What Is Worse? Seriously.

What is actually worse when you are a parent, a family member or a friend?

• Having a child who's gay?
• Both your children being gay?
  
• Having a child who's pregnant before 18?
  
• Having a child who's pregnant by a guy who leaves her anyway?
  
• Having a child who has no educational cert?
• Having a heavily drug addicted child?
• Lost your child by an accident or illness?

Seriously. What is worse?
And I might have missed a lot more on this list. Feel free to add more, if you can think of more.

But back to the question.

Sometimes, when I look at some parents, friends or basically people that i know, i do wonder whether these people realize what they say, when someone that they know is one of the above listed.
Why do i wonder? Simply because of the comments that are being mentioned during a fight, argument and discussion. Some of the comments may sound so terribly wrong or so stereotyped to some case. What makes those people superior? What is it that they have besides their pride and "image" that is being ... shall i say.. tested?

I don't know why we automatically judge people. Some do it on purpose, some don't. But there are cases where the situation is towards their own family members or their best friends. The thing i don't understand is when parents are telling off their own child for their own image's sake (!!). That is something i do not accept nor understand. How can a mother or a father tell his/her own child what she/he should be/do? Simply because it gives them a bad image to others?! For THEM??

Worse... what if their attitude towards their children and others is so wrong, that at the end, it comes back to them? What i mean is, what if, for example, a parent tells her/his child what to be, for instance heterosexual. Yet the only people that the sexuality of this person really disturbs.. is only themselves. The rest of the family and friends are fine with it, it is being accepted and welcomed.
Now who's the idiot in this story? Who has a bad image? The child who has parents making a fool of themselves in front of others? Or the parents for just having a gay happy child (by the way, for those who don't know, gay does mean happy...).

So seriously. What is worse?

Of course, the question lays in each and everyone's own situation. If you compare the list, i'd definitely say: the dying child. So it is a matter in which situation one is in order to answer this question.

Thus, even having a gay child is a worse case scenario for some parents. As long as they don't make a scene out of it for their own image's sake.

But well.. that's my opinion.

Silence

Sometimes everyone does require some silent moment, correct? Being an Audio Engineer requires probably more often some quiet moments, as focusing on the sound throughout the day, will definitely get you really tired.

Now. Being an audio engineer in Singapore is, in my opinion, quite tough to find "silent places". When i get home, although it can get really quiet, it defintely does not satisfy my craving for silence. Reason? Well. Right behind my house, there are constructions going on. A new building appearing. Mind you, the work is going on throughout the night. Not as loud as during the day, but enough to make you wonder, what on earth is happening back there.

Accross the (for now) beautiful green field, right behind Novena Square, they are building this new wing of the same building. Oh no, not the only wing. There is one more wing being built in front of Novena Square. The nice oasis-look-alike place is gone.
So anyway...

I have 3 big construction areas going on right around my place. During the day, it is tough not to hear any hammering, drilling and more. That is every day until sunday. No kidding.
Now, add the drums of the church right next to my building. Mind you, low frequencies travel faster than high ones. Hence, i can hear the rumble of the band's drums and bass.
Sometimes, i do hear the sirenes of the ambulance passing by my window. I guess that's ok. I am the building next to Tan Tock Seng Medical Center...
Oh, and sundays, since my apartment is facing the pool, i can hear the kids screaming and laughing for hours.

Around the evening (of every day), i do not understand why, but there are more and more heavy, full loaded trucks passing by, when the drilling and hammering slowly starts to fade out. "BBBRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHRRRRRR" every ... 10mins for at least 1 hour? Something like that.
Around 2am, when i finally get to go to bed, switch off my lights and want to sleep... I can hear this dog, barking until god knows what time. I can wake up in the middle of the night to keep on hearing him barking right behind my window...
Next to the barking, i do hear some hammering here and there of the building behind my window.

Little question for you.
Have you not wanted (at least once) to sit at a cafe, read a book or do work on your laptop, where it is quiet, you can hear nature (the wind going through the leaves, i.e.), happy children passing by and just have the sun caress your skin. No cars around, no hammering, no annoying noise, which comes in very irregularly and starting to irritate you because of its irregularity...

Have you not wanted it at least once in Singapore? Have you every found it? I did not.

Not yet, at least.

Culture Differences

At school we have been asked to write our final papers and my topic is going to be on culture differences. My hypothesis is the following:

"Cultural differences in perceiving music background for documentaries, based on a comparison between Singaporean and Swiss documentar films."

I came to realise that just talking about it with some friends of mine, that their opinion and culture is really complex yet intersting.

My asian friends will often use the word "boredom" or the sentence like "it's boring if there is no music in the background. Who did this production??!". Now, compared to some Swiss friends, they will often refere to "nature's reality" or "true sounds".

What is boring and why would nature's true sounds be "boring"? Where does this perception come from? Why do we perceive things so differently and from where is this concept coming from?

Being half Swiss and half Vietnamese, i do have even more difficulties to understand this. In the other hand, i probably am more capable in understanding both opinions and follow their trail of thoughts.

During my research, i came across some words like "religion", "nature", "forest", "perfectionism". The meaning of music was very different in both cultures and their perception was focusing on a very different aspect already in the past.

It seems like in the Asian culture, music was meant to be played perfectly. Perfectionning ones instrument was more valuable than anything else. For the Chinese opera big orchestras were used. At least 200 musicians were part of this opera. All playing their instrument to the perfection or they wouldn't even be part of this orchestra.

Compared to the Swiss culture, music is a form of expression. Playing an instrument was considered an opportunity to get into a higher class, because one could be the entertainer of an important person or even a teacher. But it also was a form of simple entertainment and distraction after a battle, for example.
"Grandios" and "dramatic" effects were not given an importance like in Chinese operas, for example. The value lies in being able to express emotions (love, anger, protests). It was a form of open communication, if I may call it.

But now, how does that affect documentar films, you may say. Strangely enough it does have a connection.
I have worked on some projects with Discovery Channels and i know their procedure. I also did some corporate videos where speech should be more relevant and audible, in my opinion. But in Singapore, i have been asked many times to increase the volume of the music. I often told them, that it can mask the speech and the interview. The reply was: "Yes, but it will be boring for them to listen to. That will wake them up." Well... and so i did. I increased the volume. At the end, you really did hear more music than the speech. I never managed to listen to what is being said. The music was distracting me, especially being a musical person reacting easily to music, i couldn't focus on the speech.

Here in Switzerland i just finished a work on the Swiss Guards. A documentar film that will be shown in the cinemas in Switzerland (i think, this is still under discussion, apparently.) next year. My friend asked me not to put any music in the background.... Although it was the first time i work on a project for a Swiss audience, i didn't expect it to have NO music at all.
She tried to explain to me, that she wanted the audience to get the feeling of St. Peter's place natural ambience. The bell, the birds, the fountain in the background, the people and children passing by, all these needed to be heard, she said.

First i really tried to put my "Singaporean style" of having some music in the background, but after watching the 40mins docu film, i realised that, it would have distroyed the entire mood. I really didn't feel like putting any music at all in it. I wondered why...

I recently presented this Swiss documenatry to my Singaporean friend and althought there were no English subtitle, her first impression was to say it looked boring. Even though i trranslated almost every important (in my opinion) phrases of the interviews, she just could not get into the story and history of the Swiss guard. She only said that it was a very different perspective on how one produces documentary. Basically, she said it sucked... (laughing).
She also showed me here she would have put music in the background. She would have put music for all cut outs, but when i told her that my friend wanted to transmit the ambience of the place, the true sounds of that place, she looked at me with a big question mark over her head. It did not make sense for her.

It seems like music evoques more emotions than feeling the emotions of a place, which speaks "history" by itself. Would this be the rerason why Chinese Drama on TV are so.. dramatic and emotional?

It is strange that i can understand my Singaporean friend's point of view. Yes, it would create even more emotions and let the audience "feel" the place of Saint Peter. However, i also understand my Swiss friend and i got trapped in the effect the place had by itself. Maybe because i went to Rome before and ran on that same place, when i was younger, but that was almost 20 years ago...

Maybe if i had some original recordings of the sound in the sixtin chappel, while they were having a mass, maybe that would have been "better" for Asian taste.

Comments are more than welcome! =)

Alarming Increase in HIV Cases

Recently there has been a lot of interesting articles regarding the increase of HIV cases throughout the world.

I was wondering, why is that so. Why do these men put themselves into such a situation? Is it that difficult to use a condom?? Sometimes, i really do wonder.

To me, it looks like many who have multiple partners, don't seem to care that there is an officially deadly sexually transmited disease going on. That it is necessary to put that nice little latex condom around their penis before they put their nice penis into someone else's hole. Why is it soooo difficult?? Can someone tell me?

I do not want to generalise anyone or anything. This concerns ALL OF US. It is not the fault of homosexuals, only. It is the fault of those, who do not want to use a condom during sex. That means, hetero-, bi- and homosexuals, men and/or women.

I have seen my gay friends being prepared and carrying condoms with them or even deny (!) sex if the other part didn't want to use condoms. I give them a big applause!
I have even seen lesbians, who do carry latex handgloves with them and put them on before having sex!! Even women do have safe sex. What's the big deal in protecting one's life before enjoying it fully?!

Having an open relationship is one's choice. Go have your fun, but please, protect yourself!

Maybe it's an ego thing with men, no? I don't know. I just question it. Or maybe it's because it doesn't give one the "right" feeling. You do not feel as much as without a condom... Well then... take the responsibility in your own hands and do the following:

1. have a check up. Go for a HIV test and if it does come out positive,
2. do not blame it on others, but yourself and please,
   
3. next time you are about to have a condom-free sex:
   let your partner know that you are positive!!

THAT is being responsible! 3 very little steps, if you do want to have the full pleasure of sex without a condom.

Does it sound complicated?! NO!
It's YOUR life. It's OTHER'S life you are playing with. Don't be selfish. Think of others!

And if life is so worthless, as it does seem like then jump off the bridge and commit suicide. At least, it won't hurt anyone else, but yourself and your own family and friends. There are other people on this earth, who believe that life is worth a lot. Don't take it away from them.

Am i being very mean? Maybe. Maybe am just and simply telling the actual truth. A short reality check on a blog. If i am really wrong in saying all this, please leave me a comment. I needed to say it out loud, because i can't believe that there are still people being so irresponsible for their choices of not using a condom. I am not saying, it is wrong to not use a condom. What i want to say in this issue is:

If you do not use a condom, take the responsibility towards others and let them know.
This is the least you can do for others and yourself.

To protect does not only mean "use a condom", but also "be responsible for your own choices"

Protect other's life, if you do not want to protect your own.

Own Opinions and Copyrights

Having own opinions about any topic is the simplest right given to us in every country of this world. Opinions are copyrighted automatically and can be used to influence other's opinion, by right. But when it comes to re-use these thoughts and ideas, what are the "rights" behind it? Can we just "copy/paste" these thoughts and proclaim it to be ours? Or do they need to be stated in a footnote or at least in brakets?

In my previous issue "' YES ' to Partnership Legalisation (engl.)" i did give a neutral statement of facts i gathered together in order to write an issue statement regarding the votes going on in Switzerland. I stated links of where i took the facts and mentioned regarding to whom certain citations have been gained from.

This type of "information gathering" is the correct way in doing a research, as i am just a messenger of what i have found in order to create my own opinion to a certain topic. When ever i stated my own personal opinion, i stated it in brakets or mentioned it.

After reading the one and only comment on the issue i've mentioned above, i wondered if this person actually copy pasted the entire report she found somewhere (maybe including the nickname?) or if she actually wrote, literally, the words. It is still a mystery to me.
Soon i got to several hypothesis:

• Does the person actually understand what she "wrote" about?
• Did she understand my article?
  
• Why doesn't she reply to the questions i've mentioned in my article?
• Did she actually read my article?
• Does she know the difference between "murderer", "watching pornography", "being homosexual" and "being hungry"??

Her conclusion was a bit too brutal, in my opinion, by putting homosexual = murderer = pornography and more (if interested, read the comment under the article on partnerships).

Plagiarism is an illigal act unless you stated from whom you get your information and what are the links. I am still amazed to see how many are actually still copy/pasting their "works" done and research by others.

Doing a research is not just reading about an article, but to understand the meaning, the moral and the idea put across the article and then to re-write your own opinion in your own words.
Too many youngsters are still doing their so-called research in a copy/paste way, not realising that this is not the point of a learning outcome. Plagiarism can't be penalised at school, unless it's with a low grade, but in real life, when you start working, yes, it can be very costly. Not only for you, but for the company your are working for.

Having an opinion is not illegal, therefore i encourage people who read my issues and site to give comments on anything. But please, if you do so, try not to copy other people's work without knowing what you actually copy from.

And last, but not least, YOUR opinion is the most precious one you can have. Don't copy someone's opinion. If you don't have an opinion, no big deal. Go get informations about it BEFORE you actually open your mouth. Know what you are talking about in order to make a discussion and being able to argue with VALUABLE points.

Don't be a cow that re-vomits what just got vomited before. This is not the point in growing mentally.

Growing is gathering knowledge.

Therefore:
Knowledge = Information = Research = Own Opinion

For those who don't know what "Plagiarism" means, check www.dictionary.com/plagiarism