Posts
Listening to: Radio 1
I've heard this a billion times, and it still gets me.
If that doesn't move you...I don't know what will.
I've heard this a billion times, and it still gets me.
If that doesn't move you...I don't know what will.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Choosing demons
Listening to: Nothing
So everyone's been going gaga over the events in Egypt over the past few weeks. Everyone except me. Don't get me wrong, I get it. The people want the right to select their leader, yes. And the numbers have been pretty phenomenal, yes. And it's been peaceful for the most part, yes. I get it. But...I dunno...it just seems a bit over-hyped really. Every Tom, Dick and Harry appears to be tripping over himself trying to spout the most profound yet ultimately rehashed rhetoric about the situation, each claiming to understand and empathise with the Egyptian people more than the other. It all just smells of people trying to cash in on the Egyptian people's legitimate issues in order to get their 15 mins of relative fame. Needless to say, I got a bit fed up.
There's also the issue of the democracy fanboys. You know, the ones that go "OMG this is like the most amazing thing to ever happen to the world ever! Peace and love and flowersinthesunshine, yo!" Oh ffs give me a break. This is politics. You replace one demon with another. Whether the new demon is less of a demon than the old one...well you'll only know that in 30yrs' time. For the time being, just try and make sure that the demon in charge is doing what's right for the country right now. We're all human. We're all fallible (unless you're the Pope, of course). And as long as we're governing ourselves, we're all prone to failures of some sort. It's not that I'm cynical or even apathetic about 'people power' (ok maybe a bit cynical)...but I don't believe that any one event can shape the future of a country. Yes it might alter the course in the short term, but no one can foresee the long term implications. Take Japan for instance. Did anyone think at the end of WWII that merely 60 years down the line, one of the major problems facing the country would be the abundance of old people? And to those who disagree with me and think that a single event (albeit unprecedented) can solve all the world's problems, I have two words: Barack Obama.
Nay, I am of the opinion that lasting change takes time. Not weeks or months, or even a couple of years...I mean decades - at least a generation. For a society to develop, mindsets have to change. And that doesn't happen easily. Take, for instance, the documentary I watched earlier today. My favourite DJ in the world, Scott Mills, visited Uganda to see what it was like for gay people living there. I'm still a bit shaken by the number of people who thought it perfectly acceptable to say that homosexuals should be killed. And the man who said that it's a 'proven fact' that life expectancy is reduced by 24 years if you're gay. I mean seriously, wtf is in their water? Even accounting for heavy editing (I'm not naive enough to believe in the 'impartiality' of the BBC), those views are still extreme. I can understand someone taking the Bible literally and saying that homosexuality is a sin...but to advocate the death penalty? What happened to not killing people? I thought that was in the Bible too...?
It saddens (and angers) me that people across the world are persecuted for being themselves. It's not even a matter of expressing an opinion - their 'crime' is their mere existence. The prejudices against women and different ethnicities are thankfully nowhere near as severe any more, but they do still exist. The gender stereotypes that are embraced by all communities merely reinforce the double standards that exist in society, and the same goes for racial stereotypes. It's easy to see that stuff like this won't change overnight.
What saddens me even more, is that while so much work remains to be done to overcome these serious injustices, the majority of people are happily preoccupied with choosing their favourite demon.
So everyone's been going gaga over the events in Egypt over the past few weeks. Everyone except me. Don't get me wrong, I get it. The people want the right to select their leader, yes. And the numbers have been pretty phenomenal, yes. And it's been peaceful for the most part, yes. I get it. But...I dunno...it just seems a bit over-hyped really. Every Tom, Dick and Harry appears to be tripping over himself trying to spout the most profound yet ultimately rehashed rhetoric about the situation, each claiming to understand and empathise with the Egyptian people more than the other. It all just smells of people trying to cash in on the Egyptian people's legitimate issues in order to get their 15 mins of relative fame. Needless to say, I got a bit fed up.
There's also the issue of the democracy fanboys. You know, the ones that go "OMG this is like the most amazing thing to ever happen to the world ever! Peace and love and flowersinthesunshine, yo!" Oh ffs give me a break. This is politics. You replace one demon with another. Whether the new demon is less of a demon than the old one...well you'll only know that in 30yrs' time. For the time being, just try and make sure that the demon in charge is doing what's right for the country right now. We're all human. We're all fallible (unless you're the Pope, of course). And as long as we're governing ourselves, we're all prone to failures of some sort. It's not that I'm cynical or even apathetic about 'people power' (ok maybe a bit cynical)...but I don't believe that any one event can shape the future of a country. Yes it might alter the course in the short term, but no one can foresee the long term implications. Take Japan for instance. Did anyone think at the end of WWII that merely 60 years down the line, one of the major problems facing the country would be the abundance of old people? And to those who disagree with me and think that a single event (albeit unprecedented) can solve all the world's problems, I have two words: Barack Obama.
Nay, I am of the opinion that lasting change takes time. Not weeks or months, or even a couple of years...I mean decades - at least a generation. For a society to develop, mindsets have to change. And that doesn't happen easily. Take, for instance, the documentary I watched earlier today. My favourite DJ in the world, Scott Mills, visited Uganda to see what it was like for gay people living there. I'm still a bit shaken by the number of people who thought it perfectly acceptable to say that homosexuals should be killed. And the man who said that it's a 'proven fact' that life expectancy is reduced by 24 years if you're gay. I mean seriously, wtf is in their water? Even accounting for heavy editing (I'm not naive enough to believe in the 'impartiality' of the BBC), those views are still extreme. I can understand someone taking the Bible literally and saying that homosexuality is a sin...but to advocate the death penalty? What happened to not killing people? I thought that was in the Bible too...?
It saddens (and angers) me that people across the world are persecuted for being themselves. It's not even a matter of expressing an opinion - their 'crime' is their mere existence. The prejudices against women and different ethnicities are thankfully nowhere near as severe any more, but they do still exist. The gender stereotypes that are embraced by all communities merely reinforce the double standards that exist in society, and the same goes for racial stereotypes. It's easy to see that stuff like this won't change overnight.
What saddens me even more, is that while so much work remains to be done to overcome these serious injustices, the majority of people are happily preoccupied with choosing their favourite demon.
Monday, February 14, 2011
An apology (of sorts)
Listening to: 'Ain't No Way' by Aretha Franklin [Respect: The Very Best of Aretha Franklin]
Dear KC,
I'm sorry you're still hurting a week after the 'incident'. OK let's face it, it's not like you were ever in the running for 'most beautiful knee cap of the year'...but now you look more like a choppa-fied plum than a knee cap. You feel like one too. You can blame that stupid bike of mine for being heavier than I, and Cambridge City Council for not maintaining the roads properly (oh yeah and my rubbish sense of balance, but let's not dwell on that).
I don't think I'll stop wearing short skirts (at least until I've properly smashed you up), but rest assured you'll be well hidden by dark-coloured tights for the time being. And let's not allow the prevalent sunshine to delude us into thinking about Summer.
OK I think that's all I have to say. You can go back to looking all scabby and bluey purple now. And can you stop hurting please? Thanks.
Love,
Me.
Dear KC,
I'm sorry you're still hurting a week after the 'incident'. OK let's face it, it's not like you were ever in the running for 'most beautiful knee cap of the year'...but now you look more like a choppa-fied plum than a knee cap. You feel like one too. You can blame that stupid bike of mine for being heavier than I, and Cambridge City Council for not maintaining the roads properly (oh yeah and my rubbish sense of balance, but let's not dwell on that).
I don't think I'll stop wearing short skirts (at least until I've properly smashed you up), but rest assured you'll be well hidden by dark-coloured tights for the time being. And let's not allow the prevalent sunshine to delude us into thinking about Summer.
OK I think that's all I have to say. You can go back to looking all scabby and bluey purple now. And can you stop hurting please? Thanks.
Love,
Me.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Whoops
Listening to: My tummy
I just realised this blog turned 5 on the 29th of Jan...and it totally passed me by.
I just realised this blog turned 5 on the 29th of Jan...and it totally passed me by.
Monday, February 07, 2011
But I've already done my time!
Listening to: Radio 1
Maybe I should just show this to everyone that asks me when I'm gonna 'settle down'.
Maybe I should just show this to everyone that asks me when I'm gonna 'settle down'.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
I am a horrible person
Listening to: 'A Million Love Songs' by Take That [Take That Greatest Hits]
Is it bad that I roll my eyes and barf a little inside every time my female friends mention their mothers-in-law? Oh don't bother answering...rhetoric q, I know it's bad. Horrible, in fact. I don't want to become one of those 'feminazis' that looks down at those who've decided to tie the knot...but that's exactly what I feel myself turning into. I suppose it doesn't help that I see every man's mother as the devil incarnate. There are degrees, obviously (South Asians tend to be the worst, although Europeans aren't entirely faultless either)...but no exceptions so far (ok maybe one, but that just proves the rule). I feel my neck tense up every time I hear about some woman fussing over her grown son. Cut that umbilical cord already, you stupid cow! Ugh.
My mother is mildly amused at all this rage I'm displaying. My father stays quiet, 'cos he knows that the nonsense coming out of my grandmother's mouth only serves to validate my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love my grandmother to bits...but seriously, she puts my mother through hell.
I know that as the days go by and I get even more set in my ways and even more opinionated (is that even possible?), the chances of me meeting a guy who can put up with me decrease exponentially. So basically, I'm gonna turn into not just a feminazi, but also a condescending bitch who thinks she's too good for all the men she meets. Oh well, whatever.
Is it bad that I roll my eyes and barf a little inside every time my female friends mention their mothers-in-law? Oh don't bother answering...rhetoric q, I know it's bad. Horrible, in fact. I don't want to become one of those 'feminazis' that looks down at those who've decided to tie the knot...but that's exactly what I feel myself turning into. I suppose it doesn't help that I see every man's mother as the devil incarnate. There are degrees, obviously (South Asians tend to be the worst, although Europeans aren't entirely faultless either)...but no exceptions so far (ok maybe one, but that just proves the rule). I feel my neck tense up every time I hear about some woman fussing over her grown son. Cut that umbilical cord already, you stupid cow! Ugh.
My mother is mildly amused at all this rage I'm displaying. My father stays quiet, 'cos he knows that the nonsense coming out of my grandmother's mouth only serves to validate my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love my grandmother to bits...but seriously, she puts my mother through hell.
I know that as the days go by and I get even more set in my ways and even more opinionated (is that even possible?), the chances of me meeting a guy who can put up with me decrease exponentially. So basically, I'm gonna turn into not just a feminazi, but also a condescending bitch who thinks she's too good for all the men she meets. Oh well, whatever.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
Who let the brats out?
Listening to: 'Three Marlenas' by The Wallflowers [Bringing Down The Horse]
How do you deal with the insolent brats? How do you deal with the kids that think teachers should be at their beck and call? How do you deal with the kids that think the world revolves around them? How do you deal with the kids that ooze that annoying, ungrateful sense of entitlement that is all too common in the younger generation?
Do you slap them and tell them to respect their elders? Do you tell them to stop being such a self-absorbed whiny little piece of shit and quit whinging? Do you tell them that while you acknowledge the fact that they're probably somewhat intelligent, it doesn't mean that the sun shines out of their ass? Do you tell them that their sarcasm only serves to prove their immaturity and that they should get back to you when they've decided to grow up? Do you stick your tongue out at them and say "Oooh I'm scared now!" and roll your eyes? Do you look at them and say "Look at my face. Is my face bovvered?" and carry on like they don't exist?
I wanted to do all of the above this morning. To one person. Luckily, I managed to keep my cool and I explained the situation to them, and I said that if they had a problem with the teaching arrangements, they should speak to my superior. And then I went and told my superior that he might get a visit from an annoying little prick :D. It probably won't happen, 'cos these egotistical types tend to be quite cowardly. Still, I got confirmation from my superior that I had done the right thing, which made me feel better.
I love teaching. And I hate not being able to help students. But I am not a servant. I don't have to put up with shit from spoilt brats. I will go out of my way to help kids who are appreciative of my efforts, but the ones that throw their toys out will just have to wait their turn.
*sigh*
How do you deal with the insolent brats? How do you deal with the kids that think teachers should be at their beck and call? How do you deal with the kids that think the world revolves around them? How do you deal with the kids that ooze that annoying, ungrateful sense of entitlement that is all too common in the younger generation?
Do you slap them and tell them to respect their elders? Do you tell them to stop being such a self-absorbed whiny little piece of shit and quit whinging? Do you tell them that while you acknowledge the fact that they're probably somewhat intelligent, it doesn't mean that the sun shines out of their ass? Do you tell them that their sarcasm only serves to prove their immaturity and that they should get back to you when they've decided to grow up? Do you stick your tongue out at them and say "Oooh I'm scared now!" and roll your eyes? Do you look at them and say "Look at my face. Is my face bovvered?" and carry on like they don't exist?
I wanted to do all of the above this morning. To one person. Luckily, I managed to keep my cool and I explained the situation to them, and I said that if they had a problem with the teaching arrangements, they should speak to my superior. And then I went and told my superior that he might get a visit from an annoying little prick :D. It probably won't happen, 'cos these egotistical types tend to be quite cowardly. Still, I got confirmation from my superior that I had done the right thing, which made me feel better.
I love teaching. And I hate not being able to help students. But I am not a servant. I don't have to put up with shit from spoilt brats. I will go out of my way to help kids who are appreciative of my efforts, but the ones that throw their toys out will just have to wait their turn.
*sigh*
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