Tuesday, August 19, 2008

When you don't flinch when you learn that you have to take over 3 guard duties for the rest of the month, plus you are rotating COS with 3 other newbies which you have to guide everyday and plus you are the first-name-come-to-mind ppl to arrow in the office, you know you are truly at the top of your game. But, When you are at the top of your game, you don't feel unsettled. I'm unsettled, and I'm pretty puzzled by it. And if you know the me I am now, you'll know that I 'll have formulated a logical and systematic analysis of the situation complete with all the possible courses of action and sieved out the one that appeal to me the most. So what's unsettling i think, is the ultimate lack of purpose, however perverted the purpose may be. Just as I watch Operation FBB(codename) from the sidelines and I wonder to myself what could possibly drive normal rational people to such insane, illogical state where senseless stuff are dished out in an almost routine-like manner, I see an inexorable sense of purpose develop in both the victims and the power figures. The victims, understandably, develop this sense of purpose out of survival to try to overcome the avalanche of adversity. The power figures on the other hand, are the tricky ones, because their sense of purpose comes from this fuzzy moral high ground they claim they are on, which was why i annotated sense of purpose with a "however perverted it may be". It's a slippery slope, the argument of needing evil as great to bring out good even greater. It's the sacred word "sacrifice" that justifies their conscience - the thinking that inflicting "false evil" would "stimulate" the growth of good and that they are indeed being "selfless and compassionate" when they commit acts that they would normally condemn. I have diverted from the main topic but i'll just continue. However, we are all human. Who are we to deliberately inflict pain and fear to another human being in the name of good. I mean, I can understand it when law is used to punished a criminal. A human being committed an act that was contrary to what is deemed as good moral by the general public, we inflict pain and fear to make him learn. But when a human being does no such thing, who are we to say that a simulated environment of pain and fear would be beneficial to him because he would learn to toughen and steel himself. The conscience that would readily reject such fallacious argument is being seduced by the "sacrifice logic" and egged on by authoritative stamp of the organisation. To think that the exact same ppl who would find such an argument laughable a few years ago can now thoroughly convince themselves to believe in it. It's scary. We humans have a weakness for greatness - we all want to be great, to be like the hero in the movie, the sacrificer who readily gives himself up to save others and then bask in eternal glory. This want, desire, hunger, is not by nature bad. It is, actually, the inspiration for progress, the creator of many brave and wonderful souls out there doing miraculous stuff. But before we set off to do something great, let us not use our heart to think. Let the brain do its job.
Okay.. back to my lack of purpose. Sorry, got carried away in the above para. So my course of action, find purpose. Yah, so I've found my purpose - to analyse and break down whatever probs i have with the organisation just like in above and in doing so, finding the peace that I need so much.
hmm... i grudgingly admit that there are some nice songs in English pop... haha... but country rock classics are still the best! wait for my next installment...


In the light of the sun, is there anyone? Oh it has begun...
Oh dear you look so lost, eyes are red and tears are shed,
This world you must've crossed... you said...

You don't know me, you don't even care, oh yeah,
She said
You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains... oh yeah,

Essential yet appealed, carry all your thoughts across
An open field,
When flowers gaze at you... they're not the only ones who cry
When they see you
You said...

You don't know me, you don't even care, oh yeah,
She said
You don't know me, and you don't wear my chains... oh yeah,

She said I think I'll go to Boston...
I think I'll start a new life,
I think I'll start it over, where no one knows my name,
I'll get out of California, I'm tired of the weather,
I think I'll get a lover and fly em out to Spain...
I think I'll go to Boston,
I think that I'm just tired
I think I need a new town, to leave this all behind...
I think I need a sunrise, I'm tired of the sunset,
I hear it's nice in the Summer, some snow would be nice... oh yeah,

Boston... where no one knows my name... yeah
Where no one knows my name...
Where no one knows my name...
Yeah Boston...
Where no one knows my name.

“The human heart has hidden treasures, In secret kept, in silence sealed; The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures, Whose charms were broken if revealed” [Definitely, Maybe]

It's stuff like this that keeps me going...



Sunday, August 17, 2008

I'm blogging from camp, after watching sg lose the table-tennis finals. let me just add that the commentator was really irritating and seemingly oblivious to his own brand of cold humour. It was THE highlight of the match really... Been neglecting the blog for the past week though i was on off. NDP weekend was totally burned though with COS on sun after sat's NDP. Not that there's nothing to blog about but i just can't (bother) find the context to blog it. Blame it on my lousy language skills if you want, however, there's not much left after 22 months in the organisation.

It's amazing
How you can speak
Right to my heart
Without saying a word,
You can light up the dark
Try as I may
I could never explain
What I hear when
You don't say a thing

[CHORUS:]
The smile on your face
Lets me know
That you need me
There's a truth
In your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says
You'll catch me
Whenever I fall
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all

All day long
I can hear people
Talking out loud
But when you hold me near
You drown out the crowd
(The crowd)
Try as they may
They could never define
What's been said
Between your
Heart and mine

[Repeat chorus twice]

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

The smile on your face
The truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand
Let's me know
That you need me

[Repeat chorus]

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

The smile on your face
The truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand
Let's me know
That you need me

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

One of those songs that just makes u wanna sing/hum along whenever you hear it...

Monday, August 04, 2008

2 songs up in this post. The first is the one playing in the background, Oasis by D.A.I.. One of those rock songs you can listen over and over again without getting bored of it. The next song is the one below in the youtube video. Mayday's junior - 丁当, with a super sad MV and very nice voice and melody.




猜不透 你最近是好是坏 更沉默
我也不想去追问太多
让试探为彼此的心上了锁

猜不透 相处会比分开还寂寞
两个人都只是得过且过
无法感受每次触摸 是真的 是热的

如果忽远忽近的洒脱是你要的自由
那我宁愿回到一个人生活
如果忽冷忽热的温柔是你的借口
那我宁愿对你从没认真过

猜不透 相处会比分开还寂寞
两个人都只是得过且过
无法感受每次触摸 是真的 是热的

如果忽远忽近的洒脱是你要的自由
那我宁愿回到一个人生活
如果忽冷忽热的温柔是你的借口
那我宁愿对你从没认真过

到底这感觉谁对谁错
我已不想追究
越是在乎的人越是猜不透
[猜不透 - 丁当]

been reading the book - The Black Swan. Basically black swans are low probability, high impact events that the author feels we underestimate in our daily lives. Talking about how we are so susceptible to looking at our past for links of causation(most of the time, only correlation is found and our mind generates the logic to make it a cause and effect situation) so that we can project the future with predictable certainty, he mentioned this line - "that we would rather be wrong with infinite precision than to accept that we are approximately right" How very true...

如果忽远忽近的洒脱是你要的自由, 那我宁愿回到一个人生活

如果忽冷忽热的温柔是你的借口, 那我宁愿对你从没认真过...

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Dark knight was mind-blowing, just like V for Vendetta, Fight Club...

"Sometimes, truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

At what cost? Truth at times can get pretty ugly and we all like our truths (ie. facts weaved into a story) packaged and presented in the papers on the breakfast table in a way such that they are as palatable as the food on the table. Nobody likes truths that disillusion them, crush their ideals. But the fact remains that truths are neutral, they do not come nice and beautiful everytime. While reaffirming faith is crucial in maintaining societal order, it comes with a risk of reinforcing "ineffective/destructive/wasteful(in Darwinian terms)" societal behavior..

"
The Joker: [speaking to Two-Face] Do I really look like a man with a plan, Harvey? I don't have a plan. The mob has plans, the cops have plans. You know what I am, Harvey? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do if I caught one. I just *do* things. I'm a wrench in the gears. I *hate* plans. Yours, theirs, everyone's. Maroni has plans. Gordon has plans. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I am not a schemer. I show schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are. So when I say that what happened to you and your girlfriend wasn't personal, you know I'm telling the truth.
[hands Two-Face a gun]

The Joker: It's a schemer who put you where you are. You were a schemer. You had plans. Look where it got you. I just did what I do best-I took your plan and turned it on itself. Look what I have done to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple bullets. Nobody panics when the expected people get killed. Nobody panics when things go according to plan, even if the plans are horrifying. If I tell the press that tomorrow a gangbanger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will get blown up, nobody panics. But when I say one little old mayor will die, everyone loses their minds! Introduce a little anarchy, you upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I am an agent of chaos. And you know the thing about chaos, Harvey? It's fair.

[with the gun in Two-Face's hand, he places the gun to his forehead; Two-Face pauses and takes out his coin]
Two-Face: [showing the unscarred side] You live.
The Joker: Mm-hm.
Two-Face: [flipping, showing the scarred side] You die.
The Joker: Now you're talking!
"

This part absolutely reminds me of Fight Club, the scene where he scarred his hand using lye. I like the way he subtly pointed out the paradox in our morality judgement. Drawing an example from the movie itself, he threatened to "burn down a hospital" if some guy does not die within 24 hours. The immediate mob mentality is that this guy has got a responsibility to get himself killed and everyone who knows the above statement has a responsibility to make sure he is killed. Now, note that the guy has no direct cause and effect link to the hospital being burned down. It's an arbitrary relationship drawn out by a criminal. In normal circumstances, he would not be held accountable at all, but with the power of words, he is deemed by society accountable. How did we ever reach such a conclusion? The movie attributed it to fear, i think it's something more sinister than that. It's the illusion of hope. We actually believe that we might be doing something good by killing the guy...

Finally, some comments on Joker. I didn't find him freaky, rather I found him eerily real, sane and logical. A very believable charcter. "Nothing. No DNA, no fingerprints. Clothing is custom, no tags or brand labels. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint. No name, no other alias." I think the producer is trying to remind us that the Joker is a symbol, not just a character. He could be anyone of us....

Music is from Yoshiki's album Eternal Melody II, I'll Be Your Love (instrumental)... I love the way the individual soloists and strings section come in for the verse. And as usual the piano playing is fantastic....

前天, 有人问我,“到底怎么了?” 简简单单的一个问题, 我草率地回答:“没什么,还好嘛...” 回去想了一想,才发现或许我的回答应该没那么简单吧...

我想我也累了, 但心结总是解不开... 还在盲目地找寻着理由,解释...
我连流泪的权力都没有了...
这场戏也该落幕了,只怕卸了妆,拿下面具的我对周围的人来说是陌生的..

这最佳演员, 我想我拿定了...

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Why are people so afraid of confrontations? We side-step, avoid, detour, avert, overlook, ignore, pretend, disguise.... anything but confront. In the end,just like a car swerving in and out of traffic, a sudden loss of control and.... we crash.. And with the word crash, i mean a complete obliteration... No remnants, no souvenirs, just a hazed, distorted memory of what happened. And we walk away, dazed, continuing in our staunch aversion, waiting for another chance to crash, to obliterate..

I think i agree with jloh's statement in his latest post.The greatest irony about ns is that while we whine, complain about, disagree with many parts of the system, you come to realize near the end(where we are right now) that perhaps there's no better alternative...

I've just discovered my new favourite past time - Driving my open-top vehicle in the rain on the expressway. The chattering teeth, the trembling hands, the blurred vision and the chilling wind... an exhilarating experience..