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.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
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?
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?
Saturday, September 17, 2016
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.
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.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
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.
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.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
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.
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.
Monday, August 22, 2016
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.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
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.
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