This is a great playlist, one that I really like. =)
And in complement here is a song. One that could keep one dreaming throughout the day.
And here are some places. They're they stuff I dream about, the ones that could teach me why. (Or could that just be wishful thinking?)
This is how I wish I learnt. I want to be able to learn and grow how I never imagined myself to be before. Bigger and better than I ever have been.
This is a story about a man called Allah.
It's interesting how the very idea of calling a man after the name of God makes me very uneasy. It's a thought that is taught, I am to submit to my religion, my beliefs. I am nothing but a slave to my God. I do things to gain favour in God's eyes, to be worthy of heaven. I am not sure if I'm doing it correctly anymore,
But this story is about a man who called himself Allah. How preposterous. A man could not call himself a god. I am struck by the definition of Allah - "I Self Lord Am Master". I like the idea of Islam being what it is to me regardless of what anyone else, what Imam, what old folks, what other judgemental pricks think of me. If I don't follow their rules, I can still be a Muslim. Regardless of what I do and how I look, I still believe in in Allah. I hope that's all that matters.
The second story is about the dark side of Dubai.
It's the story of how Dubai is like a mirage, it looks great on the outside but inside it's a dictatorship. It covers so many things - on maids, slaves, blatant ignorance of their ecological impact, mindsets, etc. Dubai has grown damn fast and to think that the people are immediately conditioned to accept Dubai in its new glory is amazing. Horrible things are happening under their very noses and yet the people can't do much about it. And it's becoming a story that is spreading from place to place. However, with the rest of us there is the hope that democracy could save the day - the average Joe would be able to help make decisions, and in the end we wouldn't take the path to destruction. But in a dictatorship, how is that possible without shedding blood? It seems wholly unnecessary. It seems like a regression towards barbarism.
The third story is about decolonial aesthesis - how decolonized societies feel about themselves.
It was interesting how the story highlights the neo-colonization - the colonization of the mind, the senses. The perception of how one side is better than the other. And I think I am one of those trapped within this tight frame of mind of Western is better. It is not. It's just different. Like how different genres are different and how art is different from food. They're unique in their own ways and yet none is lesser than the other. I have to avoid unconscious bias and evaluate things as they are. Along the lines of all men are equal, I think it's how it should be treated because everyone would like to be treated that way.
In the end, so we can believe that everyone can reach for the stars. And no matter where you start from, you can succeed.
I know I would never take drug if I ever were curious this is worth reading through...
And is I were curious of how Neil Gaiman views the world... this is worth reading through...
This is a subreddit worth looking through... as Edward Denham recommends. =P
This looks like a good Jane Austen resource.
... is apparently what Doctor Who fans call themselves.
And I think I am now a Whovian. =D
This qualifies me for nothing more than a license to discuss Doctor Who. After watching the rebooted Series 1 from 2005, with Charles Eccleston on helm, I am officially hooked. But it sure did take a while.
I think it was because it was scarier than I anticipated. I do not like to be freaked out. Bad dreams are just bad dreams and they haunt. My mind juggles up random thoughts and influences and scary shit stays with me. It will haunt me again in some inopportune future when I am alone and I have to be brave.
Never mind that.
So I watched this season and I didn't understand a lot of things. I didn't understand why Rose found the Doctor so attractive and is willing to go warping through time with him. He looks a bit scary and goofy at the same time with the enthusiasm, big black leather jacket and big ears.I don't understand her wardrobe either. (Don't they dress up there? But I guess that just show how long I've been away from England.) But the Doctor still manages to charm me with all the caring bits, the scary bits (when he gets mad mad MAD at the Daleks) and his ability to just know what's what the madness is.
And the ability to pass off the old special effects and robot ideas as futuristic is pretty top class! I don't think that robot imaginings look like the Daleks any more! But this passes off! Brilliant! It's all part of the amazing storytelling, and I have not been through such wacky storyline in a while! I like the twists! I mean, I know to a certain extent that the Doctor is going to save the day, but the kind of messes they're in are magic! That would be THE kind of situations to solve -take that consultants!
The other companions are either cute (Adam) HOT (Captain Jack). That makes a girl very very happy. =D Captain Jack especially. He started out with that uniform... Mmm... Like a futuristic renegade James Bond. I liked his gadgets and I like his moves. It was fun watching him glide on the screen. I am sure, I want to watch Torchwood.
I also like how the cast was very varied. This surprised me, the fact that American TV is VERY polarized. I haven't seen a show with such a mix of races in a while. A lot of characters in a lot of American shows are predominantly white. Now Doctor Who comes in and wham -Rose has a black boyfriend, which should not be such a shocker but it is. The cast is mostly British, and they're multicoloured. It's a given. And then, there are all these aliens all the time. They've got to keep accepting, no matter how weird it looks. Personally, I have no racist issues unless they start being dicks about it. But I got used to certain things. Now, it;s time to shake it up. =)
I've watched the NEW Doctor in action. Hello, David Tennet - Doctor number 10. And by golly, there's a trend here. The Doctor is not, in general, your stereotypical "hot". Not at first. But sue me, when he started saving the day in the Christmas Invasion, I certainly warmed up to him. Sword fights, yeah. (He is a skinny bloke though. To think that he can handle himself in a sword fight with an alien is a bit... oh really?) I find the fact that he's rediscovering himself in that form to be pretty cool. As in, each Doctor will carry an aspect of the character. He may be the Doctor, but he's not the same. This allows the actors to interpret the Doctor in their own way, giving different facets to the character. For example, the dapper suit. When he wore it, I think I literally swooned! This Doctor I could crush on! -
And the scary bit was when Harriet, the Prime Minister set the Torchwood ray towards the alien spacecraft. I didn't realize how a bad a repercussion it is on the Doctor. Like, sure, the aliens are bad but Harriet was worse to kill them like that. But Harriet has a point too. Who was going to take care of the world when the Doctor isn't around?
I'm liking this world so far!
"This world is DEFENDED!"
"Exterminate! Exterminate!"
This is an example of chaos to greater order.
This is advice from Warren Buffet.
This is a perspective on how language and media can change perception.
Felicia Day has tumblr. I like her.
This is a story about depression. I think I have been though it.
This is a geek girl page. I like how the main icon changes outfits.
And I read this.
Some parts of the article caught my eye.
1. The fact that while Microsoft might be the norm for most people, it is not so within the tech media and tech elite, as proven with the example of the conference. Which is awkward but true. And helping with entrepreneurs is one way to change some of their minds on the brand but it would take a while.
2. Internal bickering. I keep hearing things are changing at Microsoft. I don't know how true that is. but I could only hope this gives me more opportunity.
I know I should be doing work but this is an idea I want to shelve.
The vast room and the small bed. With the fan whirring and the light on. The laptop is my boombox, playing on the bed. Something from SoundCloud is playing (Sorang by Orang), some dream inducing tune, floats through the night air. And I myself am draped haphazardly on the bed. Half asleep, half alive. On my stomach with my arms and legs spilling over the side of the bed. With my glasses dangling in my hand. On my back with my legs piled up in the air. Sitting up, eyes closed, legs stretched out and bare.
These are the portraits I'd take of myself when I have the camera. I think it would look interesting.
I just read this... article: The Touch Screen Generation
And I want to fly of to two tangents of thought.
The first is more obvious, being the article itself. It is a worry, how much people spend time online, in front of the screens as opposed to outside, exploring cooking, moving, and just doing things physically, with hands and feet. Learning to move, learning to live. It's bad enough amongst the youth, and we are all old enough to control ourselves (to a certain extent), make conscious decisions on our actions. Like when you spend too much time on Facebook and not enough time studying, your probability of understanding the subject is lower, etc. But when you're a baby... your mind is still being formed, you act on your desires and your perceptions and habits are still being built. I do not know what kind of immediate thoughts and reflexes they would have. I don't know what kind of perceptions that they have toward people and the world. I mean, I find what I have already an oddity amongst the people of my everyday. But that maybe because I know how weird things are going on in my head but not how weird things go on in other heads. So when thinking about kids and technology and how it affects their little minds makes people queasy at best. We don't know until they grow up and generate their own content. I have had conversations lamenting missing childhoods of the children of the future. It's generally understood if kids have hard, abusive backgrounds, they could grow up being abusive themselves. Children of criminals grow up doing crimes. So what do children of the ipad turn out to be? The internet is largely a lawless prairie, and where would kids learn about humanity and right and wrong in there? Would they turn out to be plastic folks who only care about their YouTube counts? Woud they feel like real life isn't worth making the effort? But these are only the extreme scenarios. The point is though, I think this article addresses that there is an uneasiness despite how many educational apps are made.
But I also believe in the last idea, where technology is treated as another tool, not something to be paranoid about. When it ceases to be special and placed on a pedestal of taboos, it ceases to be a focus. Then it won't craved as much. Living without it would be a challenge though. The world is becoming increasingly connected, so when you have to go on without your phone it sends little bells of alarm out in your mind. It is almost unheard of to not have a phone now. It is a necessity. So you don't need to be in a bubble and detach yourself from the world like the childhoods past.
But on the other hand, there is no backup plan for when there is no internet, when there is no electricity, when there is no technology. To be able to know if you can live without it is somewhat reassuring. But sometimes, when you leave the house without the phone, it's good to know that you will be fine.
The other observation is a more... personal one. I keep saying "I read about..." This makes me think how my life and thoughts kind of revolved around reading. I'd be even more socially awkward otherwise. If I didn't have that and lived the way I do, what on earth would I talk about? Daily life is so mundane in comparison. Nobody else wants to know the details anyway.
Don't have your heart broken in two,
Before Sunrise is a story about how a guy met a girl in a
train and they hang out for one night. And they just chill, talking about
anything and everything under the sun while, at the same time, walking through beautiful
Vienna with its trams and amazing buildings. It's fascinating how easy it is,
just two people talking the kind of talking that makes you feel so alive
afterward because you've contemplated love and life and you come out knowing
that life is amazing, your life is amazing and maybe you've fallen in love with
the other person. It's like When Harry Met Sally and Annie Hall and stuff. What
I liked most about them wasn't (just) the sappy romance and the happily ever after,
I liked the other stuff they talked about, the ideas and the jokes. Stuff that
didn't necessarily drive the story but rather explored the other facets of
their world and imagination. The stuff of dreams and idle contemplation. It's
the art form that everyone is unconsciously (or consciously) perfecting, the
conveyance of thought to drive the spark of connection. It's the stuff that
makes people become friends, fall in love, drive changes.
Sometimes, it's interesting to take a moment and just muse about how you got to where you are at the moment. Like, today, I'm in an at gallery, studying while waiting for lunch. In the gallery is a Thai delegation party and they're snapping photos of everything, including me. And the strange thing was I was acting like this was a normal occurrence. As if I was part of the scene, just like the art. Maybe it's because I'm too tired to compute beyond that.
