216. The Dark Knight Rises

You bet he does. Nolan's third finally named. Avatar sequels officially announced. What a great day.

215. Fragile Dreams

光

214. The State of Affairs (Part II)

The game is rigged...but you cannot lose if you do not play...

That was lifted off my fav TV series ever, the incomparable The Wire.

Those writers there sure knew the truth. What they set out to do was create an epic Greek tragedy set in modern times...of how men, heroes and villains alike, were doomed to fail against the Gods...only in this case, instead of Zeus and Aphrodite, we have bureaucracy and corruption as stand-ins.

No one can beat the system it seems. Whether you're a cop fighting against the chain of command, or a low-level drug dealer being played as a pawn. Whether it's the streets of Baltimore or Yorkshire, from Tokyo to Dubai...and even back home in KL.

Everything's tied to the system. It's the banality of evil really. Men out to make a buck, and protect their interests, whatever the costs. Institutions that matter fail...the police, the schools...public health and welfare...all are just collateral damage in the game that politicians and big businesses play. And that's the damning truth.

We are all surrounded by the rot and decay, yet we are blinded and distracted from it all by the mass media and entertainment. It's been the story of mankind, from the times of ancient Rome, right up to now. We've only become more savvy in playing the game, with new shiny toys like twitter and facebook to replace the days of mass flyers and posters. From radio to tv to the internet, the game's evolved. But the players haven't. They're still the same.

Those faceless men we never see but sometimes read about. The king-makers and deal-makers. The wheelers and spinners. Ever trading, ever moving, ever breaking, ever dealing. There's always money to made and power to be gotten.

So 100-storey towers are built whilst the people are in need of a decent education. Instead of progressing as a society, we're doing the complete opposite, becoming ever more tribal and compartmentalised.

And it's only what we deserve really. We're getting what we paid for. We're a people that have to do more with less. Thus we need all the bells and whistles to mask our inadequacies. The tallest this, the biggest that, the first this, and so on.

This is not a sermon, not a rant, but just a statement on the present state of affairs.

Stuff matters

Here are a few anecdotes or quotes found in Stuff Matters by Harry Bingham, which i found rather strangely fulfilling.

Risk
Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant dangers, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.

- Advertisement placed by Ernest Shackleton in 1914

Invention
Hell, there are no rules here - we're trying to accomplish something.

- Thomas Edison

Will
If you start to take Vienna - take Vienna.

-Napoleon Bonaparte

213. Bieber Must Die

I want me one.