Violence

In what way can violence be justified? Why would you, when your angry, want to beat someone up? Why would anyone want to pick up a gun and start shooting someone in the head? Why do parents beat their children? Is violence really so much a part of our humanity that without it we humans just dont know how to function?

Stress pents up within us through the rigours of everyday life and accumulates over time. Like a rubbish bin when its full, the stress inside us needs to be disposed of. We cannot digest it nor can we

Christianity -- Religion or psych Drug

I was educated in a Christian primary school, and thus, as a pre-requisite for advancing to the next year, I had to take a module (haha..of course we didn't have modules in primary school. Poly fever!) called bible studies in which had to memorize certain verses in the bible and familiarize ourselves with the stories inside. Every Friday we had to attend a sort of mass in the hall to sing praises to the 'Almighty' lord. At that time and age I didn't think much about what I had to do (partly its also because I didn't have much of a choice too I guess), nor did I contemplate what kind of effect it would have on me. I became a reluctant Christian for awhile but then I began to do a bit of research into Christianity and I found certain shocking truths that shook the very foundations of my beliefs.

I think that every Christian has thought one time or another during their religious journey how the mantra of their belief -- the bible -- actually came about. The official sanctified answer is that it was written by the disciples of Jesus, son of God. Now the question to be asked here is why didn't he write his teachings himself? If he wanted to propagate his teachings via writing, wouldn't it be more sensible for him to write it down himself to maintain authenticity rather than risk misinterpretation by asking his disciples to write it? Why too are there so many versions of the bible? KingJames, Old testament, New testament, etc.

As written in the bible, Jesus was a Jew. According to the customs of those times, a Jewish man cannot be considered a respected as a member of society if he is not married. According to the bible he maintained a holy celibacy through out his time on Earth. So how was he able to command respect among the Jewish community there? Its like asking to be made minister in Singapore without obtaining a degree. So Jesus had to be married. But to whom?

Da Vinchi painted this famous potrait called 'The Last Supper'. Its suppose to protray Jesus and his 12 Disciples having the last supper before he was betrayed to the Romans. All the disciples are suppose to be guys. But if you look carefully, you will find that the 'guy' supposedly sitting besides him looks suspiciously like a female. He was in fact a she. She is Mary Magdalene, the infamous prostitute in the Bible. So why is she sitting beside Jesus in the painting then? Mary is in fact the wife Jesus had to have to command respect within the Jewish community. Jesus, who knew before hand that he was going to be betrayed, was about to hand over the reigns of Chritianity over to her at the supper. But the chauvanistic church threw the truth out and labelled her a prostitute to smear her name so as to maintain a male dominance within Christianity.

There are a lot more things to be said, but they shall be done when i attempt to do an essay on this topic. Christianity is a mental drug created by men to supplement their everyday life. If you need it to give life a reason so be it. But do not be fooled into thinking that Christianity is all holy moly for it is well known that the Roman Catholic Church is one the most corrupt and money orientated organisations in the world. Worship, but do not do so blindly.

Memory replacement

All of us have suffered heart breaks. The only difference is to what extent are we affected by what happened. Some of us carry on wiht life as usual, as if nothing had happened, but there are many of us who will have a part of us lost through every heart break and feel like life would never be the same again. Some might not even find enough reason to carry on struggline. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were able to erase those horrible memories and start life afresh.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, that was the movie i got this idea from. In it the protagonist had a girlfriend who went through a medical process through which her unhappy relationship with him was throughly erased. Angry and disappointed with her, he tried to go through the process too. But during the process, while he is in his mind watching his memories getting erased one by one, he suddenly realises the stupidity and rashness of his decisions, and fights to save what precious memories he had left. It was at the point of total 1erasure of memories that he realised that, yes heartbreaks are difficult to get over and they sometimes stay with you throughout your whole life. But, the memories you have with someone you love is probably the most priceless thing you will ever own. Once their gone, they can never come back. You can't go back time to relive them again. The person whom you spent so much time in happinessm anger, sadness, and joy with gone forever just like that.

What makes us all human is the fact that we can feel. We can communicate. We feel. We have a brain that stores memory and obtains new information. If we are able to just erase our painful memories just like that, whats to say we will one day become just like robots, programmed to just be happy and empty for the rest of our lives. Those who have watched Stepford Wives would know how disastrous a society like that can be.

Movies

My passion in life is movies. I have this DVD rental service that sends DVD's to my place once I've picked them and then when I'm done with them, I send them back and then they'll send me some more. I have watched classics, comedies, drama, action, documentaries, etc., but i must say that one of the most underrated movie category of all time is comedy. Why? Lets find out.

What are some of your favourite comedies? Well i can think of -- just off the top of my head -- Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, Analyse This and That, The WaterBoy, Deuce Bigalow, The Friend's Series, The Seinfeld Series, The Blackadder Series, Titanic .. wait, but many of you won't find Titanic hilarious would you? "Don't let go Jack. Please don't let go.", "I won't let go Rose, I won't.". Show stopping one liners, absolutely cringe inducing humour.

Anyway enough about my distaste for Titanic, instead lets focus now on what makes comedies tick. The actors? The plot? The music? I would have to go with the actors. You can have a outright funny script and wonderful music and direction to go with it but if the actor is about as funny as Marlon Brando in the Godfather then the film ain't going to work, will it? Think about all the comedies i mentioned above. What or who do you associate with them? Billy Crystal? Jim Carrey? The actors are the one you usually remember in a comedy as they literally make or break the movie. One good example is "13 going on 30". Jennifer Garner was well known for playing serious, kick-ass roles. When itr was announced that she was going to take up a role in a comedy, many predicted that she was going to fail badly. Surprisingly, she showed wonderful comic timing and brought such incredible humour into the role that the movie became a smash hit.

Many people really underestimate how much acting and work is put into making a comedy a successful one. Its easy to make someone cry or get angry but its really very hard to make an audience laugh throughout a movie. Next time you go watch a comedy, think about all the work that went into making that one scene hilarious. Hopefully, one day there will be an Oscar for best actor in a Comedy

Image

We live in a society filled with expectations and pressure. There is stress for results, for money, for cars, for condos, etc. This has driven Singaporeans to be classified as one of the most materialistic people in the world. But one of the things that we are most preoccupied with is how we look. We spent hours preening in front of the mirror. We spent a bomb every two weeks to update our wardroab so as not seem unfashionable. We spend more money going to posh clubs and stand around holding exorbiantly priced drinks trying to look cool. Image has never seemed so important before.

In the past, going for interviews was probably the only reason to don a shirt and tie. Now? You would probably see shirts and ties walking along orchard road. Maybe even sitting down at your local coffeeshop even! Whoever heard of men going for manicures or pedicures in the past? Now there are men going for facials, waxing, and even pimple removal! What is the world coming to when you can't step into a lift without worrying whether your body odour is going to drive your fellow passengers nuts, or whether your breath stinks when your having a conversation with someone?

Time yourself. How long do you spend in front of the mirror everyday? How much time goes into making sure your hair is not out of place? How much time do you spend 'freshing up' after every meal? Then look carefully at your spending habits. How much money do you spend a month on deodrant? How much money do you spend on clothes? Oh and on that matter, how much do you spend on underwear? (Why call it underwear if its bought to be seen?) Through this little self-observation you would realise just how much time and money image maintenance takes up.

Could we ever live in a society where image doesn't matter? Could we ever create a society where eyes are not customised to judge a person from how he/she looks? Personally, i think it would be impossible. But then again, if Ally Mcbeal made it, then...

Homosexuality

Look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself this question seriously -- Are you a homosexual? Most people would laugh and annouce convincingly that they're a true blue healthy heterosexual man/woman. But research points out that over 70% of us have doubts over their own sexual orientation at one point or another in out lives. Take a walk along the streets of orchard road and count for yourself how many lesbians or gays you see. Homosexuality in Singapore has come a long way since the homophobia phase we went through in the past. So what is the homosexual scene like currently in Singapore?

Take a look around you. Are you able to spot the homosexual-friendly establishments around Singapore? The truth is the commercial and entertainment establishment have picked up this formerly untapped market and are beginning to market many of their products and services towards this group. The general impression is that homosexuals are quite affluent and they go for quality products with very little regard for the price. They always hang out at the hippest night spots and spend quite a sum there, especially on nights dedicated to them.

However, there is still that little nick in the legal system which is perhaps a hangover from our homophobia past -- it is still illegal to engage in fellatio. Though the law has relaxed over lesbian oral sex, male fellation is still very muched punishable by fines or imprisonment or both! Even if one did not engage in the acts, as long as it can be proven that there was intention to do so, it is a punishable offence!

Marriage

Marriage was once considered the most sacred of commitments. The holy vow once sworn upon could never be broken. To commit adultery or to even think about divorce was considered to be as sacrilegious and taking a piss on a bible. Fast forward to modern day and you find that most modern marriages have one thing in common -- once you've attended a marriage, you get yourself prepared to attend the divorce party straight away. Marriages nowadays are taken with a pinch of salt and the vows seem to be just mere formalities in the ritual, not something worth taking seriously. Let us take some time to take a look at the factors that led to this degeneration of values.
One very obvious reason is the erection -- pun intended -- of the Women's Chapter. This benchmark for human rights -- or should it be sex rights? -- has helped to bridge the inequality between men and women and helped to establish women as the most demanding creatures on Earth. Women whom in the past will have to think thrice about divorce now brandish it as a weapon in every argument because the Women's Chapter protects them! They are entitled to alimony, a share of the estate, access to children (if any), and they can even ask for a protection order against the husband coming too close to her if she so desires! Equality of the sexes? Urban myth.
Another reason is of course the ease with which divorce can be arranged in modern times. One can divorce the spouse via sms, email, FedEx, snail mail, Msn, Irc, lawyers letters, etc., and the best thing is that all it takes is a signature to end everything. No qualms about breaking oaths, appeasing fathers and mothers in law, the hdb queue or the baby bonuses. You piss me off and tomorrow you'll receive my lawyer's letter so you better watch out buddy.

Ghosts

Ghosts are supernatural phenomenon said to be the manifestation of our souls when we die. A lot of people are afraid of them and many more would die to avoid meeting one. Get it? No? When you die you supposedly become a ghost right? So instead of avoiding ghosts, you further enhance your chances of bumping into one by dying, don't you? Anyway, stories about ghosts have mystified us for ages. Many swear by their existence, yet there are some -- like me -- who will scoff at every single available ghost story. I will go through, in this entry, some of the common theories about them and how some ghost stories are really just pure fabrication.
One of the most common theories about ghosts are that they are the souls of people who have yet completed certain important things in their life. If one of those 'important things' include flushing the toilet then I reckon that the ghostly world would be quite cramped with many male ghosts now. Anyway, this theory has been accepted by the movie makers as the main reason for the existence of ghosts, as proven in shows like 'The Eye', 'The Eye2', 'Bridget Jones', etc. The inclusion of 'Bridget Jones' was entirely a joke, just so you guys know. Though she would make a really fat and paranoid ghost wouldn't she? Imagine a pudgy English ghost speaking in sub-British/American accent comes up to you and asks if like her darn granny undies. And then asks if you've seen 'my uber sex god Mr Darcy' around. And then asks for you would mind a shag while at it. Absolutely horrifying.
Another quite fascinating theory about ghosts would be that they are actually a collection spiritual energy around an area. For example, if the area was a former burial site of torture victims from the world war, then the restless and vengeful spiritual energy from the dead would be quite strong. This energy will sometimes gather into a collective form and thus forming ghosts. Those who have seen Poltegeist would know what I mean. Those who have seen beauty pageants, especially the Miss Singapore ones, would also know what i mean. Lots of restless and vengeful ghosts fighting to be the top ghosts. Want to know how to spot these type of ghosts on the streets? They normally have to wear sunglasses to shield them from the sun (this is due to another popular theory that ghosts are afraid of the sun), and their face (of what can be rocognised as a face) would be layered with thick powder -- presumably to shield them against the sun too -- and when you approach any of them to try and verify their humanity (or sexuality in some cases) they immediately recoil in disgust and horror and hurriedly floats away. This could be due, of course, to another popular myth that ghosts shun all form of human contact for fear that any contact will turn them back into the hideous hags they actually are.
There are more theories of course and many stories to debunk but i guess that will have to wait till the real essay right?