Fast Food Culture Vs Abbreviation

We have come across to a notion that being fast ensures your preference, achievements and possession. Be it inevitably true, fully or partly, a sense of sadness is nevertheless unavoidable.

At times, i cant help but feeling a bit sad when we have to make things faster and faster. Slowly yet quickly, our awareness to the surrounding has been eroding. No more could you be holding yourself back just to see the dad playing with his kids, neither do you bother to slow down your pace smiling back to a little girl that smiled at you. And try to suddenly stop on the path you normally take to your work or school, just stop and be looking around, you will start feeling to blend in and see the things that are just too normal for you to 'abnormally' notice in everyday life. Or, taking away all the vehicles from the road and we walk on it. We will simply be amazed by comparing our fast and slow paced life differences. (Check New York streets shuts from William's blog.)

Fast food culture has been prevailing for near decades. Undeniably, the conveniences provided by it help in our screwed life to some extents. Its certain contribution as in introducing more enrichment into individual inherence, should be accredited. But kids nowadays are taking it much more often than we used to do. Fast food culture, one of the very forms of globalization is actually killing the 'authenticity' of food, tradition and culture of many fantastic races. I bet many from young generations have no real clue about 'authenticity'. It is a bit amusing when someone introduces me some non-authentic food as authentic. Overwhelming promotions on fast food culture eventually make everything generic, colorless, tasteless, boring, and unhealthy.


Living in Melbourne where great diversity is highly embraced and immigration is encouraged (skilled migration, livability etc), lots of different food and cultures have actually increased my awareness of keeping and improving every unique self-values amidst introduction of globalization.

Abbreviation, though shares some similar characteristics of fast food culture, actually acquires more respects for it. To me, abbreviation, is something very accurate, and varied greatly to many different departments/fields, such as medicine-health care, architecture, technology, etc. Derived from professions and cultural phenomenology, abbreviation greatly emphasizes the proper uses with precision and accuracy of message delivery.

However, i have also noticed abbreviation seems to be abused in commercialization in order to advertise it more easily for people to grasp the selling points, or sometimes just falling to become short forms of typing/addressing something.

Therefore, there seems to be a great gray zone where both fast food culture and abbreviation share their inter-fluxing. Identity, Branding, Globalization...

Abundant use in inappropriate situations may lead confusions.
"Doing SM Down Under here is FCUK-ing a pain?"
(SM-Skill Migration, FCUK-French Connection, Down Under- Australia, as positioning on the globe.)
"FYI, the venue is yet TBC but do RSVP ASAP in order to get your seat."
(FYI- For Your Information, TBC- To Be Confirmed, RSVP- "Répondez s'il vous plaît"/ Response if you please, ASAP- as soon as possible.)

A question hereby was dropped by myself...
Does architecture realm have such similar kind of phenomenon? As in what forms? And how?

宁静后的飞翔

在较早前的日子，生活过得有点不顺利的时候，写下了这下面的心情。现在，日子过得比较充实了。虽然还有一些类似以下的影子，可也算是变的比较豁达了一些。

##
最近工作都很不顺利。被安排在机械性作为的工作下无法学习很多。

突然想跳槽。想在外国最短的时间学到足够的东西再回国。可是，时间，机遇和贵人都是不可缺的因素。这里经济开始下滑，找工也不容易了。

为了理想，或许应该多尝试往外闯。但，或许会搞得山穷水尽，焦头烂额。有理想的人，或许会饿死在街角。又或许，曾经尝试过的人，或许没有出人头地，没有建立丰功伟绩。但他们走起的步伐，或许是超尘的脱俗轻快，眼神是灵气盈盈，或脸色是神采飞扬。

还是为了温饱三餐，含混度日。。。有钱，可以满足一些长辈的虚荣心；可以让自己盛装打扮。可是，在帥气的外貌，耀眼的衣裳下，还是温暖不了那寒骨的空虚。钱袋不停地涨，空虚无声无息地侵蚀。还是，人的一生就是许多无奈的循环。

理想和生存。我近来就是站在这中间地带，在黑暗中苦苦寻找一盏灯。因为，我没有方向。还没有。我没有足够用心在家人，没有足够用心在女朋友。甚至有时什么都不想。家人或许一身一世都体谅着。女朋友或许觉得我冷漠了她，冷待了这段感情。我什么也没说。

我觉得，对待成人，要将心拿出来，要多顾虑多方面。可我现在没有足够的元气。

因为，我在寻找自己。如果我的心不觉得踏实，难道我能含混地对待身边的人吗？我宁愿暂时宁静。
##

生活就在我保持沉默的时候，还没回神之际，突然有了措手不及的转变。像镜面般的湖水，其实暗流变幻异常。所以，也发现了，我不是能游水的一条鱼。我是比较爱凉风清香扑面的一匹马，一只鸟。轻快地奔驰，放纵地滑翔。

我要宽阔的草原，蔚蓝的天空。

p/s: i love you

I hope i can be a good son
as the best gift i can give for you
Happy Birthday
Daddy

p/s: i love you

Beauty Entrapment 粉红陷阱

I have been really bad in managing a love relationship. I am not talented in that. Neither do i have the skill to ignite it.

I knew femme fatale and 红颜祸水 these phrases. I was also convinced when i read the novels of my favorite novelist Jin Yong. I actually do not blame any sad things, nor do i push the responsibility of any sad cases to women. What i am bring up here, is just about Love. Love, that i am still far to understand and be blessed of.

(National Library of Australia. Library, an emblem of wisdom.)

We knew love is a glass of intoxicating wine, a trap full of thorns, a blind of bliss, a swamp of tears. We knew. We have knowledge. But wisdom does not bring you along safely. Because it does not help here, or simply we need more of it in love, or love management if you would like to say. Maths does not work in here too, because asymmetrical formula is already a bonus in a relationship compared to nothing.

But why did i still fall into the trap even if it is forecasted with warnings? I think because love weaves dreams. And it is particularly appealing to a dreamer like me. I don't really care if the beautiful dream is promising. This should be the greatest dilemma for an intrinsic beauty lover like me.

Because of the dream for passion and bliss of love, i risk myself to fall in love, to indulge and get indulged. Love, is powerful, isn't it. I braved myself once and once again, with attempts to love that someone i love and earnest to get a true love. I closed my eyes and jumped on the bed of roses. I forgot there are thorns.

I bleed. I finally knew i am still yet to be ready for a true love, maybe. Because i just swam over the swamp of tears, and now 'sunbathing' in shadow darkness.

refer:
femme fatale
Jin Yong

Richard Green

Richard Green, could be an unfamiliar name to many. You may possibly get the different guy Richard Greene (with an 'e' behind) who was a screen star in "The Adventure of Robin Hood" if you try 'google' it.

I went to Canberra to renew my passport 2 weeks ago and saved the chance for wandering around. There, i bumped into National Library of Australia. In a small exhibition space provided there, i got to know the name-- Richard Green.

Richard Green. A landscape photographer. Unlike many of the art pieces in exhibition, his photographs are simply straightforward, bold, and simple. Not abstract. Not vague. Simply breathtaking.

(His photographs stand the most only when you are in the exhibition looking at the real size pieces.)

His photographs are mainly of wild places of this big "down-under" island-- Australia. Some of his photographs take up to some lengths beyond 2 metres. They were taken with high resolution of camera, high ambient spectrum of richest colors, and the very spirit of the places. He insists to take the photos with the best positions regardless of the piling attempts of visits to a place at different times, difficult standing points at the cliff of mountains or the edge of waterfall rocks or in the wet swamp, just to capture the best timing, weather and the sense of place with his lens. His extraordinarily huge photographs give strong impact from far-away sight and also delicately depict every single details of the landscape, the life on it, the coverage of the shadow, and even his own shadow among the trees that takes up only maybe about 0.2% of the overall photo size.

What i am impressed about his works and his passionate insistence is somewhat behind his lens-- his philosophy and intention of his artworks. From his photography, life on the earth seems to be extremely small, inter-relying and precious. "You only live once", is what came into your mind looking on the artworks. Nature, is the art itself. And most of his photographs were taken in dawn or sunset time of which the best timing for the richest colors from the atmosphere is hence ultimately transient. Naturally, people tend to think and feel the most at the times of dawn and sunsets because of the awareness and sense of time.

From his photographs, Richard Green illustrate how life is transient, beautiful, strong and yet fragile on the seemingly tough but emotional earth. It comes also with the urge to seriously look into the very inch of our environment, what we have been doing and should be doing.


When you look into his photographs, you look at the places, you hear the chirping sound, you feel the cooling breeze, you smell the wet earth. You are simply overwhelmed.


p/s 1:
Richard Green: Wild Places 27 August – 27 September 2008
Byron McMahon Gallery, 88 George Street Redfern, Sydney
Open Wednesday – Saturday 11- 5pm, www.byronmcmahongallery.com.au
(Click here for PDF Source)
(and here for The Sydney Morning Herald news page)

p/s 2: He uses Canon EOS 1Ds digital camera equipment. I insist to use Canon cameras too though i am not as professional. I love the colors from Canon lenses. Sony is too supernatural, Panasonic is too digital, Nikon is too conservative. BUT, of course, it is more about the users, not the tools. Strong heart leads the light.

Malaysian Passport 1

"A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder."
--Wikipedia

I have got my Malaysian Passport renewed. But it was rather a pain for Malaysians to renew their passports in Australia. Simply because we have to go to the High Commission of Malaysia in Canberra to do it. Right, no other way! How outrageous is that you have to take a flight to Canberra, if you are a Malaysian in Melbourne or Sydney, or poorly those even further? No one is going to refund your travel expenses including flight, taxi and public transport.

(It is hilarious that the High Commision building is simply another Malaysia official-like building with the 'bumbung' of rumah kampung, being put in the context of Australia. Just as stubborn as how they put the Arabic-like domes all around on the buildings in Putrajaya. Apparently, architects, are useless for them since some of them don't mind to have non-context-responsive concept. Just like attitude, they are lack of having promptly effective response in different context while keeping their usual attitude as in Malaysia.)

In regards to that, i was trying to get a consular to talk about it. But i ended up very disappointed because there is no consular in Melbourne! No consular in Victoria State of Australia. It is simply pathetic that the Malaysian government always claims they are catching up the developed country but they don't even allocate a consular here giving attempt to help those oversea Malaysians.

How ridiculous is that for a place like Victoria (Australia) which is bigger than the Malaysia Peninsular not to have just a consular? And so i kept stalking them. I made phone calls. The official explained that the Malaysian government needs to save money. Well, i know they spent a lot in other aspects where the Malaysians taxation went to... Besides, i also know building-a-castle-as-a-house is costly, buying military aircraft is expensive , and of course sodomy charge and its movie-making is hardly affordable too. All these cost a lot of money yeah..

In order to test how helpful and how interactive are oversea Malaysian officials in Australia, i then tried emailing to every (i might have missed out one of two) consular in other states of Australia such as New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, etc. But, as expected, none of them replied me. I even received notification saying that a few of my emails to them were 'delayed' until no time. Most possibly, some email addresses are not even updated with current consular on position. Again, the government always claims to have advanced facilities but the service and attitude are never up to the front line. Just like computer, the outcome will be just crap, no matter how good is the hardware if the inferior software is not helping it.

Besides, i would like to say that such new policy having the must to renew passport in Canberra tells the very consequences of Malaysian government always causes: enlarging the environmental footprint! Such policy is just not economically and environmentally sustainable. So many Malaysians have to take flight to Canberra, plus the taxi travel forth and back, thus significantly increase the CO2 emission caused per person. I feel so bad for it! IF, we really have to continue doing that in Canberra, at least a good suggestion here: please provide a van or mini-bus to bring the poor Malaysian crowds back and forth from the Canberra Airport. I would even rather pay for this and appreciate it.

(I took the cheapest domestic flight, but it still cost me some amount of money which is equivalent enough to have bought about 100 days of Nasi Lemak for breakfast in Malaysia. But still, who cares?)

Last but not least, Passport, is the most important thing for oversea Malaysians to prove their identity. I am not very into politics and maybe i am not one of the most patriotic, but i am not ashamed to tell people that "i am from Malaysia". Because the 'formation' of myself is largely contributed from the origin. I love many people and places in Malaysia. Not forgetting the Malaysian food! But i would really appreciate and support the government if they are really doing the right things, helping to ease the burdens on the nation but not causing more troubles.

True Politic, should not be a stake for performance and speculation of power of the politicians. True Politic, should be the understanding and promises between the nation and the ruler.

p/s:

A bunch of my friends who have had their passport renewed in Canberra some time ago also commented with consensus that the whole procedure and attitude of the passport renewal done by the official did look like: they are not so pleased to process all those for us. Or, we are not welcomed? The mood went even worse when Ahmad Ismail's claim of "Chinese squatters" burst. So, the Chinese in Malaysia are not Malaysian? So, who am i?

Responsibility and Apologia simply don't exist for those governors anymore. And why should the nation entrust them? I have a few nice Malay friends and they are all good and more rational in thinking. Is it because they are new generation? Have been exposed to more in oversea? I am not bias to anyone or any party. But i won't buy the idea to keep immature racist in government. Hey, it is so out-of-fashion! Come on, racism is no longer working.

Reference:
http://www.malaysiamysecondhome.org/malaysia-newspaper/
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/
http://www.kennysia.com/
http://mustafakanuar.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/why-more-heat-is-on-ahmad-ismail/
http://timnam.blogspot.com/2008/09/politic.html

寂寞

自从跟前女友分手以来，我都努力地康复，努力地活好日子。努力地学着坚强，学着不寂寞。可原来的我，本来就是个挺孤寂的人。因为本身的性格，真正交心的朋友不多。一些很要好的老友，都远在他方。希望他们日子过得很好。因为，我喜欢自己的朋友都过得很好的。

在这极好的地方，想要阔大生活圈子和交际网络，可也不容易。一些朋友喜欢夜生活，可我不行，我太爱睡了。一些喜欢上夜店酒吧舞池，可我都不太会享受。我无法运用丹田内力大声说话跟他们沟通。我更没有跳舞的韵律节奏细胞。我有的天份，画画等，无奈的非常含蓄，含蓄得没有太多人会因为那而跟我交朋友说话。

我会关心人家，可我没有幽默。也所以寂寞。

但这小女生朋友允熙写了一些话。短短的，却很有感触。像是我以前写过类似的。她也引述了她姐的一番话。很有味道的。
“寂寞的女人要学会品味寂寞，
因为这样的时刻在生命里决不是少数。
请记住：即使寂寞，远方黑暗的夜空下，
一定有个人和你一样，寂寞的人不同，
仰望的星空却是唯一。”

虽然我不是女人，至少，我也觉得舒服了一点。真想摸摸她的头，安慰她说：“别愁，妳会幸福快乐的。”

Kickstart

Hmm.. 1, 2, 3.. Kick-start testing.

It has been a long hiatus since last post in blogger. I decided to have a brand new blog for myself. This blog will not be limited to English typing only, depends on what i feel like pouring out from my heart.

And i would not know if i could maintain this blog long-term wise. Hope it goes well.

Cheers, mates.