27 November, 2009
23 November, 2009
We are Robot
It's here. Though it may not resemble what the media feeds us in shades of 'The Matrix' and shapes of 'Minority Report', or even the dystopian future where 100% 'meatbags' (unaltered humans) are a rarity in 'Ghost in the Shell' - we have already reached the age of technological symbiosis.
Look around you. Eyes glued to laptops. Minds focused on their smartphones. These devices are gateways to the Internet. Ask most users of these mobile devices whether they can live without their nifty gadgets. 9 out of 10 will tell you that they can't and the last singular one can only remain 'disconnected' for about 3 days - max.
Unlike the anime Ghost in the Shell where human brains can be uploaded and downloaded due to alterations of the cerebral cortex with artificial enhancements (or in some cases the entire brain is replaced with an artifical one where memory and mind are digitised), the laptop and smartphone act just like that except that it is a remote device outside of our meatbag selfs which is regarded as an extension of one's brain; allowing one to connect wirelessly to the Internet wherever and whenever.
This is not necessarily bad in any way but it is not long before we start truly 'plugging' ourselves into the world wide web; which in turn will spell the end of that age-old line which divides what is real, and what is not.
Goodbye Saturday night meets at a friend's house for a game of cards, darts and beer
Hello virtual meets in cybespace over a game of kill me, kill you with digital swords and mana potions
Look around you. Eyes glued to laptops. Minds focused on their smartphones. These devices are gateways to the Internet. Ask most users of these mobile devices whether they can live without their nifty gadgets. 9 out of 10 will tell you that they can't and the last singular one can only remain 'disconnected' for about 3 days - max.
Unlike the anime Ghost in the Shell where human brains can be uploaded and downloaded due to alterations of the cerebral cortex with artificial enhancements (or in some cases the entire brain is replaced with an artifical one where memory and mind are digitised), the laptop and smartphone act just like that except that it is a remote device outside of our meatbag selfs which is regarded as an extension of one's brain; allowing one to connect wirelessly to the Internet wherever and whenever.
This is not necessarily bad in any way but it is not long before we start truly 'plugging' ourselves into the world wide web; which in turn will spell the end of that age-old line which divides what is real, and what is not.
Goodbye Saturday night meets at a friend's house for a game of cards, darts and beer
Hello virtual meets in cybespace over a game of kill me, kill you with digital swords and mana potions
20 November, 2009
Death of the child we once knew
Innocence murdered. Creativity bogged. The wonder of life, ceases to spiral like rainbows in child's minds.
Back date 40 years ago where the world was a much more simpler place; children grow up with a sense of wonder and question the world around them with as much cerebral and physical movement as possible. They question why nature works as it works, why the animals hibernate, why people behave the way they behave, how stick forts can repel monsters from the land Zerprok, and whether the boogie man under their beds may have a liking towards candy floss. They play with toys they make themselves; spearheading creative thought while they create and make a world of their own without a care of reality. This was only a few decades ago.
In actual fact, children of my era (the 80's and all of its big haired, electronica, multi-coloured lycra glory) were the last generation of children to experience life without much meddling of the adult world. We were born in the bridge of technology joining the new and old school ways of living - changed by a leap in telecommunicative technology. We saw the birth of the Internet and the death of snail mail. We witnessed the birth of one-touch communication and the death of the firm handshake.
Though one may argue that the world is increasingly becoming a more dangerous place to live in where greed, power, hunger, intolerance and ignorance constantly shifts the paradigms of human interaction; we must understand that over-protection is not protecting anything for future purposes. Adults cage their children like hamsters, teaching them that the world out there is a bad, bad, wicked place full of boogiemen that roam the streets not only under beds. They teach adult practices to ensure that their children are able to make cognitive actions for their own safety. They shadow their children with a cloak that is much less translucent, blinding imaginations and instilling fear under the guise of 'nurturing'.
The era of growing up, falling down, dusting one's self and running again is over. In fact, children now learn life's lessons through a LCD screen displaying pixelised characters toting guns bigger than refrigerators. They live out adventures and events of escapism through pre-made storylines made by adults. Never again will children make a world they can call their own.
These thoughts have been spurred by this song. This song speaks of the death of child-like imagination.
Back date 40 years ago where the world was a much more simpler place; children grow up with a sense of wonder and question the world around them with as much cerebral and physical movement as possible. They question why nature works as it works, why the animals hibernate, why people behave the way they behave, how stick forts can repel monsters from the land Zerprok, and whether the boogie man under their beds may have a liking towards candy floss. They play with toys they make themselves; spearheading creative thought while they create and make a world of their own without a care of reality. This was only a few decades ago.
In actual fact, children of my era (the 80's and all of its big haired, electronica, multi-coloured lycra glory) were the last generation of children to experience life without much meddling of the adult world. We were born in the bridge of technology joining the new and old school ways of living - changed by a leap in telecommunicative technology. We saw the birth of the Internet and the death of snail mail. We witnessed the birth of one-touch communication and the death of the firm handshake.
Though one may argue that the world is increasingly becoming a more dangerous place to live in where greed, power, hunger, intolerance and ignorance constantly shifts the paradigms of human interaction; we must understand that over-protection is not protecting anything for future purposes. Adults cage their children like hamsters, teaching them that the world out there is a bad, bad, wicked place full of boogiemen that roam the streets not only under beds. They teach adult practices to ensure that their children are able to make cognitive actions for their own safety. They shadow their children with a cloak that is much less translucent, blinding imaginations and instilling fear under the guise of 'nurturing'.
The era of growing up, falling down, dusting one's self and running again is over. In fact, children now learn life's lessons through a LCD screen displaying pixelised characters toting guns bigger than refrigerators. They live out adventures and events of escapism through pre-made storylines made by adults. Never again will children make a world they can call their own.
These thoughts have been spurred by this song. This song speaks of the death of child-like imagination.
17 November, 2009
Cocking
Question: Do any of you out there cock your head to one side whilst trying to understand a certain statement, or while you are watching a show intently? I do not know why I do it but I do it.
Weird.
Weird.
13 November, 2009
Facial expressions while reading
Do you sometimes find yourself making facial expressions when you read?
Like say when you read a book and you read a line "...smiled a warm smile across the room...", do you find yourself smirking or our lips breaking out into a small smile? Say you read a scenario in the book stating that something was amiss or a plot twist, do you find yourself making the 'squinting eyes' or 'raised eyebrows'?
peculiar
but funny nonetheless.
So do you do make facial expressions while reading?
Like say when you read a book and you read a line "...smiled a warm smile across the room...", do you find yourself smirking or our lips breaking out into a small smile? Say you read a scenario in the book stating that something was amiss or a plot twist, do you find yourself making the 'squinting eyes' or 'raised eyebrows'?
peculiar
but funny nonetheless.
So do you do make facial expressions while reading?
our daily papers = same shit, different day
Ever get the feeling that our daily papers just report local news which ONLY cover smiling overzealous politicians, gang raped girls, car accidents, angry politicians, sobbing cheated citizens, murderers and the murdered, motorcycle accidents, some mofo winning a prize, angry politicians getting angry at other angry politicians, husband kills wife kills son kills daughter kills husband, bus accidents, someone doing something insignificant which will be forgotten by the weekend, sobbing cheated citizens getting someone in their family murdered by other angry citizens which ride motorcycles or drive cars to accidents...
you see the trend here?
The news 'reports' are either negative, insignificant, or well......just plain negative. Yes, negative news does create more 'sensational' news due to the fact that "its always far more entertaining to laugh at the misery of others"
But then again, don't our reporters have anything else to report on in this country? Or could the reality be that our society is way closer to the aspects of these reports than we could ever imagine? If it is, we live in a sad sad world...
If it isn't, then i guess we just need to laugh harder.
you see the trend here?
The news 'reports' are either negative, insignificant, or well......just plain negative. Yes, negative news does create more 'sensational' news due to the fact that "its always far more entertaining to laugh at the misery of others"
But then again, don't our reporters have anything else to report on in this country? Or could the reality be that our society is way closer to the aspects of these reports than we could ever imagine? If it is, we live in a sad sad world...
If it isn't, then i guess we just need to laugh harder.
09 November, 2009
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