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It's amazing what late night TV can teach you. I suppose you could consider this the additional educational edge the curse of the insomniac provides. Another edge the insomniac gets is the ability to fill in and update his or her blog at 4.50am on an early Sunday morning. Surprisingly, the mind works best either in the dead of night or the wee hours of the morning. I am writing this with the absolute clarity of mind.
WEll, back to wat i recently learnt or rather had a revision lesson in on discovery channel which brought back a few incidents
which require much argument.
The documentary that was shown at 2 am on an early Saturday morning was regarding homosexuality amongst Animals. Apparently, such a trait is common and in true fact occurs at unusually high frequency amongst the denizens of the animal world. Humans not withstanding. Well, to state my point and to inform and educate my faithful blog followers : Male dolphins often pair up for life and engage in frequent mutual stimulation. Such same sex pairings do also occur cross species. Homosexuality amongst monkeys of many species is highly prevalent. Drakes often pair up and it is in fact the male male pair that continues to be loyal to each other year in year out whilst the female is in no way oblige to continue with any sort of pairing. In terns, female female pairs are common, though such pairs may be slightly less organized in raising young, the success rate is not much different from that of heterosexual pairs. Well, that's abt wat I can summarize in a giffy, if you want to know more, suscribe to Discovery Channel or research on it.
Well, the reason for such behaviour for our animal friends is, believe it or not, not only for reasons of protection, preservation of the species, or for increasing the chances at which they get to preserve the family line, but the factor of pleasure also comes into play. So the next time you consider inflicting some senseless pain or torture onto your furry ( or slimy etc...)companions do bear in mind that they are in fact able of feeling sensations, both pain and pleasure.
Before you derive any conclusions, I am not invocating animal rights, gay rights or anything in that similar track. Basically, lets just say old grudges die hard.
The reason why the documentary brought about the itch to write this was because of a discussion I had with a couple of friends over lunch the afternoon before which had (unfortunately i might add) brought to mind a rather sore topic of discussion that occurred during a GP lesson a year ago. Long Story but still rather interesting I suppose.
The discussion held yesteryear was regarding a couple of Straits Times forum letters that a few zealous Singaporean compatriots had written which carried their sentiments and comments regarding the move the government had made to 'legalise' the hiring of homosexuals in the government service. I'm usually rather partial to such letters so long as they make sense and aren't utter rubbish. Well, lets just say in this case they weren't.
What would you think if a letter begins with "I am a 45 year old heterosexual man, happily married with a wife and 3 kids..."?(the right word should be children, so far humans haven't been able to sexually produce goats) IF you ask me if someone writes in to comment about homosexuality and fiercely asserts in his first para on how heterosexual and how straight he is it just raises a big question mark onto how certain and confident he is about his own sexuality in reality. Frankly speaking, the man who is not certain that he is straight should not criticise the man who is certain he is crooked sexually.
The next letter that was discussed really made me see red.
"....Even in the wild do you see male tigers sleeping with other male tigers? If animals are not homosexual why are there homosexual humans?" (*Disclaimer* I can't remember word for word of this diatribe but basically this is the main essence of the letter.)
Why is such an ignoramus allowed to have even survived to this stage? By darwinian theory, his stupidity and ignorance should have guaranteed his eradication from the gene pool. Well, fine we shall make allowance for the fact that not everyone has access to discovery channel, books, internet, my blog or any source of information. But the fact remains that this particular individual had no right or reason to allude that homosexuals are lesser than animals. Those who wrote to vilify gays and suggest that they were sinners equivalent to drug addicts and that they should receive some form of redemption to atone for their sins belong in a group similar to our animal expert mentioned above.
In my candid opinion, the Straits Times is a rather culpable party in this furore. One would have thought that the national paper would have checked to see that facts rather than wild fiction is published and that the publishing of exagerated and baseless personal attacks regulated. Well, i suppose that it's always fashionable to make a field day out of the most controversial topic at hand.
Another point of matter that I remember discussed that day was the fact that sodomy was a crime but homosexuality not so. (*DISCLAIMER: This is what the GP teacher said ) Well, as the whole class of 26 was wondering that day, if sodomy is illegal and it is an act that we would like to believe as private and thus done in private and personal space, how could law enforcement personel catch offenders in the act without infriging on the individuals privacy? That act of enforcement in itself would be illegal, we should hope. Well, of course this point of contention can not be a source of reasonable doubt for those who decide to 'perform' in public. They would probably be nabbed for indecent public exposure.
I recently took on a tutoring job to tutor a primary three boy in English. He has a problem comprehending the comprehension passages. I don't really see a problem with his answers but apparently his teacher want his answers to be 'short and sharp'. I told him 'yah sharp but is it accurate?'. For his compositions, he plagarizes passages that he remembers from model essays that seem to fit the essay question posed.You can't blame him really. It's a common scenario that we face everyday. People are not comprehending each other. They are not understanding each other. They enjoy hearing half the story and drawing their own wretched conclusions. We want everything to be fast and summarized so that we have more time to spend on our own selfish needs. It is better to think similarly like the rest of the crowd because if such thought is right I'd be considered intelligent like the rest. IF it's wrong, it doesn't really matter because all of us are in the same boat.
Well, God gave us two ears but it's up to us to learn how to use them for the purpose that makes them more than appendages :to listen. God gave us two eyes and an occular division in the brain: to see the different aspects of the story before with join them into one composite picture. Most importantly, God, through years of evolution and trial and error ensured that our brains are one of the most well developed of the living organisms found today. Believe it or not that additional cranial matter is to enable us to formulate our own thoughts and to become INDIVIDUALS.
If you're wondering how the above material actually relates to that last paragraph, there's a good reason for your incredulity. As the author of the above, I have no idea as well.
Perhaps the connection lies in the fact that this vituperation would not have occured if more people were able to use God's gifts to accomplish the rather difficult and time consuming action of UNDERSTANDING.
I suppose it's forgiveable to draw your own conclusions and interpretations about certain matters. However, as a nation still in the infancy of developing our own identity and individuality of thought I'd suppose it would be reasonable that if you wish to make a statement and hope it to be published nationally, it would only be responsible that you get your facts right and your statements justified. There are, after all, many impressionable minds out there.
6.43 am....Good Morning...
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
I dislike....hypocrites, complainers, back stabbers, irresponsible twits, rude, selfish beings and most of all actors. Despite this personal abhorrence for such pple I am surrounded by them. But the most amazing thing abt it, is that I actually bother to interact with them on a matter of personal choice. Strange isn't it. ... hmm...most disturbing.
I suppose it is rather difficult to distance yourself from the possibility of having to interact with such pple partly because this urban jungle with its high concentrations of human life, makes it quite impossible to escape. And...i suppose more importantly, the above mentioned traits are more or less occuring at high frequencies amongst lotsa pple. that stinks.
Watching documentaries on nature, other civilisations and different regions in the world do indeed evoke extreme feelings of envy. It would be nice to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and mindless human interaction for a day. But... sadly, that is a rather impossible feat to achieve here. Trying to relax in artificially landscaped areas of supposed nature is often near impossible because u will more likely then not be disturbed by the wild shrieks from a gluttural human source or the latest excavation plan to create more land. Finding a truly remote spot or attempting to relax in open spaces at twilight are activities that are not advisable because ur mind will go into overdrive wondering whether the last rustle of leaves and sigh of the wind u heard was that or the possible heavy breathing of someone or something else lurking in the shadows. hmm...exageration? perhaps...but then again maybe not. with the media zealously pounding images of murder and terrosism into our minds and the overly protective environment we live in, it is difficult to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures in life in peace. Crikey, seeing a 'suspicious' object (eg. bag, teddy bar, plastic bag) in the MRT justifies the dialling of 999. I wonder how the true emergency cases get past the jammed police lines.
With this gradual decrease in the number of sources from which we can derive satisfaction of our being as well as reduced outlets for stress and boredom it seems we have to once again turn to the human companion. This dependency on human relationships might in fact expose us as individuals to exploitation. I've realised that my expectations of a person have decreased greatly throughout the years and the company i'm in these days reflects this disturbing trend. I seem to be accepting deceitful and disturbing individuals with character traits I do not admire. And well...I seem to be dealt bad deals each time. And i think the more disturbing thing would be that I accept it and let myself be overrun by these nuisances. hmm...it's either i'm becoming some kinda saint or i'm losing the fight against evil.
Well then....guess I can't realli do much abt pple coz they'll always be like that. So I guess I'll just drift back into dream time. Doesn't realli matter because I believe that these people will be paid back for their sins one by one. Think I shall go back to writing. Have lined up a couple of projects to be done. hmm...hope to accomplish them. Do seriously hope that these projects will help me to stay away from the cycle of exploitation and irritation by having to go interact with irritants.
hmm......
Cheers....
Well Everyone! Just added something else to my blog to show just how enthusiastic and comitted I am to do something abt maintaining me blog. Please do utilise it to the best of its abilities and do keep in touch!!!
Cheers! 
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
HEYZ YA ALL! WHAT'S UP with Ya All! 
Well here I am again! Been outta work for three days and the signs of gradual mental retardation are being reflected in my starting to flood this blog with rubbish. Rubbish and crap cannot be allowed to accumulate in the neurological mess called 'my brain': it induces undesirable effects. Go Figure. 
Well so after visiting Lion king janise's new blog where she is convinced that the average male neanderthal of a man is the ideal mate for her i was 'inspired' into resuscitating my nearly brain-dead blog. So here I am : I have refurbished the layout. reinstalled my smilies. and downloaded a new program that allows me to share pics with pple thru blogging. Actualli i still have to figure out how to use that. 
Well so i suppose two months have come and gone and well i can't realli go about reporting all that has happened in those two months coz there will be some events that will bring abt panic attacks and well the whole experience will probably take a long time to recollect, arrange and most importantly...edit. yup so let's just fast forward to wat happened today and togeher with that we shall have the usual serving of ranting and raving....hey.... a psycho has gotta find a way to relieve all those pent up frustration yeah?
Well so today decided to pick up the 'healthy' lifestyle that i left two months ago by going to the gym with meg. well....the scenery there has changed. the gym doesn't seem to be achieving wat it was built for. the taunt youthful bodies that used to flood the gym are now morphing into dumpy, wrinkled and loud ah sohs and ah pehs. yeah...and despite the scenery change the attire still remains the same. lycra is still the choice material for decent outer coverings and boxer shorts are the must have especially when u intend to do lotsa gym catwalks and bench presses with your knees curled up. 
oh....and there's a new tactic thats employed to ensure that poor buggers will never get to use choice equipment. thanks meg for filling me in on that. Here's how it's done:
1) get yourself onto one of those nifty cycling machine and start peddling like there's no tml. (move to impress)
2) When u begin to tire out but have absolutely no desire to relinquish your cosy, warmed but uncomfortable sit start looking around for someone u know who's worthy enough i.e. equally as selfish, to succeed your throne.
3) signal to that accomplice. Start a loud and animated conversation abt fish prices. The louder, the more animated and the fiercer it seems the better. ( method to intimidate)
4) As u go into the cool down lap, ensure that the conversation reaches climax. At the last possible moment, ease off the equipment and in one fluid motion, guide your partner in crime into that covted seat.
It doesn't matter if there's some poor bugger who has been waiting for the past twenty minutes for u to finish your workout. He/ She was just too stupid to see their being duped.
Well after the gym went home watched a vcd over lunch and curled up to my jap novel: Musashi. Still hunting for the Five Rings by miyamoto musashi. should have gotten the book when I saw it at kino that day. DArn...
anyways went out in the evening with my mum as my dad went for qigong. went shopping and had dinner. Quite fun. *sighz* it's always...quite fun because there is always bound to be some irritant that spoils the fun just for their own selfish gratification. This evening's irritant appeared in the form of Miss Let Me Snatch at A Plate of Sushi and it doesn't matter if my Grubby Hand passes and hovers over someone else's food and face. MAn....there realli oughta be some rearrangements and reviews done in the Remaking Singapore plan. I think that plans for being, artistic, creative and global should be put on stall if we can't even achieve the most basic of being a gracious and courteous society.
well...guess that's about it for tonight. now i have to decide who's gonna be on the guestlist for the reopening of this blog. hehehe...so if you're reading this you're one of the lucky few! ( Possibly unlucky if u see it in the defeatist way)