Get Educated!

Whether or not all that economic reportage seems like it has little meaning beyond ‘the sky is falling’, or whether or not you’ve concluded that the bulk of our economic problems are down to time-proven plain-simple greed and a consumerist lifestyle, or whether or not you’re thinking, ‘All this economic-crisis stuff isn’t going to be fixed by me so why should I bother?’. or even if you are convinced of the coming of the apocalypse and have started contingency planning for life in a self-sustainable community, you owe it to yourself to get educated, and at least try to understand the very real forces that shape your life. I guarantee that even if the knowledge seems only marginally useful now, it’ll be relevant eventually; there are realities to be reckoned with, and you should at least be able to decide for yourself.

I think Grignon’s video is a well-presented and clear introduction to the fundamental concept of money, and in particular how the central banking system works as a source of credit; the quotes and the animated images do point to what he sees as likely or natural implications, and the viewer ought to decide whether or not he accepts those implications, but only after considering the question of how the system works. There are or there will be many other questions to consider, but the basic questions need to be answered first. And nowadays the ‘basics’ have expanded beyond supply & demand and the functioning of a capitalist market economy.

Prelims were over and done with on Friday. I hadn’t exactly taxed myself over the last stretch and the last few papers (I suppose that will show in the results), so it’s not as though I’d been buckling under the strain or anything like that. The feeling’s more like, ‘What next?’ (Although I’ve also been told that ‘no one’s really happy’ now that prelims are over.) Results are pending, there’s work to be done and there are plans to be made. I’m sure this list will help 

I’ve been using my black notebook for about two months now. I actually know the exact date (15 July) I started with this one, because I tried to use headers and dates and stuff at first. The first two pages are testament to my good intentions: I left them blank in case I wanted to do an index. But now, after two months, my notebook is starting to resemble my old blue one. I suppose a return to my old notebook-using habits means I’ve been using it for work, so that’s not entirely bad. But then again, maybe the mess isn’t so bad. 

I managed to squeeze two runs in between time spent sleeping and reading over the past few days. I suppose I should start intensifying my Diploma-directed efforts.

After hearing about the suspension of trading in the Russian stock market (news), I was reminded of a situation in a Tom Clancy novel.

I like this word ‘deleveraging‘.

I recently added a few links to my sidebar, including one to this blog I’ve been following for the past few months. One of the recent posts pretty much sums up my pessimism. I quote: ‘This is goddam serious!’ 

Enough so that studying for prelims and going to Starbucks and listening to music seem just a little bit trivial sometimes.

And if you have 47 minutes to spare, the video I posted some time ago pretty much provides enough of a clear, jargon- and spin-free explanation. 

Music paper was quite bleah.

After church, I bounced to Valley Point, where I took a long, slow listen of…. Dido and Aeneas. The libretto might be more annoying than Turandot’s. Then I bounced to the National Library to find music stuff, which couldn’t be found, so I bounced to Esplanade library. I sat reading for something like 90 minutes, then I borrowed the book and went home, where I found:

Nothing like getting kill-targeted on Legions of Tercia to bring up those adrenaline levels after a long day of sitting around. 

Music tomorrow!

The latest update to Windows has somehow restored my sound again. This is good, because it means I can play music again without my iPod. I suppose I’ll have to wait and see if my Office gets fixed soon. Thankfully IAs have (finally) been consigned to my short history so in the meantime I can make do with stuff like Buzzword. But see if my being accustomed to Windows matters as much the next time I buy. 

Something more positive: I actually fulfilled my intention to go run today and it did me a world of good. It feels almost as though the effect of weeks and weeks of erratic sleep patterns, junk food, double espressos, lack of physical activity and overall lack of sun might actually be quickly reversible.

Prelim weeks are just prelim weeks. The most stressful time this week was probably the night before English paper 2, which I spent doing MI (again). I think the paper went well despite the lack of sleep, but I’ll have to see the results. 

I’ve had Santana songs in my head a lot this week. During papers too, but I don’t suppose it’s a performance inhibitor.

Through An Open Window

The view from my window is something I’ve become more and more grateful for as I’ve grown older. I stay in the upper half of a point block (i.e. about four units per level, rather than units along a long corridor), and, even better, there aren’t a lot of other high-rises around me. The result? Unobstructed altitude. Hence, the view; but it has another consequence.

It’s when I’m up in the wee hours and when the windows are open that I start to hear the sounds from far out and far below. Sometimes, it’s screeching brakes from the car park, or a motorcycle at (what sounds like) full throttle speeding over that exposed stretch of bridge: 

 (Sorry for the phone camera-quality. Viewing it slightly under full size may help.)

That bit of road under the bridge is actually part of the central expressway. Engine sounds really carry through the night air, especially since there’s no obstruction. (The photo was shot from the window, so you can see for yourself.) You’d be surprised at the number of people awake enough to speed at 3 a.m. Although I suppose the near-empty roads might be a draw in themselves. 

The train track actually runs parallel to the stretch of expressway in the picture, but it’s not lit up. Sometimes I get to hear a train come in (or go out; I’m not sure which). By the way, it’s not an MRT train, although that’s probably the only kind of train most of us would be familiar with; that’s the train that goes to Johor and beyond. 

There’s also the port sounds. The big squarish buildings in the background are warehouses, and behind them you can see the cranes and the lights from the port. Ships have the excuse of loading/unloading schedules for being active at unusual hours. When I’m lucky, I get to hear when a ship leaves (or arrives; again I can’t be sure). I love the huge, resonant note of a ship’s air horn. It really fills up the space without being loud or intrusive. 

Then there’s the sounds I only hear on occasion around Christmas and New Year’s Day. There’s the fireworks in the direction of Vivo/Sentosa on New Year’s. There’s also the sound of bells from the church. (It’s that white shape almost at the center of the photo. You can vaguely make out the spires.) I wonder what all that will be like this year. 

It’s raining really heavily now and the sky is solid orange. I think the color comes from all the massive lights at the port. And about the picture, I’ll get a better photograph when I can.

Music Heals The Soul

The songs on the list had most of my attention throughout the length they were played. I started with the beat of ‘The Sporting Life’, before getting lost in the narrative of ‘The Bagman’s Gambit’. Like the escapist. 

 

Music Heals The Soul #1

“Anodyne” is one of those words I kind of know and could probably use properly, but I went to look it up today. Musical escape may not be a cure, but maybe the effect will be enough. Also, ’Heals The Soul’ may sound extravagant, but stuff like Holst and ‘Daphnis et Chloe’ made me aspire again.

The above best paired with:

I don’t know if the pattern was intentional or not, but certainly I was thinking, ‘Good service.’