Sunday, September 27, 2009

On why one should never own a parrot:

"Boredom can lead to madness in parrots. When caged by themselves and neglected for long periods of time, these intelligent, sociable birds can easily become mentally ill. Many inflict wounds upon themselves, develop strange tics, and rip out their own feathers. The birds need constant interaction, affection, and mental stimulation; some bird authorities have determined that some parrot breeds have the mental abilities of a 5-year-old human child. Should a neglected parrot go mad, there is little that can be done to restore it to normalcy. In England, there are "mental institutions" for such unfortunate creatures."

So why would anyone want that on their conscience? And for that matter, why would anyone cage a bird in teh first place? They have wings so they can fly far, far away, not to be trapped in a tiny cage learning to say "So-and-so wants a cracker" for our own entertainment!!!

Efffffttt

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

On Lego...

Ok, I admit it... when I see some Lego pieces lying around, I can't help but rush over to put them together. That is why, I LOVE this idea: Lego Ice-cube trays. Don't the ice cubes look magnificent? Think of all the fun you can have by trying to come up with a creative sculpture before you run out of time and it melts. Amaaaaazing!




There are also other interesting and entertaining lego-shaped products such as MP3's, USB keys and so on. You can look at the full list here.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Misc.

I Miss You
By: Blink 182

Hello there, the angel from my nightmare
The shadow in the background of the morgue
The unsuspecting victim of darkness in the valley
We can live like Jack and Sally if we want
Where you can always find me
We'll have Halloween on Christmas
And in the night we'll wish this never ends
We'll wish this never ends

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (I miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (I miss you miss you)

Where are you and I'm so sorry
I cannot sleep I cannot dream tonight
I need somebody and always
This sick strange darkness
Comes creeping on so haunting every time
And as I stared I counted
Webs from all the spiders
Catching things and eating their insides
Like indecision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight
Stop this pain tonight

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (miss you miss you)

Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (I miss you miss you)
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (I miss you miss you)

Friday, September 11, 2009

On Human Behaviour

Today I found myself asking the following question:

"Why are we, as humans, so scared to show emotions, get close to someone, fall in love, move on with life and so on?"

We go through our whole lives meeting people, trying to find our soul mate(s), trying to spend as much time in the company of other, but when we meet that one person that causes butterflies to errupt in our stomach, the one person that can bring a blush to our cheeks, the only person that our hearts beat insanely fast for, we take a step back and stop. We halt the process, start to look for loopholes, excuses of why it can never work or why it will eventually fail. Why are we so bent on keeping our emotions in check that we usually end up missing out on a wonderful, wholesome experience.

So what if it fails, so what if it doesn't go according to our plans? Why is it so hard to just lay our hearts out and wear them on our sleeves? A reason could be that at a young age, we learn that disappointments hurt. They sometimes hurt you so bad and scar you so deep that you think you will never be able to recover. However, we do recover. Life goes on, the wheels keep turning and we go on breathing and go onto fighting a different battle. At a young age, we learn that the world could not care less for our grieve and it will never stop moving just to give us time to heal. It pushes us forwards, it takes us along on a ride that is both so exciting and so terrifying that we never know whether we should just get off or not. Life is tricky like that. Sometimes, you lose a friend only to find another, sometimes you lose a loved one only to realize the importance of telling them exactly how you feel towards them, sometimes, you lose everyone and everything, but find yourself in the process. Healing takes time, but it makes us who we are. Our experiences, both good and bad, happy and sad (now I'm rhyming) are what makes us unique, special and just makes us... us.

We are also so worried about being judged and misjudged that sometimes it feels as though we are living a role. Shakespeare wasn't wrong when he said
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts"
One of my high school friends used to always tell me, life is a bitch. He was right. We put all our efforts into finding that one thing that will make it all bearable that we forget about the details. We never stop to smell the flowers and enjoy the sunshine. We always take everything for granted and only realize that things were good when we no longer have them.

We should break this cycle, we should tell the people that we care about how we feel. We should take a chance on that stranger next to us, we should give each other a chance and just be grateful that we are here, willing and able to do just that. None of us know how much longer we have on this Earth, so we should make the best of it.

A friend used to say "Live fast, die young". That was exactly what he did. He lived fast, and then... he died... young. However, looking back, he lived a full life. He made plans, he accomplished his dreams, he fixed up his life, he touched the lives of many people around him and then, just like that, he was gone. Point is, he did it, all of it.

I'm trying to learn this lesson. I know it by heart now, however, I still find it hard to play by its rules. I'm going to try and take greater leaps of faith, trust people, stop being emotionally distant and suppressive. I am going to try and revel in the here and now, and let the future worry about itself. Whatever happens, I know future me will be able to handle it. Whatever happened, I know past me already handled it. I will start spreading the I Love Yous and I Miss Yous wherever and whenever they apply. I will stop analyzing everything and just act on instinct. I will try harder and I will make it.

It is true that my emotional roller coaster rarely ever gives me time off. My mood swings shift so rapidly and quickly that even I get a whip lash from them, and the way my mind works sometimes freaks the shit out of me. But, I will TRY to be the happier and stronger person I know I could be one day. I mean, the least I could do is attempt to practice what I preach.

I'll let you know how it works out.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Something to consider

I've been having a recurring thought this past week. That thought revolves around our belief in unconditional love. Does that really exist?

Some might argue that it does exist, take a child, healthy or sick, and its mother will care for it regardless. Others might say, take adopted children, their foster families took them in and provide for them plenty of love on a daily basis. Parents love their kids, kids love their parents, friends love each other, siblings love each other. However, there is always a catch. Love does not come with no strings attached.

Personally, I don't think there is such a thing as unconditional love. There is love/hate depending on the circumstances, there is prejudiced love, jealous love, old love, new love and just plain lust. Whatever form it takes, love can be anything and everything but unconditional it is not.

We love someone as long as they adhere to our norms and beliefs, if someone is different, alarm bells go off and we stand there judging. Another factor in this problem just revealed itself, the relationship between love and acceptance. An example: One of my good friends in uni was gay. However, he was in the closet because he feared what the outcome will be if his parents found out. People from the west might not see this as a major problem, but to him, an Arab guy, it was. Unconditional love would state that his parents will accept him no matter what he chooses to love or do- no pun intended. However, they wouldn't or the couldn't or they chose juts not to.

Why are humans so arrogant to think that they have any right to judge others or to think themselves better than others? We all go through life in a relatively similar pattern. Yes, some have it easier than others, but we all have to work to get or keep what we already have. We have all love and lost, we have all laughed and grieved, and we all had to face reality at one point in life.

Unconditional love means just that, loving someone other than yourself no matter what they do/say/feel/think/believe/look like. In order to love unconditionally, you have to let go, what is yours will always come back. You can not have walls built and expect someone to stay within them, as a prisoner confirming to your values. One should demolish those walls and instead, build a bridge that is easily accessible. Without that bridge, love will never be given unconditionally, nor received that way.

We humans are always looking for love and acceptance, and we know how it feels to be an outcast, yet given the chance we inflict those same standards and laws on others and expect them to adhere to them. What sad creatures we are, and what a long way we have to travel before we can honestly say that what connects us all isn't the fact that we are all humans, but more importantly it is our humanity, empathy, compassion and understanding. When that happens we will finally be able to connect freely with one another, we will be able to live in relative peace and harmony and hatred will hopefully be an emotion long forgotten. We will no longer judge differences but embrace the diversity they bring, we will not flee from that which we might to agree with, but accept that it is what it is, and that we should live and let live.

I'm tired of all the thinking that went into this so I will end it here for now.

Baaaaaaaaaaa.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Oh no...

Mr. Yellow is living in my building.

Ok, confession: it is not him exactly, its his clone.

Wonderful.