Friday, April 29, 2005

apologetics I

why am i so anal about the minor discomforts of life?

i'd like to propose 2 general reactions to experience minor discomforts in everyday life: the accepting approach and the rejecting approach. by minor discomforts i refer to stuff like lousy weather, crappy rules, poorly designed structures - disappointing encounters which may or may not be typically ignored. generally non-life-threatening pecularities that could otherwise be rather easily improved upon (in my opinion).

accepting approach - "why bother complaining?" "it's not that bad, just tolerate lor." "that's normal what." "don't be so anal lar." "get over it. move on." this approach has various merits. its adopters need not spend any time or effort troubling themselves with whatever's "not really wrong anyway." purporters may appear "cool" and "unaffected," perhaps choosing to ignore what may be off their list of priorities. hence, such persons may also appear prioritised and wise.

rejecting approach - "why is this not fixed?" "it's such a simple detail - and they can't get it right." "so screwed up." "why don't you care?" "i can't believe i'm paying taxes for this." this approach seems unpopular. fierce advocates tend to be social critics with no social life - spending too much time trying to fix (or suggest strategies to improve )what may not even be broken. everything seems to be against them, and they appear stressed out over the most anal of things.

so why do i tend to take the latter approach more? there is a crucial variable that i omitted on purpose: knowledge. what if i choose the second approach based on knowledge? that i simply know something to be wrong whereas others simply do not know it? may seem a wimpish excuse to most who adopt the first approach, or may even seem like an insulting retort. but the next time i am anal about something, perhaps it isn't that i am taking the rejecting approach for the aim of being anal, but for the sake of improvements that acceptors can't be bothered with.

maybe i am not anal, just observant!

Monday, April 25, 2005

dilbertisation

enjoy~






great, ain't it?
go giv'em some hits: Dilbert.com

Saturday, April 23, 2005

am i trying too hard?

there's a feeling inside of me
beckoning to be set free
an impulse of unkown origin
yearning to stretch me thin
where am i going with this? when i squeeze my neurons to shoot the next one-liner, who am i trying to impress? when i spend inordinate amounts of time trying to right my hairstyle, who am i showing it to? when i decided to turn my life topsy-turvy all in the name of mugging, whatever for?

and there are those times when i wish i hadn't said something lame... times i wished i didn't step forward... times i wished to banish those wily impulses and commend myself to inaction. even if it were my destiny/responsibility/calling to do whatever, be wherever, act whoever, i seem to have forgotten the real question: why even?

and now i realise... that not only have i been trying too hard; i've been trying too hard without qualifying.

...

or maybe it's just stress and all this is crap!!

Friday, April 22, 2005

where have i been??

nice place, eh? Posted by Hello


my fellow countrymen in mugnation! Posted by Hello


my very own table in the lib... Posted by Hello


the table companions! Posted by Hello


my dearest jon~ Posted by Hello


my dearest alexis~ Posted by Hello


so you see... i havn't disappeared from the face of the earth! (tho i guess i'd probably prefer that state of existence... wait, is that a state of existence? or a state of non-existence? or is that a state of being that is extenuated by the didactic aggrandisement of squalid ersatz suzerainty? nevermind.) i've been busy trying to involve my lazy ass in productive activity! but of course, i havn't really produced anything yet. hmm. stay tuned for grades-day!! wahahahaha.

mugnation (n.) a despotic, totalitarian state committed to creating an orwellian dystopia on the premise of cryptic academic advancement, vague humanistic progress, and "mountains of cash." citizens may work without eating, sleeping, or thinking, while inadvertently reinforcing each others' belief in the lies of the mugging superstructure. a bi-annual ritual known only as "the finals" serves to occupy their very lives, with the outcomes being significant enough as to decide the future of each insignificant individual. other notable eccentricities of mugnation include: instant guilt from freedom or enjoyment, exceptional talent in digesting words without understanding, and altruistic waterbottle refilling volunteers.

Wednesday, April 13, 2005

the legend of the moon crystals

have you ever glimpsed a moonbeam in a starless nightsky? the beauty of that clear streak of purest light striking upon the upturned palm... can only inspire within the heart of hearts, that purest desire to capture a moonbeam.

but how can one go about fulfilling such a fantasy? only if it is not fantasy!

for it is rumoured that, during the cold war, those pesky Russians decided to test some nuclear bombs - on the moon! they did it so covertly that even though they beat the Americans in landing a man on the moon, they hid that fact silently. all so that they could detonate one of humankind's most devious inventions on the ethereal moonscape.

but little did they know that this ghastly act were to profit mankind intensely! for once the unholy explosion shattered part of the moon's crystalline crust, a cluster of moon fragments fell straight towards the earth!

as each pristine moonrock pierced the earth's sullen atmosphere, the heat thus generated caused the fragments to crystallise - the first moon crystals henceforth came to be. these corporeal bits of the moon then dispersed throughout the world, only to be found by those with the purest hearts.

and one such being did exist! the purest of all god's creation - a lovely maiden from the faraway land of Melancholy... princess lynn chanced upon one such fragment in the deepest full moon night.

"o enchanting crystal... how didst thou find me?" she said with sweet surprise as she knelt around the moon crystal.
"thou art the fairest and purest of earth's kingdoms, and it is your presence that causeth my manifestation." the moon crystal replied in melodious chorus.
"prithee flatter me not, for i dare not accept such titles amid my country's sad circumstances."
"tell me, princess, how be it that you call this land sad?"
"we are besieged by evil forces everywhere! greed, lust, and depravity surround our tiny nation! they toil daily to break our city's walls, and my countrymen are falling ill from their vicious attacks... my father too has fallen ill, and Melancholy shall soon cease to be..."
"fear not, milady! for tonight the moon shines upon us full and clear! raise me above your shoulders, so i may capture the moonbeams!"

lost in her tears, princess lynn nonetheless obliges, praying and hoping that this mysterious rock may somehow comfort her kingdom's myriad sorrows. but once the moon crystal came in contact with the full moonshine, something quite astonishing happened...

the moon crystal started to pulsate with colours more vibrant than any daytime rainbow, and figures of light came projected from its beaming surface. in a moment, the crystal began to hum a strangely familiar tune, whilst the sky began to open in a flood of moonshine. then, all of god's angels became present, singing in perfect harmony the songs of grace.

"my sweet child, your sincerity has reached the heavens, and the angels from the moon are here to protect your wishes." the moon crystal intones. "they will go with you on your mission to alleviate your citizens' misery, and henceforth Melancholy shall be called Tranquility."

and so the guardian angels from the moon descended upon every household, tasked to protect each individual everyday for the rest of their lives. as for the delicate princess, she was brought to the moon together with the moon crystal, where her sorrow was finally ameliorated, where her luminescent beauty shone forth for all to see every full moon night.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

all sheared up

sheares is a beautiful place... chock full of beautiful people... all busy accomplishing beautiful accomplishments...

and caught in the midst of this surreal beauty... is ugly, ugly me.

but i'm all sheared up to mug too! right after i mambo tonight! of course, before mamboing, gotta prepare agenda for foc main comm mtg, gotta finish up foc t-shirt design, gotta plan revision timetable, and also listen to my great, big, illegal collection of music, play my dumb, old, boring diablo ii characters, and find some soccer/mahjong kakis for entertainment purposes. what a load to do! both beautiful and ugly tasks awaiting my action.

how much uglier will i get? i'm all sheared up...

Monday, April 04, 2005

rush of thought

floating around in my thoughts makes the passing of time seem so tranquil... and yet i need to anchor myself for the sake of pragmatism.

on the dear pope's death - a number of questions:
  1. why didn't he retire? yes, his predecessors have never done it before; yes, he's a stubborn conservative. but he also knew that his health was deteriorating rapidly (cue Parkinson's), that he had the authority to resign even if it would be unprecedented, and that had he retired (and allowed himself to be nurtured back to health) his utter talent in doctrinal studies could continue to be used for the benefit of his congregation worldwide. yet he chose to die in office 'as Peter did.'
  2. does this constitute excessive zeal? in a sense, he had committed karochi - working oneself to death. worse... could he have been somewhat an egoist, attempting to follow tradition for the sake of his reputation? (i must stay in office until i die, if not i might be branded a 'bad' pope.) was it not for the pride of his position that he chose to remain pope till he choked?
  3. what function does this tradition of 'working to death' serve? is a pope only considered 'great' when he exhibits the 'extraordinary courage' to serve his office till his last breath? is this not a (rather pointlessly) romanticised notion, possibly serving no function? are not those who wish to watch their leader serve, even in ill health, till they die, guilty of promulgating a needlessly cruel tradition? is this not a form of sadism-masochism?
  4. one named function of this tradition is, ironically, the global unity in praying for the papal crisis, and the worldwide mourning for his funeral. sensationalism of his ill health and death had the effect of committing thousands of catholics from every nation to unite in prayer. this can't be bad, can it? assuming the pope knew of this phenomenon, could it be said that he wanted a sensational death? is adhering to this oddest of odd traditions for such a result morally acceptable (especially by the church's standards)?
  5. given this train of thought, could anyone really say "God has called his servant back to his fold" when, i) the pope was confirmed to be suffering from Parkinson's 4 years ago, back in 2001; ii) various groups did call for the pope's voluntary retirement and/or setting a term limit for popes; and iii) Parkinson's could be treated (although not cured, and is certainly not abated by constant travelling) to some extent, and his life (along with his great contributions) could be extended? are not his various health scares prior to the 2001 diagnosis of Parkinson's also interpretable as "God telling his servant to take it easy?"
  6. or perhaps... dying in office is better than prolonging a sickly life? after all, he did go without too much of a fuss, and the Vatican repeatedly assured us that "he was peaceful." indeed, our dear pope may already have heard the news of his death during his prayer... and was already prepared to work up to it. after all, who among us is to say when death will arrive but God? how dare i question the pope's God-inspired choice? this, i fear, will only lead to the next question - which part of this decision was made by a) the pope, b) God, and c) society/media/church?
what is the meaning of one such death? how should we interpret this?

on another note, we definitely should not let his death obscure this great man's achievements over his 26-year reign in Vatican. not to be cheesy or anything, but do take a look at a summary of his life's work at wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. the (lengthy) official list of accomplishments on the Vatican home page is another great tribute to his inspiring life.

he is truly a man to be honored. few could boast of a life more fully lived than his. thank you, holy father, for sharing your life with us. may you rest in peace and continue praying for all mankind in the company of the angels.

Sunday, April 03, 2005

the week gone by

nearly subconsciously, 7 days flew past without me seemingly having a clue. i had given myself little tabs of deadline-catching meantime, so i managed to achieve precious little. indeed, much of the time i either spent assimilating wikipedia voraciously, or lamenting. lamenting the fact that my obtuse obsession with sociology seems to have reached an insurmountable rockface, and i am stuck forlornly in this barren valley, nursing my naive and unblessed mind. how i wish i were born during the enlightenment... where new ideas were readily embraced and tested for utility. the brazen rush of industrialisation and capitalism seems to have pulled the plug on real intellectual progress somewhat - or perhaps it's simply singapore? or perhaps it is my underprivileged life chances.

yes, cynicism is creeping in once again. the emotional creature meekly beckons. and... i have another deadline tomorrow! i wonder if i'd ever reminisce again, this bantering week gone by.