What has happened to friendster?

Date:	Sunday, 25 March, 2007 10:5 PM
Subject:	i
Message:	hi how r u doing? i m *** from *** really wish u could give me a chance 2 b ur fren :) hope could know u more :) ***@hotmail.com (he inserts his phone number) hope could keep in touch wif u have a good day t k happy

That's an example of how Friendster, from an initial quite reputable website that was build to keep friends connected, has turned into some sort of pretentious want-to-be-your-friend site.
Annoying... and more importantly it's sad how society today manipulates technology to succumb to their lacking social environment.....

Give it a bit more time, and facebook too will turn into this pile of gibberish...

Happy Valentines Day

Instead of putting up a post lamenting about how I'm spending V-Day alone (which is SO uberly unacceptable in society these days...) or posting some really cynical thoughts on this very day where young lovers pour their year-long savings on a bunch of roses or a box of chocolates, I've decided to post something meaningful instead.
But just to make clear, I did NOT spend Valentines day (it always seems like it requires a capital) alone. I was making Chinese New Year cookies with mum instead, sharing precious moments.. :) a little bonding session... aww... haha...

So, where did Valentines day originate from? Well, my curiosity led me to a few extra clicks on my mouse, and according to the all-mighty wikipedia, Valentines day was actually named after two Christian martyrs, both by the name of Valentine. It was during the high middle ages, when romance begun to flourish throughout Europe that people begun sending out love letters to each other on this day, quite often anonymously to reveal their true feelings. (A rather conservative society, I would say... Imagine waiting an entire year to tell that special someone u liked her/him!)
But today, it is not just Europe that recognizes this day, in fact the whole world celebrates Valentines Day, expressing their love for one another.

While I sit here in my room blogging, I can only hope that this love reaches out to those who have so often been forgotten, and that while we enjoy our chocolate truffles, or arrange those lovely roses into a vase, keep in mind that that little boy or girl in Africa is still striving to live another day. With that, it's not to say that we should be ashamed of what we have, rather, enjoy what you have, but at one point or another, do spare a thought or two for those who are less fortunate than us.
I shall end with a quote. Here's one by Elbert Hubbard, an American philosopher and writer who once said, "The love we give away is the only love we keep."

Happy Valentines Day!

In relation to 'the power of words' post

2 lines from a MSN conversation:

[]Shoblast- Homosexuality prevents Abortions says:
did you know the germans have a word called "Schadenfreude"?

[]Shoblast- Homosexuality prevents Abortions says:
means "to gain enjoyment from other people's suffering"

Such saddists........ but a perfect example nevertheless...

Thanks for the information Shoblast!

consumerism can be fatal

I needed a toothbrush.
I walked into the store.
I looked for the toothbrush.
I saw the entire isle of toothbrushes.
Which one did I choose?

It's like another one of those 'why did the chicken cross the road' type of riddles... there is no right answer. I mean they're toothbrushes, for goodness sakes!

So the salesgirl came, and she was a promoter for that one particular brand of toothbrush (which, by the way, had about ten different ranges even within that brand) and she started showing me the different types, and then recommended to me a few that she thought would 'suit' my mouth (and no, I did not show her the insides of my mouth), and went on, and on, and on about how good it was. After about 20 minutes deciding on the so-called 'best' toothbrush, I paid and left. Now I'm still in doubt if it really was the one I would have chosen, or whether I took it only to politely shut her off. Well, at least I didn't take the most expsensive one - and I now have a tongue scrubber attached to my toothbrush. Hooray.

And I thought buying a toothbrush was a brainless chore.

'Book Tagged' by Jessie

1) Grab the closest book to you.
2)Open to page 123, go down to the 4th sentence.
3) Post the text of the following 3 sentences on your blog.

"Inmediatamente después, se retiró bruscamente. Pedro no se merecía el que lo quisiera tanto. Había mostrado debilidad al irse lejos de ella y eso no se lo perdonaba."

4) Name of the book and author: Como Agua para Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel.

Instead of writing my own synopsis, I searched for it on Wikipedia, and sure enough, it summarized this book very well, so here u go...

"The novel follows the story of a young girl named Tita who longs her entire life for her lover, Pedro, but can never have him because of her domineering mother's traditional belief that the youngest daughter must not marry but instead care for her parents. Tita is only able to express her passions and feelings through her cooking, which causes the people who taste it to experience what she feels." (Wikipedia online)

I watched the movie for this story a few years back, and it's idea of magical realism really enticed me to finally pick the book up while I was in Spain. I strongly recommend this book, and if you're not Spanish literate, do not fret as this book has been translated into 30 different languages. So if you manage to get hold of it, do open it as it's definitely a great read.

5) Tagging time!
- Cecilia
- Julie
- Siew Lian
- Reuben
- My new housemates! :)

The power of words

Lately I've been pondering on the differences within the homo sapien species... not in terms of physical differences, but more of the inner self. Personality, to be precise, and how much of it is actually affected by language.

The majority of people communicate vocally, with language being their tool. The first thing we hear when we are born, other than the chaos in the delivery room, are voices. And voices are what we hear from then onwards.

It's a challenge for parents to teach their children to speak - it's as if the quicker the child's ability to speak, the smarter their child is, thus the better their parents are at being parents.
But do we ever question the accuracy of language itself? Constitutions are constantly being skimmed through over and over again in search for loopholes, what about the language?
I have been asked in numerous occasions to literally translate a phrase from one language to another, and when I let its impossibility be known, the general assumption is either that I'm oblivious to the word (which of course, is sometimes true) or that I simply am not sincere in helping them out.

That aside, I'm really more interested in how people's personalities are affected by language. Brought up with a Malaysian chinese background, and being exposed to the 'international community,' for almost a decade now, I often find myself trapped with words when wanting to describe one's personality. I may consider myself globally educated, yet why is it that even though I can communicate without a problem in English to friends from all over the world, I sometimesl have trouble understaning the message they are trying to get across to me?

I am no linguist, but it is of no doubt to me that our characters and personalities are heavily influenced by the language we speak. Since language is the main tool for communication, if a word does not exist to describe a particular behaviour, then that behaviour cannot exist. And because of that, we find other cultures "interesting." We think certain things people do are abnormal, simply because in our language, there is no word to match their exact behaviour. As a result, they will never be 'normal' to us, nomatter how much we try to deny it.

Arapaima the great

The arapaima.
Known as the largest springwater fish in the world, this fish is able to grow up to 4.5-5metres, and weigh up to a maximum of 200kg. Talk about a BIG FISH!
This mouthbrooder also breathes air, so it is bound to survive without constantly being submerged in water, enabling it to withstand drought conditions.
But despite its size and its scary ability to jump up to 2 feet high, it is still considered an aquarium fish (you'd have to get a pretty big aquarium and a strong one too!).
The south americans, however, dry its tongue and mix it with guarana to be used for medicinal purposes. -.-

Seeing it with my own two eyes for the first time in my life today, i was shocked and nearly jumped out of my skin! And even then, the one i saw was only about 1.2metres long.

The wonders of nature....