Farouk Gulsara's Blog, page 98
February 14, 2020
Unfinished work on Earth?
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
You grow up focussing on all the unsavoury traits in the elders around you and promise yourself never to emulate. Hold behold, you grow up and do the exact same things that you found offensive and did not want to do in the first place. You turn out to be the same person you despise.
People around you realise that, but not you. You become angry when you are reminded of the fact. You carry the anger throughout your life, burning yourself in the inside.
When you realise your shortcoming, life becomes beautiful, it seems, according to the encounter between Mr Rogers (Fred Rogers of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' fame) and an Esquire journalist, Lloyd Vogel.
The said interview took place in 1998 with Tom Junod and his Esquire article became the basis of the movie. The screenwriters took the liberty to spice up the story and hence renamed the reporter.
At the time of the interview, Mr Rogers was already a household name. American children grew with him in the living room, telling them about the difficult facts of life like war, death, race, being handicapped and bullying. He was the then Oprah of the day for children and had all their difficult questions answered.
Vogel, a cynical man, is bogged down with his own issues. Growing up without a father who left him and his sister when their mother fell ill, he has an axe to grind when the father returns with his wife that he left his mother for. The journalist, a young father, cannot connect with his wife and his young daughter.
©The AtlanticVogel cannot believe a person as perfect as depicted in the TV show can exist in real life. His series built a strong friendship that lasted a lifetime.
In 2018, there was a documentary out showcasing the work done by Fred Rogers in WQED studios and later PBS to stimulate pre-school children awareness. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he found satisfaction working with child psychologists and emphasising long lost qualities like patience, reflection and 'silence in a noisy world'. Despite being a man of the Church, he found it more appropriate like impart the teachings of Book not by overt external representations, like donning the collar or mentioning God's fame. He preached via actions, listening and music. He is an accomplished pianist and a lifelong swimmer.
Towards the end of life, he became progressively depressed, conflicted and angry. Perhaps he felt that his life's work had come to zilch after the 911 incident, the increasing hatred and inclusiveness among people. He was also accused of promoting the 'entitled' generation as his mantra is to make every child feel special. His inclusiveness of treating everyone alike earned him the label of promoting deviant sexual orientation as his co-star turned out to be gay.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You grow up focussing on all the unsavoury traits in the elders around you and promise yourself never to emulate. Hold behold, you grow up and do the exact same things that you found offensive and did not want to do in the first place. You turn out to be the same person you despise.People around you realise that, but not you. You become angry when you are reminded of the fact. You carry the anger throughout your life, burning yourself in the inside.
When you realise your shortcoming, life becomes beautiful, it seems, according to the encounter between Mr Rogers (Fred Rogers of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood' fame) and an Esquire journalist, Lloyd Vogel.
The said interview took place in 1998 with Tom Junod and his Esquire article became the basis of the movie. The screenwriters took the liberty to spice up the story and hence renamed the reporter.
At the time of the interview, Mr Rogers was already a household name. American children grew with him in the living room, telling them about the difficult facts of life like war, death, race, being handicapped and bullying. He was the then Oprah of the day for children and had all their difficult questions answered.
Vogel, a cynical man, is bogged down with his own issues. Growing up without a father who left him and his sister when their mother fell ill, he has an axe to grind when the father returns with his wife that he left his mother for. The journalist, a young father, cannot connect with his wife and his young daughter.
©The AtlanticVogel cannot believe a person as perfect as depicted in the TV show can exist in real life. His series built a strong friendship that lasted a lifetime.In 2018, there was a documentary out showcasing the work done by Fred Rogers in WQED studios and later PBS to stimulate pre-school children awareness. Ordained as a Presbyterian minister, he found satisfaction working with child psychologists and emphasising long lost qualities like patience, reflection and 'silence in a noisy world'. Despite being a man of the Church, he found it more appropriate like impart the teachings of Book not by overt external representations, like donning the collar or mentioning God's fame. He preached via actions, listening and music. He is an accomplished pianist and a lifelong swimmer.
Towards the end of life, he became progressively depressed, conflicted and angry. Perhaps he felt that his life's work had come to zilch after the 911 incident, the increasing hatred and inclusiveness among people. He was also accused of promoting the 'entitled' generation as his mantra is to make every child feel special. His inclusiveness of treating everyone alike earned him the label of promoting deviant sexual orientation as his co-star turned out to be gay.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
February 12, 2020
The Fourth Estate has vested interest
Richard Jewell (2019)
Director: Clint Eastwood
The press and the print media are often referred to as the 'Fourth Estate' or 'Fourth Power' for a reason. It is supposed to act as an extension of the arms of governance after the legislation, execution and the judiciary branch of Government of rule via indirect public influence.
It traditionally played the role of the eye of the public to create a check and balance system of the ruling Government. Over the years, we have noticed that it is no longer working towards the well-being of the common man, but rather have the welfare of the financiers at heart. With financiers having vested interest in how a piece of particular news should be presented, the truth is somehow lost in the rabble-rousing. The same message can be displayed by different stations leaving totally different impressions on the public.
So, leave to the public to assess what is right and which is fake, you say. History has proven time and again that people are fickle-minded. Like Pavlov's dog, they can be easily conditioned by their masters. Their opinion changes anywhere the wind blows. With access to social media to opine their two-cents worth literally at their fingertips, arranging a trial by media is an easy task.
The question of exposing too much 'truth' to the public domain and having a trial by media has been popping quite rampantly in Malaysia after the change of Government. Traditionally, in Malaysia, the Fourth Estate has been functioning more like a Fourth Branch of the Government, working well as a propaganda machine of the ruling Government. The old Government is feeling the heat as many of their shenanigans out in the open. They cry foul citing loss of sovereignty of the nation as we go on a rampage washing dirty linen in public.
One thing people forget is that foreign investors come to our country not because we are trustworthy and virtuous. They come here precisely for the opposite reasons. Our leaders are easy to be bought over, and everything has a price.
The modern society talks about the need for a free press and freedom of information. The film shows one of the dangers of the unabated flow of information.
Richard Jewell is a timid man who lives with his mother and goes on by working as a security officer. It was 1996 and Atlanta was hosting the Centennial Olympics. During the tour of his duty as a security helper in a stadium, he notices an unattended bag. He alerted the police officers who confirmed that it contained a bomb. Jewell helped to evacuate the public from danger, prevent a catastrophe. He is hailed as a hero, and his pictures are plastered on all newspaper. Three days later, everything takes a 180-degree turn. He is reported to be a possible prime suspect as the bomber in the bombing. News leaks that FBI thought that Jewell fit the profile of a lone attacker - single white male, living with his mother, fascinated with guns who clamours a law enforcement career.
The rest of the movie is to shows the humiliation, public scrutiny and trial by media that Jewell and his mother endure. Under the name of national security and the thirst for the round-the-clock instant information, people's life is turned topsy-turvy.
The film created controversy when it suggested that the journalist, Kathy Scruggs, who leaked the information about the FBI investigations on Jewell being the possible suspect obtained it by providing sexual favours.
The saga affected Jewell and Scruggs profoundly. Both had premature deaths. Jewell succumbed to heart ailments, and Scruggs went on to be bogged with depression. She died on morphine overdose. The possibility of suicide was also considered.
Jewell's name did get cleared by FBI after all. In his time, he sued many newspapers and news networks including CNN. He got a fat compensation but, it seems, the bulk of it went to the lawyers' fees.
That is the bane of modern living - create a molehill out of nothing, make a big deal out of it, talk about principle and doing the 'right' thing but basically doing nothing but create a whole lot of mess. In comes the lawyers (or maybe bankers too) as the knights in shining armours. They prolong the confusion, build up anxiety and leave with a load of money, giving the impression of saving the day. To those affected, nothing really changes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Director: Clint Eastwood
The press and the print media are often referred to as the 'Fourth Estate' or 'Fourth Power' for a reason. It is supposed to act as an extension of the arms of governance after the legislation, execution and the judiciary branch of Government of rule via indirect public influence. It traditionally played the role of the eye of the public to create a check and balance system of the ruling Government. Over the years, we have noticed that it is no longer working towards the well-being of the common man, but rather have the welfare of the financiers at heart. With financiers having vested interest in how a piece of particular news should be presented, the truth is somehow lost in the rabble-rousing. The same message can be displayed by different stations leaving totally different impressions on the public.
So, leave to the public to assess what is right and which is fake, you say. History has proven time and again that people are fickle-minded. Like Pavlov's dog, they can be easily conditioned by their masters. Their opinion changes anywhere the wind blows. With access to social media to opine their two-cents worth literally at their fingertips, arranging a trial by media is an easy task.
The question of exposing too much 'truth' to the public domain and having a trial by media has been popping quite rampantly in Malaysia after the change of Government. Traditionally, in Malaysia, the Fourth Estate has been functioning more like a Fourth Branch of the Government, working well as a propaganda machine of the ruling Government. The old Government is feeling the heat as many of their shenanigans out in the open. They cry foul citing loss of sovereignty of the nation as we go on a rampage washing dirty linen in public.
One thing people forget is that foreign investors come to our country not because we are trustworthy and virtuous. They come here precisely for the opposite reasons. Our leaders are easy to be bought over, and everything has a price.
The modern society talks about the need for a free press and freedom of information. The film shows one of the dangers of the unabated flow of information.
Richard Jewell is a timid man who lives with his mother and goes on by working as a security officer. It was 1996 and Atlanta was hosting the Centennial Olympics. During the tour of his duty as a security helper in a stadium, he notices an unattended bag. He alerted the police officers who confirmed that it contained a bomb. Jewell helped to evacuate the public from danger, prevent a catastrophe. He is hailed as a hero, and his pictures are plastered on all newspaper. Three days later, everything takes a 180-degree turn. He is reported to be a possible prime suspect as the bomber in the bombing. News leaks that FBI thought that Jewell fit the profile of a lone attacker - single white male, living with his mother, fascinated with guns who clamours a law enforcement career.
The rest of the movie is to shows the humiliation, public scrutiny and trial by media that Jewell and his mother endure. Under the name of national security and the thirst for the round-the-clock instant information, people's life is turned topsy-turvy.
The film created controversy when it suggested that the journalist, Kathy Scruggs, who leaked the information about the FBI investigations on Jewell being the possible suspect obtained it by providing sexual favours.
The saga affected Jewell and Scruggs profoundly. Both had premature deaths. Jewell succumbed to heart ailments, and Scruggs went on to be bogged with depression. She died on morphine overdose. The possibility of suicide was also considered.
Jewell's name did get cleared by FBI after all. In his time, he sued many newspapers and news networks including CNN. He got a fat compensation but, it seems, the bulk of it went to the lawyers' fees.
That is the bane of modern living - create a molehill out of nothing, make a big deal out of it, talk about principle and doing the 'right' thing but basically doing nothing but create a whole lot of mess. In comes the lawyers (or maybe bankers too) as the knights in shining armours. They prolong the confusion, build up anxiety and leave with a load of money, giving the impression of saving the day. To those affected, nothing really changes.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
February 10, 2020
Should I stay or should I go now?
For Sama (Arabic: من أجل سما ‘min ajl sama‘)
(Syrian Documentary; 2019)
Recently I read of a young mother with her 4-month old infant participating in a civil objection against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bhag in Southern Delhi. Soon after being in Delhi for a couple of days, the child fell ill and succumbed to pneumonia in the protest grounds. The mother said in a TV interview that she was not saddened by the demise. In fact, she felt proud that her son gave his life for the future of the country. Deep inside, she must be feeling like 'Mother India'. Given another chance, she would do it all over again.
Now, would you call that bad parenting or patriotism?
This is the same question the maker of the documentary 'For Sama' seems to be asking. Waad Al-Kateab, who started filming her life experiences as a university student in Aleppo, realised that her country, Syria, was slowly plunging into civil war. She started getting involved with students' resistance front against Bashar Al-Assad. As from 2011, as the violence by ruling regime against civilians escalated, she had to make a decision whether to stay and fight a good fight or escape the country. She opted to stay back. She soon met a similar-minded doctor Hamza, who made his personal mission to remain to treat the victims of the unrest. Waad continued filming her day-to-day events and sent it to Channel 4 of the BBC for broadcast.
Aleppo: Before and After Bombing pics
©boredpanda.com
Hamza and Waad decided to tie the knot despite the constant bombardment and destruction around them. All through her filming, she kept asking herself whether what she was doing was correct. The uncertainty became more acute as her daughter, Sama, for whom this documentary is dedicated, was born. She often wondered if she was ruining her daughter's future or depriving her of opportunities for a brighter future by her (Waad's) inactions.
All through the presentation, viewers are served with dead bodies, death and rubbles of what used to be buildings. Hamza, who ran make-shift hospitals with necessary facilities to treat victims, was bombed by Assad's and Russian bombers.
Finally, in 2015, Hamza, Sama and a pregnant Waad made a dash to Turkey as refugees. They eventually settled in the UK but has plans to return to Syria once normality returns.
When the comfort zone is rocked, what should one do? Should he run away from the offending agent or stand his ground and fight for his place that his ancestors had set foot, developed and attached their root deeply into the ground? Is it easier to maintain the peace and look elsewhere peace of mind? Anyway, discrimination, inequality and injustice are there all over the world. Deep inside, we are entirely self-centred. Should be just mind of our business, give a damn about others but just care for our loved ones?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
(Syrian Documentary; 2019)
Recently I read of a young mother with her 4-month old infant participating in a civil objection against CAA and NRC at Shaheen Bhag in Southern Delhi. Soon after being in Delhi for a couple of days, the child fell ill and succumbed to pneumonia in the protest grounds. The mother said in a TV interview that she was not saddened by the demise. In fact, she felt proud that her son gave his life for the future of the country. Deep inside, she must be feeling like 'Mother India'. Given another chance, she would do it all over again.Now, would you call that bad parenting or patriotism?
This is the same question the maker of the documentary 'For Sama' seems to be asking. Waad Al-Kateab, who started filming her life experiences as a university student in Aleppo, realised that her country, Syria, was slowly plunging into civil war. She started getting involved with students' resistance front against Bashar Al-Assad. As from 2011, as the violence by ruling regime against civilians escalated, she had to make a decision whether to stay and fight a good fight or escape the country. She opted to stay back. She soon met a similar-minded doctor Hamza, who made his personal mission to remain to treat the victims of the unrest. Waad continued filming her day-to-day events and sent it to Channel 4 of the BBC for broadcast.
Aleppo: Before and After Bombing pics©boredpanda.com
Hamza and Waad decided to tie the knot despite the constant bombardment and destruction around them. All through her filming, she kept asking herself whether what she was doing was correct. The uncertainty became more acute as her daughter, Sama, for whom this documentary is dedicated, was born. She often wondered if she was ruining her daughter's future or depriving her of opportunities for a brighter future by her (Waad's) inactions.
All through the presentation, viewers are served with dead bodies, death and rubbles of what used to be buildings. Hamza, who ran make-shift hospitals with necessary facilities to treat victims, was bombed by Assad's and Russian bombers.
Finally, in 2015, Hamza, Sama and a pregnant Waad made a dash to Turkey as refugees. They eventually settled in the UK but has plans to return to Syria once normality returns.
When the comfort zone is rocked, what should one do? Should he run away from the offending agent or stand his ground and fight for his place that his ancestors had set foot, developed and attached their root deeply into the ground? Is it easier to maintain the peace and look elsewhere peace of mind? Anyway, discrimination, inequality and injustice are there all over the world. Deep inside, we are entirely self-centred. Should be just mind of our business, give a damn about others but just care for our loved ones?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
February 7, 2020
It never ends!
Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design (2013)
Author: Stephen C. Meyer
Alert: For Mature Readers Only Discretion Advised
What triggered to look into this book was Zakir Naik's emotional argument with a self-professed atheist who was born Muslim on the theory of Evolution. The atheist challenged the rejection of Darwin's theory in Islam. The discourse went personal as Dr Naik started questioning the seeker's basic understanding of science and its terminologies. Then on, it became farcical, and the session had to be terminated. It was harbouring on diabolical issues like whether the theory of gravity was a mere theory or a fact and how scientific facts differ from theories.
A paragraph in sciencemag.org succinctly summarises the journey a scientist goes through in his thirst to know the truth. The intentions are nevertheless always altruistic, but sometimes personal agendas come in the way. They cherrypick what they want to see to prove their assertions. The beauty of it all is all these are subject to debates and changes as more information is obtained with newer instruments being their disposal.
To produce a groundbreaking change in archetypal design, pure random mutation is not sufficient. The presence of intelligent design is required, according to the author.
It is a point to note that when Darwin proposed his theory, the knowledge about Mendelian trait of inheritance and of DNA was not at his disposal. All he was offering was that organisms morph to adapt and to survive in an environment that only caters for the fittest.
Many of the theories proposed by Neo-Darwinists who have incorporated state of the art knowledge and suggestions do not satisfy the author. He tries to show that approaches like Punctuated Equilibrium (with rapid changes in speciation), trans-generational epigenetic inheritance and Shapiro's Natural Genetic Engineering do not nullify the need for an intelligent designer.
It is clear that when he means an intelligent designer, he says God, but a cheeky atheist like Richard Dawkins would ask, who designed the Designer? Meyer challenges that if gravity can be accepted as a scientific fact, why not the concept of intelligent design? Scientists, however, look at it as a lazy way of throwing in the towel. The likes of conservative thinkers see it as an opportunity to legitimatise the concept of God in science and start teaching Biblical Creations in schools as a scientific fact.
The Cambrian seas teemed with new types of animal, such as the predator Anomalocaris (centre)© John Sibbick/Natural History MuseumCross-referencing with other science-related websites is a revelation. At the beginning of times, lifeforms were simple self-sufficient ones. They divided by simple division, and the oceanic oxygen concentration was extremely low. With the marginal increase in oxygen concentration in the oceans, cells, which mainly thrived in an anaerobic environment, found aerobic respiration more efficient. Organisms became bigger. For sustenance, for the first time, the concept of preys and predators came forth. Living beings developed exoskeletons and other means of survival.
The beauty of science is that it can be challenged but supported with equally thought-provoking pieces of evidence. Admittedly, Man's knowledge is limited, but our desire to entertain new thoughts and ideas is a single fact that managed to springboard our species as the de facto leader of the planet. Or is it because He created us in his mould?
https://www.nature.com/news/what-sparked-the-cambrian-explosion-1.19379
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6152/1344.1
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Author: Stephen C. Meyer
Alert: For Mature Readers Only Discretion Advised
What triggered to look into this book was Zakir Naik's emotional argument with a self-professed atheist who was born Muslim on the theory of Evolution. The atheist challenged the rejection of Darwin's theory in Islam. The discourse went personal as Dr Naik started questioning the seeker's basic understanding of science and its terminologies. Then on, it became farcical, and the session had to be terminated. It was harbouring on diabolical issues like whether the theory of gravity was a mere theory or a fact and how scientific facts differ from theories.A paragraph in sciencemag.org succinctly summarises the journey a scientist goes through in his thirst to know the truth. The intentions are nevertheless always altruistic, but sometimes personal agendas come in the way. They cherrypick what they want to see to prove their assertions. The beauty of it all is all these are subject to debates and changes as more information is obtained with newer instruments being their disposal.
The power of scientific reasoning derives from the complex interplay between the desire to know, the ability to reason, and the ability to evaluate ideas with data. As scientists, we have learned how to make ideas dance with reality, and we expect them to be transformed in the process. We typically add to what we already know, often showing along the way that old ideas are incomplete or, occasionally, wrong. And so we collectively build an understanding of the world that is accurate, reliable, and useful.
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6152/1344.1In the greater scheme of the genesis of life on Earth, there was an era named Cambrian explosion. It is said organisms before this time were very rudimentary in morphology and function (beginning 4.6 billion years ago). Fossils from the Cambrian era (541 million years ago) are complex and have morphed into multiple phyla. The point the author is highlighting is that these changes are too profound for it to happen by mere chance. Subtle changes in genetic take a mighty long time and are gradual to perfect. Many significant alterations in DNA sequence and protein productions lead to lethal outcomes anyway.
To produce a groundbreaking change in archetypal design, pure random mutation is not sufficient. The presence of intelligent design is required, according to the author.
It is a point to note that when Darwin proposed his theory, the knowledge about Mendelian trait of inheritance and of DNA was not at his disposal. All he was offering was that organisms morph to adapt and to survive in an environment that only caters for the fittest.
Many of the theories proposed by Neo-Darwinists who have incorporated state of the art knowledge and suggestions do not satisfy the author. He tries to show that approaches like Punctuated Equilibrium (with rapid changes in speciation), trans-generational epigenetic inheritance and Shapiro's Natural Genetic Engineering do not nullify the need for an intelligent designer.
It is clear that when he means an intelligent designer, he says God, but a cheeky atheist like Richard Dawkins would ask, who designed the Designer? Meyer challenges that if gravity can be accepted as a scientific fact, why not the concept of intelligent design? Scientists, however, look at it as a lazy way of throwing in the towel. The likes of conservative thinkers see it as an opportunity to legitimatise the concept of God in science and start teaching Biblical Creations in schools as a scientific fact.
The Cambrian seas teemed with new types of animal, such as the predator Anomalocaris (centre)© John Sibbick/Natural History MuseumCross-referencing with other science-related websites is a revelation. At the beginning of times, lifeforms were simple self-sufficient ones. They divided by simple division, and the oceanic oxygen concentration was extremely low. With the marginal increase in oxygen concentration in the oceans, cells, which mainly thrived in an anaerobic environment, found aerobic respiration more efficient. Organisms became bigger. For sustenance, for the first time, the concept of preys and predators came forth. Living beings developed exoskeletons and other means of survival.The beauty of science is that it can be challenged but supported with equally thought-provoking pieces of evidence. Admittedly, Man's knowledge is limited, but our desire to entertain new thoughts and ideas is a single fact that managed to springboard our species as the de facto leader of the planet. Or is it because He created us in his mould?
https://www.nature.com/news/what-sparked-the-cambrian-explosion-1.19379
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/341/6152/1344.1
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
February 4, 2020
Fight till the last man standing!
1917 (2019)
Director: Sam Mendes
The story is written by Sam Mendes based on what his grandfather told him. Mendes' grandfather was a soldier in the Trench War, and this offering is in his honour for his heroic act of treading through the dangers of the enemy-line and the perils of Nature to pass over a piece of vital information to the advancing army. His deed indeed saved the day and many fellow comrades.
I am a little perplexed. On the one hand, I am taught that violence is the primitive way of settling an issue. Violence can never solve any problems but instead, create new ones. An eye for an eye leaves the whole blind, they say. Yet in the same breath, the same people proclaim that turning the other cheek is stupidity.
All through our civilisation, war has been part and parcel of our evolution. With each significant catastrophe that we go through, the human race seems to go up one notch in terms of scientific achievement. War propels the world forward. War stimulates the economy, and the desire to dominate is one thing that gives pride. We form tribes and fall in line under a piece of cloth to provide us with a sense of pride to uphold.
In a war, we say, everyone loses but yet, we are ever ready to justify the mother of all battles to end wars. We know where it led us.
The promise of wealth and power is good enough reason for us to get up in the morning and plunge ourselves into the conveyer belt that would send us all to the hole of destruction. We repeatedly justify our resort to extinction as a means to settle scores by putting the blame on Nature. Even our Universe is rough in its actions. Scorching expulsions of magma, destructive clash of meteorites, earth-shattering movements of tectonic plates and extremes of temperatures proves that the world is no pleasure cruise.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Director: Sam Mendes
The story is written by Sam Mendes based on what his grandfather told him. Mendes' grandfather was a soldier in the Trench War, and this offering is in his honour for his heroic act of treading through the dangers of the enemy-line and the perils of Nature to pass over a piece of vital information to the advancing army. His deed indeed saved the day and many fellow comrades.I am a little perplexed. On the one hand, I am taught that violence is the primitive way of settling an issue. Violence can never solve any problems but instead, create new ones. An eye for an eye leaves the whole blind, they say. Yet in the same breath, the same people proclaim that turning the other cheek is stupidity.
All through our civilisation, war has been part and parcel of our evolution. With each significant catastrophe that we go through, the human race seems to go up one notch in terms of scientific achievement. War propels the world forward. War stimulates the economy, and the desire to dominate is one thing that gives pride. We form tribes and fall in line under a piece of cloth to provide us with a sense of pride to uphold.
In a war, we say, everyone loses but yet, we are ever ready to justify the mother of all battles to end wars. We know where it led us.
The promise of wealth and power is good enough reason for us to get up in the morning and plunge ourselves into the conveyer belt that would send us all to the hole of destruction. We repeatedly justify our resort to extinction as a means to settle scores by putting the blame on Nature. Even our Universe is rough in its actions. Scorching expulsions of magma, destructive clash of meteorites, earth-shattering movements of tectonic plates and extremes of temperatures proves that the world is no pleasure cruise.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
February 1, 2020
All kinds of everything reminds us of our past!
If a genie would suddenly pop up in front of me today and want to grant me three wishes and asked me what would it be, I would probably ask for an alternative life where I have the luxury of travelling to small towns. That decision would be made, of course, after considering the merits of knowing whatever happened to Flight #MH370.
In my alternative life, I would take a long slow leisurely ride (or drive) along the coastal and interior roads of Peninsular Malaysia. Since time is expandable, I would stop at every small town that I would come across, spend a few days there, mingle with the local populace to learn about the little things that unique is about them and write all about it. Just for the kick of it. Indeed there are many unexplored gems around. Now did you know that there is a Customs Museum in Jelebu District in the State of Negeri Sembilan? Customs not as Customs and Excise but traditional customs.
Talking about Jelebu, during one of our long rides to Kuala Klawang in Jelebu, our team happened to meet an unassuming gentleman who turned out to be a team member's friend's father. After the customary greetings and small talks, he insisted on showing us a 'museum'. Not fully understanding what he was saying but at the same time not wanting to offend, we just followed him.
The mentioned museum was actually his personal collections of memorabilia of the generation of Indian immigrants used in early Malaya, at a time when she was a land of natives waiting to be cultured. His family has been here for over five generations. That is much more than many of bigoted national leaders who label non-Malays as newcomers.
Our gentleman proudly has rubber-sheet pressing machines, ancient weighing scales, kitchen utensils, the legendary woven 'Sikh' bed and many more day to day items.
The family tree
Above all the guidance of the Divine Forces
Protection
Not Grimm Reaper's weapon of choice, Scythe
How the two-wheeler had evolved?That is his little way of reminding the generation after him how the country benefited from everyone who dared to sail the rough seas and decide to settle in this wild country. Their taming of the land was no walk in the park but involved sweat, tears, dysentery and malaria. The concerted effort by all our forefathers, irrespective of their race, creed and religious convictions brought the name Malaysia to be known at the international arena for all the right reasons. Let us not destroy all that and propel us back to a time when only savages dwelled here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In my alternative life, I would take a long slow leisurely ride (or drive) along the coastal and interior roads of Peninsular Malaysia. Since time is expandable, I would stop at every small town that I would come across, spend a few days there, mingle with the local populace to learn about the little things that unique is about them and write all about it. Just for the kick of it. Indeed there are many unexplored gems around. Now did you know that there is a Customs Museum in Jelebu District in the State of Negeri Sembilan? Customs not as Customs and Excise but traditional customs.Talking about Jelebu, during one of our long rides to Kuala Klawang in Jelebu, our team happened to meet an unassuming gentleman who turned out to be a team member's friend's father. After the customary greetings and small talks, he insisted on showing us a 'museum'. Not fully understanding what he was saying but at the same time not wanting to offend, we just followed him.
The mentioned museum was actually his personal collections of memorabilia of the generation of Indian immigrants used in early Malaya, at a time when she was a land of natives waiting to be cultured. His family has been here for over five generations. That is much more than many of bigoted national leaders who label non-Malays as newcomers.
Our gentleman proudly has rubber-sheet pressing machines, ancient weighing scales, kitchen utensils, the legendary woven 'Sikh' bed and many more day to day items.
The family tree
Above all the guidance of the Divine Forces
Protection
Not Grimm Reaper's weapon of choice, Scythe
How the two-wheeler had evolved?That is his little way of reminding the generation after him how the country benefited from everyone who dared to sail the rough seas and decide to settle in this wild country. Their taming of the land was no walk in the park but involved sweat, tears, dysentery and malaria. The concerted effort by all our forefathers, irrespective of their race, creed and religious convictions brought the name Malaysia to be known at the international arena for all the right reasons. Let us not destroy all that and propel us back to a time when only savages dwelled here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
January 29, 2020
Things that you are fed
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
When you are young, with the propaganda that is fed to you, you grow up a simpleton. You think the knowledge that had been fed down your throat is the gospel truth and everything else is just farce. Then you grow up.
You soon realise that it has all been a smokescreen. The victors and those with might had convinced their way is King.
With the opening of the inner eye, the onus is on you to educate and to spread the word to the ignoramus. But then, no one is going take what you say lying down.
I was surprised that Scarlett Johansson was actually nominated for the Oscars for her role in this movie. Her character is hardly memorable, and she dies before the end of the film.
As for the storyline, it is nothing new. It is told from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old boy, Jojo, who is gung ho with joining Hitler's youth Army. Deep inside, he is a pacifist. He has an imaginary friend in the form of a comical Adolf Hitler who cajoles him to do the things that the Nazis want Germans to do. Jojo's mother, on the other hand, is a Jew sympathiser. Jojo soon discovers a Jewish girl that she hides in the attic.
They soon build a bond. Jojo realises that Jews are no different from ordinary Germans; unlike what had been fed by the propaganda machinery.
A potentially forgettable satire that nobody would remember in five years.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
When you are young, with the propaganda that is fed to you, you grow up a simpleton. You think the knowledge that had been fed down your throat is the gospel truth and everything else is just farce. Then you grow up.
You soon realise that it has all been a smokescreen. The victors and those with might had convinced their way is King.
With the opening of the inner eye, the onus is on you to educate and to spread the word to the ignoramus. But then, no one is going take what you say lying down.
I was surprised that Scarlett Johansson was actually nominated for the Oscars for her role in this movie. Her character is hardly memorable, and she dies before the end of the film.
As for the storyline, it is nothing new. It is told from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old boy, Jojo, who is gung ho with joining Hitler's youth Army. Deep inside, he is a pacifist. He has an imaginary friend in the form of a comical Adolf Hitler who cajoles him to do the things that the Nazis want Germans to do. Jojo's mother, on the other hand, is a Jew sympathiser. Jojo soon discovers a Jewish girl that she hides in the attic.
They soon build a bond. Jojo realises that Jews are no different from ordinary Germans; unlike what had been fed by the propaganda machinery.
A potentially forgettable satire that nobody would remember in five years.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
January 27, 2020
Just bulldoze through...
Darbar (2019)
Are we living lives that are so unfulfilling? Are we trapped in a quagmire of hopelessness and pessimism that destined us to be forever confined in a sticky web of doom and gloom? Are we resigned to the fact we are too intellectually bankrupt to lift ourselves up by our bootstraps?
Are we waiting for that imaginary knight in shining armour to magically hoist us out of our rabbit hole of melancholy? Is it possible? Or are we imagining another realm where all our aches, pains and attachments would be magically dismantled?
Perhaps we had fought our fights and had given up. All the power and wealth of the powers that be have disarmed us from the shield of resilience. We have crumbled and wilted to pressure. We are numbed to our addiction to our devices that have sapped our juices to think.
Maybe it is not a new phenomenon. For ages, we of the human race have suffered under the tyranny of dictators and power-hungry madmen. And we have seen saviours in the form of revolutionists, orators, storytellers and even kings who were given demigod statuses. Some were labelled Son of God, Messenger of God and even avatar or representation of God walking on Earth. Rulers were bestowed divine standings when the country was peaceful, crops were bountiful, and natural calamities were absent. When economics went south, their reputations took a beating and acquired demonic ranks.
That must have reinforced the existence of religions. And of angel and demons and when everything else failed, a blissful afterlife in the waiting!
This film is strictly for diehard Thalaiva fans who have not seen enough of his 80s, 90s and 21st-century mind-boggling, gravity-defying and logic-escaping masala-spaghetti flicks. The storyline is the same old same old time-tested format. One lone-wolf Indian cop sends shivers down the crooks and singlehandedly clashes head-on with the whole brunt of the mafia force with brute force without planning or regards to law and order, police professionalism as well as to human rights.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
January 25, 2020
The race never ends...
About 20 years ago, an uncle of mine (may his soul rest in peace) used to be a regular feature in our household. Living alone, he found great pleasure clowning around with my toddler daughters. With a lot to spare time after retirement and having all his kids (and wife) leave the nest, he spent time gardening and doing his own home improvement projects at a snail's pace. He was then just passed 70 and was so happy to relate to me how he completed his Penang Bridge Run only in the nick of time, just one minute before the cut-off time.
I failed to understand then what his fuss was all about. In my mind, partaking in any competitive event meant I had to end well amongst the top few. I had lived my life with the adage 'a miss is as good as a mile'.
Being a good sport, however, I did felicitate him and recommend his feat. Deep inside, I failed to appreciate his joy.
Now with the passage of time, and hopefully wiser, I can see clearly that after a certain age, even getting up in the morning itself is an achievement. At any age, there is always someone better, stronger and faster. Trying to be on top all the time is never humanly possible.
Perhaps at the spring of youth, I can put himself out to test out where I stand in the population distribution. After that, with advancing years and a gradual decline in prowess, I am left to compete with two entities, myself and me. Then there are the inner demons and the naysayers who insist that I am weaker than I am. I do not know if they are overly concerned, jealousy or just wanting me to be vulnerable and be dependant on them.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
January 23, 2020
A private eye to the world
Don't F**k With Cats (Netflix 3-part documentary, 2019)
Hunting an Internet Killer
I just happened to bump into this as I was on the treadmill and I was hooked. It was not much of love at first hello, but I liked the quite convoluted storyline. It illustrates the twisted nature of human behaviour, but at the same time, there are people who, through their actions, show that humanity has not died. But life, as it is, is never straight forward.
In life, Occam's Razor states that 'entities should not be multiplied without necessity' does not solve all puzzles. Things are more complicated than they seem. Simple answers may not be the correct one.
It is not an easy watch and is not for the faint-hearted. Few viewers could pass beyond the first 20 minutes of the show as the subject matter is unpleasant. It is based on a true story that happened between 2010 and 2012. It involved many countries, including Canada, the UK, France and Germany. But I guess when it consists of the cyberspace, these borders are arbitrary.
The documentary starts with a youtube clip that came out in 2010 of a couple of kittens which were brutally killed in broad daylight under the full view of netizen with a live recording of them being placed in a plastic wrapper and slowly vacuum sealing them! Concerned cat lover netizens, including the narrator, Deanna Thompson, a data analyst from Vegas, who goes under the screen name of Baudi Moovan, started discussing this heinous crime. Pretty soon, they started trying identifying the location as well as the maker of the clip. Everyone chipped in with their amateurish investigative skills. The need to apprehend the perpetrator became more acute as a second video appeared online. In that clip, a cat was fed to a python.
The internet sleuths slowly browse through pictures over pictures online, scrutinised in between the images, with the help of Google Map and all, managed to pinpoint the crime to a Luka Magnotta. Now, to pinpoint who Magnotta was and his whereabouts, that was an enigma itself. It appears like he was a globetrotting celebrity. The armchair investigators also try to analyse the character. In midst through it all, to avenge the death of cats, an innocent man was wrongly accused. And he took his own life due to the humiliation!
Another problem with this type of crime is jurisdiction. Who is to investigate these crimes when nobody knows where it happened.
The issue became more problematic when the video maker made a chilling clip of a person being stabbed repeatedly with an ice-pick.
The documentary makers cleverly put in the element of doubt into the whole story. They inserted interviews taken with Magnotta's mother. She threw a spanner to the works. She told of a manipulative character named 'Manny'.
From then on, the pace picked up. Police forces from many countries became involved, and the suspect was an Interpol's 'Red List'. It all came to a dramatic end with words like paranoid schizophrenia and bizarre role-playing of movie characters thrown in. Disturbing.
With all the benefits that the internet offers in improving lives and empowering people, there is a dark side to it. It becomes a convenient playground for weirdos and the mentally deranged for their one moment of attention in the world stage and sometimes to create mischief under the cloak of anonymity.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Hunting an Internet Killer
I just happened to bump into this as I was on the treadmill and I was hooked. It was not much of love at first hello, but I liked the quite convoluted storyline. It illustrates the twisted nature of human behaviour, but at the same time, there are people who, through their actions, show that humanity has not died. But life, as it is, is never straight forward.In life, Occam's Razor states that 'entities should not be multiplied without necessity' does not solve all puzzles. Things are more complicated than they seem. Simple answers may not be the correct one.
It is not an easy watch and is not for the faint-hearted. Few viewers could pass beyond the first 20 minutes of the show as the subject matter is unpleasant. It is based on a true story that happened between 2010 and 2012. It involved many countries, including Canada, the UK, France and Germany. But I guess when it consists of the cyberspace, these borders are arbitrary.
The documentary starts with a youtube clip that came out in 2010 of a couple of kittens which were brutally killed in broad daylight under the full view of netizen with a live recording of them being placed in a plastic wrapper and slowly vacuum sealing them! Concerned cat lover netizens, including the narrator, Deanna Thompson, a data analyst from Vegas, who goes under the screen name of Baudi Moovan, started discussing this heinous crime. Pretty soon, they started trying identifying the location as well as the maker of the clip. Everyone chipped in with their amateurish investigative skills. The need to apprehend the perpetrator became more acute as a second video appeared online. In that clip, a cat was fed to a python.
The internet sleuths slowly browse through pictures over pictures online, scrutinised in between the images, with the help of Google Map and all, managed to pinpoint the crime to a Luka Magnotta. Now, to pinpoint who Magnotta was and his whereabouts, that was an enigma itself. It appears like he was a globetrotting celebrity. The armchair investigators also try to analyse the character. In midst through it all, to avenge the death of cats, an innocent man was wrongly accused. And he took his own life due to the humiliation!
Another problem with this type of crime is jurisdiction. Who is to investigate these crimes when nobody knows where it happened.
The issue became more problematic when the video maker made a chilling clip of a person being stabbed repeatedly with an ice-pick.
The documentary makers cleverly put in the element of doubt into the whole story. They inserted interviews taken with Magnotta's mother. She threw a spanner to the works. She told of a manipulative character named 'Manny'.
From then on, the pace picked up. Police forces from many countries became involved, and the suspect was an Interpol's 'Red List'. It all came to a dramatic end with words like paranoid schizophrenia and bizarre role-playing of movie characters thrown in. Disturbing.
With all the benefits that the internet offers in improving lives and empowering people, there is a dark side to it. It becomes a convenient playground for weirdos and the mentally deranged for their one moment of attention in the world stage and sometimes to create mischief under the cloak of anonymity.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
http://asok22.wix.com/real-lesson
http://.facebook.com/farouk.gulsara
www.riflerangeboy.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
