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!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
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... ~~
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