How Did We Get Here?

Yet another defeat, and one point out of a possible nine with Shearer at the helm. Five games left, second from the bottom and four points adrift of safety at this moment (depending on how well Hull City perform next). I really never knew I'd be here, and the message got really driven home the other day after my Cognitive Psychology paper when I headed back to school with Shawn and, among the general musing, we started talking about soccer.

The past one or two weeks, there was Porto vs Manchester United, Arsenal vs Chelsea, and so on along the vein of mainstream news right now. Exciting stuff. Then he suddenly recalled I was a Newcastle fan and asked a very vague and generic, "how ah?"

It's one of those things that are really hard to swallow, and just so taboo to even think about. A club as huge as Newcastle United vanishing from top flight football, with a long history that has had its fair share of glory, but which has began to dry up within the last few seasons. All the while when you're a Newcastle fan, you just insiduously and subconsciously learn to develop this sense of humour because you just can't take them too seriously. I only realised about over a year back that I've found it hard to get my hopes up with the Magpies anymore. But as always, I still doggedly stood by them.

There was a time when I could say that sometimes, Newcastle play such exciting football because they've got a certain classic British x-factor about their style of play. Even during that time, Newcastle would slip into bouts of really retarded defending and gameplay that I wish I could be there playing for them. Such was the kind of kick you'd get from being a Newcastle fan. For the longest time, that kick had always been there ever since I fell in love with them in 1998 when Newcastle signed Alan Shearer for £15m and boasted a daring, swashbuckling three-man attack (most teams play only two strikers). They were terribly exciting to watch. But that time has gone; the climate has changed into unceasingly wondering how low they can keep the number of goals conceded to.

When you go out on the street and ask people which teams they support, you'd get answers like Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea. But you'd never really know what that means. There are just so many people supporting teams like Manchester United that it just isn't special anymore. But when you meet a dude who supports Newcastle United, you'd know he's different, and you probably know a lot more about each other simply because of the tears and joy Newcastle United brings to its fans. It is always a unique experience being a member of the Toon Army, and every season brings about that characteristic experience that, while it can barely be explained properly, we can call our own.

So I tried saying all of that to Shawn in response to his vague and generic question (and I don't think a Newcastle fan can ever do a good job conveying that to a non-fan), and then he said that he used to be a Leeds United fan, who have been out of the top-flight for the longest time. And then the reality hit so hard that I couldn't stop regretting all the cynical jibes I've been lacing on every poor Newcastle performance in the last one season or so, just to brush off the 'sigh yet another vintage poor game from the black and white' looks I get from quizzical friends wondering how I, as a competitive soccer player, could put up with that, in a dismissive bid to avoid answering too many questions. Ah, it's just another typical Newcastle game la. Sian.

But now, would I be faced with the horrific fate that Shawn had with Leeds? Shawn jumped ship and became a Manchester United fan (pah, typical). After 11 years, I don't think so. If they're going down, I've decided that it will be a season, or however many seasons, of not being able to catch them in action on TV. It has been bad as it is already because SCV only shows Newcastle games when they're playing big teams. For the club, it is almost like death, except that resurrection is possible. But if anything, it will be the biggest wake up call in the club's history.

Which then brings me here to today, all of that culminating into rushing down to the prata shop to watch Newcastle take on Tottenham Hotspurs at White Hart Lane. I'd spent the whole evening trying to stream it on Sopcast on my computer but it couldn't work, and 15min into the game I couldn't take it hearing commentary but not seeing anything anymore so I went out by myself.

The match doesn't need much detail, except that Newcastle conceded a goal in the first half and never caught up, concluding in a 1-0 defeat. Alan Shearer tried sparking something to life by throwing in four strikers (Martins, Smith, Owen and Viduka) but although they came close on a couple of occasions, the finishing was dismal.

Once in a while, the camera would zoom in on the traveling Toon Army fans, and the few they shot carried the expressions of thousands of Newcastle fans all over the world - a mixture of dismay, agony and helplessness, but at the same time fused with a resolute refusal to give up on the team and some vestige of hope still being clung on to. And there I was, sitting alone with other random prata, kopi and football patrons (it was a tiny fraction of the kind of turnout you'd get there for a Chelsea vs Manchester United game), biting my nails and willing Newcastle to play harder and better, as if my brainwaves could somehow travel into the screen and zap energy into the battling players who, for some reason, are playing out of their skins but just can't seem to find that vital touch. And although, in the end, it was futile as we crashed to another defeat, I knew for that moment that we were joined all over the world, hearts and hands together, screaming C'MON NEWCASTLE! in our heads, just hoping for a miracle.

Soccer has been my life for the most part, and I suppose you could say that being a soccer player with no team to support is like being a spiritual person without a religion. Having to follow a team down into relegation and being denied of watching them play comes a little close, but doesn't match up as long as I continue holding on to that connection and support I have for them. However the season unfolds, best of luck Newcastle. I can see all the players fighting so hard for it, even if confidence is low, even though, in spite of all the pressing on, things just can't seem to go right. I'd go right down with them. You'll do us proud no matter what now.


I used to know you so well.




Don't count your eggs until the chicken's laid them.
- Sir Bobby Robson

Audio Candy:
Apocalyptica Feat. Adam Gontier - I Don't Care

17 Hours To Liberación

It can't get any more Singaporeanly inane when my dad brings back disposable stuff from overseas (toothbrushes, toothpastes, soap, etc) so that he can collect them and then use them overseas next time to reduce baggage weight, and then brings a whole new stash home from the trip so the cycle repeats.



Conversations with the old birds from my soccer team have always brought to light axioms from experience, since they're graduating or have already graduated and have stepped into the mire of the working world.

The latest two that have come to the fore are that saying internships are valuable is a gross understatement, and that overseas experience is a highly prized notch on the resume to companies hiring now.

So many things to do, so little time with only two years left. With the way things are economically, it wouldn't hurt to be allowed to hang around school a little longer, except that it's not so simple when you're a guy and there are expectations, both explicit and hidden.



Committing myself to studying psychology now is a wonderful thing, but it comes at a price. Psychology isn't particularly concerned with the beauty of writing, although good writing capability is still prized (and often lacking). By choosing psychology over other social sciences, like political science and sociology, I guess I've let go of the chance to explore writing in a more argumentative, creative and abstract manner for now.

After submitting my cognitive psychology term paper last week, I was just thinking that there's just so much you can go in terms of writing for psychology. From now on, psychology modules will be all about learning more psychology concepts, but there will no longer be anything new to learn in terms of writing technique. Everything has been covered after the research methods and design, measurement and analysis modules.

I'm always looking forward to pursuing modules in those other areas though, with Globalization of World Politics and Social Stratification on my list.

Aside from that, I'm also considering the Spanish module after summer. I've always been enthralled by the language ever since I was 13 or 14 because it is seductive, poetic and smooth, and self-learning has proven to be extremely futile for the past 2 years.



Anyway, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before but Chinhong and I are trying out a little research on our own to try and draw links between school performance and personality. I won't reveal too much except that so far, the initial hypothesis still remains inadequately supported, but on a side note it seems like orderliness is a factor for school performance for NUS students while inquisitiveness is a factor for school performance for SMU students.

To help us in this research, click here to take the test. Muchas gracias!




Duct tape is like the force, it has a light side and a dark side and it holds the universe together.

Audio Candy:
System Of A Down - Vicinity Of Obscenity

Be My Navigator

You're the wonder in everything that's wonderful.

Max Brenner's chocolate is heavenly. I should invest in a fondue machine.



Y Homeless FC won HELO FC 8-1 on saturday. I nearly got on the scoresheet finally only to squander my chances so badly. But it's the best I think I've played in a long while. Right wing really is my best position.

Our league record so far is really quite 'disgusting'.

33 goals scored and 6 conceded, making it a goal difference of +27 haha.



"I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but that all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it."

In art as in life, true value is gained in the journey towards what is important. To lose sight of that is to completely lose all sense of self and purpose.

Audio Candy:
Stone Temple Pilots - Wonderful

One Day We'll Get Nostalgic For Disaster

Here's a rather sadistic-esque Hannibal Lecter/Saw perspective.

The latest prawning rate has hit 19 in 3 hours. We're on our way to prawn master (or more contemporarily known as prawn hero) soon!

Angie has also declared herself, by virtue mostly of association (and perhaps sympathy), a Newcastle United fan. I don't care if the only reason why is because she thinks that Newcastle has lotsa cute guys. I doubt there would be any other way either, considering their miserly 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at home over the weekend.



A couple of weeks ago I secured my Pearson Ed South Asia internship. It's a weird feeling cos while I didn't expect to get an internship so easily, I wasn't expecting to not get the job either considering the relevance of my job experience that I had stated in my resume. It's back to the editorial and publishing grind again (with glee), but this time with a company of academic authority. It will be an interesting learning experience that is still somewhat within my element, sans the completely horrid Jurong location.



The hunger to push knowledge and creative boundaries is beckoning again. I want to do a new piece of art. I want to write. I want to learn a new skill. I want to understand a new concept. I want to read a new book. I want to achieve something small but novel. School is simply getting in the way like a fat, obnoxious man at a narrow gantry.



Time is proving to be a rather luxurious commodity, and it can only get worse the next two weeks.








The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Audio Candy:
Joni Mitchell - Both Sides Now

Welcome Back

Perhaps the thought of Newcastle missing out on top flight football for once is too much too bear. With them languishing at third from bottom, Alan Shearer has finally taken over the reins, and maybe now there's hope.




Q. What's the difference between the Toon defence and a taxi driver?
A. A taxi driver will only let in four at a time.

Audio Candy:
ACDC - Highway To Hell

More Geekfreak / The Schrödinger Equation

Schrödinger Equation

In physics, especially quantum mechanics, the Schrödinger equation is an equation that describes how the quantum state of a physical system changes in time. It is as central to quantum mechanics as Newton's laws are to classical mechanics.

In the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics, the quantum state, also called a wavefunction or state vector, is the most complete description that can be given to a physical system. Solutions to Schrödinger's equation describe not only atomic and subatomic systems, electrons and atoms, but also macroscopic systems, possibly even the whole universe. The equation is named after Erwin Schrödinger, who discovered it in 1926.

Schrödinger's equation can be mathematically transformed into Heisenberg's matrix mechanics, and into Feynman's path integral formulation. The Schrödinger equation describes time in a way that is inconvenient for relativistic theories, a problem which is not as severe in Heisenberg's formulation and completely absent in the path integral.

(From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger_equation)



It's things like these that just make me wish I was better at the mathematical part of science. I really frickin' wish I knew exactly what all this is about. It's akin to a wormhole in my head leading to a whole new paradigm of knowledge that I could have but don't because I lack the electromagnetic field and space-time requirements for it.




Quantum physics - The dreams stuff is made of.

Audio Candy:
Avenged Sevenfold - Dear God

Geekfreak

Typing away furiously at the keys, aligning words on a document, cutting down on text to fit the word limit, switching from one assignment to another, flipping through pages of 3-inch thick books, running back from school to the library because of a realization that the previous book had a useful source, opening websites in new tabs, scouring over online resources, searching intensively for half an hour - AND always eventually finding what I need, sending out update emails, pondering over a theoretical argument, being in a state of academic thought and deliberation non-stop the whole day.

That was roughly my state of mind from Friday through til today, and I LOVED it.

I really love this intensive drowning in academic work, especially when it involves researching, sifting through books, considering arguments, formulating essays and writing. And I will always be anal because I don't want it to be anything but the best that can come from me, if not in quality then in the form of formatting and bibliography. Every source must be cited, every reference must be documented.

And in the end I did learn stuff. I feel more well versed in the history of Xi'an and the business viability of its location and current economic situation, I feel less alien to the differences between selection, recruitment, performance management and compensation of Singapore and Britain. I feel leveled up.

I guess when it comes to work, I'll always be an individualist.

Today marked the end of the hell part of everyone's favouritely coined hell week for me.




A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.

Audio Candy:
Broken Social Scene - Stars And Sons

Soccer Philosophy

I chanced upon an article today which talked about some of the things soccer has always driven me effortlessly to ponder about. I have itched to write about some of these things but never really got down to doing it, perhaps because there is to some extent a cliched nature of soccer philosophy, often brought to the masses in random packets of gibberish by managers and coaches and ex-professionals.

This article sums up a few of the things that have always tickled my mind when soccer is in question, and perhaps acts as a frame of mind for anyone who might be interested in knowing more about the sport beyond its facade of 11 men chasing after a ball, grossly overpaid players and petty violence.

When you're on the pitch playing and there's nothing but you, the ball, all these things around you and a split second to make a decision, everything gets so elegantly summed up in a moment its like attaining some form of revelation with everything and nothing at all, all at once.

One can never fully convince a Chinese man who knows no English that a particular Shakespearean prose is beautiful. All I can say is that I truly wish that the ones who can't appreciate it can know how much more it is than they think.



Soccer brings out the philosopher in us
By Douglas Todd
08-16-2008

When I need real insight into the meaning of life, I have been known to sidestep famous philosophers like William James, Jean-Paul Sartre and Lao-Tzu and go straight to the hard stuff: Books about soccer.

There is nothing like soccer to focus the mind on the art of living, on making sense of the sweet bitterness of existence. For me soccer (a.k.a. football) has a complexity and cohesiveness the Olympics do not.

The Olympics don't speak to me about philosophy, whereas the globe's most popular sport offers natural metaphors for life's fluidity, ambiguity, corruption, idealism, communality and beauty.

Too many Olympic sports, with exceptions such as soccer, of course, and field hockey, require women and men to become like machines, fixated on going just a millimetre higher or a microgram heavier or a millisecond faster.

I am a tad biased (my sons, by the way, play soccer far more than I ever did.) But even those who don't like soccer have to acknowledge that a flood of good-to-great books have been written about it since Nick Hornby's surprising 1992 bestseller, Fever Pitch.

Fever Pitch is about the inner workings of a boy-man from a divorced household who finds delight, torment and healing in the then-dreary London soccer team, Arsenal (which happens to be my favorite team in the English Premier League, whose season kicks off today.)

Before highlighting some of the remarkable books written about soccer in the past 16 years, it's pleasing to confirm Vancouver author Alan Twigg has recently added the first Canadian voice to the pantheon of those who have leaned on the sport to say something important.

In Full-Time: A Soccer Story, Twigg, with complete lack of pretension, offers large dollops of down-home philosophy as he recounts the way his over-50s team, the Point Grey Legends, jet off on a risky adventure to Spain to play several teams of ex-professionals.

Along the journey, Twigg muses honestly about his own semi-erotic obsession with the ball. He delves into the vagaries of romance, the need for glory, self-doubt, the Canadian identity, aging, loyalty and how soccer connects people in weird ways.

In a fine section on the unusual courage it takes to be a referee, Twigg pulls out the philosophical stops about the value of bringing order to the apparent chaos of life, comparing the ref to a priest.

"The referee, like the priest, must be a complex personality. He must have a strong ego in order to rise to the challenge of his job, and yet he must resist all signs of his egocentricity."

The referee plays a transcendent role. "In the eyes of the others, the referee can only be a loser, never a winner, and so he enters each match with the private hope that he might walk off the pitch at the end of ninety minutes as a completely unsung hero."

Full-Time illustrates how serious content can be packed into books about this deceptively simple game enjoyed by billions globally, including millions of Canadian youth. These books explore the intersection of soccer with history, national culture, economics, politics and philosophy.

Some of the best titles include Soccer in Sun and Shadow by Eduardo Galeano, a lyrical history of the game; Franklin Foer's How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, and Alex Bellos's Futebol: The Brazilian Way Of Life, which brings out the game's perennial mix of joy and pathos.

To my mind, however, no soccer book reveals a more subtle philosophical mind at work than David Winner's Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer.

Brilliant Orange argues that the "Total Football" developed three decades ago by the Dutch national team reflects the often-difficult personalities of the people of the Netherlands.

"Total Soccer" requires every player to, in effect, be able to switch to any position. Because space is always at a premium in their small country, Winner maintains the Dutch have learned to use it in wildly innovative ways. This is seen in Dutch architecture, art and society - and soccer.

That said, understanding soccer fan(atic)s can be as interesting as analyzing the game and its implications. For raw literary power, there may be no more persuasive book than Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence.

In this early 1990s account, Granta Books editor Bill Buford enters the horrifying culture of British soccer hooligans. His gift is to make the reader feel the intoxicating attraction of mob mayhem.

Why does soccer evoke wider horizons of meaning in so many? American writer David Goldblatt, author of The Ball is Round, said:

"Milan Kundera (author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being) defended the role of the literary critic by arguing 'Without the meditative background that is criticism, works become isolated gestures, historical accidents, soon forgotten.' I would say the same of social history and sport."

Soccer especially brings out the contemplative side of many people because it doesn't lend itself to statistics, as do baseball and the Olympics.

And it doesn't require body-disguising equipment, like American football and hockey.

Soccer is also so fluid, so non-mechanical, that describing the game and everything that goes into it often requires a touch of poetry.

Twigg's book provides bursts of such poetry, in much the same way as the highly evocative Miracle of Castel Di Sangro. In that book, famous crime writer Joe McGinnis goes to Italy and uncovers the mix of valour, solidarity and immorality that go into how a tiny village's team climbs momentarily into the big leagues.

One of the refreshing peculiarities of Twigg's soccer book is that he writes about actually trying to play the game with some skill. Twigg's also in his mid-50s, so his final reflections on the bravery of the solitary referee illustrate the wisdom that can come with age, the wisdom of bringing impartiality to a rough and tumble contest.

By the end of the book, Twigg even thinks about the value for himself of "outgrowing" soccer. He quotes the Nigerian striker Kanu saying, "If you make football too important, you deprive it of its beauty."

As Twigg considers detaching from the game that has provided him so much passion, purpose and meaning, it's not at all a stretch to say he is offering up ultimate philosophical insights about life itself.

Lalalalalala

Dear Stressed SMU Student,

I had an emphatic day of work today. I woke up early to visit the trade office of International Enterprise Singapore (IESingapore) at Bugis Junction Office Tower at 10am so that I could get some documented information and professional advice about local SMEs and Xi'an, where we have stipulated that doing business in is good. It might seem a little odd that I'm doing this because most SMU students like it in the Li Ka Shing Library where the internet, powerpoints and air conditioning are available in a comfort-zone kinda way, but I guess I just like the idea that the research I'm doing beyond the laptop can value-add to my project. So why not the trouble? Besides, I had started to hit a wall of sorts with regards to the information searching online, and my group's BSM report was due at 5pm.

Once done with the visit to IESingapore's office at 1pm, I went straight back to the National Library to resume my research for my human capital management (HCM) report that is due on monday. Thankfully, the National Library isn't that far off from the office. The HCM report is proving to be very pressing, because the deadline is very near considering the scope of the report, which our professor has indicated as very difficult to do. And an exchange student group mate seems to be experiencing some difficulty in getting the information we need for our 3 man team, but it's alright, I appreciate a challenge.

2 hours on, and my research on HCM practices in Singapore's culture, while content-substantial, is still very vague, and I still hadn't began researching about Britain's HCM culture. So I had to apologetically inform my ethics group mates that I had to be a little later than the 1530h rendezvous time. This is because the National Library closes by 9pm and while I need the information, I still had a BSM meeting to go to after ethics which might end late and cause me to not be able to utilize the library's facilities.

By 4pm, I was somewhat done with Singapore's research, so it was a hasty rush down to SMU's School of Business and I'd already felt quite bad that I had to keep my group mates waiting. Crashed into the GSR, settled down, and then it was diving headfirst into solid ethics debating for 2 hours on whether the Bureau of Land Management should allow Questar to continue its angular oil drilling at the expense of Wyoming's wildlife and environment. The results were a little inconclusive, especially that of sustainable development under Adam Smith's free market ethical argument, but I wouldn't discount the meeting as unproductive. As long as our directions were positively and constructively aligned - which we were - everything is constructive; even if we argue forever to find that an idea is useless, it has served to trim and shape our overall argument better.

It was almost 6pm when we started to wrap up on the discussion and conclude that we need more meetings, so I hurried down to the School of Social Sciences at the other end of campus for my BSM meeting that I was already slightly late for (again!). A little more discussion and quite a bit of procrastination later, the meeting ended and it was 8pm. With a little bit more time to spare since the library closes at 9pm, it was back to the Singapore section at the 11th storey of the National Library to do some final research.

After 9pm when the library closed, Angie and I had dinner, which was my first meal of the day (aside from the very delicious tangyuan beancurd she had mercifully brought down for me to snack on during BSM meeting). The day outside is done, but there was still more tidying up to do for tomorrow's presentation, and more work to fuss over for monday's HCM report submission, as well as my 5-page LTM learning journal. Who can forget DMA presentation on tuesday and ethics presentation on thursday, with more meetings to come?

But that's for tomorrow to worry about. I'm gonna hit the sack soon, because I've gotta be up at 7am to prep for my presentation. :]

As I look back on the day, time had passed incredibly fast, and I reckon because it has been nothing but work and thinking all day. But it's really okay because in the end I'm still smiling about how the day has unfolded without me getting into an accident or breaking down, and you know what, Stressed SMU Student? It is your own imperative and your own choice to decide how you want to be bogged down or purposified by the hell weeks of 12 and 13. The rate the school is going, if everyone can see to it that it's not that bad, then everyone would be much happier. Make a choice and be positive about things, if not for anyone, then yourself.

Regards,
Happy SMU Student


(In reality, please just suck it up for me. One more whiner who comes along will have me telling him or her how pathetic he or she looks next to my ethics group mate, who is taking 6.5 mods this term and is still being a delightful group mate to work with.)




Audio Candy:
Metro Station - Shake It

The/That SOB

So many years on, and SMU is still all about its business school. Sure didn't help when the vice bigwig committed the latest faux pas during the dialogue session by saying that there are indeed 'lesser schools' around that should be easier to get a degree from.

I've never disapproved of SMU as a school with a business slant - it is a corporate management university after all - but what really riles me up is that the business faculty still holds on to a deliberately ignorant and baseless perspective that other faculties are useless, impractical, worthless of one's time and basically pathetic, and by virtue of the university's fiercely business standing holds these values and perspectives to be presumably true.

On the premise of intellectual rigour alone, social sciences and research is the basis of any theoretical standing that business practices may wish to stem their discipline upon. Any social science student can do as well as the average student in business, and I am confident that not any business student can do well at all in a social science course. And face this - your business degree has an expiry date, unlike a social science degree.

I am of the opinion that not every business student is unenlightened - there are a good deal of students who know what they're in it for and are respectful of what others pursue - but a significant number of people, however small, is enough to create the impression that business is a better faculty, and worse if they have the backing of the administration and the impression the university gives as well to hold their ignorant prejudices.



A friend of mine recently tried to apply for Unilever, which advertised 40 vacancies, and got rejected with the notification that more than 1000 applicants signed up for it.

Wake up!




Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Audio Candy:
TobyMac - New World

Let The Good Times Roll

It's been over two weeks since the last update and quite a bit has happened. Socscistan: The Little Republic had a pre-launch on saturday during the SMU Openhouse at the social sciences booth, and was later officially launched the following monday. It now sits snug at the SOSS lift waiting to be picked up by potential readers. I think at 5000 copies and a 428 population in the social sciences faculty we might have overproduced a little...

Angie and I caught the ballet rendition of Cinderella by the Singapore Dance Theatre which proved to be extremely impressive and entertaining. The choreography was original, creative and witty. This should pave the way for more performances for us, considering that ticket prices can actually be quite attractive for students.

Prawning has been a new obsession recently. There is something quite therapeutic and obsessively engaging about catching your own stash and then barbecuing it to eat. I guess it really works when the rewards are so tangible. I think we're on our way past pretending to be pro and actually notching a decent amount of catch.

In truth, the past 2 weeks have been pretty hectic actually. But I'm starting to just focus only on the upcoming summer holidays, although I suppose I'll be quite busy with internship. I had an interview with Pearson Education South Asia Ltd on wednesday and it seemed really positive, so employment may be quite safely in the bag. The location leaves plenty of room to be desired though, with it being situated at First Lok Yang Road which is like a 20min bus ride away from Boon Lay interchange.

I've got a street soccer tournament up tomorrow and I'm dead tired. Wish me luck. :]




99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

Audio Candy:
Fall Out Boy Feat. John Mayer - Beat It

Comment Posted

If it had a home would it be my eyes?



The mind can be likened to a computer for more than the obvious reason of its role as a processor. To broach the sensitive, just as a thought, the computer is a human and the computer-user is whatever one might wanna consider to be divine and above. All of consciousness is then whenever the computer is on, without its being aware of anything that is really guiding its operations.

Then make the computer think everything it does is of its own choice and will, and you will safely remain invisible to the computer.



Colour psychology can be really fascinating. For example, it has been shown that red can, quite universally across cultures, rile people up more just by them looking at it. Sometimes, a woman can seem more attractive by just wearing a red dress. I think this means that red serves to heighten emotion and arousal such that whatever the base emotion - aggression or attraction just to name two - gets elevated.

That is the cause-effect part of things. But I also believe the colours one chooses to decorate or shroud one's more personal and functional belongings, such as the walls of one's room, one's handphone, one's watch, etc (as opposed to one's living room or one's occasion clothes) are indicative of one's personality and self-identity. It might sound a little obvious but I'm of the opinion that this indicator can have quite powerful predictive ability.

And I think it is more important to look at the personal things that don't often get shown to the world because those non-private belongings have a greater degree of conscious statement-making, rather than what one really subconsciously perceives of oneself.

Subconscious perception is interesting in that it reveals far more. One may choose to hide a weakness by consciously displaying colours or behaving in a way that announce the opposite of that weakness. But in one's subconscious self-percept, one knows in a non-conscious manner about what one dislikes about oneself, which is often the basis for insecurity. As for those who are more comfortable as they are, the colours between what's private and what's personal overlap more. But the fundamental idea is basically that what one likes to colour his or her personal belongings is very much more telling.

Offhand, I can make an educated guess about what some colours represent. Red probably signifies an emotional and passionate streak. Dark blue would probably represent a powerful calmness and/or stability. Green might have something to do with zest, quirkiness, being different or intelligent. Brown strikes me as down-to-earth. And et cetera the guesses may go.



I am half listening to music and half trying to sleep in the sofa chairs fashioned into a coffin-like womb in the school library after my cognitive psychology paper (a conservative estimate brings me to establish that 93.7% of the time I'm in the library for purely sleeping purposes), and also entertaining half-baked random thoughts flittering around.




Audio Candy:
Broken Social Scene - Lover's Spit

We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident

If we hope enough without expecting too much, things will always work out. And if we are curious, humble and open enough, answers will come.



Cognitive Psychology has been the dominant peripheral activity of the daily grind recently. While many have expressed disdain towards the impending mid-terms this week, I'm strangely looking very much forward to it. I think this is very much an indicator of how comfortable I feel studying and even embracing psychology as a discipline, and I'm very much fortunate for that.



With pride, Socscistan: The Little Republic will finish printing and come in by Friday. All of us can't believe how much of a miracle this little newsletter-magazine has been, from our maiden meeting in late January where we were all direction-impaired beings foraying into something that we had no idea could ever take off, to a confident publication that has exceeded the original 14 pages we thought we'd struggle to fill up to a total of 28 pages.

Socscistan: The Little Republic will be dropped off in (hopefully not so) insiduous and strategic locations on Saturday in conjunction with the SMU Open House, so look out for it. The team is confident that it won't disappoint. :]

"Humanity takes itself too seriously. It is the world's original sin. If the caveman had known how to laugh, History would have been different."
- Oscar Wilde

Audio Candy:
Jamiroquai - Just Dance

Lesson In Niche Identification... NOT

Here's an example of what you should never do as a marketer.

Welcome to the Apex Group:
There is one key reason why Apex will drastically improve your unloading process. The reason is profitability. We make less than any of our competitors. While most would consider this a weakness, we consider it our greatest strength. We make less, because we choose to reinvest into our employees and into initiatives that make our company safer and better. While the average unloading contract lasts 2-3 years, Apex's average tenured client is seven years. We build long lasting working relationships that benefit both parties. That experience of working together for a long period of time is what builds continuity and ultimately increases efficiency. Because at Apex, We lift you higher.

The Apex Group. We lift you higher
(Taken from http://www.apexlogisticsgroup.com/index.php)

Audio Candy:
Your Winter - Sister Hazel

Voice

Justin was just telling me about some shitty protest in NYU (New York University) where he studies now. It's like the protesters barricaded the school cafeteria and only dispersed after the school cut off the internet service and nobody could get their Facebook updates.

Apparently protests aren't all that fun and games. Protesters are actually disliked by most normal people, because they end up digressing from the original point of protest to a whole host of other insane and stupid things, turning the passing of a simple day into wading through thick sludge. In this case, things started out as a protest demanding that the school admin reveal the budgeting and funding for the school to ensure that they're not fleecing the students, but then their list of demands grew to include stuff like 'the university must give money to the University of Gaza', 'the university must give 13 full annual scholarships to Palestinian students', 'the school library must be open to the public' (i.e. the school library becomes hobo hotel), 'the school must be all green and vegan' (not that bad on first glance, but then think of all the lefty nutjob ideals about the environment), etc, making life here pale in relative excitement. But I won't stake a claim on whether such excitement is good or bad.

In contrast, when our sociopolitical club Apolitical got registered as a CCA under SMU, we definitely got on the radar and some dude made us register under some government list. The specially-designed system either filters us out somehow, or there are people employed just to sniff us or any potential dissent out. Whee.




We defend democracy by forgoing it.

Audio Candy:
David Garrett - Smooth Criminal

It's Alive!

Prof Luan: "And I will curve the two classes. I will only have so many As and Bs to give, so I do not want the other class to have an advantage and you should not talk about the paper after you are done."

The bell curve. It does exist! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Every professor has some excuse not to remember names at the beginning of the term, and then have a miraculous memory upgrade by the time the term ends for class participation grades. They don't give themselves enough credit for that.


In cognitive psychology class: Is a tomato a fruit?

No, because it is not sweet.
Yes, because it has seeds.
No, because it is found in the vegetables section.
Yes, because it is borne from a flower.

Subway sandwiches are healthy because they have vegetables in them.
There are tomatoes in a subway sandwich.
Bad command or file name
MultipleRequestsOnSession




Audio Candy:
Bowling For Soup - High School Never Ends

And Worry Angels After All

It is always funny in a somewhat amazingly stupid manner whenever someone's pre-emptive strike turns into an unnecessary self-jack.



I'm starting to feel the urge to embark on another crazy run. Or cycle.



(Cashmere Mafia)

Davis: How can you do this to me?

Juliet: How can I do this to you? To you. You lied to me, you betrayed me... and you broke my heart. First in little ways, and then, in big ones. Some of those, I can get past; but.. I can't trust you, Davis. And I never will again. Not because I don't want to, and not because I'm not incapable of it, but because you don't deserve it.


Well said, Juliet.




I just want to make sure it’s living hell for anyone out there who’s going to beat me.
- Ken Souza, champion duathlete, on his hellish training regime

Audio Candy:
Paramore - Decode

Eating The Economic Pie

China has recently stated that she intends to encourage spending and increase imports from other countries. When China makes a statement like that, you'd ignore it at your own peril. If she really achieves what she intends to, it could very well signal a global economic shift, which technically might be for the better (since a major big-ass permanent exporter represents a market system glut of sorts in it's blatant one-sidedness).

If all that global visiting going on lately by China leaders and her attendance at the economic forum at Davos doesn't signify China's assertion that she intends to open up and become an active player, I don't know what is. Along with this could come a day when the world has no choice but to turn to China, because they will start calling the shots and we will have no choice but to obey.


I'm getting some dough from the GST offset package. I suppose this means I'm being manipulated within some larger financial scheme that our bigwigs are tweaking the system with, but I guess I'll feel less guilty when I watch my next movie knowing that the money is going to a bigger noble cause and will be used to stimulate the economy which will guarantee more jobs for our fellow men and probably not a pay-raise for some other inconspicuous and smart people. Hurray!




Only two things are certain in this world: Death and taxes.

Audio Candy:
Rob Pattinson - Never Think

FFS

A horde of opinionated people have sprung up giving their $.02 after Obama secured the USS789 billion stimulus package. Maybe I'm joining them too.

Before this, the Republicans were considering a US$700 billion bailout for major corporations who fucked the US economic system up.


"With 700 billion dollars, you could give everyone on the planet $100, which is more than a sizable percentage of them will make this year.

With 700 billion dollars, you could give every citizen of the United States $2000 - of course, it sort of works the other way around, doesn't it? We're the ones that will be giving the $2000 to foot the bill for this.

Instead, for 700 billion dollars, we are rewarding companies that were mismanaged. Which means, I presume, that a very small number of already-absurdly-wealthy old white guys will be made even wealthier. And I will still be left trying to make ends meet every month.

I'm sure there's a huge amount about this that I don't understand, but what I do understand is that I am being asked to pay for irresponsible management of huge companies, and I also understand that this is not capitalism. This is corporate welfare. This is a handout. And it's a bunch of wealthy people in government rewarding themselves, propping up their own portfolios, and rewarding their buddies on wall street, completely without regard for those of us who foot the bill."


In terms closer to home, it's something like this. A completely screwed up professor commits a crapload of errors over a couple of terms, and then approaches the Dean and says, "I'm really sorry about my mistakes, but I need money to make up for them. Not only that, I'd like a bonus too!" And the Dean approves the request, and gets the students to pay higher school fees.

At one time people were wondering, if the 2nd bailout got through like the first one did, whether we were wasting a crisis.

Obama's call for the stimulus package while refusing to help the major financial players is a good way to go and would potentially save many jobs. Ceasing tax cuts for the rich would begin putting a stop to corporate America's hold on state politics and public policy, which means we would finally see some proper, smart and at least logical decisions being made for once. People have accused Obama of being socialist especially when he's considered seizing errant banks and corporations that have gone bankrupt instead of giving them money 'to stay afloat' but I couldn't think them any more ignorant right now.




Audio Candy:
Stars - One More Night

Comes From Within

"The road that stretches before the feet of a man is a challenge to his heart long before it tests the strength of his legs. Our destiny is to run to the edge of the world and beyond, off into the darkness: sure for all our blindness, secure for all our helplessness, strong for all our weakness, gaily in love for all the pressure on our hearts."

"Life must be lived, even by those who cannot find the courage to face it. In the living of it, every mind must meet the rebuff of mystery. To some men, this will be an exultant challenge: that so much can be known and truth not be exhausted, that so much is still to be sought, that truth is an ocean not to be contained in the pool of a human mind. To others, this is a humiliation not to be borne; for it marks out sharply the limits of our proud minds. In the living of life, every mind must face the unyielding rock of reality, of a truth that does not bend to our whim or fantasy, of the rule that measures the life and mind of a man."

- St Thomas, The Summa Theologica




Audio Candy:
I Am Ghost - The Denouement