The Tale of Two Blogs

If there's anyone still reading this blog, I won't be posting much here since I created another blog at question0everything.wordpress.com. This blog will be more of a personal blog while the more "serious" posts will be at the other blog.

Graduation?

I guess it's about time to officially announce that I've graduated from NUS, miracously. Honestly, I don't know how I could, looking at the pathetic piece of work that I called my Honour Year Project. Perhaps the professors took pity on me and rather than see me again, they just washed their hands of me and let me go. Well, this is fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. Fortunate because I don't have to worry about school any more and can start earning money. Unfortunate because I don't have to worry about school any more and should start earning money. See, I like school or rather, I like the experience of schooling. I'm a naturally curious person and studying something new and interesting to me is something I really enjoy. The problem is no one is paying me to do it and I'm not smart enough academically to ask someone to pay for me. So into the big wild world is where I am heading. I think. The problem is I don't want to head into the big wild world. At least not yet.

Furthermore, what can I do with a degree in Computer Engineering and a minor in religious studies? The former is something I am academically trained to do but the later is what I am really interested in. My head is in computer but my heart is in religion. The only compromise that I can think of is researching something along the line of technology versus religion. Or becoming a tech support in a religious based organisation. Perhaps something like the IT guy in scientology (scientology, now there's something that combine science and religion albeit in an absurd way, imho).

But honestly, I don't know what I want to do for a living yet. I really want to get into journalism if I can, but not really about news reporting but more on the commentary side of it. But those things are mostly reserved to senior journalists or editors or some esteemed writers so it's improbable they'll let a newbie do it. But, hey, who knows? So if there's anyone out there in the journalism scene who is interested in hiring a computer engineer with a background in religious studies, let me know and I'll come hopping.

Freedom of Worship, but...

The controversy regarding the Ahmadiyahs in Indonesia flared up again a few weeks ago. The government finally made a step by "restricting" them and telling them not to spread their teachings. Bold move indeed by the current president whom, perhaps, trying to get the hardcore Islamist on his side for the upcoming election. But, lo and behold, the government got criticised by both the moderates and the fundamentalist. Ouch.

The fundamentalist said that the action was not harsh enough. They should be banned, eradicated, eliminated. Gone. One the other hand, the moderates said it's too harsh. Where's the freedom to worship, they say, in a supposedly pluralist Indonesia. The Indonesia basic constitution (Undang-undang Dasar 1945) guarantees freedom of worship for its people in chapter 29.

Negara menjamin kemerdekaan tiap-tiap penduduk untuk memeluk agamanya masing-masing dan untuk beribadat menurut agamanya dan kepercayaannya itu
(The state guarantees the freedom of its people to embrace(?) their own religion and to worship according to their religion and believe)

But the state only recognises five religions and one believe system (at least the last time I checked). Sure you are free to have a religion but only if it's in the list. No other religion, thank you.

It's also a slippery slope for the government. Granted that the Ahmadiyah believe system is so similar to Islam (they don't think Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet) that the Muslims think of it as a heretical or a breakaway sect, but let's take Islam and Christianity then. One religion says Jesus is divine and the other says that he was just a prophet. Will the government condemn one religion and support the other? My point is that since when a supposedly secular government decides which religion holds the truth? The Ahmadiyahs are a peaceful bunch (or so I've heard) and they aren't exactly breaking laws, so why is someone being punished for what they believe in? (I know that's a stupid question because many many people are being punished for what they believe in. It's called rhetorical).

And don't even get me started on this Islamic Defender Front (or something like that). It's not defending if you are imposing your value system on others, dumbass (We can cut that out).

Top 5 of something

So in the spirit of David Letterman's Top 10 list and Maxim Top 100 Hottest (?) list and FHM Top 100 Sexiest Woman list and other such lists (what criteria they use to rank all those people is still a wonder to me), I've created my own Top 5 Most Attractive Woman Celebrities list. So here it goes:

1. Lauren Graham
I can't really say no to Lauren. She's the reason why I love Gilmore and the fact that Lorelai and Lauren are not that different after all only add to her good qualities. And that fast tongue, oh my.

2. Ellen Page
To be honest with you, I haven't really noticed Ellen before "Juno". But after that, I'm hooked. Again, her dry sense of humour and sarcastic wit win me out.

3. Zooey Deschanel (and Emily Deschanel)
That husky voice, say no more.

4. Tina Fey
I don't watch "30 Rocks" and I didn't even notice her in "Mean Girls" and I'm still a big fan. Funny woman and beautiful to boot.

5. Ingrid Michaelson
This is a really tough decision but currently, I have to go with Ingrid Michaelson. Now, I know she's not really a celeb, yet, but this is my list so screw it. She sings awesomely and she's funny.

Honourable mention: Emma Watson
Waiting for the next Potter movie patiently. She's only missing that glasses, dang.

Current it-girl: Isla Fisher

In an utopic Indonesia, the current protest against the fuel price hike would not happen. Unfortunately, Indonesia is far from an utopia. It's even closer to a dystopia perhaps. People would understand that the cut in the fuel subsidy is necessary. The government is spending around US$16 billion to subsidise fuel and looking at the oil price hike, it's going to be around US$30 billion. Don't people realise that the government is running bankrupt and they have to cut the subsidy. Then again, if we are talking about an utopia, it won't happened in the first place, isn't it? But I wonder whether the protesters know that their protest is, at the very end, useless. Is it just venting their frustration?

Erick and I jokingly thought the protesters were being paid by opposition party considering the coming election. Now, I wonder whether it's really just a joke or not.

Death: Happy/Sad?

A few days ago, there's some kind of Buddhist wake slash death ritual near the place where I live and it reminded me of two things. First is the story my Japanese religion prof told me about one former NUS lecturer that is also a Buddhist monk and how every weekend now and then he would fly back to Japan and performed death rituals and got paid more than what NUS lecturers get in a month or something. Now that's an interesting post about religion and money waiting to be written but that's for another time.

The second thing that it reminded me of is an interview of Padma Lakshmi by TV's Craig Ferguson. They were talking how funerals and deaths in Sri Lanka in particular are celebratory events because they bring good luck to the people attending them. Now, this came from a totally un-academic source but again she came from India and had been to Sri Lanka and so did he so this is real experience. At first I was confused because I thought Sri Lanka is a predominantly Buddhist country and the way death is perceived is unlike the ones that I've seen or read before (for example, that wake underneath my block a few days ago). But then I thought perhaps it's not a Buddhist thing. Perhaps it's a Hinduism thing since there is Hindu influence coming from India. I did some reading from un-academic sources again (wikipedia, anyone?) and got a sense that their way of seeing death is perhaps a closer perception of a joyous celebration than Buddhism and maybe this was what Padma Lakshmi and Craig Ferguson were talking about. And then when I realised it, I was amazed by the possible different attitudes these two religions have regarding death although they have a similar view of the death process itself (reincarnation, etc.)

Maybe I'm oversimplifying things or maybe it got nothing to do with religion at all and it's simply a cultural things (although it can be argued that culture might got it from religion as well), but just imagine this scenario of a similar set of teachings taken by two group of people and how very differently the interpretations of those teachings are from one another. I'm afraid to ask the question but how major is the role of human interpretation on religion and it's teachings?

Before Sunrise - Delusion Angel

I was youtube-ing 'Once' yesterday and somehow it reminded me of 'Before Sunrise' and how long it was since the last time I saw it. So I saw it again and there's a scene in the movie where a bum poet wrote a poem for them that has the word 'milkshake' in it. Here it is:

Daydream delusion, limousine eyelash
Oh baby with your pretty face
Drop a tear in my wineglass
Look at those big eyes
See what you mean to me
Sweet-cakes and milkshakes
I'm a delusion angel
I'm a fantasy parade
I want you to know what I think
Don't want you to guess anymore
You have no idea where I came from
We have no idea where we're going
Lodged in life
Like branches in a river
Flowing downstream
Caught in the current
I carry you
You'll carry me
That's how it could be
Don't you know me?
Don't you know me by now?
-David Jewell

I'm no poem connoisseur but I like it. Very much.

Top 100 Sufferings?

Two semesters ago, I took this module called 'Introduction to World Religion' by Prof. Julius and we had tutorial discussions every other week. In one of the tutorials, we were discussing Buddhism and the topic turned to the Burmese monks protesting against the government and the harsh treatments that they got from the police. The question was is it right for them to protest from the point of view of Buddhism. One comment by one of the student caught my attention, he said that this whole thing was blown out of proportion by the western press mainly due to America's obsession with Buddhism and there are many other sufferings that require more attention than this. Being a slow thinker, I can only come up with a rebuttal two semesters after. My question is which suffering should we tackle first then and who to decide which suffering is the most of them all? So what if it is blown out of proportion by the western media? So what if it's just America's obsession for something exotic? We can all agree that something wrong is going on there and does it really matter in what way people got to know the issue at hand? Granted there might be other more important thing in this world but isn't it good if we can alleviate one suffering no matter in what position it is in the suffering top 100 list?

Case for Creation

I've been reading this book called 'Case for Creation' by Lee Strobel that I borrowed from Gerald and it's pretty interesting. I've heard some objections to Darwinism in the past but never thought about it seriously. The case that the book tries to argue is that there are many things in this universe that are too complex for chance or natural selection to bring about. If these two popular explanations failed, shouldn't we take a look at the theory of intelligent design then?

I see the points that the book put forward but I do have one question. Is the complication really necessary? What I mean by that is that since God is all powerful and stuff, couldn't he made things a bit simpler but still result in us living in this world? Granted it might be a different form of sentient being, we might not look like this but still, a sentient being. That's my question, can't it be simpler? Or this complication is the simplest that God could do to realise a world with sentient life forms?

Just another comment for one of the interviewee in the book that said that earth is the best observation point to view the universe. How the hell do you know that? If earth is situated somewhere else, couldn't that be a better vantage point?

In love with Junebug

Coming back from the blogging neverland just to gush about a fictional girl seems to be an odd thing to do but I seldom swing the normal way anyway, so here it goes.

'Juno' is freaking amazing !

Let me repeat that for double the effect.

'Juno' is freaking amazing !

Feel that double whammy? I know you do. Well, I'm smitten, so don't blame me, blame stupid Cupid. If you've watched the show, anyone with a decent taste in women will agree that Juno is simply the most perfect woman that ever walk on movie world. It's so seldom you can find someone who can put that much sarcastic wit into such a cute girl. Kudos to Ellen Page and, of course, Diablo Cody, the writer. I was really hoping she could win the Oscars but meh, she got time. Go watch it people if you like fast banter ala 'Gilmore Girls'.

On a side note, I love these kind of verbose movie that put its strength on its dialogue and quirkiness like 'Juno' or 'Little Miss Sunshine' or 'Before Sunrise' or 'Saved!'. The little movies that could.

Writing a post only when I feel like writing seems to be the trend for the past few, well, years. I don't seem to find listing my daily routine in my blog to be a particularly interesting thing to do unlike many others. And it's not like many great things happened this past month.

Morningtide pre-release was so-so and not reaching my second 4-0 was kind of disappointing. Not getting 'Christianity in World History' as my last Religious Studies module was even more disappointing although 'Modern Japanese History' is shaping to be an interesting one all on the back of Prof. Scot. One downside is that I have to read all those Zen stuff and I have to tell you that you won't be able to cut the cat in one with one sword (confused? Same here).

Panicking with HYP is still the order of the day and being socially dysfunctional is still my job. Work is hard these days but the money is still good. And to add more random stuff in this post: Cloverfield is amazing, so is Craig Ferguson in The Late Late Show, ditto for 'How I Met Your Mother' sitcom, and the same goes for 'dia'.

Here's to being in this world for 24 years (in one hours and 13 minutes time)