Comments

Having people leave comments on your blog is such an ego boost, ainnit?

Every time I get online, I really look forward to seeing new comments.

I'm sure everyone feels that way, in varying degrees - a sort of validation of your work, eh? Not that I depend on comments to "keep me going" lah - but it's always nice to know that something I wrote impacted someone enough to take the time to drop a line or two in response.

... tangents ...

However, sometimes some people totally miss the point of the post, and it shows in what they say: sometimes I cringe and feel really sorry for them when they go off on a tangent, sometimes even displaying their ignorance or arrogance for all to see. When that happens, I wonder if by choosing to phrase words differently, i might have been able to better convey what I meant, and prevented such "miscommunications".

After all, *how* I write is as important as *what* I write about, right?

... responses ...

Then comes the challenge of "to respond or not to respond"... I have my phases where I make it a point to keep on top of the comments, and respond to them all in a subsequent comment. Then I get into a "read-only" mode. Then back to respond mode. Not too consistent, am I. But hey, sometimes there's no *need* for a response,,, or more importantly, it might be better for all involved for me to NOT respond (see arrogance / ignorance exposed above!). I am glad to say that those have been so far few and far between. :-) Or am I being diplomatic? heeheheheeeee :-)

Anyways, still on the response topc: Thanx to the Lost Blogs exercise, I've come across the really cool method of having bloggers (well, Kevin and Karl lah, for the moment) who respond to comments via email (the same response usually also appears in the comments section of the relevant post lah). Whoohooo! Very nice touch. Otherwise, I'd have to remember to go back to the page/post I'd commented on to see if there was any response. Then again, I'd go back anyway, LOL!

So... that's all about people who comment here.

How about when *i* go surfin around?

... doing onto others....

While I assume most people appreciate comments just as I do, I also assume that like me, they'd like meaningful and/or "value adding" comments, as opposed to just "Hi, nice blog" or equivalent.

So my guilt at being a lurker is not that big lah. But it *is* there. :p

So if you know that I've been visiting but not commenting, don't hold it against me, ya? I only have your best interests at heart! :-)

... my comment etiquette ...

However... on the happy occasions that I stumble across a new blog AND I have something to day, I make it a point to state how I stumbled across their blog in the first place. Cos that would be something *i* would always be curious to know. :-)

If I'm a frequent visitor but rare commenter, I've recently started to acknowledge this by stating something like "I just HAD to de-lurk for this post" before launching into my actual 2-cents worth.

... summary ...

no summary lah. end of post. teeheehee! Hey, did you think this post is worthy of a comment? de-lurk and say so lah. LMAOOOOOOOOO!! :-)

(yes, i *think* i need to get some sleep....)

schmarents

“My yoga teacher says I should not have any bread or rice for one week,” announced a parent this morning.

Me: Errrrrr, okayyyyy, and this is for what reason?

“To lose weight”

Ah.

“What do you think?”

*sigh!*

For those two people who got my security-issue-rant-too-toxic-to-be-posted-on-blog email… this is yet another case of the same thing.


• What I’ve advised in the past, is not heeded.


• What I myself try to practice, is not noted.
But if similar* information comes from someone else… wow… hook line and sinker!

How am I ever going to make peace with someone who so battered my sense of self-worth when I was growing up, calling me STYOUPID all the time (as if YOU were so clever!!), insisting that it was “always right”, having this holier-than-thou looking-down-on-you attitude, seeming to pay more love and attention to the maid’s children than to us, in fact, seven seeming to take out its frustrations about its lot in life on the children, … someone who - as I have grown and become so much more secure about who and what I am and am able to truly SEE this person - when I look at it, I only see a clingy styoupid parental unit seemingly incapable of logical and rational thought, who succeeds in raising my blood pressure pretty much as soon as it opens its mouth.

* eliminating bad carbs is fine. But what about making it a point to eat GOOD carbs? Did that teacher mention that? And how about “balancing” the meals with sufficient protein (whether or not you wanna go drastic like Atkins, or more reasonable like the Zone, or whatever)? Any mention of that? Just “prescribing” ONE action as a magic bullet to weight loss is ridiculous. Oh – and you DO realize that it’s no use cutting out bread/rice if you continue your habit of consuming sweets for “tea” and “late night snacks” and “dessert”, right? Oh wait, probably not. *sigh!* And what about increasing your activity level beyond the daily yoga? You could do with more cardio – even adding one or two days of brisk walks in the park would go a long way…. *double sigh!* I’ve discussed all these things with you, so many times, in the past, I dah tak larat dah nak cakap lagi.

So back to that “conversation”?

Me: “Sure.”

Never mind what went through my head. *so* not worth the energy and effort.

darth insomnius

urrgghh. have been trying to sleep since about 1130pm. it's 120am as i type. yep, gave up on the sleep thing.

Bad enuf I've been calling myself Darth Lynne due to my vader-esque heavy breathing, which is due to my stuffed nose... so with this lack of ability to sleep i hereby dub myself...

Darth Insomnius!

And while my schwartz may not be bigger than your schwartz, ... damn... can't think of a witty comparison thingy. bleh.

Misc surfing:
1. a Flickr photoset of airborne cats. amusing.

2. a word association thingy. Right now i'm at a 95-word chain, the last few words have been ... receiver, transmitter, radio, gaga, queen, flaming*, gay, pride, joy ... LMAO!! (in the end, i got the program to pass on "unyielding" which i had submitted in association with "rigid" (i refused to type flaccid lah, LOL!), at the end of a 168 word chain. this is a great time waster!! check it out!)

* one of my fave quotes from Family Guy, when Asian Reporter Trisha Takinawa resports the fire at the British Pub, where the portrait of Queen Elizabeth was mong the damaged items, and she says something about "Hey, check out that flaming queen."

2.1 ... solo, single, unmarried, virgin, cunt, vagina, sticky, goo, cum, smegma, sebaceous, gland, sweat, tears, rain ... .... french, arrogant, bitch, witch, broom, sweep, stakes, vampires, blood, gore, zombie, white, room ... ... geeez this is just too easy to get sucked into!!! this one was a 312-word association!

so that's brought me to 220am. yay.

*sneeze*

*blow nose*

groooaaaaaannnnnn.... maybe i try to sleep again??

*sigh!*

one o' them days

.. or should I say "daze"?

So yeah, I am battling a cold. My throat is scratchy. I'm sniffly. I'm sneezy. Maybe even grumpy (STOP NAMING DWARVES!!). All because I got SOAKED on Friday afternoon :(

Lunchtime: i went out for like 10 - 15 mins around noon, with my dad, to go pick up some lunch - KFC drive-thru. During that time, a storm swooped down on the area from outta nowhere! And... trust the wind to blow the rain riiiiiiiiiight into the drying area - where my ALMOST DRY clothes were now W. E. T. grrrrrrr!! (later, once the rain subsided, I took the clothes down, re-washed 'em, re-hung 'em. Sometimes I *really* wish my parents had a dryer!!)

Some things to cheer me up, and hopefully bring a smile to YOURS too
1. Jill (egg in spoon) has this GREAT "burst of joy" you should read about
2. Kenny Sia contemplates circumcision
3. Moxie has something veeeeeery eeeentereeeesting on eBay
4. Moxie also has vag-pits up for guesses!

But things that brought me down?
- the police being big bullies, threatening to "let lah crime happen", among other things, because they refuse to have an independent committee that would "police the police".
- follow up on the protest fiasco. There's a video available on that link. I've downloaded it, but it's a .mov so I'm gonna have to look at it on the laptop. I'm sure it's bad.

But back to the good news:
Kosh has officially moved into the apartment in Chicago! He's sent pix of the place - nice! I like!! I'm looking forward to getting myself there... whenever THAT is gonna be??!!! *sigh!*

aaaaanyways.... It's almost my 11pm. I think i'll just kinda hang around in bed and hopefully I'll fall asleep sooner rather than later.

nitey-nite!

stunned

seriously. i am stunned.

Read this. See the pix. Did this just happen today or something??

(Kinda weird having another protest today, seeing as the protests over the price hike were last held in March, right? some mentions here and here)

Did this actually happen here???

Too stunned to type more.

UPDATE: Monday 11am:

• Guess how much coverage this got in the papers? A teeeny tiny blurb at the bottom of the page, in the middle of the paper. No pix. No nothing. Typical reporting what is "safe" and of the "correct perspective"!!!
  
• at least the "objective" got clarified... it *is* a protest over a price hike - of the electricity tariff - announced recently. it's is, of course, a result of the fuel price increase,, all related... but it makes sense that they were protesting something recent, not from 2 months ago. BTW - 2 months ago "they" said electricity tariffs would NOT be increased as a result of the fuel price increase. And "they" can wonder why people are angry. Sheeeeeesh!!

Interpreting Nietzsche

This quote was in my inbox today:

You are rewarding a teacher poorly if you remain always a pupil.
- Friedrich Nietzsche

Hmmm...

My first thought was "every day provides valuable opportunities for learning, whether you're a "pupil" or not!"

Then I looked at the quote again, and that didn't seem to fit, so I tried to understand what ol Nietzsche was getting at...

First: it's fine to be a pupil, but not permanently.

Definition of pupil, according to Merriam-Webster:

1. : a child or young person in school or in the charge of a tutor or instructor : STUDENT
   
2. : one who has been taught or influenced by a famous or distinguished person

To me, when u say pupil, i [see] a kid in primary school uniform. Very much a vessel into which "knowledge" is spoonfed rammed poured. Someone who's probably not much into the questioning mode. And not really into the whole thinking-for-yourself concept. More of memorisation and regurgitation.

So how would one "remain always a pupil"?
By not going beyond what has been taught? By not questioning? By not challenging? By not striving for understanding? By instead continuing to just seek knowledge within the boundaries and confines of the institution (school / mentor, etc)?

Again, my mind goes back to LEARNING: yes, there's only so much "learning" that can come from memorisation and regurgitation of official facts.

So once you have gotten the basic foundation of knowledge (these foundations differ depending on the person / vocation), you've got to make them "your own".

Why?

Becuase only through application of your knowledge can true understanding and appreciation emerge. You know the difference between "theory" and "practical / reality", right?

Just because you know that if your car is skidding on ice you need to turn the steering wheel INTO the slide in order to straighten out, doesn't mean that you will be able to Do it when you are in a spin!

Just because you've seen pictures of glaciers and fjords in books and movies, doesn't mean you're not going to be awestruck when you're actually there at the edge of Sweden, gazing at one of Mother Nature's incredible works!

So, by going out and experimenting, applying what we've learnt, we'll end up understanding even more that what could ever be taught in a classroom.

Is THAT the "rich reward" to teachers that Nietzsche is alluding to?

Or is he saying that we should "reward teacher" "richly" by taking over the teacher's role? After all, moving up to "teacher" level implies a certain level of knowledge and understanding has been acquired by the ex-pupil, which implies a compliment to the teacher, thus the "rich reward"?

Anyone got other interpretations on this?

*** and on an unrelated note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RAIL! :-)

it's all about sex, baby

It's one of those kinda freaky coincidences: The Religious Policemean had a long post recently which mentioned misyar marriages, and that was the first I'd ever heard about such a thing.

It was horrifying to read one quote: “It’s a great solution — isn’t it? It costs less than having a girlfriend — doesn’t it?”

Here's wiki's take on what Misyar Marriages are all about. The summary: It's a marriage without the couple living together in the same house & the husband not being financially responsible for his wife.

Hmmmm... so why bother with this "marriage" then?

It's all about sex, baby!
What else???

.... And there I was, thinking wow i'm so glad i've never heard of this in Malaysia,,,, then ,,,, in today's papers ....

Nik Aziz: Misyar okay KOTA BARU: Kelantan Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has given his support to a proposal for misyar marriages to take place between Muslim men and women. These types of marriages, which Nik Abdul Aziz said were allowed in Islam, essentially permit husbands to not have the responsibility of providing for the materialistic needs of wives but just their sexual needs. ... The proposal was made ... [by an] Islamic Academic Studies lecturer ... who was reported to have said that such marriages could be practised in the country to overcome incidences of vice among Muslim women. He said such marriages could also reduce the growing number of unmarried and divorced women in the country. (Full story here)

Okay so first there was that fiasco where this Kelantanese dude said divorcées [as opposed to divorcés] were gatal (randy / horny - all poor translations), and all they wanted was sex, and that was why they ended up getting divorced.

Excuse me??? Apart from totally flawed logic, I'd like to point out that from what I've observed of you friggin [Malay Muslim] males, every Friday afternoon at the moqsues, where you go do your Friday prayers, what are the wares being sold in the vicinity? All sorts of supposed aphrodisiacs. And you guys FLOCK to those things! You guys are obsessed with sex! YOU, not us gurls!

Heck, from my interactions with so many of you, you look at marriage PRIMARILY as a way of having sex legally!

Excuse me while I make sure that whole life-partner companion concept still exists. [check!] yeah, just not in your world-view, eh? What YOU want out of marriage:

• Sex, tons of it, for your satisfation.
  
• Children, tons of them, as proof of your virility.

Okay okay okay so I'm totally overgeneralising, I admit.

BUT I stand by what I've observed and been told and have gone through interacting with so many of you, ESPECIALLY when I was stationed for 2 years over in Terengganu.

...

aaaaaaaaaand you wanna marry people off in order to curb "incidences of vice among Muslim women" through a mistress-like/prostitution-like arrangement?

...

lemmie highlight this little thing: "...such marriages could also reduce the growing number of unmarried and divorced women in the country."

My Concerns:

Anyone looking at the ROOT CAUSE of "rising number of unmarried & divorced women"??

Unmarried: more and more women are choosing careers over family? good for them!

Divorced: anyone looking at the reasons / grounds for divorce??? SO OFTEN, for the divorced people I know lah, it's because the [GATAL!!!] hubby was running around with other women.

Anyways.. so you want to "fix" this "single/divorced problem" by allowing a mistress-like/prostitution-like arrangement?

Is this "really" a "real" "marriage"???

Chances are, if you have sex, Allah will bless this union with pregnancy & kids, right?

Then you'll have this female who's pregnant, but has NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT from the "husband". So how? She's essentially a single mother, is she not, despite the "married" status?

I can't even to begin wrapping my mind around the implications of this.

I could go on, but i'm turning incoherent.

Ciao.