It's a fake fake world

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Some people just cannot cease to amaze. Well, maybe flabbergast is the accurate description.

The existence of fake branded goods and counterfeit DVD do not bother me. Sorry for the original producers whose profit is reduced but the harm is somehow restrained. Hence I do not make waves about it. When it comes to food; something that is essential to our health and life, we cannot turn a blind eye to any deception of it.


Just when the episode of poison baby milk is slowly fading from our mind, recently Chinese authorities have blasted workshops that produce fake tofu and fake eggs. These are economical food. How is it possible to counterfeit them using material of even lower cost? And Why? How much can one gain from selling inexpensive items like these? Is the small profit worth the risk of being caught? Can one live with the guilt of doing deliberate harm to people?


Today I heard of the manufacturing of fake mutton. My god ! What’s next? Fake air? 


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It's a cold cold winter

It is normal to have dropping temperatures and snow in winter but it is a bit too much and too long this year. Let’s not talk about the chaos in various chaos and flights cancellation in Northern European cities (like London, Ireland, Berlin) because I am not travelling there. I’ve learned my lessons well many years back, never to travel in the month of December.
So, where is the cold?  Inside my apartment. The wooden windows are so old, they are inefficient in blocking the freezing air from slipping in. No matter how hard the home heater works, it is still unable to heat up the apartment to a comfortable thermal condition.

Just change the windows lah!

Well, it is not so simple. Firstly and obviously there is a cost involve. There are 10 windows in total, out of which 3 are floor-to-ceiling type. To replace all of them with modern, good quality casement and double glass panels would cost more than a second hand car. That is not an option at this moment.

Furthermore, minimalist clean designed windows just do not look right in this house, which is strongly characterized in 1930s design.

No solution. One of the things in life to KIV (Keep In View). Meanwhile it is gloves and winter jacket at home !

Christmas Greetings

Can I call for a petition?  Please do not send me any Christmas greetings by SMS.  Ever since mobile phone has become a must-have for everyone, it is flooded with electronic greetings on every festive occasions. Before naming me old school, let me tell you why I don’t like to receive SMS greetings.

First of all, that cute, funny, ingenious, intelligent note is most probably not written by you. You must have got it from someone else, found it interesting and then forwarded it to me. Come on, I am sure I am right on that.

Secondly, if it is so cute, funny, ingenious and intelligent, probably I have already received it earlier from someone else. In fact, I might have got the same quote last year too. Even favorite food can get stale, you know.


Thirdly, every time an SMS is sent, the telecom company makes a small profit. They are already super rich with declared profits in billions of dollars. They do not need us to make them even richer. 

So, you think of me this Christmas? Then you must have missed my voice. I will be waiting for your call.

Merry Christmas.

Ridiculed by the birds

I know nothing about birds and their names. (well, apart from Crows, pigeon and sparrow). I cannot even tell the difference between an eagle and a hawk. Sign. Typical of city dwellers.



But this morning, I was presented with a beautiful spectacle. Maybe it was the warm sunshine after 24 hours of snow. All birds were invited to play. They perched on the tree situated right outside of my window, chipping and pecking the branch. How rare looking they were. The tiny one had a khaki coat of feather with a orange feather tip at the crown. That yellow one wore a black stripe all over its body. The biggest one has to be the black bird with white belly, preening itself with its big red beak. It was ten times bigger than the others and loved hanging out on the taller tree.


Why didn’t I notice them before? Such beauty! I got to take a photo of them. They seemed jealous of their looks, reluctant to share with anyone. The instant I pointed my camera on them, they flew off immediately. Someone said that if you want to take a good photo, patience is an absolute prerequisite. Why can’t they suggest something else instead? Anyway I remained motionless, holding my camera tightly . I did not even breathe! See how professional I am! Still, there was not a single bird in sight.


The moment I put my camera down and throw myself into the comfortable couch, the birds whooshed right back to their previous position to make a little victory dance. Bravo, you just keep mocking on me. Relentlessly I reached for my camera again. Come on, just stay still for one photo, then you can do whatever you wish. “not so easy” they seemed to say, as they flutter away.


So these are the best shots that I got. Obviously, my career as a photographer is out of the question.  

 

Politicians

Today is a tumultuous day. Members of the upper house of parliament battle amid thousands of students protesting chaotically in major cities. Voting and voting again. Maybe it is the only nation in the world that conduct voting campaign least a couple of times every year. And maybe it is also the only nation where politicians appear in tv talk shows on a weekly basis. (Some on a nearly daily basis). Do they have time to work?


Politics is so complicated for layman like me. It is more web-like than an episode of “Dynasty”. We live in a complicated world, where politicians are actors and actors are politicians.

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How about a change?

Watching movies is one of my favorite pass time. I am little selective in terms of genre except for horror. However something strange happens to me. Recently I notice that I cannot handle fast pace actions , heart broken tear jerkers, time racing adventures and suspenseful thrillers. They give me rapid heart palpitations and eventually cause me loss of breadth. What happened? Don’t ask me. I want to know too.




I also notice that the news in the papers fail to interest me. Accounts of injustice are so disturbing. Tragedies are stressful. Negativity is saturating every space in the air. Can we please have something cheerful and nice for a change? Please? I do not want to end up like most people I meet in the streets.


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