Explaination of previous post
Whoever you are, whatever you think about the previous blog post, it is wrong. Yes seriously, it means nothing. Well, nothing that you will get anyway (insert 'contextual knowledge needed' here). Post title means nothing, first paragraph of post refers to something, but nothing particularly important. Dammit, I always wanted to create a misleading blog post, then I suddenly succeed without planning it. This reminds me of ambiguous endings, or rather ambiguity in general, which is a very useful tool. It can give people who truly understand the hidden meaning a special pride in being the select few who understands, it can mislead, it can piss other people off, and it can also give the user a certain recognition for being able to wield such a powerful tool so well (think Nostradamus).
Then again, when repeatedly re-reading the previous post, it can mean so much, the possibilities are endless. I swear this is how the writers of short stories, or writers of anything in general, feel after they complete their written piece. They read, other ppl read, and with each person's point of view and previous knowledge that they carry with them, they interpret a new meaning each time. And who can say what the true meaning of the piece is? The writer can. The true meaning is what he was thinking of when he wrote that piece, or what if the true meaning is what his subconcious was thinking of when he was writing that piece, and that the first meaning was just a cover, a veil of lesser truths over the underlying one. The piece of writing means everything, and nothing at the same time, and at any point of time before each person's personal conclusion, it is in a state similar to that of Schrödinger's cat. I now leave it up to you readers to give these words (and those before them) the meaning they deserve.
Why isn't there a false start for swimming O_O?
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Olympics. Show all posts
Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Olympics
A tribute to the best swimmer of our time.
A class above the rest, a god amongst men, a name that will be immortalized in history past, the present, and histories yet to be written - Michael Phelps.
I saw history being written today, at slightly past 10am on this bright saturday morning. Beamed live from China's Water Cube, I saw the olympian take his seventh gold, and set his seventh Olympic record. (The first six were world records and world records are olympic records, but not neccessarily the other way around) I'm sure many of you have heard of this before, but exactly how much is 0.01 second worth to the olympian? Well, the question has just been answered today, it is the difference between Gold and Silver, a First and a First-runners-up, a Champion and a Hero.
A note to all those who have not seen the footage of the 100m Butterfly Men's Final - go watch it. Maybe it is purely by luck and chance, but the way the strokes end up is beautiful. One man's last reach for the gold to defeat the giant, and the giant'sarms flippers coming from behind to hit the board that'll stop time, and start a legacy.
The olympics is prestigious, it is widely recognised, but the system may seem flawed. Contestants are given only one chance to perform, it is do or die. And maybe this is what makes it beautiful, when humans give their best, when people strive all out to achieve their dreams. One chance every four years, and that is if you qualify and not make any mistakes during the trials and heats. Make a mistake and it is four years gone, make two and it is a shame, make three and your whole career and hopes and dreams are gone. The olympics tolerate nothing but the best, and the best shall show themselves to the world.
Detractors would say he did not set a seventh world record, he only set six thus far, and he should not be revered and respected as much as he currently is. But I say it does not matter, I know a champion when I see one. Being hailed as a great sportsman is similar to proving a truth in science, all it takes is just one failure for everything to fall apart. The law of gravity is a law, as nothing substantial has proven it wrong thus far, but all it needs is for one phenomenon to consistently break this law for the whole law to fall apart. Similarly, a great sportsman is great as long as he doesnt make a mistake, and show his human side. Roger Federer was considered the best, till he made some mistakes recently and lost to some relatively low ranked guy. However, for now, Michael Phelps remains as the best in swimming. He has won gold in every single event he has taken part in, set multiple world records, and by multiple I mean all except one. When people compete against him, they do not only compete against themselves, they compete against this man.
As a note, it is quite interesting and humourous to see the impeccably dressed men in awesome blue suits stand at the end of the swimming pool to ring bells at the swimmers to tell them that it is their last lap. O the horror/hilarity if one of them would trip and fall in, I await the day that it happens.
A class above the rest, a god amongst men, a name that will be immortalized in history past, the present, and histories yet to be written - Michael Phelps.
I saw history being written today, at slightly past 10am on this bright saturday morning. Beamed live from China's Water Cube, I saw the olympian take his seventh gold, and set his seventh Olympic record. (The first six were world records and world records are olympic records, but not neccessarily the other way around) I'm sure many of you have heard of this before, but exactly how much is 0.01 second worth to the olympian? Well, the question has just been answered today, it is the difference between Gold and Silver, a First and a First-runners-up, a Champion and a Hero.
A note to all those who have not seen the footage of the 100m Butterfly Men's Final - go watch it. Maybe it is purely by luck and chance, but the way the strokes end up is beautiful. One man's last reach for the gold to defeat the giant, and the giant's
The olympics is prestigious, it is widely recognised, but the system may seem flawed. Contestants are given only one chance to perform, it is do or die. And maybe this is what makes it beautiful, when humans give their best, when people strive all out to achieve their dreams. One chance every four years, and that is if you qualify and not make any mistakes during the trials and heats. Make a mistake and it is four years gone, make two and it is a shame, make three and your whole career and hopes and dreams are gone. The olympics tolerate nothing but the best, and the best shall show themselves to the world.
Detractors would say he did not set a seventh world record, he only set six thus far, and he should not be revered and respected as much as he currently is. But I say it does not matter, I know a champion when I see one. Being hailed as a great sportsman is similar to proving a truth in science, all it takes is just one failure for everything to fall apart. The law of gravity is a law, as nothing substantial has proven it wrong thus far, but all it needs is for one phenomenon to consistently break this law for the whole law to fall apart. Similarly, a great sportsman is great as long as he doesnt make a mistake, and show his human side. Roger Federer was considered the best, till he made some mistakes recently and lost to some relatively low ranked guy. However, for now, Michael Phelps remains as the best in swimming. He has won gold in every single event he has taken part in, set multiple world records, and by multiple I mean all except one. When people compete against him, they do not only compete against themselves, they compete against this man.
As a note, it is quite interesting and humourous to see the impeccably dressed men in awesome blue suits stand at the end of the swimming pool to ring bells at the swimmers to tell them that it is their last lap. O the horror/hilarity if one of them would trip and fall in, I await the day that it happens.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
A Missed Day
There, my first missed daily post only 3 days after the rebirth. Well, it was a Most Unproductive Day (MUD) so it can't be helped. I slept from the time I reached home till 1 hour before school, so I didn't manage to do anything at all. =(
A Day of Accomplishments
Yesterday was a day of accomplishments. Accomplishments not for me, but for a bunch of young adults, who have just completed probably their last period of extended education of their lives. It is ironic that for a day where I accomplished nothing, I was witness to the accomplishments of many. In case you haven't figured it out, I attended the commencement ceremony of my brother, who until recently is studying in NUS. I saw some of the brightest minds in Singapore, professors whose nationalities include British, Indian and Singaporean. The graduates were mostly Singaporean, with a number of overseas scholars. I spotted a number of China scholars, and only a few Vietnamese, Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern ones. The atmosphere at the place is vibrant, that of people enjoying the fruits of their success. Some people study for knowledge, some study as it is their interest, and yet some study for the achievement and accomplishment of it, and they all look forward to this day, the day of their triumph.
In such a large and competitive world, a degree with honors does not do much to distinguish you from the few millions of people with degrees out there, but it still has its uses. It will certainly help you in job applications, as not all of the few million people are applying for that one job, and it may help you get a partner, assuming your partner is particular about such qualifications. But then again, it is just a piece of paper, easily forged by the countless forgers of our time. What matters is the knowledge that the piece of paper signifies, it represents that the person has spent more than 5% of their lives studying. The road to a proper education is long and seems hard, but I have just been witness to a close relative of mine completing it with apparent ease. When respect is due, respect shall be given. Though his accomplishments may seem mediocre compared with the best minds of society, I am proud of my brother being a graduate with second upper honors. Congratulations.
Olympics
Speaking of achievements, the Olympics are around the corner. What do you think when you watch the Olympics on the television? To attempt to sound formal and eloquent, which I am not, here is what I think. When I watch the Olympics on tv, I feel a sense of awe as these people represent the limit of the human spirit. The boundaries of the human body are tested every four years, at the gathering of the best from around the world. To know that you are watching the best, seeing history as it is being written in front of your eyes, isn’t that a bit inspiring? Anyways, the articles on the Olympics in the newspaper are interesting and informative. For those that follow those articles, the one about pressure a few days ago is especially inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kPNjkGf4vM go see this video, the spectacular dive in the middle of the video is the one RIGHT after the dive shown at the start. And if you follow the first link in related videos to the face smash video, the most awesome comment below is “no blood no foul”. No blood… no foul. Simple. If you were wondering, he had stitches for his head wound, and he’s gay, and he’s HIV positive. Yea.
Short note: I spoke to an old friend on the MRT recently, and I realize though some things change, some things will not. Connections and friendships made in the period of one’s younger days can last the test of several years of time. Well I noticed, the top students from each class in year 5… a lot of them come from a certain year 4 class last year. My low-average score of 32 would place me around the bottom of everyone in that year 4 class. I should be ashamed of my marks.
“The time taken for diamond to turn into graphite can be compared to the time taken for an army of snails to march to the Beijing Olympic Games from Singapore.” – quoted very loosely from a figure of authority on chemistry
A Day of Accomplishments
Yesterday was a day of accomplishments. Accomplishments not for me, but for a bunch of young adults, who have just completed probably their last period of extended education of their lives. It is ironic that for a day where I accomplished nothing, I was witness to the accomplishments of many. In case you haven't figured it out, I attended the commencement ceremony of my brother, who until recently is studying in NUS. I saw some of the brightest minds in Singapore, professors whose nationalities include British, Indian and Singaporean. The graduates were mostly Singaporean, with a number of overseas scholars. I spotted a number of China scholars, and only a few Vietnamese, Thai, Indian and Middle Eastern ones. The atmosphere at the place is vibrant, that of people enjoying the fruits of their success. Some people study for knowledge, some study as it is their interest, and yet some study for the achievement and accomplishment of it, and they all look forward to this day, the day of their triumph.
In such a large and competitive world, a degree with honors does not do much to distinguish you from the few millions of people with degrees out there, but it still has its uses. It will certainly help you in job applications, as not all of the few million people are applying for that one job, and it may help you get a partner, assuming your partner is particular about such qualifications. But then again, it is just a piece of paper, easily forged by the countless forgers of our time. What matters is the knowledge that the piece of paper signifies, it represents that the person has spent more than 5% of their lives studying. The road to a proper education is long and seems hard, but I have just been witness to a close relative of mine completing it with apparent ease. When respect is due, respect shall be given. Though his accomplishments may seem mediocre compared with the best minds of society, I am proud of my brother being a graduate with second upper honors. Congratulations.
Olympics
Speaking of achievements, the Olympics are around the corner. What do you think when you watch the Olympics on the television? To attempt to sound formal and eloquent, which I am not, here is what I think. When I watch the Olympics on tv, I feel a sense of awe as these people represent the limit of the human spirit. The boundaries of the human body are tested every four years, at the gathering of the best from around the world. To know that you are watching the best, seeing history as it is being written in front of your eyes, isn’t that a bit inspiring? Anyways, the articles on the Olympics in the newspaper are interesting and informative. For those that follow those articles, the one about pressure a few days ago is especially inspiring. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kPNjkGf4vM go see this video, the spectacular dive in the middle of the video is the one RIGHT after the dive shown at the start. And if you follow the first link in related videos to the face smash video, the most awesome comment below is “no blood no foul”. No blood… no foul. Simple. If you were wondering, he had stitches for his head wound, and he’s gay, and he’s HIV positive. Yea.
Short note: I spoke to an old friend on the MRT recently, and I realize though some things change, some things will not. Connections and friendships made in the period of one’s younger days can last the test of several years of time. Well I noticed, the top students from each class in year 5… a lot of them come from a certain year 4 class last year. My low-average score of 32 would place me around the bottom of everyone in that year 4 class. I should be ashamed of my marks.
“The time taken for diamond to turn into graphite can be compared to the time taken for an army of snails to march to the Beijing Olympic Games from Singapore.” – quoted very loosely from a figure of authority on chemistry
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