I am no longer an Australian National University Student (ANUS)!
Want to know something funny? I never even borrowed a book from the library.
Friday, December 16, 2005
ty australian national university !
the pictures explain all...
I am no longer an Australian National University Student (ANUS)!
Want to know something funny? I never even borrowed a book from the library.
I am no longer an Australian National University Student (ANUS)!
Want to know something funny? I never even borrowed a book from the library.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Does the discourse of terrorism create insecurity?
(This is a short reflective piece submitted for a university course. It was SUPPOSED to be reflective of the issues of terrorism and security.)
The discourse of terrorism, as evidenced in such things as speeches and national security policies, is a very persuasive medium that, I feel, can create or encourage feelings of insecurity in the population. Primarily, the words used in describing terrorism and its related issues such as “terrorist”, “rogue state”, “good and evil” or “coalition of the willing” are so heavily loaded with connotations that they easily incite a variety of feelings – primarily fear, insecurity, and hatred for the “other”. Through a process of demonisation, these words have become so fundamental to our sense of security that they achieve a kind of transcendental meaning, inciting any number of different connotations and implications.
The word “terrorist”, according to Lon Troyer , was only used from about the late 1960s, and yet nowadays rarely a day goes by that one does not hear it on the news or read about it in the newspaper. The word ‘terrorist’ is now so politically charged that it incites strong feelings of insecurity, and with its almost inextricable link to Islam, it creates feelings of hatred and anger towards virtually all Islamic states. Furthermore, because of the association that terrorism has with September 11th, 2001, (i.e. the deaths of around 4000 Americans on their home soil), the discourse has now linked Islam with ‘evil’ while The West is now ‘good’.
But does this actually create insecurity in a literal sense? One might think “Surely the words they use don’t influence the actual meaning of what is being said!” In truth, I feel that this is only true in a limited number of cases. Without meaning to sound condescending, the large number of people who are either uneducated or uninterested in the topic of terrorism are the most likely to be persuaded by the language. Without a broader understanding of the issues, it is much harder to ‘read between the lines’ and make an educated judgement.
However, does this mean that insecurity is thus a social or political construct? Well, maybe! I feel that the language used in regards to terrorism (my most recent favourite: “the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism – GlobalSAVE”) probably has less effect on people who have undertaken some study in the field than, say, a blue-collar worker on a farm in rural Texas. The uneducated or uninterested would be more likely to believe whatever they hear (or, indeed, the opposite of it if the person in question does not like the government) simply because they are not aware of the bigger picture enough to make a personal judgement. They are thus more likely to feel insecure simply by being indirectly told that they should, or that there is a legitimate reason for this.
So, what’s the point of all this? Are political strategists using this discourse with the intention of taking advantage of the uneducated majority’s tendency to be easily persuaded by tough-sounding, politically charged words, and by doing so, creating an ‘evil’ beast out of nothing just to rally support for the ‘good’ side that is fighting it? Well, I think so. I am sure that they realise that while there are people out there who can see straight through their façade of fancy language and metaphor, there are plenty of people who cannot.
The discourse of terrorism, as evidenced in such things as speeches and national security policies, is a very persuasive medium that, I feel, can create or encourage feelings of insecurity in the population. Primarily, the words used in describing terrorism and its related issues such as “terrorist”, “rogue state”, “good and evil” or “coalition of the willing” are so heavily loaded with connotations that they easily incite a variety of feelings – primarily fear, insecurity, and hatred for the “other”. Through a process of demonisation, these words have become so fundamental to our sense of security that they achieve a kind of transcendental meaning, inciting any number of different connotations and implications.
The word “terrorist”, according to Lon Troyer , was only used from about the late 1960s, and yet nowadays rarely a day goes by that one does not hear it on the news or read about it in the newspaper. The word ‘terrorist’ is now so politically charged that it incites strong feelings of insecurity, and with its almost inextricable link to Islam, it creates feelings of hatred and anger towards virtually all Islamic states. Furthermore, because of the association that terrorism has with September 11th, 2001, (i.e. the deaths of around 4000 Americans on their home soil), the discourse has now linked Islam with ‘evil’ while The West is now ‘good’.
But does this actually create insecurity in a literal sense? One might think “Surely the words they use don’t influence the actual meaning of what is being said!” In truth, I feel that this is only true in a limited number of cases. Without meaning to sound condescending, the large number of people who are either uneducated or uninterested in the topic of terrorism are the most likely to be persuaded by the language. Without a broader understanding of the issues, it is much harder to ‘read between the lines’ and make an educated judgement.
However, does this mean that insecurity is thus a social or political construct? Well, maybe! I feel that the language used in regards to terrorism (my most recent favourite: “the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism – GlobalSAVE”) probably has less effect on people who have undertaken some study in the field than, say, a blue-collar worker on a farm in rural Texas. The uneducated or uninterested would be more likely to believe whatever they hear (or, indeed, the opposite of it if the person in question does not like the government) simply because they are not aware of the bigger picture enough to make a personal judgement. They are thus more likely to feel insecure simply by being indirectly told that they should, or that there is a legitimate reason for this.
So, what’s the point of all this? Are political strategists using this discourse with the intention of taking advantage of the uneducated majority’s tendency to be easily persuaded by tough-sounding, politically charged words, and by doing so, creating an ‘evil’ beast out of nothing just to rally support for the ‘good’ side that is fighting it? Well, I think so. I am sure that they realise that while there are people out there who can see straight through their façade of fancy language and metaphor, there are plenty of people who cannot.
Friday, September 30, 2005
INAS-FID 2005: Canberra
This week my workplace was privileged enough to host the 2005 INAS-FID 5th Athletics World Championships! INAS-FID is somehow supposed to stand for International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability. Maybe that's in another language..? I'm not sure.
Anyway, it was a great week! It was literally impossible to notice that the vast majority of these people were actually mentally disabled. Nearly everyone (of course, there were some people in whom it was obvious) was completely normal!
They came from all over the world - Australia, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Spain, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands. I work in the dining hall of the hotel that all the athletes and their coaches stayed at, so over the week I have seen these World Champions 3 times a day.
Believe it or not, it was GREAT! I had a great time working and talking to these people. Granted, many of them could only speak broken english (and some not at all!) but it was so much fun! So many of them had such great attitudes and were just awesome!
However, some of them were real rude bastards. ESPECIALLY the POLISH team! Curse on you! Not only were they extremely rude, arrogant, dismissive of everyone else and had been caught trying to steal our food over and over again, but apparently there are suspicions in the INAS-FID organisation that they don't actually even HAVE an intellectual disability! Bastards!
The Puerto Ricans generally looked a bit shady, but many of them seemed fine. The Swedes had the classic Swedish blonde-hair/blue-eyes combo that characterises them. The South Africans (by far the most friendly) would sing traditional African songs and dance around! They gave us many little trinkets as gifts!
The French ponced around as is their wont. The Japanese were extremely shy and kept trying to organise things beyond reason. The Hungarians were fairly non-descript except for one girl with an absolute killer smile.
The Great British were fine. They didn't rub in the fact that we lost the Ashes too much. One friendly old chap there used to be an English policeman, but then retired and now works in Buckingham Palace. Interesting!
Anyway, tomorrow is the last day that they are here. Believe it or not, these people are actually the World Champions! So it is something of a privilege to have them here.
Now I'll post some pictures!
Some of the South African team, with member of staff Adrian. They had just sung us a song that ended up becoming the theme song to the entire week, with lyrics along the lines of: "For your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends; The more we are together, the happier we are!"
Andrew, Paul and Bruno setting up for the massive barbecue (made to feed over 500 mouthes!) held just before the closing ceremony.
At the closing ceremony. My damn camera phone doesn't work well in the dark :(
Me and one of the girls from the Netherlands. She was so weird but so friendly! Haha she seemed to fall in love with me straight away - this morning she literally grabbed me and pulled me outside and was just walking around with me! Haha! I don't even know her name!
Anyway, I'll see them again tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to get more pictures.
So, until next time!
P.S. My one question is, what qualifies someone as being mentally retarded? I mean, it was obvious enough in some people but the vast majority appeared completely normal?! It is called "intellectual disability" for INAS-FID. So what's the difference between that and mental retardation?
... anyone?
Anyway, it was a great week! It was literally impossible to notice that the vast majority of these people were actually mentally disabled. Nearly everyone (of course, there were some people in whom it was obvious) was completely normal!
They came from all over the world - Australia, Estonia, Puerto Rico, Spain, France, Great Britain, Hungary, Poland, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands. I work in the dining hall of the hotel that all the athletes and their coaches stayed at, so over the week I have seen these World Champions 3 times a day.
Believe it or not, it was GREAT! I had a great time working and talking to these people. Granted, many of them could only speak broken english (and some not at all!) but it was so much fun! So many of them had such great attitudes and were just awesome!
However, some of them were real rude bastards. ESPECIALLY the POLISH team! Curse on you! Not only were they extremely rude, arrogant, dismissive of everyone else and had been caught trying to steal our food over and over again, but apparently there are suspicions in the INAS-FID organisation that they don't actually even HAVE an intellectual disability! Bastards!
The Puerto Ricans generally looked a bit shady, but many of them seemed fine. The Swedes had the classic Swedish blonde-hair/blue-eyes combo that characterises them. The South Africans (by far the most friendly) would sing traditional African songs and dance around! They gave us many little trinkets as gifts!
The French ponced around as is their wont. The Japanese were extremely shy and kept trying to organise things beyond reason. The Hungarians were fairly non-descript except for one girl with an absolute killer smile.
The Great British were fine. They didn't rub in the fact that we lost the Ashes too much. One friendly old chap there used to be an English policeman, but then retired and now works in Buckingham Palace. Interesting!
Anyway, tomorrow is the last day that they are here. Believe it or not, these people are actually the World Champions! So it is something of a privilege to have them here.
Now I'll post some pictures!
Some of the South African team, with member of staff Adrian. They had just sung us a song that ended up becoming the theme song to the entire week, with lyrics along the lines of: "For your friends are my friends and my friends are your friends; The more we are together, the happier we are!"
Andrew, Paul and Bruno setting up for the massive barbecue (made to feed over 500 mouthes!) held just before the closing ceremony.
At the closing ceremony. My damn camera phone doesn't work well in the dark :(
Me and one of the girls from the Netherlands. She was so weird but so friendly! Haha she seemed to fall in love with me straight away - this morning she literally grabbed me and pulled me outside and was just walking around with me! Haha! I don't even know her name!
Anyway, I'll see them again tomorrow. Maybe I'll be able to get more pictures.
So, until next time!
P.S. My one question is, what qualifies someone as being mentally retarded? I mean, it was obvious enough in some people but the vast majority appeared completely normal?! It is called "intellectual disability" for INAS-FID. So what's the difference between that and mental retardation?
... anyone?
Friday, September 23, 2005
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
1337 h4x0r update
There is (finally!) a new picture in the 1337 h4x0r competition. Click the link to the right and scroll down to see.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
a year to forget?
On October 25th, it will be one year since the day I hired a van, picked up all my stuff and moved into my own house. It has been a year of ups and downs, and many interesting things have happened.
This is the house that I and the inimitable Steve moved into.
"I love cock!"
So it was my first time that I had to share a house and, by association, a life with other people around my own age, but with no real connection to me. A student share-house.
Well, it had it's ups and downs. It being the beginning of summer, the first few weeks were filled with nothing but sitting on the deck drinking beers.
This was pretty enjoyable. And I was fairly excited about the prospect of beginning a new life - one away from parents. Making it on my own. We soon enough got others to move in and there were four of us living here. Things were fun. Beer flowed freely and we enjoyed summers playing backyard cricket and many other ways of celebrating the fact that we were free and life was good.
Within 2 weeks of moving in, Steve and I had persuaded two different girls to strip for us on consecutive nights.
We cooked on the barbeque every night. Everything was good!
Some of the highlights included:
1. The night we flame-throwered the wasps nests
Nice balaklava, Steve.
2. The housewarming party - despite moving in in October, the party was in March. That was an awesome night. I can't find any pictures for this at the moment. But it was fun.
3. Getting the table-tennis table in the garage. This changed my life, as over the winter months rarely a day went by that I didn't play table tennis.
(this picture snapped from a video...)
4. Other random parties. One was recently that just materialised out of nothing. Steve got kicked in the balls this night, and i loved it.
Miles (left) and Alex (right) at said party.
But it wasn't always good. Soon enough, things about my housemates annoyed me. I became a recluse - hardly left my room just because I didn't want to see anyone. The social lifestyle that I started with became a solitary one. The more social activities like cooking for everyone in the house or sitting around talking disappeared as I got more and more annoyed. My environment was becoming discouraging, and it is hard to change yourself without changing your environment. It was fucked.
The last few months haven't been the greatest. Tensions were raised and friendships were destroyed. I recall being warned before I moved in: "You'll end up hating your housemates." How true.
But you know, it wasn't all that bad. This sad ending isn't without a faint glimmer of hope. In truth, living out of home for a year was a great learning experience. I learnt not only to take the responsibility of managing a household and the rigours of keeping it in good condition, but also I lived with three completely random people while I did it.
It seems to tie up this life I have led here in Canberra. It started well, years ago, but has gradually worn me down. And now it finally feels like it's nearly over!
In fact, everything I am doing these days seems to indicate that now is the beginning of the end. Soon I will move out of this house and at the same time, graduate from university. Then I can work, pay off my debts and afford all the things I want... especially clothes! God! And an ipod. Oh how I have waited! And then, hopefully mid next year, a move overseas and a new life, a new environment.
I am looking forward to it so much. It feels like I have paid my dues. The hard part is over. Student life is coming to an end. Summer is coming. The new era begins. The renaissance is imminent. And I couldn't be happier!
Sakura at ANU after rain - a sure sign that summer is coming.
So, let's look to the future! The past is over. The time has come. Get some of that Summertime Healing!
This is the house that I and the inimitable Steve moved into.
"I love cock!"
So it was my first time that I had to share a house and, by association, a life with other people around my own age, but with no real connection to me. A student share-house.
Well, it had it's ups and downs. It being the beginning of summer, the first few weeks were filled with nothing but sitting on the deck drinking beers.
This was pretty enjoyable. And I was fairly excited about the prospect of beginning a new life - one away from parents. Making it on my own. We soon enough got others to move in and there were four of us living here. Things were fun. Beer flowed freely and we enjoyed summers playing backyard cricket and many other ways of celebrating the fact that we were free and life was good.
Within 2 weeks of moving in, Steve and I had persuaded two different girls to strip for us on consecutive nights.
We cooked on the barbeque every night. Everything was good!
Some of the highlights included:
1. The night we flame-throwered the wasps nests
Nice balaklava, Steve.
2. The housewarming party - despite moving in in October, the party was in March. That was an awesome night. I can't find any pictures for this at the moment. But it was fun.
3. Getting the table-tennis table in the garage. This changed my life, as over the winter months rarely a day went by that I didn't play table tennis.
(this picture snapped from a video...)
4. Other random parties. One was recently that just materialised out of nothing. Steve got kicked in the balls this night, and i loved it.
Miles (left) and Alex (right) at said party.
But it wasn't always good. Soon enough, things about my housemates annoyed me. I became a recluse - hardly left my room just because I didn't want to see anyone. The social lifestyle that I started with became a solitary one. The more social activities like cooking for everyone in the house or sitting around talking disappeared as I got more and more annoyed. My environment was becoming discouraging, and it is hard to change yourself without changing your environment. It was fucked.
The last few months haven't been the greatest. Tensions were raised and friendships were destroyed. I recall being warned before I moved in: "You'll end up hating your housemates." How true.
But you know, it wasn't all that bad. This sad ending isn't without a faint glimmer of hope. In truth, living out of home for a year was a great learning experience. I learnt not only to take the responsibility of managing a household and the rigours of keeping it in good condition, but also I lived with three completely random people while I did it.
It seems to tie up this life I have led here in Canberra. It started well, years ago, but has gradually worn me down. And now it finally feels like it's nearly over!
In fact, everything I am doing these days seems to indicate that now is the beginning of the end. Soon I will move out of this house and at the same time, graduate from university. Then I can work, pay off my debts and afford all the things I want... especially clothes! God! And an ipod. Oh how I have waited! And then, hopefully mid next year, a move overseas and a new life, a new environment.
I am looking forward to it so much. It feels like I have paid my dues. The hard part is over. Student life is coming to an end. Summer is coming. The new era begins. The renaissance is imminent. And I couldn't be happier!
Sakura at ANU after rain - a sure sign that summer is coming.
So, let's look to the future! The past is over. The time has come. Get some of that Summertime Healing!
Monday, September 12, 2005
globe2 pop/rock lyrics
Thanks to Sho for searching long and hard through various Chinese sites and finding the lyrics to this new album!Finally we can understand what they're saying when they try to speak english..
Example: From "Back 2 Be", what sounds like : "back back bessy! bekusuru gen gi! (which is meaningless) actually was "Back Back Basic, Breakthrough Again and Again!"
Could've fooled me, Keiko.
Read them here!
Sunday, September 11, 2005
breakfast.
Excuse the bad quality of the photo. I couldn't tell until it was too late.
A cup of coffee, a braised steak and onion toastie, two multivitamin pills and a Mega C tablet. Yum !
(I would've had a banana as well but they're not ripe yet.)
A cup of coffee, a braised steak and onion toastie, two multivitamin pills and a Mega C tablet. Yum !
(I would've had a banana as well but they're not ripe yet.)
Saturday, September 10, 2005
re-dye
I hadn't done it for a while, so I spent half an hour today re-dying my hair - back to black.
Now just watch the girls go crazy!!
Now just watch the girls go crazy!!
Friday, September 09, 2005
the gods have intervened
Weird, man.
If you see the previous post, you see that my keyboard was completely FUCKED after i spilt all this beer all over it.
Well, i was talking to Sho on googletalk only a few hours later when all of a sudden, the connection dropped out.
"Hello? Hello? Are you there...?" said I...
No response.
Eventually he typed something.. something like: "are you there? i can't hear anything."
I typed back expecting my text to be an unintelligable mishmash of crap, when i discovered that it was FIXED!!
What!? How did that happen!? No explanation. Except.. THE GODS.
They must've intervened and fixed my keyboard, but while doing so they accidently killed the phone conversation.
Weird! Oh well, saves me buying a new keyboard.
Anyway, here are some cool pics of a Kasumi PVC doll to colourise this blog entry.
If you see the previous post, you see that my keyboard was completely FUCKED after i spilt all this beer all over it.
Well, i was talking to Sho on googletalk only a few hours later when all of a sudden, the connection dropped out.
"Hello? Hello? Are you there...?" said I...
No response.
Eventually he typed something.. something like: "are you there? i can't hear anything."
I typed back expecting my text to be an unintelligable mishmash of crap, when i discovered that it was FIXED!!
What!? How did that happen!? No explanation. Except.. THE GODS.
They must've intervened and fixed my keyboard, but while doing so they accidently killed the phone conversation.
Weird! Oh well, saves me buying a new keyboard.
Anyway, here are some cool pics of a Kasumi PVC doll to colourise this blog entry.
i xs/pi.lt xsomne bveer omn mny keybvoard
>LO>L!
Oh mno. I a,c,cidemnta..l.ly xsp/i.lt bveer omn mny keybvoard juxst bvefore.l
I thought it wou.ld bve ok bvut it'xs ,comnp/.lete.ly xstuffed!
mnow i habve to get amnother omne tomnorrow!! hahaha i juxst thought i'd write thixs xsi.l.ly b.log emntry to remnemnbver the fa,ct that i ,comp/.lete.ly xstuffed it.
,c.laxsxsi,c.l
Oh mno. I a,c,cidemnta..l.ly xsp/i.lt bveer omn mny keybvoard juxst bvefore.l
I thought it wou.ld bve ok bvut it'xs ,comnp/.lete.ly xstuffed!
mnow i habve to get amnother omne tomnorrow!! hahaha i juxst thought i'd write thixs xsi.l.ly b.log emntry to remnemnbver the fa,ct that i ,comp/.lete.ly xstuffed it.
,c.laxsxsi,c.l
1337 h4x0r c0mp37i7i0n
I have decided that, for some fun, I will start a competition on this blog for the best occurrence of the numbers '1337'.
As any 1337 h4x0r knows, this number pops up randomly every now and then, be it while looking at webpages or maybe it's a score in a game, whatever. The point is that it gives the 1337 h4x0r a little burst of satisfaction, or "haha i know what that means and you don't..." kind of feeling.
So, next time you see the numbers 1337 pop up somewhere (and it must not be deliberate, like you've just typed in a calculator or something..), take a photo/screenshot/hd video or whatever, and send it to me at this address.
Now that there are a few of them, I will put them in order from newest to oldest.
23rd Sept. 2005: Yet another from Alex, while playing online poker.
21st Sept. 2005: From Alex, after he played poker machines...
9th Sept 2005: Also from Alex. This is pretty 1337!
I came across this one after Sho started talking about Gitanes cigarettes...
More pics as they are received.
As any 1337 h4x0r knows, this number pops up randomly every now and then, be it while looking at webpages or maybe it's a score in a game, whatever. The point is that it gives the 1337 h4x0r a little burst of satisfaction, or "haha i know what that means and you don't..." kind of feeling.
So, next time you see the numbers 1337 pop up somewhere (and it must not be deliberate, like you've just typed in a calculator or something..), take a photo/screenshot/hd video or whatever, and send it to me at this address.
Now that there are a few of them, I will put them in order from newest to oldest.
23rd Sept. 2005: Yet another from Alex, while playing online poker.
21st Sept. 2005: From Alex, after he played poker machines...
9th Sept 2005: Also from Alex. This is pretty 1337!
I came across this one after Sho started talking about Gitanes cigarettes...
More pics as they are received.
Thursday, September 08, 2005
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
tee hee
Two fish are in a tank. One says to the other: "You man the guns, I'll drive."
similarly...
Two birds are sitting on a perch. One says to the other: "Can you smell fish?"
heh heh i love those jokes.
similarly...
Two birds are sitting on a perch. One says to the other: "Can you smell fish?"
heh heh i love those jokes.
Monday, September 05, 2005
what's wrong with the sony ericsson z800i
As far as I can tell, there are two problems with this phone.One is that the buttons are too spread out. As you can see in this picture, there are weird horizontal bars between each row of buttons. And because it's a clamshell phone, the buttons don't stick out very far ! It is taking some getting used to as you have to use a smaller surface area of your finger to press each button. I am getting better at it but it doesn't feel as nice as the Nokias.
The other problem is that you can't turn off the shutter sound for the camera! I know they probably did that on purpose so that people couldn't use it voyeuristically, but it just sucks! Even on silent mode it makes a very audible ker-chunk sound. Why punish everyone because of what a minority of people do anyway?
My ratings for this phone:
Menus: 7/10. Nice and colourful and fairly easy to use. Lacking in a few settings though.
Camera: Quality - 9/10. The pictures, especially day shots are very clear.
Shutter Sound - 0/10. Fuck you Sony.
Buttons: 6/10. All buttons but the number keys are fine.
Features: 9/10. This phone has everything - video conferencing, bluetooth, plays mp3s... everything.
Aesthetics: 9/10. Not too big. Almost the same size, when closed, as my old Nokia 8250.
Overview:
Well, I really do like this phone. It's a nice size, it's smooth, the screen is big and bright, the camera is easy to use and transferring files between it and my computer is easy. As I said before, the buttons take some getting used to and the shutter sound is unsilenceable. Apart from that, it's great!
Final score: 8.5/10.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
holy moly
Tonight I think I learned something. I have been shown something. In fact, not just tonight, but I am pondering the reasons for getting to know one single person, who I shall henceforth refer to as "the possum".
As those who know me well already understand, the possum is awful. Imagine a guy who is completely lacking in any social skills or discretion at all. A complete social misfit, a man with such low self-esteem that he will put his whole persona on the line in an effort to impress someone. When meeting people, he's not at all mysterious or charming, he instead relies on arguing violently with people until he can rub in their face the fact that he was right and they were wrong - but of course, they are just not interested in continuing. His voice is obnoxious and every time he speaks it is in an overly loud voice in order to attract attention - yes, that's it - he's an attention seeker. Of course, those with extremely low self-esteem usually are. But I have never before seen a case this bad. It is positively unbelievable. Think David Brent from The Office. The similarity is astonishing.
Tonight started out as me, the possum (whom i live with) and a friend of his, P. We three began drinking in the afternoon. They invited one other person, who turned up a bit later. Meanwhile, I was invited out for drinks at a classy pub down the road with people from jujutsu class. I hung with them for 2 hours, and then came home as my friend Alex was coming over. The jujutsu people, after eating, decided to come too. They invited other people as well until we had about 15 people around, sitting on the deck drinking beers and chatting.
Of course, of those 15, 12 of them were my friends ;) I don't mean to brag, though... >:)
So, there I am chatting to all these people that I know. And if you know me, you will know that I don't like to make people feel insignificant, EVER. I believe I have a quiet confidence about myself when I meet people. I mean, I do jujutsu and i play the piano, for example - now i don't go around advertising the fact that I learn how to smash people's heads 3 times a week or that i can play songs on the piano on request, because it will make people feel like I'm "having one up" on them. Always better to be humble. As much as possible. It endears you to other people.
But the possum just doesn't understand.
He gives bad first impressions.
He doesn't focus on points of connection, rather, he focuses on disconnection. He finds points to argue about and then rubs it in afterwards.
It's as though he wants to make people hate him, and then try to impress them with cheap talk afterwards. People get the shits!
Every time he leaves the room, the first conversation everyone starts is: "what the fuck is with that guy? he is such a total cock!!"
it just oozes out of this guy. now i have to live with him. I feel like i effected small change but clearly nowhere near enough. You all probably understand what these people are like. Now imagine living with one.
Seriously, he was making jokes about beating women and 9/11, and just generally being a stupid bully. That's it, he's a bully - and like every bully, a coward.
He doesn't realise that everyone can see straight through his transparent layer of shit through to the core of total cockfacedness. When he left the room tonight, one guy summed it up perfectly by referring to him as "that guy that everybody seems to hate."
Anyway, i digress. You get the picture. I just find myself wondering these days "why did I move in with this guy?" In truth, he seemed ok when i only had to deal with little bits of it at a time. In some senses, he's gotten better - he used to be stressed out with work and was a total cock that everyone hated, but for some reason i was the first person to see through his transparent shit barrier and his cock personality didn't affect me. He has gotten more light-hearted these days but it is almost as bad as him stressed - just cos he talks a lot more - sigh !!
So why did i meet this guy? Is meeting him a message from the heavens of what I am not ever to become? It is an opposing example. "Don't Be Like This", say the gods. But why did I have to live with him for this long (since october 2004) to understand this? Every time it just gets worse and worse. Maybe I'm being forewarned about what not to turn in to.
Ah, some other things he does:
gamble, drink and smoke excessively
too lazy to get a license (he's 20), OR fix his bicycle (back tyre fucked for months now) so he can never get anywhere unless he guilts people into giving him a lift.
Then he had the nerve to come in tonight after everyone had left and say: "i was just double checking - but i think tonight went well and your friends liked me, what did you think?" (except he wouldn't say it with as much beautiful punctuation). Well, what am I to say? No one at all liked him. One girl even kicked him square in the balls and had him doubled up in pain on the floor. He deserved it, and it was hilarious...
Man, this is ridiculous. Why, gods, why did you make me live with him for so long? What are you trying to make me understand apart from "this guy sucks"?!?
So frustrating. But maybe only 6 weeks and I can move out. The finish line is coming into sight about .... now... Sigh.
Here's a picture of the ugly bastard:
UPDATE: After sleeping on it, I think I know what has changed since i met this guy. I think it has made my wit quicker, actually! To his credit, he is very quick at coming up with arguments for discussion. He can think of things to say very quickly, regardless of whether he believes it or not. I could never do this and it led to awkward silences when talking to girls. But now I see how he does it, and I have made my own version, which works even better than his does! Sure he's got the quickness but his wit is pathetic. He is also very cocky and I think that I now see how being cocky affects people (especially girls), but by knowing the possum I see what happens if you take it too far...
As those who know me well already understand, the possum is awful. Imagine a guy who is completely lacking in any social skills or discretion at all. A complete social misfit, a man with such low self-esteem that he will put his whole persona on the line in an effort to impress someone. When meeting people, he's not at all mysterious or charming, he instead relies on arguing violently with people until he can rub in their face the fact that he was right and they were wrong - but of course, they are just not interested in continuing. His voice is obnoxious and every time he speaks it is in an overly loud voice in order to attract attention - yes, that's it - he's an attention seeker. Of course, those with extremely low self-esteem usually are. But I have never before seen a case this bad. It is positively unbelievable. Think David Brent from The Office. The similarity is astonishing.
Tonight started out as me, the possum (whom i live with) and a friend of his, P. We three began drinking in the afternoon. They invited one other person, who turned up a bit later. Meanwhile, I was invited out for drinks at a classy pub down the road with people from jujutsu class. I hung with them for 2 hours, and then came home as my friend Alex was coming over. The jujutsu people, after eating, decided to come too. They invited other people as well until we had about 15 people around, sitting on the deck drinking beers and chatting.
Of course, of those 15, 12 of them were my friends ;) I don't mean to brag, though... >:)
So, there I am chatting to all these people that I know. And if you know me, you will know that I don't like to make people feel insignificant, EVER. I believe I have a quiet confidence about myself when I meet people. I mean, I do jujutsu and i play the piano, for example - now i don't go around advertising the fact that I learn how to smash people's heads 3 times a week or that i can play songs on the piano on request, because it will make people feel like I'm "having one up" on them. Always better to be humble. As much as possible. It endears you to other people.
But the possum just doesn't understand.
He gives bad first impressions.
He doesn't focus on points of connection, rather, he focuses on disconnection. He finds points to argue about and then rubs it in afterwards.
It's as though he wants to make people hate him, and then try to impress them with cheap talk afterwards. People get the shits!
Every time he leaves the room, the first conversation everyone starts is: "what the fuck is with that guy? he is such a total cock!!"
it just oozes out of this guy. now i have to live with him. I feel like i effected small change but clearly nowhere near enough. You all probably understand what these people are like. Now imagine living with one.
Seriously, he was making jokes about beating women and 9/11, and just generally being a stupid bully. That's it, he's a bully - and like every bully, a coward.
He doesn't realise that everyone can see straight through his transparent layer of shit through to the core of total cockfacedness. When he left the room tonight, one guy summed it up perfectly by referring to him as "that guy that everybody seems to hate."
Anyway, i digress. You get the picture. I just find myself wondering these days "why did I move in with this guy?" In truth, he seemed ok when i only had to deal with little bits of it at a time. In some senses, he's gotten better - he used to be stressed out with work and was a total cock that everyone hated, but for some reason i was the first person to see through his transparent shit barrier and his cock personality didn't affect me. He has gotten more light-hearted these days but it is almost as bad as him stressed - just cos he talks a lot more - sigh !!
So why did i meet this guy? Is meeting him a message from the heavens of what I am not ever to become? It is an opposing example. "Don't Be Like This", say the gods. But why did I have to live with him for this long (since october 2004) to understand this? Every time it just gets worse and worse. Maybe I'm being forewarned about what not to turn in to.
Ah, some other things he does:
gamble, drink and smoke excessively
too lazy to get a license (he's 20), OR fix his bicycle (back tyre fucked for months now) so he can never get anywhere unless he guilts people into giving him a lift.
Then he had the nerve to come in tonight after everyone had left and say: "i was just double checking - but i think tonight went well and your friends liked me, what did you think?" (except he wouldn't say it with as much beautiful punctuation). Well, what am I to say? No one at all liked him. One girl even kicked him square in the balls and had him doubled up in pain on the floor. He deserved it, and it was hilarious...
Man, this is ridiculous. Why, gods, why did you make me live with him for so long? What are you trying to make me understand apart from "this guy sucks"?!?
So frustrating. But maybe only 6 weeks and I can move out. The finish line is coming into sight about .... now... Sigh.
Here's a picture of the ugly bastard:
UPDATE: After sleeping on it, I think I know what has changed since i met this guy. I think it has made my wit quicker, actually! To his credit, he is very quick at coming up with arguments for discussion. He can think of things to say very quickly, regardless of whether he believes it or not. I could never do this and it led to awkward silences when talking to girls. But now I see how he does it, and I have made my own version, which works even better than his does! Sure he's got the quickness but his wit is pathetic. He is also very cocky and I think that I now see how being cocky affects people (especially girls), but by knowing the possum I see what happens if you take it too far...
Friday, September 02, 2005
it's arrived !
Finally, it's here! My Sony Ericsson Z800i! Awesome!
It was a bastard though - transferring all my contacts over, and it hasn't changed over to my new number yet, but three mobile promises that it will happen soon.
Also, I can't send picture messages for some reason? Maybe that will change after the number is fixed up too.
Anyway, here are some pics that i took with it today! I thought they weren't bad for a 1.3megapixel phone camera. Pretty clear during the day...!
- a recently built building near my house
- avoiding staring at the sun
- "wow, that guy in the mirror looks so cool..."
notice the different hairstyles between photos 2 and 3 - that was because photo 2 was taken after my haircut today, and photo 3 was before... :)
It was a bastard though - transferring all my contacts over, and it hasn't changed over to my new number yet, but three mobile promises that it will happen soon.
Also, I can't send picture messages for some reason? Maybe that will change after the number is fixed up too.
Anyway, here are some pics that i took with it today! I thought they weren't bad for a 1.3megapixel phone camera. Pretty clear during the day...!
- a recently built building near my house
- avoiding staring at the sun
- "wow, that guy in the mirror looks so cool..."
notice the different hairstyles between photos 2 and 3 - that was because photo 2 was taken after my haircut today, and photo 3 was before... :)
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
not long now
With only 6 weeks to go before graduation, the heat is on! There's an absolute shitload of work to be done - essays, presentations, exams, the lot! It will be a tough 6 weeks but it will be worth it when it's over !!
"you have to know deep within your heart that you have what it takes to live your dream..." is my motto for NOW! LIVE IT! YES!
"you have to know deep within your heart that you have what it takes to live your dream..." is my motto for NOW! LIVE IT! YES!
Friday, August 26, 2005
Sony Ericsson Z800i
Now that 3 Mobile has finally rolled out in Canberra, I went today to a place where some 3 representatives were demonstrating their new phones. Well, I was sold instantly with this phone - the Sony Ericsson Z800i !
Check it out ! A 1.3 megapixel (video-)camera with zoom, videoconferencing capability, MP3 player, bluetooth, and a free 64mb memory card to boot. When I got to their little stall, they were surfing the net on a laptop through it. The camera is located in the middle of the hinge, and you can just roll it up to point out the back of the phone for taking photos, or roll it down to point at yourself for video conferencing! This phone is being sold so cheap ! $479 on a 24 month contract - $15 a month!
Not only is it a cool phone, but the deal is even better! In order to compete with Vodafone and Virgin, 3 have released the "cap" system - only, these guys are going cheaper than most! For $29 a month you receive $120 worth of call credit (including international calls!), plus an extra $70 to other 3 mobiles. Video conferencing is available between 3 phones for the same cost as a local call!
So, basically I am getting an awesome phone for a maximum of $44 a month! That's less than I'm currently paying with my old broken Nokia 8250 on Optus. FUCK Optus!
Song of the Week II
This week's song is LOST, by globe, from their new album globe2 pop/rock. Being a brand new album, it has taken me a while to get into these songs. Some stand out more than others, but for some reason I can't stop listening to this one! The chorus is just awesome! Using the past tense of all the verbs just makes it sound cool!
Have a listen here.
Have a listen here.
Thursday, August 25, 2005
on music
After a lot of thought, I have finally been able to verbally express the way I think. Tonight while visiting my friend Alex, we were discussing our favourite bands and why we liked them, when it finally ‘clicked’ with me that the way I think may be more different than I thought to the way other people think. I think I have finally realised something – something that was there all along but I just didn’t pay attention to it enough to notice: this something, I believe, is my individual experience of music.
Music is a universal thing. Everybody knows it when they hear it, and it branches out into countless different styles, reaching every individual in a unique and original way. It has been around since time began and it will be around until the end of time itself. And yet, while everybody knows what it is, I think that everybody interprets it differently, and I think that this interpretation is based on each individual’s experience of the musical reality. I feel that tonight I got a glimpse of the true extent of the spectrum of individual musical experience.
I discovered that music is experienced on a number of different levels. I postulate that the simplest level is just the notion of sound itself, regardless of its quality. As you go up the range of levels, you notice a more precise system of recognition of individual sounds – easily discerning subtle pitch differences between two sounds, for example, and the basics for being able to play a musical instrument. I think a further step is to be able to replicate this sound (if not in a beautiful singing voice, at least while humming it to yourself).
Well, I can do this (well, maybe not the singing beautifully part), but I have always been able to do it. I thought everyone was like this. It feels almost like a sense. It’s as though every sound that is made is a musical note in itself. To me, hearing the difference between any two sounds as easy as discerning a spaceship from a bicycle. Similarly, the difference between hearing the same person say some words once normally, and once again with a slightly different pitch of voice is as clear as water.
Everything I hear is always instantaneously translated into a musical spectrum. My attention will always be immediately drawn to the fact that the heater makes a hum at a pitch x degrees higher than the hum of the fridge. I can “see” the interval between the two sounds in musical terms. When I was young, I used to hum along to the sound of the vacuum cleaner, finally being able to replicate it so precisely that while I did it I could feel a strange echoey reverberation in my eardrums.
As I said, I thought everyone did this to the same extent as I did – in other words, I thought the musical experience was the same for everyone. But after observation and discussion, I can only come to the conclusion that it’s not.
When I listen to my favourite artists, I sometimes get overwhelmed by the feeling of “understanding” them. I feel like those artists must have a similar musical experience to me, and I am drawn to their music because it communicates with me in a very personal way. It is not just about style – by which I mean hip-hop, pop, classical etc., as I can feel it to varying degrees with music over a range of styles (of course I have my favourites), rather, it is just a feeling of connection, and hand in hand with that is a strong feeling of satisfaction.
I feel like I can liken this to an experience of Alex’s. He has synesthesia – a condition whereby words and thoughts are “seen” or “felt” as colours in one’s mind. I find it utterly amazing that he can remember the score in games of table tennis because of the colour association that he makes with the score (i.e. a score of 10-8 has a different colour sensation to a score of 9-11). Well, it sounds like an experience in some ways similar to how I feel about sounds – an unconscious recognition, a “feeling” for it, like it’s natural.
I guess I may have been naïve (or just not paying attention) in my high school days. Having attended a school with a music specialty, I was required to perform in little mini-concerts for my class – of course, I played the piano. I always took it for granted that I would be able to have done absolutely zero preparation for these things, preferring instead to just play what I play whenever I play at home. While there were others in the class that had to stop halfway through their song because “they hadn’t learnt it all yet”, I would just play a TV theme song that I worked out by ear in 20 minutes at home the day before. If that was the case, why did I never really realise that what I did was in some way different to others? Was it a self-imposed tall poppy syndrome? Did I, in my younger days, feel reserved about showing off what talent I had because I feared lowering my interlocutor’s self-esteem? Who knows. Not me. I doubt even God knows. But looking back on it now, it seems blatant. I could do it with ease, so I did. Nowadays, I often find myself singing in my head – I’ll be half way through a song by the time I realise I’m doing it, and then I’ll break out singing mid-sentence and puzzle all those around me.
So, I now invite discussion into this topic. How do you describe your musical experiences? What connection is made when you listen to music? What part of you does it touch? Does it permeate your entire body, and resonate deep within your soul? Do you, like me, experience the world as one very large, detailed song? As though music is flowing around you all the time, coming out of everything and everyone?
UPDATE: Oh my god! Immediately after writing about this I explored the site I linked above (this one, about synesthesia), when a branch of it was talking about this "Musical Animation Machine". Someone has written a program that is remarkably close to what goes on in my brain! I definitely hope you will check it out - what happens in these movies is a pretty accurate representation of what my experience is of every sound I hear.
UPDATE II: In response to a slight misunderstanding, I would like to make it clear that the similarity between what I see in my mind and this Music Animation Program is not the colours, but the sense of "intervals" between sounds. On another note, today Alex asked me a question about this program - whether, when two notes are played together, I can hear both of them. The answer is yes, but of course when that number gets higher than three or four it can get a bit difficult ;)
Music is a universal thing. Everybody knows it when they hear it, and it branches out into countless different styles, reaching every individual in a unique and original way. It has been around since time began and it will be around until the end of time itself. And yet, while everybody knows what it is, I think that everybody interprets it differently, and I think that this interpretation is based on each individual’s experience of the musical reality. I feel that tonight I got a glimpse of the true extent of the spectrum of individual musical experience.
I discovered that music is experienced on a number of different levels. I postulate that the simplest level is just the notion of sound itself, regardless of its quality. As you go up the range of levels, you notice a more precise system of recognition of individual sounds – easily discerning subtle pitch differences between two sounds, for example, and the basics for being able to play a musical instrument. I think a further step is to be able to replicate this sound (if not in a beautiful singing voice, at least while humming it to yourself).
Well, I can do this (well, maybe not the singing beautifully part), but I have always been able to do it. I thought everyone was like this. It feels almost like a sense. It’s as though every sound that is made is a musical note in itself. To me, hearing the difference between any two sounds as easy as discerning a spaceship from a bicycle. Similarly, the difference between hearing the same person say some words once normally, and once again with a slightly different pitch of voice is as clear as water.
Everything I hear is always instantaneously translated into a musical spectrum. My attention will always be immediately drawn to the fact that the heater makes a hum at a pitch x degrees higher than the hum of the fridge. I can “see” the interval between the two sounds in musical terms. When I was young, I used to hum along to the sound of the vacuum cleaner, finally being able to replicate it so precisely that while I did it I could feel a strange echoey reverberation in my eardrums.
As I said, I thought everyone did this to the same extent as I did – in other words, I thought the musical experience was the same for everyone. But after observation and discussion, I can only come to the conclusion that it’s not.
When I listen to my favourite artists, I sometimes get overwhelmed by the feeling of “understanding” them. I feel like those artists must have a similar musical experience to me, and I am drawn to their music because it communicates with me in a very personal way. It is not just about style – by which I mean hip-hop, pop, classical etc., as I can feel it to varying degrees with music over a range of styles (of course I have my favourites), rather, it is just a feeling of connection, and hand in hand with that is a strong feeling of satisfaction.
I feel like I can liken this to an experience of Alex’s. He has synesthesia – a condition whereby words and thoughts are “seen” or “felt” as colours in one’s mind. I find it utterly amazing that he can remember the score in games of table tennis because of the colour association that he makes with the score (i.e. a score of 10-8 has a different colour sensation to a score of 9-11). Well, it sounds like an experience in some ways similar to how I feel about sounds – an unconscious recognition, a “feeling” for it, like it’s natural.
I guess I may have been naïve (or just not paying attention) in my high school days. Having attended a school with a music specialty, I was required to perform in little mini-concerts for my class – of course, I played the piano. I always took it for granted that I would be able to have done absolutely zero preparation for these things, preferring instead to just play what I play whenever I play at home. While there were others in the class that had to stop halfway through their song because “they hadn’t learnt it all yet”, I would just play a TV theme song that I worked out by ear in 20 minutes at home the day before. If that was the case, why did I never really realise that what I did was in some way different to others? Was it a self-imposed tall poppy syndrome? Did I, in my younger days, feel reserved about showing off what talent I had because I feared lowering my interlocutor’s self-esteem? Who knows. Not me. I doubt even God knows. But looking back on it now, it seems blatant. I could do it with ease, so I did. Nowadays, I often find myself singing in my head – I’ll be half way through a song by the time I realise I’m doing it, and then I’ll break out singing mid-sentence and puzzle all those around me.
So, I now invite discussion into this topic. How do you describe your musical experiences? What connection is made when you listen to music? What part of you does it touch? Does it permeate your entire body, and resonate deep within your soul? Do you, like me, experience the world as one very large, detailed song? As though music is flowing around you all the time, coming out of everything and everyone?
UPDATE: Oh my god! Immediately after writing about this I explored the site I linked above (this one, about synesthesia), when a branch of it was talking about this "Musical Animation Machine". Someone has written a program that is remarkably close to what goes on in my brain! I definitely hope you will check it out - what happens in these movies is a pretty accurate representation of what my experience is of every sound I hear.
UPDATE II: In response to a slight misunderstanding, I would like to make it clear that the similarity between what I see in my mind and this Music Animation Program is not the colours, but the sense of "intervals" between sounds. On another note, today Alex asked me a question about this program - whether, when two notes are played together, I can hear both of them. The answer is yes, but of course when that number gets higher than three or four it can get a bit difficult ;)
it's not what you say, it's what you do
This has been a recurring theme in my life over the past few weeks. More details later.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
15 minutes sleep
Doing this is not a good idea. I was pumped at work this morning for a little while and I thought I could pull it off. Now that I'm home I am struggling to keep my eyes open. Never again.
Monday, August 22, 2005
$430 ! :(
... is the price of repairs to my car after demolishing the rear right wheel by smashing up my brick letterbox.
Sigh! That'll teach me not to reverse quickly out of my driveway anymore.
On another note, Dad told me today that he has put in an offer for a house about 5km from here. I hope it's not too shit, because it'll be MY house...!
Sigh! That'll teach me not to reverse quickly out of my driveway anymore.
On another note, Dad told me today that he has put in an offer for a house about 5km from here. I hope it's not too shit, because it'll be MY house...!
finally back at jujutsu + a funny story
Today I went back to 柔術 class after a very on-and-off month. I have been so sick for ages - a whole month almost - with just this unshakeable cold. Actually it started off with a dizzying flu but only recently has my nose stopped running and my cough subsided. How frustrating!
Anyway, apart from SMASHING MY CAR INTO THE BRICK LETTERBOX the other day, things have been taking a turn for the better! My health is improving, the weather is improving, uni is not looking so difficult anymore, I went back to jujutsu, and I am working towards my plan to go o/s next year. Now, I should just go back to the gym. It's all about the dollars though, man.
A funny thing happened today, too:
It started a few days ago actually, when in our boredom, my housemate Richard and I started opening the hundreds of random letters we get in our mailbox addressed to former tenants of our house and the like. Most of them were crap - just junk mail and stupid offers and stuff, except for one of them that Richo opened and it turned out to be our neighbour's gas bill!
Feeling embarrassed about opening it, he put it in the recycle bin and said "It's ok, they'll get a new one in the mail soon enough..."
Today, though, as my car is out-of-order, I got a lift with one of the neighbours, Veena, who does jujutsu with me. On the way home I thought that it was pretty bad to have thrown out a bill of theirs so I told her and I said I'd give it back when we got home. And she was all like: "Oh! You should've given it to us straight away ! A bill is important !" She was a bit shat. But then she said: "Oh by the way, is your new housemate's name Rob?"
"No, it's Richard - we call him Richo."
"Oh... not Rob then..."
"... No..."
So I was feeling pretty bad about the bill, but nevertheless I retrieved it and went next door to hand it over. When I got there however, she had told the rest of her housemates (making me feel worse), but then they said: "Actually we got some mail for Richard... and we opened it, too!"
"Oh ho ho !!" I thought, feeling suddenly not as much of a bastard as I really was.
"But have a look at what it is" they said.
So I put my hand in the pre-opened yellow heavy-duty air-bubble-lined envelope only to retrieve a copy of 'X-Change 2', the hentai anime dating-sim!
Haha! We laughed so much. Funnier was that I was able to show all my other housemates (heh heh) and then the envelope was still sticky enough to allow us to seal it in a way that looked like it was unopened!
I was hoping that Richo might come and tell us about it, but he hasn't yet. Maybe he's a wee bit embarrassed :)
Anyway, apart from SMASHING MY CAR INTO THE BRICK LETTERBOX the other day, things have been taking a turn for the better! My health is improving, the weather is improving, uni is not looking so difficult anymore, I went back to jujutsu, and I am working towards my plan to go o/s next year. Now, I should just go back to the gym. It's all about the dollars though, man.
A funny thing happened today, too:
It started a few days ago actually, when in our boredom, my housemate Richard and I started opening the hundreds of random letters we get in our mailbox addressed to former tenants of our house and the like. Most of them were crap - just junk mail and stupid offers and stuff, except for one of them that Richo opened and it turned out to be our neighbour's gas bill!
Feeling embarrassed about opening it, he put it in the recycle bin and said "It's ok, they'll get a new one in the mail soon enough..."
Today, though, as my car is out-of-order, I got a lift with one of the neighbours, Veena, who does jujutsu with me. On the way home I thought that it was pretty bad to have thrown out a bill of theirs so I told her and I said I'd give it back when we got home. And she was all like: "Oh! You should've given it to us straight away ! A bill is important !" She was a bit shat. But then she said: "Oh by the way, is your new housemate's name Rob?"
"No, it's Richard - we call him Richo."
"Oh... not Rob then..."
"... No..."
So I was feeling pretty bad about the bill, but nevertheless I retrieved it and went next door to hand it over. When I got there however, she had told the rest of her housemates (making me feel worse), but then they said: "Actually we got some mail for Richard... and we opened it, too!"
"Oh ho ho !!" I thought, feeling suddenly not as much of a bastard as I really was.
"But have a look at what it is" they said.
So I put my hand in the pre-opened yellow heavy-duty air-bubble-lined envelope only to retrieve a copy of 'X-Change 2', the hentai anime dating-sim!
Haha! We laughed so much. Funnier was that I was able to show all my other housemates (heh heh) and then the envelope was still sticky enough to allow us to seal it in a way that looked like it was unopened!
I was hoping that Richo might come and tell us about it, but he hasn't yet. Maybe he's a wee bit embarrassed :)
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Song of the Week
This week's song, courtesy of Alex, is Miserere by The Cat Empire.
From the perpetual heartbeat bass drum, the sickly-sweet and soft lyrics, the sombre trumpet solos and the final upbeat theme of "Long Live Living!", this song has been keeping me uplifted all week, especially in the face of various setbacks, both real and imagined.
I post the link ... here. Enjoy!
From the perpetual heartbeat bass drum, the sickly-sweet and soft lyrics, the sombre trumpet solos and the final upbeat theme of "Long Live Living!", this song has been keeping me uplifted all week, especially in the face of various setbacks, both real and imagined.
I post the link ... here. Enjoy!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
everything's fine !
Well, my fears were unfounded ! As I said in a previous post, I was slightly concerned that my ideas about my future would aggravate, in particular, my father who had basically wanted me to study further.
Actually, it's not all that bad ! He seems to think my plan to go to Japan next year is a fine plan ! Come to think of it, subconsciously it seems that I knew that it wouldn't cause any angst or disappointment - and yet I feared that more than anything.
Well, that's a weight off my shoulders! Now that I have confirmation that I'm not just being a lazy fuck who doesn't want to study anymore, I can muster the motivation to work hard for the remainder of the semester.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Awesome !
Actually, it's not all that bad ! He seems to think my plan to go to Japan next year is a fine plan ! Come to think of it, subconsciously it seems that I knew that it wouldn't cause any angst or disappointment - and yet I feared that more than anything.
Well, that's a weight off my shoulders! Now that I have confirmation that I'm not just being a lazy fuck who doesn't want to study anymore, I can muster the motivation to work hard for the remainder of the semester.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! Awesome !
Thursday, August 18, 2005
scarlett johansson
I finally got to see Lost In Translation on DVD today. I can't believe I didn't see it earlier when everyone was telling me that I should. That was more than a year ago! Jeez.
Anyway, I thought I'd put up a picture of Scarlett Johansson, who plays Charlotte in the movie. So pretty!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
zhang vs. rika
Ok, in response to jacke's comment claiming that Zhang Zi Yi is better than Ishikawa Rika, I've decided to put nice close-ups of their face so that we all might make a good judgement.
VERSUS
So, what do we think, gentlemen?
Update: Surprisingly, i found it very hard to find a really good picture of Zhang Zi Yi ! So, I put two more here to make up for it:
VERSUS
So, what do we think, gentlemen?
Update: Surprisingly, i found it very hard to find a really good picture of Zhang Zi Yi ! So, I put two more here to make up for it:
something new to try
Ok, so now that I have decided to let my hair grow a bit, my old hair-wax isn't cutting it to maintain the awesome 'do' to which i've become accustomed.
So, yesterday I went and bought some Schwarzkopf hairspray from the supermarket for about $4 - just a cheapy.
Anyway, I tried it yesterday - I put a bit of wax in first anyway, and then gave my head a good spray to give it a bit more lift, and it actually worked well! It kept it looking how i like it right until the end of the day!
So, now I urge all you guys who thought hairspray was just for girls to go and try it out yourself!
So, yesterday I went and bought some Schwarzkopf hairspray from the supermarket for about $4 - just a cheapy.
Anyway, I tried it yesterday - I put a bit of wax in first anyway, and then gave my head a good spray to give it a bit more lift, and it actually worked well! It kept it looking how i like it right until the end of the day!
So, now I urge all you guys who thought hairspray was just for girls to go and try it out yourself!
幸せの足跡 HAPPY ！
I'm not sure when this came out, but today I discovered that another Ishikawa Rika photobook had been released, entitled 幸せの足跡 HAPPY (The Footprint of Happiness).If this girl is not the hottest girl in the entire world, I will be sitting on the moon eating my hat!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
another thought re: academia
That's it ! Sho just mentioned it to me on MSN. The problem with academia is that they are lacking a reality against which to confirm their theories. They can say whatever the want and if they say it enough, other people are going to pick up on it, and perpetuate it ! It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - whatever they say will catch on no matter how far-out it is.
Seriously, i just had a fucking lecture dealing with the "feminist perspectives of security studies".
IT WAS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF SHIT I'VE EVER HEARD!!!!! ARRRRGH!!!!!
By half way through i was ready to slit my throat just to make it stop.. argh! stop !! arrrrrgh...!!!!!!
Seriously, i just had a fucking lecture dealing with the "feminist perspectives of security studies".
IT WAS THE BIGGEST LOAD OF SHIT I'VE EVER HEARD!!!!! ARRRRGH!!!!!
By half way through i was ready to slit my throat just to make it stop.. argh! stop !! arrrrrgh...!!!!!!
my dissatisfaction with studying politics - part 2 + the new plan
As i was saying in an earlier post, i have developed severe disappointment with studying politics at uni. I am 10 weeks away from getting my International Relations degree and now I believe that the academic study of politics, while useful, leaves a lot to be desired.
So, after contemplating this for the last few months, and after discussions with a number of people, i have come up with a plan for my future.
Firstly however, it is important to note that i am under a lot of pressure from my father to continue study. Now, my family is not usually one to impose any kind of rules or anything, but since i started uni, dad has always reminded me of how important it is to do honours.
However, with my growing dissatisfaction with academic politics, my heart is simply not in it. I don't think dad knows what this feels like - he did honours in economics at uni in the 70's - but i'm sure he did it because he LOVED it. Likewise my brother, who has honours in chemistry - it was his hobby! He spent all his free time doing it because he enjoyed it and then successfully completed honours.
I am in a different situation though! I did international relations at uni not because i had a particular interest in it, but because i didn't have a specific academic interest when i started. I picked the one that seemed broad and far-reaching but also interesting at the same time. However, the consequences of doing that mean that I find it hard to be 100% serious about it, and over the last few months i have become unhappy with the thought of becoming more serious by doing honours.
So, the hardest thing is probably going to be breaking this news to my dad. I'm sure he is going to disapprove, and that is what is going to suck. The thing is, because my family has been so liberal with everything my brother and i have wanted to do, it almost makes it harder to do something that would disappoint them. They never enforced any rules, rather, they gave gentle encouragement and almost a guarantee that what they said would be the best choice for the future. So breaking their encouragement is like the very final step in my emancipation - breaking away from the rules that were never really imposed on me.
However, on a happier note, i have a great plan !
Instead of doing honours, I am going to apply for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. If you have a degree and are under 30, you can go and teach english at a school in Japan, and get paid 360,000 yen per month (~$4000 AUD). It ought to be good, if i can get it, and of course there are no guarantees.
For now though, let's assume that i get it ! At this stage i would intend to teach for one or two years, by which time i would probably be sick of it. However, another part of the JET program is the "Coordinator for International Relations" (CIR). I don't exactly know the details of this, but I would assume it pays better and I probably don't have to teach. I spoki with the current JET coordinator at the Japanese Embassy, and she told me that going from teaching to CIR is a pretty good idea!
So, let's further assume that i can do THAT. That should give me over 3 years of life in Japan making a fair bit of cash. The only downfall is that with JET, you don't get to choose where you go! So I might end up in some backwater country shithole. Hopefully, if i get accepted, i will get somewhere at least semi-urban.
Anyway, that's the plan as far as WORKING goes! Now, all i have to do is convince my father. I don't think i could take honours seriously enough to pass it, let alone get a good mark for it. Let's see how it goes when he comes up to Canberra this weekend...
So, after contemplating this for the last few months, and after discussions with a number of people, i have come up with a plan for my future.
Firstly however, it is important to note that i am under a lot of pressure from my father to continue study. Now, my family is not usually one to impose any kind of rules or anything, but since i started uni, dad has always reminded me of how important it is to do honours.
However, with my growing dissatisfaction with academic politics, my heart is simply not in it. I don't think dad knows what this feels like - he did honours in economics at uni in the 70's - but i'm sure he did it because he LOVED it. Likewise my brother, who has honours in chemistry - it was his hobby! He spent all his free time doing it because he enjoyed it and then successfully completed honours.
I am in a different situation though! I did international relations at uni not because i had a particular interest in it, but because i didn't have a specific academic interest when i started. I picked the one that seemed broad and far-reaching but also interesting at the same time. However, the consequences of doing that mean that I find it hard to be 100% serious about it, and over the last few months i have become unhappy with the thought of becoming more serious by doing honours.
So, the hardest thing is probably going to be breaking this news to my dad. I'm sure he is going to disapprove, and that is what is going to suck. The thing is, because my family has been so liberal with everything my brother and i have wanted to do, it almost makes it harder to do something that would disappoint them. They never enforced any rules, rather, they gave gentle encouragement and almost a guarantee that what they said would be the best choice for the future. So breaking their encouragement is like the very final step in my emancipation - breaking away from the rules that were never really imposed on me.
However, on a happier note, i have a great plan !
Instead of doing honours, I am going to apply for the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. If you have a degree and are under 30, you can go and teach english at a school in Japan, and get paid 360,000 yen per month (~$4000 AUD). It ought to be good, if i can get it, and of course there are no guarantees.
For now though, let's assume that i get it ! At this stage i would intend to teach for one or two years, by which time i would probably be sick of it. However, another part of the JET program is the "Coordinator for International Relations" (CIR). I don't exactly know the details of this, but I would assume it pays better and I probably don't have to teach. I spoki with the current JET coordinator at the Japanese Embassy, and she told me that going from teaching to CIR is a pretty good idea!
So, let's further assume that i can do THAT. That should give me over 3 years of life in Japan making a fair bit of cash. The only downfall is that with JET, you don't get to choose where you go! So I might end up in some backwater country shithole. Hopefully, if i get accepted, i will get somewhere at least semi-urban.
Anyway, that's the plan as far as WORKING goes! Now, all i have to do is convince my father. I don't think i could take honours seriously enough to pass it, let alone get a good mark for it. Let's see how it goes when he comes up to Canberra this weekend...
why tradesmen's pubs suck balls
Last week I went to the only pub that is open until very late on a weekday, the Dickson Tradies. It's a shithole, I admit - full of poker machines, old fogies who like to whittle away their pension cheques, and Chinese people who gamble excessively and rub the screen up and down hoping to improve their chances of winning. Regardless, if one wants a beer in the inner north of Canberra after midnight on a weekday, one has no choice.
Anyway, I was playing pool when this rather haggard late-40's guy comes up to me. He seemed to be full of energy - so much so that he was twitching! He says he wants to play pool, so we have a game. He keeps talking and talking all this really crazy stuff until I finally said: "Man, are you on speed or something!?"
"Yeah, and a bit of cocaine" he replies.
"Riiight, that explains it" I say...
Then he goes: "Do you want an ECKY?"
"Haha, Ok" I say, curious as to what the hell he was going to give me.
So he hands me this pill - about as big as a panadol tablet with some writing on it.
Dubious, I tell him that I won't take it tonight, but maybe another night. He seems fine with that - I couldn't believe that he was just giving me something worth at least $40.
Anyway, he kept on talking and talking at super-speed. At one stage he wanted to pay my friend $200 for his leather jacket which he got in China for < $10. Then he wanted to swap his brand-new Nokia 6230 for my shitty old blue-screen 8250! I was going to go through with it, but I thought it was probably stolen or something, and he seemed to forget about it.
Regardless, I came home eventually and looked up the words that were written on the pill on the internet in the hope of finding out what the hell it was. And guess what it was - "Seroquel - Anti-schizophrenia medication" !!! Erowid had some contributions from people who had tried it, all saying: "Don't ever use this as a recreational drug - it's HORRIBLE!"
Jeez, no wonder he was nuts ! What was even more surprising was that I was describing these events to one of my housemates, who said that he KNOWS that guy! Apparently he has an 'acquired brain injury' and lives (or lived) in some kind of halfway-house for people with crazy brain injuries.
Still, who palms off their meds to a total stranger in a pub? Lucky I didn't take it!!
Anyway, I was playing pool when this rather haggard late-40's guy comes up to me. He seemed to be full of energy - so much so that he was twitching! He says he wants to play pool, so we have a game. He keeps talking and talking all this really crazy stuff until I finally said: "Man, are you on speed or something!?"
"Yeah, and a bit of cocaine" he replies.
"Riiight, that explains it" I say...
Then he goes: "Do you want an ECKY?"
"Haha, Ok" I say, curious as to what the hell he was going to give me.
So he hands me this pill - about as big as a panadol tablet with some writing on it.
Dubious, I tell him that I won't take it tonight, but maybe another night. He seems fine with that - I couldn't believe that he was just giving me something worth at least $40.
Anyway, he kept on talking and talking at super-speed. At one stage he wanted to pay my friend $200 for his leather jacket which he got in China for < $10. Then he wanted to swap his brand-new Nokia 6230 for my shitty old blue-screen 8250! I was going to go through with it, but I thought it was probably stolen or something, and he seemed to forget about it.
Regardless, I came home eventually and looked up the words that were written on the pill on the internet in the hope of finding out what the hell it was. And guess what it was - "Seroquel - Anti-schizophrenia medication" !!! Erowid had some contributions from people who had tried it, all saying: "Don't ever use this as a recreational drug - it's HORRIBLE!"
Jeez, no wonder he was nuts ! What was even more surprising was that I was describing these events to one of my housemates, who said that he KNOWS that guy! Apparently he has an 'acquired brain injury' and lives (or lived) in some kind of halfway-house for people with crazy brain injuries.
Still, who palms off their meds to a total stranger in a pub? Lucky I didn't take it!!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
helicopters ! jets !
For days now there have been jets and helicopters flying over Canberra to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. I have slept through a lot of the fly-by's but just then there were 2 helicopters circling and this one awesome looking jet doing massive loops, dives and barrel rolls over Lake Burley-Griffin, only a few kilometres from my house!
I need a digital camera! This blog will get awfully dull without some cool shots to spice it up!
Sigh...!
I need a digital camera! This blog will get awfully dull without some cool shots to spice it up!
Sigh...!
Friday, August 12, 2005
how i (sometimes) win at table tennis
Being the caretaker of a friend's table tennis table, I have spent the best part of the last few months playing TT in my garage. Last night while playing with said friend (and also my housemate), I realised that I actually play very differently from them.
They explained their strategy: because they have played against me so many times, they have been able to discover weaknesses in my game. They therefore try to hit the ball to a spot where I can't hit it in order to exploit the weakness. In other words, they are playing against my weaknesses.
This isn't how I play, though! The game I play doesn't focus on these two guys' weaknesses in particular. Instead, when I play I try to do such good shots at that moment that no matter if it's a particular strength or weakness, it will still be a hard shot to return. It is as if I'm playing the game "in realtime". In other words, I'm playing to emphasise my strengths!
They were trying to convince me that their system was better, but I was unconvinced. Sure, they might be able to beat me, but they will falter as soon as they play another experienced player because they won't know their weaknesses. With my style of play, no matter who I am playing I am still playing my game.
So, which one is better? I don't know. Between my friend and I the scores are practically even, notwithstanding the different styles! I have a feeling that my system would give me more chance if I were to play something like a tournament with lots of different people, but I can see how their style would work when you just play the same person over and over. I guess I'll just have to keep practising until I find the answer...!
They explained their strategy: because they have played against me so many times, they have been able to discover weaknesses in my game. They therefore try to hit the ball to a spot where I can't hit it in order to exploit the weakness. In other words, they are playing against my weaknesses.
This isn't how I play, though! The game I play doesn't focus on these two guys' weaknesses in particular. Instead, when I play I try to do such good shots at that moment that no matter if it's a particular strength or weakness, it will still be a hard shot to return. It is as if I'm playing the game "in realtime". In other words, I'm playing to emphasise my strengths!
They were trying to convince me that their system was better, but I was unconvinced. Sure, they might be able to beat me, but they will falter as soon as they play another experienced player because they won't know their weaknesses. With my style of play, no matter who I am playing I am still playing my game.
So, which one is better? I don't know. Between my friend and I the scores are practically even, notwithstanding the different styles! I have a feeling that my system would give me more chance if I were to play something like a tournament with lots of different people, but I can see how their style would work when you just play the same person over and over. I guess I'll just have to keep practising until I find the answer...!
you've got to be kidding
In the Sydney Morning Herald today...:
"A man faced a Sydney court today charged with having sexual relations with a rabbit and the sadistic killing of 17 other rabbits whose carcasses were found dumped in a lane in The Rocks...
...Alarmed at the continuing discovery of freshly killed rabbits, some whose genitalia had alleged been mutilated, the Rocks detectives began contacting city pet stores to determine who had been buying rabbits."
Heavy man, heavy...
"A man faced a Sydney court today charged with having sexual relations with a rabbit and the sadistic killing of 17 other rabbits whose carcasses were found dumped in a lane in The Rocks...
...Alarmed at the continuing discovery of freshly killed rabbits, some whose genitalia had alleged been mutilated, the Rocks detectives began contacting city pet stores to determine who had been buying rabbits."
Heavy man, heavy...
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
something random
Ever since 1998 when I lived in Japan for 3 months, I have been a night shower person. I've told people that if they're only going to have one shower a day, it may as well be at night because that way your sheets stay clean and fresh, you don't sleep with dry crusty sweat all over yourself, and if you're sharing the bed with someone it's much nicer to be clean and fresh ;)
Unsurprisingly, many people I told couldn't even entertain the concept for a second, but i stuck with it for years and years, until last week when i woke up after not sleeping enough, but having to go to uni ! So i broke my own tradition and had a shower that morning and man, it actually made me feel pretty good! Haha! Especially on such a cold morning.
So now I have two showers a day - a quick blast in the morning and a nice soft, hot and soapy one in the evening. I thought this was a bit fucked to start with because of the water restrictions and stuff, but then i thought: "fuck it. i'm only in there for 3 minutes in the morning anyway."
Seriously though, I'd rather just have a big hot bath or spa or something...
Unsurprisingly, many people I told couldn't even entertain the concept for a second, but i stuck with it for years and years, until last week when i woke up after not sleeping enough, but having to go to uni ! So i broke my own tradition and had a shower that morning and man, it actually made me feel pretty good! Haha! Especially on such a cold morning.
So now I have two showers a day - a quick blast in the morning and a nice soft, hot and soapy one in the evening. I thought this was a bit fucked to start with because of the water restrictions and stuff, but then i thought: "fuck it. i'm only in there for 3 minutes in the morning anyway."
Seriously though, I'd rather just have a big hot bath or spa or something...
pop/rock
Today is the 10th Anniversary of my favourite band, globe !
To commemorate the day they released a new album today entitled 'globe2 pop/rock' !
I have been waiting for this album for AGES!! Well, now it's out, and i've got it!
As always, i am not immediately thrilled. As always, it will take me a few days, maybe even a week to start to appreciate it. It always happens with globe albums! I don't know why! It just has to grow on me for a while...
Nevertheless, it has made my day :)
To commemorate the day they released a new album today entitled 'globe2 pop/rock' !
I have been waiting for this album for AGES!! Well, now it's out, and i've got it!
As always, i am not immediately thrilled. As always, it will take me a few days, maybe even a week to start to appreciate it. It always happens with globe albums! I don't know why! It just has to grow on me for a while...
Nevertheless, it has made my day :)
Sunday, August 07, 2005
the war on acronyms
I heard this week that the 'War On Terror' is now being renamed to something like "the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism" - otherwise known as 'GlobalSAVE'. The alleged benefits of this are that it removes the connotation of 'war' from the title, thus supposedly making people feel better about it. Furthermore, the 'global' part of the new acronym is supposed to signify the fact that it is the whole civilised world that are involved in the 'struggle'.
Seriously, whose eyes are they trying to pull the wool over?!?
Sigh !
Seriously, whose eyes are they trying to pull the wool over?!?
Sigh !
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
サービス サービス？？
What the hell is wrong with the service in this country!!?
Today I was in the bank, just making a deposit, and there was a line of at least 15 people and only ONE TRAINEE TELLER serving these people. It took at least 20 minutes just to get up the line, and i was gone in less than one minute once it was my turn !
Aggravated, i went to buy a coke (this was at the uni refectory) and it was EXACTLY the same story! it wasn't even peak hour! I waited 15 minutes just to get a coke ! I had half finished it by the time i had paid for it ! There were just two people there dawdling around, chatting half the time, while there are all these people waiting to be served!
As obnoxious as i found this (it put me in such a bad mood) just as weird was the relative apathy of the other customers! There I am with steam coming out my ears and they're just standing there silently. That's right, they weren't having conversations with their friends, they were just standing there like that's what should happen. JESUS man, this might only be at uni, but i found it 100% unacceptable!!! GRR!!!
UPDATE: I was talking about this later on with my next-door neighbour (who trains at jujutsu with me). She's from Perth, and she said that she noticed this same problem when she came to Canberra. She pointed out that it seems to be the 'public service' mentality that has seeped into every business in Canberra. That is, if it's not specifically one's job, one doesn't have to do it, regardless of whether it's common sense or if it would just make life easier. She said that in Perth there is more competition so they provide better service, but interestingly, in a place like Sydney there are so many people that many places are just guaranteed custom regardless of the quality of service, so the service is bad! It's all about finding the right balance.
In a place like Japan, the service is fucking ludicrous. They have so many people just begging to help you. But i suppose you get that when the population is so massive, and your average student's part-time wage is only ~850yen/hour...
Today I was in the bank, just making a deposit, and there was a line of at least 15 people and only ONE TRAINEE TELLER serving these people. It took at least 20 minutes just to get up the line, and i was gone in less than one minute once it was my turn !
Aggravated, i went to buy a coke (this was at the uni refectory) and it was EXACTLY the same story! it wasn't even peak hour! I waited 15 minutes just to get a coke ! I had half finished it by the time i had paid for it ! There were just two people there dawdling around, chatting half the time, while there are all these people waiting to be served!
As obnoxious as i found this (it put me in such a bad mood) just as weird was the relative apathy of the other customers! There I am with steam coming out my ears and they're just standing there silently. That's right, they weren't having conversations with their friends, they were just standing there like that's what should happen. JESUS man, this might only be at uni, but i found it 100% unacceptable!!! GRR!!!
UPDATE: I was talking about this later on with my next-door neighbour (who trains at jujutsu with me). She's from Perth, and she said that she noticed this same problem when she came to Canberra. She pointed out that it seems to be the 'public service' mentality that has seeped into every business in Canberra. That is, if it's not specifically one's job, one doesn't have to do it, regardless of whether it's common sense or if it would just make life easier. She said that in Perth there is more competition so they provide better service, but interestingly, in a place like Sydney there are so many people that many places are just guaranteed custom regardless of the quality of service, so the service is bad! It's all about finding the right balance.
In a place like Japan, the service is fucking ludicrous. They have so many people just begging to help you. But i suppose you get that when the population is so massive, and your average student's part-time wage is only ~850yen/hour...
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
my dissatisfaction with studying politics
What is it about studying politics at university that makes it so fucking pretentious? These academics spend their whole time thinking up fancy names for what would otherwise be simple political concepts. They even get the shits if you don't adhere to their over-specific definitions for essentially contested subjects like "security", "power", and the like. It makes studying and trying to relate the things i study to my own personal experiences exceedingly difficult. If i can't apply what i learn to my own experiences, what the hell good is it? Basically, it's like these academics are sitting in their offices, dicks in hand, saying: "haha let's think up funny names for this rubbish that we're supposedly knowledgeable about..."
I wonder if i might have preferred to study something like psychology. "What?! Psychology? That's even wankier!!".. i hear you cry. But hang on, sure, it might be wanky the way that it is taught in universities (i don't know, i haven't done it), but at least you would be able to consider it on an extremely personal level. You would be able to confirm studies simply by delving into your inner thoughts and know instantly whether or not you 'feel' what they are talking about.
Politics, on the other hand, seems to be one step removed. It is assuming that the practitioners of politics already know all there is to know about the "first tier" of knowledge (the personal level), but it is so disillusioning! How can they claim to know all this stuff about politics when they don't even demonstrate a solid understanding of their own epistemological processes!? Politics at uni centres, naturally, on 'the nation-state': the singular embodiment of large collectivities of individuals. But the people teaching it seem to be shallow and insecure in their own human condition. How can they purport to be experts in the field when they don't even seem to understand their own minds?
I think practical experience in the field would change things, obviously. Real politicians (as opposed to wanky academics) deserve respect. Sure, there is room for academic research in policymaking, but the hands-on approach of real politics is, i think, a much more valuable experience.
To be continued...
I wonder if i might have preferred to study something like psychology. "What?! Psychology? That's even wankier!!".. i hear you cry. But hang on, sure, it might be wanky the way that it is taught in universities (i don't know, i haven't done it), but at least you would be able to consider it on an extremely personal level. You would be able to confirm studies simply by delving into your inner thoughts and know instantly whether or not you 'feel' what they are talking about.
Politics, on the other hand, seems to be one step removed. It is assuming that the practitioners of politics already know all there is to know about the "first tier" of knowledge (the personal level), but it is so disillusioning! How can they claim to know all this stuff about politics when they don't even demonstrate a solid understanding of their own epistemological processes!? Politics at uni centres, naturally, on 'the nation-state': the singular embodiment of large collectivities of individuals. But the people teaching it seem to be shallow and insecure in their own human condition. How can they purport to be experts in the field when they don't even seem to understand their own minds?
I think practical experience in the field would change things, obviously. Real politicians (as opposed to wanky academics) deserve respect. Sure, there is room for academic research in policymaking, but the hands-on approach of real politics is, i think, a much more valuable experience.
To be continued...
Monday, August 01, 2005
poor george
Have you ever typed 'failure' into google and hit I'm Feeling Lucky?
hah hah hah.
Even funnier is result #7.
hah hah hah.
Even funnier is result #7.
regret of the day
Ah, today was a good day. I spent most of it at uni. (For those interested, we were discussing the importance of state autonomy in capitalist development. In short, you need it to direct the flow of capital to kick-start industrial development, and also to ensure that things like primary education are available for a semi-skilled (well, at least literate and numerate) working class for future exploitation ;))
Following that, i went back to jujutsu class after a week off due to the flu. But it never takes long to get back into it. In fact, the room is full of beginners at the moment so i spend my whole time trying to whip these wimps into shape. But all they do is complain that i'm twisting their joints too much! I hardly do it at all! Hell, even the girls can hack it better than these pussy guys.
Anyway, the worst part of today was after that, when i went to the supermarket. As my fellow future-superstar Sho experienced not long ago, I saw a nipponese girl at the supermarket who looked like she was just dying to be spoken to. They always have something totally ridiculous about them, be it a crazy bag, or some strange item of clothing, as if they have it just to to spark a conversation - this one was wearing the most bizarre uggboots with strange baubly things hanging off them. As i walked past I looked into her eyes, and she returned my gaze, and it felt like she was saying "come and talk to me!", but i didn't, for no real reason except that i had no reason. Argh!!
How stupid ! I bet people like Brad Pitt or Eminem don't have trouble going up to random chicks and just saying hello. There is no way i'm going to become an international superstar with this pussy attitude.
Right, next time that happens, I will DEFINITELY do something about it. Expect a chirpy, at-length retelling when THAT happens.
that's all then.
~~ it is such a good vibration, all i really want... ~~
Following that, i went back to jujutsu class after a week off due to the flu. But it never takes long to get back into it. In fact, the room is full of beginners at the moment so i spend my whole time trying to whip these wimps into shape. But all they do is complain that i'm twisting their joints too much! I hardly do it at all! Hell, even the girls can hack it better than these pussy guys.
Anyway, the worst part of today was after that, when i went to the supermarket. As my fellow future-superstar Sho experienced not long ago, I saw a nipponese girl at the supermarket who looked like she was just dying to be spoken to. They always have something totally ridiculous about them, be it a crazy bag, or some strange item of clothing, as if they have it just to to spark a conversation - this one was wearing the most bizarre uggboots with strange baubly things hanging off them. As i walked past I looked into her eyes, and she returned my gaze, and it felt like she was saying "come and talk to me!", but i didn't, for no real reason except that i had no reason. Argh!!
How stupid ! I bet people like Brad Pitt or Eminem don't have trouble going up to random chicks and just saying hello. There is no way i'm going to become an international superstar with this pussy attitude.
Right, next time that happens, I will DEFINITELY do something about it. Expect a chirpy, at-length retelling when THAT happens.
that's all then.
~~ it is such a good vibration, all i really want... ~~
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Fuck OPTUS
Those arseholes at Optus have j3wed me again. They say I haven't paid my $50 bill from June even though i have the god damn receipt right in front of me. So, after the painful navigation through their website to find the 'contact us' section, i end up having to fill in some webform and submitting an enquiry! So, i do it, only to discover that they are having 'technical difficulties' with their email contact service.
Shouldn't it confirm that it is working BEFORE they make you fill in the whole form? I hate doing crap like this!!!
Shouldn't it confirm that it is working BEFORE they make you fill in the whole form? I hate doing crap like this!!!
this try this try like this like this
Well, you'll have to forgive my inexperience with this program. I'm just going to see what i can get put up on here. Some pictures, maybe.
Oh look, here's me getting attacked by some deer in Nara Park.
Looks like i can also link things. Like this.
That's about the extent of it. Oh well, neat-o. Right, bed time.
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