Is it really that scary?

So, I was in a group with three other people practising a language. Somehow, the conversation landed on dating, love, and romance. The leader of the group asked me if I have ever dated a girl. I said "No."

She seemed surprised. Now, I wonder to myself: should I be surprised and worried?

I think not. There's a good reason to that.

Advertising Balloons

If you have time, go on YouTube and type in "Jay Chou Advertising Balloons." Any video will do. As long as you can hear the song.

You might want to take a look at the following website for the English translation of the lyrics: 

http://vhin-dlvna.blogspot.ca/2016/08/zhou-jie-lunjay-chou-gao-bai-qi.html

Do you agree with the message of the singer?

A Perfect Formula?

I heard a few stories and advice about applying to Medicine. I thought about them for a while, and I disagree with what they said. I hope you will agree with me.

Stupid Story/Advice #1

"My friend had about 3000 volunteers hours. But I think 2000 is a good number. He got admission into the University of ______."

Let's do some math. Let's say say you volunteer 4 hours per week, for three years of undergraduate. There are about 48 weeks in a year, and 144 in three years, so your total volunteer hours is 576. We'll round that 600 to make calculations easier.

You may also count high school hours. You volunteered 3 hours per week, for grades 11 and 12. Again, you have about 400 hours.

For one summer, you're rich and decide to volunteer overseas for two weeks. Let's say during a day, you volunteer from 8am to 10pm. That's 14 hours per day for 14 days. That's about 200 hours.

The next summer, you do the same, so you gain another 200 hours.

Right now, you have a total of 1400 hours. Where did the other 1600 hours come from? 

Either the person is a really hard worker, or they BS their story. I don't think 3000 is the right number. I believe in quality over quantity. You don't know if this "3000 Hour Genius" is telling you everything he or she did to gain admission. 

Stupid Story/Advice #2

"I need some volunteer experience at the hospital. When the file reviewers see your file, they'll see that everyone has had volunteer experience. They'll question why you don't have it since everyone else had it."

So, I guess the underlying conclusion is that we no longer have any individuality? This story is plain stupid. Having no hospital volunteering experience might not be what kills you, but it may be the thing that makes you UNIQUE!!! 

Look, imagine a file reviewer, and he's read 100 applications that all said "Hospital Volunteering." He's holds a knife to his neck. If he reads another "Hospital Volunteering," he'll slit his throat. He sees your file next. He reads "Hospital Volunteering."

Basically, all I want to say is that you could have saved his life if you put something as silly as "Taking a dump in different types of toilets around the world."

The conclusion of this post is to never take people's words seriously. Think about what they said. Often times, what they say are plain stupid. 

The Perfect Music Industry Part 2

If you have not read the previous post, I highly recommend it. Today, we will be discussing the Chinese music industry (CMI).

If you take a bad dance routine made by the KMI, and take a good dance routine produced by the CMI, I still think the KMI still created the better dance routine. I want you to go to YouTube and search the following two songs: Leehom Wang's "Dream Life" or JJ Lin's "You N Me." I would consider these dance routines to be of high quality in the CMI, but they are nowhere near the level of top level KMI dance's.

Why is there such a difference in quality of music and MV? 95% of  Chinese songs are about love. And probably 70% of that 95% are about the sad side of love. Ultimately, Chinese people want to hear ballads. If you are a Chinese singer, your biggest fanbase are Chinese people. You may like electric dance music, but producing EDM will not get you any fans. To make a living, you have to make ballads. This is unfortunate for the artist, but sacrifices have to be made.

Most Chinese people use websites other than YouTube to access musics. Have you ever heard of Baidu? I'm sure only Chinese people who know about Baidu (Chinese equivalent of Google). If you are a Japanese or Korean teenager, you would not go on Baidu to search for music. You would probably use other websites. To conclude, the China does not try to make its music accessible to others, unlike the KMI.

I don't think the CMI has an issue with potential. I believe there are many artists with the potential to change how Chinese music works. The issue is whether these singers and artists are supported by capital and music industries that will allow them to transform music. Perhaps a cultural revolution is needed. Perhaps people should be more open minded to music other than ballads.

Tell me what you think needs to be done make the CMI advance.

The Perfect Music Industry Part 1

What makes a good music industry? Why do some industries fall behind others? Why do some advance so quickly?

We will use two examples. Today, we will be analyzing the Korean music industry (KMI).

For those unfamiliar with the KMI, I have two songs that you should watch to get a feel of what I want to discuss. The first is Big Bang's "Bang Bang Bang." The second is Shinee's "Hello." You may want to have a look at Psy's "Gangnam Style" or "Gentleman" for extra reference.

Part of what makes Korean music so appealing is the amount of effort they put into making the MV's flashy and the music closer to a Western type style. The MV's use a lot of capital to do the things they do. For instance, in Bang Bang Bang, imagine how much money was spent producing the MV. Definitely not cheap. Furthermore, the KMI have transformed their stars into amazing dancers. In Hello, do you see the harmony and sharp movements of the five members? These sharp movements and amazing MV features make the MV feel like a high quality.

We must also consider culture and politics. The KMI is using the internet, and especially YouTube, to push their music into foreign markets. The high accessibility of their videos makes it easier for different audiences to see the videos. The government also seems to like the idea. They don't seem to put any restrictions on the what MV's they can make. In fact, they may in fact encourage and pour money into the KMI.

If you have been following Korean music for a while, you may notice that singers tend to sing in other languages as well, especially English, Chinese, and Japanese. If you think about it, Japan and China house a lot of people. If you can penetrate into their markets, you have access to more consumers, and thus more money. Sometimes, Korean groups add Chinese or Japanese members so that they can connect with foreign listeners. Other times, two groups of the same name are created, but each will include members from different countries. For instance, Exo-K (Korean) and Exo-M (Mandarin Chinese).

Next week, we will analyze a music industry that has not been so successful.

The Night Shift

My personal preference is working a day shift. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Working a night shift scared me because it was dark out and things can get unpredictable. On the other hand, you meet a lot of interesting people. They do things you never expect. You see them with people and wonder what their relationship is. Working a night shift has really opened my eyes to a different world that I have never seen before.

A Flip Side To Things

Sometimes, it is not the other person you should be scared of. Rather, it is they who should be scared of you.

It's An Art

I hate it when people jaywalk the wrong way. 

If you are going to jaywalk, do it quickly, and look as if you are walking normally. I hate it when people walk across the street like a turtle who didn't breakfast. What if that truck driver decides to run you over?

Jaywalking is an art form. It takes a master to jaywalk like a boss.

Inner Turmoil

They say "the things you regret the most are those things you never did." So, there is this girl. I don't know why, but I'm attracted to her. I can't say what happened. I see her walking around. Back then I didn't feel anything for her. She was simply a face that I vaguely recognized. But today, something clicked in my head. I could not stop thinking about her. I wonder what this foreshadows. But for whatever reason, I'm hesitant about making a move on her. What's holding me back is not my shyness, but rather, a dark judgment. 

What am I to do?

Organic Chemistry

I want to go on google images and search up benzene. Right now.

That ring looks cool, eh? It looks simple, and yet the things it has made shocked and surprised. Search it up, and you'll see the true strength of benzene.

I think students downplay organic chemistry. Perhaps they have yet to see how organic chemistry applies to other aspects of life. Doctors haven't even appreciated organic chemistry, so I suppose normal people like us have a long way to go to appreciating it.

What do you think?

The Poltergeist

I hate watching horror movies. It scares me so much that I can't sleep for the next week. I can't help but imagine what would happen if the supernatural started to haunt me. I thought about this, and I think I know exactly what would happen.

Let us call the supernatural being haunting me "the poltergeist."

The poltergeist would be standing next to me with an axe raised above his head. His drool will drop onto my face waking me up. As I wake up, I'll probably scream. Then my little brothers beside me would wake up and see the poltergeist. The door to our room would close. My parents would be pounding the door outside. The poltergeist is grinning, as my brothers and I group up together in the corner.

But just as the poltergeist thinks he's got us corner, I'll throw my shirt at him to blind him momentarily. As soon as that happens, I'll take him down onto the ground. My brothers will jump in right after. And we'll decorate the poltergeist's face. The end.

I still don't understand why I'm scared of horror movies if my brothers and I are going to decorate the poltergeist's face should he or she come. Would it not be more reasonable to assume that the poltergeist should be the one scared?

Washroom Dangers

I was using a urinal the other day. One guy had finished his business and walked away. This was three urinals away. The urinal activated its automatic flushing system. Water gushed right out of the urinal flooding the floor. I don't think the guy using the faulty urinal knew his urinal was flooded.

Luckily I was far enough away to avoid the flood. The guy in the stall next to that urinal was not so fortunate. Fortunately, a few people gave the guy in the stall some paper towels to clean himself up.

Wow. What a crazy day in the washroom.

Tactical Offence

Lately I have been busy with my newest blog. It's called Tactical Offence.

This new blog focuses more on my thoughts regarding martial arts. One day, I would like to create my own mixed martial arts system. Hopefully I will get there. 

Check out my new blog here and tell me what you think

http://tacticaloffence.blogspot.ca/ 

Resumes

It's not really your resume itself that I care about, nor what you've done, but rather how you are going to benefit me and benefit society. If you cannot answer that simple question, I do not know what to say.

Fats vs Carbs

Do you know how people can shed like ten pounds in two weeks? They are not actually shedding fat, but rather are shedding water weight.

Let's say someone decides to eat less carbohydrates and sugars for two weeks. If you studied Biochemistry, you'll know that carbs retain more water than fats. So, if you consume less carbs, you retain less water, and therefore your weight goes down. Fats don't retain as much water as carbs.

This is also why fats are such good energy storages. They store energy and prevent you from getting bloated from water. 

Composition of the Undead

My hands race across the piano
Many regrets, many pains, many sorrows
I play my piano once more, hoping to relieve my torture

My hands pick at the guitar
I lost everything to my gambles and gambits
I play my guitar once more, hoping to never make the same mistake

My hands hold the drumsticks and bang out a beat
It would be nice to live once more
I play my drum once more, cause its the only thing I do

Our hands play music because that seems to be the only message everyone understands
We lost many things in our lives
We play our instruments once more, hoping others do not make the same mistake we did.

A Man or a Boy

Sometimes I make really dumb mistakes. I beat myself over it. But hey, on the bright side, I haven't made the same mistake twice. 

Sometimes I feel tired. I feel too tired to care because I felt that its time to pass on the work to the next generation. But hey, on the bright side, at least I have built a foundation for the younger generation to build upon.

Sometimes I wonder whether I am a man, or if I'm still a boy. I do things only to wonder or complain about it afterwards. I eventually come to an agreement with myself. 

It makes me wonder. Sometimes my body language says that I'm tired and old, but on the inside, I still have a fire going. Other times, I look serious and confident, but trembling with fear and excitement on the inside. I can't say which is better.

Are you a boy with a heart of a man, or a man with a heart of a boy?

What is a Music Video?

I see a ton of bad music videos. So much that it makes me wonder how the singer in the music video feels when he or she makes that video. I thought about what makes a good music video. I narrowed it down to one point:

 A story 

Having a background to the lyrics of the song or the music itself can help the listener understand why the song was composed in the first place. The story does not have to be outrageously creative. It can be a simple love story. What is most important is that there is something to enhance the message of the song. If all we see are bling bling boys and glittery glossy girls dancing the whole five minutes of the song, I don't feel anything for that song. This does not mean dancing is prohibited, but rather the dancing needs to have some purpose to it.

Analytical Chemistry

If there was one thing I learned about in analytical chemistry, it was about EDTA. Do you know where you might find such a thing? Check your salad dressing. EDTA chelates metals, meaning it binds to metals and essentially locks them out so no organisms can use them. This means that if microorganisms try to grow in the salad, they are out of luck. With no metals to use, they cannot function properly, and thus die.

The one thing I'm wondering is whether EDTA is harmful to us.

The Intergalactic Conference

In the very distant future, the planet Earth has developed an alliance with other human planets. This will be the very first Intergalactic Conference. Quite a remarkable and historical event. Planet Earth has decided to send one person to the conference to give a presentation about Earth and get the other planets excited about us. 

After an extremely intensive selection process, the following people made it to the final round of selection:

World's Most Loving Teacher

World's Most Altruisitc Doctor

World's Most Innovative Engineer

World's Most Popular President

World's Funniest Author

World's Hardest Working Garbage Man

World's Poorest Homeless Man

World's Greatest Business Man

Who do we send to represent Earth?

Confessions on Balloons

Sometimes I want to buy balloons, write on them, and let them sail into the sky, never to be seen again.

I want to confess three things. I want to write them down on a balloon and forget about them.

First Confession

I secretly hate school because they never put a music program into my education. I envy those who can play instruments.

Second Confession

I secretly hate cars because they get me places no faster or more efficient than taking public transit. I pity those that think they're rich and smart just by driving around a car.

Third Confession

I secretly hate myself because I give up on my own goals too easily only to come back on them later on. But I love myself. I love myself for being mature enough to realize that achieving my goals is never too late.

Can You Please Smile?

I know, your teeth look hideous. I can assure you, they are nowhere near as hideous as mine. Have you seen my front two teeth?

And even when my teeth look hideous, when I smile, people smile back. And they don't smile back because of my teeth. How do I know? One, because they look me in the eye when they smile. And two, because they are far enough away that they won't see how hideous my teeth is.

So smile! Smiling is good for you. Smiling makes other people feel good. Smiling may increase your lifespan by who knows how much. 

Can you please smile?