Scavenger Instinct

This photo was introduced to me not long ago. Kevin Carter took this photo and became famous/infamous. A substantial number of people criticized him for photographing instead of helping the Sudanese girl - "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene."

I felt the pain in my heart when I first saw the photo. Perhaps it was the image of a innocent defenseless young child of the same species that was going to be torn apart by the scavenging creature.

I've watched countless of animals documentary. There was one video that I will always remember - and it is the first and only documentary that brought tears to my eyes.

In Brief: It was about the life of two male cheetahs in Africa that grew up together, hunting and looking out for each other. One fine day, one of the brother(Cheetah A) went out early to hunt for food for the both of them, in his course, he ventured too far away and got lost. When his brother (Cheetah B) woke up and realized that his brother (A) was missing, he went out to look for him. Every few metres, he would let out a high pitch sound (or chirping) to try to alert or call out for his brother. He combed many areas, for a few hours, under the hot desert climate. Eventually, all his energy was expended and he(B) took a rest near a tree.


During his rest, he continued to chirp out for his brother. As cliche as it sounds, his brother(A) happened to be nearby and when he heard the chirp, he chirped back and started to walk toward B. But Cheetah (B) chirping also caught the attention of a nearby lion and Cheetah B was attacked from behind by that lion. It turned out that the tree he was resting belonged to the lion and because of his tiredness, he failed to smell the lion's scent. In such a situation, typically, a cheetah can outrun and escape from the lion, but because of his languorous, was attacked and got badly injured.

His brother sensed something amiss, and started to sprint towards his brother's direction. Cheetah B managed to limp away and the lion didn't make further advancement(due to the fact that he wasn't hungry), but after limping a short distance, he collapsed as his hind area was badly injured. He(B) continued to chirp out so as to enable his brother to locate him. When Cheetah A reached him and saw that his brother was badly injured, his expression was painfully sad and confused at the same time. His brother(B-injured), was more of happy to see him, yet at the same time, you can see that he is in great pain.

They rubbed nose for a moment before they licked each other on the cheeks. This was the gesture of farewell. A flock of vultures was flying in circle over his brother. His death was imminent and the brothers knew that. Cheetah A reluctantly walked a few steps away from his brother, glancing back frequently. His injured brother kept looking at his brother, knowing that he will not have the chance to do that again. A few vultures landed near Cheetah B. Cheetah A stopped in his track(about 30metre away from his brother), and laid in such a way that he was looking perpendicularly away from his location. He just wanted to be close to his brother, yet at the same time, he could not bear to watch his painful (and cruel) death. The documentary ended when Cheetah B laid down his head..for the last time.

It was an extremely painful and sad video. The show lasted for an hour and was telecast many years ago. Yet I still remembered the story. I also remembered how much I hate vultures since that day. (And, yes, I knew it wasn't the vulture's fault.)

To be continued...

Are you really happy?

A short post in the midst of my busy schedule.

I was reading this article and come across this term called Duchenne smile, where it purports that you cannot fake a "real" smile. What it basically means is that if you are really happy, your smile will involve and activate the upper portion of the facial muscles (Orbicularis oculi muscle - for the science fanatics) , which is absence in fake pretentious smile.

With this, you may be tempted to analyse people's smile. But then, some people may also know this theory and can fake a real smile. and you can never know the true mix of the people who know or do not know this. So it leaves you wondering, perhaps even more puzzled now, whether the person is really happy or not.

That.. is the danger of knowledge/information. =)

Appreciation to the Unappreciated

A few days ago, I was studying(cum sleeping, reading magazine) in a public library. During one of the short break, when I was about to walk into the gents, out of the corner of my eyes, I saw an old lady sitting at the corner near the toilet, waiting for her next cleaning schedule to kick in. She was hedged by 3 big trash bags and 1 mop. She was, quite obviously(at least in my society context), a cleaner. A sense of sympathy filled me, which was followed by a sense of gratitude.

Let me express my thanks to the following people.

1) The toilet cleaners - without them, I may not even want to take a leak in a public area

2) The people who cleared, cleaned the table in many food outlets - without them, I can eat in no peace.

3) The construction workers - Rain, or shine, day and night, you work just to create buildings for us to live, shop or work.

And many of those people cited in pointer 1 and 2 are old folk that are in my "grandmother/grandfather" category.

I truly appreciated you. Whenever I say "thank you", it is from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,
Shengjie

P/S: I know that many of the above mentioned will never get a chance to see this...

The First Cause

Come across an article written and spoken by a famous/infamous philosopher. He was "expressing" himself in front of a crowd on why he believed there is no God/Creator. It was an interesting and stimulating(both are subjective) read - well as least for me.

Before I continue, I would like to make this clear again(even though I have said it many times) - My views do not mean they have to be yours, and by no mean, I represent any organization. Acknowledge does not mean agreeing to it. This is essential as I'm going into a extremely sensitive realm.

[I found this sentence: 'My father taught me that the question "Who made me?" cannot be answered since it immediately suggests the further question, "Who made God?" ' That very simple sentence showed me, as I think, the fallacy in the argument of the First Cause.]

It is true that 'Who made God' is by no mean is a facile question to tackle. In fact, I would rate this question as "mission impossible"(at least during the time on Earth). But that does not mean that this make it one of the final verdict that there is no Creator.

God may be created by another subject and may be govern by another set of rules and regulations(or it may not be such). And the subject may in turn be created by another subject and so on. But this not prove the non-existence of a Creator(of the Earth).

The terms "Creator" and "God" in my opinion represent our belief and they may(can) be a source of conflict(or unity) when used albeit too loosely(or narrowly).

Let take an example, "Our God is the Creator of the Universe". "Our God" is very debatable(and may even ignite/incur/bring-about extreme hostility), otherwise there will be a convergence view. Note: this convergence level is 2nd level from the top(First-> God vs No God. Second-> Which God?).

"Creator of the Universe", at least for me, represent the fundamental crack at the top level. Quite a number of people(very vague and non-statistical term) do not believe in natural design/creator. One interesting thing I would like to point out is that believing in a Creator of the Universe does not necessary mean that the Creator/God is not created by another superlative subject -- because the "universe" is very much define by our definition/imagination/yard-stick and "things" that are outside this realm of thought(or universe) may very well exist and are beyond our comprehension.

Yes, "they" may exist, but well, you may not agree. :)