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Listening to: 'Meccano' by Red Light Company [Fine Fascination]
The world pissed me off today. Thrice.
1. "You're poor, therefore you must be unhappy."
I was listening to the radio today, as I always do, and I was listening to Jo Whiley's Changing Tracks. Today's story was about a girl who spent her gap year in Uganda, and what a great time she had and how it changed her life etc. When speaking of the Ugandan kids she worked with, she said the following - ...despite living in abject poverty, they were always smiling...
Well what did you expect? Did you think they'd be walking around feeling suicidal just because they live in a poor country?! Honestly! The concept of contentment is alien to the majority of these studenty types. They live in a world where your self worth is measured by how many colours of nail polish you have, or the type of iPod you own, or how drunk you got at last night's party. They float from the skies to these 'developing countries' thinking that they'll make a marked difference to the region and come back talking about how lovely the people are. And those people? To them, they're just a nice foreigner who came on holiday.
I'm not saying that these students don't have good intentions - they do. What I'm saying is that a lot of them don't understand a life outside their own. They don't see how a child from a rural village can enjoy life. They don't see that there's more to life than material possessions. They don't see that one year of teaching English is not going to change the futures of these kids at all. I just can't see it as anything other than a glorified holiday.
2. Tailor-made babies
According to this article, a fertility clinic in the States is offering sex and physical trait selection. Yeah that's right...if you want only a baby boy with only blue eyes and only blonde hair, head over to this clinic. I really hope this is just another case of BBC editorialising things 'cos if it's the truth, I want to puke. I can understand using this technology for screening of genetic disorders such as Down's Syndrome and Huntington's Disease. If parents choose to abort a pregnancy that would result in a baby with Down's Syndrome, that's their prerogative. But to discard a foetus because it has the wrong hair colour?!?!?! How superficial are we getting? This is a human life we're talking about, not a washing machine!
3. Rules are rules
So apparently the team from Corpus Christi, Oxford that won this year's University Challenge has been disqualified, because one of their team mates graduated half way through the competition and therefore ceased to be a student. OK, rules are rules...and while I would've preferred common sense to prevail (because I think they deserved to win), I can accept the BBC's decision. What I can't understand is, if this was such a big issue, why didn't it come out earlier?! Why wait until they've won to bring this up? Why wasn't it highlighted during the however many other matches they played? Have they checked the details of every other participant in the history of University Challenge? Or was it just that some bonfire pisser got upset that this college had won twice and decided dig around in the hope that they'd find some goss? Well they found some, so I hope they're happy.
Listening to: 'Miniature Disasters' by KT Tunstall [Eye To The Telescope]
So I've previously alluded to the whole purpose of me doing a PhD. And I've also waxed lyrical about PhD Comics (if you don't know what it is by now, well shame on you). I thought I had become accustomed to Dr Cham reading my mind, but I have to say, his latest entry floored me.
This comic is a continuation of a set starting with this comic
I mean how spooky is it that he uploaded this comic days after I decided that this is exactly why I want to teach? The proverbial light bulb switching on above a student's head is, for me, the most rewarding part of my PhD experience thus far. Successful experiments come a close second, but those are so few and far between that I've almost given up on the idea that I have anything to do with it! When one of my former supervisees told me that I was one of the best supervisors he'd ever had, I wanted to cry tears of joy (the fact was probably evident by my ear-to-ear grin).
Everyone has their own drug. Mine is seeing others improve their understanding, and knowing that I had something to do with it.
Listening to: 'Tiny Dancer' by Elton John [Madman Across the Water]
So finally, the Home Office has got something right! In the application form for the UK visa, there's a question that goes something along the lines of "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" Now it doesn't say that you will be refused a visa should you admit to being convicted, but if Snoop Dogg's visa refusal is anything to go by, it sure seems like it! While I feel sorry for everyone who bought tickets to see him perform, I'm happy that at least in this case, the Home Office has shown that celebrities aren't above the law.
From one celebrity sphere to another...and the Bob Woolmer tragedy. Cricket Cluedo, they're calling it on the radio - a classic case of whodunit. And the tongue-wagging media are having a field day. Internal rifts, match fixing exposés...you name it, they've speculated it. The investigators promise that the case will be solved, but who knows.
Keeping with the cricket, I can't not comment on our dear neighbours' dismal performance last Friday. I know practically everyone has already seen this photo, but it begs mass distribution -
Need I say more?
India's exit from the World Cup has probably cost a lot of companies a whole lotta money, but in my honest opinion, it's good for cricket. Not because I have anything against the Indian cricket team, but because I'm not a fan of any one player (or in this case, team) being bigger than the game itself. Teams that play mediocre cricket don't deserve to be in the second round of the World Cup. And before you remind me about Ireland, I think it's great that they're in there. Had they been in any other group we might have a different top 8, but that's the luck of the draw. I guess the whole point of this World Cup being excruciatingly long is to sift out the teams that get to the Super 8 by chance.
On that note, I think I'll give up on waiting for the rain in Antigua to let up...West Indies, you better hope that tomorrow's a sunny day, you've got a hell of a lot of runs to chase!
Listening to: 'Chega De Saudade' by Lisa Ono [Bossa Carioca]
Quick post 'cos I should've been in bed an hour ago. Just sorted out my Flickr account. Don't expect any breathtaking shots, but I've put up some that I thought are decent. Haven't put the Prague ones up yet, but I will do.
Oh yeah here's the link.
Listening to: 'L-O-V-E' by The Harvard Krokodiloes [Downstairs at the Upstairs Bar]
Much of the past week has been spent trying to find my way home. The cheapest option I was given was SriLankan Airlines...for a bit more than £800 - I'm sorry, not happening. But then, my parents came through (as always). For just under £500, I can fly to and from Colombo...from Geneva. And thanks to the very sweet Swiss Embassy (it's all that toblerone, I tell you) I don't need a visa to visit Switzerland...so Geneva, here I come! In all my geekiness I did contact the folks at CERN to check out the possibility of me visiting, and while they assured me that I wouldn't be exposed to any remotely dangerous magnetic fields, they informed me that there are no vacancies on the tour for the day I'm in Geneva. Boo hoo. Oh well, enough of other things to occupy myself with, I'm sure! I know zilch about Geneva apart from CERN and the Palais des Nations, so any suggestions for stuff to do in a day are greatly appreciated! I'm quite excited about exploring Geneva by myself.
In other news, my first supervision is on Thursday. No, I'm not being supervised...I'm supervising. Eek! It's so weird being on the other side of the fence, hoping that someone will actually understand what I'm trying to explain. Funny thing is, now I need to do past exam questions as preparation - and I thought I'd never have to do them ever again!!! Funny that.
Oh and I was in London over the weekend. I was tired by Thursday, but I decided to move my ass over to London on Friday evening. Met up with friends from school on Friday night (and slept at 5am), met my aunt Saturday lunchtime and met up with college friends for Pinky's birthday on Saturday night (again, must've slept at about 5am). Dragged myself back to Cambridge on Sunday evening, feeling quite awful. Who said you need to be drunk to feel rough? I think I've slept it off now though, which is good, 'cos it's still only Tuesday!
Well, swimming tomorrow night so if I want to prepare for supervisions on Thursday, I'm gonna have to do it tonight. You'll hear from me after that, if I haven't already been mauled by my supervisees!
Oh before I forget...check out www.phdcomics.com - move over Sudoku, this is my new procrastination aide!
Listening to: 'Lady (You Bring Me Up)' by Lionel Richie & The Commodores [The Definitive Collection]
Yup, I'm in a Lionel Richie mood. He's been on nonstop since 10am this morning...except perhaps when I was listening to an side-splitting impersonation of a strange new Pizza Hut ad from back home (you know who you are :P ). Lionel Richie's amazing...he takes bloody ages to come out with an album, but when it does come out...it's amazing. Thinking back, when I was little...I think I called him Richie Lionel :D
I'm just finishing dinner. Quarter to eleven isn't when I'd like to eat dinner, but oh well. I've been sitting in front of the laptop all day looking at numerous graphs...mindnumbing Data ANALysis. I'm so bored, it's unbelievable. And my elbows are really bony so I keep knocking them on the desk while typing...they hurt.
Still loving the BBC. I only have issues with them when they cover news stories from home, 'cos I don't think they're that impartial. I guess the same applies for every other country...but at the end of the day, some news is better than no news (or is it?). Some interesting articles today, ranging from Tom Cruise's weird sense of humour (it might make you queasy; thanks for the tip Venus!), to guys exchanging paper clips for houses! What a strange world we live in, eh? There was also a report on the wave of left-leaning leaders in South America....maybe the Middle East isn't all the US has to worry about? I dunno, I don't claim to be an armchair politician...so I can't really judge.
There was also an article about Tony Blair encouraging more international students to come and study in the UK. I'm someone who has benefited from such an education, and I would recommend it to anyone. Quite a few of the people who've commented on the article seem to think that international students have a substandard secondary education and are less intelligent than their UK counterparts, and they also seem to have forgotten where universities get their funding from. Wonder what song they'd sing if we all stopped paying fees and went back home.
I wish I was at home. Dinner would be on the table at 8, hot chocolate/water/whatever-I-wanted-to-drink would just be a "please" away...all I had to do was study. No wonder A/Ls were easy...I didn't have to worry about anything else! And of course there's the added bonus of getting hugs from my mother whenever she'd walk past my room. Aaaargh missing Mother...but if I tell her, she'll feel sad, and I can't do that to her. Grit my teeth and wait till end of June, yeah? yeah. The hugs will come. And the squeals at graduation (I'm half expecting her to squeal inside Senate House...would not be good). And the smiles on hers and my father's faces when I'm wearing that silly mortar board and gown and having my picture taken. Everything is worth being able to see that.
Right...now that homesickness (or rather, parentsickness) is out of the way, I shall wind up. To dirty dishes, and beyond!
Listening to: 'Better Together' by Jack Johnson [In Between Dreams]
Nothing to do with me this time. I've been visiting the BBC World News site quite a bit recently...possibly my only link to the outside world while being stuck in revision mode. Along with the slightly bizarre articles about ear wax removal in Japan and lawsuits over Easter bunny rights, a few more relevant articles have caught my eye. In keeping with the tradition of ranting whenever something stirs me, I shall comment on these articles.
Violence over Indian star's death
So what's this we read about from the land of Mahatma Gandhi? One of South India's most celebrated actors has passed away peacefully (or as peacefully as a cardiac arrest would allow) at the age of 77. So what do a handful of his fans do? They set buses and cars alight and stone offices in Bangalore, because...erm...erm...(I can't think of a good reason, can you?)
While I can understand (but not condone) the violence following cancellation of the England v. India match in Guwahati, I can't find any sense in the violence following Rajkumar's passing.
It's a shame that countrymen of the greatest advocate of nonviolence in recent times cannot follow his example.
Moral police hit Mumbai nightlife
I know it seems like I'm picking on Mother Lanka's big sister, but she seems to be asking for it. Now personally, I have no opinion on dancing girls. If they're making what they consider to be an 'honest' living, then that's fine by me. Exploitation of women is an issue, but if those being *exploited* don't mind, I don't think there's anything that can be done about it. You can't force anyone to drop their career without giving them a viable alternative.
What irritates me when reading the above article is the attitude of the stereotypical upper class, which seems to be quite similar in India and Sri Lanka. The article mentions 'regular party-goers' who are seemingly distressed by the thought of having to leave a nightclub at 1.30am instead of 4.30am (hmm...wonder what time they were planning on sleeping). Now I'm not averse to clubbing, and I have been quite a few times and have enjoyed myself thoroughly. However, if a club's going to close a few hours earlier than before, it doesn't bother me. The way I see it, a club closing early means I'd save some money that would otherwise be spent on alcohol...at least I'd think that way if I did drink.
In my limited experience, these 'regular party-goers' are less the hard-working individuals who like to enjoy an occasional night out with their friends, and more the socialites of the land who live off inherited wealth. Is there nothing in these people's lives other than flashing their money around and partying? Is this a time to be partying? We come from countries where over half of our population spends the night worrying where the next day's meals are going to come from. Sometimes I think the stereotypical upper classes aren't a part of our countries. They live in Cuckoo Land where everything you want can be bought and that's it. No poverty, no sadness, no suffering, no reality.
Now I'm not saying that we should all leave our comfortable lives and go and feed the poor. Not all of us can be humanitarians, and if we tried, our social structure would collapse. BUT, while as upper or upper-middle class citizens we are able to enjoy a certain level of comfort, I don't think we're entitled to grumble about things that aren't necessary. Your world is not going to end because you have four pairs of designer jeans instead of five. The sky isn't going to fall down because you couldn't go to the *party of the century* (or at least 'party of the century' until next week's party). In the words of Lord Buddha, Anicca vata sankhara - all is impermanent.
Hopefully the blindness of the stereotypical upper classes is impermanent too.
n.b.: I have used the term 'stereotypical' when generalising about upper class behaviour. I acknowledge that quite a few members of the upper classes do realise the situation in their homeland and don't let their wealth and social status go to their heads, and that it's only a prominent few who give the upper classes a bad name.
Listening to: 'Maha Pirith'
Just a quick one...apparently the Danes apologised yesterday (maybe they read my blog! :D ). And the editor of the French newspaper that published the 'cartoons' in support of the Danish paper has been sacked. It is a positive turn of events in my opinion...I'm just concerned it's too late. Danish companies have already lost plenty of business in countries all over the world. In one of the many articles on the BBC regarding this topic, someone had said:I think that the freedom of expression is more of an obligation than a right.
I think as far as the media goes, so do I. In my opinion, freedom of expression should be used as a tool to educate the public, not ridicule them.
Gotta go get ready for lectures.
Listening to: 'In The Mood' by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [Glenn Miller]
Yup, still listening to Glenn Miller. My toes suddenly go into 'tapping mode'...they seem to have a mind of their own. I want to jive! Jiving by oneself isn't the most enjoyable form of dancing though.
My voice is OK, but not as OK as I'd like it to be. I swear I've lost all lung power! I have one week and 2 days to prepare. Late nights don't help. Oh AND it's -0.4°C outside. Joy. I want some pol puchchala (i.e. "burnt coconut"). How else is my voice supposed to be ready for next week? Disaster, I tell you. The fact that I haven't performed on stage for ~4yrs doesn't help. Nerves. Can't even remember the words of the song. ONLY ONE WEEK MORE!!! I'm going insane. Need to calm down. See what sleep deprivation does to me?
Speaking of sleep deprivation...I woke up at 8.30am today, as opposed to the ideal 7.30am. Missed breakie and got into lectures about 10mins late, which wasn't bad, considering it was Rheology. Apparently I missed a tour of Australia (wonder how patronising he made that sound).
I read this article in the news today. While I'm all for freedom of the press and freedom of expression and all that, I think this is in bad taste. OK so the Danes thought they were being funny. But they offended an entire community, and could/should have put out a statement saying that they didn't mean to insult anyone. That would have been acceptable (in my eyes at least). End of story. But what happens? Suddenly it's in all the papers all over Europe, and they end up insulting other religions as well in the process. The way I see it...this is just a chance for some European journalists to bully social spheres that they know next to nothing about. Guys, grow a heart (and a brain while you're at it)! Surely there are bigger things going on in the world that they shouldn't have space in their papers to poke fun at people's beliefs. Another lovely quote (this time from Spider-man 2):[Peter to Harry]:There are bigger things happening here than me and you.
The Spidey movies are FULL of cheesy, yet effective quotes. I love them! Can't wait for the next one to come out (I think that'll be next year). X-3 is coming out in Summer...woohoo!!! You can see I like my comic-->silverscreen movies. I'm more of a Marvel girl than a DC girl though. Don't get me wrong, Superman is cool...but there's something about Spidey that I love (can't put my finger on it right now). I don't think much of Batman...he's not a superhero in the 'superhuman' kinda way. Amazing strength of character and very resourceful (thanks to his handy bat-everythings), but nothing 'out of this world'. Being bitten by a mutant spider though...now how cool is that?!?!
Hmm...almost 10pm. I've actually done some work today. The beautiful people have been mostly staying out of my way, which is a relief. My blood pressure suffers when they're near. It's not so much my temper, but more so my tolerance levels.
Man I'm pooped. Methinks I shall shower and jump into bed, in hope of a better voice tomorrow morning.
Sweet dreams, stranger.
Listening to: 'Hot Air' by My Heater [seriously, not listening to music right now...but my heater is a bit noisy today!]
Confused by the title? Haha try MyHeritage for size! Basically you upload a photo of yourself and the thing tells you which celebrities you look like. Besides looking like China's gift to Hollywood, apparently I also look like Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore and Sofia Coppola. What a combination, eh? If only guys had eyes like this computer programme ;-)
Played Agony Aunt today. Then again, I play Agony Aunt on most days. It's nice that I don't have to play Agony Aunt every day though...sometimes I can just be a listener. Apparently my name means 'listener' in Aramaic...not that I would know for sure. Anyone out there know Aramaic?
Shortstuff lets me be a listener. Shortstuff is amazing. She's an amazing listener too. I adore her. I dunno how she does it. I can be a handful sometimes, especially when the beautiful people show their true colours. Shorty I love you! (}) (and OK you're not that short :P )
This chocolate mousse has been sitting here since lunchtime. I think it's high time I do something about it. And maybe then I'll put some music on and tidy this desk of mine? How about some Basement Jaxx? Sounds good.
It just occurred to me that I can probably have a *short* bilingual conversation with Zhang Zi Yi...although I'm pretty sure that after Memoirs of a Geisha (which was fab, btw) her English will be a hell of a lot better than my Mandarin.
Must eat chocolate mousse.
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