Public Service Announcement

Do you have a cell phone? If yes, how do you react when you hit the highway and realised that you have forgotten your phone in the charger cradle? Do you shrug and went on with your journey or do you double back to get your lifeline?

For many, the decision is the latter. The cell phone is no longer a mere accessory, but as vital as your wallet and keys. It contains your correspondence (e-mails, text messages), your confidential information (yes, there are idiots who keep their pin number on the cellphones, not to mention poorly shot nude pictures) and often doubles as work and entertainment system.

In a word: IMPORTANT.

We got so used to being connected that the loss of this connectivity is terrifying. I know many people who check their phones when they first wake up (and not to turn off the alarm) and scroll through e-mails and messages even before brushing their teeth.

Some worry that we are losing our vocabulary with text messages. What could be abbreviated, is, or poorly spelled. The glass half full people would say that our language is evolving with each thumb stroke over the surface of your smartphone. After all, no one speaks like a Shakespearean play anymore (unless they're literature hipsters or something).

But this addiction has more implication to it than surgical interventions to fix repetitive injuries from texting. Most of us text while we drive. I have even seen motorcyclists texting while riding their bike. You know what this means?

It means we're crazy. 

We take it for granted that we can avoid collisions with other objects when our thumbs run over the surface of our smartphones. We are special. We have superpowers that allow us to multitask, right? We are so good at texting and stuff, we don't really need to look at the screen, isn't that so?

Wrong. You won't see the lamp post or the old lady whose hands are filled with her grocery while you are sharing some youtube sensation with your Facebook flist. What you should do is move to the side, finish your text/Facebook update/Twitter rant/road traffic Instagram/whatever, put your phone away and then continue walking or driving. There are even people who got mugged because they are distracted by their phones that they are not paying attention to their surroundings. Heck, my aunt was one such victim. 


So either quit the dangerous self-delusion that you can use your phone while driving or walking or wean yourself from the hyper connectivity of your mobile devices. It may save you not just physical harm, but even fix your relationship with the people in your life.

Just ... just put the damn thing away, will ya?


*facepalm*

Self pimpage

Ah well, what does a writer wants? For people to read their work, of course!

So here is an update of my Malay language blog detailing a paranormal encounter. Moar will come, so stay tuned.

Also, this is a new collaborative blog that I'm setting up with two of my pals. This blog is to collate our memories of places that we have visited, share the places frequented by our friends as well as places we want to go before we kick the bucket. Here's the first post sharing our friend's visit to Istanbul recently.

Have a great week ahead, y'all!

*hugs*

Batman! Nananana ...

I'm looking forward to The Dark Knight Rises, purely because of Bane, who is this guy:

Played by this guy:

I ♥♥♥ Mr Hardy.

Almost everyone who has a nodding acquaintance with the Batman franchise is familiar with the iconic image of Batman and his amazing bat-wing cape, right?

The sad reality is that if Batman had glided down from building roof with only his cape to slow his descent, his bones would exit his flesh. Seriously. It's all physics. 



What a way to spoil a pop culture enjoyment eh? Those physicists take the fun out of everything.

Excitement!

I love her contagious enthusiasm: I will never look at a penis (mammalian or otherwise) the same way again.



I admire how she could discuss something titillating in a funny and creepy way.

(Undercut because pretty NSFW)

Ear candy - shoegazer

Shoegazing is a trippy alternative pop/rock music is a unique product of the late 80's and 90's, blending haunting melodies to depressing lyrics with a sound that won't be amiss in an acid trip experience. You can read a more thinky description of the music here.

Trailer Trash Tracys is a new band out of London that embodies some of the best elements of dream pop and shoegazing.

Enjoy.

Midweek sh*ts and giggles

The rest is undercut due to NSFW-ness.

Eternal light?

I watched Majalah3 on Saturday about people who donated their bodies to a Buddhist medical university in Taiwan for the students to practice surgery and to learn about the physiological manifestation of the disease from which they died. There were men and women, the youngest was 33 and the oldest was a man in his 60's. The medical students honoured the deceased as well as their family according to Buddhist rituals. After the surgical practice training was over, the medical students helped in preparing the bodies for their final rest.

It was one of the most moving episodes I have ever seen. I admired the generosity of spirit demonstrated by the "Silent Mentors" in donating their body to advance medicine and medical training. I empathised with the family members who probably felt like they were losing their loved one all over again.

But this?

I ... have no words.

I suppose Hilary Clinton's expression says it all.

Moar ear candy

I love NPR. They are the reason I begin to have an appreciation for musicians who make lyrical poetry to match their songs.Otherwise, I'm basically melody driven. The song could be about monkeys fornicating for all I care, which is how I enjoy opera and songs in a language I don't comprehend.

Simone White's Big Dreams and the Headlines.



Patrick Watson's Adventure in Your Own Backyard.



Sinead O'Connor's I Had a Baby.



And of course, her iconic anthem.



Have a great weekend, y'all!

Ear candy

I have been listening to this over and over. The riffs, navel gazing lyrics ...

 

Delicious. This is my approximation of poetry appreciation.

Geek humour

To survive the midweek madness, some humour is needed.