Have you ever been alone in a crowded room when I'm here with you?

Have you ever been alone in a crowded room; well I'm here with you...

Hold on. There is "premium content" only available to subscribers on dictionary.com? What on earth does that mean? Is there some sort of premium definition that they don't provide you with the free service?

Something that for some odd reasons, annoys me; call it a pet peeve. The line "You got a haircut" stated not as a question, but a simple fact. For some reason, I cannot stand it. As far as I'm concerned, that is perhaps the most unoriginal thing you could ever say to someone. Stating something that's blatantly obvious, akin to saying "You breathe" when you're alive with a fully functional respiratory system.

And like I said, it's not the same as "You got a haircut?" (expressing some sort of surprise; although you'd need to explain that one too), or "I like your haircut" (expressing admiration for a particular style or cut). "You got a haircut," used like some crummy ice breaker or some sort of I'm-too-goddamned-lazy-to-think-of-something-to-say.

This is especially true when you're a guy and your hair length goes from short to kinda long, then you cut it back to short, allow it to grow kinda long, and repeat ad nauseum. I rescind this statement if you allowed your hair to grow really long followed by a sudden chopping of most of its length (some guys and most girls). In this case, because the haircutting/styling is something that is unexpected and occurs only on rare(ish) occasions, the statement "You cut your hair" may be applicable, although you still don't get any points for originality.

But, for some people, mostly guys, hair cutting occurs with almost innate regularity. It's cut to a certain length practically every time and you cut it once it grows long enough to bother you (and the chances are that the length you find bothering is usually fairly consistent). In other words, it will take place with unerring regularity. So again, I ask, what do you expect us to say when you tell us "You cut your hair" aside from "yes I did". You can argue that perhaps it is polite to notify someone that you are observant enough to notice the change in its length, but if that were really the case, at least say something with some slight originality. Even the statement "I like your haircut" implies that you have appraised the style, opposed to merely noticing the mere act of cutting.

Honestly...

Ok, I'm done.

I've had an epiphany.

Ok, not really an epiphany. I didn't get hit with anything, nor did it come in a moment of inspiration or anything like that. But I've realized something.

I am intensely interested in humanity/human nature. Most of you could probably have guessed this by now, if you've not actually reached this conclusion, but personally, I've concluded this after I read an article dealing with Metroblogs and how they work. Without going into too much detail, let me just say this. The article was written as a critique of how Metroblogs are too personal; that when he (the author) reads posts about cities, he wants to know what happens in the cities, not how the blog-author responds to it. In other words, he wants to know that it rained in Melbourne, and considers the fact that the blog-author had lost his umbrella and was stuck in the rain, pointless, and cluttering.

Well, most of the responses he got to this post, from bloggers and metbloggers alike, pretty much said the same thing: if you want to know whether it rained in Melbourne, check the freaking weather network. MetroBLOGGING is, first and foremost, a place for the blog-authors to report stuff that happens in the city and their thoughts/responses to what happened. The authors take front stage; the city and its going-ons act as a backdrop. Therefore, the fact that the metroblogger lost his umbrella is of first importance.

After reading the original post and the metroblogging executives' response to it, I realized that that must be the reason why I enjoy reading metroblogs so much while things like newspapers bore the crap out of me. I need a human element when I read the news. And that, up until I found metroblogs, has been a huge problem for me. Because most of you know, we've all been taught that when you report something, you have to be as unbiased as possible; you must be able to remove yourself from the situation in order to write a " good quality" article. But that's exactly what I can't stand, and where I think it's all hypocritical bullshit. Cause let's be honest here, let's examine two truths:

1. Newspapers, magazines, tv news networks, etc. never present a completely objective report of news. We all know that the Toronto Star is essentially a left-wing newspaper while the National Post more or less right-wing. I mean, that is fine and all, but don't claim to be reporting unbiased and objective "news" when you KNOW that your newspaper company will put a spin on all the stories.

2. News is only news because there is a human aspect of it. I mean, sure, we're all interested that Israel and Lebanon are at war, but seriously now, if you're genuinely interested in the war, you'll want to know how they're dealing with it, why it happened, etc. That's all human nature. The war did not just spontaenously break out for no reason, it broke out because some humans have these widely differing views of P.O.W.s (or so I've been told), and/or whatever reason (don't quote/challenge me on the cause of the war; I openly admit that I am completely ignorant of its every aspect). But the point is that you can't get away from the human aspect. It's what MAKES the news.

This is why I enjoy reading the Metroblogs so well. Metrobloggers openly admit that everything they post has their own personal bias behind it. In fact, that's their job; to post the news and interject their personality and opinion into it. Like I said, they are front and center; the city and news are the backdrop. And that makes it fascinating! I mean, all you need to do is to keep in mind that it's not the unbiased, gospel truth. But you get exposed to all sorts of different opinions and you get to know what other people's takes on something that you might possibly have a different take on.

We should all write autobiographies and trade. Honestly.

Oh, and something else that you all might find interesting. Pluto has been stripped of its planetary status!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thought some of you might find this interesting. The top 25 (allegedly) greatest fictional New Yorkers:

1. Holden Caulfield - protagonist from The Catcher In the Rye
2. Peter Parker - Spiderman
3. Michael Corleone - Godfather
4. Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man - Ghost Busters
5. Dorothy Michaels - Tootsie
6. Jay Gatsby - The Great Gatsby
7. Archie Bunker - All In The Family
8. Tess McGill - Working Girl
9. Mr. Big - Sex And The City (apparently, he coined the phrase "absofuckinglutely")
10. Eloise - Eloise of Plaza Hotel by Kay Thompson
11. Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
12. Newman - Seinfeld
13. Holly Golightly - Breakfast At Tiffany's
14. Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable - The Cosby Show
15. Ishmael - Moby Dick
16. John Shaft - Shaft
17. Travis Bickle - Taxi Driver
18. Nino Brown - New Jack City
19. Ralph Kramden - The Honeymooners
20. Tony Manero - Saturday Night Fever
21. Karen Walker - Will & Grace
22. Gunther - Friends
23. Gordon Gecko - Wall Street
24. Mame Dennis - Mame
25. Tommy Gavin - Rescue Me

The day people begin conversations with "remember that time on facebook" will be the day I give up on the world.

Karen raised a point that I'd given some thought to in the past regarding drinking and what it does to you as far as honesty/inhibitions go. I would suggest you read her blog first because this is essentially a response.

I personally think that she's hit the nail right on the head. It's an interesting debate of what drinking does to your character/what comes out of your mouth. I think drinking makes us more honest, but doesn't mean we show our "true colors" because part of who we are includes our sense of discretion.

Let's say for example, that two people are walking down a street and a really overweight person walks by. One of the two people screams out "Oh my god! You're the fattest person I've ever seen! Man, get more exercise!" Well, I think most people would say that that person is insensitive, rude, and inconsiderate of other people's feelings, even though that is truly his opinion. In fact, while he's screaming that, his friend walking next to him is thinking the exact same thing. But this friend has a sense of discretion. He doesn't scream out his opinion, even though he knows that the man they are passing is overweight and does need more exercise. He tells his friend to shut up and not to be so mean. Well, that doesn't change his opinion about the overweight man, but his personality is that of a sensitive, polite person.

You see, say you were to get that second friend drunk. Removing his inhibitions would mean that he would, in all probability, scream out the same thing as the first friend. Their opinions were always the same, but their character dictates how much they actually say. So getting the second friend drunk would make him more honest yes, but that honesty is out of character because it conflicts with etiquette/breeding.

People are much more dishonest with themselves than they are sometimes aware of. We tell thousands of harmless, white lies every single day of our lives, usually because they make life easier. For example, anyone who tells you that they don't judge based on looks is either 1. Mother Teresa, or 2. lying to your face. We have eyes for many reasons and one of those reasons is to appraise potential reproductive partners (put biologically). Saying that looks don't affect your judgement when interacting with someone is like saying that taste doesn't affect your judgement when you're eating. Seriously now.

But I digress. This is why drinking does put you completely out of character. It eliminates all the silly, harmless little white lies we tell everyday that make us who we are. All the sense of discretion, the "things left unsaid", the good breeding, is left behind and we are left with simple, bare-bone opinion, which is never within your character. Even now, I would like to think that this post is completely honest and yet, as I write, I am aware that my mind is subconsiously controlling the way I write and how I write stuff, which is why this post sounds like "Jon Wong". Eh? EH?! Ladies, am I right?!!!!!!!!

Question. After you wash your hands with soap and you give them a thorough rinsing, why do your hands still smell like soap? Didn't you just wash all of it off? Does some of the soap remain on your hands even after you've rinsed them? Hmm...

Something to think about.

So the random discovery of long named people on facebook continues. I swear, I'm not scouring facebook for these names, I just happen to see them on walls of people that I write on. So far, I've discovered:

Kavinvadee Suppapongtevasakul
Thushaanthini Thavaratnam
Karthika Rajamanikkom

And let's not forget Thuvaraka Bhuvanachandra.

So I'm weird and I like people with creative names...

So, Qiuwei has posed a few questions I would like to pass on because I am in pondering about them myself.

Why do we strive to be different in the first place?

How different do we want to be?

How do you remain unique if you don't like standing out in a crowd?

That first one really had me gipped cause I really don't know how to answer that. I always just took it as a given fact.

As far as how different we want to be, I would say definitely less than 50%. I think we want to be at least 50% within social norms by virtue of the fact that practically everyone is ok with wearing jeans (50% of their body) so long as they can express themselves through their tops. Even those who don't wear jeans tend to wear the same bottoms all the time.

As a link between the second and third question, I think that most people want to be different enough to be unique. I would say that most people don't like actually standing out in a crowd; to be so different that everywhere you go, people turn and stare at you, but uniqueness is different as I am about to outline:

Difference between standing out in a crowd and being unique I think can also be easily differentiated by looking at clothing tops (materialism makes expressing this quite easy). People who want to stand out in a crowd will wear something very different everyday. But if you wished to be unique opposed to standing out in the crowd, you'd find a specific style that you think you look good in, and shape your wardrobe so that your tops will model that style even if they look different. That way, you don't stand out in a crowd because people will eventually get used to seeing you in that style. At the same time though, you will be unique because anyone who looks for you will be able to find you easily because they look for your specific style; that unique look that could only mean "you".

I only use clothing as an example because it's the first thing came to mind and it made my opinion clear. If you stand out in a crowd, you can go anywhere and instantly draw the attention of everyone around you. If you are unique, you can go anywhere and instantly draw the attention of anyone who's actually looking for you without drawing the attention of those who aren't.

Responses?!

Apparently, you're allowed to take milk onboard for your infants now but they must be tested by a security official at Heathrow. Are you kidding me? Some guy at Heathrow gets paid to taste baby milk? Honestly now. Think of having that job in your resume. "Infant milk taster during high security terrorist threat involving liquid explosives".

Or maybe just "Infant milk taster"

It sounds funnier

"The ability to speak does not make you intelligent"
-- Qui Gon Jinn

Pictures are up on facebook. To the best of my belief, anyone who reads this blog also books face. Good thing too cause I don't think I have the energy to upload them onto another host.

I've calmed down a bit. Some of you will remember that when I first got back, I was going crazy due to the lack of things to do and lack of people to see. I have, partly recovered from this mentally unstable phase and am now back to more or less the way I was before, although I am still feeling extremely bored anytime a day passes without event.

Today was nice though; as time consuming as it is, I enjoy captioning pictures.

Jon Wong happens to have the car for the next 2 weeks. Suggestions?

"Jon, is that a lubricant?"
"No, that's bleach. Use it as lubricant and you'll burn half your penis off"
-- "Debauchery" with the Jon Wong Experience

You know what was cool? Going to the park at night and throwing glowsticks around while trying to get an Australian Nightblazer boomerang to come back to us when we threw it under the light of a Moulin Rouge-like (almost) full moon.

Rochester Park according to Qiuwei: "The best find of the day was actually their complimentary nuts"

That is something that I thought would be something that nobody else in my family but me would say. Usually, my family's big on the main courses and stuff and I'm the one who says "man, these complimentary nuts are amazing" while the rest of my family stares at me in blank amazement. Do I love this girl or what?

Well, it seems like in wake of a recent "foiled terrorist bombing plot" in London, that involved the possible use of liquid explosives in carry-on luggage, we have new restrictions on carry-on baggage. Details are at this current report but here's the gist of it. The following items are restricted:

* drinks
* shampoo
* suntan lotion
* creams
* toothpaste
* hair gel

Imagine if this had happened while I was on my world tour. Not only was I entering Canada, but I also had to pass through London to do so. I was carrying practically everything on that list except hair gel with me on my carry-on baggage. Well well, so much for border security.

On a lighter note, this weekend's Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington celebrates the black out from three years back. That was a cool black out was it not? We should have one once every few years.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SINGAPORE!!!!!!! Next time, I swear to god I am extending my vacation in Singapore until at least National Day cause I've missed all the parades and fireworks and such. Actually, the birthday was yesterday by technicality but who's going to know besides me and everyone else who reads this now that I've told you.

Holy cripes, there's a man on facebook going by the name of Kavinvadee Suppapongtevasakul. I love long names. If I had any reason to add him as a friend, I would, but I don't know who he is...

Wow, I really am bored out of my skull. This is what happens when you've been gone for too long, surrounded by too many people.

I don't know anyone named Erin Kim do I? I seriously have no recollection of ever hearing this name before in my entire life.

On another note, permit me to draw your attention to new very very cool links on the side. One of course, at the bottom of the list is the one created by Qiuwei. The other one though, truly strikes my fancy, particularly considering how I just discovered it right after I got back from my world tour. Metroblogs is a collection of distinctly city-related blogs from all around the world. The authors are handpicked by the organization as bloggers that deal with city-related news and stuff. God, I am so psyched! I can now conviniently keep up with random stuff that goes on in Singapore, Melbourne, or wherever without having to research and read media-filtered stuff.

"This wine is too strong!"
"Not strong... intense!"
"What's the difference?"
"Strong means muscular! Intense means 'full-bodied'"
"But I'm talking about wine! So the strong-muscular connotation clearly doesn't apply because wine doesn't contain muscle!"
"Look, do you want to be a wine connoisseur or not?"
"O_o No!"
"What? You don't?"
"Clearly not... I don't even like the taste of alcohol"
-- Jon Wong vs. Uncle John

I'm suffering from severe family/large-crowd withdrawal. Granted that this happens every time I return from Singapore but honestly, it's driving me insane.

There is a man who attends Queen's calling himself Adam Cohen. God, I need to meet this man. CRY OPHELIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"And you can tell everybody, that this is your song
It may be quite simple but, now that it's done
I hope you don't mind
I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words,
How wonderful life is, while you're in the world..."
-- Your Song

Jon Wong has returned from his 7 week global gallivant and noting that developing his pictures will cost him a fortune considering how many rolls he used. Thank goodness Malaysian stores sold them in 36 exposure rolls, which should reduce the cost by a marginal amount. I have to get used to not being surrounded by good looking asian girls (ha!).

Last day in Singapore was amazing. And not because it was the last day but because I got to have lunch with Qiuwei (if you aren't asian, don't even try to pronounce it cause I guarentee you, you've butchered it), who is a second cousin I hold in very high regard. She was in Brazil for the duration of the trip and just returned to Singapore in time to have lunch before I left. I am going down to New Jersey next year in July (hopefully) to see her and hopefully Broadway.

By the by, I have long been confused about the correct titles of family members (first cousins, second cousins, once removed, twice removed, etc), and have done a bit of researching. It's actually quite simple when you think about it.

First cousins - share the same set of grandparents (usually, just called cousins)
Second cousins - share the same set of great-grandparents.
Third cousins - share the same set of great-great-grandparents
And so on...

For example, my cousin Jennifer (the one David always ogles at when he's at my house), and I are first cousins because her mother and my father are siblings and we therefore have the same grandparents.

Jennifer's kid and my kid won't have the same set of grandparents because Jennifer's kid's grandparents will be my aunt and uncle while my kid's grandparents will be my own parents. But, our kids WILL share the same great-grandparents (cause Jennifer and I share the same grandparents) so our kids will be second cousins to each other.

Qiuwei as I have mentioned, is my second cousin. We have the same great-grandparents because our parents are cousins and have the same grandparents.

Now, once removed simply means a difference in generation. So Jennifer, Qiuwei, and I are all in the same generation so we're not removed from each other. But, Qiuwei's father (I think) is my "cousin once removed" because I am one generation apart from him. Being "removed" simply means "pretend you are your (great)(grand)mother or (great)(grand)father (depending on which one shares blood and is in the same generation with the person in question) and take that title plus however many generations you're apart". So if your mother is that person's cousin, you are that person's cousin once removed. If your grandmother is that person's cousin, you are that person's cousin twice removed.

That was a bit more complicated than I wanted to make it but it should make sense. Remember, you have to share blood for these titles to apply. If you don't share blood, you have to rework the entire thing and add "by marriage" at the end. Remember that in order for a married couple to be part of your family, one of them obviously has to share blood with you and then the other one becomes part of your family "by marrying the one who shares blood with you", ie. "by marriage". So it's quite simple. If someone is related to you by marriage, pretend that they are related to you in the exact same way as the one who shares blood with you and then add "by marriage" to the end.

I've noticed I like to take these topics and just write spiels on them. Like the one about formal wear. But remember that I just got back today and even though I am extremely tired, I am forcing myself to stay awake until tonight when I can sleep at the proper time (this is how I manage not to suffer from jet lag), and writing this helps because I am forced to use my brain when it wants to shut down. This should be interesting. Next time I go on long world trips, ONE of you had better come hang out with me the evening of my return just to keep me awake.

Stupid Blue Jays. They're always ok at mid season and crumble in the second half. I need to move to St. Louis or somewhere where I can legitimately cheer for a team that's got a chance at winning.

"Is it still me that makes you sweat?
Am I who you think about in bed?
When the lights are dim and your hands are shaking as you're sliding off your dress?
And then I think of what you did
And how I hope to God he was worth it.
When the lights are dim and your heart is racing as your fingers touch your skin.
I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck
Than any boy you'll ever meet, sweetie you had me
Girl I was it, look past the sweat, a better love deserving of
Exchanging body heat in the passenger seat?
No, no, no, you know it will always just be me"
-- Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off, Panic! At The Disco

These are great lyrics.

I saw two people communicating in sign language today on the MRT. That was very cool.

I am leaving for Canada tomorrow (finally). My suitcse is full of gifts. My uncle told me to stop buying stuff for other people and buy something for myself but think about it. I'll probably be back in two years. My friends will not.

Things I DID get... my grandmother gave me a $10 coin, made of 999 Fine Silver. What that means is that it's 999 in 1000 parts silver. I have no earthly idea how much that thing cost but it must have been near a fortune (by my standards).

I also bought myself an Australian letter opener to open letters with.

Speaking of letter openers:

"Ah no! First Nation studies! Seriously, I love First Nations people, but studying them is like stabbing yourself repeatedly with a letter opener."
-- Courtney Plankton

God, do I love this girl or what? My opinion of her keeps shooting through the roof.

"And how, pray tell do you know that she's different than the others?"
"Well actually, I don't... at least... I mean, she breaks all the rules I set for myself. Does that count?"
"I guess so. But you have a lot of stupid rules like the thing about Asian girls"
"I don't have a 'rule' per se about Asian girls. I just said that generally, I don't find Asian girls hot, even though other people beg to differ... aside from the girls in our family of course."
"Which is again, odd considering you share blood with them"
"Well, technically, I don't since most of them are by marriage"
"And...?"
"And what? You think we're all butt ugly?"
"Well, I can't speak for the boys in the family of course..."
-- Family discussion (Jon Wong vs. cousin)

Family members are lovable creatures.

But this just in. I just had Rocky Road ice cream. It was amazing.

What is going on there back in Canada?!