Mucha Messa's Mumbo Jumbo

Why do we judge people? Why do we judge anything? Who gave anybody the authority to deem themselves or their choices better than somebody else's? What is this pride we carry around like a trophy for our wonderful social selections? What is it about subjectivity that we don't appreciate? I think I know too many people who have this "I would never.." attitude that really gets to me. What I gather when I hear that is a lack of perspective and experience. Obviously there are things in this life that nobody should ever do. This rant isnt about those things. One thing I know for damn sure. You do not know what you would or wouldnt do unless you are IN that exact situation.


The so called 'cultured' are guilty of this more than anybody else I find. 'Cultured' could mean:
a)enlightened; refined or,
b)artificially nurtured or grown
I think I've seen more of the latter than the former. The first comes with experience and the second probably gets downloaded into your brain from the television or other similar transporters of culture. Or something like that. Speaking of television, I dont like reality TV. Yet a lot of people do. That's their call and I dont have the authority to declare it lesser than my own choice of TV shows. I think I know enough to realise that different people derive different things from their choice of media. some people watch TV to learn. Others watch it to escape or be mindlessly entertained for hours on end. Different strokes for different folks right? The last I checked different didnt mean inferior.

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.

I'm constantly thinking about running away. Where do I wanna run away to? What exactly am I running away from? Im supposed to know. Im supposed to know everything. I'm everybody's go-to person but my own. I have no answers/suggestions/solutions to give myself. As far back as I can remember, I have constantly thought of running away. When I was in India I wanted to run away and go to Kuwait. Then when I was back in Kuwait I wanted to run away and come to Canada. Now I'm here and I again just want to run away. This time all I know is where I dont want to go. That would be Kuwait since there isnt much to go back for. Ofcourse there is the family, but they really wont like who I've become. Im not good at pretending and they're not good at understanding.

What do I think is going to change if I leave here? Will my mind be fixed? Will I be happier? Will everything that bothers me just cease to exist? What a cowardly thing to think. How absolutely cowardly. My foundation is canyoning and im letting it progress unhindered. While constantly worrying about letting others down I didnt realise I let myself down a long time ago.

Edit: My folks are actually better at understanding than I give them credit for, but certain things are beyond discussion. I have the nasty habit of bringing those things up.

Labels: SSDD, Things that go bump in the night.

I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I really really dont know. I dont really know. I really dont know. I dont know, really. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I really really dont know. I dont really know. Dont I know?. I really dont know. I dont know, really. I dont know. I dont know.I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I really really dont know. I dont really know. I really dont know. I dont know, really. I dont know. I dont know.I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know. I dont know.

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.

I dont believe in destiny. I dont believe that there is a pre-destined role out there for each of us to fulfill. I believe in choice.
"It is our choices, Harry"*
So maybe thats why I feel morose. I believe in doing and Im not doing anything with my life. What's funny is that im acutely aware of it and yet I can't seem to fix it. That's got to be pure misery. Incapacitation is misery.

The mind is like a rainforest. Well mine anyway. It rains and rains and rains. There are tall trees that block out the sun and somewhere underneath it's teeming with life and creepy crawlies.


* I just had to.
PS: This one I did paint, Chach

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.

I am so sick and tired of the word "offended". I am so sick and tired of that word being used as an excuse to shut down arguments or dissention. To me, that is the biggest cop out. Its a soft core version of thought policing. The idea that you cannot express a difference in opinion because it might offend somebody is a dangerous proposition that these days only favours one party. The religious party. On the one hand they take it upon themselves to police the world and on the other hand they are so quick to scream offense if anything is said in contrary to their beliefs. It has almost become a wall from behind which they can chuck their intolerance at us.

The Globe and Mail recently posted an article online about a Danish cartoonist being interrogated by a "Human Rights Officer" for hurting the sentiments of a certain Islamic preacher.

"One of the complainants against me is someone I would describe as a radical Muslim imam, Syed Soharwardy. He grew up in the madrassas of Pakistan and he lectures on the Saudi circuit. He advocates sharia law for all countries, including Canada. His website is rife with Islamic supremacism — offensive to many Canadian Jews, gentiles, women and gays. But his sensitivities — his Saudi-Pakistani values — have been offended by me.

And so now the secular government of Alberta is enforcing his fatwa against the cartoons."

This is ridiculous! The world seriously needs to stop stroking their egos like this before we all get nuked or comverted or worse.

Labels: SSDD, Things that go bump in the night.

I recently watched a documentary called "Sex crimes and the Vatican". This is not news, its been around for a few years now. It's even a regular part of most comedy routines these days. So nothing I say here today is new. What is new is the question a friend raised about the topic. She asked me why it is that most of the priests involved molested young boys . Somehow that question gets ignored amidst the furor over the obvious bigotry. I'm not sure if this is closet homosexuality or just a matter of convenience. Convenience in the sense that boys are more accessible since they are more likely to be altar boys or serve at the church in one way or other. They are also less likely to go home crying or complain than little girls. An article I read suggested that homosexual men in some cases might be more likely to become priests in the first place because of their lack of attraction to women. Since most Catholics and Christians see homosexuality as something that can be remedied or 'cured' rather than something that is inherent, closeted gay men might be more likely to think that joining the priesthood is the best way to 'banish the evil' so to speak.

A wise person once told me that people who have guilt on their mind taint everything they see and do with their guilt. This is was in response to my question about why a Muslim woman was stoned to death for exposing her arm whilst driving. Men that subjugate their women in that manner see women are purely sexual objects. Even an arm or a reckless hint of ankle is enough to illicit lust and thereby must be stopped. I see this scandal in the same light. Every church in question is boisterous in their disapproval of homosexual men. Yet somehow, 85% of all child molestation charges include priests raping/molesting boys. Why might that be? If you notice, whenever priests or politicians are outed for rape/pedophilia/sex scandals, they never attest to being homosexual. They contend that they have "sinned" and that they are going to fix it. I see this as not only stupid but dangerous, especially in the case of priests because if they keep treating it like something fixable, they are only going to put more innocent children at risk. This cannot be more evident than in Catholic churches policy of rotating offending priests instead of getting them an appointment with a shrink or preferably, a date with the police. Their denial has already cost a lot of people their sanity. Still, they will most likely continue to live in denial while praying for their poor souls.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_7_54/ai_84454915/pg_2
www.bizarro.com
Title courtesy of Christopher Hitchens

Labels: SSDD, Things that go bump in the night.

Every year around this time, I realise what a different culture I was raised in. Growing up in Kuwait, gift giving was not the highlight of Christmas. It was the family gatherings and the fun times and the good food and memories. There was no such thing as holiday debt or stress around Christmas time. That was because we didnt need to buy everybody a present. The little kids got toys or candy and the customary 'gift from Santa' hidden under the tree by Mom or Dad. If and when older kids were given presents, it was books or something along those lines. In contrast, Canadians are pretty big on the gift giving. Video games, expensive purses, jewellery and the whole nine. If it is about the joy of giving... shouldnt it be all year round? And shouldnt giving to strangers give you that same joy?

This holiday season, I hope more and more people look beyond their own desires and consider the needs of those less fortunate. I hope young people see this season as a time for giving... not just to your girlfriend or mom or dad.. but to somebody who doesnt know you and will probably never be able to return the favor. I hope we take a minute and a dollar out of our frenzied shopping schedules to drop something off at a food bank or buy a toy for a child who cannot afford it. I hope that this season, hugs and good cheer are good enough gifts for us. I hope that little things mean more than big things.

Labels: La Familia, Things that go bump in the night.

Ever wonder what creationism would sound like if put in scientific terms? Ever wonder what evolution would sound like, if it were indeed part of religion * Here's a film student's clever animation showing just that.

http://www.duelity.net/

Its funny to note that evolution sounds completely, ridiculously far-fetched in this narration... much the same as creationism sounds to me on any other day. Form really does impact content. This video isnt completely factually correct in every little detail and is probably not meant to be. It's just an artistic interpretation of switching perspectives.




* might sound like blasphemy to some

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.

It's interesting to note how touchy we are as a society. By 'touchy' I mean our tendency to be take personally every critical remark, comment or opinion. When did we get this averse to a little healthy contradiction? By 'we" I generally speak within and of the North American context primarily because I have experienced a greater degree of willingness to be criticized elsewhere (Caveat: does not hold true for the Middle East, where maddening levels of self righteousness exist. That however, is the blog-trouble of another day). Never before has being 'politically correct' been so important. In pursuing this correctness, you will notice (or not!), many a good argument is thwarted. What a shame.

I'm not sure if this is a failure of the education system or a product thereof. What I'm alluding to is the fact that a 'proper' education is supposed to teach you how to think critically. So naturally, if you've concluded your academic career without the rudimentary skill of critical thinking, then somethings amiss. Unless of course the system itself failed you in the first place.

I'm reminded of an incident that took place in my first year at university with a christian friend. Of Pakistani heritage, she grew up around Muslims as did I. One Sunday afternoon, over lunch we got into a conversation about Salman Rushdie because she noticed I was reading his 'The Satanic Verses'. The name of the book itself was the subject of hot debate and I offered to tell her why it was called so, because she assumed I was literally reading a book authored by Satan himself. As i hopelessly tried to clear the confusion* she clamped her hands on her ears and refused to listen because i was blaspheming. She said I had offended her and God in general and that there was to be no more discussion on the topic. I was, as you can imagine, hot under the collar. For some reason, she strongly believed that even listening to what I had to say would bring some sort of impurity into her otherwise pious life. Needless to say, we did not spend a lot of time together after that incident. I find it hard to be around people who are that stoic in their beliefs that they refuse to even entertain a divergent thought. That to me is waste of life, brain, education, thought and rationale.

The above incident is one of many such reactions I received when talking about things people are uncomfortable about. I think its high time people put their emotions aside and said what needs to be said. Discomfort is a very small price to pay for rationalism.

Galatians 4:16

Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?

*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.

It's unbelievable to me how big of a sensationalist culture we have become. People do more things to shock and jarr the senses than to achieve any sort of real consequence. This applies both to the news networks with the big flashing headlines about something completely irrelevant* AND the Entertainment Tonight method of "reporting" which delivers scripted entertainment headlines in a manner akin to dangling a bone in front of a hungry dog, only to yank it away in time. THIS JUST IN! COME BACK RIGHT AFTER THIS COMMERCIAL BREAK!

When you see "Paris Hilton supports troops boners" as the biggest headline on your online news page, you can safely assume that this is not the most reliable of websites. Unfortunately, I cant tell you anything more about that headline because i didnt read it. If you feel you need to know that, your in the wrong place.

The sad (and hilarious) thing is, to get real news that reads between the customary, scripted lines we get fed through the media, we have to turn to comedy. The Jon Stewarts and Stephen Colberts have taken it upon themselves to feed you the real deal ... via satire. And boy are they effective or what! If you want the same content, put in a more articulate manner sans the laughs, I recommend Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. Oh and Bill Maher =). If its sensationalism we want, then its sensationalism theyll give us. But the right kind. Infused with wit, sarcasm and truth.


* Relevance can be entirely subjective but here I mean the subjective relevance compared to the bigger things going on at any given time.

Labels: Things that go bump in the night.