Okay. I really feel my previous post should have this title.
Anyway, Google should setup stats analysis on how many complaints have been thrown at foreign nationals who have made funny remarks about actual situations/conditions associated with other nations.
Google should then show some filters (like "group by country") that users can select.
I know of one nation which would be at the top 5 of that result listing.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Alec Baldwin and Blaming Everyone But Ourselves
Just imagine the ff scenarios:
1. Japan complains about remarks made about Japan's WWII crimes against women and the weird kind of porn they make(girl always crying and the rape-like scenes).
2. Germany complains about nazi jokes and remarks about their army performing anti-semitic and atrocious activities.
3. US complains that it's not fair to remark that US is the top porn promoter of the world or the top exporter of the worlds' religions or christian groups.
4. Mexico complains about the frequent use of "illegal entry of Mexicans" plot or scenario in Hollywood movie and television scripts.
5. US govt complains about the remarks in local television and movies that American tourists are always out to exploit local citizens, and the frequent depiction of Americans as egotistic rich dumb bastards in everyday conversation on the street and at the household.
What's with the big deal if something from our nation is painted in a bad and funny way in other countries?!
Deal with it!
We have a choice. We can either CHOOSE to feel bad about it or we take it as something funny and laugh along.
--------
If our nation's pride is something so fragile that it can easily be dented by random simple remarks made by mere private citizens of foreign nations, then it isn't stable, strong or even even valuable enough to begin with.
What kind of pride is that?!
The remarks were not even about our nation in general but of certain negative(or perceived negative) aspects. Alec Baldwin's remark was not about all women or brides from the Philippines, it was simply something about his desire to have more children in the soonest possible time since he is now way beyond old.
It was a satirical remark about an American availing an underground male-oriented service from an under-developed nation. The remark was actually more about the mind of a love-deprived or a desperate American rather than that of a Filipino or a Russian mail-to-order bride.
So it was MOST DEFINITELY not an H-Bomb or an act of war targeted at us.
All the defensiveness expressed by our govt and certain groups are mere symptoms of guilt and helplessness. We can only see the falseness and the humiliation, and none of the truth and possible reformation.
We can only see that the remark was a lame generalization and that it was an attack on our nation but failed to see entirely the sad truth in it and that fact, that we have elevated a simple remark about a coincidental truth to an actual attack on our nation's dignity.
If truth be told, we are not just the ones taking the damage, we are also the ones giving most of it. Summing that up, the result is "self-inflicted" damage.
Since we cannot change the underlying condition, we might as well blame anyone who reminds us of them, eh?
1. Japan complains about remarks made about Japan's WWII crimes against women and the weird kind of porn they make(girl always crying and the rape-like scenes).
2. Germany complains about nazi jokes and remarks about their army performing anti-semitic and atrocious activities.
3. US complains that it's not fair to remark that US is the top porn promoter of the world or the top exporter of the worlds' religions or christian groups.
4. Mexico complains about the frequent use of "illegal entry of Mexicans" plot or scenario in Hollywood movie and television scripts.
5. US govt complains about the remarks in local television and movies that American tourists are always out to exploit local citizens, and the frequent depiction of Americans as egotistic rich dumb bastards in everyday conversation on the street and at the household.
What's with the big deal if something from our nation is painted in a bad and funny way in other countries?!
Deal with it!
We have a choice. We can either CHOOSE to feel bad about it or we take it as something funny and laugh along.
--------
If our nation's pride is something so fragile that it can easily be dented by random simple remarks made by mere private citizens of foreign nations, then it isn't stable, strong or even even valuable enough to begin with.
What kind of pride is that?!
The remarks were not even about our nation in general but of certain negative(or perceived negative) aspects. Alec Baldwin's remark was not about all women or brides from the Philippines, it was simply something about his desire to have more children in the soonest possible time since he is now way beyond old.
It was a satirical remark about an American availing an underground male-oriented service from an under-developed nation. The remark was actually more about the mind of a love-deprived or a desperate American rather than that of a Filipino or a Russian mail-to-order bride.
So it was MOST DEFINITELY not an H-Bomb or an act of war targeted at us.
All the defensiveness expressed by our govt and certain groups are mere symptoms of guilt and helplessness. We can only see the falseness and the humiliation, and none of the truth and possible reformation.
We can only see that the remark was a lame generalization and that it was an attack on our nation but failed to see entirely the sad truth in it and that fact, that we have elevated a simple remark about a coincidental truth to an actual attack on our nation's dignity.
If truth be told, we are not just the ones taking the damage, we are also the ones giving most of it. Summing that up, the result is "self-inflicted" damage.
Since we cannot change the underlying condition, we might as well blame anyone who reminds us of them, eh?
Hayden Mitsurugi Style!
Move over Kenshin!
Back in high school / college, I used to hear kids saying "Hiten Mitsurugi!" in reference to a sword technique practiced by a famous manga/anime character, Kenshin Himura.
I wonder with the frequent showing of short censored clips of the hayden-katrina video scandal and the endless number of news update about it... would kids of this generation be shouting the phrase "Hayden Mitsurugi Technique!"
If that would become a reality, then the media and the good ol' public officials are at the top of the list to be applauded for the phenomenon. If it werent for the considerable amount of time they spent on promoting the video by publicing prohibiting and abhorring it, only the avid porn-flick fanatic and the casual ultra-curious internet user would have known about it.
Oh well. The blogger community would be probably come in third in the list of people/organizations future generations should thank for distributing and spreading word about the video.
But the blogger community are, of the moment, constrained to the web browser-internet medium, so it's still a big lead by the the top two players (media and the public officials) who have the power of radio and television at their command.
Somebody should keep stats and do surveys with questions like "Where did you hear about the sex video?"
Back in high school / college, I used to hear kids saying "Hiten Mitsurugi!" in reference to a sword technique practiced by a famous manga/anime character, Kenshin Himura.
I wonder with the frequent showing of short censored clips of the hayden-katrina video scandal and the endless number of news update about it... would kids of this generation be shouting the phrase "Hayden Mitsurugi Technique!"
If that would become a reality, then the media and the good ol' public officials are at the top of the list to be applauded for the phenomenon. If it werent for the considerable amount of time they spent on promoting the video by publicing prohibiting and abhorring it, only the avid porn-flick fanatic and the casual ultra-curious internet user would have known about it.
Oh well. The blogger community would be probably come in third in the list of people/organizations future generations should thank for distributing and spreading word about the video.
But the blogger community are, of the moment, constrained to the web browser-internet medium, so it's still a big lead by the the top two players (media and the public officials) who have the power of radio and television at their command.
Somebody should keep stats and do surveys with questions like "Where did you hear about the sex video?"
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Senate and the News Media are the Biggest Sex Video Promoters
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The new eight beatitudes
1. Blessed are the thrifty who have invested their money in piggy banks for they shall be saved from all the BS and crappy complexities of modern banking.
2. Blessed are the big corporate employees for they shall inherit the title "default honest taxpayers"
3. Blessed are the entrepreneurs for they can have tax advantages(A.K.A no taxes at all)
4. Blessed are those who are in the beer and cigarette business, for they shall inherit the money of those who are struggling to make ends meet but still have the money for vice.
5. Blessed are the freelancers for theirs is the kingdom of owning their own time
6. Blessed are the trillionaires for they shall still have millions if they have lost millions in financial meltdowns.
(Did you know that MS Word 2000 doesn't have "trillionaire" in its dictionary?)
7. Blessed are the those who have invested their money in women and booze for they can easily understand why their money are no longer theirs than those who invested and lost their money in the realm of finance.
8. Blessed are the blessed for they are blessed.
2. Blessed are the big corporate employees for they shall inherit the title "default honest taxpayers"
3. Blessed are the entrepreneurs for they can have tax advantages(A.K.A no taxes at all)
4. Blessed are those who are in the beer and cigarette business, for they shall inherit the money of those who are struggling to make ends meet but still have the money for vice.
5. Blessed are the freelancers for theirs is the kingdom of owning their own time
6. Blessed are the trillionaires for they shall still have millions if they have lost millions in financial meltdowns.
(Did you know that MS Word 2000 doesn't have "trillionaire" in its dictionary?)
7. Blessed are the those who have invested their money in women and booze for they can easily understand why their money are no longer theirs than those who invested and lost their money in the realm of finance.
8. Blessed are the blessed for they are blessed.
It's not YOU. It's THEM!!
I've read an amusing post in a colleague's blogsite(shardsofarmor). A demon reportedly came to him and told him the ff:
"You surround yourself with people that you call friends and engage in what you consider as intelligent conversations. But really, none of you idiots have any idea of what you're talking about."
I was confused and was at lost and had an overwhelming desire to check what those words mean and if those words have been uttered or have been published elsewhere by people who had conversations with the devil. (translation: I had nothing sensible to do)
And there is only one source on earth(other than the Christian Bible) where they say we can find answers.
So I decided to google it on Google(yes, google the verb and google the noun in one line);
And whadyaknow?!
The paragraph is about US Politics!
Click to see google results
Sigh.
It's always about politicians. It's always about them.
So that's that. All the muddle had been un-muddled. My friend was probably talking about US Politics.
I'm not a Google-search expert and don't know how Google exactly connected the search text to US Politics but if anyone ask what the following phrases mean: "friends", "intelligent", "idiots", "talking".
I'd say "they spell US Politics"
Another thing...
I have also noticed that adding the phrase
"A demon came to me and said,"
in the google search(right before the first sentence of "You surround yourself") would display blog posts that have been authored by people who in another lifetime(or in another blog post) could have posted something like the ff:
"You surround yourself with people that you call friends and engage in what you consider as intelligent conversations. But really, none of you idiots have any idea of what you're talking about."
Ah the cycle...
Click to see google results
"You surround yourself with people that you call friends and engage in what you consider as intelligent conversations. But really, none of you idiots have any idea of what you're talking about."
I was confused and was at lost and had an overwhelming desire to check what those words mean and if those words have been uttered or have been published elsewhere by people who had conversations with the devil. (translation: I had nothing sensible to do)
And there is only one source on earth(other than the Christian Bible) where they say we can find answers.
So I decided to google it on Google(yes, google the verb and google the noun in one line);
And whadyaknow?!
The paragraph is about US Politics!
Click to see google results
Sigh.
It's always about politicians. It's always about them.
So that's that. All the muddle had been un-muddled. My friend was probably talking about US Politics.
I'm not a Google-search expert and don't know how Google exactly connected the search text to US Politics but if anyone ask what the following phrases mean: "friends", "intelligent", "idiots", "talking".
I'd say "they spell US Politics"
Another thing...
I have also noticed that adding the phrase
"A demon came to me and said,"
in the google search(right before the first sentence of "You surround yourself") would display blog posts that have been authored by people who in another lifetime(or in another blog post) could have posted something like the ff:
"You surround yourself with people that you call friends and engage in what you consider as intelligent conversations. But really, none of you idiots have any idea of what you're talking about."
Ah the cycle...
Click to see google results
We closed a deal! We closed a company!
"We closed a company!"
doesn't have the same ring of
"We closed a deal!"
Not unless if one is a professional consultant who's hired by clients to close down rival (or their own) companies.
Hurray! Yippee!
doesn't have the same ring of
"We closed a deal!"
Not unless if one is a professional consultant who's hired by clients to close down rival (or their own) companies.
Hurray! Yippee!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Ads, Endorsement and Responsibility
Advertisement, Endorsement and Responsibility.
The first two words are pretty common, and the two are seldom not a pair.
Sadly, the third word only comes up during Sunday masses, election campaigns, and more often than not, never at all.
ON MSG
I can't remember the time in this little part of the world that Ajinomoto A.K.A monosodium glutomate(MSG) wasn't used in meal parties.
Sure there are studies out there that claim that MSG is pretty harmless, but people here consume considerable amounts of it on a daily basis.
Celebrities who endorse such products should be responsible for what they say based on their ad scripts.
I even know of people who put MSG on their scrambled eggs.
And what's worst, Ajinomoto has stopped placing the term "monosodium glutomate" in bold letters, they have replaced it with "Umami". WTF! It must mean "monosodium glutomate" in another language.
ON SLIMMING PRODUCTS
Yes, I do agree slim babes are nice to look at. But there should be limits on vanity.
My 5 year-old daughter doesnt even like to eat because she thinks she will get fat by eating 2 or more spoonfuls of food. WTF?!
TV ads showing chubby women hiding their bellies might be funny for some, but what kind of messages are those ads really sending out?
Truth to be told, there are people who prefer comfort over speed.
Sure, sure, sure. It's nice to feel the "sarap to the bones" pelvic thrusts but those cushions can be so warm and comfortable.
Slimming products are making one side of the coin boring and overrated.
It's nice to be genetically slim, but "slim" does not mean healthy, neither does "chubby".
I'm not sure when people started to get this notion that one's piece of mind is attached to one's weight and figure.
ON CANNED GOODS AND PACKED NOODLES
Sure, movie stars and celebrities eat canned goods. But those celebrities don't consume as much as their fans or people who buy products according to what they see in television.
Come on! Some canned goods might be cheaper compared to the real food, but it's definitely not as healthy as the general public think they are.
And those "Japanese noodles in plastic packs"? I couldn't even find them in groceries in Japan (I only got to see them in vending machines). I was perplexed at first why most of their grocery goods were so close to their expiration dates - it took me a while to realize that most of their goods were fresh, hence the short gap between the dates and the current date. I was accustomed to seeing expiration dates that span years at our local groceries. Ack! The preservatives, they are only meant to preserve/prolong food and not necessary the life of the consumers.
ON DRUG MEDS WITHOUT APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS
We all know that herbal medicines do work.
But people should never believe that the modern "alternative" medicines people see in television and print ads are herbal medicines. They ceased to be "herbal" the moment they were packaged into capsules and tablets. They're just drugs disguised and dressed in "fun" packs.
There is a big difference between the conventional herbal and nature medicines with these modern meds. These "modern" stuff have passed thru mechanical rollers and other metallic parts in factories and have undergone the conventional extraction and chemical processes, usually undergone by pharmaceutical drugs. In fact, the only difference between these popular "new" medication and the conventional pharma drugs is that these "new" ones don't have studies backing up their claims.
Consumers, on the other hand, are so easily manipulated into buying these stuff. Advertisers don't try even have to try hard to fool consumers. A simple line like the one below can convince people to buy their product:
With the right diet, proper exercise and a teaspoon of XXXXX..
Wow! People who even don't eat the right food and don't even exercise have been buying lots and lots of such products. They just read or hear the last line "a teaspoon of XXXXX".
Sometimes, I think they deserve to be fooled.
ON CANDIDATES FOR GOVT POSITIONS
We should start prosecuting people who have endorsed incompetent people into public office.
Yes, I have stated "incompetent". A public servant doesn't need to be "corrupt" to be qualified as "incompetent" or "ineffective".
So all those who have endorsed candidates who became incompetent(whether they were lazy or corrupt or just plain stupid)public officials should also be prosecuted.
On second thought, those lousy voters who voted for the incompetent people should also be punished or at least reprimanded.
People who vote with their pockets or those who merely vote primarily depending on family, friendship, business or religious social network are not qualified to vote.
ON RELIGION
Religion is overrated. People believe that religion is the solution, when in fact, it's a big part of the problem.
People have invested so much time, energy and money on religion as a structure and not enough as a form of spirituality.
People now treat religion like a phone directory. They only use it to look up names or when they need something.
ON GAME SHOWS AND THEIR HOSTS
Game shows are not charitable institutions, they are there to make money for their companies.
Giving big sums of money in front of TV cameras make it more profitable for the owners.
Getting contestants who are financially poor make the shows more profitable.
Giving big sums of money to financially poor contestants double the profits.
Get the picture?
Those hosts are not saints. Some of them are probably earning more than 100,000 in a day. What is shelling out 20 or 10 grand for them? Like loose change.
Any one selected to become a host for a game show and plays a character/role who liberally hands out cash can be considered a "good person" by the masses.
Game shows are game shows. Some win and some don't. It's good to praise the higher authority or supreme being for winning, but winning contestants should never forget that game shows earn money regardless contestants win or not (and it really is not the supreme being's fault if contestants lose) .
It's alright to be thankful but people mustn't elevate game shows and their hosts on pedestals and altars.
The first two words are pretty common, and the two are seldom not a pair.
Sadly, the third word only comes up during Sunday masses, election campaigns, and more often than not, never at all.
ON MSG
I can't remember the time in this little part of the world that Ajinomoto A.K.A monosodium glutomate(MSG) wasn't used in meal parties.
Sure there are studies out there that claim that MSG is pretty harmless, but people here consume considerable amounts of it on a daily basis.
Celebrities who endorse such products should be responsible for what they say based on their ad scripts.
I even know of people who put MSG on their scrambled eggs.
And what's worst, Ajinomoto has stopped placing the term "monosodium glutomate" in bold letters, they have replaced it with "Umami". WTF! It must mean "monosodium glutomate" in another language.
ON SLIMMING PRODUCTS
Yes, I do agree slim babes are nice to look at. But there should be limits on vanity.
My 5 year-old daughter doesnt even like to eat because she thinks she will get fat by eating 2 or more spoonfuls of food. WTF?!
TV ads showing chubby women hiding their bellies might be funny for some, but what kind of messages are those ads really sending out?
Truth to be told, there are people who prefer comfort over speed.
Sure, sure, sure. It's nice to feel the "sarap to the bones" pelvic thrusts but those cushions can be so warm and comfortable.
Slimming products are making one side of the coin boring and overrated.
It's nice to be genetically slim, but "slim" does not mean healthy, neither does "chubby".
I'm not sure when people started to get this notion that one's piece of mind is attached to one's weight and figure.
ON CANNED GOODS AND PACKED NOODLES
Sure, movie stars and celebrities eat canned goods. But those celebrities don't consume as much as their fans or people who buy products according to what they see in television.
Come on! Some canned goods might be cheaper compared to the real food, but it's definitely not as healthy as the general public think they are.
And those "Japanese noodles in plastic packs"? I couldn't even find them in groceries in Japan (I only got to see them in vending machines). I was perplexed at first why most of their grocery goods were so close to their expiration dates - it took me a while to realize that most of their goods were fresh, hence the short gap between the dates and the current date. I was accustomed to seeing expiration dates that span years at our local groceries. Ack! The preservatives, they are only meant to preserve/prolong food and not necessary the life of the consumers.
ON DRUG MEDS WITHOUT APPROVED THERAPEUTIC CLAIMS
We all know that herbal medicines do work.
But people should never believe that the modern "alternative" medicines people see in television and print ads are herbal medicines. They ceased to be "herbal" the moment they were packaged into capsules and tablets. They're just drugs disguised and dressed in "fun" packs.
There is a big difference between the conventional herbal and nature medicines with these modern meds. These "modern" stuff have passed thru mechanical rollers and other metallic parts in factories and have undergone the conventional extraction and chemical processes, usually undergone by pharmaceutical drugs. In fact, the only difference between these popular "new" medication and the conventional pharma drugs is that these "new" ones don't have studies backing up their claims.
Consumers, on the other hand, are so easily manipulated into buying these stuff. Advertisers don't try even have to try hard to fool consumers. A simple line like the one below can convince people to buy their product:
With the right diet, proper exercise and a teaspoon of XXXXX..
Wow! People who even don't eat the right food and don't even exercise have been buying lots and lots of such products. They just read or hear the last line "a teaspoon of XXXXX".
Sometimes, I think they deserve to be fooled.
ON CANDIDATES FOR GOVT POSITIONS
We should start prosecuting people who have endorsed incompetent people into public office.
Yes, I have stated "incompetent". A public servant doesn't need to be "corrupt" to be qualified as "incompetent" or "ineffective".
So all those who have endorsed candidates who became incompetent(whether they were lazy or corrupt or just plain stupid)public officials should also be prosecuted.
On second thought, those lousy voters who voted for the incompetent people should also be punished or at least reprimanded.
People who vote with their pockets or those who merely vote primarily depending on family, friendship, business or religious social network are not qualified to vote.
ON RELIGION
Religion is overrated. People believe that religion is the solution, when in fact, it's a big part of the problem.
People have invested so much time, energy and money on religion as a structure and not enough as a form of spirituality.
People now treat religion like a phone directory. They only use it to look up names or when they need something.
ON GAME SHOWS AND THEIR HOSTS
Game shows are not charitable institutions, they are there to make money for their companies.
Giving big sums of money in front of TV cameras make it more profitable for the owners.
Getting contestants who are financially poor make the shows more profitable.
Giving big sums of money to financially poor contestants double the profits.
Get the picture?
Those hosts are not saints. Some of them are probably earning more than 100,000 in a day. What is shelling out 20 or 10 grand for them? Like loose change.
Any one selected to become a host for a game show and plays a character/role who liberally hands out cash can be considered a "good person" by the masses.
Game shows are game shows. Some win and some don't. It's good to praise the higher authority or supreme being for winning, but winning contestants should never forget that game shows earn money regardless contestants win or not (and it really is not the supreme being's fault if contestants lose) .
It's alright to be thankful but people mustn't elevate game shows and their hosts on pedestals and altars.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Mamma Mia: into the psyche of girls
Mamma Mia!
Last year, I was dragged into watching this movie which starred (among other Hollywood actors) Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan.
It was obviously one of those movies I would mark as "chick flick". My wife is into ABBA songs, so it was expected she would love the movie but what I didn't count on was my daughters enjoying the movie.
They were only 3 and 5 years of age!
I merely assumed that only the ladies, mothers and grandma's would love this movie -but not kids. I assumed kids and teenagers would enjoy watching Twilight or High School Musical but never Mamma Mia!.
I'm not sure what's in this movie - there must be subliminal messages embedded in the film that make girls of all ages go ga-ga.
I had initially planned to blog my observations when I got home that night. But ended up forgetting about that itch to blog.
However, during last year's Christmas holidays, I brought along a DVD copy of the movie to show to my friends. And it seemed every girl that I saw the movie, had a certain fondness of the movie.
See? Girls gone ga-ga.
Hate to admit it but I'm going to say it now.
I found myself enjoying the movie.. eventually.
There! I said it. Sue me.
But there is no way, not a chance anyone will get me to buy the book or watch the musical.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Reading what others have been Writing
I was bored.
I had nothing sensible to do.. so I decided to click the "Next Blog" link at the top
of this page (it's one of the links at the right side of the search box).
I was hoping to get a glimpse at what the other bloggers are writing about.
Whadyaknow?!
I couldn't read their posts!
For my first 9 clicks on the "Next Blog" link, I was taken to 9 blogs which were not in English. Evidently, the "writing language of preference" for the authors of these blogs is not English.
And that got me thinking - all this time I've been using the word "reading" as something that is the counterpart of "writing".
Technically, the way I have been reading hasnt changed. People read web articles the same way that they read books or other writtern media. But "writing", that is the verb that specifically mean different things.
They call it "writing":
From Wikipedia(where else?)
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.
For reading, the medium might have changed from paper to screen monitors, but the act of reading still relies on the sense of sight(perhaps touch, if you're using the Braille system).
*But of course, the concept of "language" should be there in order to pass ideas from writer to reader. It's not "reading", if the reader(or the mere looker) is not able to understand the writing.
From Wikipedia(where else?)
Reading (process) is the human cognitive process of decoding symbols or syntax for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) or constructing meaning. (pronounced "reeding").
Having "written" all that above, I'll just add that I do not have any plans in learning how to write nor read in another language other than the ones that I am already adept at (at least not in the immediate future).
Okay, so much for my encounter with the "Next Blog" link.
I had nothing sensible to do.. so I decided to click the "Next Blog" link at the top
of this page (it's one of the links at the right side of the search box).
I was hoping to get a glimpse at what the other bloggers are writing about.
Whadyaknow?!
I couldn't read their posts!
For my first 9 clicks on the "Next Blog" link, I was taken to 9 blogs which were not in English. Evidently, the "writing language of preference" for the authors of these blogs is not English.
And that got me thinking - all this time I've been using the word "reading" as something that is the counterpart of "writing".
Technically, the way I have been reading hasnt changed. People read web articles the same way that they read books or other writtern media. But "writing", that is the verb that specifically mean different things.
They call it "writing":
- When a novelist uses his favorite typewriter to writ- err - create a novel
- When a developer opens up his text editor to create a source code documentation
- When the ancient Egyptians made their hieroglyphics inscriptions
- When a bloggers creates a new post
From Wikipedia(where else?)
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.
For reading, the medium might have changed from paper to screen monitors, but the act of reading still relies on the sense of sight(perhaps touch, if you're using the Braille system).
*But of course, the concept of "language" should be there in order to pass ideas from writer to reader. It's not "reading", if the reader(or the mere looker) is not able to understand the writing.
From Wikipedia(where else?)
Reading (process) is the human cognitive process of decoding symbols or syntax for the purpose of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) or constructing meaning. (pronounced "reeding").
Having "written" all that above, I'll just add that I do not have any plans in learning how to write nor read in another language other than the ones that I am already adept at (at least not in the immediate future).
Okay, so much for my encounter with the "Next Blog" link.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Simple and Lame
There are some people who after looking at a
white A4 paper with only the crisp words
Simple
written on it, would say "Beautiful".
Show those same people a white A4 paper
with only the crisp words
Lame
written on it, and those people would say "Lame".
white A4 paper with only the crisp words
Simple
written on it, would say "Beautiful".
Show those same people a white A4 paper
with only the crisp words
Lame
written on it, and those people would say "Lame".
Lame Church Music
I've heard plenty of church music from different denominations of Christianity. But the most lame is the one I heard from a local church.
It goes something like:
"I have been trampled by enemies
I have suffered greatly in their hands
Take pity on me, Lord"
Now now now, those lines are not verbatim but the jist is the same.
The lines are not the ones that add tone and heart to the song - it's the tune.
The way the song was sung was the saddest and most miserable I have ever heard.
My guess is that it was a localization or an adaptation of a more popular song. A more cheerful song, I bet.
People might think I'm shallow and thick-headed, but that song doesn't sing of hopefulness and faith, it speaks more of helplessness and papa-gimme-me-help.
It might be just the choir or the group of people singing it. Here in this part of the world, the old loyal church goers are kinda like that - prayerful and miserable, faithful and blind. For them, the church, is an altar for crying out complaints to a higher authority. As for me, I belong to the thoughtful-but-cynical-and-couldnt-do-anything-different-anyway generation. Oh, how I wish the next generation of eager-but-not-dumb, sometimes-skeptic-but-not-cynical, loyal-but-not-kiss-ass people.
If the choir was composed of such people, I bet the song would be more cheerful and something that sings of faith and total surrender to the will of the Lord.
Imagine thousands of people hearing this kind of miserable song every Sunday. Think of the subliminal implications and effects on the human subconscious?
Lame.
People would eventually believe they're so lame that they would allow people to literally trample them, and that they would beg the all mighty authority to save their sorry asses.
My God is the god of the mighty and kind - of the strong and good - people who pray to get them enabled to love, to share, to save. In this little side of the world, millions of people have the practice of visiting churches to cry their pain and ask for help(where half of those people make an extra visit if they got their ass saved for the day).
For years, the local churches, have consciously or unconsciously used this mass psychology tactic to sway people back to their fold and move further away from the purer form of their faith.
There is, after all, a possibility that all of us will be classified as pagans or clinical idiots in the distant future, and that the atheists were right... but there are gods in this little part of the world - good ones, cruel ones and just indifferent ones. These are the influential and charismatic people. Most of these guys are in politics, and these are the ones under "cruel" and "indifferent". And as an added bonus there are millions of lame people ready to follow anyone who can save them from their lame lives.
Lame.
This nation has a lots of issues and most of them are self-inflicted.
Anyway, there's a chance the new generation might (just might) save us. But there's also the chance the young generation have already got their minds brainwashed with lame songs.
It goes something like:
"I have been trampled by enemies
I have suffered greatly in their hands
Take pity on me, Lord"
Now now now, those lines are not verbatim but the jist is the same.
The lines are not the ones that add tone and heart to the song - it's the tune.
The way the song was sung was the saddest and most miserable I have ever heard.
My guess is that it was a localization or an adaptation of a more popular song. A more cheerful song, I bet.
People might think I'm shallow and thick-headed, but that song doesn't sing of hopefulness and faith, it speaks more of helplessness and papa-gimme-me-help.
It might be just the choir or the group of people singing it. Here in this part of the world, the old loyal church goers are kinda like that - prayerful and miserable, faithful and blind. For them, the church, is an altar for crying out complaints to a higher authority. As for me, I belong to the thoughtful-but-cynical-and-couldnt-do-anything-different-anyway generation. Oh, how I wish the next generation of eager-but-not-dumb, sometimes-skeptic-but-not-cynical, loyal-but-not-kiss-ass people.
If the choir was composed of such people, I bet the song would be more cheerful and something that sings of faith and total surrender to the will of the Lord.
Imagine thousands of people hearing this kind of miserable song every Sunday. Think of the subliminal implications and effects on the human subconscious?
Lame.
People would eventually believe they're so lame that they would allow people to literally trample them, and that they would beg the all mighty authority to save their sorry asses.
My God is the god of the mighty and kind - of the strong and good - people who pray to get them enabled to love, to share, to save. In this little side of the world, millions of people have the practice of visiting churches to cry their pain and ask for help(where half of those people make an extra visit if they got their ass saved for the day).
For years, the local churches, have consciously or unconsciously used this mass psychology tactic to sway people back to their fold and move further away from the purer form of their faith.
There is, after all, a possibility that all of us will be classified as pagans or clinical idiots in the distant future, and that the atheists were right... but there are gods in this little part of the world - good ones, cruel ones and just indifferent ones. These are the influential and charismatic people. Most of these guys are in politics, and these are the ones under "cruel" and "indifferent". And as an added bonus there are millions of lame people ready to follow anyone who can save them from their lame lives.
Lame.
This nation has a lots of issues and most of them are self-inflicted.
Anyway, there's a chance the new generation might (just might) save us. But there's also the chance the young generation have already got their minds brainwashed with lame songs.
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