gloomy rants like this. Friendship can occur between any people( or any person and any object, as seen in the movie Castaway) and can result in just about anything you can think of: new friends, intimate relations, new opportunities, betrayals and many more.
The fact is, friendship is a necessary part of life. It derives from human interaction, which is essential for human life, as much as food or water. Humans cannot live without human interaction and friendship. Experiments have shown that people would rather commit suicide when faced with complete isolation from any humans for even a period of a year. Even with a complete array of entertainment choices. Yes it has been tried before. A volunteer was locked in a room with enough food for a year, a tv, computer(without an internet connection) and other forms of entertainment. When they returned after the agreed period(10 mths if I'm not wrong) he was found dead(hanged). Even in isolation cells in jails, people can interact with others when they receive their haircut or when their meals are delivered. Or in the case of sailing, all sailors sailing alone usually brings along a satellite phone or laptop. However there are cases of people being completely isolated for a year or more, and survive without going insane. A documentary on Discovery Channel on Asian religions includes an interview with a chinese Taoist priest who stayed in a forest alone and meditated for a year. A rare case.
But friendship does not necessarily follow interaction. Antisocial asswipes do exist. These people have problems instead of friends. When they interact with other humans they generate an intense aura of human repulsion that friendship never forms. It can affect people even miles away, via the internet. Such people usually do not live long, and no one cares if they do. In fact, no one cares about them to such extent that they almost do not exist, unless someone accidentally comes into contact with their magical aura of repulsion. In such cases, negative emotions form and loud noises(or voices anyway) will be heard, proving the existence of this aura, thus the person emitting it. It's almost like how black holes are detected( they are "seen" by observing the anti-matter that is ejected from it).
But in most normal humans who are at least not too repulsive, friendships usually causes good things to happen. Friendships in such cases can become memorable, and not in any way that is deemed sexual. The point is, friends are needed for a person to be a person. A person without friends will always be "that guy/girl", never "him" or "her". In any friendships, both parties always learn something from it. For me, I am learning generosity, and I have learnt how far people can be pushed. I have learnt to have my own ideas, my own way and that someone else's idea is not always better than mine.
Yes. If not for my friends, I'd still be a miser, an asshole and a mindless zombie. And an antisocial asswipe for that matter. I will not thank them, because firstly, they should have learnt as much from me as I them. And secondly, some of the lessons were pretty harsh. Not that I didn't deserve most of them, but it just doesn't feel right to thank someone who shouted almost childish insults at me.
Everyone is the way the are because of the way everyone else are. I am no exception to this rule.
Wednesday 7 February 2007
Rant 014 / The "Not Safe for Work"
Notice how people all kill themselves just to live?
Minting money causes inflation. Inflation causes poverty.
Not minting money causes poverty.
Not having sex makes you want to have sex.
Having sex makes you not want to have sex.
Thinking must be the hardest job in the world.
Thinking must be the easiest job in the world.
Borat and Clerks 2 are 2 really good movies. Politically incorrect and, sometimes, obscene. Hilarious all the time.
To make yourself seem as if you've died, breath deeply in and out until you feel faint. Then forcibly exhale against closed lips and pinched nose. Expected results are that you will faint and stop breathing for several seconds. Untested by me. Will definitely kill some brain cells though. May even cause a stroke, by the sound of the description. Use only in desperate situations!
Valsalva maneuver :
In medicine, the Valsalva maneuver is performed by forcibly exhaling against closed lips and pinched nose, forcing air into the middle ear if the Eustachian tube is open. This maneuver with slight modifications can be used as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart or to ‘clear’ the ears (equalize pressure) when external pressure increases, as in diving or aviation.
The truth! This is entirely true! .avi is a much better last name for a girl for you!
Ever stopped doing what you are doing and wonder why you do as you do, and do what you do?
If this is the first time you're reading my blog, then it may sound like a strange thing to do.
Everyone works for money. Those who don't belong to an endangered species known as "Perfect Employees".
But why? Why do we do work for money? Why do we want money? Why money?
It seems to me I had almost spent the past 20 yrs of my life doing things I had been told to do. Not things I feel should be done. I was told to study hard, get a good job and enjoy your life however I want when I retire. I realize this is not completely right.
Let's go back to our lives' primary objective. We live to reproduce, and/or to help others reproduce, directly and indirectly(To what point? That's another story for another day). We cannot do this all the time. Therefore, for the rest of the time, we live for happiness. Those are our primary objectives. Not money. Not fame. Not a stable income. Do you not see that if you want them, it would really be because you believe they lead to one thing - happiness? All you wanted at first was just that! Happiness. Then people would get work so hard towards their preferred means of achieving happiness that they just forgot why they were doing that! In the end, they just want what they worked for, and sacrifice their happiness.
Therefore I was told to study hard, get a good job and etc. A dream of parents who grew up in poverty. A dream of people who worked so hard for money, all they want is money and think money the Almighty, the One and All. This is no longer the post-WWII era. We are living in a time when all our basic necessities are met easily. In fact, we have too much. And we are working for more! Money should no longer be God!
The thing is, we should stop working for the excessive amounts of these basic "necessities". We should focus on higher things, what I would call luxuries because we can live without them. Yes, admit it! We have everything we need to survive. And much more. But these "much more" is not what we need! And what we should want!
What we should focus on is things that will please our souls. Our bodies are pleased. It is time for our souls to be happy too. Money is not happiness. Money leads to happiness. But the process of making money is never happy. Therefore Money does not necessarily give a person more happiness. I believe we need focus on happiness. A simple idea. A complex concept. Forget making loads of cash. Think. What makes you happy? Money? Then your views are horrendously undeveloped. Money only gives you more happiness then you already have when it is given to you for no work done, ie free money. Of course you have to get a job. You need to satisfy your physical/material needs after all, before working on higher goals. So what higher goals do you need? What will make you happy? Solve your problems. Remove your unhappiness. What the causes are and how to remove them, are questions only you can answer. Thinking is the hardest job in existence, but it is not impossible.
Work for money, but don't kill yourself over it. Work to ensure your survival and the survival of your loved ones. This should be done first, before working for anything else.
Minting money causes inflation. Inflation causes poverty.
Not minting money causes poverty.
Not having sex makes you want to have sex.
Having sex makes you not want to have sex.
Thinking must be the hardest job in the world.
Thinking must be the easiest job in the world.
“Damn Bin Laden. He promised us 72 naked virgins in paradise for blowing ourselves to smithereens, and all we are getting is ONE lousy 72-year old virgin! What a ripoff!”
Your mom's vagina
Borat and Clerks 2 are 2 really good movies. Politically incorrect and, sometimes, obscene. Hilarious all the time.
To make yourself seem as if you've died, breath deeply in and out until you feel faint. Then forcibly exhale against closed lips and pinched nose. Expected results are that you will faint and stop breathing for several seconds. Untested by me. Will definitely kill some brain cells though. May even cause a stroke, by the sound of the description. Use only in desperate situations!
Valsalva maneuver :
In medicine, the Valsalva maneuver is performed by forcibly exhaling against closed lips and pinched nose, forcing air into the middle ear if the Eustachian tube is open. This maneuver with slight modifications can be used as a test of cardiac function and autonomic nervous control of the heart or to ‘clear’ the ears (equalize pressure) when external pressure increases, as in diving or aviation.
The truth! This is entirely true! .avi is a much better last name for a girl for you!Ever stopped doing what you are doing and wonder why you do as you do, and do what you do?
If this is the first time you're reading my blog, then it may sound like a strange thing to do.
Everyone works for money. Those who don't belong to an endangered species known as "Perfect Employees".
But why? Why do we do work for money? Why do we want money? Why money?
It seems to me I had almost spent the past 20 yrs of my life doing things I had been told to do. Not things I feel should be done. I was told to study hard, get a good job and enjoy your life however I want when I retire. I realize this is not completely right.
Let's go back to our lives' primary objective. We live to reproduce, and/or to help others reproduce, directly and indirectly(To what point? That's another story for another day). We cannot do this all the time. Therefore, for the rest of the time, we live for happiness. Those are our primary objectives. Not money. Not fame. Not a stable income. Do you not see that if you want them, it would really be because you believe they lead to one thing - happiness? All you wanted at first was just that! Happiness. Then people would get work so hard towards their preferred means of achieving happiness that they just forgot why they were doing that! In the end, they just want what they worked for, and sacrifice their happiness.
Therefore I was told to study hard, get a good job and etc. A dream of parents who grew up in poverty. A dream of people who worked so hard for money, all they want is money and think money the Almighty, the One and All. This is no longer the post-WWII era. We are living in a time when all our basic necessities are met easily. In fact, we have too much. And we are working for more! Money should no longer be God!
The thing is, we should stop working for the excessive amounts of these basic "necessities". We should focus on higher things, what I would call luxuries because we can live without them. Yes, admit it! We have everything we need to survive. And much more. But these "much more" is not what we need! And what we should want!
What we should focus on is things that will please our souls. Our bodies are pleased. It is time for our souls to be happy too. Money is not happiness. Money leads to happiness. But the process of making money is never happy. Therefore Money does not necessarily give a person more happiness. I believe we need focus on happiness. A simple idea. A complex concept. Forget making loads of cash. Think. What makes you happy? Money? Then your views are horrendously undeveloped. Money only gives you more happiness then you already have when it is given to you for no work done, ie free money. Of course you have to get a job. You need to satisfy your physical/material needs after all, before working on higher goals. So what higher goals do you need? What will make you happy? Solve your problems. Remove your unhappiness. What the causes are and how to remove them, are questions only you can answer. Thinking is the hardest job in existence, but it is not impossible.
Work for money, but don't kill yourself over it. Work to ensure your survival and the survival of your loved ones. This should be done first, before working for anything else.
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