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On Animals And Exams
and the need for rescue
Written by Maxaevi
Ever heard of Geekification? It's the process of taking whatever topic that is underway, and with nifty skill, convert it somehow into something geeky. Like photography.
Take the following conversation, for example:
E: Hey, seen the adorable penguins at the zoo yet?
A: Yea! So cute!
E: Ya!
A: Just like that otter video!
E: Oh yes I saw that one too!
A: Cute right?
E: Ya!
JS: I like the videography.
E: Yes, there's that too.
A: Ya.
JS: Yea, and the thing about animal photography is that you only need a DSLR, a wide aperture prime and a lot of patience! It's just like studio photography, you know? Oh, I missed out something, some off-camera flashes would be good. I heard the new Elinchrome strobes just came out.
And with that the conversation continues to photography in this process known as Geekification. It's a very powerful skill and thankfully I'm a master at it. It's a skill I learnt from my deprived childhood. Whenever someone talks about something I'm mildly interested in, geekification occurs. Topics like soccer (which I don't follow), homework (which I can't stand), relationships between boys and girls (which I don't understand), dumb action movies (which I dislike) and Chee Howe's slack army life (which makes me murderous). Geekification is my saviour.
But on the topic of animals, I can't do that. Animals, me likes too.
Ooh kitty.The other day, I hiked around the City Hall area taking street photos on just about anything. It was a very hot day, but the light was good so I just went around the place shooting away. But, you know how heat is like in Singapore, it keeps people off the streets. So much for good lighting.
So I just walked around the place blindly with my Nikon, trying to act cool and attract members of the opposite sex with my uber-geekiness.
Thank goodness I encountered these cats. I think they were strays, but I can never tell. How do you differentiate a domesticated cat from a stray anyway? They just sleep all over the place until someone shows them attention, of which their response is to approach you and rub fleas and disease all over your jeans.
Anyway, I got carried away shooting these cats and their presence saved the day, otherwise I'd have to head home empty handed.
Mister, I need royalties for that photo.
So I just walked around the place blindly with my Nikon, trying to act cool and attract members of the opposite sex with my uber-geekiness.
Thank goodness I encountered these cats. I think they were strays, but I can never tell. How do you differentiate a domesticated cat from a stray anyway? They just sleep all over the place until someone shows them attention, of which their response is to approach you and rub fleas and disease all over your jeans.
Anyway, I got carried away shooting these cats and their presence saved the day, otherwise I'd have to head home empty handed.
Mister, I need royalties for that photo.And if you hadn't realized, cats are animals. Like otters and penguins, so woohoo I'm on the same page as the previous two posts.
I love animals. Not because they are cute; not because the chicks dig them; but because my love for them stems from a very humane problem the world faces today. At risk of turning this post into a PETA announcement, humans may be the paragon of animals but we're also their greatest threat.
In UK alone, more than 2 million animals have undergone lab experimentation, and more than 50% of it is due to "curiosity-driven research". Curiosity didn't kill the cat. It killed everything else. White lab mice, rabbits, chimpanzees, even dogs. The world complains about how many people are born into poverty. What about being born into captivity and torture?
Every where else in the world, there are factories set-up to industrialize killing. Poultry farms for example. Ever watched the movie "Chicken Run"? Conveyor belts that hold animals down and transport them to a mincemeat grinder or something disgusts me.
It's a sad, sad fate for animals. Remember Quentin's SPCA video? There is a very powerful message somewhere in there.
But, I'm not asking people to become vegetarian or something, but at least treat them with a little bit more respect befitting of a person.
Mister, what kind of pain are you giving me today?
By now, you would have realized that studying for examinations can be torturous too.
I remember when I was still a student in Meridian JC before the A-levels, I spent all my time at home, notes in hand and coffee in the other, brainlessly mugging away. I had to memorize useless physics definitions and slog my heart out practicing the use of the R-formulae and statistics, which should come in handy when I do journalism next time. There were notes strewn all over my room and the Health and Safety Department had to come over and place a 'Flammable' sign on my door. The amount of caffeine I bibulated could kill the population of a small African country, and my physical body devolved due to the lack of exercise.
I think that period was the shittiest part of my life. Tied in extent to the other time before the O-levels. I believe it is possible to die from too much studying.
I know Ms Ann and PPC reads this, so to them I say, pity the animals but pity the students too! We poor things need rescuing too!
And so ends this tribute to animals and students all over the world.
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Meet Milo, Friend of JS.
He tells me he can't wait to see those peeps coming over to my place next Sunday.
In UK alone, more than 2 million animals have undergone lab experimentation, and more than 50% of it is due to "curiosity-driven research". Curiosity didn't kill the cat. It killed everything else. White lab mice, rabbits, chimpanzees, even dogs. The world complains about how many people are born into poverty. What about being born into captivity and torture?
Every where else in the world, there are factories set-up to industrialize killing. Poultry farms for example. Ever watched the movie "Chicken Run"? Conveyor belts that hold animals down and transport them to a mincemeat grinder or something disgusts me.
It's a sad, sad fate for animals. Remember Quentin's SPCA video? There is a very powerful message somewhere in there.
But, I'm not asking people to become vegetarian or something, but at least treat them with a little bit more respect befitting of a person.
Mister, what kind of pain are you giving me today?By now, you would have realized that studying for examinations can be torturous too.
I remember when I was still a student in Meridian JC before the A-levels, I spent all my time at home, notes in hand and coffee in the other, brainlessly mugging away. I had to memorize useless physics definitions and slog my heart out practicing the use of the R-formulae and statistics, which should come in handy when I do journalism next time. There were notes strewn all over my room and the Health and Safety Department had to come over and place a 'Flammable' sign on my door. The amount of caffeine I bibulated could kill the population of a small African country, and my physical body devolved due to the lack of exercise.
I think that period was the shittiest part of my life. Tied in extent to the other time before the O-levels. I believe it is possible to die from too much studying.
I know Ms Ann and PPC reads this, so to them I say, pity the animals but pity the students too! We poor things need rescuing too!
And so ends this tribute to animals and students all over the world.
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Meet Milo, Friend of JS.He tells me he can't wait to see those peeps coming over to my place next Sunday.
