Time for a laugh

Here are 3 jokes to brighten up your day.


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SPORTS

After a 2 year study, the National Science Foundation announced the following results on the

American Male's recreational preferences:

1. The sport of choice for unemployed or incarcerated people is: basketball

2. The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is: bowling.

3. The sport of choice for blue-collar workers is: football.

4. The sport of choice for supervisors is: baseball.

5. The sport of choice for middle management is: tennis.

6. The sport of choice for corporate officers is: golf.

Conclusion: The higher you rise in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become.

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MARRIAGE

On their 40th wedding anniversary and during the banquet celebrating it, Tom was asked to give his friends a brief account of the benefits of a marriage of such long duration.

"Tell us Tom, just what is it you have learned from all those wonderful years with your wife?"

Tom responds, "Well, I've learned that marriage is the best teacher of all. It teaches you loyalty, forbearance, meekness, self-restraint, forgiveness -- and a great many other qualities you wouldn't have needed if you'd stayed single."

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PREGNANCY

A woman goes to her doctor who verifies that she is pregnant. This is her first pregnancy. The doctor asks her if she has any questions.

She replies, "Well, I'm a little worried about the pain. How much will childbirth hurt?"

The doctor answered, "Well, that varies from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy and besides, it's difficult to describe pain."

"I know, but can't you give me some idea?" she asks.

"Grab your upper lip and pull it out a little..."

"Like this?"

"A little more..."

"Like this?"

"No. A little more..."

"Like this?"

"Yes. Does that hurt?"

"A little bit."

"Now stretch it over your head!"

Love is.......

"Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire." ~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin~

Someone once explained to me, "Love is mutuality of devotion forever subduing the antagonisms inherent in divided functions.". I think I believe him now.

When I look at you a moment, then can I speak no more. My tongue falls silent. At once a delicate flame courses beneath my skin and with my eyes I see nothing, and my ears hum, and a wet sweat bathes me, and a trembling seizes me all over.

Moved by a passion not understood, a good seldom found, haunted by the vision of a distant possibility that refuses to be extinguished. Then again, you ask what love is.

Some say it is the metamorphosis of soul into body. Luminous Saturn in Aquarius on his slow calm voyage towards Pisces. But all I know is that it is like waterfalls of mind music, like magic giving me starbursts of fireworks and crescendos of glorious joys.

Indescribable and simply life altering. In every single way.

The Bailout

With news of the government’s bailout and the ban on shortselling, the US stock market jumped on Thursday's closing and then continued on Friday. A bailout is effectively the government’s way of saying that they can’t allow the market to continue this freefall. At least, this stops the market’s bleeding for now.

Several points to highlight:

1. The sudden boost in the market is largely due to the covering of the short positions. Pending good news during the weekend, I wouldn't be so eager to say the market is turning.
2. The reason why one company's collapse can lead to the whole market panic is because of the diverse exchange of financial commitments in the market which creates an intrinsic bond tying everything everywhere together. On the big scale, it is known as globalism.
3. The US and the world has been consuming too much, leading to uncontrolled inflation.
4. They are buying stuff they can't really afford and doesn’t need even in the midst of global inflation. It is better known as speculation, which is simply a grand word for gambling.
5. Bubbles which led to the housing crisis are brought about by the greedy and ignorant who bought what they could not afford, and the sharks who loaned them the money to do so
6. It is simply ridiculous that US has accumulated extra trillions in debt in less than a decade. There is no such thing as a free lunch. And in the case of markets, it is as simple as what goes up must come down.
   
7. While they are accumulating debt, they are also not spending the money they borrowed correctly. How are buying the mortgage foreclosures of the credit crisis and giving money to corporations to save them from their own greediness supposed to help the public? It's their mess, let them find a way to fix it. Meanwhile, help the people who need help by boosting manufacturing and consumer spending with tax relief or incentives.
8. Give up on the American dream. If you want to get rich, work for it. All these unrealistic delusions about making money the easy way are what got us here in the first place.
9. People need to start thinking of consequences. The thing about credit is trust. Now we either grant trust on a much more conservative basis or we implement more serious penalties for those who abuse trust. In any case, I think the first to go has to be the bankruptcy protection which transcends irresponsibility, basically telling people that's the worst they can do.

Haircut

It is amazing how many people call themselves barbers because they can cut hair. I mean how hard is it to pick up a pair of scissors and clip? Any idiot can, maybe with a little more practise.

What makes things worse than they already are is the lack of standards and people who can differentiate between the good and bad barbers.

I get a bad haircut, the barber gets paid.

Next victim please.

The roller coaster continues

The financial roller coaster ride continues in Wall Street. And today’s victims include Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. While there are optimisms regarding the government’s bailout of AIG, the widespread solvency problems still stand strong. Today, lets focus on how to nurse the patient back to health instead of leaving him on life support.

Looking back to the source of the whole crisis, some may blame the decline of the US housing market and some will blame the rating agencies such as Moody for not doing their jobs. The truth is that playing the market is gambling and there will be winners and losers. The key is to limit the players to those who can afford to lose. Only with a fundamentally sound and strict system, confidence and credibility can build up. So first things first, there is a need to revamp the financial structure and regulations of at least the major markets in the world – US, Europe, Hong Kong and China.

For example, there are many predatory short sellers taking advantage of the suffering market. When the prices have been forced down so low from shortselling and vicious rumour mongering, it takes away the ability of these companies from raising additional finance that they so badly need. While it may even be good to take away shortselling all together (with a ban) for the time being, at the very least, there need to be regulations limiting shortselling and its effects. This would create a breathing space for the market.

When we go back and talk about creating a fundamentally strong economy system, two major assumptions need to be fulfilled: the market moves towards equilibrium and that everyone is rational. Today, equilibrium is nonexistent as day after day we move into new uncharted territories. It is also impossible for people to be rational all the time unless they are robotic. The new regulations and structure need to reflect on these facts while pushing to fulfill the two assumptions of economics. If you can increase the complexity of the system to exclude those without the explicit knowledge and then hold those in the system accountable for their actions, then there is a high chance the system will move towards equilibrium and heal itself.

I believe that we all have to take some responsibility for this period of gloom and doom. Coupled with rising commodity prices and enviromental dangers, the world is in bad shape, probably the worst it has ever been. And if we can’t work together to stop the bleeding, it will die. There is no time more crucial for the world.

House Season 5 "Not Cancer"

House M.D. Season 5 just took off last night together with House's best friend, Wilson. Being among those who has spent the last few months waiting in anticipation to see how Wilson will handle Amber's death and how his friendship with House will be affected, I have played out many possible scenarios. Yet I am still pleasantly surprised with the actual script not only with Wilson's departure, but also how he let it all out at the end.

Wilson is leaving not because he blames House. He understands that Amber's death was simply an accident. However to a certain degree, he blames himself as he has reiterated several times, "I have to do what's right for me.". Throughout the show, House explores many ways and reasons to make Wilson stay, failing miserably. When he walks into Wilson's office and sees all the shelves and tables empty, he realizes that it is too late and finally opens up to Wilson with the kind of sincerity that many questioned whether he is capable of. But, Wilson gives another compelling reason and the true underlying reason for his departure; that is his friendship with House makes House think that it is alright to spread misery and be indifferent. In a way, their friendship caused Amber's death by drawing her to the bar and then onto the bus. And for that reason, they can't be friends anymore. Wilson finally got tired of finding excuses to stick around for House.

Perhaps many fans would hope that Wilson will stay. But personally, I always found Wilson rather weak, often being manipulated by House. In this episode, I gained much respect for Wilson. It will be interesting to see how House responds with one of the major pillar of his support system gone.

There were many good lines, but several quotes left an impression.

1. "Almost dying changes nothing. Dying changes everything." House shares an insight with Thirteen
2. "This is Doctor House. He is too brilliant for introduction." Thirteen tries to explain to the patient as House charges in without a word.
3. "Your friendship means more to me than any patient" House tries to persuade Wilson.... with blackmail.
4. "I have total confidence in all of you." After hearing House's team's diagnosis while House is on strike and having no clue what to do, Cuddy leaves them with an encouragement.

Insults

Here is a list of insults to keep you occupied and feel free to add some of your own:

1. I don't hold your behavior against you because I realize it was caused by childhood trauma; your parents spanked you when you fell on your head and broke the cement.
2. I don't think you are a fool. But then, what's my own humble opinion against thousands of others?
3. I heard you got a brain transplant and the brain rejected you!
4. I believe in respect for the dead; in fact, I could only respect you if you WERE dead.
5. You are the kind of person who, when one first meets you, one doesn't like you. But when one gets to know you better, one hates you.
6. All of your girlfriends kiss you with their eyes closed. Considering your face, that's the only way they could.
7. I hear that when your mother first saw you, she decided to leave you on the front steps of a police station while she turned herself in.
8. There are several people in this world that I find obnoxious and you are all of them.
9. I've had many cases of love that were just infatuation, but this hate I feel for you is the real thing.
10. When you get run over by a car, it shouldn't be listed under accidents.
11. We all spring from apes, but you didn't spring far enough.
12. You must be the arithmetic man -- you add trouble, subtract pleasure, divide attention, and multiply ignorance.
13. You started at the bottom -- and it's been downhill ever since.
14. You are so boring that you can't even entertain a doubt.
15. You are living proof of reincarnation. No one could possibly get to be so stupid in just one lifetime.
16. I'm busy now. Can I ignore you some other time?
17. They say opposites attract. I hope you meet someone who is good-looking, intelligent, and cultured.
18. Anyone who told you to be yourself couldn't have given you worse advice.
19. I hear you were born on April 2; a day too late!
20. The three words that describe you are as follows, and I quote: 'Stink, Stank, Stunk!
21. Do you still love nature..... despite what it did to you?
22. I wouldn't piss on you, even if you were on fire.
23. You are Michael Jackson gone wrong.
24. Did you have to leave so soon? I was just about to poison the tea.
25. This is no battle of wits between you and me. I never pick on an unarmed man.
26. You are not even beneath my contempt.
27. I am the guy that does his job. You must be the other guy.
28. To call you stupid would be an insult to stupid people.
29. Wit is a gentleman's weapon. I wouldn't trust you with any such "sharp objects" just yet.
30. I don’t know what makes you so dumb but it really works.
31. You look like shit. Is that the style now?
32. Now we know why some animals eat their own children.
33. I’m glad to see you’re not letting your education get in the way of your ignorance.
34. What he is lacking in intelligence, he more than makes up for in stupidity.
35. There's no beginning to your talents.
36. The more i think of you the less i think of you.
37. You have a room temperature IQ.
38. Don't worry, you aren't adopted, no one in their right mind would willingly take you.
39. Everyone has the right to be ugly, but you abuse the privilege!
40. You are proof that there is no vaccine for stupidity.

After all the dominoes fall...

The mood after Monday’s Lehman Brothers’s collapse is at best described as sombre. Employees and investors find themselves in the midst of uncertainty overshadowed with worries of losing their jobs or money. And all they can do now is wait. Wait for a lifeline from anyone and pray that this crisis will be over soon. Only one thing is certain in this difficult time - we have not seen the full potential of this economic catastrophe. The underlying problems of banking and investment fundamentals, consumer confidence as well as inflation are all yet to be resolved. The worst is yet to come.

The fact is that the scope of the crisis has exploded beyond the governments' control. To soften the effects on the market, the Central Banks of United States, Europe and Japan each injected billions into the market but it is unlikely to be significant enough to restore the loss of public confidence. To make matters worse, AIG, which has sold $441 billion of fixed-income assets to Wall Street’s top firms and the biggest companies in Europe and Asia, got hit by news of its ratings cut and lost as much as 74% of its trading value in New York today. AIG is so widely tied to assets and financial products that its collapse would trigger a domino destroying the whole global financial system. In this widespread chaos, no one has any idea what to expect.

Then, sooner or later, after enough dominoes have fallen, the market will learn to be conservative once again. People will learn that greed may pay off in the short run but will only end in self-destruction. So the pain will accumulate making sure we don’t forget anytime soon. We learn from our mistakes and move on. Matured.

Lehman's Collapse

Today, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. joins its counterparts at Bear Stearns Cos., Merrill Lynch & Co. and more than 10 banks that couldn't survive this year's credit crunch.

Just when the US economy seems to be leveling out, the collapse of the 4th largest US investment bank will cast chaos upon the market and would be extra heavy on firms and individuals who are relying on Lehman for financing. This however shouldn’t come at a surprise to anyone with the company losing 94% of its market value this year. Moreover everyone except its shareholders and workers have everything to gain and nothing to lose with Lehman’s bankruptcy.

The good news is that as the system has already been through the crisis of Bear Stearns Cos, it is expected that given time the losses will distribute themselves in the market and there will not be any lasting turmoil.

For a more in depth analysis of the difference between Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, check out Barry Ritholtz's article "The Terrible Lessons of Bear Stearns".

Insomnia - I want to sleep!!

Raise your hand if you are not getting enough sleep. (Staring at the picture above won't help)

We are deluged everyday with the same old depressing news of economic woes, political conflicts and environmental disasters. Everyday. It is hard to rest when there is such incessant pessimism and being in this information age, it is impossible to avoid the news. But at the end of the day, before bedtime, resist the temptation to surf the net, check your emails, read the news, watch TV or even use your phones. Absorbing stressing information is not really inductive to sleep (Unless politics puts you to sleep like nagging does to me, then you are in luck).

Being an insomniac and a compulsive dreamer, I have come up with a few things to note before bedtime to help you find your slumber.

1. No alcohol or rich food
2. Avoid stimulants like caffeine and tea (Coffee has short and strong effects, Tea has long and mild effects)
3. As our body cool down to conserve energy when we sleep, avoid absorbing heat through TV’s and computers.
4. No strenuous exercise or heated arguments.
5. Take a warm bath or warm milk (relaxes your system and prepares cool down).
6. Empty your mind and focus on breathing (standard meditation technique) if you must think, think happy thoughts.
7. Listen to soothing and mind-numbing music (For me, its smooth jazz or classical)

The Piano Man

I think I wanted to play piano after I watched "The Legend of 1900" several years back. Today, I got back to learning piano after close to two years of inactivity.

The first question I was asked by Monica, my music mentor, is, "What do you want to learn?". Without any hesistation, I responded, "Magic Waltz". Of course, I know that it is beyond me to play the piece at present, but I plan to in 6 months. With a little courage, I performed 10 pieces that I have learnt but barely remembered for her review. She quickly caught on to the genre of music that I like and designed a teaching plan. Being sensitive to the student's capability and preference is what really impressed me about her, even more so than her music capabilities. This first session was enjoyable and further fueled my determination to study piano. It also doesn't hurt that my teacher is a cute young Korean lady.

Currently, I am working on 3 pieces that I really like- "Take 5", "Fly me to the moon" and "Misty". Hopefully, all the positive notes are not just part of the honeymoon period. Next week, the real lesson begins.

Elevator

Here are some common elevator tips.
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Trapped in an elevator? You are lucky if there is no electricity surge that sometimes can cause the elevator to free fall. But just in case, you are that unlucky, here are a few pointers that may save your life,

1. Quickly jam every button for every floor, hopefully there will be a backup system that cuts the fall.

2. Hold on to any railings so as to maintain balance and support upon impact.

3. Align your back to the wall of the elevator to protect your spine.

4. Bend your knees as your knee tendons are flexible and can better absorb the impact than your bones.
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Ever get tired of waiting forever for a spot in an elevator? Try making your way to the highest or lowest floor where the traffic usually starts loading.
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And here is an elevator joke to top it off.

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An Amish boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again. The boy asked his father, "What is this, Father?"

The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."

While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room. The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights with numbers above the walls light up.

They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction. The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24-year-old woman stepped out.

The father, not taking his eyes off the young woman, said quietly to his son, "Go get your mother."

Lifestyle Consultants

Now, Hitch was a fun and romantic movie. The charismatic Will Smith plays an image consultant who breaks down the dating game for desperate singles and helps them find true love. Don’t be surprised if people find this such a great idea that there is a huge boost in the community of pick-up artists, dating advisors and image consultants. You can also find a growing collection of related books which generally can be summarized as teaching you to be yourself while emphasizing the qualities that appeals to the opposite sex.

In my opinion, all these resources are nothing more than crap.

Come on. The media has created a love delusion that guys are to be athletic, macho, well-established, suave, tall, responsible, caring and well, you get the point. Ladies are to be gorgeous, tall, sexy, well-dressed and well-groomed. If you took a walk in the city, you will probably get a smack on the head by reality that the percentage of the population with the expected qualities is so low, you have a higher chance of hitting the lottery.

Not to mention, do you know how bad it makes you feel to fail to live up to society’s standards? People get confused that if they are not getting the girl or the guy of their dreams then they must be doing something wrong. Take a look around. Most people just make do with what they can get. It is the few that wants to be turned into a human magnet or have a boost in confidence that enlist the help of a mentor or a guide.

Confidence is the number one turn-on factor for both sexes. For ladies, they like someone not affected by others and know what he wants. It is almost the first rule of thumb. But once again, they are just teaching you to be yourself. That is not to say they are not helping. They add a little of their assurance that they know what women want and they want you. For men, they take pleasures in sight meaning that ladies primarily need to be eye candy. Nowadays, help for ladies commonly comes in the forms of packaging or cosmetic surgeries. These also boost self-confidence.

What is so special about confidence? It allows you to carry a conversation, move and act naturally. Of course, no one wants to feel uncomfortable or awkward so translate that and you get the “be yourself” conclusion once again.

You should have caught on by now that all these hired help is just a motivation for you to improve yourself (Nothing that you shouldn’t be able to operate yourself). Not to mention, some people are just resistant to change. In these cases, I doubt these experts will have much success in providing useful advice anyways.

So, before you commit on the hefty fees these professionals charge, try to change your lifestyle to improve your health, energy and image. You will be pleasantly surprised at how fast things change. Remember - small steps, one at a time.

The water child

I am a water child, born at the edge of the land, under the water sign of Cancer the Crab.

It makes a certain affinity strong. It makes me flow with a love for the places where the rivers and the sea mingle. There is always this thing about a river, that it is a road in motion that melts into other roads.

This is the romance of the river world, that it is open-minded, a travelling space.

The Joy of Sex

In case you haven’t heard, there is a new “The Joy of Sex” book out. Personally, I haven’t checked it out yet so everything here is hear-say.

This book is aimed at the couple rather than just the men. Using new knowledge about hormones, pheromones, body parts and sensuality, this book aims to educate on the new attitude to sex. They apparently replaced the bearded 70s icon with a cleaner looking man who is more representative of the 21st century. They also took out some of the tips because of legal issues such as sex on horseback and sex on moving motorcycles. New additions include phone sex, pregnancy intimacy, sex shops and internet advice to name a few.

I guess I am writing out of my element here seeing my lack of understanding on the materials. On a side note, when I was in China a while back, I saw on the shelf of a video store a series of videos on sex positions. Out of curiosity, I turned to the back to check out the content list, the names were all common four letters idioms and just hilarious. So if you really think about it, anything can be related with sex. I seriously doubt there are 108 positions as the title indicates, the number is just popular with Chinese and attention grabbing (being large and all).

Alright, before the awkward level elevates anymore, I would like to say that true intimacy comes from understanding each other. No lies, no masks, just two people in love. It should be a natural process and you shouldn't need a manual. But since so many people have good reviews for the book, maybe it is time to pick one up just to see what the fuss is all about.

Patience

Patience is a lost art. Paul Sweeney said it best, “How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixers, frozen dinners and instant cameras teach patience to its young?”

With the lost of patience, the problems seems to snowball. Degradation of common courtesy, increasing irritable nature and louder voice volume are just the tip of the iceberg. Etiquette especially seems to be slipping with raw behaviors scoring points of coolness and redefining the social norms. Is it that surprising that only a handful of ladies ever get praise from me because of their grace and elegance? And while I pride myself in trying to learn the ways of a gentleman, there are few I can actually take example from.

Of course, even if you possess patience, it does not equal to charm, courtesy or even general niceness. It however means that you will have a certain calmness to help you handle situations, accept new ideas and make changes. One must be careful not to get confused patience with efficiency. It is one thing to get the most out of your time and effort, it is another when the wait, which sometimes is necessary, becomes unbearable and trigger off a series of petulant symptoms.

So how do we develop patience? Force obviously has negative effects in this case. For me, it was strategic games like Weiqi that have helped cultivate some level of self-restraint and calmness. Believe me when I tell you that I am rather rash and it took me years of constant self restraint and reminders to become who I am today. I know I still have a long way to go with finding that balance.

Ipod Nano Chromatic

If the new design and new colors do not inspire you to get or upgrade to the new Ipod Nano, then maybe the new shake-it-and-shuffle-your-music-feature will steal you over. My favourites are the Yellow, Green and Orange colors.

Anyhow, I don't find much use for Ipod despite how cool it is so you won't find me at the lineup. But don't let that stop you from having some fun. Oh, and did you hear that they cut the price again? Check it out!!

Quietly

Walk with me, will you? A casual stroll on the soft sands as you bask in the sweet aroma of the ocean. The night never sleeps.

With the stars glistering in envy, I am drunk with bliss. Music flows in as if luring us to dance. A little bow and I take your hand. In that instant, fireworks of mind music grace me. My heart can hardly contain itself, yet there we are, dancing as if floating on air. The music seduces and takes over, leaving no room for anything else. There is no distance between us. You can feel my breath upon you as I can feel yours. And we dance. A little closer.

In the dim moonlight, I catch a glimpse of your beautiful face, return smile for smile and our lips find each other. My heart stops and when I breathe again, there is life for the first time.

We dance and dance till the music fades and even the waves fall silent. I quietly forget how I don’t dance. I quietly move till the night turns cold. I quietly fall asleep in your warmth. In your arms. In your love.

Badminton

Yesterday night I had the chance to fill in for a sick friend for her badminton lesson. Despite being told to take lessons if I want to change my bad habits and improve, I have never seen the importance of having a coach.

So I showed up, warmed up with a little stretching before a young Chinese instructor pushed a trolley with a box of shuttlecocks over. Bear in mind that it was already 10 at night so I was already half asleep. My body felt like it has been sleeping for the past 3 months from my slacking off exercise. My instructor, Hugh, after proper introduction, suggested warming up. This being my first workout in a long time I figured it wouldn’t hurt. It was my first time doing running drills, covering the front courts at first then full court. After warm up, we started some deep hitting at the back corners. The hand and striking positions proved more challenging than the footwork. The one thing I caught on quickly was my timing which started a little off as I was hitting the shuttlecock when it is dropping instead at its highest point. Mistakes were pouring but mostly small ones.

An hour flew by and as we collected the shuttlecocks, we reviewed the lesson.

1. Covering front court, slide in with your legs and relax your hand. Hit the shuttlecock at a higher point to avoid setting. It doesn’t need a lot of force to get the shuttlecock over.
2. Keep the racket up and close to you. When hitting high balls forehand, raise the racket in a parallel fashion then swing through.
3. Always step in with your right foot and return to ready position after.
4. Slow down and take your time to swing your body instead of just your wrist.

I thanked him for his time and before I left, I took a look around at the other courts full of players. You become more critical when you know what to look for. I took a deep breath and let my body take a break. It turned out to be quite a vigorous workout and there were a lot to digest. Having a coach isn’t half bad, that is if you are serious about doing it right and improving. I know I will be back.

Friends Forever

I never thought writing about friendship will be this hard. But I try anyways.

There are some people who made a difference in your life and it doesn’t matter how far apart or how long, there is an unbreakable connection. Because it is imprinted in your memory of the things and times you shared. In this sense, I am blessed with several.

I am fortunate to have a loving family who makes my life easy; so easy that it almost deters me from making an effort to have friends as they will never be as close as my family. Yet it is almost impossible for people not to interact; building friendship is almost a natural process. Trust me. It gets addictive. As you broaden your circle and perspectives, you learn to play the social game. The fun grows as your network grows. And it took me close to twenty years to understand that it is not a competition. Friends will carry you to new heights while you grow with them. Don’t ask me why it took so long for me to get this.

The hardest part of interactions is probably building trust; especially with the super-conservative-protective mindset I have been instilled. Bear in mind, that while I choose to listen, it does not mean that I accept or believe; while I choose to acknowledge, it does not mean that I do not have my own point of view. And I try to never assume of others.

Then maybe one in a hundred so-called friends will impress me with his wit and knowledge as we build a connection. Words lose its importance and are minimal as there is a much deeper mutual understanding at work here. Just a smile, a fleeting hello or a casual call to check on things is enough most of the time. And when there is a need, I will be there just like I know they will do it for me too.

Come to think of it, my best friends were my adversaries at some point. Now we would look back and laugh about the times we gave each other trouble. Its priceless. You know what they say about keeping your friends close and enemies closer, right? The best case scenario would be total elimination of my enemies by turning them into my friends, though I probably missed a few.

So, maybe there is no eternal enemy. But I sure hope there are eternal friends.

Sometimes

Sometimes, your screams will go unnoticed. You will struggle to get out of just being a memory. Sometimes, it is just not meant to be.

You wake up one day, realizing that the world has changed but you haven't. You can no longer catch up with the difference. It was like a dream, except this world is full of dreamers who lives in the day instead of night and works to make their dreams reality. You have been left behind.

You blame your laziness, your stupidity or just your stubbornness. Disappointment after disappointment seems to wear out people's expectations and now, looking in the mirror, evident signs of age reminds you that you are no longer young. You blame time, and you blame the world till you realize that you are running out of excuses.

It is simply too late for regrets.

Sometimes.


"Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation... even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind."

~ Leonardo da Vinci ~

The lamb and the wolf

Often, people who project a certain image of themselves outwardly host a diametrically different reality inside. The wolf disguises himself as the lamb in order to bring your guard down enough to trust him. On the other hand, the lamb may disguise himself as the wolf in a conscious or unconscious effort to create an armor of protection for himself. Underneath the wolf facade, the lamb purrs at the world with an innocence that may be tarnished in an instant. It seems essential for the lamb to hold a mask out as a shield against the harsh world.

The lamb only wants the kindness of the world to embrace his own child-likeness. But cruel expectations bear down upon the lamb in forms of disapproval, admonition, and disrespectful smack-downs. The lamb thus thinks of hiding from these storms. The wolf facade houses the lamb's inner vulnerabilities in a tough structure. The lamb is safe and lives in the roomy bubble that its fiercer mask perpetrates.

Perhaps cowering under such grating conditions seems the ultimate choice in self-preservation. But if an assumption can be made about any living mindful creature, it is that growth comes from a process of painful adaptations. We cannot grow in our comfort zone because we are highly familiar with its workings. Therefore, in creating a strong wolf shell to protect the weak lamb inside, the chance for the lamb to toughen up its own skin dwindles. Energy is spent on making a better and stronger armor, so the wolf grows daily. On the other hand, no energy is spent for the lamb to get used to overcoming adversity.

Ideally, the world would change to nurture the lamb's growth in gentle ways. As perfect as that may be, the probability of it happening is slim to none. We can only pray for the lamb to see a different option than creating a facade that does not serve him over the long term. We can only hope that the lamb would find strength and determination enough to grow out of its wolf armor and face the world in its own skin. It won't be easy. Yet, many lambs have done it.

The stolen look

If I could ever run out of encomium for the grace I was fortunate enough to catch, then I would be unappreciative, and she would be undermined and underrated. Maybe it was her eyes or the way she exulted an enigmatic mysterious pull. Or maybe, it was her eyes.

She euphorized every delicateness of her voice with a touch of euphoria making every living thing around quiver in envious excitement. She moved with small motions but the exotic pantomime seduced all the manhood present to the brink of self-control.

Yes. It was her magical body language that can make a blind man see. It hypnotizes then seizes control. She played all our hearts like a cat with a ball.

And I would sacrifice myself to steal another look that makes all other men fools if they didn't.

Survival of the fittest

"A growing and increasingly influential movement of philosophers, ethicists, law professors and activists are convinced that the great moral struggle of our time will be for the rights of animals."

~ Michael Pollan ~

This is the pervasive nature of democracy and globalism, two of the dominating ideologies for the past 20 something years.

Democracy is an irony in itself, practising dictatorship of the majority while encroaching the rights of the minor. On the other hand, you allow too much freedom to the individuals and in doing so empower them. The result is a handful of the minor imposing their will on the majority. For example, I was discussing with my friend who is the director of Century College and he was relating to me that they have a class taught by two gays on homosexuality. Well, they managed to get that special vocation through a court order as they sued the college for homosexual discrimination. As you can imagine, the number of students taking this college course would be meagre considering its popularity, and now the two teachers are asking the court to issue an order to make the course mandatory. This creates a power distribution dilemma that determines only one thing - You just can't win.

Globalism has unified the economic, technological, sociocultural and political forces of single societies into a whole. As a result, we have the convenience of all the information in the world with a click of a button, and the creation of International Court and other global agencies made up of members of different nations. Things are moving so fast, it is easy to get lost in the progress we have made in the past two decades. But the real consequences of globalism are just starting to surface specifically inequality and environmental degradation.

Globalism builds on the competitive idealism of capitalism which when broken down is nothing more than the exploitation of the poor. The under-developed or the poor are at such a competitive disadvantage in this system that it is near impossible for them to change their plight. As a result, the rich gets richer, the poor gets poorer. This creates a vortex of increasing disparity between the two.

For the longest time, there has been few or no environmental regulations on businesses. They were able to pay little attention to the consequences of the actions to the environment which eventually lead to the public paying the bills for to cleanup their mess. With increasing public awareness, there has been significant improvements to environmental regulations in recent years.

All in all, both democracy and globalism has promoted vast growth as well as scientific and technological advancements. But they have also created many of the compelling problems we face in present time as suggested above. I believe that the two ideologies need to evolve so as to adapt to our present time and this is the task of our future generation.

Sidetracking. There is nothing more important than education we can give our future generation. Lately, I have been challenged to define the foundations of a good education. Kids nowadays have been subjected to these pervasive ideologies at such a young age, it is understandable that they lack the capacity to fully differentiate between the good and the bad. Not to mention that there are enough distractions and misrepresentations to confuse and corrupt the pure hearted.

I guess it is time for me to think hard about what I want to teach my kids and how.

One Big Test

I know I was foolish and naive. My critics are plenty and they were right. Of all things, the human heart is the mystery that is hardest to comprehend, define and predict. And I was naive to think that man by nature is kind.

When the opportunity presents itself, most men will succumb. Man by nature is weak.

Could it be that everyone makes mistakes and it is by no fault of theirs. Is life just one big test where mistakes are part of the questions? You respond whether with change or forgiveness or stubbornness and at the end of the road, you will judge for yourself if you have gotten the answer that you want.

One minute

What can you do in one minute?

Wake up early in the break of dawn, loosen your bones and welcome the brand new day?
Or when it is night, reminisce of the day and reflect on your self.

What can you do in one minute?
Let my family know how much I care and love them.
One minute to share a little compassion.
One random act of kindness.

What can you do in one minute?
If you make use of it, one minute is enough.

China

If you make me pick one culture that I would like to learn and indulge in, it would have to be China with all its 5000 over years of history.

No one can deny China’s deep cultural roots. You can go back to the works of great philosophers like Lao Zi and Confucius who continue to set moral foundations for present and future generations. There are countless stories of great men, of times of turmoil, of patriotism and loyalty, and of struggles to unify all of China. I am sure you have heard of the Romance Of Three Kingdoms or the Water Margin Tales. Sometimes I even complain that I should have been borned during the Song dynasty so that I can meet with Li Bai, Du Fu and all the great poets.

If you catch the annual New year's performances, you will be captured by the amazing diversity of their cultures especially the beauty of their dances and celebrations. Prepare to be dazzled when dancers raid the stage wearing their own cultural uniforms rich of tradition and flavor.

There is a saying that if you haven't been to the Great Wall, you are not a hero. Just to give you an idea of what the fuss is about, how about it being the single architecture that can be seen from the moon? The number of national treasures are astonishing and the National Museum has to rotate the artifacts to give each one a chance for show.

There is simply no denying that China is a country of greatness. This is not to say that I see China as a country of probity or ignore all that it is not. I am well aware of their xenophobia, their widespread corruption and how their legal system resembles that of a leaking condo. I know of their disregard for human rights, their cruelty and their ability to inflict pain beyond your wildest imagination. Understanding this, you find yourself forgiving those who are paranoid of going to China, being swindled to the last penny, finding themselves at the mercy of the corrupted authorities and maybe even at the expense of their lives.

In recent years, the rapid growth of China as a super power seems to go in opposite direction with their education. It is simply ridiculous that China, being as corrupted and the law being as friable as it is, finds itself forgoing on instilling the basic morals of society upon its younger generations.

For those who somehow still manage to retain the traditional values and cultures, I extend my hand out and hope to be your friend.

Dumbstruck

Yet how rare, how thrilling it is to be struck dumb in this all too articulate world.

Sometimes when I read a poem, I can sense someone beside me, listening to the voice emanating in my head. A reflective image calling my heart....

Titanic Watch

Watches are no longer simply a timepiece but also a symbol of status. While I may not be a fan of wearing them, they are one of the few necessary assessories of men. Sad to say, all my watches are old and broken, hinting that it is time I start shopping for new ones.

I was never much of a shopper even thougn I do relative comparison. Basically I'll settle for anything that is not overpriced, which means that I probably won't get the best deal but I also won't spend the extra time on research and even more time after purchase trying to make sure I made a bargain. Until you get into the action, you will never realize how much work is put into a watch and how many different ones are out there.

My migraine was working its way up as I was bombarded with choices that I didn't know how to make. Lost and confused, I came across one of the Titanic watch designs by revolutionary watchmarket Romain Jerome and instantly took a liking to it. This watch, if you can believe it, is made from steel from the actual sunken oceanliner and there is only 2012 (marking 100 years of the wreck) produced and sold. Available in several different versions, my favourite is the "extreme rusted steel", with its bezel forged with authentic Titanic parts, titanium and blackened steel casing, black dial intergrating recovered coal from the ship, and La Joux-Perret movement. I could hardly contain my drooling.

Then I saw the price tag.........

(Price ranges from $9,000 to $150,000.)

Like a blank paper

Like a blank paper longing for words to define the meaning of its existence.

Or maybe a picture of an unforgettable face that disgraces beauty for its inadequency.

Or maybe a scent of perfume that lingers and grows with time.

Or just something different after your touch.

Like a blank paper, I give myself to you, hoping you will grace me with your magic.

You are the only one who can leave me speechless, yet still inspire me to write words of love.

Psychology

It really gets on my nerves when my sis gets into her technical talk about psychology. And I swear, if we weren’t blood related, I would have upbraided her on her pertinacious illusions of psychology as a science long ago.

Well, let me give you an example of what a joke this whole thing about mental health is.

Man goes to a psychiatrist dressed in a pointy hat, blue naval jacket, brass buttons, arm in a sling.

The Psychiatrist looks up wearily, "Yes?"

"Doctor, I keep thinking I'm Adolph Hitler!"

"Surely you mean Napoleon?"

"No, no, no - I AM Napoleon!"

After my sis’s inculcation of my misconception that schizophrenia is a split-personality disorder such as Jekyll and Hyde, I decided to do some research on some of the most common mental disorders available today.

OCD – Just a way of labeling the fastidious. They make wonderful housekeepers and workers you know.

PTSD – Millions of people return from wars and then there are millions who suffered at home. And yes, there were occasional mental health casualties, but really...

ADHD –There have always been rude, obnoxious kids with no discipline and no respect. But now, there is a reason to punish them with the excuse of treatment.

AUTISM – Are they doing it on purpose? This could just be the so-called coolness operating at a younger age.

PHOBIC DISORDER – People were so ignorant in the past they were fearless. Now, the Phobia list is like a page long running from Ablutophobia to Zoophobia. People are so knowledgeable now that they invent all these names and spread the fear.

ADDICTION – If you like doing something too much……. Sure, that sounds like danger.

Bubbles and Bursts

Bubbles and bursts should be no stranger to us. Millionaires and billionaires are dimes a dozen. And we have seen many of them lose everything overnight. Are we surprised or are we already too used to uninspiring stories of riches and rags? If we have ever gotten into a discussion of economics, you have probably heard me try to explain that there are many ways to make and lose money in today’s world.

At the turn of the decade, we saw the bubble in dot-com stocks. More recently, we have witnessed the same in real estate then in commodities, especially oil and food. Just as the bubbles grew, so does the risk and the impact when they burst. This is a simple scientific fact but greed has taken the rationality out of people.

Even bubbles have some foundations in reality. The Internet was the future and while the first few companies would profit tremendously, the market quickly becomes saturated. Likewise, adding China and India to the developed world is going to mean commodities get more expensive as demand grows exponentially. Then there are those who ride the waves and blew it out of proportion till the waves start crashing down.

So let’s examine what should happen in the foreseeable future and see if you can predict where the next bubble will come

1) The US dollar has been more resilient than most would expect and should be nearing the point of rebound, which is good news for the US real estate.

2) China and India will have an increasing middle and upper class looking for modernization. This will lead to growth in foreign exporters like Italy, France and Germany.

3) While oil prices rises, people look for cheaper alternatives. The hybrid car market is at present the most viable option and should see a sharp increase in demand. Meanwhile there are ongoing R&Ds on electric cars and should it succeed, a new generation in electric automobiles will take over.

4) Population growth will be declining and mortality rate will be increasing at an alarming rate as a result of higher costs of living.

5) And finally and perhaps most critical of all, global warming is running wild like a herd of off-track horses rampaging through anything that stands in their way. Anything green from now on should be getting hotter on the market.

Forgiveness

You want to know how much it hurts?

Like a thousand knives stabbing through your heart. Like waves and waves hitting you before you can breathe. Like blood oozing from your wound and nothing you can do can slow the bleeding. Like life dying, tears crying.... till there is nothing. Nothing at all.

And do you know what it feels like when you are so tired and all you want to do is give up? You stand at the end of a cliff, waiting for the courage to jump and hoping that all the pain can go away, at least for a while. Do you really want to know?

I know what you want. Forgiveness. You want closure so you can let go of that persistent guilt and you can finally sleep at night. I know what you want. Take a deep breath and everything becomes just a memory. And with time, not even.

But just who are you asking forgiveness from?

Schrodinger's Cat

An episode in "The Big Bang Theory" talked about Schrodinger's Cat so I went on Wiki to do some research.

"An indeterminacy originally restricted to the atomic domain becomes transformed into macroscopic indeterminacy, which can then be resolved by direct observation is exemplified by the experiment of Schrodinger’s cat, which is the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics being applied to everyday life. Copenhagen implies that the superposition only undergoes collapse into a definite state at the exact moment of quantum movement."

In other words, to find out if the cat is alive, you have to open the box. Why didn't they just say so?

The Last 30 Years

Time doesn’t pass you by. It runs through you, doesn’t slow down and doesn’t look back.

With a blink of an eye, I am nearing 30 and becoming more and more aware of the fact that my receding hairline and new age lines mean that I am no longer young. Barring a miracle medical breakthrough, I won’t be around to see the end of this century regardless of how much my curiosity wants to.

As we follow the incessant changes the last 30 years the world has experienced, there are a number that has particularly shaped the world today:

1. Religious animosities plagued the Middle East.
2. Former African colonies were struggling to develop their economies.
3. Tensions within and among the nations of Asia were high.
4. Inflation was a worrying issue and markets were jittery.
5. The United States was involved in an unpopular war a long way from home in 1991, then made the same mistake again in 2001.
6. Religious tensions have spread well beyond the Middle East.
7. The Soviet Union has collapsed.
8. China emerged from the Cultural Revolution to transform itself into an economic powerhouse.
9. India began to experience its own economic revolution.
10. The Common Market of the six largest European economies grew into the European Union.
11. South Africa ended apartheid.
12. Terrorism became an international problem.
13. New diseases appeared - Aids, drug-resistant tuberculosis, Sars, bird flu - but medicine also developed many new and remarkable cures leading to longer life expectancies.
14. Human-induced global warming became a reality.
15. Oil as the primary source of energy became a problem.
16. Communications, data storage and data retrieval changed incredibly.

Indeed it has been an eventful period and I should stop complaining that I am misplaced in the wrong era. Besides we humans, as a race, are adept to adjusting to the environment and finding a way to survive, that is if we don't kill ourselves first. Anyways, upon reflection, here are some notes to digest:

• Somehow we have found a way to go back to the most basic solution to all problems if you even consider it a solution - WAR.
• Inflation, a result of Capitalism, is starting to look like the bad idea it was to start out with.
• Technology and advancement in science have led to longer life expectancies for those with the money to pay for it. Otherwise, good luck in living past your teens.
• So everyone now accepts the fact that the rich gets richer, poor gets poorer. The discrepancy only means that the poor gets stuck with the bill while the rich gets stuck with the money. This is particularly true on the case of global warming.

Sorry to sound pessimistic here but it really gets to me when people just don't understand how or are unwilling to put in the smallest effort to make things better. Whether the situation is at the critical point is debatable, however, I do not think that we have any more time to waste.

A pen

How's your imagination today?

In the absence of distraction, a mind will grow weary of its own company and begin to bicker with itself. And there is only one way to relieve the tension. I write.

Because I love writing without the noble intentions or inspirational charges. Because I am simple, but my writings are not. Because people hear, seldom listen, but rarely if ever learn. Because we make sense of thoughts through words and words make sense of language. Because I make sense of my life through thousands and thousands of words to complain that a picture is never enough. I hate taking pictures. It captures a shot, but doesn't tell the story.

So give me a pen. And I will show you my world.

Public Embarrassment

Remember when the Spanish Prime Minister gave a 25 minute speech to the European Parliament, stepped off the podium, turned to his neighbour and muttered:

"What nonsense I have just came up with."


The microphone was still on.

God is a master of irony

You can probably find a million articles on God's irony. And I can't help laughing.

Its grace was gone, lost. Bereft of all natural elegance. Ruined by self-consciousness and affection. The truth lasts. The perennial myth about innocence and grace never does. Because its true. It is the force behind the pastoral idyll. We live it out in even the simplest ways, in our homes, in the cities as well as the wilderness.

Just as the intersection of two lines on one side of a point after passing through infinity, suddenly appears again on the other side or the image of a concave mirror, so grace can be found again. When knowledge has passed, as it were, through an eternity, so that it appears at its purest in both those human forms which have either no consciousness at all, or an infinite consciousness, time has evolved.

That is in a marionette or in a God, the natural grace speaks of the perfect example of his irony.

Mutiple awards winning picture "Tree of Life"