Leisure activities? Reading
Mood:  bright
I start reading novels and books since I was young. This habit was influenced from my siblings and my farther. If I’m not wrong… when I was 10 years old, grandparent black and white TV was spoil due to the lighting strike and send for repair for a couples of days. Since no TV to watch everyone in the family start to read again and did other leisure activities such as play chess and etc.

I choose to read, because I’m the youngest in the family and all my siblings were busy with their activities. Dare not disturbed their activities. So I borrow a book from the school library and start to read. Since then never stop reading.

When I was in the primary school, I was addicted to Chinese wuxia xiaoshuo (Chinese swordsman). Some of my favorite Chinese authors were Gu Long and Jin Yong.

When I was in the secondary school, start to excel to other books such as science fiction and detective. From these reading, have a great impact on my life. Imagine a kampong boy, don’t know how the world works and the only leisure activities were go to movies once a while. The only asset and the biggest asset is through reading gain more knowledge, build up creative thinking and philosophy of life.

Entertainment or Torture?
I guess everyone have the same feeling like this, imagine you paying about 8 or less dollars (depend which day of the week) to watch a horror movie. Is this entertainment or torture for you?

Most of the ladies like to watch horror movies, and I still don’t know why. Maybe ladies are the contradicting creature that why this kinds of movies suite them.

For me, horror movies are full of negative forces. Such as fears, sabotages, jealous, greed, revenges, angers, and etc. All these kinds of negative forces influence our day-to-day activities for the long run. For some religions believe that watching horror movies is a form of communication to the evils forces.

In our life already full of negative news and negative thinking… especially media… everyday in the newspaper, TV, radios and etc… keep telling us that our society having so much problems and so little solutions… these included…. rob, fight, war, rape, arson, jobless, disease, natural disaster and the list go on… So why pay money to get torture us?

Watching movies is a form of entertainment and horror movies does not suit these propose (some may argue get yourself scare is a form of entertainment also… HALLO… not many people have the SM tendency ok!)

When the East meet the West
Teenagers losing their own cultures and families values are the new phenomenon. For examples… their view on sex, family values, values of money and heavy metal music, rap song that promote violence’s and etc…

All the above mentions are influences from the Western or America cultures. Teenagers’ spending money without control… buying expensive hand phone, branded attire, spending hundred dollars on their hand phone bills (all these are hard earn money from the parents), straying around at the streets or shopping center after schools and not respect the elder’s and the lists will go on and on…

After WWII, Asians or we are slowly accepting the influences of the Western or America culture. We benefits from these move, our living standard are improving. More and more people have education and enjoy economics growth and most of the basic needs are able to fulfill but not so luxuries.

Family values are taught by the parents and the children were more obedience and accept the traditional culture at the same time observe the changes or influences by the Western or America culture. Women are having the equal right as men. (Women movement claims that).

This is the first generation that benefits from the changes and the second generations were growing up in these environments.

When the second generation came to join the work forces and form their own families. Some of the traditional values are still able to maintain and the third generation are growing up in these era trend to losing their traditional values more and more. This is because live changes Western or America culture eroding the traditional culture. Some even think the traditional cultures are out dated and never pass down to the next generation. In the third generation, some of them don’t even know how to speak their mother tongue and learn their own language.

Because of Western or America cultures… Teenagers are more rebellious; basically they are misunderstanding the meaning of freedom of the Western or America cultures.

Parents are struggling to bring food back to home and the kids are spending like no body business, disobey the parent guidance’s. Family values are not been taught or pass down from the parent this make the situation worst.

Some of the parent’s think that the school taught this. (Sorry to said that our education system only teaching the children basic education… like sciences, mathematic and general knowledge but family values… I personally think that ministry of education will think that no value added or benefits to the current education system or our economic, the ministry still think that family values should let the parents to lead and guild). [I maybe wrong on this issue]

In the parent’s minds, feel guilty when not enough time to spend with their children and their own childhood were not so luxuries, so they are giving what they can afford to fulfill or compensate their children.

Are we really benefits to accept the Western or America culture or losing more then what we expects?

Getting old?
We're getting old, right? You guys still talk about Doraemon whereas kids today talk about Pokemon. We are from the Doraemon generation and they are from the Pokemon generation.

Let's see. The majority of students in universities today were born in 1983.... They are called "youth". For them, They have never heard of "We are the World, we are the Children..." And the "Uptown Girl" they know is by Westlife not Billy Joel.

For them, there have always been only one Germany and only one Vietnam. AIDS exists since they were born. CD exists since they were born. Michael Jackson is already whitened.

John Travolta is always round in shape and they can't imagine how this fat guy could be a god of dance. They believe that Charlie's Angels and Mission Impossible are just new films out last year.

They can never imagine a black and white screen for a computer. They never know Pac-Man. They can't believe a black and white television ever existed and they don't even know how to switch on a TV without a remote control. And they never understand how we could go out without a mobile phone when we were in university...

Let's check if we're getting old...

1. You understand what was written above and you smile.

2. You need to sleep more, until afternoon, after a night out.

3. Your friends are getting married.

4. You are always surprised to see small children playing comfortably with computer.

5. When you see teenagers with mobile phones, you shake your head.

6. You developed more and more feelings about your work. It's now your life.

7. You spend less and less time talking on phone with your friends daily.

8. You meet your friends from time to time, talking about the good old days, repeating again and again all funny stories your experienced together.

9. Having read this, you are thinking of sharing it to some other friends. You think they will like it too.....

Ha..ha...ha....Yes, I'm getting old too.

The above article or email are sharing from my friend.

Things happen when the year I born :

In 1969 (the year you were born)

Richard Nixon becomes president of the US Senator Edward Kennedy escapes injury when the car he is driving veers off a narrow bridge on Chappaquiddick Island US astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to set foot on the moon while commanding the Apollo 11 mission Breathtaking pictures of Mars are transmitted to earth from NASA's Mariner 7 as it passes within 2,200 miles of the Red Planet Woodstock music festival begins in upstate NY, featuring performances by Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, and many more artists 250,000 Vietnam War protestors gather in Washington for the largest anti-war rally in US history The first draft lottery since WWII is held in New York City The Beatles' performance in public for the last time, on the roof of Apple Records The Stonewall riots mark the start of the modern gay rights movement in the US Marilyn Manson, Jennifer Aniston, Ren�e Zellweger, Edward Norton, Christian Slater, and Linus Torvalds are born New York Mets win the World Series New York Jets win Superbowl III Montreal Canadiens win the Stanley Cup Sesame Street premieres Midnight Cowboy wins the Oscar for best picture David Bowie's debut single, "Space Oddity", becomes a huge hit - in part to the US landing on the moon Sharon Tate & the LaBiancas are found murdered by Charles Manson & "family"