L@TiFFoL0GY 101

Saturday, July 31, 2004

I Am The Observer

Some seemingly trivial and unnoticeable trends I've seen:-

1 - People are getting excessively more emotional these days. The slightest provocation can trigger the most extreme emotional reactions. It is a meme type that has virulently spread to consume the psyche of the entire human race. The slightest sad moment in a relatively unserious and funny film can bring tears to the eyes of so-called SNAGs aka Metrosexuals (Sensitive New Age Guys ... sissies I'd say) who want to impress their girlfriends with their so-called enlightened sensitivity and feminine emotionality (I noticed this when watching the teen comedy Ella Enchanted, which was surprisingly quite as entertaining as Shrek, though a little cheesy). And some people just don't know the meaning of emotional overdose - I overheard a friend in class who claimed that she cried non-stop watching a sad movie (I doubt any movie could be so supremely sad that it would draw non-stop tears from its viewers). Apart from the emotion of sadness, there is also that of anger. This is one I am guilty of, but all the blame is not to be placed on myself, for there are external agents that perpetuate this meme type into the minds of humanity and I am one of the victim.

2 - There are selected ones from amongst society who've been blessed (or cursed) with the gift of trendsetting. I am one of the reluctant and unexpected trendsetter. It's true. I notice that some of the behaviours, interests, habits and characteristics I've acquired or possessed and now discarded (or changed) seems to be inherited by the general masses nowadays. I mean, 4 - 5 years ago, I was so into Personal Development aka Self Help, et cetera, and now, I've discovered the ultimate key to all of it (it has something to do with your mind and a little thing called MONEY) so I am now not into it anymore, yet, I see the crowd now flocking in droves to get into this P.D. aka S.H. field. I seem to have the 4-year advantage - I think whatever things I am interested in now may become the insane interests of the general masses 4 years later.

3 - The present literature and media seems to be very Nietzsche-like nowadays. Nietzche is the blasphemer who said, "God is dead". Okay, for example, we have shows like The Matrix, Troy and King Arthur (what has these got to do with each other?) and books like The Da Vinci Code or Dune and numerous other agnostic New Age books. These are materials which, whether you notice it or not, seems to perpetuate the idea or the 'alternative' of agnosticism or atheism. Okay, people, just because a certain religion that starts with 'C' seems to have committed crimes against humanity (watch King Arthur or read The Da Vinci Code) doesn't mean we can disregard the notion of God entirely. Blame the misinterpretation of that 'C' religion, not God. Or just because some proponents of a religion that starts with 'I' practice crimes against humanity we can also throw away the idea of God entirely. Or just because recent advances in science seems to point to the un-necessity of God we can disregard Him entirely. In fact, in science, if you take it on a transcendent and higher point of view, you will see that everything, every development, no matter which direction it seems to take (away or towards Divinity), you will see the eventual necessity of G-o-d in the picture. You can't escape it. Just like you can't escape Mathematics. Mathematics is the underlying order of all the universe. God is behind everything, over everything, is the underlying order of everything, now that you see the relationship, why don't you fill in the blanks? Please note that expressions of location in my statements concerning Him do not mean physical or superficial location, rather symbolic, expressive or metaphorical location. The key is not to equate the characteristics of God with the characteristics of Man. If you do that, then you will see the flaws of Man reflected inaccurately as the flaws of God.

Think, people, think! But when some of you do think, don't just stop at a point where a conclusion seems to match your liking and for emotional rather than objective reasons you claim that point to be the conclusive truth. Continue to think, question, and go through that process of thinking, right through to the end. But there is no end in thinking, only an end in your capacity to think (limited by your lifespan).

Of course, might I add, everyone is entitled to their opinion or thinking. But what worries me most is that although we are all free to think, some thoughts, although inaccurate, untrue and potentially harmful, seems to be very popular with the masses, especially when they're backed up by an emotional rather than objective and rational reason (just look what happened to Germany in Hitler's time). Of course, this is, again, a double-edged sword. Therefore, my admonition to think "healthily" is an attempt at the safeguarding of the human race.

Truth is always preferable to falsehood, but you cannot force the Truth down other people's throats.

Okay, back to my observing...

Thursday, July 29, 2004

Mohamad Latiff's ZeitGeist Wish List

Not in any particular order of preference or anything...

1 - The Godfather Trilogy DVD Set.

2 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Extended Edition DVD.

3 - Absolute Freedom of Time, Money, Ability, Power. However you express it.

4 - The Mind of the Kwisatz Hadderach (refer to Dune).

5 - Everything good, nothing bad.

6 - All of the above.

7 - And everything else I want I may forget to mention.

The Great 68-Second Cosmic Window.

68 seconds is all you need to re-engineer your reality. 68 seconds is the quadruple of 17 seconds. In 17 seconds, you can do 2,000 hours' worth of physical work. Every time you double it, you multiply the amount of physical work you can do by 10.

68 seconds. Its digits come from the Fibonacci ratio, the PHI, that is, 1.618, the universal ratio inherent in everything. From the ratio of the width of your hand to your arm, the ratio of the parts of fractals you find in beautiful seashells, the ratio of the height of your legs to the total height of your body, everything.

If you can maintain a thought in your mind, focus on it, pure and uninterrupted, completely and absolutely, for only 68 seconds, powerful forces will furiously rush into play to bring that thought of yours, whatever it is, closer to reality. In fact, 17 seconds is powerful enough a duration of time. The trouble is, most of us wouldn't be able to hold a pure, simple thought without going astray, for at least 3 - 6 seconds or so.

Simple. Bring it to your frontal cortex. The space near your amygdala. The frontal parts of your brain. Your forehead area. Between your 2 eyes. Try focusing on that area of your brain for 17 - 68 seconds.

Do you notice that - and if you've experienced it yourself, it's better - that whenever you need to focus on something, say, in an archery contest, or when you need to shoot that ball through the hoop, or you need to just do something, and you desperately need to do it, and it requires a substantial amount of focus, do you feel a tingling of energy, some sort of a sensation, in between your eyeballs, at the spot on your forehead, at the front of your brain?

That is chiefly the region of your brain that deals with single-handed focus. Just thinking about that area of your brain, or simply imagining it, or visualizing it, will help to enhance your focusing abilities bit by bit. Or better still, think about it and touch it. Touch your forehead. Imagine there's a button there that can activate your superior focusing powers when you touch it. Activate ... and see what you get.

Wednesday, July 28, 2004

Seemingly Random Stuff I Want To Say

I don't believe in the unluckiness of Friday the 13th. There will be a Friday the 13th this August. I've always had lucky Friday the 13ths. It's true. I think people's conception of 13 as an unlucky number is just something to do with the mind. But in my mind, 13 is my lucky number, along with 12, 14, 7, 5, 3, 23 and 8. They're my lucky numbers because I WANT them to be my lucky numbers. Actually, they're not my lucky numbers. They're just my FAVOURITE numbers because they look and sound kinda ... cool.

 

Do you know that 13, in ancient numerological symbology, is the Number of Life? I even read somewhere that 13 is a lucky number according to old Malay beliefs. Yes, it's true. 13 also has something to do with the way our DNA is structured. Maybe that's why it's called the Number of Life. People start thinking it's an unlucky number due to some historical reasons. Some bad things (which are entirely avoidable) happened in the past on a Friday the 13th that started it all. Some pointed to the Black Death, some pointed to the Crusades, some pointed to a massacre committed by Knights of the Order of Templar. Which are, by human abilities, quite unavoidable. So you see, it is the human race who makes the number 13 unlucky.

 

And I make the number 13 lucky. Really. I've had 3 lucky Friday the 13ths in my life.

 

Not really lucky as in I won a million dollars, but lucky as in the days turned out well and what I wanted came to me easily.

 

This is not a statement declaring my belief in numerology or numbers, but simply my belief that my mind can make anything possible. I can make any number lucky to me, or unlucky to me. It's completely and totally rational. I can make a black cat passing in front of me lucky, or walking under a ladder lucky, or smashing a mirror lucky (but unlikely).

 

It's all got to do with the mind. No, the heck with that, you don't even have to put in any thinking effort at all. Just disregard the luckiness or unluckiness of whatever things you've been told about and choose to do the right thing for yourself. You create your own luck.

 

If you read my previous post, I wrote something in the Old Testament-like language warning people not to mess up my life. It's not frigging paranoia or insanity. It's real.

 

My family and I ARE in REAL danger of being destroyed (if not physically, then emotionally, psychologically or by reputation) by people who don't know better but think that a 'harmless' lie or misunderstanding or a 'sensational' (but untrue) gossip or other things of similar nature (that has got to do with the mouth, words, your bloody tongue) are harmless.

 

What was harmless could, in effect, turn out to be extremely dangerous. It can snowball. It can evolve. It can spread, like a virus.

 

Disbelieve me if you want, but if the consequences present themselves to us, be prepared for my vengeance.

 

Again, it's not paranoia, but it's real. It has happened, it is happening, and it will happen. You don't really want to know who the specific persons are who are committing these transgressions against us, for if I tell you, it will violate my sanctity and only lower myself to the level of those said persons. And you don't want to know what transgressions are being done to us.

 

It is dangerous and volatile. It seems harmless at an apparent level, but it can escalate into a life destroying thing. This, I assure you.

 

So be careful what you speak of us. Verify the truth. For a seemingly small thing you say of us, which is not true, can grow into a monstrosity that can potentially destroy lives, if not physically, then mentally, emotionally or by reputation. And if such a thing happens, I swear on my father's soul I will spare no expense in seeking justice for my family and I. Of course, don't be an idiot, of course I will do so through just, legitimate and ethical means (what, you think I'm the don of the mafia or something?).

 

The anger with which I express this is sparked by the fact that even the closest of our kith or kin can succumb to such treacherous acts of transgression.

 

Okay, enough angst already. Just wanted to protect ourselves, that's all. In all respects, we're still just normal people.

Monday, July 26, 2004

You Shall Not Invoke The Wrath Of Latiff...

Sometimes, if you don't warn people, or take some precautionary measures, people tend to step on your head. Therefore, this leaves me no choice but to take such actions which are necessary for the protection of my self and those dearest to me. Know, that such actions which I am going to take are not limited only to this blog.

Be warned, people. For I shall smite my vengeance upon those who violate the sanctity of my status as a human being (as you are as well) with a terrible force and where it is just, the Lord God Himself shall be my ally, if not the source of the strength required for me to acquire the justice that is so rightfully deserved of me and my family.

 

The Supreme Commandment.

Those of you who know me, know me. Those of you who do not, simply be informed and warned. Those of you who know me, know that I am a person of quiet nature. Although I can be a person of good humour with people who are close to me, it is not in my nature to transgress the bounds set upon myself and wittingly or unwittingly cause a substantial amount of physical, mental or emotional harm to another, especially those dear to me.

 

Therefore, as my generally quiet and docile nature is established here, let it be known that I am not one who would wittingly, with a malignant intent, do or say such things that would harm another person, and though such circumstances have not presented themselves yet to me, unless it is just, unless it is my just right to retaliate upon those who've caused harm to me first. However, I am a generally forgiving person, and I forebear such minimal (sometimes serious) harms with what fortitude I can afford.

 

Hence, you or anyone shall not do to me what you would not want me or others to do to you. This is the Golden Rule. If you break this rule against me, I shall see the extent of the damage you have caused. If it is within bounds, I shall forgive you. Otherwise, if such harms come to me by your hand or your mouth, and especially if they would also affect those innocent ones who are dear to me, prepare yourself for my terrible vengeance.

 

By God, I swear I shall curse you and beseech God to manifest His terrible justice upon you on the Day of Judgment. I shall not regard our previous friendship or close relationship to be a factor in exercising clemency on you.

 

Translation from "Old Testament" language to plain, simple English:

I know what kind of people surround me. Like myself, they are all flawed human beings. We should accept that. Our flawed nature. However, there are certain limits to what we say or do. Sometimes, we do or say things in jest which may harm another, and if we are right-minded, we should seek forgiveness for such things, and forgive others who do such things to us.

 

Some people transgress these bounds. They go over the limits. They get carried away. And because of that, they cause harm to myself or those innocent ones of my family. Sometimes, I can forgive what harms people have done to me. But how can I forgive that which is done to my family.

 

How dare they! To have the audacity! My father was a martyr-victim of an act of supreme transgression, and God be praised justice shall be served. But with the absence of my father, I have become the head of a family I am obliged to protect from harm at all costs. And I am especially protective of my little sister and mother.

 

But I am a weak person. I strive hard to fulfill this obligation, but I am not yet up to par. I am a mere kid, in the transition to adulthood, and hence, this opens up "opportunities" for others who are transgression-minded to exploit our weaknesses, our lowered defences and step upon our heads.

 

Some people would simply wallow in self-pity, uncomplaining, unnecessarily playing the martyr. But others, though they started out weak, through such tribulations, would emerge strong, and they would seek justice-vengeance for the transgressions done to them. Or if they are even stronger, they would forgive their transgressors, where it is only just to do so.

 

I wish to belong to the last 2 of the 3 types of people mentioned above. I know the kinds of harm that can be done to my family and I are rarely of the physical kind (the first victim of which is my father), but there are harms which are inflicted by means of devious plotting, planning, gossiping, words and even thoughts which manifest as words and/or deeds.

 

There are murderers and there are tricksters and liars, both of whom are as evil as murderers.

 

Though there are not many people of such kinds, there are those innocent others, who by the devices of these tricksters and liars who are as evil as murderers, unwittingly form a negative false image of myself and my family. They could be motivated by jealousy, or simply motivated by a sense of false superiority and arrogance, or by stupidity.

 

O you the jealous ones! There is nothing which we can attain that you cannot attain, except for those trivial things which are not meant to be yours, anyway, and these do not constitute an inherent weakness or God-imposed limitation of any sort upon you.

 

O you the arrogant ones! Go ahead, bask in your arrogance. You will fall.

 

O you the foolish ones! Seek the truth before passing judgment. Peril will befall upon you and unwittingly upon those who are innocent if you do not do so.

 

Be warned, be warned, be warned! If you are not of the murderous, lying or tricking type, but by their devices or by your own weaknesses, you form a negative false image of us, and due to this false image you would wittingly or unwittingly deprive what is rightfully ours or cause harm to us, then you shall not be differentiated from those murderers, tricksters and liars.

 

I shall do everything in my power to chastise you, and if I do not afford to do so, I shall beseech God for justice and vengeance.

 

Look what you have done to me. Look what your seemingly trivial false speech, gossips, negative false assumptions have made of me.

 

But those who are innocent, do not fear me! Do not fear me! It would take a level of audacity of such towering magnitude to cause such harm upon us that would merit my terrible act of vengeance. I have said I am a generally forgiving man. But do not step over the bounds. Do NOT step over the bounds.

 

Those who already know me, treat me as usual, as normal, jest and all, but do not step over the bounds. Do NOT step over the bounds. Love me as you already have loved me. Do not fear me. But fear yourself. What you are capable of unleashing. And fear the consequences of your actions.

 

It is not my intent to make enemies with this writing of mine, but to make friends of those who may unknowingly become my enemies later.

 

And this does not only apply to me and my family, but to all members of the human race.

 

Latiff... Latiff... How did it come to this?

Friday, July 23, 2004

Kubrick, 2001, and other observations or thoughts.

For the first time, I had just watched 2001: A Space Odyssey fully. The other Kubrick films I'd watched were Spartacus and Full Metal Jacket. The almost-done-by-Kubrick film A.I. too have I watched.

 

I coined a new saying today: "In genius, there is a tint of insanity. In insanity, there may be a tint of genius". Sometimes, I may add, hubris. Funny how hubris almost rhymes with Kubrick.

 

So the 3 and a half Kubrick films I've watched are: 2001, Spartacus, Full Metal Jacket and A.I. They were all brilliant (and a half). I am presently acquiring Dr Strangelove or How I Stopped Worrying And Started Loving The Bomb (something like that) and A Clockwork Orange.

 

A Clockwork Orange: A Diversion.

 

Gosh, I forgot what A Clockwork Orange meant. What is the Orange? Why is it clockwork? Or is it A Clockwork Orang? Orang is the Malay word for Man. There was one post on the internet or in a book that says Kubrick intended to use the word Orange, which is close to Orang, which comes from Orang Utan, an ape, a jungle ape, which in Malay literally means "Jungle Man".

 

Very interesting if the above hypothesis is true...

 

I know A Clockwork Orange is quite a violent movie (so was Full Metal Jacket). Maybe the title suggests the dark, violent but predictable nature of man, or Man-Ape as Kubrick likes to believe (I'm not a believer of the infidel Darwin creed). Why predictable? His title Clockwork suggests so. Predictable like clockwork, precise, repetitive. Yes, Man is predictable to a certain extent. If you analyse Man's behaviour at a certain gestalten level, you see some patterns, some effects coming out as an eventuality of certain causes. One of these effects being violence, and some of the causes for this particular effect could be provocation, desperation, boredom, et cetera.

 

Well, I haven't seen A Clockwork Orange, yet, so I am only partially entitled to formulating a coherent and holistic perception of it.

 

As for Dr Strangelove, it's a Black comedy. I still only partially understand why Black comedies are so named. I read of one classic line in the film: "You can't fight here! This is the WAR Room!"

 

Anyway, back to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

 

It is an odyssey of sorts. At first viewing, people from my generation (and some from the previous ones) may find it an extremely boring piece of pretentious philosophical art. I had that perception once when I watched it on television, but since I am now going to be 21, I strove to suspend that perception and view it again on VCD with a fresher perspective.

 

I failed. I comprehended the Prologue (the Apes scenes), Acts I - II, but not the Final Act, the scene in which Dave saw his future old self having dinner alone in sort of a French-like room, and then the same old guy watching his even older self lying in bed, dying, with the black monolith from the beginning of the film watching over him, and then transitioning into the baby in the womb (the 'Starchild'), staring at Earth from space.

 

I did not comprehend this until I scoured the internet for its meaning. Kubrick did not really explain in detail what 2001 meant. He said we are free, as we wish, to speculate on the allegorical and philosophical meaning of 2001. I think he never did any explaining for any of his works. Bloody evil genius... He's dead, anyway.

 

That is, I didn't understand what the Final Act meant until I came upon an internet site that attempted quite a plausible explanation of it delivered in a simple but entertaining Flash animation, right here. See it for yourself.

 

Other observations and thoughts concerning 2001:

 

2001 has very, very simple, almost simplistic, child-like, dialogue. The story is very simple. The visuals are superb considering that time. In fact, some of its visual effects (apart from the cheesy colourful lights at the end) are insurpassable. Near the beginning, we see a floating pen (was that blood on it? Or spilled red ink?). The floating pen, the gravity-less environments, they were all very, very real. One wonders how such effects are done without any CG. And I swear I do not see any traces of any strings or anything that suspends the actors during the gravity-less scenes. I know the centrifugal (or centripetal?) force can effectively simulate gravity in space, but they didn't actually film it in space, did they?

 

Okay, whatever it is, there must be a way for them to achieve all that. For all we know, the solutions could be extremely simple.

 

Simple. Simplicity. Simplicity is another hallmark of genius. Simplicity is elusive. On the surface, you see simplicity. But there is a depth beneath that simplicity.

 

This is perhaps the most brilliant simple movie ever made. Or the simplest brilliant movie ever made.

 

I'd like to write further about the motifs, the allegory and symbology inherent in this film, but I pale in comparison to others who've written extensively about it. It'd be a waste of my efforts anyway.

Thursday, July 22, 2004

My Logic Is Undeniable...

I watched "I, Robot" yesterday. It was interesting. Face it, the summer period is about to end, so, naturally, most of the movies that come out aren't great blockbuster calibre. It's like a graph that slides upward near summer and downward towards the end of it. And then you see some little spikes on the graph after summer until near winter, you may get some great christmas movies (like the past 3 years' Lord of the Rings, sob sob sob... [not son of a bee, sob as in staccato about to cry]). By spikes I refer to such stuff as Pirates of the Caribbean (2003), Blade II (2002), etc. Oh yeah, there's hope this year with "Alexander" by Oliver Stone, coming out in November. Notice I said 'hope'. I loved his "Heaven and Earth". I know he's a great director who hasn't received the accolades he deserved; well everyone's entitled to their own opinion, but let's just see how he pulls this epic off.

 

Anyway.... "I, Robot" is neither that bad nor that great. It presents some interesting questions and issues. I didn't read the Asimov work. I read his Foundation though, halfway, I think they should make a movie out of that. Modified, of course. Lucas would be making a run for his money. Nah... Foundation is way deeper and more profound than The Force. Won't appeal to many people but prob'ly it'll make a great cult classic. Dune is way, way, way deeper than any of all this. In fact, too deep, the Peter Lynch film sort of bombed. The Sci-Fi channel TV series was better.

 

One of the most significant topics raised in "I, Robot" is the evolution of artificial intelligence towards a sentient consciousness. The Doctor talked about a ghost in the machine, referring to random pieces of the robot's AI code (like an operating system), that when clustered together, form certain behaviours that mimic and simulate human traits of free will, creativity, and characteristically constitute what is labeled a 'soul'.

 

That was like 80% lifted from the Doctor's words himself. I have quite a good memory for movie dialogues and what people say. If people have photographic memory (I do have 40% - 60% photo-memory, depending on my mood, my sleepiness, my mental clarity), I have an 80% tape recorder memory (they say Mozart has this too, 101%).

 

To me, the development of AI (Artificial Intelligence; and it'd be an insult to yours if I'd assumed you didn't know what it is already, sorry) towards an advanced level whereby human consciousness can be mimicked; and I stress, mimicked, not achieved, hooks my utmost interest next to the Grand Unified Theory.

 

The Grand Unified Theory is The Ultimate Theory. The Holy Grail of Science. It is a theory that can explain, connect and inter-relate ALL the phenomena we've ever observed in the universe, from the quantum-atomic level to the macroscopic cosmic level, and hence, present a template that can predict anything else that will happen, ultimately pointing to the answer to the questions about the Creator, His Purpose, His Mind (in the words of Stephen Hawking), et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. Well, at least, that's what they said. But it's yet to be found. And whoever finds it - well, not even 100 Nobel prizes would do justice to hail his or her achievement.

 

Gosh, it's 9.00 AM in the morning, and I'm talking about AI, consciousness, GUTheory, quantum physics and debating the merits of movies. What a mental breakfast. Now I need a digestible one, digestible by my stomach. Ciao...

Wednesday, July 21, 2004

I Don't Usually Write About These Things...

Everyone in Singapore (well, almost) knows that August 12 will see not the 1 day anniversary of my sister's birthday (she was born on August 11, 1996), but the succession of the new Prime Minister, Mr Lee Hsien Loong.

 

First of all, I'm not a man of politics nor am I a political enthusiast. And I don't know much of the man, but I've had the pleasure of meeting him in person, albeit from afar, during a Mendaki-organised talk/forum in May 2003.

 

He seems quite the pragmatic person his father was, and has a good sense of humour. He's also well-versed in the intricacies of the social structure of his countrymen, and by this, I mean, to put it in a more direct and specific manner, he even knows the existence of our Shi'a Muslim community in Singapore and he's even recognised our track record of relative successes from the early days of this country.

 

Shi'a Muslims are the 2nd largest denomination of the Muslim people next to our brothers the Ahlus Sunnah. They are most prominent in Iran and also in Iraq. That's my 2-sentence introduction to my friends who may not have an idea who the Shi'as are. And please do not use the derogatory term Shi'ite. That's as insulting as calling a Muslim a Mahommedan (which is a pre-20th century European derogatory term for Muslims). Or as insulting as calling an African American a 'Nigger'. My apologies...

 

He brought up the issue of this small community to which I belong because I had brought it up first. I was a little disappointed with the attitudes of some of the older Muslims in Singapore who use our minority race status as an excuse for lagging behind in life, career, finance, et cetera.

 

And so I highlighted the relatively more serious minority group status of the Shi'a Muslims in Singapore, and despite of this, how successful they have become. I admit, the successful Shi'a Muslims in Singapore consist more of our Pakistani, Indian and Iranian brothers rather than the relatively new Malays. But this condition too is steadily improving.

 

And I was also irritated that some of the members of the audience brought up the Iraq war issue which was clearly not the theme of the forum. Although I have a strong stance on this, and they are on the same side as me (against the war), I was annoyed by their unwise (ab)use of the time and vocal space provided during that forum.

 

Surprisingly, this was brought up more by the non-Muslim members of that day's forum, especially by our Chinese friends from a certain Junior College, I can't recall which. Although ironically I was irritated by their antics, I am disappointed that the Muslims themselves are very quiet and docile on this issue.

 

Anyway, back to the succession topic. I don't deny that we as human beings can never be or rarely are fully satisfied with any one thing, so the same should apply to the context of the succession.

 

But for one, I'm glad Singapore is the way it is, and I should expect - and you too - some interesting developments over the next decade or so in the growth of our country.

 

My advice to people who just love stirring heat in complaining about the government or outpouring their dissatisfaction about anything to do with this country:- Shut Up. Do Something About It. Don't Do Anything Stupid. But Something Practical, Effective And Prudent. It's Been Done Before. Singapore Has Seen A Lot of Changes, Not By Firebrand Rebels or Armed Revolutionaries or Passionate Orators, but by Practical, Wise, Prudent People. And Make Sure the Change You Seek is For the Highest Good of All.

 

Hahahah... And I said I'm not a political enthusiast... Yah, but it's true what I said. Different contexts, when in need or demand of changes, requires different methods. Most just are those who know how to and do apply the right method for the right kind of problem in the right kind of context.

Aah... Oxygen... Aah... Internet... Aah... Sanity?

The past few days have seen me deprived of some things - oxygen, internet and sanity. I've been down with a serious bout of life-threatening ... flu since last Thursday. I've taken Paracetamol, cough syrups, Vicks throat soothers, generally everything short of antibiotics and a surgery. I've drunk tons of water I can get water fat soon. And yet my sinus problem has defied reason and nature and refuse to be rid of. But now it has toned down a little, but I expected it to be gone sooner, and not merely 'toned down'. My mucus is no longer green in colour (you shouldn't be eating and reading, my dear. Aw, come on! Those of you who get easily disgusted are just hypocrites).

 

Sanity... Because of my flu, my oxygen-deficient brain experienced lapses of function, causing me to make absurd neuronal connections and spontaneous and seemingly random outbursts of apparently irrational creative impulses. That explains my previous Absurd Writing post. Of course, I am making all this up. Actually, I am inherently mad like Hannibal Lecter (minus his hannibal-ity I mean cannibal-ity). By that, I mean I am a mad genius. Insane but brilliant. And lazy sometimes. Which explains occasional lapses of genius. Yup, I am inherently insane but I've been learning to conceal it with a split personality of such brilliance but my oxygen depravity forces my inner madman to come out.

 

Oh yah, I'm making that one up too. I wouldn't want a straightjacket, would I?

 

Okay, here are my plausible explanations for my feigned loss of sanity:- I am irritated, angry, depressed, mad (angry mad, not insane mad), sick, tired, desperate (of TIME TIME TIME!), near broke, exhausted, dying (we all are, every breath, every second, every day), suffocated but alone, what else?

 

Nah, don't worry, it will all go away, just like your dear Latiff will go away soon.

 

And Internet ... Only yesterday. I found my network router screwed up. Need to get a new one, most likely a wireless one. Now I am accessing the net without the router, therefore, my brother now is net-deprived.

Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Mohamad Latiff 101

No, this ain't a guide to me. Gosh, what's going on? What have I been writing? It must have been a 'phase' or something. I had been writing utter absurdity the past few days, and I was enjoying it.

 

So, why stop when I'm enjoying it? Here's more Absurdity Writing from Mohamad Latiff. Enjoy...

 

for 10,000 years we've seen the earth and borne with it the planet of the stars and without which no life could not exist but the essence of which is that the stalactites obfuscate the stalagmites and henceforth shall we be called men or that of calibre is but a thing in gold and framed with embroidered flowers blooming in the windful sun but then there is no such thing as sense as much as this writing in flow goes and flows though i had hesitated to say that and continue with what we were saying prior to this in the priory of zion and its elders but the anti-semiticiteins would blaspheme in the name of the lord almighty and smear the face of mankindled fires of woodwork bush and i strive still to continue this long flowing paragraph statement of effect without a period also known as a fullstop and has nothing to do with fullscap paper upon which wills are not made due to their lowly nature and the highly recognised nature of will and testament to the first truth of the order of the condor bird in turkestan with the understanding that i will not fall before the house of man and be named and you, brutus were the last words of julius kaisaros in the shakespeare play of the same misnomer and then there was lighted spirits of quantum field theories and elucidation of markos karlos which is a name i simply conjure out of spontaneity and i wonder what the benefits are of myself doing this exercise in writing the longest absurdest paragraph sentence which has only one fullstop and that is at the end of it but cannot be at the beginning due to the law of english grammar that states that fullstops should only be at the end of a sentence and that does not include semicolon and not the colon in your body wherever that part is but the semi-colon ah the correct spelling form that is on your keyboard that produces sound as you tap on it and make music but midi is incomparable to true music and therefore inferior or so it would seem but that depends on the ears of the listener and can we have a stop now thank you.

 

Now you can shed all your preconceived notions of me.

Monday, July 19, 2004

One Hundred! Get Over It Already!

This is my 100th post. This calls for a grand celebration! Let's all count from 1 to 100 and then whisper a "Hurray!" to celebrate this prosperous occasion. For surely this celebration is a celebration of humanity.

 

The topic of my 100th post will be creativity. My stand is as such: There is no such thing as true or absolute creativity. Everything that is conceived is a copycat of some other things combined together or modified in a slight, large or revolutionary way that had existed in the past.

 

It is absolute truth. True creativity resides only with The Creator. Yada, yada, yada. Just look at the structure of a brain. The brain, the seat of human thought and creativity. What is the structure of the brain like? A network of inter-connected neurons. The building blocks of the brain are your neurons.

 

What is the difference in the brain of a man (or woman) when he knows and when he does not know? It's in the pattern of the neuronal connections. If he knows something, or he processes something, his neuronal connections will change. But the point is, the initial stuff from which his knowledge is able to be brought into being in his consciousness is the pattern of neuronal connections in his brain.

 

Everyone's got the same set of brain and neuron cells. Although they come in different forms, the basic thing is the same. It's the way you think, the way you conceive, you perceive, you calculate, you manipulate, you label, in your mind, that determines outcomes for you.

 

So now you are liberated from the shackles of creativity. Don't listen to people who suddenly point at your work or whatever ideas you conceived and say, "Hey, that's like - " or "Hah! That sounds just like - " or "Hah! That's a rip-off of - ".

 

Depending on what your ideas are, and how developed they are, most of their accusations are unjust and baseless.

 

But don't be like Dr Evil in Austin Powers 2 who got a "Rip Off!" sneeze from his son.

 

What I am propounding here is to constructively focus your efforts not on making an absolutely and truly creative idea, but on how to combine all those "ripped-off" ideas and manipulate, mix, mould, stir, prune, trim, turn upside down and inside out them until you get something that still has some of the elements of its sources, but looks entirely different at a gestalt level.

 

Thinking outside the box is good sometimes, but the box is there for a purpose. Why don't you cut up the box or fold it into flat cardboard and create something else out of it?

Addicted to Godfather!

Call me what you like. Newbie, wannabe, quasi-art buff, latecomer, whatever - I ain't gonna go bada-bing! spill your brains on my Ivy League suit for that.

But I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse: either your brains or your agreement (with me) will come out of you today. Hahah! Come on! Are you kidding? I ain't gonna make orphans out of your children or a widow out of your wife or a widower out of your husband!

 

I'm not that kind of man. In fact, I'm a very superstitious man. If you were to be shot dead in the head, or found dead hanging in a jail cell, or be struck by a bolt of lightning, I'm going to blame some of the people reading this blog (except myself), and that I will not forgive. But I swear on the souls of my future grandchildren, I will not be the one to break the peace we made here today. Now, you, kiss the ring on my finger!

 

Gosh, I'm loving it. Quoting lines from what are possibly some of the greatest movies the 20th century had ever seen. Just yesterday, when I hung (pun not intended) out with my pal, I was pretending to integrate the Godfather into the minute by minute happenings and interactions between me and my friend almost the whole day.

 

So we were there eating our dinner, then I had to excuse myself to the toilet. I told him, "Later when I come out of the toilet, you don't have to search me. I'm clean. But if you go in, I need to search you, 'cos who knows, you might bring out a gun from the toilet bowl" <- That was not a dialogue from The Godfather Part I, but the scene was something like that.

 

Yeah, my friend happens to share the same enthusiasm as me about The Godfather series. He hasn't seen Part II - possibly the greatest part of the 3 - yet, and I got to be the first one to get the VCD and watch it. Hahah!

 

Then my friend asked what I was bringing in my bag (the Dune book, an umbrella and a print-out of my own novel's blueprint). I told him, "A gun, a Sicilian fish, a hat, some handkerchief to wipe blood, one of those strings you use to strangle people with from behind, what else?"

 

Well, anyway, I know I'm lame, Don Michael Corleone started out lame early in the movie as well, and look what he's become now. So be careful who you label lame, alright? We're all part of the same lameness, but don't ever think it applies to my family as well.

 

I'm watching Part II half-way now. So far so good. It had a great beginning. Totally in Italian deliberately without any subtitles, something Mel Gibson failed to grasp. It's the visuals that convey the story of these beginning scenes.

 

Okay, this is my 99th post now. My goal to reach 100 posts is near. Hahahah!

Sunday, July 18, 2004

How To Write Fast...

First, put your finger on the letter F on your keyboard and press, then the letter A and press, and the letter S and press, and the letter T and press.

 

There, you've written "FAST"!

 

Now, here's how to write lame...

 

Okay, okay, I'm going to be serious now. Here's how to (really) write fast, if you're writing fiction or you're writing something that is not so important anyway...

 

First, get yourself a stop watch. A classic one or a digital one. Set it to ring in 5 minutes.

 

Sit in front of your computer or a piece of paper and a pen. A computer is best, especially if you already learn how to type fast. Or if you have one of those voice-to-text software, it's even better.

 

The trick is to write the way you talk. I know most of us talk in a standard of English (or whatever is the language of choice) that is deplorable to our English teachers. But do attempt to write the way you would talk to your English teacher. Or someone respectable.

 

You don't have to use big, bombastic, million dollar words to impress your English teacher or someone respectable (both of them aren't necessarily inclusive of one another), but you do speak plainly, clearly to the point, and you wouldn't want to waste his or her time, do you?

 

Write like that. Plainly, clearly, simply, but with proper application of basic grammatical rules.

 

Now, before you press 'Start' on your timing device that will set off in 5 minutes, think of 3 words. Any 3 random words will do; and write or type them at the top of your (virtual or physical) page.

 

For example, I choose the words: digital, hairpin, clay. Yup, it can be THAT random.

 

Now these 3 words are going to be your helping words. Your task now is to include those 3 words in your mini-essay which you're going to write in - you guessed it - 5 minutes.

 

Put your fingers on your keyboard or your pen on your paper, click 'Start' and begin writing!

 

Write, Write, Write, Write, Write...

 

Stop! (Let's pretend it's at 5 minutes now)

 

What've you got? Here's what I've got:

 

"Laura Sanders adjusted her loose hairpin that was clipping on her frizzy hair. She began hitting the keyboard searching for the answer. Typing search terms into the antiquity museum library's digital encyclopedia was her expertise after working for 5 years in the office of Dr Meridian.

 

She was looking for 'Clay Figures' that date back to the 5th Century BC. Three days ago, she'd found a mysterious clay figurine in her mailbox. It looked like it originated from an ancient Sumerian civilisation, but it always pays to know for sure.

 

Dr. Meridian wouldn't be impressed if she'd wrongfully pin-pointed the clay figurine's origin only to discover later that it clearly came from somewhere else.

 

As she entered search term upon search term into the search box of the digital encyclopedia's search feature, she felt her hairpin biting into her scalp even more as her sweat mingled with its slightly rusty surface.

 

Then she decided to pull it out. As she tugged at the metal clip, she felt a strand of hair being extracted out of her scalp. Her thumb instinctively reacted with a twitch that pressed the 'Enter' key. Aha! She found it. She found the source of that mysterious clay figurine..."

 

There. You can do better in 5 minutes, or worse. But the point is, you must write something within that 5 minutes. Even if it's absolute nonsense. Eventually, things will make sense to you (and your readers) the more you type.

 

The trick now is to duplicate this exercise for as many times as your end material would demand. From the first few 5-minute exercises, you can basically gauge your writing rate. Some may be able to write a page in 5 minutes, some half a page, some even more. The point is, you know what your average writing rate is (by having a few of these sessions and averaging them).

 

With this knowledge, you can start to plan your writing to accomodate your unique writing rate. Every 5-minute session, you should strive to write just a word more or a sentence more than you'd previously been able to. Soon, everything will become unconscious to you, just like when you learned to ride a bicycle.

 

Another tip to remember is the timing of your writing. Find the perfect time for you to write, one when your mind is fresh, and your creative juices are bubbling with ideas. And take a break every 45 minutes or so (that's 9 5-minute sessions).

Will You Marry Me? My Absurd Masterpiece-of-crap-ful Poem

O Dufus, will you marry me?
Shall we first go date on a tea?
I am in such a plight of heart,
Maybe we can talk all about art.
 
Not that we are anyway art buffs of any sort.
In time we may find our conversations are too short.
Then both of us will start getting bored.
Would we be leaving other areas unexplored?
 
This poem sucks I know.
'Cos it ain't for making dough.
(Dough also means money),
Sounds like I had too much milk and honey.
 
Hamlet Napoleon Bombshells these are all fools,
They're lousy word excuses to make 'em all tools,
Tools of my deteriorating poetry to make rhyming,
For the sake of rhyming, unfollowing any timing.
 
Perhaps this is just a stream of consciousness exercise.
To let all your anger build up inside you is a huge vice.
I suck, I suck, I know I suck at poetry.
Maybe I should try Haikus.
 
Haikus are way cooler and you don't have to rhyme.
But sometimes I can't help if I'm having a fun time.
How did I go from a marriage proposal to haikus?
I don't know, maybe I'm just one of 'em cuckoos.
 
Okay, then, back to marriage proposals.
Don't wanna wait till I get my bifocals.
So this poem is actually from a guy so alone.
He's lying, he's got friends, and a bunch of 'em in his telephone.
 
His trouble is, actually caused by a number of things.
His self-esteem, his upbringing, it's almost like a jinx.
And the collective thing that obstructs him most from his goal,
Is his consistent negative self-talk and I don't know... What a world O so cold!
 
Alright, alright, I think I'm gonna stop here.
End here. Cease it here. Get myself a non-alcoholic root beer.
Actually I don't drink root beer, I just wanna make it rhyme, you know.
Damn it, now I have to find a rhyming word for know, O how cruel so!
 
Okay, stop it! Stop it! Stop it already!
If this one's going to rhyme I'm going to kill you, you getty*?
 
* Getty: Latiff's self-coined slang for "Get It?" meaning, "Do you understand"? Looks like Latiff's dead now.

Now My 96th Post...

This is my 96th post (4 more to go!), and it will be longer than my 95th, I assure you.

 

Now I promised no-one in particular that I will disclose further details of my book once I get the complete blueprint or storyline of it drafted ... oh ... headache ... dizziness ... settling in ... Losing ... cons - consci - conscious - consciousness ... Oxygen ... need oxygen ...

 

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

My 95th Post!

I'm deliberately adding this post to notch up my post count to 95. My aim:- to reach 100 posts by this week.
 
Just for fun...

Saturday, July 17, 2004

It is done...

Now I am closer to the completion of my first novel more than ever before. I have written 360 plot points that forms my storyline. Each of these 360 plot points will become 1 page in my novel. Each page has an estimated 320 words. 320 words is barely the length of an 'O' Level standard English composition.

 

I have done this while I was down with the flu, fever, cough, whatever it is collectively called. I have not done this at the EXPENSE of my health, but I have done this while my health is down. I hope my elation for having completed a good portion of my work will improve conditions.

 

I have also watched The Godfather Part III. I've completed watching The Godfather Part I last Sunday, and I had intended to get The Godfather Part II VCD, but I couldn't find it in HMV (the only store I've seen so far that has The Godfather VCDs). Instead, Part 3 was there and I just took what is already there.

 

Many people say Godfather 3 is a disappointment. I can't say for sure until I get my hands on Godfather Part II. I know it's an old movie, and the actors are quite old people, but I think I've become a new fan of Al Pacino.

 

I read that Part 2 is the best in the trilogy, and it's actually 2 storylines in 1 - that of Don Vito Corleone's rise to power, and the continuation of Don Michael Corleone's 'career' as the Godfather.

 

What I think of Part 1: It was boring at first, until the part when this rival drug gang gunned down Vito Corleone, and what the real Triggering Incident of the story is. I actually found it funny in some parts and totally moving in others.

 

I watched till the climactic end where Michael hired his men (or some people outside his family-gang, I don't quite grasp) to finish off the heads of the rival families. Then he killed his brother-in-law who abused his sister Connie. Then Connie came to confront him about it, then my VCD started screwing up.

 

Well, at least I watched it till the climax. Whatever is after that is the resolution. I just read a copy of the screenplay to know what happened - nothing much. Maybe the script's different, I don't know...

 

Part 3 is more serious, at times, a bit depressing. Sofia Coppola canNOT act, no matter how gorgeous she looks (she still is when she accepted the Oscar for Lost in Translation). I find Part 3 has many parallels with Part 1. It's like history repeating itself. At first I thought Michael was going to lose his first-born son Anthony (like how Vito lost Sonny), but I was as crushed as Michael was when the innocent becomes the victim. Man, I hate tragic endings!

 

Actually, I'm fine with tragic endings but there must be some sort of a consolation or relief or compensation in the resolution of the story, and only then, I'll be okay with that. But Part 3 ended so depressingly!

 

Anyway, back to my book, I'll be writing 1 - 3 chapters a day for 10 - 30 days straight, using my completed blueprint as my guide. Don't worry (telling myself), it'll be just like an English composition exercise every day. It was my favourite exercise in school, after all.

Friday, July 16, 2004

Mohamad Latiff Chronicles 16th July 2004

I'm trying out the new WYSIWYG Blogger interface. It's got some cool new font choices, sizes, paragraph alignment options, et cetera... It's even got the lovely "justified" alignment option, my personal favourite in word processing!

Let's test it out, shall we? We'd need at least 3 lines to see if the Justify effect works. Here goes... Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Justify Whew!

Great. It is justified. Justice is served. And all is well upon the Earth.

What have I been up to? The past 3 days, my keyboard has seen me typing furiously upon its keys as I write the 12-point blueprint for 10 chapters of my novel per day. This is for my mysteriously name 'IH:L' novel. It has 3 Acts, the standard for most stories (3-Act Plot Structure), and each Act has 10 chapters, totalling to 30 chapters. Each chapter has an estimated 12 pages. And so I create 12 plot points for each chapter in my blueprint.

I intend to complete my entire blueprint by the end of this day, Friday, 16th July 2004. I've completed the first 2 Acts of my story, and so far it's been great but I'm stuck in certain areas which certainly need improvement. I will allow my brilliant subconscious-unconscious mind to cook up a better plot.

I know I'm not like J.K. Rowling where billions of people around the world are clamouring for even a tiny piece of information about my book, but I know some of my closer friends would be a little interested to know more if they could.

 

Some of you already know that 'IH:L' belongs to the space opera genre. There is a subtle distinction between a space opera and pure science fiction. But that however is not the area of discussion here today.

 

Some of you who have already known that the scope of the setting in my story is somewhat, I admit, ridiculously huge. Think ridiculously huge. So huge no amount of words can describe it. And that, I realise, is ridiculous. Therefore, I've decided to reduce it a bit. In fact, not a bit. A lot.

 

Okay, before this change, the setting for my space opera is the entire known universe. But now, I've limited it to only a cluster of 7 major galaxies. Each galaxy represents a major nation or empire in the civilised universe of my story. In fact, 7 galaxies is already relatively larger than most space opera settings you hear about (if you bother to know more about space opera).

 

They usually have a Galactic Empire, a la Star Wars or Foundation, et al. And that usually spans only 1 galaxy (usually our home, the Milky Way galaxy). But my story is set in an alternate universe. Not even Einstein's Theory of Relativity that forbids travelling beyond the speed limit of Light applies in my universe.

 

In my fictitious universe, Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel is possible, and I'll make a somewhat plausible explanation for this. To those who have a basic knowledge of the physics of science fiction, it's somewhat a combination of the Hyperspace (a dimension beyond space-time, 4th or more dimension) concept, the Infinite Universal Energy idea and the Holographic Universe (read up on David Bohm's Implicate Order) theory.

 

In fact, the last of the 3rd above-mentioned theories, that is of the Holographic Universe, plays a major influential role in the science of my story. I read a book of the same name in 1999, and this was before The Matrix even came out, and I was so fascinated by its idea of a reality that is unlike anything you've ever imagined.

 

Oh... If you think 'IH:L' is going to be a heavily technical 'hard SF' kind of book, I actually took the effort to craft a wholesome storyline that balances technicality with a good dramatic human story. Influenced by Dune, I set out not to create alien races or species in my story; everything will be in a purely human perspective.

 

I think, and I may be wrong, but I find, that within my 3-Act structure, pre-pubescent to adolescent to young adult readers would probably enjoy reading Acts 1 and 3 more than Act 2. Acts 1 and 3 have more action than Act 2. That depends on how you define Action. Walking from Point A to Point B is also an action. So is breathing, eating, sleeping, etc.

 

But the fact is, Act 2 is the spine, the crucial arc of my story. It may seem a little boring compared to the other 2 acts; I mean, it is NOT inherently boring, but relatively boring compared to the other 2, but if you keep an open mind, you'll realise some interesting elements woven into it.

 

However humongous the scope of my story spans, the bulk of the story is focused mainly on 3 places in my universe. That is the general rule of thumb for creating a wholesome story. Over-setting and under-setting are both detrimental to the feel of a story, unless you know how to handle it prudently.

 

Okay, I think I have to bathe and answer the call of nature now. I promise more in the future. To no one in particular.

Thursday, July 15, 2004

We Really Know Nothing...

Of course not. We know something. We just can't know everything. That's as true an axiom as "we know, therefore we exist".

And then I don't know what I'm going to write about.

Yes, well, then, let it be known to one and all that we truly cannot know everything and therefore, essentially, we know nothing.

There are 4 types of knowing:-

We know that we know. We are enlightened.

We know that we don't know. We are wise.

These 2 are more favourable than the following 2.

We don't know that we know. We are asleep.

We don't know that we don't know. We are blissfully ignorant.

Knowing can only reach 2 levels. It's all actually a play of words, semantics and logic:-

We can know that we know, or we can say that we know.

If we say that we know, it is already assumed that we know that we know. Because the act of saying that we know already implies we know that we know.

If we say that we know that we know, it is already assumed that we know that we know that we know, so it is redundant to add anymore "we know that..." to the statements.

In fact, the act of saying or articulating that we know something already implies that we know that we know it. Or even if we don't know something and we say we don't know something, we already know that we don't know.

Do you know that I know that most of us know that we all know that I don't know if everyone knows that we actually know the way you and I both know that we all know that we know essentially nothing but we do know somethings but then we can't know everything?

If you do... Good!

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

Reading Period...

Last Tuesday I bought "The Da Vinci Code" and I'd finished it by Thursday morning.

Yesterday, Tuesday, I bought "Legends of Dune I: The Butlerian Jihad". It's been out quite a while ago already, but, like Da Vinci, I deliberately waited a few months for the book price to go down. That always happens. Unless of course I get it from one of those book rental shops that also happen to sell the books they rent (and it's usually much, much, much cheaper than big-name bookstores).

Okay, here goes the basics of the world of Dune, which is the world - or should I say the Universe - in which the book I just bought is set.

It's ironic that I hadn't completed reading the first book of Dune (aptly titled "Dune" by Frank Herbert), yet I've already read 2 of its prequel books written by Herbert's son (or grandson?) and Kevin J Anderson.

All About Dune (At Least All That I Know) ...

Dune is set tens of thousands of years in the future; it's so far off over there that even the dating convention (our convention being C.E. aka Common Era, or A.D. aka Anno Domini) has changed. There are various dating conventions in Dune, among others, they count the years according to a monumental event in their history known as the Butlerian Jihad (more on that later), and also the formation of the Imperium.

The Imperium. Another word for Empire. Not unlike the Galactic Empire made famous by Star Wars or Asimov's Foundation novels, but the Imperium in the universe of Dune is actually referring to an empire of worlds and star systems that spans the entire known universe. Read that again: The Entire Known Universe. Not the Whole Universe, but the Entire Known Universe, that is, the regions of All That Is that is known by Humankind.

I have not read all the books of Dune, so I don't know this for sure -> There are NO alien races in the universe of Dune. That's one of the things that most appeals to me about Dune. To me, it's just me, I think alien races in sci-fi worlds usually come off as cheesy. With some exceptions, of course.

There are only Humans, and other new races that are actually evolved from or mutations of Humanity. And then there are the machines. The robots. AI. At least, there USED to be intelligent machines. This is where the bulk of the story rests upon.

In Dune Book 1, it is an era where tens of thousands of years have passed since the age of thinking machines came to an end. There was a great war between humanity and thinking machines that ended up with humanity as the victor, and the thinking machines are restored to their rightful place -> in servitude of humanity (I believe in that as well).

By then, the development and refinement of humanity's virtually limitless potential has advanced to such a towering level, groups of people such as the Bene Gesserit witches, the Mentat, and the culmination of human development, the Kwisatz Hadderach (a messianic figure in the story), were born.

You see, Dune emphasises the vastness of human potential over our dependence on machines to run our lives.

The Bene Gesserit witches are a powerful cult of selectively bred witches that use drugs, mind power, mind control, hypnotic speech patterns, telepathy, remote viewing of the future, to virtually write and manipulate the history of the universe.

The Mentat are the male but milder equivalent of the Bene Gesserit witches. They don't have mind control powers, but they still depend on the drug-spice melange (available on one planet in the entire universe: Arrakis aka Dune), and have highly developed thinking and computing faculties that borders on prescience (foretelling the future).

The Kwisatz Hadderach, aka Muad'dib, aka Usul, aka Paul Atreides, is the culmination of the Bene Gesserit witches' generations of selective breeding. It is their mission-aim (their Missionaria Protectiva, they say) to give birth to The One whom they believe would be able to fold the space-time continuum with only the power of his mind, without the aid of any drugs.

Actually, in the universe of Dune, there are already people who can bend space-time and hence travel to any location in the universe without moving, using drugs (melange). These are the Spacing Guild Navigators. But the distinction of the KH or Muad'dib is that he does it without drugs, and has other powers beyond imagining.

Now that was the story of Dune.

The book I am reading, Legends of Dune I: The Butlerian Jihad, is a prequel to Dune. It is set in the era of - yes - The Butlerian Jihad, the war between Man and Machines.

In this story, we see how the Bene Gesserit witches came into being, and the Mentats, and the Fremen warriors (who later became the army of the messianic Kwisatz Hadderach), and how the feud began between the 2 powerful families of the Atreides (the family of KH) and the Harkonnens.

* May I add a note here especially to those who know Islamic history: The feud between the Atreides and the Harkonnens is somewhat parallel to the enmity between the Bani Hashim the family of the Prophet and Bani Umayyah the family of Abu Sufyan, Muawiyah et al. Perhaps this was deliberately created by the author who seems to have a grasp (but not a perfect one) of Islamic history.

It began when a group of 20 visionary people started a movement, a revolution, to shake the foundations of the Old Empire which has seen the bulk of humanity in a sadly stagnant state.

They were met by fierce opposition by the status quo, but they turned to machines, and preserved their brains in robotic body vessels (to become virtually immortal), to fight their war against the rest of the universe.

They'd managed to rule for a few centuries, but the machines they've depended upon too much turned against them and began taking control as they develop a sentient consciousness. This gave birth to Omnius, the Evermind, some sort of a machine god.

The 20 revolutionaries became the slaves of Omnius and fought for his war against humanity. And thus began the events known as the Butlerian Jihad.

The book The Butlerian Jihad is followed by The Machine Crusade, the 2nd book in the Legends of Dune series.

And that is as far as I've known about the story.

Cold Island - My Probably 90th Post

Title of my post reflects "Cold Mountain".

Singapore sure is getting colder nowadays. It's because of the rainy weather. No, actually, it's 2 extremes.

Just like in Charles Dickens' A Tale of 2 Cities.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" There is nothing in between. It's either one of two extremes.

Singapore had been either very cold or very warm (and aggravatingly humid, I add). Or I'm very sick.

With about 36 days till I enter National Service, a few things come to the surface of my mind. Months ago, when I had about 110 days (compared to the 36 I now have, oh how much precious TIME have I wasted), I had intended to do some things. A LOT of things. Generally things to do with the enhancement of the experience of my life.

Some I managed to accomplish, some I am nearing accomplishment, while a LOT is still found wanting. Am I just a human being or a lousy time manager or goal setter?

I had a dream again last night. A prophetic dream. I mean, something that points to something that may happen in the future. I dreamt that during my first day of intake, somehow everything was in a mess - my mother and my family are supposed to see me off on that day, but I somehow couldn't manage to. Everything else was fine. In my dream, the sergeants, officers, people there were kind of nice to me, but the fact (in my dream) that I couldn't see my family one last time (before going away for what? 3 weeks?) filled me with such sadness.

Also, I tend to remember stuff I dreamt about earlier in my newer dreams. In an earlier dream, I dreamt that a close family member of mine died. I won't say who, but again, it's so bitter.

Sometimes, when I dream, and an overwhelming emotion consumes me in that dream (happiness, fear, sorrow, anger), I tend to wake up in the middle of the night with that emotion carried over to my waking mode.

In that dream, when that person died, and I dreamt of seeing the body, in lucid detail, I felt an emptiness in my stomach as if a vacuum is there. All my air is let out of my body as I wailed, and my dry eyes are forcing me to tear perhaps it would tear blood instead.

There is a melancholic colour scheme to such dreams. It's a silvery grey, foggy, a bit of haze, not exactly dark, but usually the colour tone you get on a rainy day. Yes, in my sad dreams, it seems to be raining.

Then, I just watched the Korean movie "Brotherhood". It was great, but I just couldn't enjoy it because of my 2 sad dreams. The movie reminded me of them - going to a war (or entering the army) leaving behind your mother and your family, and at the end of the film, losing a brother.

When I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban this year, during the earlier Dementors part, when Ron said, "I felt as if I'd never be happy ever again".

Something there struck me. Some events in my life made me sad, but afterward I get happy again, but I cannot get as happy as I used to be before those events occurred. It's not feigned happiness, but it was milder happiness. Every "down" event takes away a few days or maybe just a few hours of my life like a cigarette, while every "up" event doesn't do much to compensate for my lost days or hours.

What do I have? How did I get so strong? Am I that strong even? Granted I find myself less whining (in speech, not in writing), less complaining, more tolerant than some of my friends, but how did I end up like this?

What things in my life make me strong? Not much. My mother, my little sister, my faith. The relative stability of my country. A circle of good friends. Mostly everything any average human being has. I don't have a billion dollars in my bank account, a pretty girlfriend to worship me, a Mr Popularity crown, a noble hereditary title, but I still consider myself lucky.

I hate and love watching family soaps. Most of the times they tend to portray the ideal family. It makes it seem that ONLY people from good family backgrounds can make it big, ONLY people with good, understanding, caring parents end up with the good stuff.

My family is far from ideal, but it's not so bad, either. My parents were not the good, understanding, "tell me everything and I'll settle it for you" or the "name anything and we'll give you" types, but they are good anyway, but I still wonder why my brothers end up the way they are (my sister's doing fine).

I used to not like the fact that my parents were not perfect, that is, until I grew up, lost my father, then I still have my mother now, do I really start to appreciate parents and love them more. I have a close friend of mine whose parents are divorced and he's not too pleased with both of them. He goes out with his father sometimes and he really loves and cares for him but I don't understand why he doesn't appreciate that.

It also really hurts, besides watching those family soaps, to see the dynamics of other loving families in real life. When I was in Iran the December of last year, I went alone, with a couple of other families. My family should've been there with me. Maybe that would've made it a lot more enjoyable. But the other families treated me as one of their own anyway so it's not that bad. Name it jealousy, a sickness of the heart, or whatever you call it (but it's not my friggin' fault!), but it's a disease that is there in me that demands treatment.

Every time the other families laughed together, ate together, talked together, shopped together, bought stuff together, took pictures together (which they then invited me in) added an additional swell to my heart.

I felt like a part of their families, but I felt like a newly adopted child who has yet to adapt to his new family and is still missing his old family - a lot. Or an outcast mercifully adopted by Gandhi, and treated well and all, but the fact yet remains that I am an outcast (I mean, in the context of this comparative description).

Then one day, during my 14-day stay in Iran, one Friday, a week before I set off for home, we were actually planning a shopping trip. But I didn't know it was an All-Girls trip. Apparently, the plan was told to everyone in our tour group (we know each others' families), but it was conveyed via family members. Being one of the people without my family there, I didn't get the full news. An elderly man, also family-less (in that trip), was my companion.

When I heard that they were going to get out of the hotel (which bored me), I jumped at it and got down, gave my room key to the receptionist. Then I saw my whole tour group there, but only the women. Then one of them, an elderly lady, asked me, "Where are you going? Shopping?" It was only then that I realised what was going on. I blushed (but I was screaming in rage and crying inside) and said, in a similar rebuttal-ic laugh-y and sarcastic tone, "Yes!".

Then I landed myself on the sofa pretending to watch TV when I was actually hiding my face from the embarrassment. I sat there, doing nothing, saying nothing.

Right that moment, right at that spot, I just wished I could snap my fingers and go home. I was disgusted. It wasn't anybody's fault, but it's just disgusting and unfair.

Then another lady from the group, a nicer one, my friend's mother, actually, asked me if I would be around here. Yes, I said. She actually asked permission to leave, and I said, okay. I guess she probably saw what I was experiencing.

So the women left, and I sat there at the lounge, watching TV in Persian, and I stared at the carpet. For a few minutes, I thought of things. Everything. Then my mind dwelled on the fact of my temporary family-less-ness.

It was a silent moment. The TV next to me was still speaking Persian, but it was shut out of my brain. Then my eyes started getting moist. All the rage and sorrow that I had pent up from Day 1 of what would have otherwise been an enjoyable trip (it was, by the way, when collectively seen as a whole) burst. Then, me being a boy and all, or should I say a man, you know, something happened, which, uhh... I don't want to say specifically here.

It was a catharsis. A release. I felt much better after that. Not much, much better. But everything else during that trip afterward, even negative experiences, don't affect me that much anymore (well, there was the encounter of almost being lost in the middle of a barren land of snowy mountains, and then later when a horde of discourteous Malaysians barged in cutting our luggage checking line that I flew into a rage and gave an oratory about the merits of courteous behaviour [which they heeded by the way], and before that, when a group of 'modern' Iranians derided our Asian race in Persian [one of us knows Persian] and I shot back by saying, "I wonder if these Iranians know how to speak English. If they do, I want them to know they're intellectually challenged...stupid").

Damn it's 2 AM. I better go sleep...

Tuesday, July 13, 2004

3rd Story Idea... and About the 2nd Yet To Be Titled One...

I got it.

In a flash of inspiration, I have a possible title for my 2nd yet to be titled work.

It will be called Deathblade and the title refers to the name of the cannibalistic occult group that forms the antagonistic forces of the story. It will be one long saga split up into 3 separate books (and there are minor changes).

So the series' titles will be as follows:-

1. Deathblade: Protector of the Key.
Concerns the initial discovery of the occult group's conspiracy, and the early years of the boy(the Protector) and the girl(the Key)'s marriage, why, though they are legitimately married, they must not conceive a child (something to do with the Key's DNA), the beginning of their journey to get to the Deathblade source of power and decapitate the leadership, how they were hunted, how they did conceive a child anyway, and how they hid the child...

2. Deathblade: Triumvirate of Tyranny.
The occult group, called the Deathblade, managed to infiltrate the top political positions around the globe. They ruled 3 hyperpower nations and forged an alliance, consisting of America, Israel and China.

Meanwhile, the Protector and the Key (boy & girl, now husband & wife) decided to head straight for the Deathblade's chief base of power, in an attempt to decapitate the leadership, having successfully hiding their child in a trusted place.

Suddenly, the Israeli Deathblade base unleashed its enhanced cannibal army upon Palestine. The Protector & the Key aided a Mujahidin group to defeat the cannibal army.

Upon winning the battle, the pair resumed their journey to America, the power zenith of the Deathblade group, to fulfill their mission.

3. Deathblade: Rise of the Guardian.
By this time, the Deathblade Triumvirate of Tyranny (America, Israel, China) had unleashed its full forces consisting of a vast mind-controlled cannibal army. A World War between the free nations and the Triumvirate was ignited, and with the legend of the Protector's combat prowess in the battle for Palestine spread far and wide, the united alliance of the free non-Deathblade-influenced nations were calling for him to lead their war.

But the Protector was reluctant to lead, for his mission to protect the Key was foremost in his mind.

The Deathblade Triumvirate sent a vast battalion of 10 Million cannibal troops to the heart of the loose alliance of free nations, in Rome. While the Triumvirate focused largely upon their operations in Europe, the pair managed to arrive at the heart of Deathblade in America, undetected.

The duo confronted the head of the Deathblade group, who was defeated only by having the Key (the girl) bitten by the Deathblade Master, her blood ingested in him. The Key was sacrificed, and all seemed lost but the Master, the half-human,half-undead-cannibal choked on her blood, for her blood had a potent effect on his cells, causing him to disintegrate, and the Deathblade leadership is decapitated forever.

The Protector journeyed home with the lifeless body of his wife, the Key, who had saved the world, a very, very sad man. By her will, he would bury her in an ancient holy land of martyrs. On the way, he inadvertently led the alliance forces to victory against the vast cannibal battalions attacking Rome.

With this victory, the people of the free nations hailed the Protector as the Guardian of the World. This did not cheer him up one bit. But then he remembered they had hidden their daughter in a safe place. So he took her back, and with this bundle of hope still with him, he continued to live his life back home in Singapore...

Now was that an even crazier plot or what?! If you somehow sense that the trilogy of the plot resembles LOTR (the Key = the Ring, Rome = Minas Tirith, the Protector = the Ringbearer & the King, Deathblade = Mordor, battle in Palestine = Helm's Deep), then you are jolly well damn right. It IS my intention to re-write LOTR as a crazy re-enactment set in a slightly futuristic but not so far from the modern day time.

Call me a Rip-Off and I'm flattered to be placed in the Hall of the Greats (because all the Great Creative Minds are rip-offs of one another).

Okay, for the next story idea, the 3rd one.

It's titled Master of the Spheres. In brief, this story will be The Godfather set in an ancient fantasy land. The Spheres refer to a set of kingdoms in this fantasy world that are literally covered by hemispheres of glass or some weird material. There are 6 royal families (like the 5 families in Godfather plus the Corleone's), ruling the 6 Sphere Kingdoms, and there is a 7th one, an unconquered one, that all 6 families are competing to claim. Why? Because whoever rules this 7th Sphere Kingdom shall wield unimaginable power over all the other Sphere Kingdoms.

There you have it, my 2nd and 3rd story ideas in development. I am now working on my 1st story, "IH:L", and it's expected to be completed by the end of this month. Perhaps I shall post more on "IH:L" soon.

My Rough Daily Schedule

This is generally what I am going to do every day.

Weekdays-Saturday

0500 - Concentration & visualisation exercises. Reviewing of my goals.
0600 - Dawn prayers.
0700 - Warm up, push ups, walk the blocks, ascend & descend stairs, walk the blocks, stand upside down with my feet propped on the wall and my hands supporting my body weight and giving a blood rush to my head, cool down.
0900 - Continue work on my "IH:L" novel (target: Within 15 days)
Afternoon Onward - Do anything I want: go out, fool around, play, sleep, more work, read, think, write, enjoy life, laugh, cry, get angry (for what?).
2300-0000 - Sleeeep.. Sleeeep.. Sleeeepzzz..

Sundays

0500 - Concentration & visualisation exercises. Reviewing of my goals.
0600 - Dawn prayers.
0700 - Warm up, push ups, walk the blocks, ascend & descend stairs, walk the blocks, stand upside down with my feet propped on the wall and my hands supporting my body weight and giving a blood rush to my head, cool down.
0900 - Get ready for Homework Supervision Programme session.
1000-1300 - Homework Supervision Programme session.
1400 - Continue work on my "IH:L" novel
After that - Do anything I want: go out, fool around, play, sleep, more work, read, think, write, enjoy life, laugh, cry, get angry (for what?).
2300-0000 - Sleeeep.. Sleeeep.. Sleeeepzzz..

Monday, July 12, 2004

The Oratory On The Blog

Fortunate are those who smile in the face of adversity, for they shall attain victory.

Fortunate are those who seal off their ears to the whisperings of evil from their fellow humans, for they shall earn a remarkable reputation.

Fortunate are those who err, and realise their error, and do make ammends, and seek forgiveness, for they are human and they shall be forgiven.

Fortunate are those who defy the odds and the status quo for the upliftment of the principles of humanity, for their deeds shall not be forgotten.

Fortunate are those who bear upon themselves the ridicule, wanton cynical looks and the evil words of doubters and haters, with strength and a heart for forgiveness, for truly an unfathomable reward awaits them.

Fortunate are those who give with the hands of sincerity, for they shall receive manifold what they'd given.

And fortunate too are those who receive with hands of gratitude, for they shall receive even more than what they'd asked for.

Fortunate are those who toil upon the path of seeking knowledge, for they shall attain wisdom.

Fortunate are those who toil upon the path of seeking justice, for justice shall come to them in most uncommon hours, even after their deaths.

And it has been said unto you, to do unto others what you will have others do unto you.

But I say unto you now, let others do unto you what they will, if that which they did is within your limits of tolerance. Yet increase your limits of tolerance measure by measure. Forgive, forget, seek not vengeance.

And I say also unto you now, do not let others do unto you what they will, if that which they did is beyond your limits. For if they trample upon your rights, that is a great transgression indeed. Seek justice and recompense for your loss, yet in a noble and gentle manner, not that which does resemble an act of vengeance.

If a man would smite your face for no apparent reason, do not turn your other cheek for him. Ask him the reason. And if you feel it appropriate, pardon him. Or if it is only just, return him the favour.

Remember, justice takes precedence over mercy. Yet is it not beautifully ironic that the Mercy of The One surpasses even His Wrath?

It has also been requested of you, do good unto others that others may do good unto you too.

But I say unto you now, do good unto others even if others do no good unto you. Seek no reward, expect no recompense, save for the mercy and pardon of The One who does good unto each and everyone without needing any good upon Himself.

Yet I say unto you also, limit your good deeds upon those who would not show the slightest sign of gratitude, and even scorn you. For if you continue to do good unto him without limits, he would only perpetuate in his scornfulness of you.

My friends, do not whine of your position. But seek a higher ground. Do not fret of your shortcomings. But seek the refinement of your self. Do not toil yourself unnecessarily, but do stretch the limits of your ability.

This Life is not meant to be lived as a stroll in the garden. Nor is it meant to be lived as a toil in the desert. Be you glad of what Life has dealt you, yet at the same time, seek to better the dealings of your Life that you may be even glad.

Sunday, July 11, 2004

My Simultaneous Fiction Projects - 2nd Yet To Be Titled Work... Spoilers Galore!

It's not really simultaneous. I'm not working on them simultaneously but they're both developing in my mind simultaneously. On the one hand, I am actively writing my debut Quasi-Operatic-Space-Fantasy-Political-Satire-Religious-Allegory, on the other, I am planning a Yet To Be Titled work that is a romantic adventurous horror (think Evil Dead) odyssey (with a good dose of my favourite fictional flavour, science fiction).

Here is the background of my 2nd story so far (Yet To Be Titled):

It is set in the present day. It begins in Singapore, but the scope of the whole story covers places all over the globe.

A boy, a servant's son, has grown up with a girl, the daughter of a tycoon from the wealthy family of Al-Hurr (think an Arabic Rockefeller or a Persian Carnegie). The Al-Hurr family has always trusted the family of their servants for 5 generations, it's almost not unthinkable for the boy to propose the girl's hand in marriage, but the boy is a painfully shy person.

The Al-Hurr family, despite being enormously wealthy, are very kind, generous, humble and live by an almost ancient noble code of conduct that knows not class nor status. This boy, in fact, was educated and raised by the mother of his love interest as her own son, for he'd lost his mother when she gave birth to him.

The Head of the Al-Hurr family one day surprised both the boy and his servant father by offering his willing daughter to him in marriage. Thinking that this was probably too good to be true, the boy suspected there must be a reason behind this. Upon enquiry, the Head of Al-Hurr straightforwardly confessed his plans that would easily shock anyone upon its revelation.

So we have this flashback where the Al-Hurr Master recounts his story...

The Head of the Al-Hurr family, the Sayed, was in the lucrative business-science of nanotech-biology. He'd channeled his inherited wealth (from his family's oil dynasty) into the funding of the research for the cure for neural cancer. This was when the Al-Hurr family used to live in the US of A.

His success in finding that cure earned him and his family a glorious reputation that would match or surpass all the achievements made by his Arab and Persian predecessors in the fields of medicine, and Time magazine called him The Man Who Revived The Medical Renaissance.

But his path to success was not without its dark spots. One of his researchers had accidentally stumbled upon a synthesised compound that could make the human brain susceptible to almost any suggestion given to them. This compound has an inherent artificial intelligence system that is constructed through nanotechnology and can be remotely programmed to do anything the master wants it to.

This researcher intended to keep it a secret and drafted plans for its unethical exploitation. But the Sayed, the leader of the research team had stumbled upon that, and immediately fired, sued his colleague and destroyed all documents and materials with regards to that dangerous discovery. However, this researcher had already extracted his findings in another place and, feigning defeat, he actually sold that knowledge to a retired US Army General in a highly secretive electronic transaction.

Months pass, the Sayed and the Al-Hurr family as well as millions of people worldwide enjoyed the benefits the cure for neural cancer had brought. The Sayed, who knew friends in high places, heard rumours of a developing US military technology that borders on mind control. He began an independent investigation into the matter, involving correspondence with the President of the United States (who denied knowledge of it), and found out that this technology has an uncanny similarity to the one his researcher colleague had stumbled upon months ago.

Suddenly, there were reports of terror attacks by an occult group (of no specific religious denomination) involving cannibalism. The attackers, armed with nothing but their own enhanced physical strength, collectively pounced on their victims like wild starving beasts unleashed upon fresh prey. Most horrific of all, the victims too began to turn into these cannibals if they had not been entirely eaten already.

According to the reports, these super-cannibals could not even be stopped by bullets. They could only be killed if they were completely burnt to ashes and dust. Even then, any human or creature who came into olfactory contact (smelling) with the dust of these cannibals would be infected. Apparently, the synthesised nano-virus did not die with their hosts.

The Sayed became directly involved with this case when it was found that the cannibals and the victims who had been turned happened to be the first few people upon whom his neural cancer cure were tested. This alarmed not only the medical community but the entire world. Apparently, the Sayed was implicated in a gruesome act of deviously planned vengeful sabotage by the colleague whom he'd fired and sued.

So the Sayed sent his family away from America, to Singapore, while he was brought in for interrogation by the Feather Brained Idiots (FBI). The FBI couldn't exactly pin-point nor prove that he was directly responsible for the cannibalistic terror attack, so they let him go, but they'd keep an eye on him. Forensic scientists too couldn't link his neural cancer cure to the super-cannibal nano-virus, and they deemed it was simply coincidence.

The Sayed stayed in America a while longer to further investigate this mystery on his own. It was then that he'd found something far more shocking, that could affect the entire human race.

He'd discovered that underground occult group (think Illuminati or Freemasons but with gruesome raw practices of cannibalism) responsible for the cannibalistic terror attack, whose tentacles of conspiracy had been clutching on to the nations of the world undetected for decades. And worst of all, they were planning an orchestrated worldwide assault upon civilisation once their numbers have reached astronomical proportions.

It seemed that the Sayed's colleague's 'unexpected' discovery accelerated the group's expansion, and the minds of all their cannibalistic members were controlled by a singular leader. But there was one conquering fear, he learnt also, which this cult possessed -> the bloodline, or literally, the blood of the Sayed's lineage.

The Sayed, as his hereditary title implies, is of the lineage of the Prophet Muhammad. The occult group's myth believed that the only bloodline they could not affect that could also destroy them is the bloodline of the Sayeds. It is therefore one of their main concerns to massacre the extended family of the Prophet and they've been doing so by hiring Wahabbi terrorists, fueling and funding their hatred for a common enemy.

But their myth also claimed that one day there would be born The Key, a person from the Sayed's bloodline, who could kill the leader of the cult, and since his mind is linked to the nano-virus in his cannibal army, would destroy the entire cult. So a hunt for the life of this Key began. A cryptic message in the occult group's manifesto indicated the exact DNA sequence of this Key.

The Sayed calculated, by checking the DNA in his blood, that the Key would be born of his direct lineage; i.e. his only daughter. So he fled America, joining the rest of his family in Singapore for a few more months before revealing his discovery to them.

That is when he proposed his daughter marry the son of his loyal servant, for even if his daughter, the Key, were to end up being killed by this rising cult group, a child (or more) from their marriage, if concealed, would at least perpetuate the bloodline.

Now while she had to carry out her duty to her family and the human race in perpetuating her bloodline, she also had to set out on a journey, with the aid of her husband, to hide her baby in the safest possible place on Earth. By this time the cannibal armies of the occult nation had begun to rise and strike the populace of the world. One by one nations fell.

That was Task 1. Task 2 would be to face the leader of the occult group himself and fulfill their prophecy by defeating him...

And so from that set up, the real adventure begins...

Was that the craziest plot you've ever read or what?

Thursday, July 08, 2004

I Cracked The Da Vinci Code!

Damn... The Da Vinci Code's been read by probably 10 Million people (plus 1) already right now. Otherwise, I can claim to have exclusively attained the following:-

- I know the True Nature of the Holy Grail.
- I know What (or more precisely Who) it (she) is.
- I know Where it is.
- I know that the portrayal of Merovingian in The Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions is very inaccurate.
- I know that the "truth" of it's been glaringly obvious in some of the world's most famous pieces of art and literature, it dumbfounds those who discover it.
- I know that once it's discovered (actually many people know already, but it's not that widely known), it's going to make billions of people angry.

Yes, I do hereby proudly and self-astonishingly announce that I've finished reading 489 pages of The Da Vinci Code not in 2 days, but in an estimated total of 10 hours (1/2 hour on the bus Tuesday night [bought it Tuesday evening], another 1/2 later that night before sleep, 2 hours Wednesday morning, 3 hours Wednesday afternoon, 1 hour Thursday [today] midnight before sleep, 3 hours today morning before breakfast).

One novel that I possess which has been collecting dust for years is the Dune novel by Frank Herbert. I've seen the David Lynch movie, and the mini-series, and have read the prequels by Herbert's son, but I have yet to read the original first book. It's about the same length as The Da Vinci Code, yet comparatively I would take years to complete it (in sparse intervals of a few hours), if at all.

The Da Vinci Code is a modern-day tale of a man and a woman's quest for - and ultimately the preservation of - the Holy Grail. Disguised as a suspense thriller cum murder mystery, one will instantly know why it's recently been such a popular book - it sheds new light on a very provocative, controversial and very overlooked (or should I say un-looked) side of one of the most famous figures of all time - Jesus (Yeshua/Isa) Son of Mary.

Although it's fictional, it's painted in such a realistic and lucid fashion, one's inner mind can't help but somehow on a deeper level believe it to be true.

I will not spoil (much of) it for you non-readers, but for me, one of the most interesting revelations in the book is the meeting with a Sir Leigh Teabing, a lifelong Holy Grail fanatic researcher, where the political (and probably real) history of Christianity is accounted to Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu (the protagonists).

He tells of how the Pagan Emperor Constantine, faced with the swelling masses of the new 3 century old religion brought by the executed Jewish Rabbi and the massive cracks forming in his Roman empire, decided to make a bold and monumentally historical move to unite his peoples, if not by nation then by faith, by forging a new religion from the old elements of Paganism and deifying the central figure. This was how the famous Nicene creed came into being, and sparked an era of infallible Papal power that extends its yoke all over Europe and eventually the world. This event, in truth (at least according to the author), is politically motivated, rather than spiritually motivated.

Christian readers would have to read this part with a sense of objectivism and remember that it's just fiction. Readers of other denominations would smile at - if not be awed by - such an enticing revelatory prospect.

One thing that irritates me about the book, besides the author's continuous use of the Zeigarnik trick, is his persistent reference to the "Sacred Feminine". The phrase spouts forth from the lips of the characters it's almost unnatural and seems as if the author has some sort of a hidden neo-feminist agenda (I'm wondering if he's bootlicking feminist ideals or - gasp - a fag [just kidding]). I'm all for women's rights and all, but I'm not into the feminist or metrosexual thing.

He also has an interesting take on the 'true' meaning of the Star of David, the symbol of Zionism. Hmmm... Orthodox Monotheistic Jews might find his take on that quite offensive.

Okay, some of the things I like about it:-

- The structure of the story is that of a quest and I like the way how it ends where it begins.
- The path of the quest is such that the seeker eventually discovers she is the object of the quest itself.
- It's almost a very, very clever conspiracy theory type of story, but in the end, it's not exactly what it seems. It's a mirage of sorts.

Invest 17 bucks, pick up the book at a bookstore near you. Worth 10 hours of your reading time (depending on how fast you read).

Wednesday, July 07, 2004

Never Before Have I Done This!

Let me tell you how astounded I am. I am truly, magnificently, profoundly awed by the immense magnitude of what I had accomplished or more appropriately what I had experienced.

Never before have I experienced or accomplished a task of such immensity, ever since my younger days.

Curious? Let me give you some cryptic clues...

Take this sequence of numbers...

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89

And this ratio...

1.618

That happens to seem like Apple _ _ _ and is important to circles but actually rhymes with the non-feminine pronoun...

And this famous but eccentric Renaissance genius whose name has the same starting letter as my commonly-called name (not M).

And this universal symbol that means different things to different people and has something to do with 5 sides and is a manifestation of not only mathematical perfection but also a Divine Precision inherent in every thing in the universe (refer to the ratio).

These are the things that led me to surmount this monumental feat that I had successfully accomplished, and yet to accomplish.

It had led me to ... are you ready for the REVELATION?

... Read 230 pages of "The Da Vinci Code" in 1 day.

HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA! HA HA HA! HA HA HA HA HA!

(Imitating Mandark laughter. Mandark = Dexter's rival)

This novel is Zeigarnik Effect at its most supreme level. No wonder it sold millions of copies!

If you're immensely bored by Jeffrey Archer, Sydney Sheldon, Michael Crichton, or if murder mysteries are not exactly your cup of tea (I preferred - until now - a mystery movie to a mystery book; spare me the headache!), or if suspense thrillers are not your cup of tea, or if a history lesson intertwined in fiction is not really your cup of tea, then "The Da Vinci Code" will change all that.

* Define Zeigarnik Effect: The feeling of suspense, mystery, intrigue, curiosity, anxiety, escalated need to know, almost like a tease that preludes an act of pleasure, yet that pleasure seldom, if ever, comes, except after a very, very, very long wait. Apply that to conveying of information.

Let me tell you something: I HATED murder mysteries, crime stories, suspense thrillers, unless they're in the form of a well-crafted cinematograph. It's just my personal taste, but I prefer reading intelligent but not too complex science fiction, adventure, fantasy, war, and the likes of it because they appeal to my inner escapist tendencies (I'm a kid at heart).

"The Da Vinci Code" is a murder mystery, a crime story, a political intrigue story, a suspense thriller, a conspiracy theory story, a hosh-posh of unexpectedly linked things that is somehow a recipe for brilliance.

Yet I pored over its pages for hours from yesternight till this evening (with gaps in between, duh), telling myself, "Okay, I'll stop next page or next chapter" but I just couldn't bring my fingers to slit my Spider-Man bookmark into the page.

Each page, each chapter, presented new information that twists the plot unexpectedly (actually I kind of predicted some of the things the characters would do). It skirts, dances around and suggestively and skilfully plays upon the readers' almost carnal desire to KNOW the truth of a matter.

For example, there would be a chapter describing a scene that leads to a thing. Everything is devoted to describing that thing, with details and all, but there is almost never enough detail, and when it comes to the end, it doesn't reveal the thing AT ALL. It jumps to a new chapter about another scene and does the same thing, leading up to a mysterious thing, but never telling what it is, then the next chapter comes back to the previously built-up thing, and repeats the cycle over and over, until I think even the ending of the book won't justify its revelation (perhaps I'm wrong).

This is the most brilliant use of the Zeigarnik tactic ever in any story I've encountered.

With this, it takes the coined term "Un-Put-Down-able" to another level.

There's even a joking reference to Harry Potter in the story (it's published in 2003), talking about the most bestselling, well-known book of all time aka The Bible, and a character says "What, you don't think Harry Potter is about the Holy Grail, do you?"

Although I've read spoiler-ific reviews of the book, I've yet to figure out what the exact nature of the Holy Grail is, according to the story, and that is thematically what the entire story is about, the Quest for the Holy Grail, disguised as a modern suspense thriller. Then there is the mysterious identity of The Teacher. Who is the Teacher? Why does he wield so much power?

I read news that this book is going to be adapted into a movie. Ha Ha Ha! Wait till I gloat on my non-reader friends that I know everything about the story when it's released.

Okay, okay, back to my reading now... My target deadline for the completion of the reading of this book: This Friday.

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

The Lord of Round Things - The Brotherhood of the Ball - Back By "Popular" Demand

This is a continuation of my test miniverse, The Lord of Round Things: The 'Brotherhood' of the Ball:-

------------------------------------------------------------
"The Lord of Round Things: The 'Brotherhood' of the Ball."
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Chapter 2.
Merdork The Mugician (Not a spelling error).

   With all the comings and goings of the funeral of Fido's beloved uncle Bulbous gone, Fido was, at last, entitled to some peace and quiet. Or so he thought. His family lawyer came along to discuss matters of inheritance.
   Apparently, all of Bulbous' wealth would go to the Sockfilled-Fagginses, Bulbous' distant cousins who'd been eyeing his wealth ever since he returned from that adventure in the *Naga's Cave. * Naga happens to be another name for Dragon.
   Fido was not so keen about wealth, anyway, he'd rather concern his mind on the plants in his Bug Start garden, the greenery of Sheer Dumbness, his friends, the girls, the boys and - other things. And no one, no one in the world could change his mind. That is, no one until Merdork came along.

Previously The House Of Bulbous, Now Fido's. Bug Start, Sheer Dumbness.

   Fido is bored, so he decides to occupy himself with that queer rubbery diamond-like ball he'd gotten from Bulbous' mouth when that old chap died.
   Fido looks into the colourful, glittery thing like a witch would into a crystal ball. His eyes enlarge, gradually, slowly, one pupil looking up, the other looking down, until he looks real silly.
   His mouth opens, also gradually, fluid dripping from the sides of his lips. The fingers holding the diamond ball slowly come closer to his mouth... Closer, closer...
   KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
   Gulp! In a start, Fido accidentally swallows the diamond ball! He coughs, choking on it, but no matter what he does, the stubborn round thing plunges itself down Fido's gullet, into his stomach.
   PUFF! Merdork, Bulbous' old friend and Fido's babysitter, appears out of thin air. Merdork, funnily bearded Merdork, wears only a loincloth and carries a bamboo pole, supposedly his staff.
   Fido: "Vomiting carcasses! Where did YOU come from, Merdork? I hadn't even opened the door!"
   Merdork: "From the great beyond, my dear Fido!"
   Fido: "Whatever... Now, help me! I think I just accidentally swallowed a rubbery diamond ball!"
   KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
   Fido: "Eh? I thought that was you..."
   Merdork: "No... Mugician's need not enter houses via the door, Fido! They can appear and disappear in any place at will."
   Fido: "Then who is that outside?"
   Merdork: "I don't know, must be my fans. They've been stalking me for hours now."
   Fido: "Fans? You've got fans?"
   Merdork: "Oh yes, of course, Fido! You do remember what a Mugician is, don't you? I am a Magician and a Musician, thus the name Mugician. A Mugician can never be good in both magic and music at the same time, dear Fido. But I, for one, happen to be an exception."
   Merdork gives a silly wide grin until his yellowy grey teeth (or the lack of it) is visible.
   Fido: "Right, whatever! So are you going to help me or not, Merdork?"
   Merdork seems not to pay attention to Fido. He stares blankly into air, swaying to and fro, a constipated look on his face.
   Fido: "MERDORK!"
   Merdork jumps.
   Merdork: "Oh.. Oh my.. I'm sorry, Fido. I just had a revelatory moment. A blast from the future. Some new inspiration for my new music."
   Fido: "WHATEVER! Are you going to help me get this ball out of my body or not?"
   Merdork: "What ball? What body? Oh! Oh dear, terrible, terrible fate, Fido! I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
   Fido: "Why, pray, can you not?"
   Merdork: "Because... you'd need a Medician for that kind of job."
   Fido: "Well, can't you use your magic or something? What kind of a Magician are you?"
   Merdork: "A Mugician... Anyway, I've come here to tell you something, Fido. So you see, I did come here with a purpose. And that purpose happens to be directly connected to the diamond ball you swallowed. And that purpose is ... " A hesitation. "That purpose is ... " Another pause. "That purpose is to tell you something, Fido. To tell you that, to tell you that, to tell you that the purpose of me coming here is to tell you that there is something about the ball."
   Fido: "WHAT?!"
   Merdork: "The ball is ... (GULP) eeevuulll"
   Fido: "E-wool? What... what's e-wool, Merdork? Something I can auction off and cheat people with on Ee-Gay?"
   Merdork: "No, it is evil, you dumb lass - lad! Sorry. That ball belongs to the Stinky Lord Mauron aka Commander-in-Chief Moronicus Rex, Junior aka The Moron."
   Fido: "Eugh! Don't tell me which body part of his that ball came from, Merdork!"
   Merdork: "No! No! It's not from his body, at least not a part of his body, but it's - it's much worse. It is FROM his body, more like an output that comes out of his body."
   Fido: "You're telling me that such a foul creature as he can... could... possibly excrete such a diamond thingy! Irrational!"
   Merdork: "No! No! No, you're wrong! Let me finish my story, Fido!"
   Merdork takes a seat beside Fido, on the same table where Bulbous had committed suicide. He shifts restlessly, adjusting his loincloth.
   Merdork: "Now, the diamond rubbery ball you just - accidentally - ate is the Won Ball of the Foul Lord Moron. It is one of the many balls, or Round Things, as he prefers to call them, that, his PR officers say, could give him control over every sporting event ever. This diamond ball is special. It is the Won Ball, the Ball that controls all other balls. With this ball back in his belly, he could - not predict - but determine the outcome of every game of any sport he desires, forever. He can bet on any team he wants and he determines the outcome of the match, without bribery. Treachery of the highest order!"
   Fido: "That's it? That's all it could do? Like ... wow! Now it's in my belly, I can just ... "
   Merdork: "No, I'm not finished yet, Fido! This Won Ball shouldn't have existed. It must be destroyed ... or should I say, digested. Since you've seen it's made from a rubbery diamond material, it's actually not diamond nor rubber. It is made from dia-ber. The most indigestible material on Middle-of-Nowhere-Earth. Save for one place, it can never be digested. Only one belly would be able to, and that's the belly of Lord Moron himself!"
   Fido: "Wait, wait, wait a minute. If you say Lord Moron seeks this Won Ball in his belly to win every bet he placed for every game, but this Won Ball can be digested and hence destroyed in his belly, isn't that kind of a Catch-22 for him? What are we waiting for, it's all too easy, just give him his Won Ball and he's done for!"
   Merdork: "No, Fido. It's not where the ball goes to that matters, it's how it gets there. You see, Fido, the Won Ball can only be properly digested and hence, destroyed, if it is properly chewed, masticated, by Lord Moron. But Lord Moron, it seems, has a nasty habit of popping the Won Ball like a pill, swallowing it whole, the way you or your dumb Uncle Bulbous swallowed it, in shock, in a start."
   Fido: "Hey! Watch what you say of Uncle Bulbous, rest his soul! Alright, then, what must I do now?"
   Merdork: "Your task is not going to be easy, Fido. For this mission, you'd need help. A lot of help. You're going to need Mugicians, that's me, Twobits, you and a couple of your friends, a cat, a dog, a mouse, a lion and a drunk butcher."
   Fido: "Whatever for?"
   Merdork: "For the brotherhood, Fido. A Brotherhood of the Ball!"
   Fido: "Whatever, let's just get started already!"

Monday, July 05, 2004

40+ Days To The Day

In an earlier post, I've highlighted the significance of 40 days. 40 days seems to be the length of time for a major life transformation to take place. And that is roughly the amount of time I have (beginning 10th July 2004) left before I enter the Service.

I've some plans on how to best spend these 40 days. In another earlier post, I've also talked (wrote) about the significance of that 120-minute "Window of Opportunity" which we experience every single day. There are areas I seek to improve within these 2 hours, and I have about 40 sessions of it, which totals up to 80 hours of powerful transformation.

It's been a long while since I've undertaken such an endeavour. Not since 2001, when I was awaiting my entry into the Polytechnic, have I begun a life development enterprise.

Here are the things I wish to accomplish within these 40 days. These are not necessarily set in stone:

- Establish an automatic monthly recurring income from my various business ventures on the internet to support myself and my family, in addition to the modest allowance from the Service. At least $1,000 a month, at most $5,000. I am close to launching my latest online venture, actually a revised version of my present Viraltactix.com website. This is done in cooperation with a friend of mine. Everyone's saying it, but I dare say it too: It's going to be BIG.

- Complete the first draft of my debut space operatic novel, "IH:L" (refer to previous posts), and devise the comprehensive plan for its marketing and publication.

- Improve my physical stamina by ascending and descending all the stairs in my block. Steadily increase the quantity of my push-up's up to 25 at a time. Run the entire distance of my street in an infinity-shaped route (figure of 8), encompassing the neighbouring blocks and the condominiums (it's quite a distance), twice a week.

- Develop my mind's concentration faculties until I acquire a laser-like focusing ability through morning concentration exercises during the 2-hour "Window of Opportunity" time I discussed. I tried it this morning and it was one amazing experience. I've been up during these times before and have felt the peacefulness, calmness, tranquility and the silence of it, but never thought of its practical use as an instrument of mind expansion.

- Refine my mental visualisation capacities until I attain a vivid, near-life-like imagination conception ability. My skill in this area is already quite good, but it can be better. I have a partial photographic memory, and it's time now for me to move into near-perfect photographic memory. *Fact: Everyone already has a photographic memory. It's with us from childhood. We just need to re-develop it after years of verbal training, rearing and imagination-intrusive education.

- Using and during these mental training sessions, I seek to cleanse my mind of the negativities, paranoia, pessimism, cynicism and self-deprecating thinking I've accumulated over the years, and install a more serene, tranquil, neutral, a little more positive frame of mind. This is so that no matter what happens to me in the Service, or in Life, for that matter, it will not break me. In fact, I HAVE been strong all my life, but I tend to let things implode in me, in my mind. My mind is sort of a dumping ground for all the psychological toxic waste. I will purify that. And re-establish a righteous government upon the universe in the shell of me. Therefore, expect more positive and optimistic-sounding blog posts in the future! ;-)

Sunday, July 04, 2004

The Blood of Me

My first blood donation went okay yesterday except for a black-out near the end.

The whole thing was very comfortable and I was treated better than I was on my first air trip last year.

I didn't know my weight and I couldn't care. I assumed it was around the higher 40's. When the doctor weighed me, I found I'm 51 kg. He said, "You're healthy, lah!"

Okay, cool. Next check-up station is the blood test. Since I've already told you how I'd get tired easily and how sometimes I get slight temporary black-outs when I get up from a prolonged moment of sitting or lying, I thought the iron level in my blood would turn out low.

Surprisingly, I was approved. I am a healthy person. It's just my mind playing tricks on me. And I lack rest. Because I am a mad genius. I overwork and think too much. I think I am more genius than mad. Guess all that will change once I enter the service. Hopefully, I'll be a healthier person physically. Only then will I be a complete person.

I don't know what kind of forced nation-wide service would help improve the social aspect of me, which is where I find the most lacking. I've been living the illusion of having a healthy social life but the truth is, it's breaking down. My friends don't seem the way they used to anymore. Or is it just me. It's just me. I don't know what's in me that makes me just so hard to be that bit more charismatic or that bit more friendly or that bit more, more ... 'social'.

Perhaps I should strive for a higher position in the service. But then, will I be a power-mad dictator barking orders at my subordinates, as a manifestation of my desperate struggle to over-compensate my lack of interpersonal/social strengths? Like 6 Billion other people (I think the number's increased), I have this dark side too.

Heck, I just watched that tele-movie biopic about Hitler's life on VCD, it terrifies me that he has many things in common with me or should I say I have a few things in common with him - except for anti-semitism and his extreme maniacal nature. But then, these kind of things sort of grow from small things and they escalate because they aren't stopped. The motto of the movie was, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" (something like that).

Wait how did talk about my first blood donation lead to Hitler?

The Blood of Me, yes, alright...

Okay, so I passed the blood test. Then I sat down and waited for my turn, sat down beside my friend, whose blog I link to here. She is my friend, but there was that awkward quiet moment that just demands me to break the silence, due to the first-time jitters of it. "First time?" I asked. "Yah, you?" "Yup, first time"

Then my turn came first (before her). The past week I'd been mentally preparing my left arm to be the arm that would be pierced (don't ask me how I prepared). Fortunately, it WAS my left arm that would be pierced.

"
Men lining up to be crucified.
Coordinator: Crucifixion?
Stan: Yes.
Coordinator: Good. Out of the door, line on the left, one cross each. Next!
Next man comes along.
"
- Monty Python's Life of Brian

I expected an increase in heartbeat and sweat. But it didn't happen (check for my previous archived posts on the 3 letters E F T). Well, okay, my heartbeat increased but a little, the way you'd expect it to increase when you're positively excited about watching the next Lord of the Rings or Star Wars movie (not the kind when you're about to be slaughtered).

The helper/nurse/medical person asked me if I had a full breakfast. I partially lied. I said yes, when in fact my breakfast was just a couple of curry puffs and plain water. This was to be my very undoing later.

And so follows the strap, the pump, the cool stuff, the ant-bite jab, the numbness (it's not numbness it just feels like nothing). Then came the tube. I didn't look. But it wouldn't make a difference anyway. I felt nothing. I felt it touching the skin of my joint but I didn't feel it go in. But I did feel the pulsing sensation from my shoulder to my arm, as I squeeze on the rubber thingy.

The whole thing was fine and dandy. Then some of my friends' turns came. It's their first time, too, so I guess they should merit some merry talking and chatting. I just overheard them. Then they made some really funny jokes and I restrained myself from laughing. I don't want to laugh in my position. I just don't want to. So I kind of chuckled and it shook my body and my left arm.

Then after a while, the helper came and said it's about to be over soon. Ah.. Good. So I accelerated the pace of squeezing the rubber thing in my left hand, since I thought it was this painless and sort of comfortable (it's actually a delicate, fragile sort of comfortable). The sooner the better, I thought. This was my second undoing.

Then I began to entertain some thoughts. Since it was going to be over soon, I thought it should be fine. I entertained some of my older thoughts when I initially took up this challenge. Old, completely unmerited and implausible thoughts if you're healthy.

Those thoughts made me feel giggly, ticklish, nervous, on edge for a while. Then a hint of dizziness crept in. My third undoing. I shouldn't have entertained that. I was completely in control, but this slight dizziness escalated as I thought, "Oh no! I shouldn't have thought those thoughts and made myself jittery all over..."

The slight dizziness passed for a while and I was fine. Then I just couldn't help thinking about the wholeness of it. The nervous, humorous, jittery, ticklish, almost comedic factors. The head swelling (or deflating?) returned and I felt cold. Sweaty. The way you'd feel when you're about to die. Cold and sweaty. A little short of breath.

The helper came round and asked if I am okay. I wanted to say yah, I'm okay, because I thought I could come back to be in control. Then I just said I felt dizzy. She immediately brought me down and lifted my legs. A rush of blood to my head and I had a ringing sensation in my ears - what I usually feel when I get up after a long period of lying down or sleeping but worse. My vision blurred and blacked out a bit for a while.

I still have consciousness. I never fainted and totally lose consciousness (apart from sleep) in my entire whole life. I can still see the nurse's face, the sounds, the voices, everything I'd normally feel in a normal situation, but my vision's darkened just a tiny bit. It's just like when I'm sleepy. Is this what they call a 'high'?

After a few seconds, everything's okay, really, but they insisted that I stay this way for a while more.

Then sayeth I: "I thirst". She said something about fearing I may throw up if she gives me water now. Then she came with some Milo from a packet.

After draining the box completely of Milo, I said: "It is finished". To myself. I smile. Closed my eyes for a while in that blissful moment of blood-rush to my head. It's over. It was nothing. I got so nerved up for nothing. Note taken: Next time, eat a buffet for breakfast. And be completely alone where ridiculous thoughts can't disturb me.

I got the "No Chicken" award for my 1st blood donation! Wonder what's my next fear-killing adventure (fear-killer). When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Friday, July 02, 2004

These 120 Minutes Of Your Every Day Would Decide Your Future

Here is a millennia old secret used by a few (rather many) who achieved success in life beyond their wildest imaginations.

It concerns a period of time, a window of opportunity, that everyone has, each and every day, that spans about 2 hours, and depending on what you do or how you spend those 2 hours of the day, would decide your future.

Most of you would go past this period of time taking no note of its significance, or its power, and you'd miss a huge window of opportunity.

It is also one of the reasons why the lazy and unmotivated will almost always remain so, or get worse. It is a time when most people would most love to spend sleeping rather than doing something else.

Have you guessed it already?

No, it's none of the 3 major meal times of the day.

The 2 most important hours of your day begin from 1 hour before you'd normally wake up, till 1 hour after you'd normally wake up. That means, if you usually wake up at 6.00 AM to get ready for work or school, then these 2 important hours would be from 5.00 AM to 7.00 AM.

Want to know why?

During these 2 hours, your brain is in that state right in between sleep and awakening. It's called the Theta brainwave state. This brainwave state is where/when you're the most susceptible to suggestions, 'programming', imprinting. Your mind is in a heightened state of absorption, while your body is generally relaxed and a little lazy or sleepy.

Don't you just hate it when you wake up in the morning in a home where the first thing you hear every day is the sound of your family members bickering over some small matters, or your parents arguing, or you siblings fighting? What effect would that have on the rest of your day?

Who wouldn't love waking up every morning with the face of a loved one (supposedly someone they're married to, of course) to greet them, or to wake up to the smell of something fresh and lovely, or to the sounds of something they love to hear? What effect would that have on the rest of your day?

** Which is why I think we should revolutionise the army system of waking people up by a yell. I think I'll wake up 1 hour earlier than everyone else when I'll be in NS so I can knock out the yell-er before he gets to do it using some guerilla tactics. **

Anyway, now we know about this '2-Hour Window of Opportunity' how are we going to harness it?

Interesting note: Muslims would recognise this time area as their Dawn Prayer time (not the whole 2 hours), so they should perform their obligation to God first (takes only 5 minutes or so), for spiritual refreshment/nourishment.

As for the other portions of humanity, and the Muslims who've just performed their Dawn Prayers, you can spend this portion of time on planning, goal setting, affirming or constructive day-dreaming.

If you're in a rush for work or school, then you need not spend the full 2 hours. Just 15 minutes would suffice.

Open a notebook and write your (positive) expectations for the day. What you plan to do, what you expect to happen as an outcome of what you did, and what you plan to achieve, revise any To-Do task lists you may have formed the previous night, or just write down - and enjoy the process of it - an ideal situation where you achieve what you want to achieve. Write it down as if it's a story, but write it in the present tense. Include as much vivid details as possible.

Know that whatever you write at this moment is not etched in stone. Be flexible about it. Some suggested activities for this time are:-
- Write 10 goals/targets to achieve for that day.
- Write/Read/Imagine your 10 biggest life goals.
- Constructive Day(Morning)-Dreaming of yourself achieving your goals.
- Any studying to do (for an exam/test)? Do it during these times, but of course, NOT in the morning of your exam/test day!

Other stuff you can do, but I'm not recommending:-
- Chant "I do believe in fairies, I do, I do!".
- Shout "I've got the power!".
- Yell "Yes! I can!".
- Sing Eye of the Tiger (Rocky).
- Declare your love for all humankind and for the whole world at the top of your voice in front of every sleeping body.

Of course, living The Good Life means living a balanced life. Some light exercises during this period are obviously also beneficial, although recent research has indicated that it's actually better to exercise in the evening rather than in the morning - probably because you've just woken up from a fully resting sleep.

Shakespeare got it partially right when he wrote "All's well that ends well". It's also "All's well that begins well".

I Used To Be A Self Improvement Junkie

I still am. A bit. Okay, I've reformed from a Self Improvement / Personal Development junkie into a Realistic Self Improvement Enthusiast.

As you read my blog, you'll find that some of my posts sound rather negative and whiney, while others are positive, optimistic and almost pollyannaic. Let it now be known that I enjoy writing those positive posts more than the negative posts. Why? Because it shows I am a normal human being with ups, downs, positives, negatives, goods, bads, lights, darks, yins, yangs and I am all male, thank you.

Anyway ...

My outlook now is a realistic approach towards the perfection of living the good life. The Good Life, regardless of the definitions or descriptions you accord it, IS livable and achievable.

The Good Life should be seen on a macroscopic level, a Bird's Eye view, if you must, rather than a limited, inhibited and narrow street corner view. Yes, The Good Life (Can I put a trademark sign there?) need not be a perfectly smooth and perpetually positive life. Anyone who tells you that is a big, fat liar and wants your money, and you should curse him and 7 of his generations.

Think of the most perfect person with the most perfect (or closest to perfect) life you can conceive. Is his/her life smooth-sailing all the way? Had there been times of gloom? How did he/she react to those tribulations?

One of the strongest, most powerful motivational forces available as a tool for humankind to wield during the course of life is a great human example. A hero. An idol. Hero-worship of an extreme form is detrimental, but it exists for a purpose. Everything does.

Pick for yourself a hero, an examplar, an idol. He/she could be someone who's alive or already dead. He/she could be someone who stood for a lofty noble cause or simply a normal human being like you and me who knows something or has something that you yearn for.

It's best that you pick a personality (or many personalities) whom you are very familiar with, whose life story you've studied thoroughly, or someone whom you really know as if a personal friend (even if he lives 2000 years ago).

Look at his/her life story. Does it contain any significant negative experience of some sort that had a profound effect on his/her life such that it sparks a transcendental transformation? Sure it does. Otherwise, that person won't even be remembered!

Then learn from his/her major adversities, how he/she dealt with it and overcame it, applying it to your personal life. Put yourself in his/her shoes and feel what he/she feels during those moments. Imagine the precise moment when they made a decision not to let that adversity control them, but to become empowered, by making a choice, by doing something (or nothing). Feel the rage, the passion, the intensity of that moment, as it is felt by them, as if these emotions are yours.

Now you have a powerful weapon at your disposal...

The Comings & Goings Of 2nd July 2004

Blood donation drive tomorrow.

Carnival excursion on Sunday.

Maybe a book fair after that.

Launch of my new Viral Marketing system on Monday.

Then Spider-Man 2 on Tuesday.

Heck, I'm one hell of a busy man.

Maybe I won't get approved to donate blood tomorrow. Seriously, I am quite healthy, but not perfectly fit and healthy. I'm skinny, but there are worse people. I'm lean but certainly not athletic. I can carry fairly heavy stuff but I get exhausted quite easily.

My immune system is quite stable, and I have a certain adaptibility to various kinds of environments. I think the flaws and imperfections of my physical health has something to do with the thing in my head.

NSI - Negative Self Image, I guess. Or is it RSI - Realistic Self Image? I'm quite okay, but not THAT okay.

I get tired easily, no matter how much sleep I get, I wake up tired. There are good mornings where I wake up so refreshed and enthusiastic to start the day, but after a few hours I get tired again. No matter how much I eat, I'm not gaining weight or strength. I do eat balanced meals - I eat more greens, vegetables, carbs and meats. You should eat 80% greens and 20% acidics (meat, carbohydrates).

Since I am a self-proclaimed and apparently scientifically-proven genius (okay, not as brilliant as some ppl), could it be due to my brain's extra processing needs? Because I've a highly developed mind, could it be that my brain needs the extra nutrients, more blood, more energy, more power, such that my body is neglected or 2nd on the list of priorities?

* Don't believe everything I write, writing's an ego trip for me. You wouldn't want your Latiff (to those who know me) to become a whining boasting brat, do you? This is my outlet. My family doctor and shrink, Dr Latiff (coincidence!) said if I don't have an outlet I'll turn into a psychopath. Perhaps I should consider changing doctors.

Sometimes when I sit or stay in a position for a long time and I get up, my head gets dizzy and my vision gets temporarily blacked out for a few seconds. Or after waking from a nap, there was once I blacked out for a period longer than usual (it's usually 5 seconds, but that time, it was like 10 - 12 seconds or so). I'm still conscious when this happens, but all I see is blackness. I can hear everything, but I feel a heightened state of awareness just apart from my blackness of sight. Is it lack of iron in my blood?

Am I turning into a monster? A superhuman? A Stephen Hawking? An evolved brain mass? Am I transcending the Matrix and about to discover the real world? Could the blackness of my sight be a glimpse of another world?

Then there are those dreams of mine which somehow has a connection with my reality. Either my dreams are CREATING my future or they are PREDICTING the future, albeit in an encoded way (and the code is something I easily decipher). Sometimes, I don't even have to sleep to dream. Sometimes, just an inkling of a thought in my mind would spark off a series of events of which I did not have a hand in causing (except my thoughts), that would resemble (sometimes terrifyingly closely) those thoughts or imaginings.

I don't think I'm a psychic per se, but there are uncanny times (and they happen very, very often) when I feel as if I could transmit a thought into someone else's mind. For example, in a conversation, I'd think of a topic or question then I'd hesitate to say it out, then all of a sudden the other person with whom I am engaging the conversation would just pop that topic or question seemingly out of the blue.

And this doesn't only happen in physical real life, but even in my conversations on MSN as well.

Have you heard of the word 'meme' (pronounced "Mee-m" I think)? It means something like a thought or concept or idea that mysteriously takes hold of a group of people or can escalate into a worldwide phenomena, seemingly for no apparent deliberate reason, nor was there any deliberate cause for it.

For example, I start taking interest in a book. A very rare book, one that has never been mentioned widely before. I search for the book, and finally find a very rare copy of it in a rare books store. Just for example.

Then all of a sudden, the following week, I see that rare book appearing in major bookstores, and people are queueing in droves to buy it. I see articles about that book, websites dedicated to it, everything about that book becomes the talk of the town.

There was one instance in my childhood years, when I sort of coined a Malay swear word. It's not a vulgar swear word, but sort of a funny expression I spontaneously thought of. This word never existed in the Malay vocabulary, nor has it ever been spoken by any living (or dead, I guess) Malay before me.

Then I started revealing this word to a select few. Amongst my close friends, my brother, some of my relatives.

As time goes by, I stopped using this word as I'd found a more mature and appropriate alternative to the expression. And as time goes by, when I thought this word is dead, at least to me, I started hearing it from the generations younger than me.

I go from Primary school to Secondary school. All of a sudden, people I never knew before used this word as if it were a natural part of their vocabulary. I wonder who taught them that word. I wonder if I told them that I was the one who created the word whether or not they would believe me.

My name is Latiff and one of its many meanings is "Subtle". I have a knack for observing and creating subtle things, subtle unnoticeable details.

If you know me and see me, you'll know that I am not a very charismatic person who'd move or sweep people off the ground onto a higher cause or something like that.

But there are numerable instances in my life, towards my late adolescent to adulthood years, where I'd employ a subtle characteristic into my personality, my speech, my way of thinking and my actions. Sort of a thematic directive programmed into my self that lies at the foundation of everything I do or am, for a certain period of time.

Then, weeks, months or a year later, I'd cease to employ this subtle characteristic. Then, being the subtle observer I am, I'd notice other people, especially my friends (and strangely even people I never knew before), starting to exhibit this subtle characteristic in their mannerisms and their speech.

Some of them would go far with this characteristic, some didn't. Some would perfect the art of this characteristic, it would make me envy.

How many times have you thought of a story concept or idea and then all of a sudden you see a major motion picture with your story idea making it big (or not making it big)?

How many times have you thought of a business idea (maybe it's good) and then suddenly you see someone else 'stealing' that idea from you?

How many times have you thought that you're the only person to have developed a taste for a certain thing (say a certain hairstyle or a certain style of clothing), then suddenly everyone begins to resemble or mimic you in that respect?

This is Meme at work. It's one of the most powerful yet the most unnoticeable forces in the universe. Harness it and you'll be one of the most powerful influences on the world stage.

Thursday, July 01, 2004

STOP TIME!

It's crazy. Time seems to pass very, very, very fast!

I know I'm turning 21 in a month plus, but really, if you want to send a message to me that my mortality is at hand, yes, please, I get it, alright!

But Time, oh, Time just please don't let me waste you.

Time, you are my most precious and prized possession in my whole world.

A year seems like 3 months. A month seems like a week. A week seems like a day. A day seems like an hour. An hour seems like a minute. Please, I hardly have enough time to manage this onslaught of events, happenings, changes in my life!

But the GOOD side is, the very GOOD thing is, the law of relativity scarcely applies to me.

That means if Time IS going by very fast for me now, that means, when I enter the Service, 2 years plus will go by very, very fast. Because I have a gift few people have. My mind has the ability to make Time go by very fast. People may suffer the 2 years plus like a lifetime imprisonment, but I'll just go past it like a few months' of child's play. Screw it. Whatever happens, happens.

Just me in my zany whacked-out mode.

But what if?

What if the mind has the ability to control Time. To make it go faster, to make it go slower, to pause it, to reverse it.

That makes for a great story idea... (Will write it down somewhere)

Useless Trivia About My Upcoming Novel

My upcoming book has a prologue. And an epilogue.

The first word in my Prologue is "It". And the title of the Prologue begins with "A Concise ...". The first 3 words of the first 2 sentences in the Prologue are the same to mimic one of classic literature's famous beginnings.

The title of the first Chapter (after the Prologue) is "Pre-Battle Oratory". Chapters 1 & 2 are not necessarily in chronological order of the happenings in the story.

Chapter 1 begins with a bang, and Chapter 2 is equally shocking but takes you back in time 3 days earlier to show you what caused the events in Chapter 1.

Chapter 1 has something to do with half of the total human population on Earth.

The initials of my novel's title are "IH:L". And one of the words in my 3-word title is a human body part. When taken as a whole, my title, as a phrase, is an Oxymoron (a word or phrase formed from completely opposing words, like Cold Fire or Hot Ice).

The initials "IH" in my title refer to something completely and totally and unexpectedly different from what the words may literally imply. It is something infinitely tiny, but it is of such powerful magnitude that, according to my story, the mere mention of its name strikes terror into the hearts of people.

If I had released my novel earlier, say in August 2001, and people read Chapter 2, one month later, they'll be terribly shocked.

The name for a fictitious race in my story rhymes with an alternative name for a real-life race on Earth. But I am thinking of changing it to avoid racist accusations (and I would be called an Anti-......). Argh, screw them. I'll just take it like Mel Gibson.

The name of my protagonist, the main hero (there are many heroes) in my story, is taken from the name of one of Prophet Muhammad's companion. And in my story, this guy has a progeny and he creates a legacy that reflects his ancient inspiration (The Prophet).

Even his progeny's names are taken from those of the Prophet's progeny. My planned trilogy of novels is a family saga based on the hero's lineage.

There are certain events, things occurring in the first book, "IH:L", which at first seems trivial and non-consequential, that would turn up again in the next 2 books.

The 3rd book in my trilogy has the longest title. Unless a lot of people suddenly use the word, it has a word that is quite rarely used or heard, and people would have to find it in a dictionary to know what it means but it's not one of those 'rarest of the rare' words.

One event in Book 1, "IH:L", would turn up in Book 3, "The Longest Title", to be the most important plot element in the story.

Book 3 has, I dare say, one of the most inconceivable, unfathomable, unexpected, totally "out of this universe" (that phrase won't even suffice to contain the magnitude of it) climaxes ever, in the history of storytelling.

And I've only revealed it to one person on this Earth, and that is, my friend, and even then, I only came up with it spontaneously as I was just talking about it to him. I basically ran through all the possible, typical endings of an epic sci-fi trilogy, I totally pushed all of those overused ones away, and all of a sudden it hit me like a bolt.

If I can put a price on this ending to my trilogy, I'd gladly give it a value of 1 Trillion pounds of pure gold and diamond.

But anyway, that's just me and my ego...

The Latiff Chronicles 1st July 2004.

Take a look at My Profile.

On Blogger Since: November 2003
Recent Posts: 15
Avg Posts Per Week: 2
Posts Written: 74
Words Written: 42,582
Outbound Links: 66
Profile Views: 0

I've written 42,582 words since I started blogging in November 2003! That's basically the number of words in an average novel! ARGH!!!

If only I'd diligently written my novel day by day, and accumulated that much word count, I'd have completed it a long time ago.

Now that this has proved how prolific (even though some of my materials are honestly pulp non-fiction/fiction) I can be, at this young 20 years of age, this adds to my ever-increasing determination to complete what I had set out to do.

I've always been prolific...

When I was in Primary school, between the ages of 8 - 10, I had a fascination with comic books. It was called the Comic Era. I also had a fascination with inventions. It was also called my Inventions Era. The only distinctions are ...

I made my own comic books.

And I created my own imaginary inventions.

You can ask my childhood best friend (whom I'll call Michael, not his real, but his preferred 'name'). He's my business partner in my comic book business! Along with my brother.

Some of the pulp fiction we've generated are (the titles as follows):
- The Eagle Man Series (Think Birdman or the gothic-ness of Batman. Change bat to eagle)
- The Power Man Series (Superhero got electrocuted but receives electrical superpowers)
- The Boom Squad Series (A duo of bomb defusing specialists with cheesy rhyming names I can't recall)
- My fan spin-off(s) of Batman (no permissions asked)
- The Ultra Force Series (Man wears hi-tech robot suit to fight crime)
- Some gross-out slapstick crude totally inappropriate (ones that'd make my parents really mad, at that time) comedies that has probably inspired stuff like The Mask, There's Something About Mary, Southpark.
- Some crossover between the series.

All these materials created by my friend, brother and I were inspired mainly by a couple of stories at that time, namely, Batman, SuperForce (man wearing robot suit to fight evil), The Flash (electricity?), Last Action Hero, Looney Tunes, Tiny Tunes and the Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, etc.

There were stacks upon stacks of that stuff it could fill up a whole cupboard if we'd kept going at it. But along the way, we've encountered some setbacks, like when my parents see it as a waste of paper and time and they told me to stop it, so they throwed what work we made (Our work! Our creative effort!) away. I had to resume in secret, creating new comics behind locked doors.

This secret work and discovery and disposal pattern repeated about 2 - 3 times during the Comic Era years. We kept all our work in medium plastic bags and the stacks were as thick as phonebooks, although each issue we came out with are only 10+ pages long.

Then my friend offered to keep part of it in his home, when I told him about my parents' disapproval of this work. So he did, and to this day, part of it still lies preserved in a cupboard somewhere in his house. I hope he keeps it. It'll bring back fond, hilarious memories as we look at our amateurish drawings, storylines, dialogues. The part he keeps however is not much, it's in a parcel envelope, about as thick as 3/4's of a phonebook.

That parcel envelope is riddled by our childhood hands with such labels as "Top Secret! Do not open! Got bomb inside! If you open, explode!"

Man, I miss those days...

My Yet-To-Be-Revealed Epic Space Opera Novel Debut - Its Current State of Affairs

In a previous post I revealed my ambitious plan to publish my labour of love - the Space Opera that is really a Religious Allegory and a Political Satire of Current Times with Truly Universal Human Themes and although may be familiar in some aspects it's actually Unique in a Profound Paradigm-ic Way.

Whoa! That was probably the longest placeholder title for a title-as-yet-to-be-revealed work ever.

There are several points of contention, consideration and debate occurring within me. First, it's the space opera theme or setting. I think it's grossly overdone. I am thinking of changing it from a sci-fi-ish space opera perspective (some SF buffs say Space Opera doesn't count as SF) to a fantasy setting but with astronomical references a la Discworld.

Perhaps I can set it in a parallel universe where the laws of nature that applies to our universe doesn't apply to theirs. However, if I maintain it as a space opera but execute it uniquely well, then it's more than justified.

Second, my previous draft works include some really major and complicated plot twists and turns. That's good, it makes the story more interesting. However, too complicated s story is not too good either. It's the natural and balanced evolution of the character arcs in a story that is crucial. I am thinking about shifting my story from a plot-centered view to a character-focused view. Or I can balance both. They don't contradict each other anyway.

Third, it is my intention to weave in some satirical and allegorical elements in my story to portray / reflect / comment about our current times in terms of religion, politics, morality and sociology. However, I started when I was much younger, therefore, certain allegorical or satirical elements in my story are not that well hidden. It's very obvious to notice these elements relate to something relevant to our times.

Perhaps I should expend extra effort here into further concealing these satirical or allegorical elements so as not to awaken the realisation in the reader of a certain aspect in his life that relates to that element. I want the reader to think; think in a way that is not too simple and obvious, and not too deep and difficult either.

------------------------------------------------------------

More About My Story:

These are the only details I can spare you for the moment:- Think of the following elements, themes, concepts, stories, events, histories or THINGS:-
- September 11th
- Zionism & Nazism & other forms of Racial Supremacism
- Propaganda
- The extremist practice of (whatever) religion
- The corruption, tampering and 'evolution' of the original message or core of (whatever) religion
- Providence, Divine Order, "Fate"
- Choice, Free will
- Repentance, self-redemption, unforgivability (in some circumstances)
- The Absolute Conquest and Irresistible Triumph of Justice, even in the seemingly apparent 'defeat' of good
- The Stubborn Uncontainable Nature of Truth, no matter how hard agents of falsehood attempt to hide it
- Idealism vs Cynicism
- The Influence of Actions of Humans VS The Influence of Acts of Providence upon the course of History
- The life story of Prophet Muhammad (salutations) & the history of his progeny.
- The history of the lineage of Bani Umayyah from Abu Sufyan (curses).
- Unilateral Militaristic or Holistic Hegemony
- The eschatology of Islam.
- Irrational mysticism VS Rational faith.
- Leadership & its different models, the pros and cons of each.
- The Power of the Concept of Martyrdom & its impact upon the Political, Sociological & Psychological dimensions of History.
- Advancements in communications technology.
- Perfection of human cybernetic systems and artificial intelligence.
- Infinite universes belief / theory.
- Ultimate ability of Man to create entire universes in the quantum foam.
- Concepts of Afterlife.
... And you will find all, or most of all, or some bits and parts here and there, of the above, in my story.

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