Innocence Lost

I remember how my mother used to play these Disney cartoons for me and my sister on rainy Sundays when we couldn't go out and play when I was very little. After watching the cartoons, my mother would then leave us to our own devices (but not before pouring us glasses of milk), and I would wander by the bookshelves that seemed oh so tall, and wonder out loud: "What book shall I read next, Mommy?"

When I think of these beautiful and comforting times, I always ask myself the same thing --- just when did I lose my innocence?

Was it when I first went to kindergarden, and no-one wanted to seat next to me on the school bus, just because I told them the Earth was round and that Santa Claus wasn't real? Was it when I was six, when I found out that anyone (even your own best friend) could betray you anytime, and that you cannot trust your "friends"? Was it when I was bullied, and I could only cry all by myself at school, too scared to do anything else? Or was it when I started to watch the news with my parents, and learnt of war, of cruelty, and of what humans do to each other? Was it then?

But that doesn't mean I've lost all of my innocence, though. I still watch "Sesame Street" and "Winnie-the-Pooh" whenever I have the chance. I love to jump and see if my fingers can touch the ceiling. I still do a lot of things that normal people might think are stupid or childish.

But I really don't care what they think. They can laugh at me, for all I care. I'm just trying to preserve the last little bit of innocence in me, before I grow-up completely, and lose any sense of child-like wonder of the world.

"You have to walk before you can run,"

They said firmly

So we walked, at first,

And then we ran, as fast as we could,

away from anything childlike and naive

Thinking of wonders was ignorance

Scornful derision was a cure for adolescence

Then, when we grow up

We suddenly realize

innocence was the best option after all.

A Honoured Prize Yesterday; A Political Joke Today

"He won what?!" I nearly spat out the Coke I was drinking.

As I continued watching the news in astonished silence, I only had one sentence in my mind: "Why did they do that?!" 

If all it takes is a good campaigner to convince people that you are a hero despite having accomplished nothing other than getting elected, then many people could have gotten the Nobel Peace Prize already.

You know, there ARE people nominated who have actually suffered horrifically at the hands of their own governments for decades, trying to bring about real change and peace.

(Remember, his presidency began less than two weeks before the February 1 nomination deadline for the prize and has yet to yield concrete achievements in peacemaking.)

Ironically, The Nobel Committee's citation doesn't pretend that Obama has actually achieved anything at all; rather it was presented to him as a vote of confidence for

......his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people.

At least they could have waited a few years to see if Obama could live up to his promises. Now, the absurdity of this prize will only harm Obama politically. Former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Walesa was quoted to have been saying,

“So soon? Too early. He has no contribution so far. He is only beginning to act.”

 Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi condemned the Nobel committee’s decision, saying Obama had only escalated the war, while Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki called the Nobel decision “hasty”, and was also quoted to have been saying,

“The appropriate time for awarding such a prize ..... is when foreign military forces leave Iraq and Afghanistan and when one stands by the rights of the oppressed Palestinian people.”

Mr. Nobel stipulated in his will that the peace prize should go to:

"......the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations and the abolition or reduction of standing armies and the formation and spreading of peace congresses."

It's sad to kill an award that was so prestigious. Now this award means nothing, because it was awarded to someone who hasn't accomplished anything.

Of Indoctrination, Brainwashing, "Obama Youth" and Hitler Youth

in·doc·tri·nate (noun)

1. To instruct in a body of doctrine or principles.

2. To imbue with a partisan or ideological point of view: a generation of children who had been indoctrinated against the values of their parents.


brain·wash·ing (noun)
1. Intensive, forcible indoctrination, usually political or religious, aimed at destroying a person's basic convictions and attitudes and replacing them with an alternative set of fixed beliefs.

2. The application of a concentrated means of persuasion, such as an advertising campaign or repeated suggestion, in order to develop a specific belief or motivation.


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I read George Orwell's book 1984 nearly a year earlier, and the book talked about the horrors of a totalitarian society, how it controlled the thoughts (by punishing people who commited "thoughtcrime"), the language (by implementing "Newspeak" to flush out political rebellion) and even the history of the citizens who lived there (by altering historical records to fit the needs of the Party). 
 
One memorable quote from 1984 is about the children of Oceania, the fictional state in 1984.

......they [the children] were systematically turned into ungovernable little savages, and yet this produced in them no tendency whatever to rebel against the discipline of the Party. On the contrary, they adored the Party and everything connected with it. The songs, the processions, the banners, the yelling of slogans, the worship of Big Brother [the leader of the Party] -- it was all a sort of glorious game to them. All their ferocity was turned outwards, against the enemies of the State against foreigners......

Notice Mr. Orwell said, "the songs".  





When I read the lengthy description at YouTube in the original video, it sent shivers down my spine.

What we accomplished in a few hours on a Sunday afternoon embodies the nature of the Obama campaign: its grassroots inspiration, its inclusiveness, its community building. People pitched in quickly for a cause that resonated with them. There were not many conditions: “Think this is a good idea? Want to help? Great. Sunday at 12:00.” At the heart of the project were 22 children and their music. The willingness of all involved to come together for them was a testament to our hope, unity, courage, joy and belief in the future represented by these children.

Their music? No, the music came from the people who wanted to indoctrinate these helpless children. An example of the genius of the lyrics:

We’re gonna spread happiness
We’re gonna spread freedom

Obama’s gonna change it
Obama’s gonna lead ‘em
We’re gonna change it
And rearrange it
We’re gonna change the world.

From the first video, another great example:

Mmm, mmm, mmm.
Barack Hussein Obama.
He said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again.

.......

Mmm, mmm, mmm.
Barack Hussein Obama.
He said Red, Yellow, Black or White
All are equal in his sight!
Mmm, mmm, mmm.

It reminded me of another youth movement that promised to do the same thing: Hitler Youth.

These kids --- none of them are younger than me by a decade --- don't have a clue as to what they are even singing --- or chanting --- about. They are doing what they are instructed to do and nothing more, just like leading lambs to slaughter. 

I remember what Lenin once said: 

"Give me four years to teach the children and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted. ...... Give us the child for eight years and it will be a Bolshevik forever."

Obama is a great man and his speeches might even rival those of Winston Churchill or Abraham Lincoln, no doubt; but brainwashing young children for his own political gain or for "the greater good" is completely unacceptable.

「要求政府撤銷驗毒計劃」online petition! Please sign!

「要求政府撤銷驗毒計劃」聯署行動

For those who are secondary school students and living in Hong Kong or are against the idea of drug tests for secondary school students, please come and sign this petition! We need your support NOW. It will only a minute or two. Check the above link for more details.

Thoughts On The New Song From JaeChun --- Shelter

Like the wind avoids the rain, I am watching you from my shelter

Even though my love for you overflows;

Can I love you? Can I hold you?

I'm about to drown in my worries. I can't forgive myself for hesitating.

I want to know why, I want to know why......


I immediately fell in love with this song the moment I heard this preview. It sounds a bit dark, emo and gloomy, but the lyrics are much different; it tells the story about a person who just wants to hold another in his arms...... Just like the longing when Jasper felt when he wandered, without a shelter --- in other words, without an Alice to care for.
 
(Ah, I'm being so soppy these days......)
 
Anyway, Jaejoong and Junsu from DBSK (東方神起) composed and arranged Shelter. I think they expressed the longing and sorrow really well, especially Yoochun (still from DBSK) who wrote a part of the lyrics. Even I don't know Japanese, I can feel their emotions pouring out, like ink spilling and seeping into the paper and it completely absorbs the ink, because they were destined to be one.

I hope I can write just that --- I hope that when I write, people can feel my emotions, relive them as I tell my story.

About Being Rude, Macros, and Other Stuff Like That

MTV Shows

I think many people have heard about the time when Kanye West embarassed poor Taylor Swift just when she was overjoyed about winning the award by interrupting her and saying that Beyonce "had the best female video of all time".

To be honest, I thought Kanye was really rude. How could anyone destroy another person's happiness just when he or she achieved his or she dream? I mean, how would you feel if someone treated you that way? You would feel sad and angry and pissed off, right?!

Not surprisingly, Kanye apologized the next day on his blog (KanyeUniversity.Com), on the Jay Leno show and phoned directly to Taylor Swift herself to say he was sorry. Another thing that's not surprising is that she immediately forgave Kanye when she heard his "sincere apology", because she is sweet and nice.

I think Kanye West doesn't deserve Taylor Swift being nice to him, and I have good reason to believe that many people agree with me about this.

Many netizens have photoshopped Kanye into different pictures and made hillarious macros. Here are some macros I got from I'mma Let you Finish.com.

 

When I mentioned this to my mother, she just shook her head and said, "People these days are so rude."

I agree.

First time blogging

It's about time I open a blog, since everyone seems to be opening one. It's not that I am doing this because of them, it's just that I think it's about time for me to extend my world beyond my diary, my books, and my Facebook profile.

Anyway, this blog is for me to write and rant about anything I want to talk/write about. Forgive me if I sometimes write about things that are a bit weird or random, it's just my way of coping with the unexpected and rather unhappy things that happens in my otherwise dreary life.

On a lighter note, I sometimes will post some of my stories here, or in my LiveJournal (even I am not using it at the moment).

Feel free to comment, but I will not tolerate people who cusses at me or people who are absolutely rude. You can also follow me on Twitter or add me as one of your Facebook friends, but you have to send a PM (private message) to me first.

That is all that I have to say for today. See you around Blogger!