Random~

Location: The towers.

Whoopie dooo, twoo looops to gooo~


p/s: update. I got that job! Looked abit Flo on the Go-ish.hahahhaha...
Though I might not look good in it,
there this chick there who totally rAwked this outfit.

*the Flo pic*
*me being me*
omg~ really like this outfit!!
*yea, this is evidently too small for me*

MSC is ON!!!!!!

Location: Library, MU.


It's SOOOOOO ON!

I got so excited when I saw yen's poster FINALLY on the desktop of every single piece of operating PC in the confines of Monash Sunway Campus, Malaysia!!!

Buahahahha!!!

Comeon! get Excited! Go ka-bonkers!! Blog about it~


p/s: I'm so struggling with the over due assignments.. and the dateline for that piece for the magazine.. and a lame-ass job interview of a lame job. But darn, I like that lame job.

CONFORMATION!

Location: The Towers, Sunway.

This week's ENH lecturer's talking all about Struturalism and how did it derive from new criticism and what theory led to post structuralism and what post structuralism is all about... has got my head spinning... AGAIN.

Andrew said that after taking ENH, people will see literature in a different light and it'll (supposedly) help students to get a better understanding of texts/get a better grasp on ways to derive meaning from texts...

The weird thing about structuralism is that, besides being heavily flawed, it kinda make sense to me.

Coz I'm a victim of structuralism!!! why?

Look at our education system these days. Apart of the fact that it's unjustly based meritocracy, it is actually killing creativity with all these rigid rules in this education discourse...

Andrew was complaining about us being really passive, not voicing out our views in class, etc. But what's really happening is that I, DON'T HAVE A VIEW on some issues (like human rights & politics etc.).

I'm sure that there are many others out there who resonate with me. It's natural for us to accept things the way they are (expecially true when it's coming out from a reliable source) since we've been taught since kindergarten that to learn, is to memorize something, make sense of it and 'vomit' out the facts and figures learnt by memorizing it.

We don't challenge stuff! Like WHY do we need to write our scientific report in this particular way? WHY didn't we learn some particular literature and not others? WHY is our edu system this way instead of stimulating the thoughts of the younger generation, encouraging critical analysis and individuality?

Coz they want us to CONFORM.

Like what Hitler and Nixon had in common, they want to create an obedient world, having (making) everyone THINK & ACT the way THEY wanted, to create their ideal nation state, their utopia.

According to Andrew's lecture on structuralism, EVERYTHING we do or act has been scripted out for us. Originality is dead while the ones who are even meerly original/authentic are dead or non-existant.

An example would be the teenage culture these days... There are people who don't wanna conform to the current structure of teen culture (like listening to pop, wearing extra short mini skirts, being size 0 etc.) they adopt gothic trends or would wanna rebel by listening to oldies (like beatles etc) just because they don't wanna be like 'everyone else'.

But excuse me, by applying your black color lipstick and listening to Simon and Garfunkel has been done by people dating back to decades ago... You people are still conforming to a structure, just a slightly different structure, based on a different script that's all.

So whether or not you wanna blend in the trend, YOU are still making a choice within the structure, using a script previously written for whoever's interested.

Then he used Matrix as an example for structuralism. He said that the Matrix is all about getting out of structuralism. That's why, according to the structuralists' theory without a structure, there's (apparently) nothing - you know, the scene where the Architect was projected on a white background...

Back to the point of my problem, I'm still trying to jump out of the loop of conformation of my subconscious (whatever that means.. it sounded right to me.. now). I'm so used to the idea of accepting instead of questioning...

But the thing is, without a particular structure, a code even, a world cannot operate/communicate actually. Moreover, structuralism is supposed to be universal... transcending geographical boundaries and obstruction of languages. Without a standard structure, discourse etc, people will be seen as talking gibberish...

Further, in Andrew's opinion, the only was to escape this structure is to GO MAD. Challenge the norm... but it can guarantee nothing more than a one way ticket to any asylum near you...

Or... this might happen...

Come to think of it, is structuralism another word for 'god' catered for the atheists?


p/s: I finally feel like this Monash Street Carnival is finally coming together~

BuaHAHAHAHHA...

Location: the towers...

I don't look for embarassments... THEY hunt me down like XXX prey on bugs bunny, just less funny when it happens to me... I don't know what you spectatles think, but some of these embarassments just stay, CLING on you like... forever.

OMG... and I did something really embarass today.

WHYYYY can't I control my stupidity??!! omg...

Globalization of Culture?

Location: MU's lib, M'sia.


I attended Julian's tutes today... The highlights of the day included seeing Julian blushing when trying to explain FGM to Bernie. Which, was hilarious... then he told us something about 'authencity'. to illustrate, he used Italian food to show us how far originality goes... then it hit me, spaghetti and risotto... FROM CHINA~

(though we all laughed when he mentioned about Marco Polo...)

Anyhoo, he asked us what we think about globalization of culture, which got me thinking.

I always have this theory about the more globalized (open) a country is to the world, the more the country struggle to maintain their national identity, and by doing so, they need to preserve & promote their own culture.

Words like acculturation, hybridization and self-differentiation/self-othering came up...

To me, globalization is an invitable process. It's sooner or later that we all become 'the same'. The homogenization of culture will eventually happen and we will all be the SAME RACE later on.. with the rate that people are doing each other these days... (owh, just in case I forgot to mention, I watched this movie, Idiocracy last week.. totally hilarious but when you come to think of it, it might not be unbelievable...)

So, even though people are struggling to maintain the authenticity of their culture, with the never-ending development, science tend to take the center stage while culture & traditions take the back seats.

WHY you say?

Maybe the culture will not be lost but instead, evolved into some other culture (self othering?). We still practice CNY, wear Chinese clothings, consume Chinese products though we don't wear em, eat em, or practice (ie: speak Chinese dialects) on the daily basis..

Instead, hibridization happened.

we wear our half cheong sam with Jeans now. Yu Sang with black pepper and those western chilli sauce are being produced... even Yu Sang is not frmo China (so I heard). It's something we malaysians come up with.

IMO, this, is phase 3 - 4.

1. different culture.
2. globalization.
3. glocalization (hibridization)
4. self othering/differentiation
... untimately, 5. homogenization.

It's just a transitional period. See how CCTV, Chinese's National TV's using English? Al Jazeera, no matter HOW hard they tried to emphasize the fact that they ARE different from the west, the format they used, the way they speak, the way the films/clips are edited and all, SO CNN.

Though homogenization of culture seemed more like Americanization from our point of time now, it's a sign showing that culture can spread through globalisation.

It's like a chemical reaction in a sense. 2 different element, reacted against one and another, then finally, they will resolve into some new elements after all the chaos and dramas.

It's really scary to think that we will all be THE SAME some day... wouldn't this world be soooooo boring?

Another Day Out With My Friends...

Location: the towers...

Aching all over, tired as hell... but really happy.

one of the 2 pics we took~

buahhaha...

Vien brought me to this really nice Italian restaurant in Taipan. Forgot the name but the Aglio Olio was delightful. Really like spending time with her... conversation seems limitless with her, somehow...

yes, I used 'delightful'...

Hehe... been watching too much of Ramsay's wild adventure lately...

Anyhoo, So Nei & Shi Lu, friends I met in the Taiwan trip came to Sunway to study. So, Jojay and a couple of us went to yam cha la. fun times... got a feeling that I'll be seeing A LOT of them in the near future~

Oh bullocks, ENH paper's due nx monday.. so does JRN's paper...

hehe... bullocks.

*SLAP* *SLAP*

Ramsay overload!!!