Jagih
Monday, June 20, 2011
MC100 Podcast Exercise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANk18XXDZCw
Saturday, May 28, 2011
The smells of NATURE
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Football !!
I started to support football, Manchester United in particular, when I was eight years old. Ever since then football has played a big part in my life. I started off as a defender, a right back to be more precise and I have since played in many other positions however the position I think I play my best football is as a defensive midfielder. I played football throughout my school life and when I was in secondary school I played for the school team. However being young and immature I threw away that chance by not performing well and not turning up for football training as I thought I was indispensible from the team. After some time I was kick out of the school team.
When I was in form four a few class mates and I decided to create our own football team. The team name was Ghazi, meaning soldier and I was vice captain of the team. The team started off with just my class mates at that time and then we slowly expanded and boys from other classes joined our team. We joined football and futsal competitions with this team and won quite a few medals. During that time I suffered many injuries that I still carry now. Some of the injuries were quite bad and became permanent. Sadly after we completed our form 5 examinations we all went our different ways and the team was no more.
After school finished I hardly played football but played more futsal and created my own team named Hot Ballz. With this team I played in a few leagues and won a few more medals. However, after the FIFA World Cup last year my friends and I decided to start playing football again and ever since then we make it a point to play at least once a week.
This sport has thought me many things but two of the most important things that it has thought me is, number one, team work is invaluable and number two, always keep calm and never lose your head. Without team work in football you are bound to lose and if you can’t keep calm you’re not going to be able to play. The thing that I would love to do most now would be to go to Manchester and have a kick about with some of the Manchester United players.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Music As an AntiDote; Music as a Lesson; Music as Something More.
"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. -Victor Hugo
Can you think back to the last time you used music as a tool to vent out the feelings that you’re feeling which can’t be explained? It could range from being happy, excited, sad, angry, or depressed. How frequent do you use music as a tool?
I have used and am still using music as a tool to vent out the feelings that I went through and the feelings that I am currently going through. It helps when the type of music you listen too expresses the feelings that you are currently going through. For example, when you’re angry, you listen to music with genres like ‘Rock/metal’, when your love struck, you listen to the CD titled ‘Loves Greatest Hits’. I can’t speak for everyone, but I can surely speak for myself, this is exactly how I feel. Furthermore, whenever I am depressed or feeling sad, music never seems to fail to cheer me up and sometimes even inspire me to do more in life.
“Where words fail, music speaks.”- Hans Christian Andersen quotes
Not only that, music plays a role in the way we express ourselves in public. It shows others the type of society we are in, our culture and most of all our individuality. With so many genres to pick from, we tend to pick the genres that show our characteristics and personality, and also the genres that understand us the most. For example, in the early 1970s, the skinhead culture was closely associated with music genres such as soul, ska, and early reggae. They used music to express their thoughts and feelings through the clothes they wear and they lifestyle that they led. With that being said, the genres that I have chosen are Rock and Metal. I may not wear rocker pants and have mascara on (like the band KISS), but those genres allows me to express my individuality and it understands the thoughts and feelings that I am going through.
“Every man's work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or anything else, is always a portrait of himself, and the more he tries to conceal himself the more clearly will his character appear in spite of him.” -Samuel Butler quotes
Considering that music has played such a big part of my life, I wouldn’t know where I stood without music. When I study, I listen to music; when I sleep, I listen to music; when I am in the car, I listen to music.
When a pair of earphones is plugged into my ears, and the music starts playing, it feels as though I am in my own world, somewhere I belong. Music influences me to push my limits when I am at my limit, picks me up and dust me off when I am down or have given up, gets angry/happy whenever I am angry/happy.
So in the end, music has taught me a number of things. The lyrical aspects of music has given me countless of advises on how to handle life’s unexpected events that comes knocking at your door. Most lyrics are written based on life experiences that other people have been through. So this gives me a small window to put myself in their shoes and understand what went wrong and hopefully it doesn’t happen to me.
Meanwhile, it also teaches me that the melody of any song can change from a low to a high point anytime throughout the song which illustrates life a lot. For example, at one point in life, you can experience the happiest point in life, and the next point in life, you may just hit your head at the curb and go through the worst hell of your life. With this in mind, music thought me that appreciation of what you have in life is very important because you never know when the last time you’re going to have it in your grasp.
Finally it teaches me to never give up on what you love. For example, only a handful of musicians made it into the hall of fame and that’s because they never gave up; they never backed down from their passion. I entered psychology because I am intrigued by the way people think and why people do what they do, therefore no matter how hard or narrow the road might be, I should never give up or back down from what I love.
"Without music, life would be a mistake." -Friedrich Nietzsche
P.S, Music may be among my passions but it doesn't define me, music is just a tool that allows me to get close and understand the people around me. J
These are just some pictures of noteworthy bands/singers which I would like to share with you all
Magic and Life
In truth, the only restrictions on our capacity to astonish ourselves and each other are imposed by our own minds.
David Blaine.
What is Magic? A question that holds many different answers. To me, the power of magic is not in trick we think we see, but it’s the act itself...the image the magician creates, the way it makes us feel, that certain sense of childlike wonder. When the magician provokes us into wonder when he demonstrates the impossible, we ask ourselves...Why? The answer is...it’s all magic. The main concept of magic is basically “making the impossible possible”. This saying is clearly portrayed by many different individuals throughout the years. Such famous magicians like Houdini, David Copperfield and David Blaine all are such unique individuals who have mastered the art and caused countless people to question reality.
Magic comes in many different forms, whether or not it is in the form of playing cards or in the form of illusions. However, no matter different forms that come with magic, it all leads to one thing which is Amazement. Many people may question how such magic tricks and stunts are done, but what most people do not understand is the psychology behind the magic. As a young magician, I was first introduced to the art at a young age whereby magic was considered to be a way to impress people. Only through time I begin to fully understand the true meaning of magic, which is trying to achieve something that is not natural or humanly possible. Such tricks like making a coin disappear or identifying a card in a shuffled deck are some of the many tricks that I’ve learned to do. Till this day, by performing such tricks I’m still able to receive a sense of amusement from my audience. As time went on, I soon discovered a way to place the psychology of magic into my day to day life. For instance, if I can make a coin disappear, I should be able to achieve well in university studies. It soon became clear to me, that nothing is impossible in life. This new concept basically changed my whole view on life and gave a boost in my confidence to work hard to achieve something. This fairly similar to magic in the sense that, in order to learn a new sleight one will work hard and practice every day. Same goes to life, if you want something you would probably work hard to achieve it. This is what I feel about magic.