Monday, December 31, 2007
Happy New Year!
We'll return to our regular ranting in 2008.
We'll return to our regular ranting in 2008.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
5 stages of Grief
This is the term given to the 5 stages that people go thru when they deal with grief, tragedy etc. It's been used on House and Scrubs before and I thought the concept is quite interesting and fairly true. So I decided to use it to write a story.
Stage 1: Denial
Stage 4: Depression
I can’t believe it. I got passed over for the promotion again. I really thought that I would get it this time round. But no, once again I get screwed over. Why damn it, why?!!!
“Hey you feeling ok? A couple of the guys and I are going down to the pub for a drink. Come with us. A couple of drinks will make all your troubles go away.”
“Sure why not, can’t possibly make things worse.”
Stage 5: Acceptance
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to cherish, for better or for worse, till death do you part?”
“I do.”
This is the term given to the 5 stages that people go thru when they deal with grief, tragedy etc. It's been used on House and Scrubs before and I thought the concept is quite interesting and fairly true. So I decided to use it to write a story.
Stage 1: Denial
The evidence was stacked against him. They had found the murder weapon with his fingerprints on them. His alibi had fallen through. His lawyer had advised him to plead guilty in the hopes of getting a lighter sentence and hopefully avoid the death penalty, however he had decided otherwise. He would fight the case.
As the court asked him during his pre-trial: “How do you plead?”
“Not Guilty”.
Stage 2: Anger
The papers had come in the mail earlier that day. They were divorce papers. His words had failed to convince her to give him another chance. He had slipped once but she had refused to give him another chance. He deserved another chance. The divorce would cost him half of everything he had as well. He was not going to let her do this to him. Anger clouded his mind as he left his apartment that day.Stage 3: Bargaining
“Come on. Give me another chance. It was a moment of weakness. I was drunk. I didn’t mean to cheat on you. Look, give me another chance. Don’t put down the phone. Please.”Stage 4: Depression
I can’t believe it. I got passed over for the promotion again. I really thought that I would get it this time round. But no, once again I get screwed over. Why damn it, why?!!!
“Hey you feeling ok? A couple of the guys and I are going down to the pub for a drink. Come with us. A couple of drinks will make all your troubles go away.”
“Sure why not, can’t possibly make things worse.”
Stage 5: Acceptance
“Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to cherish, for better or for worse, till death do you part?”
“I do.”
Lowering The Standards For Future Christmas Dinners..
As I type this, it is now the 26th of December. Christmas came and went. Christmas dinner was a particularly .. sad/unusual event. Haha.. The venue: Nus Lab. Why? Because Martin was stuck in the lab on Christmas and he was feeling particularly depressed so we went over. People: Marnchi, Daryl and myself. So there we were, deciding on what to eat for dinner before deciding on the cheapest option. Going to Colds Storage to buy 2 chickens (or really small turkeys are Daryl puts it), cream cheese spread, pita bread, chilli sauce, grapes and ribena. Yes. That was our christmas dinner in a lab with Martin doing his fly experiments. Also played with his pet praying mantis for a bit. Fed it a dragonfly.
Upside of this, future christmas can't be worse than this. Haha..
As I type this, it is now the 26th of December. Christmas came and went. Christmas dinner was a particularly .. sad/unusual event. Haha.. The venue: Nus Lab. Why? Because Martin was stuck in the lab on Christmas and he was feeling particularly depressed so we went over. People: Marnchi, Daryl and myself. So there we were, deciding on what to eat for dinner before deciding on the cheapest option. Going to Colds Storage to buy 2 chickens (or really small turkeys are Daryl puts it), cream cheese spread, pita bread, chilli sauce, grapes and ribena. Yes. That was our christmas dinner in a lab with Martin doing his fly experiments. Also played with his pet praying mantis for a bit. Fed it a dragonfly.
Upside of this, future christmas can't be worse than this. Haha..
Friday, December 21, 2007
A Touching Tale For The Season.
It might be fake and all. But here's a tale for the less cynical:
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/12/15/man-carves-wife-a-6000-stair-path-in-mountain/
It might be fake and all. But here's a tale for the less cynical:
http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/12/15/man-carves-wife-a-6000-stair-path-in-mountain/
Sunday, December 16, 2007
And Osama Bin Laden's Real Ident is...
Here's a less preachy/ranting based post. Just a comic strip I came across. Quite funny, especially if u recognise the character.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Carrot or the Stick?
There's this famous experiment involving a dog and a bell done by this guy called Pavlov. Long story short, basically he was able to train a dog to salivate when it heard the sound of a bell because the dog came to associate the sound of the bell with food. This became the foundation for some form of behaviour modification/conditioning. It's primitive but it's probably still used on animals and humans. Students are trained to recognise this in school as well with the punishment and reward system.
Now to the matter at hand: The taxi fare increase. I just noticed a trend. Everytime we complain, the government increases the prices. Complain about heavy traffic on road during rush hour, they had ERP. Complain about jam on CTE, they added ERP. People say hard to find taxi, taxi fares increase.. Anyone else observing a pattern here? I admit I'm kinda slow on this. But it makes sense you see, when you complain about how screwed up the government is, they get paid more.. Q.E.D: Therefore it is proven.
Let's test out this hypothesis of mine. What's the thing that a lot of people are complaining about now?
So I ask you: Is this the carrot or the stick? Maybe we should be obedient and stop complaining people, seeing how it almost always comes back to bite you in the backside. After all a dog was able to learn this.
There's this famous experiment involving a dog and a bell done by this guy called Pavlov. Long story short, basically he was able to train a dog to salivate when it heard the sound of a bell because the dog came to associate the sound of the bell with food. This became the foundation for some form of behaviour modification/conditioning. It's primitive but it's probably still used on animals and humans. Students are trained to recognise this in school as well with the punishment and reward system.
Now to the matter at hand: The taxi fare increase. I just noticed a trend. Everytime we complain, the government increases the prices. Complain about heavy traffic on road during rush hour, they had ERP. Complain about jam on CTE, they added ERP. People say hard to find taxi, taxi fares increase.. Anyone else observing a pattern here? I admit I'm kinda slow on this. But it makes sense you see, when you complain about how screwed up the government is, they get paid more.. Q.E.D: Therefore it is proven.
Let's test out this hypothesis of mine. What's the thing that a lot of people are complaining about now?
So I ask you: Is this the carrot or the stick? Maybe we should be obedient and stop complaining people, seeing how it almost always comes back to bite you in the backside. After all a dog was able to learn this.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Nice surprise in the mail..
I got a nice present in the mail yesterday. From a long time friend. I still don't know what it is because the cards attached say not to open till Christmas. It was a nice surprise and I'm sure it'll be another nice surprise when I open it on the 25th.
Anyway the present also serves as a reminder that Christmas is coming and as such, the end of the year is coming. My view of the season has changed a lot since I was a kid. Christmas used to be getting loot and playing with the cousins. However as I've grown older, Christmas is now just another day. I don't really care for the loot and as for playing with the cousins, I guess we've all outgrown it.
And it's also kinda depressing because the end of the year is coming. It means I've wasted yet another year. End of the year makes me depressed. I know there is no difference between the 31st of Dec and the 1st of Jan. There is no sudden epiphany at 12mn. It would be nice if there was. I guess it's always about the little things.
... and though it seems the road is long ...
I got a nice present in the mail yesterday. From a long time friend. I still don't know what it is because the cards attached say not to open till Christmas. It was a nice surprise and I'm sure it'll be another nice surprise when I open it on the 25th.
Anyway the present also serves as a reminder that Christmas is coming and as such, the end of the year is coming. My view of the season has changed a lot since I was a kid. Christmas used to be getting loot and playing with the cousins. However as I've grown older, Christmas is now just another day. I don't really care for the loot and as for playing with the cousins, I guess we've all outgrown it.
And it's also kinda depressing because the end of the year is coming. It means I've wasted yet another year. End of the year makes me depressed. I know there is no difference between the 31st of Dec and the 1st of Jan. There is no sudden epiphany at 12mn. It would be nice if there was. I guess it's always about the little things.
... and though it seems the road is long ...
Thursday, December 06, 2007
A Different Means Of Social Commentary
Watched the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth today. This is actually the 4th or 5th time I've caught this episode but I never fail to catch this episode because I think it's one of the best series finales ever written for a sitcom. This series takes place at the front lines during world war one or as it was referred to back then : The Great War. The majority of this series is just typical sitcom stuff with occasional comments made about the war and decisions made then.
Anyway the last episode is about the team led by Cpt Blackadder, Cpt Darling, Lt George (played by Hugh Laurie) and Pte Baldrick going over the top for the big push. During the lead up to the big push, they all comment about how stupid the war is and why they can't just stop fighting and go home. Then in the last scene, the whistle blows and they all charge. This could be taken as good or bad if not for the fact that this scene takes place in 1917. The war would only stop in 1918, leading the viewer to infer that they died. Then finally the scene fades to a field of flowers. I believe this is also the same field of flowers which was once used in an episode of Charlie Brown which also dealt with similar themes.
Anyway, drawing parallels to the current war going on in Iraq. The thing about war is this: War is a lot like gambling. The longer you stay in, your losses are only going to increase. However you stay in because you've already put too much in.
From a big picture point of view, I think humour is a good tool to make a social commentary. Especially here in you-know-where. Was reading up and turns out this isn't an old concept. Court Jesters used to be used for this very purpose. To say things which would otherwise be punishable by death, but because it is said by the jester, it is considered to be said in "jest".
I would like to see our tv sitcoms go beyond the daily drivel and do some "jesting" about recent events. Anything, ERP fares, Taxi hikes, GST, food prices, ministerial pay raises etc. Anything to give some dimension to the shows.
Say what you will about the "decadent" west, but at least they can speak up.
Watched the last episode of Blackadder Goes Forth today. This is actually the 4th or 5th time I've caught this episode but I never fail to catch this episode because I think it's one of the best series finales ever written for a sitcom. This series takes place at the front lines during world war one or as it was referred to back then : The Great War. The majority of this series is just typical sitcom stuff with occasional comments made about the war and decisions made then.
Anyway the last episode is about the team led by Cpt Blackadder, Cpt Darling, Lt George (played by Hugh Laurie) and Pte Baldrick going over the top for the big push. During the lead up to the big push, they all comment about how stupid the war is and why they can't just stop fighting and go home. Then in the last scene, the whistle blows and they all charge. This could be taken as good or bad if not for the fact that this scene takes place in 1917. The war would only stop in 1918, leading the viewer to infer that they died. Then finally the scene fades to a field of flowers. I believe this is also the same field of flowers which was once used in an episode of Charlie Brown which also dealt with similar themes.
Anyway, drawing parallels to the current war going on in Iraq. The thing about war is this: War is a lot like gambling. The longer you stay in, your losses are only going to increase. However you stay in because you've already put too much in.
From a big picture point of view, I think humour is a good tool to make a social commentary. Especially here in you-know-where. Was reading up and turns out this isn't an old concept. Court Jesters used to be used for this very purpose. To say things which would otherwise be punishable by death, but because it is said by the jester, it is considered to be said in "jest".
I would like to see our tv sitcoms go beyond the daily drivel and do some "jesting" about recent events. Anything, ERP fares, Taxi hikes, GST, food prices, ministerial pay raises etc. Anything to give some dimension to the shows.
Say what you will about the "decadent" west, but at least they can speak up.
