Why Would I Write

Category: Random

  • Now go forth, and create!

    If there’s one thing great about this digital age, it’s that it enables pretty much everybody to create content as well as grant everybody access to it. It has significantly changed the way we consume media. These days we’re linking YouTube videos or torrent links to each other – back then, we had to tell our friends to catch something on TV or record it on video tapes to share.

    Back then we had photo albums we had to meet up in person to share. Sometimes we even developed multiple copies of the same roll of film so we could keep them! These days it’s just a click or two to upload your photographs to Facebook or Flickr and another button to share.

    Other examples include – waiting for the radio to play your favorite song vs. on-demand streaming services, buying CDs vs. downloading MP3s, snail mail vs. email and more.

    While all that is great, there’s another side of the internet which greatly benefits certain people – content creators. Artists, actors, singers – everyone with something to share. It’s never been easier than now.

    Have a story to tell? No problem, put it on a blog or publish an e-book. Have a film to show? Upload it to Vimeo and watch the hits roll in. How about a song? There’s Soundcloud, Bandcamp and a million other sites to choose from. Heck, you can even put your stuff up on iTunes or Spotify if you wanted. Want to make your own video game for people to play? You have the tools in your hands. If you’re unsure how, there are plenty of tutorials online! I learnt how to tie a tie through YouTube.

    We’ve never been so connected before – it’s a good time to be alive. For those of you with an idea brewing in your head, I think there’s no better time to put it out. Before artificial intelligence gets too advanced and enslaves us all.

  • ‘Fragile’ stickers

    What’s the point of ‘fragile’ stickers on luggage or packages? Shouldn’t everything be handled with care? If baggage handlers/delivery men don’t see a ‘fragile’ label on something, do they toss it around like a ball? Do they play soccer with it?

    This isn’t a rant about those working in the service industry, I just find it strange there is even a need for such stickers. You see, even when packages are labelled fragile they aren’t handled properly:

    So why do we need ‘fragile’ stickers again? If anything, we should have ‘sturdy’ stickers instead for things that can be thrown around and everything else be delivered and stored properly.

  • The Birthday Song

    If there’s one thing I’ve noticed from all my years working in offices – the birthday song is usually one of the most cringe inducing activities the company participates in. I’ve always wondered why, and it turns out there’s a number of factors nobody gets it right.

    Usually, there’s no accompanying music, so everybody sings the song in whatever key is in their head. Even if there was accompanying music, not everybody sings in key.

    Because we have no music and director, everybody sings it at a different speed. Some go fast, some slow. Again, everybody is singing it like how they hear it in their own heads.

    Once in a while, all the voices somehow meet in the middle and compensate – in both tempo and key. But then, along comes the octave jump at the end and everybody is caught off guard again.

    Oh, let’s not forget messing up the names of the people we sing for. Sometimes people use nicknames, sometimes we get the names which are on the cake, sometimes it’s their full name – I don’t think I’ve ever sang a birthday song where everybody was 100% on the ball.

    So what’s a problem without a solution? I propose that before we start singing, we pass to the singers cards with the following details:

    Name to sing:
    Key (a pitch pipe would also suffice for those who don’t know their notes):
    Tempo:
    Language:

    That should solve all birthday song related problems.

    Also, I’d like to wish my mother and my best friend Happy Birthday – thanks for being two very wonderful people in my life. I love you guys <3.