Avatar

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                Having heard and saw the hype around this new movie entitled Avatar, I decided it was high time for me to watch it and at the same time, have a taste of 3D for the first time. The movie owes its grandeur to the fantasy world it presents despite the predictable plot. I can see how the movie appeals the audience. The creators of this movie put in a tremendous effort in showcasing every minute detail of this whole new world that they single-handedly created a whole new culture, complete with a whole new language and ecosystem.
                They practically produced the same effect Tolkien’s Middle Earth had on those who read his book and saw the movie adaptation of it even though neither side had the same creatures and all. In addition to that, Avatar exemplified escapism at its best; to be able to leave behind any weaknesses and tap into a whole new body and world, be a hero and find a sense of belonging. The only thing I was disappointed at was my inability to neither feel nor see the difference between 3D and a normal version of it. I blame it on my one sightedness.
                Certainly the ecology of Pandora was intriguing, with every single creature lighting up at a mere disturbance of a touch and the ability to physically link with nature herself. But what made held me the most was the anguish and despair of the Na’vis when the plants and trees regarded highly by them were destroyed. The first thing that crossed my mind was the Penans and the other tribes in Sarawak and their demise. In a way, Avatar was a remarkable piece of movie that retells the current fate of the Penans though in a more romanticized and dramatized manner.
                As much as I would like to say I’m a jungle boy at heart, I have not spent enough time with nature to proclaim myself so but I do know what it feels like to have the nature or home you call dear to be destroyed to development. Whenever I returned to my father’s hometown, the foot of the mountain was my playground with my cousins and uncles. The stream was my swimming pool, I was even told off by my mother for swimming in it in my pyjamas. As I grew older the stream’s condition worsened, as with the jungle around it. It was polluted with insecticide, and on my last visit, it wasn’t even a stream anymore; it could hardly hold 3 adults. In a way, I was sad, almost as if I’ve lost a dear friend; a friend who would put me at ease whenever I visited it. That’s a part of my childhood gone to be frank.
                Nature especially when untouched has never failed to soothe my heart and it always seem so mysterious to me in its own ways, be it the jungle, river, sea or even the sky. To my delight and surprise, Avatar presented the plants as keepers of memories and information, a perception which I have held for quite awhile. I would run my hands along the bark of a tree and ask “What have you seen during your lifetime?” almost as if hoping for an answer. On every occasion that I see a tree is fell, it crushes me to think all those memories that tree might have is being thrown away for humanity.
                And every time I see a hill being cleared in the name of development, it punctures a hole in my heart and every single time that emotion is invoked, I ask myself, “Is this a genuine feeling or is it superficial, fabricated to make yourself feel like a nature boy?”
                Having been away from Malaysia, I yearned to jump into a river again, to allow its water to flow against my body, to climb another mountain and look over the earth from its summit and to float with the waves of the sea. Avatar amplified those feelings by a factor of 100, maybe even more. Perhaps the scarcity of greenery here compared to the lush jungles in Malaysia was not befitting to my eye.
                Avatar also reminded me of the reason I chose not to stay in the US my entire life, which is, to fight for what is right and to help fix and alleviate my country from the plague that beleaguers her. As much as I hold negative thoughts on what my country contains, I could not bear to only watch and let her live with such atrocities and do nothing about it. I feel that it is my responsibility to contribute towards the betterment of my country.
                Such sentiments do sound plastic to some but this is how I really feel all this while. And yeah, Avatar was a pretty good movie.

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Rant of The Day

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                Being involved in an online debate is something I occasionally do though I have never really enjoyed it due to the never existing conclusion to any one of them. I’m also not a big fan of participating in any oral debate as it requires one to think on your feet and be quick about it, which allows room for mistakes and missed points. In any words mastering the debating skill is akin to mastering the guitar; instead of finger dexterity, muscle memory and musical sense, you will need to hone complex and powerful persuasion and convincing skills.
                Rarely do I come across people who would argue without including abusive words in their reasoning, which I find very annoying. Such a trait is very common in those with shallow and uneducated minds, whom I encounter almost frequently. Had it been a true oral debate, I am convinced that it will turn out into a brawl instead of a proper rational debate.
                I try my best to never retort with the same uncivilized manner, to always respect the point they put forth and to ignore the name-callings. This of course is a very tasking process as it fills my head with a question, “Should I even bother talking to people like these?” To me, the repeated offense undermines the opposition’s credibility and thus killing off the need to debate.
                Surely it is a fault on my part for imposing such perception towards individuals who employ such tactics but the fact that I am human too increases the inclination for me into becoming bored. Instead of receiving a sound rebuttal, I receive a hoard of abusive names. If it was a face to face conversation, I would do either:
1.       With a boring face, just walk away
2.       Retort sarcastically with a boring face and walk away
                So yeah, name-calling kills a debate and bores me to death. I should stop arguing with people that do that. End of rant.

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It Will All Work Out In The End

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Despite the fact I have an annoying void in me, here's an ode to the things that make me a happy boy.

  1. I got the job as a referee, just what I wanted! Booyah! 21$ per week!
  2. My overall balance is 1k, I was already saving 300$-400$ from the current allowance which was supposed to last me for two months but I overpaid my rent for 3 months! Then I unexpectedly receive a check worth $355.52 from JPA! And the next allowance is coming in this February! So it's like I have an extra one month worth of scholarship money, yay!
  3. I was listed in the Dean's List, never expected that when I first came here!
  4. Currently done with the first exam aaand Christmas is A WEEK AWAY! Dropping by Philly to celebrate Christmas with my aunt and everyone else there, then off to NYC with Muammar and Dassila for the New Year!
  5. Classes for this quarter have been going fine, ASL is one of my favorites, despite the difficulty. I think I learn so much from that class!
 Yeah, life's been working out very well for me. Thank God for that.

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Fool's Gold

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            I had to put this one up, a perfect example of the people I encounter in the blogosphere. This was a follow up comment on the blog I mentioned in the previous post. I have to say I’m proud of my Bahasa Melayu, guess 11 years of studying it didn’t go to waste.

pala otak hang said...
Yo Nico (yo! yo! kamu rappers yo!),

Kalau ye pun kau nak berbunyi liberal, jangan lah sampai jadi bangang. Hak peribadi? Privacy? Oi tongong, kau tau ke maksud "personal", "private" dan "privacy" tu atau itu hanya retorik kosong dan bodoh kau saja? Private bermaksud persendirian, bukan di khalayak ramai. Tapi si mangkuk ayun babi tonyok rasis tu terang-terangan menggunakan Facebook (iaitu satu media umum Internet yang dilawati BERJUTA pelawat setiap hari) untuk menyatakan pandangan perkaumannya. Dan perlakuan dia yang membenarkan komen kawan dia yang bodoh macam dia jugak, wajar dikutuk. Dia tak tau ke ada function "delete comment" di FB? Kenapa dia publish juga komen tu? Sbb itu dia harus dipertanggungjawabkan! Bodoh!

Api jangan dilawan api? Habis tu dengan apa? Dengan kertas? Kapas? Pantun, puisi dan dakwah? Kepala hotak kau. Sebab perangai mcm tu lah kepala kau dipijak, bangang! Teguran dan debat intelektual dengan makhluk bangang bahasa Melayu mcm depa tu tak ada gunanya, sebab ianya bukan berada pada "wavelength" yang sama! Tiada resonans! Tiada hasil! Mereka tak faham itu semua. Cakap melayu dan Inggeris pun tunggang-langgang, kau nak ajak berdiskusi pulak? The only ubat mujarab terhadap kekurang-ajaran makhluk2 laknat macam depa is pelempang kiri kanan! Pasal apalah kau ni bengap sangat.
This is my reply to him:
Kepada, pala otak hang,
1.       Terima kasih saya ucapkan kerana dengan pemerhatian anda yang begitu teliti dan tajam anda mengingatkan betapa rendahnya ilmu yang saya ada di dada.
2.       Anda juga berjaya membuat kesimpulan yang saya ini cuba "berbunyi liberal". Tidak pernah saya sangka saya seorang yang sebegitu.
3.       Ternyata anda ini seorang yang mempunyai ilmu yang begitu luas dan begitu banyak untuk meletakkan panggilan-panggilan sebegitu itu ke atas saya.
4.       Saya juga mendapati anda ini begitu hebat dan berani sehingga nama sebenar anda tidak perlu ditulis dan anda terus ke perkara yang ingin dikatakan.
5.       Saya juga harus puji bahasa yang anda gunakan untuk berhujah, sungguh indah.
6.       Ternyata anda sangat mahir dan tidak tunggang-langgang dalam penggunaan kosa kata Bahasa Melayu sehinggakan Bahasa Inggeris diselitkan dalam hujah anda
7.       Bahasa sememangnya jiwa bangsa. Ternyata anda ini sangat bangga dengan bangsa anda dan diri anda.
8.       Saya begitu kagum dengan diri anda.
9.       Saya ingin menyatakan bahawa saya bukanlah "makhluk-makhluk bangang Bahasa Melayu" seperti yang dituduh anda. Bahasa Melayu bukanlah bahasa ibunda saya.
Namun inilah hujah-hujah saya:
Pertama,
1.       Facebook bukannya sesuatu yang "umum", lingkungan pendedahan yang dilitupi Facebook hanyalah tertakluk kepada kawan-kawan seseorang dan rangkaian kawan-kawannya.
2.       Pendedahan maklumat juga boleh diubah suai mengikut kehendak pengguna, contohnya, Si pengguna boleh membenarkan kawannya sahaja untuk mencapai maklumat yang terdapat dalam akaun Facebooknya dan mereka yang tidak diiktiraf sebagai kawan tidak akan mendapat sebarang maklumat.
3.       Walau sebanyak mana pelawat Facebook, tidak semua akan mendapat maklumat yang sama.
4.       Ternyata penulis blog ini mendapat gambar ini dari sumber-sumber yang telah diiktiraf sebagai "kawan".
5.       Sedangkan warga-warga Barat yang dikatakan tidak bertamadun dan penuh dengan gejala sosial akan mengkaburkan atau menghitamkan nama dan gambar jika ingin diguna pakai maklumat yang didapati dari Facebook.
6.       Seperti contoh:
a.       http://myparentsjoinedfacebook.com/
7.       Sudah tentu mereka yang beragama Islam boleh melakukan perkara yang lebih elok dari mereka yang dikatakan mengamalkan budaya kuning.
Kedua,
1.       Apabila saya merujuk kepada kata-kata "Api jangan dilawan dengan api" saya bermaksud bahawa untuk melawan sesuatu yang buruk, tidak perlulah merendahkan taraf diri untuk melawan balik.
2.       Tunjukkan bahawa diri itu lebih elok dan lebih matang dalam mengendalikan hal-hal sebegini.
3.       Apakah perlu bersusah payah mencari najis untuk dilemparkan balik kepada mereka yang membaling najis kepada anda mahupun membazir tenaga dan memukul si pelempar itu?
4.       Ternyata pendapat anda menunjukkan bahawa anda juga mendalami ilmu agama anda dengan sedalam-dalamnya.
5.       Terima kasih kerana menunjukkan apa yang diajar agama anda kepada mereka yang tidak menganuti agama anda.
6.       Saya tidak hairan kenapa ramai yang kurang selesa dengan agama saya.
Now, the last few lines are quite provocative. My bad, I shouldn’t have done it, it’s obviously a personal attack but I can’t help it. If it was in English I could have put in more sarcasm and a tinge of bitterness but meh, I’m not a BM linguist specialist.
You can’t do much damage with BM because it’s more suitable for nice things like poems and all. Cursing in BM (though I do it lots of times with friends) makes you sound so crude, especially if you’re talking to a stranger.

Truth be told, the touch of religion there was another personal attack. Man, I'm delving too much on personal attacks, I should be more professional.  I'm what people would call a sinner so, maybe next time, I'll try not to delve into that matter. My credibility on that part is not really believable. Heh
I don’t know if I should even bother to take my time and reply next time, seems useless, it’s not like I’m talking to the person face to face which I’m pretty sure would end up as a brawl if that were to happen.

Internet gives you e-strength, and e-penis, pretty sure this dude won’t give up on that.
So yeah, there you go.

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Inconsiderate Beings

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                I believe a person who labels a person racist while undermining the race of the accused is also a racist.  As it has come to this, I shall write in both the National language and English.
Malay Version
                Seketika yang lalu, saya dipersembahkan dengan sebuah website yang menuduh seorang mahasiswi dan kawan-kawannya sebagai seorang yang “racist”. Saya tidak akan mengutarakan isi kandungannya secara terperinci dan saya juga tidak akan memberi “link” untuk blog itu untuk memelihara hak peribadi mahasiswi tersebut.
                Namun apa yang dapat disimpulkan adalah seperti berikut:
1.       Mahasiswi menyatakan dia “dislike” too many Malays
2.       Kawannya menambah, “Government Uni is like that, Malay pig all”
Ulasan saya tentang blog ini adalah seperti dibawah:
1.       Apa yang perlu diberi perhatian adalah gambar yang dikemukakan merupakan “printscreen” Facebook Wall mahasiswi itu.
2.       Ini adalah pencerobohan hak peribadi mahasiswi itu dan penulis blog itu boleh disaman atas tindakannya.
3.       Penulis blog itu sepatutnya menegur mahasiswi dan kawannya itu secara peribadi dan bukannya menghebohkan perkara ini di khalayak ramai atau lebih tepat, di blog beliau.
4.       Sebelum menuduh seseorang, individu tersebut seharusnya mengambil dan menyelami pandangan pihak yang dituduh.
5.       Pada pandangan saya, mahasiswi ini tidak mempunyai kawan Melayu yang ramai maka perubahan sebegini memerlukan pengubahsuaian yang mengambil masa.
6.       Hal ini boleh diumpamakan dengan pelajar-pelajar yang sedang menuntut di luar negara di mana mereka dikelilingi orang-orang asing.
7.       Tidak ramai yang akan terus selesa dalam keadaan sebegini dan ianya memakan masa untuk seseorang menyesuaikan diri, seperti juga mahasiswi ini.
8.       Kawannya yang menyatakan, “Malay pig” sudah tentu telah diajar pandangan yang buruk terhadap orang Melayu dari kecil lagi.
9.       Yang perlu diberi perhatian di sini bukanlah mencari siapa yang salah, tetapi APA yang menyebabkan perkara sebegini timbul, KENAPA, BAGAIMANA untuk menyelesaikan masalah ini dan bukan menumpu kepada persoalan SIAPA.
10.   Menuding jari tidak akan menyelesaikan masalah perkauman.
Saya akan meletakkan beberapa keratan “comment” yang ditulis oleh pembaca-pembaca blog ini:
1.       “Aku pantang dgn statement cina kurang ajar ni...!”
2.       “...dia mesti minta maaf ...”
3.       “...entah2 dlm bahasa cina ntah apa yg diorg mencacai....”
4.       “...cina betina nie "follower'...”
Ini adalah pendapat saya tentang “comments” yang dinyatakan:
1.       Saya mengaku, apabila membaca komentar pembaca-pembaca blog tersebut, perkataan pertama yang timbul di kepala saya adalah; Hipokrit.
2.       Sepanjang saya membesar dan belajar dalam kalangan orang Melayu, terutamanya dalam ceramah agama dan perbualan seharian mereka, akan ada mereka yang mengutuk agama lain dan merendahkan bangsa-bangsa lain. Tidak semua, tetapi memang wujud golongan sebegini. Seperti contoh, “Tengok, sembah orang perut buncit, apa orang perut buncit boleh buat?”
3.       Saya ingin mengatakan, cermin diri dahulu sebelum mengata orang dan menuntut kemaafan.
4.       Yang saya dapati menjelikkan adalah penggunaan bahasa yang kesat untuk meluahkan pendapat dan penggunaan nada yang “racist”.
5.       Bahasa melambangkan keperibadian dan juga bangsa. Kesan penggunaan bahasa yang kurang sopan terhadap kedua-dua itu tidak perlu saya ulaskan.
6.       Jikalau boleh, saya tidak ingin menyentuh hal agama di sini tetapi saya rasa orang-orang Melayu ini bangga menjadi sebahagian dari Umat Islam maka saya rasa perlunya saya menyentuh hal ini.
7.       Ilmu saya tentang agama Islam adalah cetek namun saya faham bahawa setiap manusia itu asalnya dari Nabi Adam yang membawa maksud tiada bezanya satu manusia dari manusia yang lain.
8.       Saya juga diajar bahawa manusia itu tiada bezanya di depan Allah S.W.T kecuali ilmu dan iman mereka.
9.       Jadi perlukah isu perkauman dibangkitkan oleh masyarakat Melayu yang merupakan pengikut Nabi Muhammad S.A.W? Malahan, perlukah perkauman itu menjadi satu isu?
10.   Jika suka diagung-agungkan Islam itu, janganlah mencemarinya dengan perkara duniawi seperti perkauman.
11.   Ingatlah tugas khalifah yang diamanahkan untuk menjaga dan memakmurkan bumi ini.

English Version

                Awhile ago, I stumbled upon a link on Facebook that brought me to a blog that was accusing of a university student as racist. I will not explain the blog in the detail and to respect the privacy of the said student, I will not provide the link to the blog.
                The cause of the commotion was this:
1.       The student said, “Too many Malays, dislike”
2.       Her friend added, “Government Uni is like that, Malay pig all”
My thoughts are as below:
1.       What should be known is that the conversation was on an image that was “Printscreened” from the wall of the student’s Facebook Wall.
2.       The blogger didn’t even have the consideration to blank the student’s name.
3.       This is a blatant breach of privacy of the said student and the author of the blog can be sued due to his actions.
4.       Personally I do not think the author had made the right move. What he should have done is that he should have just personally told the student and the friend that it is inappropriate to do such a thing.
5.       He didn’t have to post a blog about it.
6.       And before accusing someone, the person accusing should at least look the whole issue through the perspective of the accused.
7.       In my opinion, the student didn’t have that many Malay friends and thus being in an environment full of Malays is something new to the student. Adapting will always take time.
8.       This is akin to our students who are studying overseas where they are thrown into a whole new environment filled with a whole new and different community/culture.
9.       Not many will immediately sort themselves out immediately and this applies to the said student too.
10.   The friend who said, “Malay pig” is just an ignorant young man, he was perhaps indoctrinated with such perspective since young,
11.   The main issue here is not whether the person is rude or not, nor who is at fault but the main question is WHAT could have made such negative perspective to appear, WHY, and HOW can we fix this situation. The word WHO shouldn’t exist in any of the questions.
12.   Pointing fingers won’t solve anything.
I will add a few abstracts from comments left on the blog; It’ll be in Malay to preserve the nature and intention of the sentences:
5.       “Aku pantang dgn statement cina kurang ajar ni...!”
6.       “...dia mesti minta maaf ...”
7.       “...entah2 dlm bahasa cina ntah apa yg diorg mencacai....”
8.       “...cina betina nie "follower'...”
My opinion?
1.       I would have to admit that the first word that came to my mind after reading the comments was; Hypocrites
2.       Throughout my life growing up and learning in a community of Malays, especially in religious talks and their daily conversations, there will be those who make fun of another religion and using derogatory terms to describe other race. I.E. “Look at them worshipping that pot-bellied statue, what on earth can that fat statue do?”
3.       I would like to say it to their face, “Take a good look at the mirror first before calling other people racist and asking for an apology”
4.       What made me ticked was the use of impolite words and the racist tone found in the comments.
5.       The language used by a person reflects his/her personality. I need not explain further on this.
6.       If possible, I would not like to add the element of religion in this post (since it will get too hot for me to handle) but considering the fact the Malays are pretty proud of being Muslims I feel the need to do so.
7.       My insight towards Islam is not significant but I know enough to know that in Islam, the whole of humanity originated from a single person named Adam. This would mean technically, no one human is different from another, we share the same blood and all.
8.       I was also taught that in the eyes of God, everyone is the same, the one thing that differs us from one another is our iman and our depth of knowledge.
9.       Taking all these into account, I think race issues should not be brought up by the Malays. Heck, racism shouldn’t even exist in any form with the Malays or Muslims what more an issue.
10.   If you’re so proud to be a Muslim, don’t try to defile it with things like “Ketuanan Melayu” et al. It’s too “worldly” for your own good.
11.   The Malays should know this if they had taken the trouble to pray 5 times a day and eat halal food.

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Sometimes

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Even an introvert at heart needs a person to talk to physically.

If I don't know better, I think I'm homesick.

I need to fill up this currently empty social circle of mine, quick.

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A Brief Introduction To Measures And Quavers

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                Music is my life; My parents musical tastes have a direct influence to mine which is why the melodies and tunes I adore and listen to have always been labeled boring, slow, and old by my peers. The likes of Beatles, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin, Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Zee Avi, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong and the likes have enriched my life to an extent that I wish to live during their era and even aspire to be them. But this has not always been the case, I have never listened to them before I entered college for I was busy listening to indie music which I prefer identifying myself with.
                My first exposure to a musical instrument was when my parents forced me to go for music lessons when I was 5 (or was it 6?). Nonetheless, I was a very nonchalant kid back then (for a good 10 years too) I cared nothing but myself. I never did really have that passion to learn the keyboard but I proceeded with the lessons until I was 11. You could say, I was never musically inclined (though I did repetitively sing “Michael Learns to Rock” and songs from “Now! That’s What I Call Music” CD everyday) I’ve never regarded anything highly, the world only revolved around me, friendship was something I never valued. I think this might be due to my family moving around so much that contributed to me not caring about such things hence the reason I was never passionate about anything.
                Right, I’m starting to digress here. So my first musical instrument that I went lessons for a good 5-6 years was a keyboard/organ/whatever you’d like to call it. It has two stacks of keys and a whole lot of synthesizers.
                I was 15 when my dad came back one day with a box almost as tall as him, I couldn’t remember the whole event but I think I didn’t show much interest in what was in the box. He then proceeded to open the box and surprisingly, out came a guitar which he handed to me along with a chord book. He said, “Here, learn how to play it” I fiddled with it for a few days but gave up when I found it too hard and my naturally short fingers didn’t help with the cause plus I didn’t have a tuner. And thus my Yamaha C40 classical guitar picked up dust for a whole year and now I have regretted doing so.
                Many other sorrowful, no, depressing events during boarding school life ensued and while trying to survive it all, I picked up the guitar. It was my cousins in Kuching who ignited my passion for the guitar, they taught me a simple lesson; transitioning between chords. From then on I progressed exponentially. The level of my guitar playing now, I owe it to them. Bless them.
                I would still consider myself an amateur as I only know how to play songs on the guitar, but to actually play the guitar is something I have not acquired yet. Yes I know how to play Classical Gas, and a bunch of other stuff but playing it is different than expressing it. This notion of mine is hard for some to contemplate because one might say there’s no difference between the two. My frustration is that I am not able to produce wonderful melodies or riffs of my own and I am confined to playing known songs.
                I do experiment with the guitar once in awhile, but I keep producing the same groove, almost a reminiscence of the last experiment each time I try something new. It’s very funny when people want me to pull off a solo and I’ll go, “I don’t really know how to do that” which would undermine my credential as an aspiring guitarist and make me and my guitar look bad.
                I have so many melodies and riffs in my head but perhaps my unwillingness to pen it down hamper my progress to produce songs of my own. If I push myself (which I have never done), it might also allow me to explore the more creative side of me. My time here in Land of Freedom would perhaps ignite the hidden composer in me or even help me discover that I have no talent in such a thing. Nonetheless, wish me luck in my endeavour towards music and its beauties!

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Notice for Visitors Coming for Yuna's Chords

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I've noticed a lot of people have been visiting my blog to get to Yuna's chords that I've transcribed, well I've made it much easier for the visitors to navigate for the link if they ended up here.

It's on the column to the right if you're here looking for it. Good luck with the songs.

Yuna's chords ------------------------------------------------->

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Unrequited Love

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".....
9. "Zee Avi," Zee Avi: Listening to Zee Avi might make you recall Kimya Dawson's quirky lyrical style, but the Malaysian-born Avi has an eclecticism all her own on her debut CD. Her voice sounds dreamy, her lyrics smart and humorous. And paired with her acoustic picking, she sounds intoxicating......"

The AP ranks top 10 albums of the year - Yahoo! News

 I will and shall always be Erik. Sigh.

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Beliefs and Hypotheses

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                My trite depth of knowledge concerning the “Theory of Evolution”, “Human Evolution” might hinder my elaboration in this post. The nuance of it was instilled in me while exploring the principles and theories of Genetics by Dr. Rothman, whom I have the right to believe an ardent fan of Darwin. Though I felt duly annoyed by his exacerbating passion for Darwin in class, I would like to condone the fact that I have acquired a significant amount of knowledge regarding Darwin’s hypotheses due to that.
My summarized understanding of Darwin’s natural selection is as below:
1.       Fitness of species = reproductive health of species i.e. The species that reproduce the most is the fittest
2.       Variations will occur in any species
3.       Nature/environment will be the main determinant of the survivability of the variants through indirect ways
4.       Evolution is a very slow and ongoing process
5.       Of course there’s more to this but I will leave it up to this.
                My peers (being the faithful Muslims) rejected whatever the professor taught when he dallied on evolution and such which I think is not a good way to approach knowledge. But I’m not to speak about that. I find that the hypotheses Darwin presented was very rational and logical, plus I do not think they contradict with religion at all. The only thing that might be considered blaspheme is that the hypotheses insinuates that human arose from lesser species and nothing more.
                Looking past that, I find that what people do not want to understand is the essence of Darwin’s hypotheses which are very plain and straightforward. I have yet to involve myself in any debate regarding Human Evolution in religion but I would like to express my reactions towards the total rejection of Darwin’s hypotheses by certain avenues; that is the average religion-following person.
                I am surprised and dismayed at the same time encountering people who claim Darwin’s hypotheses as preposterous, non-logical and irrational without first understanding the basics of it. To reject any knowledge without fully understanding it, to me that is not a very reasonable thing to do.
                 Speaking as a Muslim, this is my thoughts, all knowledge comes from Allah and to deny any knowledge is to deny God, no knowledge is evil or bad but it is the person utilizing the knowledge that should be judged.
                I do not wish to assume but personally I think if people understand the essence of the hypotheses they would understand that anything beyond that is extrapolating and can only be proved by definite evidence. The hypotheses will not shake or deny any foundation for any religion and if a person thinks it does then they should not reject it but instead seek for the truth, rather than barking and harking at it.
                This is turning into more of a rant but let us ignore that shall we? I firmly believe that the essence of Darwin’s “Natural Selection” that I have not fully elaborated hold true until definitive evidence says I’m wrong and that it does not contradict religion in any manner.
                My final words are,one does not need to be presented with so-called astounding facts nor be immersed in an environment of lies/sins to have his or her belief undermined. A person’s belief can only be shaken only if the person allows it to be so.

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Moving About From Rochester to Anywhere

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Being in Rochester, there aren’t that many options for a direct journey to anywhere beyond New York. My stay here which is coming to about 4 months now allowed me to try two modes of travelling, by bus (specifically Chinatown buses) and by train.
                Suffice to say using Amtrak was more comfortable than using the bus and despite the review I read on the internet, I find no fault in their service except for that one time when they were late by about 40 minutes.  The price varies from cheap to bloody expensive and the cheap ones come with a catch; the schedule will never fit you or if it does, it’ll just cause so much trouble for you and the person picking you up. If you’re not expecting anyone to fetch you, I highly suggest using Amtrak for the long distance trip.
                Chinatown bus is not a very good option for long distance travelling, my last experience with it was not something I would like to go through again. For a two to three hour journey the Chinatown bus would be a very cheap and viable means to travel to anywhere and I will reiterate that it is not meant for long distance travelling. The office where you get your ticket and wait for your bus, and I’ve been to three of them, is not pleasant to the eye, very disorganized, almost akin to Pudu station, at most it may be worse than Pudu Station. Most of the passengers that took the same bus with me from Roc –> NY and from NY -> Roc were very unpleasant and loud, taking the red eye trip is not very comfortable when you have those kind of people around.
                Also it seems that it’s cheaper to buy the bus tickets when you get to the office than when you buy them online which is a difference of 5$-8$. The buses never arrive or depart on time because, what the operators would do is that, they will not depart until the bus has ALL of its seats filled, which I and a few other passengers felt negatively affected by it.
So here’s a quick comparison between Amtrak and Chinatown bus
1.       Price
a.       Amtrak’s cheapest ticket to NYC from Rochester is $54 while the same trip using Chinatown bus would cost you $55



b.      Over a short distance (NYC – Philly) the price leans in favour of Chinatown bus by a large amount





2.       Duration
a.       Roc-NYC or NYC- Roc using either method would take 6-7 hours taking into account delays and whatnot.
b.      NYC-Philly: Amtrak is faster than Chinatown bus
3.       Comfort
a.       Trains win hands down in this one.
4.       Customer service.
a.       Amtrak ranks way higher than Chinatown bus. Chinatown bus has zero stars from me on this one.
Hitherto (Can’t believe I finally get the chance to use this word), I recommend Amtrak if you have to travel more than 4-5 hours and Chinatown bus if the trip is about 2-3 hours.

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