I
cannot believe three years have passed since my last blog post. A lot of things
have changed. Many people disappeared entirely from my life. Several
unspeakable eventshappened to me in
ways beyond anyone’s imagination. The little
clueless innocent boy of the yesteryear have now been replaced with someone
drastically different. I cannot say I like my new self any better, but at the
end of day, we have no choice but to continue this arduous journey.
My grand passion for anything remotely English,
thankfully, have not changed a bit. It is with that sentiment that I came to
restart this blog for the quadrillionth time, not just to hone my writing
skills but also to relax my always intense mind.
However, one cannot help but wonder what’s the deal this time. What am I
gonna write about? How long will I be able to sustain it? To be frank, the
answers for those questions are just as elusive as the blog itself. My thoughts on various issues apparently will continue to be the main focus of this publishing. They may take the form of a review on a particular cosmetic item, a cinematic masterpiece, or some enlightening books. On rare ocassions, you may get the chance to enter my emotional chamber, where I discuss personal events as well as things not suitable for public discourse. Regarding the expected longevity, I will try
my best to maintain this imaginary friend, but there’s no way I can guarantee
its existence forever as God knows when
my perpertual laziness will kick in again, or when life decides to overwhelm me with
hurdles and difficulties. Having said that, let's aim for the brighter future at this historic moment (lol), shall we?
What is the saddest thing in life? Such a philosophical question would certainly produce countless of different responses. In fact, many religions have tried for centuries to explain the nature of sadness and suffering, to which I think Buddhism comes the closest. It proposes the concept of ordinary suffering (dukkha-dukkha), which includes the vicious cycle of birth, growing old, sickness, and finally death. As if watching ourselves and our loved ones deteriorating beyond recognition weren't disheartening enough, it adds to the sadness the inevitability of such torture. Most buddhists will tell you there's really no way of escaping that fate unless you follow Buddhism and practice Noble Eightfold Path to reach the state of Nirvana.
But we all know that's just religious bullshit which somehow miraculously made its way to the 21st century. For the record, no religion has been able to extend human lifespan let alone relieve mankind of the burden of death. Their specialty lies in making empty promises about heaven and the afterlife, mind you. Thankfully, we still have science on our side, and for that we have made tremendous progress. Just for the last 150 years, we have more than doubled the life expectancy at birth of our species, from 38 to 75. At this point, one couldn't help but wonder whether this trend in life extension will continue and what is the limit of science in helping us escape aging, disease and eventually death. 100 Plus by Sonia Arrison, the book I'm going to review, attempts to shed light on such profound questions.
For what it's worth, this book is the second gerontology book I've read, the first being Ending Aging by Aubrey de Grey, a classic when it comes to the subject. I came across 100 Plus when I was watching a video on FORA, where Sonia gave a speech on life extension and mentioned her recently published book. Having read Ending Aging, I didn't have high expectation for 100 Plus since I believed it would just repeat all the scientific information written in Ending Aging but I was proven wrong. This book is pretty light on technical jargons and instead focuses on more engaging stuff like how ancient people dreamt about living longer, how religion responds to human messing with nature etc...
The book is divided into 8 chapters. The first chapter tells us about the history and mythology of mankind trying to make sense of death and find the fountain of youth. If you love ancient myths, you will find this part particularly enchanting as Sonia reviews dozens of captivating stories from Adam & Eve, Noah, Pandora's Box, Gilgamesh to Dorian Gray, Vampires, Frankenstein, Gulliver's Travels...My favorite is the story of Eos and Tithonus, where Eos asked Zeus to bestow Tithonus with immortality but forgot to ask for eternal youth. The end result was Tithonus becoming older and older and finally turning into an insect but still unable to die; his suffering perpetuates to the end of time. In Chapter 2, the backbone chapter of the book, Sonia demonstrates how extending average human lifespan to beyond 100 is not only feasible but also foreseeable. Behind her confidence are a plethora of scientific studies and achievements, encompassing every fields from nanomedicine, genomics to nutrition and stem cell therapy...Did you know that we already can extend lifespan of a worm by 6 times just by manipulating a simple gene?
Sonia then dedicates the next 2 chapters (Chapter 3 to 4) to persuading readers that not only radically extending human lifespan can be done, it SHOULD and MUST be done. You may think it's a no-brainer that every one wants to live longer and therefore will support life extension and immortality. In reality, there still exist a sizeable number of traditional-thinking people who, for various reasons, furiously object to the ideas of human living beyond 100, let alone indefinitely. Most of their arguments are addressed with great details in these chapters. For instance, Sonia shows that overpopulation and resource deprivation are not as serious as we are led to believe. She also elucidates on human rights, social injustice, economic divide and many other exaggerated problems. Finally, she destroyed the ''playing God" and Eugenics argument.
Remaining chapters revolves around the socio-economic impact of life extension as well as the religious community's reaction to the ''afterlife vs longer life'' dilemma. The socio-economic part may seem boring to some people, especially if you are not interested in the matter, but the religion section is very insightful. Sonia again proves herself impartial and objective on such a delicate and controversial issue. She ends the book with Chapter 8 by introducing notable scientists, celebrities and organizations who are currently working day and night for the sake of providing human with better life.
I will conclude this long essay by sharing with you how a 23-year-old boy like me took interest in a field and a book clearly not suited for my age. It's because unlike religion who always deceives us with unsubstantiated promises about vague concepts, science and books like this provide me with a sense of realistic hope, a form of evidence-based optimism, and most importantly, true consolation. All of these are necessary tools in our never-ending fight against nature, against the inevitable. Human is great, science is wonderful and full of possibilities. When I typed these very last words, Aubrey de Grey quotation come to mind: "Accept the difficulty of what you cannot yet change. But do not accept the impossibility of ever changing it."
Yesterday, I went with my friends to see Pee Mak, the much-hyped Thai horror comedy currently in theatres. I say ''much-hyped'' because it seemed like everything about this film was flawless, even before I had a chance to watch it. Earlier last month, Pee Mak topped all Thai movie rankings as the highest-grossing film in the country's history (over 1 billion baht!). surpassing previous record-holder, The Legend of Suriyothai by a long shot. It also managed to get IMDB 7.8, which is quite impressive considering horror comedies tend to be looked down by film critics. What made me most astonished, however, is that I couldn't get a good seat even when I bought the tickets TWO DAYS in advance. At this point, most of you must be asking whether this Pee Mak film really deserves all the praise and hype, to which a hardcore Thai movie fan like me would say yes.
For starters, horror comedy is exactly what its name suggests: a film which combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. This genre, I believe, is still alien to a vast majority of Vietnamese audiences. Just a few days ago, a friend of mine expressed his disapproval of Pee Mak on Facebook by insisting that people go see horror films for the scares, not for the jokes, and mixing them up would be a disaster. Pee Mak, however, proved him wrong by having a logical and meticulously-written script, a good cast and a talented director, resulting in a pretty enjoyable film.
In this regard, the director has achieved the impossible feat by combining two unrelated scripts into a logical and believable one. First is Nang Nak (1999), a ghost film with an almost identical storyline to Pee Mak and Phobia 2 - In The End (2009), a horror comedy with lots of twists and turns. The script, therefore, is not original but originality is hardly attainable nowadays. What matters is whether the viewers feel entertained and satisfied, and I think Pee Mak has done both without much effort. Despite serving twists and turns in ample portions, the film is surprisingly void of plot holes, so you can leave the cinema without feeling cheated. This sadly can't be said for other horrors, often replete with illogical scenes. The jokes, the soul of the film, are also very funny and make references to many pop-culture phenomena, ranging from Ang Lee, 300 to David Blaine and The Last Samurai. Most of the gag scenes are done by the four supporting dudes (Ter, Puak, Shin, Aey) who did a phenomenal job. Although they're listed as the supporting actors, their screen time is even more plentiful than that of the leading actor.
Oh, and the leading actor, my favorite part. Mario Maurer, Thailand most famous heartthrob and my everlasting celebrity idol (prepare for the bias lol), plays the titular role. Mario, as some of you may already know, is far from being the best actor in the world. When people think of him, they think of an incredibly cute teenager playing the confused schoolboy in The Love of Siam, or more recently, A Little Thing Called Love. Little did they know he is also experienced in the horror comedy industry, most notable example being Saranae Siblor, in which he played a role very similar to the one he did in Pee Mak. When watching Pee Mak, I sometimes got annoyed with his childish behavior, but later recognized that's a critical part of his character. He portrayed a childlike, wife-loving, phasmophobic soldier returning home after a long battle only to discover day by day his wife is not what she looks. There are still some scenes where I think he could have done better, but overall he played his part very well. I also like that he sacrificed his usual angelic looks by darkening his skin and teeth to better fit the film (as if that could mask his beauty lol). You would be hard-pressed to find another Thai actor more suited for this role.
For people sitting on the fence about this movie, I suggest giving it a try. It's not your traditional horror with a lot of jump scares. Instead, it's a laugh-out-loud crowd pleaser with some creepy scenes here and there. Seeing the film with your friends will be a terrific experience, that I can guarantee. After all, you get the chance to see Mario Maurer on screen, what more would you hope for?
That's right, guys. SCOTUS has struck down Prop 8 and DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), the two inhumane laws I discussed in the previous entry. The moment the ruling came out, I was watching it live on CNN and although my prediction turned out be exactly spot on, I couldn't help but be amazed and heartbroken by this monumental victory. It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that this is the biggest win for the LGBT community since Lawrence v. Texas in 2003. Fighting for equal rights through the judicial system is never easy or quick. In the case of Prop 8, it took 5 years to reach the final court. In the case of DOMA, the plaintiff is a 84-year-old widow who could pass away any moment. Yet, they fight with all their strength, and guess what, they won!
Understandably, some of you who are not acquainted with legal terms or didn't follow the long-term struggle of these people may not understand the importance and gravity of this ruling. Fine, let me explain. First, section 3 of DOMA is now invalidated, which means the federal government now has to recognize same-sex marriage done in states that allow it (Massachusetts, for example) and therefore must provide all the legal benefits that the couple deserves. Before yesterday, it wasn't possible. Even if you were legally and rightfully married in Massachusetts, your marriage meant nothing to the federal government, you and your husband/wife were just ''friends'' under the federal law. See how absurd that was? Well, that absurd law is now over, thanks to the Supreme Court ruling yesterday.
Prop 8 case is a little bit more complicated. Proposition 8 is a decision made by a slim majority in California in 2008 through the referendum system. 52% of the population there believed marriage was only between a man and a woman, so they established Prop 8 to define marriage as such. However, in 2010, Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that this law is unconstitutional. He argued that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right, and just because they were the majority (they no longer are, latest poll shows 59% of Californian supports marriage equality) didn't mean they can trample on the rights of other people, especially when that right brings no harm to them or anyone else.
The anti-gay activists were not happy with the ruling, obviously, so they appealed to higher courts, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. But the U.S. Supreme Court, through yesterday ruling, said straight to their faces: "Get the fuck out of our court. You couldn't show us any injury or damage done to you, so why the fuck are you still in court trying to defend this immoral law. In legal terms, you have no standing." Yeah, that's just my paraphrase, but still very close to the actual decision lol. As a result, all appeals are dismissed and Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling is the final decision, which means marriage equality is now a reality in California.
The battle is not over, though. Only 13 states in America have marriage equality. The other 37 still have some kinds of constitutional amendments banning equal rights. Like I said in the previous post, it would take many years, or even decades until marriage equality takes place nationwide. And for this tragedy, you can thank none other than their stupid religion. When I went to an anti-gay group on Facebook yesterday to see their reaction to this ruling, I was completely dumbfounded by the widespread religious hate. Typical responses were: "God wouldn't approve of this sodomy", "The Bible says marriage is between a man and a woman", "America has been fallen into the hands of Satan." They forgot that no matter what they believe, America is still a secular (non-religious) country with principles like separation of church and state. Their religion has no place in a country like that. If they want a theocracy, move to Saudi Arabia or Iran. Don't pollute a secular country with their religious malice.
To conclude, I will quote a saying by Mahatma Gandhi: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
At first, I hesitated a lot about writing this entry, as I think most of you wouldn't be familiar with the topic I'm going to discuss (unless you're a human rights activist or a news whore...). Then I decided to write it anyway, since today is so important a day, and it would be a pity if there's no special entry to mark it.
For your information, today is the day SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) issues its ruling on two historic cases: Proposition 8 and DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). Prop 8 is a law specific to California that forbids same-sex couples from having the same marriage rights as their heterosexual counterparts. On the other hand, DOMA is a law that prevents federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, even if the individual states allow it. Those two laws are unconstitutional and extremely harmful, not only to the people directly affected, but also to society as a whole. That's why marriage equality proponents have worked tirelessly for the past 3 years to strike down these two immoral laws. In fact, they have won all the lower courts, and the cases are now advanced to the highest court. SCOTUS decisions are likely to be announced at 10 PM 26/6/2013 (GMT+7).
What is my prediction? Well, I strongly believe DOMA would be struck down, as even the President that signed it into law in 1996 (President Bill Clinton) now renounced his support and said that DOMA is unconstitutional and must be destroyed. The chance for Prop 8 is slimmer, but I think we will win anyway, although the ruling will be very narrow and confined only to California. It will take a few years before marriage equality would take place nationwide, thanks to religion and co.
Whether the rulings are a milestone or a setback, I don't know, but it's still a historic day in the continuous struggle of LGBT community, and I'm looking forward to it.
If you wanna know more about these two cases, visit Equality on Trial
Hi everyone, I just got back from the ESC in Labour Cultural Palace (55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St.) and had a lot of fun there. I especially liked the room, very big and spacious, didn't make me feel like I'm in a furnace like some other clubs. Ah, and the MCs were very adorable. The male MC was from RMIT, and the girl was from University of Social Sciences and Humanities. Their English was good, no doubt about that, but what made them stand out was their seamless cooperation, sensible jokes and lovely charisma. Had I been the MC, I don't think I would have been able to pull off such a good performance, although my English was better than them.
Just so you know, I got invited to the stage to answer some questions regarding the topic and present my own ideas (The gift of present). It seemed the staff was impressed with my presentation so the club leader, an old woman, offered me one of their staff positions. She gave a very persuasive talk, mentioning I would be immersed in a teamwork-oriented environment, and guaranteed to get a better CV, among other perks. Hmm, at the moment of writing this, I'm still considering her offer. Clearly, being an ordinary member is more fun and brings more freedom than a staff. What do you think, should I accept her offer or not?
For some of you who don't know, I am forced (yes forced) to join this IELTS Speaking Club every Saturday morning. Why forced, you ask? Well, it's another story which I prefer not to talk about at this moment but you get the picture.
Anyway, what I like about this club is its academic focus and good organization. When we go to, let's say, the English Club in Youth Cultural House, the discussion often revolves around personal matters: our jobs, our families, our dreams, our plans...things like that. The YCH club does give some hands-out with a topic, but nobody seems interested and just goes on with their ''getting-to-know-each-other''. The reason, I suppose, must be there's no one to guide them through the papers. In IELTS club, the getting-to-know part only takes a few minutes and then we change into group and public discussion. The environment is also less noisy, which is a huge plus. In YCH, it's like The Voice Vietnam (lol) where everybody tries to shout the hardest so other people can hear what they're saying, pretty bizarre environment for speaking.
Our topic this morning was Cheating, a pretty standard choice for IELTS practice. I must say I had a good time discussing this seemingly-mundane issue. We also digressed a little and discussed Vietnamese education system as well as VN decision to limit the opening of some majors (banking, business, finance...) due to imbalanced supply and demand. I myself received plenty of criticisms from other members when I said that business requires more skills than knowledge, judging from the fact that some businessmen are extremely successful despite having next to no education.
About the members there, I was particularly interested in a girl in my group. She had a good accent, and a pretty broad vocabulary for a Grade 11 high school student. There was also a girl with a distinctive British accent. I swear I had met her somewhere, probably in Challenge E or some English oratory contests. But grabbing my most attention was an oversea student from Australia. His name was Huy, if I remember correctly, and I love his accent (among other things). He was Mr. Bao's (the club organizer) younger brother , and I think his ability exceeds Mr.Bao's (not that Mr. Bao is any special to begin with).
Tomorrow, I'm going to the Labour Cultural Palace to join the English Club there for the first time. Looking forward to writing a review on it. For now, I'm going to sleep, bye bye :P.
Yeah, yeah, another blog, I know. At this time, most of you must be wondering how many blogs I have created so far, and how many I have abandoned. Technically, it's 5 or 6, and yes it's my fault for not constantly updating them. But to be fair, the Translation Blog got cancelled because I realized it's a super-time-consuming blog with no tangible profits. I mean, instead of diligently translating articles for the sake of pure knowledge, I could do that exact same job while getting paid. Sometimes (or should I say ''always''), financial motivation does have profound influence on everything you do, especially in a messed-up economy like this...
I also had a blog (a diary, to be precise) on Livejournal. At first, I got very excited because having a private, password-protected diary, I was free to talk about any subjects, some of which were too sensitive to write elsewhere. But gradually it became boring as I had no audience or any human interaction whatsoever. I feel like I was just talking to myself like an autistic child, so I decided to close the blog.
So how's about THIS blog? Well, it's a fresh start but this time, I have a pretty good grasp of its focus and content. It would still be the training ground for my dreadful English writing skill, apparently, with most of the entries about my daily life and the people/event I encounter. I will also occasionally write some book reviews, as I've just got a Kindle and now are addicted to books again (thankfully). But don't expect much, as my laziness tends to get in the way lol.
That's it, the first entry of my new blog. Hope you enjoy it.
