* Tina's adventures in Prague or rather misadventures

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Guilty as charged...

Epilogue: After the first spree I kinda overindulged; helping myself to sales items from zara, more from mango- big mistake-, a lecoq bag, 2 hair bands, 3 pairs of discounted shoes..all charged to my nets card yikes!! eating away at my would be Europe expense account..

I have been starting to slack -a combination of the novelty of blogging wearing off, watching copious amounts of Will & Grace and my life coming to a standstill after I stopped my internship- & once again discovering that reading other peoples' blog is wayyyyyyyy more entertaining and gratifying..

Discovering mr brown http://www.mrbrown.com/ (I love all his podcasts particularly the persistently non-political ones & no more birds- a shameless parody of the richard gere-visa commercial) and mr miyagi http://miyagi.sg/ (brown's partner ~~in crime~~ his site has hilarious snapshot of bad eng-rish posters/signs/menus).. Coincided with mr brown's column being suspended(!!) in the Today paper for being " overly scarastic & distorting the truth" & being labeled "dangerous" because he has become a "partisan player in politics".

As I watched the controversy unravel, I felt ashamed. I had always believed that the government censored material for our nation's benefit (rants & publications that were considered to be racist or offensive to particular religions and certain political mavericks who sprout utterly dishonest claims) and so we accepted the trade off between free speech and social & political stability, even defending its virtues at times.. But the suspension of mr brown has shaken my core belief system. Now this is a man who lives & loves our country, he has the wit, the will, the heart and courage to speak about weighty issues, poke fun at trivialities of everyday life or even do quirky impressions for a laugh. He is someone that we should be proud to have in the media for he is truly like one of us and the government had a hand in suspending him because they don't like his version of the truth. Ironically this is the same government who is pushing for creative minds and for the younger generation to be interested & have a say in political affairs. So what does this action tell us- you can be creative & speak up but only if you don't say anything unpleasant lest you become a "partisan player" in politics too? what is the point of flaunting openness by staging discussion with the ministers on one hand and smiting nay sayers with another... I guess I better stop-- afterall like they say "prison got no broadband"

On the lighter side of life.. I came this article in an old issue of Her World about happiness:
There are 3 paths to happiness: the pleasant life, the good life & the meaningful life
The pleasant life is what you lead when you eat loads of chocolate, party at Zouk and shop at Gucci. You are happy from moment to moment, but sooner or later you're going to find yourself slumped on the couch, bored out of your skull as you wonder:"Is this all there is to life?"

So you're going to pick up your Prada heels, trudge back to your pad and see if you can construct the trappings of the good life. This typically comes through having a satisfying career, a great family life and an active social schedule. When we think about achieving happiness, this is the kind of life we normally dream of leading - growing old with a loved one, sitting in a rocking chair looking at your grandchildren play in the sun.

But even after achieving the good life, if inner peace or a deeper spiritual awareness eludes you then you would do well to seek out the meaningful life - devoting yourself to a greeting cause or institution beyond your self , your family and friends..

sigh I'm still stuck on stage one with a loooooong way to go.. so money can buy happiness but I guess it's how you spend the money that counts.

not quite the happy gelato stained postcard.
--9:34 PM--