Little Women by Louis May Alcott is a rather 'potong' book if you catch my draft. It's too lovey dovey I feel. Rather unnatural honestly. Meh. I like it and I don't. It's a 2 way thing. I reckon it's probably the era. Middlemarch was pretty lovey dovey, also, but much much less. I love Elliot's metaphorical representations, how she depicts moods and subtle juxtapositions. Quite sublime. I can't quite describe Little Women honestly. I suppose one can't help be drawn to the characters. But Geraldine Brook's March was quite exquisite really. Good stuff. But it's a much easier read Little Women compared to Middlemarch I find. The English was much simpler, descriptions less vivid. I feel it's a book quite reliant on dialogue. Not entirely uncommon.

Right. Now that that's done with. Some might be wondering.
"SHIT!! It's only been a week! But he's blogging! OMG!!"
Yea. I'm bored. I was bored before but I'm still bored so I'm blogging.

So let's get right into it. I went to get my Aussie license last week. So, I woke up early, round 12 ish. And with quite high hopes fuelled by mother dearest, I drove to the Vic Road office near by to get my license translated, or so I thought. So I walk in. Many people. Take number. Wait. number gets called. See lady. Asks, "I want to transfer my Malaysian license into a Victorian one, can I book a test now?". Now because of our-by that I mean Malaysian-very excellent driving-and testing I should add-standards Victoria, or specifically Australia doesn't allow a straight forward and very direct translation of licenses which merely requires you to show up at the bloody place, show them your non-Malaysian license, look pretty, take a picture, wait 10 minutes, and PRESTO your license! But NO!!! We Malaysians have to take a test. 3 tests in fact. So fine. I concede. Gimme the bloody tests. Or so I thought.

Right, I'm staring at the chick and the chick is staring at me. And she says.
"Nah, can't do love."
"Excuse me?"
"You've gotta take your L's, hold it for a year, then sit a test for your P's after a year, hold P1 for a year, then another 3 years under P2 then take another test, THEN get your full license."
"WTF!!!!!?????"
At this point I would like to shed some light. L=learner's permit as everyone should know. To advance from L's to P's is 3 tests. That's fine. 3's a bit much but hey that beats sitting in a stinking lecture room for, ah, 12(?) hours listening to some arsehole talk. It includes the hands on driving by the way. But here's the fucking beauty. You hold your P license for 4 years. 4 YEARS!! HOLY SHIT ANYONE?? But NO. That's not good enough. I've got to wait for 1 YEAR BEFORE I can dream of taking those tests. Which means I'm going to be an ILLEGAL driver in the state of Victoria until AT LEAST the 9th of February 2010. Sweet right! Now I wouldn't give a shit if I were studying in La Trobe or RMIT which is 10-15 minutes away from the crib. But I just so happen study in Melbourne University which ISN'T 10-15 minutes away. On top of that there are NO train stations near my house and the tram takes 1 and a half hours AT LEAST to get to uni.

That's just for starters. Once you've done your P's you've got to sit ANOTHER test to get your full license. *SIGH*(I'm trying not to curse too much nowadays) To be honest it isn't quite fair. I know why their doing it. Bloody Aussie kids can't stop killing themselves. Binge drinking is a big deal here. And naturally, DUI's are too. But I say can't you give allowance to people who already have a valid license? I mean sure, don't translate our licenses on the spot like the bloody Singaporeans. But the most they should do is subject us to the 3 tests and be done with it. I mean, I'm not a learner. I've already had my full license in Malaysia. It's quite retarded frankly. Just because the Aussie's are hoons, doesn't mean all foreigners are.

I'm not going to stop driving. Unless I move to the city which is never I can't stop driving. I could take a tram but it's 30 minutes to the tram stop. It takes me 45 minutes tops to get to uni by car. In my opinion this all stems from one original root. I won't dwell on it because it just makes me bitter. Suffice to say, I never really wanted a car. So, winging it this year then. Pray I don't get caught eh.

So I'm back in Melbourne. Good old Melbourne. Stinking hot Melbourne. 40 something degrees Melbourne. God I love this place.

I get asked a lot, "Why you go back so early?".

For instance:

A: Eh, when you leaving for Melbourne la?
Me: Ah, 29th January.
A: Oh, OK. Ah, when does uni start?
Me: 2nd of March.
A: Hah?! So late? Then why you go back so early?

OR

We are somewhere out.

Me: Hey man. I'm gonna call it a day man.
B: You going back already?
Me: Ah, yeah?
B: Why so early?

The conversation usually goes like this. My response is usually monotonic. Who'd blame me really, after getting asked so many times, who wouldn't have a semi-automatic like response. It's like when someone says "Hi" to you. You say "Hi" back. If your feeling particularly good you say "Hi!" with a vengeance. Just so we're quite clear, I never answer the question. People might think it a legitimate question, I find it rather rhetorical. I used to try justifying my statement but somewhere along the line it just became redundant. Like the thing hanging off the large intestines. Appendix. That's it. Frankly it's like asking why the grass is green. Sure you could go through the whole trouble of telling the other person what cells are and that-form 4 Biology, fail me not-chromoplasts(?) contain pigments which give it it's green colour which also help in photosynthesis. But at the end of the day no one really wants or needs to hear that. So in the end you just say, "Of course the grass is green what other colour could it be?". Now ignoring the fact that autumn comes that is an answer that would suffice.

Now I suppose you are reading a rather biased view to the arguement. Some curiosities are incurable. Like a cat who's waiting to be skinned you just can't help it. Dare I even say that to some it is a rather automatic response to my statement.
"Dude, I'm going back man."
"Why?"
I suppose on certain occasions my untimely statement does warrant a question. Some even an accusation not really wanting a response anyway. But really, what else is there to say. I mean there are reasons of course, but in the end do you really really want to hear about them? I'm not on the brink of some wildly informative breakthrough. So I like to leave it at that. Keep them guessing you know.
Why's he going back?
Hmm, maybe he's got to wake up early tomorrow.
Or maybe he's got an engagement to attend to.
Maybe he's turning into a zombie, the blood curling, body eating, semi-blind one but he isn't yet but he's feeling it and still has the presense of mind to excuse himself before he starts devouring his friends and cause a ruckus.
Or, on the outside chance, he's just tired and needs some rest.

They almost sound plausible eh.

I don't know. I don't think my self-imposed system of putting a time constraint to my posts is working. In retrospect it matters little. I'm supposedly supposed to write for me. That works I guess. Bygones.

So would you believe me if I said that all I have to say is up in my head and I'm too lazy to type it out. Fat chance I'd say. This leads however to an interesting paradox. Well, it's not really THAT interesting like the birthday paradox or I don't know, something else. Although if you think about it, the birthday paradox isn't really that surprising. Right, so if one thinks about it, one should realize that fat in Chinese culture means prosperous. In other words it's an indication of wealth, happiness, fortune, you know, good stuff. So-if you can't see where I'm going with this you must be pretty dense frankly speaking-if fat is a symbol of good fortune, then shouldn't the phrase "fat chance" be used to describe a relatively favourable situation. Rephrased, shouldn't the term "fat chance" be used in a sentence where by the outcome(s) or intended outcome(s) in question are favourable/likely?

Example:
A: Oh, the grass is going to be green tomorrow!!
B: Fat chance!

OR

A: Is Murray going to win the Australian Open this year?
B: Fat chance man.-Based on how he's playing, I really think he's going to win by the way-

See?

BUT

Such...ah...cognitive thinking-sounds about right-fails under inspection. Realize that the word fat in this "proof", if you will is, biased. I have taken an utterly one sided view in this argument i.e. the that only Asian people-Chinese was too narrow a group-associate fat people with prosperity. And since social norms are set by society at large and the general consensus is that "fat chance" is to be a negative remark, at times cynical, it has remained so. Probably due to the stigma that fat people are ugly. Of course many of would beg to differ while simultaneously condemning my remark, however it is alas true. After all, do you not call a person fat when you feel particularly vindictive after a period of absence? The list goes on. Society wills it. Of course there's also the fact that fat people are generally unhealthy. That frankly is probably where it all started, the stigma I mean. Obviously the Buddhists didn't see the link between heart attacks and getting fat. And from there who knows. Maybe fat bookies were always lucky. Or maybe there was a guy named Fat who gave lousy odds. Speculations.

Fact is, my paradox is quite localised. But what can I say eh? Love those societal norms!

Thats about it. By the way, any good books? Most of the books I'm reading are by dudes who've been dead for at least 20 years. I figured I needed something...ah...fresh. Meh. Fat chance anyone's going to reply me frankly.

So I duly oblige. Thousand apologies. I was in Egypt and Jordan a couple weeks ago. I know. That's hardly a reason. But it's a reason. So what to blog about.

Well, GM and Chrsyler just got a $13.4 billion dollar bailout. Personally I think GM's gonna go under come March. I mean, if the biggest car manufacturer Honda is having to cut forecast profits by 30%, GM's probably done for. I mean, last I heard, you can't even drive GM's anywhere outside North America. The car's too damn inefficient. Serves them right I feel. How many GM's do you see running around the street? I think you'd probably be pulled over in Australia for your exhaust or something if you drive one. Ah well. C'est la vie I say.

My mojo's running out I think. Don't really have much to say. I must say this is more an obligatory post more than anything. Suffice to say I'm too lazy to type out anything. I suppose it's more invigorating chatting face to face I suppose.

I have been reading abit. Coelho, Mann, Brooks, and some Eco. Good stuff. Eco's book 'In the name of the Rose' is a heavy one.

Well, continuing is pointless. Back to by books. Till next time. I'll try and write something more substantial maybe later on this week. Heh, that's probably why no one visits my blog anymore.

Till next time I guess.

Right. Apparently it is that time of the month. A little delayed; I apologize. Exams see. I dislike exams. I'm not quite sure if I've mentioned that before. I don't hate exams. I dislike them. Matter of fact, if I were living back at my old apartment exams would be fine. Why you ask? Because I lived at 146, Victoria Parade, East Melbourne. Why is that significant I hear you cry? Because the exam hall-where all the beautiful magic happens-is the Royal Exhibition Building. "So what?" says the half uninterested reader. BECAUSE IT IS MOTHER FUCKING 5 MINUTES AWAY FROM WHERE I USED TO FUCKING LIVE THAT'S FUCKING WHY!!! What now you say? Well, lets see. It takes me approximately 30 minutes to get to the REB-examination place-in good traffic and let's say about an hour in the morning. So that means I HAVE to wake up 2 HOURS earlier than I WOULD'VE NEEDED TOO had I been LIVING in VICTORIA PARADE. And I have to pay 10 bucks for my trouble. That is why I dislike exams. Having said that I still have 2 more to go. Tough luck eh. Meh....bygones.

So what's been happening?

Of course Obama won. I was shocked. Not shocked. Too strong a word. I was pleasantly surprised. I should clarify. I was surprised about a week before the election that Obama was leading in the poles. Come election day, it was pretty much how long and by how much. And in retrospect it was quite inevitable. And it got me thinking. One way or another we're somewhat drawn towards the States. The great US of A. They've got Ivy League schools which boast a 10% or lower acceptance rate and of course New York. I mean they are the world's super power. But I can't help but to think what if we they were too rash? On paper Obama is nothing compared to McCain. Even to Clinton I didn't he was much of an adversary. He got into politics when...5-6 years ago? Running then for his district or something like that. And now president? I don't dispute the fact that he's smart. But you can only be so smart when experience has to kick in. And here comes the big one. What if they were too rash because he was black? What if they voted for him BECAUSE he was black? It would seem like a fairytale ending at first glance. But put it under a microscope and I see so many holes. True that some days after Martin Luther King's assassination Obama got elected. And I must say, he turned an ethnic slur into a motto. Very effectively of course. Now the debate seems to be the way America's moving. Centre right to centre left opting for more equality against capitalism. Sounds good taxing the big corporates more and making them pay for their mistakes. But will he? They are tough people capitalist's and they got lots of moolah.

I leave this post semi-open to debate. Simply because I still find myself going through the motions of this post-elections. Sometimes not all the time. I do have exams. And every time I start believing, it just crops up. Maybe the war on Iraq was a bad mistake and McCain took the fall for it cause it was a Republican who brought them to war. Maybe it's because the citizen's felt Bush drove them into an economic crisis, again McCain takes the blow. No doubt you'd agree with me all these things played a factor. But can they be too much of a driving force? Or will this be the stepping stone to greater things? I recall recently I was watching an Aussie TV show Rove, where Rob Scheneider came on. He said something like this. "Maybe some day they'll be and Aborigine Prime Minister." Dead silence.

Till next time then. Next one might be a while. I'm leaving for the land of the Pharaohs early December and then Christmas at JB. So a little patience eh Tarrant for the next one =)

Oui, it's that time of the month again.

I like this new schedule. Blog, not only when one feels like it, but also commit a certain time frame in which one is obliged to blog. The spontaneity is guaranteed within that interval and the so is the post since it is a pre-commitment. Lessons from behavioral economics.

Speaking of which, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely. Good stuff. Its a discourse on behavioral economics without the tacky jargon.

So, what do I want to talk about today?

So unless you've been living under a rock, you'd probably know that the FED has just issued a $700 billion dollar bail out for the banks. What strikes me as interesting is the fact that if we are stuck in this period of crisis, then where's the crisis? I suppose in some respects we're not really feeling the heat of it cause we're shielded by China. But based on the news and all the surrounding hype especially in US, Europe, we're all basically going to be fucked. I emphasize going to be. China has just cut it's interest rates, signaling they're not doing so well after all. Japan has been in recession for the better part of the last decade. Singapore is totally dependent on the US and European market.

I suppose it's fine and dandy that we sit on our couches and watch TV all day, more so cause we're Chinese, for all we know our parents have some secret stash of money hidden somewhere that's more remote than an off-shore Caribbean account. But I say think of the implications this would have on us. I'm sure we're not going to live in our parents shadows forever. UK are talking of not issuing work permits anymore, not even to Australians, they love Aussies. Rudd has just speculated that there would be a cap on immigrants soon. CAT has just reported down turns in it's profits. Apple, Microsoft, even Walmart, the safe house supposedly has reported losses. And worst still, the $700 billion boost which was supposed to restore consumer confidence within the market, well it's not working. 7 day straight losses in the Dow and Treasury Bills have never been so low in, 20 years I think. Oil prices are set to plumate.

It's very disapproving I suppose talking of market crashes in retrospect. But it's just ironic I think. Because if you open any macroeconomics book published this year, you'd see that we're doing fine (specifically the US, Australia and most European country of course). And in 6 mothns, poof. Speculation points to the biggest recession the world has ever seen. Of course if you believe Buffet, then this is the best time to make some moolah. Thats probably true. Fact is, today's economy is dependent on the technological breakthroughs discovered due to the Great Depression. Maybe it's time we found new technology. The fundamentals of macroeconomics is writen as a result of the Great Depression. Maybe it's time for new ideas. Maybe an anrchic state can no longer function at a time where globalisation is apparent.

I think whats happening is big no doubt, but the cure would be something even bigger. We only have to look back through history to realise that big events warrant big cures.

Enough of speculations, I still don't like convergent series, particularly using the itegral test in determining the existance of a convergent series. So I must like it.

Well it's about a month. Time's relative so it's all good I say. So holidays now. 2 weeks precisely. Probably going to rot myself silly but it's still early, so I'm still optimistic. Sides, I'm hoping the assignment's going to keep me busy. Yeap. That's what I've resorted too. My sense of fun is now confined to a certain sense of impartiality and relief-depending on what assignment I'm doing-upon completion of an assignment. Go figure. Besides the obvious fact that I need a break and, I don't know, a revamp on my rather bleak view on life the holidays good actually...welcoming I guess.

So thats all one needs to know bout me. So on to greater things.

Ah mahl. I just got off a shower. So I'm too lazy. And sleepy. So consider this a prelude to another post. Meanwhile....



Dim Sum girl by Notorious MSG.

Enjoy.

It's a monthly thing

this updating process. I am a firm believer that the propensity of updates is directly related to the amount of tags you get. Joy.

So, hypothesis aside, what to blog on.

Let's see I've been busy to say the least. I mean, relatively busy of course. What I do don't get close to the shit those med kids have to do AND YET they still hang out and club more than I do. Well, given the fact that I don't club-I mean the very word clubbing doesn't make sense, we could go on all night on what constitutes a club-but it's still a dismal attempt at a social life if you think about it. This is all in retrospect of course. Fact is I couldn't be bothered with my lack of gregariousness. I mean, we're all gregarious but some more than others obviously, but I digress.

So, let's see. Something interesting. Well, the US election's kicking up a notch. Obama and McCain just elected their deputies. And I'm no sexist, but you gotta be surprised that McCain, of all candidates-namely Obama-chose a female running mate. Namely I suppose because Clinton is the first person that comes to mind for a Democrat vice but one can understand why Obama wouldn't want to choose Clinton. Suffice to say it ain't good for the office to have 2 big names under one roof. Especially since one just lost to the other in the primaries. Then there's also the high propensity that Bill'll be seeing some Carly this time instead of a Monica. But it's intriguing how so much hype surrounds these elections. I mean you got Scarlette Johanson gunning for Obama, then you got Mayer going for McCain or Ron Paul, either way their Republicans. Truth be told the American election must be one of the most interesting elections. Even Pete Wentz is getting into it.

It just goes to show that economically, what either of these guys do isn't going to matter. It's precisely because of economic independence that there's this stiff competition. Cause if you think about it, if you're poor, and the current government ain't doing shit, you're going to want change. And if the next one isn't doing shit either, you're going to change again. And the choice becomes simple, pick the one that didn't fuck up. If you run out of choices, choose another guy to head the party and pick that guy, praying he don't fuck up. And now they're finding it hard to get people to actually vote during election. To a certain extent I understand why. My theory is, it'll all to do with complacency. If you're satisfied with what you have, why change the system? It was the same with Singapore, and still is now I think. It got to the point where the ruling party-PPA is it, or something like that-was winning every conceivable seat so comfortably that there wasn't really a need to vote, cause the ruling party would win anyway. Of course a couple years back the government found that the communist were suddenly gaining ground, very little I think, and the government got a little frantic. Kiasu people right.

But it goes both ways I suppose, where if you cry long enough and no one comes to your attention your just going to give up altogether. It's getting better now with Iraq I suppose. To a certain extent you gotta admire the Americans for standing up to their constitution of freewill and a right to vote. Truthfully, it probably is the longest standing democratic republic in the 21st century.

Bein, so ends my duty. At the rate this blog's going it'll probably be dead in a couple of months. I don't like it's probability of surviving. Or I should, less work. Either way, I've got a test. In a months time then.

P.S. Safina lost. Fucking Williams. I hope Janko kicks her black ass tomorrow, no racism intended of course. I genuinely don't like the Williams sisters. Tiger Woods is cool in my books. So is Usain Bolt. That guys just nuts.

I don't trust myself

I will beg my way into your garden
I will break my way out when it rains
Just to get back to the place where I started
So I can watch you back all over again

Hold on to whatever you find baby
Hold on to whatever will get you through
Hold on to whatever you find baby
I don't trust myself with loving you
-John Mayer-

Mayer says things man.

Hoo haa the Pope's in town...

Not exactly a rhyme but it works. So I have nothing to say about the pope being in town. More specifically Sydney. Not Melbourne. So don't care. I was tempted to call this a political stunt. In retrospect it probably is, from what angel, not sure. Mais, je sais pas. All I know is, he'll probably be gone in about 10 years good old-literally-Pope Benedict but I better stop before someone accuses me of blasphemy. God knows we wouldn't want that eh.

What's up eh? So lets see. Got my results back. Below par. So don't want to talk bout it. Watched Kung Fu Panda, pretty good. Ah, watched The Happening and Shyamalan my good friend, I love his shit but boy has he got it all wrong. I mean conceptually it's pretty sound but a lawnmower on human flesh with all it's grittiness, some discretion would be great I guess. Mamma Mia! boy where do I start. One would expect that in filming a musical film the cast would comprise of people who could actually SING. Pierce Brosnan CANNOT SING. Period. No two ways bout it. He practically KILLED SOS. And Collin Firth also CAN'T SING. Who gives a flying who-ha if he was in Bridget Jones. They should thank their very lucky stars-whoever they are-that Meryl Streep was in the flick. Besides the scenery-very beautiful scenery might I say-and the Meryl Streep-"the" cause she's Meryl Streep-the film fails in comparison with the musical.

Alas, I'm not cut out to be a critic.

Uni's in a couple of weeks. And one can probably tell that I have absolutely nothing to blog about. More appropriately phrased there's just too much to talk about and I can't be bothered blogging. Whichever suits one's perception of me.

"If god did not exist it would be necessary to invent him" says Voltaire. 200 years on nothing can be truer.

Atomised

Fuiyoh, a title on my post after I don't know how many posts. A milestone? Heh, coincidental I call it.

Right. Atomised by Houellebecq. Pretty good shit. It's a cult book definitely. Along the lines of A clockwork orange or even, dare I say it, 1984. It's a satire not so much on society but more on the societal perception of love and emotions all fit nicely within a socio-biological frame. It's controversial, quirky, quite messed up really. But it's pretty good. I personally feel there should be a R18+ stamped on the cover of the book. But alas, maybe the libertarians of this world might disagree. And also worth a note, the book was written in French and translated. Probably explains the abundance of sex scene's.

Besides that I am excruciatingly bored. Holidays are a drag and staying in this godforsaken place doesn't quite help. I don't know what to do. I'd probably go play golf or something except i'ts been raining and the wind ain't helping either. I think I'm just tempted to go to town for the bleeding sake of it. Take a 1 hour tram ride to town and watch a movie and take another 1 hour tram ride back. If thats not a paradigm of nothing better to do I don't know what is. Maybe I go St Kilda while I'm at it, to Luna Park, on my own, in the middle of bloody winter, and get acquainted with the junkies. After all, it is Friday. Actually, thats not a bad idea.

On a tangent. Williams sister's final. Pretty confident bout that. Should be a buzz. So see ya later alligator I suppose.

Right. Exams are over. Results are in approximately 17 days. Wanted to cement that thought. As true with every other post-exam period I find myself contemplating on all the pre-exam plans/routines I set out to for the post-exam only to succumb to the dark side of laziness and being a contented couch potato, TV hogging bastard really. Alas we get a little too critical of ourselves sometimes.

So whats new?

Hmmm...

I've finished reading this book Catch-22 by Heller. Good shit. Its funny in an ironic way. I guess most typical WW2 books would depict the harsh times of war and selfless sacrifice towards country. This is completely the opposite. It focuses on insubordination, struggle to stay alive, basically the other side of the story. Very funny really. It's not typical. Which I love. Definitely worth a read. I find it quite hard to settle into that book. Probably because the author onslaughts you with a whole host of characters. But quite brilliant writing.

Also just finished Catcher in the Rye by Salinger. When I say just I literally mean just. Around 10 minutes ago. For some obscure reason I forgot how to spell minute. Meh bygones. Anyway that book was interesting to say the least. I found the main character rather unbearable but its just good. I don't think its for everyone honestly. The plot was almost like Haddon's book which is too long to type. It starts off as partly gibberish I felt but it took off soon enough. Won't go into details. Can't be bothered.

On a tangent

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SAFINA LOST!!!!!! WTFKNNMCHCBKNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wanted her to kick Serena Williams ass. I like her. Something bout not giving up that appeals to me. Savvy?

And also the Coldplay album's pretty solid. Its different definitely. Its more about sound this album which suits me just fine. Ever notice how songs are almost always about love. That just seems fucked up frankly. But alas they say love makes the world go round. If you believe that kinda shit. Can you tell I'm a cynic?

I was going to blog on how birthdays are for suckers then after much self contemplation I realized that being a cold and heartless bastard and an introverted antisocial won't do me any good. Besides, I've come to the conclusion that birthdays aren't that bad after all and now move on to the neutral side of the for and against campaign for birthdays.

Having said that, what am I going to blog about?

Hmmmm.....*thinking cap on*.........

So if you've been following the news of late the most recent headlines highlights the severe increase in fuel prices. Now I don't pretend I know what happens in Malaysia regarding the sudden fuel hike and Badawi's intention of subsidising fuel. But I can tell you this. Its about damn time. I think we have been living in the illusion of ever lasting fuel for far too long now. But more importantly is cartels take in this sudden increase in prices. Its no secret that they've been sucking us dry like leeches for the past 100 years. Look only at their annual turnover.
ExxonMobil: Turnover of $40 bil.
Shell: $31 bil.

But more importantly, its their inability to innovate thats really causing these price hikes. I was having a chat with one of the environments guy in Uni the other day. He pointed out that had the lobby for Hybrid cars or electric cars been passed in favour of the production of these cars instead of to GM or to ExxonMobil in the States some years ago, we'd prolly be well on our way to these alternative means. But alas, power corrupts power. I think it's just sad that they fail to see the greater implications of their actions I suppose. I guess the top executives aren't really paid to think unless its in terms of dollars and cents. It really is a testament to how much power these companies have. The worst is yet to come I say. Currently we're still doing alright for petrol but if the supply of petroleum ceases all together more derivative products will become too expensive. Think only plastics. Or the various ceramics or semi-conductors. Unless someone like Haber comes out with a cheaper way of making plastics we're in for it.

On another note, there seems to suddenly be a sudden influx of Malaysians in Melbourne. Its freaking me out. Now I live in the suburbs somewhere north of Melbourne. We don't get many Asians here, but lately, there's just so many of them. Lurking in Nando's or over at the meat section of Safeway or Coles. Also, shopping malls are becoming more and more congested with Asians. It's somewhat ironic I guess in a crude kinda way. Heh. The great land down under eh.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CI BAI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

KNNMCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*pfft*...phew........

Right now thats done with we can begin.

So what to blog about. What do my beloved audience of which seem to be dwindling at an exponential rate much like an e graph accept in this instance the numbers does touch the x-axis in which it would be wrong to call it an e graph anyway but I digress. Screw it. Who cares if I digress anyway. I don't even have a contention to digress from. Thats messed up. Heck I'm not even sure the entire paragraph is grammatically correct. Heh. Right. So....

*thinking cap on*

So I've been reading a bit lately. Besides TV and studying(*pfft* yea right....nearly flunked my micro paper, but alas I don't want to talk bout it) I've been reading a bit. And I don't know if it was subconscious or merely luck, though I think the latter would sound more realistic, I was reading a book by Mark Haddon "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" followed by a "Musicophilia" by the talented Dr. Oliver Sacks. The first one is about an autistic boy who while in the midst of living in his own world pretty much trying to find out who killed the dog at night. And the second book is about music and its various effects on people of all sorts targeting mostly the mentally impaired and the sudden urge of musicality or the loss of it due to life threatening accidents of all sorts. And what I found interesting while reading the books especially the latter one was how mysterious the mind was but also how these people seemed to dare challenge the norm of society almost in a catch-22 way. What struck me was the fragility of our mind. The fact that it takes so little for so much to happen was intriguing. The fact that some of these people he mentions were just fine till they woke up one morning hearing the whole 5th symphony in their head.

He mentions cases by which patients with severe Touretts's or Parkinson's disease who under normal circumstances would be incapable of normal stable mobility would be able to become still when induced by music. He talks about how musicians with Tourette's are able to perform when they get in the grove of it. He mentions one particular case where he investigates a person with severe dementia who is under normal circumstances unable to hold a memory for less than a second having been able to hum entire sonata's and symphonies almost from thin air. In that particular case, he talks about the mind being able to carry out automatic operations if you will despite the severe dementia this person is under. But he then makes the distinction between music and these automatic functions like walking or running and how amongst all the agony if you will he is able to chew, recognise his wife. And I got to thinking how amazing these things are. To actually be seemingly in the point of no return to finally find that one could find some refuge and no less in music seems surreal. This to me seems rather empowering and cynical at the same time. The fact that we can depend on music as a source of comfort even when we seemingly have forgotten the very meaning of comfort I find quiet warmth in but I can't help but be critical over the fact that given the state of mind some of these patients are in, what sort of comfort would comfort be if one can't even remember what it fells like anymore.

Of course he talks about the not so nice side of it where music can be a side effect spawned as a result of sudden mishaps or unintentional accidents which involve primarily the disturbance of patterns within the brain. I won't go into detail but I'll mention this. Studies have shown apparently that people of the more phonetic nations like China or Vietnam are more inclined to having perfect pitch as opposed to their English speaking counterparts. Also, perfect pitch occurs more frequently among kids then in adults and perfect pitch is often not inherited but conditioned. So I guess thats bout it. A good read I'd say but quite a bit of medical jargon. But I find its tailored to non-medical students.

EDIT: Fucking font....

FUCK!!!!!!

micro!!!!!!.....................................

London

London...uno
















First take.
















Inside Westminster Abbey

















Also Westminster Abbey































Big Ben outside the Abbey
















Parliament from the bridge which I forgot the name of.































Shot outside Westminster Station which I waited patiently for Ms. Yeang....
















Ah...wait ah................parliament??
















The Abbey itself, not in chronological order I realize..its not even the first place I visited but ah well.
















The Abbey again.
















Emirates Stadium home of Arsenal F.C. it was literally just down the road from Highbury.































Arsenal emblem.































Don't see no Potter nowhere...



And below the decorations for New Years Day in Bond St where Ms. Yeang stays.

I wonder sometimes if I weren't predisposed to this particular place in this particular time, where wold I be. Would I have left for another, or would fate simply dictate that I should end up here no matter what. I believe primarily in choice over chance. But I suppose Dworkin has point when he said not much of what we do comes from our own choices. But, its good to ponder...

Timshel!

I don't really have anything in particular to really ponder about. Because of my teeth aching? I speculate. Certainty lies merely in the fact that I really should see a dentist. Sometime this century if possible.

So I was reading East of Eden a couple months back, and in the book is spoke of a word timshel , thou mayeht. I found it intriguing. The relevant story line, as I recall it, was when these bunch of guys (I won't really go into names, cause unless you've read the book one won't really know) were talking about sin and the bible and its interpretation of sin and repentance. And one of the most profound things I remembered being mentioned was the fact that change was our own choice and that the true power lies in the fact that we want to make a change as opposed to the 'have to' approach. It may seem trivial but I think we forget so much sometimes. Sometimes I think we give god or the bible too much credit and sometimes we think too much of these scriptures that when we actually achieve something we don't stop back and think "Wait, I did some shit too.." and I think too much has been borne out of complacency. Much the same way that what we do is a testament of what happens, what we DON'T do is also a reflection of our idleness. Too much is being put on god and too little upon ourselves. I think we sometimes forget that the only people on this earth RIGHT NOW is us.

I don't dispute the importance of scriptures, seeing as much of the modern constitutions of any nation is based on these scriptures. But I think its like a good book. You take it in, analyze it and we CAN NOT be afraid to CRITICIZE it. Then again, disagreeance among scholars is what sparked civil wars in the first place. Of course, I'm pretty sure, tax plays a big part in most of the wars as well.

Thats it I suppose. Its getting late unfortunately so what else I have to say, some other time will you hear it. Having said that, Steinbeck is cool man...even after he's gone..I guess I did have something to blog about.

Okay. What happened. Got back most of our assignments. Don't want to talk about them.

My SIM card is fucked. I think so is my phone. Either way, its both fucked.

My com is also fucked. Joy.

Quickbook sucks.

Ah, yeah thats bout it really.

I'll entertain with a joke seeing as those last few sentences wasn't exactly...er....pleasant.

Mathematician.
Parrot dies.
What happened?
"Polynomial. Polygon."


There are 10 types of people.
People who can do binary and people who can't.

Yeah, thats all I got, courtesy of my math lecturer. The first one took me a while but its still pretty funny. Think word play.



As a finale.

You know there comes a point in every man's life where he would start of a sentence with those exact words. Fortunately for me, that point in my life hasn't quite arrived yet. I thought I'd just drop that phrase in.

So what has happened. Ah I don't know. Nothing much has happened really. I've been caught up with assignments as is everyone I assume. Unless you're not in uni which is a different case. In which case you'd also have to be studying cause chances are you have A levels exams. Joy!

However, I highly doubt raving on and on on my assignments is really what we want to read about. SO what to blog about?

I don't know what to blog about. I think I'm in silent refusal to think. So, I'll entertain with youtube.


Make sure you listen to the last part, where he holds the 'home'. Bellisimmo!