I forgot to blog about this: on the 9th of August, I purposely put a green flag in my Display Picture, representing my colour-blindness in society. After talking to a couple of people, I can safely conclude that the world is colour-blind without knowing it. Because after talking to those people, nobody said anything like, "Hey! Your flag's the wrong colour!" Which goes to show that even staring at them in the face, they can't instinctively distinguish between green and red. I.e. the world's colour blind. Go scientific method!
On a side note, I think a karaoke party is an awesome idea. No that we have to go to one of those karaoke booths with all the songs we don't know (or worse still, in Chinese), but you can just get people to go to someone else's house, bringing their favourite songs (plus lyrics, of course, if you need them) in a thumbdrive, and voila! Instant karaoke party. I have got to do that sometime.
Admit it, c'mon.
The Edna Man
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Gender discrimination, anyone?
I've been thinking about this for some time now. It's about gender equality. Specifically, it's about gender equality in looking good.
When you think about it right, girls have so much more stuff to wear than guys. Think about it: all guys can wear are shirts. Maybe singlets. Girls can wear shirts, tank tops, halters, tube-tops, blouses, dresses, polo tees, camisoles, crop tops. Guys can wear pants, shorts, or bermudas. Girls can wear pants, bermudas, shorts, boyshorts, dresses, skirts, minskirts, gowns, robes, shawls, smocks, frocks, petticoats. Guys: socks. Girls: socks, stockings, thigh-highs, leggings, tights, garters. Guys: shoes, sandals, boots. Girls: shoes, sandals, boots and high heels.
It's not just clothes. Girls have lipstick, foundation, eyeshadow, lip gloss, powder, rouge, mascara, nail polish, concealers, eyebrow pencils. Guys? They don't wear make up. Usually. Girls: necklaces, chokers, hair pins, earrings, tiaras, bracelets, bangles, rings, brooches, anklets. Guys: bling. Guys have bow ties, neck ties, suspenders, and scarves. Girls can wear all these.
Hats: caps, helmets, bearskins, bowlers, cowboys, fedoras, fez, hard hats, porkpies, sombreros, top hats, turbans. Girls can wear all these plus bonnets, headdresses, circlets, tiaras, fillets. Women can wear gloves; men can but it's not normal for them to. Sashes, feather boas, handbags, purses, pouches. Guys only have belts. Underwear: boxers or briefs. Bras, corsets, thongs, G-strings, boyshorts, knickers. Pyjamas. Babydolls, camisoles, negligees, nightgowns, bustiers, torsolettes, girdles, tap pants, slips, teddies, corselets.
Maybe the only thing we guys have more of is facial hair. We've got moustaches: handlebar, toothbrush, Hungarian, Dali, Imperial, pencil, walrus, horseshoe, whiskers, Fu Manchu. We've got beards, goatees, chinstraps, sideburns, stubble, royale, five o'clock shadow. But guys only have crewcut, buzz cut, comb over, cornrows, dreadlocks, mohawks, flat top, afros, mullets, bald spots. Girls have all these plus beehive, ponytails, pigtails, buns, French braids, French twists, highlights, perms, pixie cut.
Wow, you really learnt a lot, didn't you?
Spot the head-fake,
The Edna Man
When you think about it right, girls have so much more stuff to wear than guys. Think about it: all guys can wear are shirts. Maybe singlets. Girls can wear shirts, tank tops, halters, tube-tops, blouses, dresses, polo tees, camisoles, crop tops. Guys can wear pants, shorts, or bermudas. Girls can wear pants, bermudas, shorts, boyshorts, dresses, skirts, minskirts, gowns, robes, shawls, smocks, frocks, petticoats. Guys: socks. Girls: socks, stockings, thigh-highs, leggings, tights, garters. Guys: shoes, sandals, boots. Girls: shoes, sandals, boots and high heels.
It's not just clothes. Girls have lipstick, foundation, eyeshadow, lip gloss, powder, rouge, mascara, nail polish, concealers, eyebrow pencils. Guys? They don't wear make up. Usually. Girls: necklaces, chokers, hair pins, earrings, tiaras, bracelets, bangles, rings, brooches, anklets. Guys: bling. Guys have bow ties, neck ties, suspenders, and scarves. Girls can wear all these.
Hats: caps, helmets, bearskins, bowlers, cowboys, fedoras, fez, hard hats, porkpies, sombreros, top hats, turbans. Girls can wear all these plus bonnets, headdresses, circlets, tiaras, fillets. Women can wear gloves; men can but it's not normal for them to. Sashes, feather boas, handbags, purses, pouches. Guys only have belts. Underwear: boxers or briefs. Bras, corsets, thongs, G-strings, boyshorts, knickers. Pyjamas. Babydolls, camisoles, negligees, nightgowns, bustiers, torsolettes, girdles, tap pants, slips, teddies, corselets.
Maybe the only thing we guys have more of is facial hair. We've got moustaches: handlebar, toothbrush, Hungarian, Dali, Imperial, pencil, walrus, horseshoe, whiskers, Fu Manchu. We've got beards, goatees, chinstraps, sideburns, stubble, royale, five o'clock shadow. But guys only have crewcut, buzz cut, comb over, cornrows, dreadlocks, mohawks, flat top, afros, mullets, bald spots. Girls have all these plus beehive, ponytails, pigtails, buns, French braids, French twists, highlights, perms, pixie cut.
Wow, you really learnt a lot, didn't you?
Spot the head-fake,
The Edna Man
Silence
Ever had those nights when you're sitting at your computer all alone and you see all these friends around but nobody's talking to you and you don't really feel like starting a conversation with them either so all you end up doing is singing your heart out?
Yeah.
Kinda vaguely watched the NDP Parade tonight. China's Olympic Opening Ceremony totally pwns ours, like, a thousand-fold (interestingly, their population numbers do the same thing with our population numbers). It's kinda awesome and scary at the same time to realize how many people there are in China. But seriously, it was awesome. No other country was, is, and ever will be able to match up to its awesomeness. China: respect.
Calefare is hilarious. First Class less so. I think there could be better acting in First Class. Have I mentioned that Calefare is hilarious?
Viva la China,
The Edna Man
Yeah.
Kinda vaguely watched the NDP Parade tonight. China's Olympic Opening Ceremony totally pwns ours, like, a thousand-fold (interestingly, their population numbers do the same thing with our population numbers). It's kinda awesome and scary at the same time to realize how many people there are in China. But seriously, it was awesome. No other country was, is, and ever will be able to match up to its awesomeness. China: respect.
Calefare is hilarious. First Class less so. I think there could be better acting in First Class. Have I mentioned that Calefare is hilarious?
Viva la China,
The Edna Man
Monday, August 04, 2008
Respeckt
And so we come back to this. In an incident mirroring one that happened a couple years ago, we were once again treated to a less-than-interesting lecture/presentation, but this time the inappropriate behaviour of the cohort was met with swift, silent punishment by the assistant dean.
Here's where it's going to get tricky. I am putting forward the proposition that he was wrong. Gasp. I think the charge leveled at us was misdirected: it is not a matter of respect, it is a matter of self-control.
The basic premise of his 30-minute lesson was that at any given time, a student should "give respect" to whatever speaker is up on stage. This is where I disagree. My beliefs are impregnable in this aspect: respect is something that you have to earn. It is not intrinsic in whatever position you hold, whatever seniority or whatever delegation. You want respect, you have to earn it. Do something to get people to respect you. Your office holds no respect; it is what you do that defines you.
Said assistant dean doubles as our English teacher, and it is a subtle irony that he is grading us on presentations this term. Once again I fail to see how teachers put so much effort into teaching this generation when their generation makes all the mistakes and has all the shortcomings which they try to steer us away from. Can't they teach themselves? Can only younger ones be taught? Don't have walls of text; let your points appear one by one; know your audience. Are these rules only for students under curriculum? It seems that once you get into working life, they don't seem to matter. What role-models are teachers if they don't follow their own guidelines?
Another example, from just a couple minutes ago. My dad is always telling us that it's good PR not to say "No" outright in response to anything. It's always better to be humble, and rephrase it in a nicer way. Today at dinner he was talking about Microsoft Office, and how he has to keep buying new copies to use on other computers. Recalling that there's an office version that can be installed on up to 30 computers with the same liscence, I told him so. He immediately said, "No, cannot be." I tried to persuade him that I had encountered it before while browsing the Internet, but he was still adamant. Why is it that when you get old, you think you know everything? Like the youth is always wrong because we have less experience.
Back to respect. I would like to ensure that nobody misunderstands me in my stand. I am not condoning my actions today. I accept that what I have done is socially wrong. But it is not the social constant of giving respect which I have flunked, it is the social wrong of lacking self-control. I understand that I should have kept to minimum silence and at least made it look like I was listening to whatever was being presented. But to ask me to give respect to the presenter would be going to far. There is a fine line between looking respectful and actually giving respect. I hope you can make the distinction.
I can predict that because of today, a number of students will hold said English teacher in lesser eyes because of the apparent injustice he did to them by holding them back another half hour or so. However, I continue to respect said English teacher, not because of his position, but because I believe in him. (I realize that saying that is rather role-reversal.) He had the power to stand behind his own convictions, and he did what he thought was right. I cannot fault him for that. I've known him for a number of years, and he has done nothing to make me lose my respect for him.
There's a fine, fine line.
In other news, I've decided to give up on the happy note sad note thing. I realize that it cannot encompass whatever I can write about.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
The Edna Man
Here's where it's going to get tricky. I am putting forward the proposition that he was wrong. Gasp. I think the charge leveled at us was misdirected: it is not a matter of respect, it is a matter of self-control.
The basic premise of his 30-minute lesson was that at any given time, a student should "give respect" to whatever speaker is up on stage. This is where I disagree. My beliefs are impregnable in this aspect: respect is something that you have to earn. It is not intrinsic in whatever position you hold, whatever seniority or whatever delegation. You want respect, you have to earn it. Do something to get people to respect you. Your office holds no respect; it is what you do that defines you.
Said assistant dean doubles as our English teacher, and it is a subtle irony that he is grading us on presentations this term. Once again I fail to see how teachers put so much effort into teaching this generation when their generation makes all the mistakes and has all the shortcomings which they try to steer us away from. Can't they teach themselves? Can only younger ones be taught? Don't have walls of text; let your points appear one by one; know your audience. Are these rules only for students under curriculum? It seems that once you get into working life, they don't seem to matter. What role-models are teachers if they don't follow their own guidelines?
Another example, from just a couple minutes ago. My dad is always telling us that it's good PR not to say "No" outright in response to anything. It's always better to be humble, and rephrase it in a nicer way. Today at dinner he was talking about Microsoft Office, and how he has to keep buying new copies to use on other computers. Recalling that there's an office version that can be installed on up to 30 computers with the same liscence, I told him so. He immediately said, "No, cannot be." I tried to persuade him that I had encountered it before while browsing the Internet, but he was still adamant. Why is it that when you get old, you think you know everything? Like the youth is always wrong because we have less experience.
Back to respect. I would like to ensure that nobody misunderstands me in my stand. I am not condoning my actions today. I accept that what I have done is socially wrong. But it is not the social constant of giving respect which I have flunked, it is the social wrong of lacking self-control. I understand that I should have kept to minimum silence and at least made it look like I was listening to whatever was being presented. But to ask me to give respect to the presenter would be going to far. There is a fine line between looking respectful and actually giving respect. I hope you can make the distinction.
I can predict that because of today, a number of students will hold said English teacher in lesser eyes because of the apparent injustice he did to them by holding them back another half hour or so. However, I continue to respect said English teacher, not because of his position, but because I believe in him. (I realize that saying that is rather role-reversal.) He had the power to stand behind his own convictions, and he did what he thought was right. I cannot fault him for that. I've known him for a number of years, and he has done nothing to make me lose my respect for him.
There's a fine, fine line.
In other news, I've decided to give up on the happy note sad note thing. I realize that it cannot encompass whatever I can write about.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T
The Edna Man
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Requiemly
ON A HAPPY NOTE,
Just came back from visiting Mrs Hah and her one-month-old baby! So cute! XD I got to carry the little tyke and he kept making weird faces at me XD Caught up with Mr Poon again, and met Mr Chan, my primary school science teacher. Good memories, good times. Ahh.
ON A SAD NOTE,
It's quite depressing how important your image and reputation is. Because of a (quite disturbing) joke I made yesterday, I've got this sick rep following me around. Dneo is getting suspicious about my cleanliness and stuff (but ON A HILARIOUS NOTE, Got mah!)
ON A SAD NOTE,
I think my behaiour at Mrs Hah's place today wasn't very... good. I mean, I should have gone around, talking to Mrs Hah and her husband more, or at least do what I was supposed to do and occupy the girls I coached for OM. (Curse you Herrick.)
ON A SIDE NOTE,
I'm starting this new thing with my blog which will hopefully inspire me to write more. It's an idea I had a long time ago with one of the posts, "Orchestrated". On a happy note; on a sad note; add the notes together and you get the melody of my life.
Orchestratingly,
The Edna Man
Just came back from visiting Mrs Hah and her one-month-old baby! So cute! XD I got to carry the little tyke and he kept making weird faces at me XD Caught up with Mr Poon again, and met Mr Chan, my primary school science teacher. Good memories, good times. Ahh.
ON A SAD NOTE,
It's quite depressing how important your image and reputation is. Because of a (quite disturbing) joke I made yesterday, I've got this sick rep following me around. Dneo is getting suspicious about my cleanliness and stuff (but ON A HILARIOUS NOTE, Got mah!)
ON A SAD NOTE,
I think my behaiour at Mrs Hah's place today wasn't very... good. I mean, I should have gone around, talking to Mrs Hah and her husband more, or at least do what I was supposed to do and occupy the girls I coached for OM. (Curse you Herrick.)
ON A SIDE NOTE,
I'm starting this new thing with my blog which will hopefully inspire me to write more. It's an idea I had a long time ago with one of the posts, "Orchestrated". On a happy note; on a sad note; add the notes together and you get the melody of my life.
Orchestratingly,
The Edna Man
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)