The Paragon in Orchard Road has many long stretches of staircases leading to it. A few meters away from the staircases, there was a man standing on his self built mini stage with just enough space for him to stand and make small moves. He was only in his undies and there was `Guns and Roses’ singing at the background. I knew he was busking so I stopped to take a look; he had caught many attentions and had become the centre of attraction.
He was moving slowly and his facial expressions changed with the sound of the music. He was doing it so artistically I didn't think any ordinary man could do even with a lot of practice. I personally think that one needs to be passionate about it as it involves full-scale emotions and expressions. It's like acting only more difficult and spontaneous. There were are no cuts, no repeat of takes and no nothing that could hide your acting flaws. It was very impromptu and I will say it's an art he was doing. I was impressed beyond any reasonable doubt. However, I didn’t think that a group of teenagers would agree with me because they were jeering at him. I was not quite sure if they understood what the busker was trying to do. Perhaps they were just acting plain stupid and rowdy on purpose trying to steal a little attention from the public that the busker has won for himself because there are many of those bunches in Orchard Roads on weekends. So was there any Art at all?
This reminds me of `Mona Lisa Smile’ and I cannot help but to ponder on some of the dialogue. What is art? An art is an art when someone says it is. So who is that someone? Could it be any Tom, Dick or Harry or it must be someone who is highly qualified in that particular field? Who are we to say? Art is something, which is very subjective, and views on an art will differ and vary among people. Art will be meaningful only to people who know how to appreciate it. These people are the ones who understand the message behind that piece of cloth with paints, or that act on stage, which has no dialogue or that abstract sculpture. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder; therefore, what is pretty or beautiful to us may not be to others. What is an art to me may not be to you.
Have you ever wonder about the things people say, the things you see and about the things you read in the books and in the movies? About the good and bad, the ugly and the beautiful, what is right and what is wrong? There are many times we come across informations that takes a lot of understanding to digest and apply. Informations are good but we do not necessarily have to follow them because of our shortcomings or circumstances. We cannot believe everything we hear, read or see and we cannot take everything as it is.
I have read that cats have been pets to people for thousands of years. Cats were kept for pest control, companions and they were worshipped as Gods to ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians even made some of their cats into mummies when they died!
I bought myself a kitten and I am going to name her Serena. She's still feeding on her mother's milk; therefore I have to wait till she's three months before I can bring her home. That is one of the most crucial criteria to buy a kitten from a certified breeder. No kittens, which are less than 3 months old, allowed to be taken away. The kittens will be vaccinated and deworm before they are released. I am preparing my home to welcome Serena and I am quite excited for her arrival when I came to know from someone that she could get depressed living in homes, which fall under high-rise building category. The lack of space could also contribute to her depression if she were ever going to be depressed. I was puzzled but I do not doubt the fact since it's coming from National Geographic so to speak, but I cannot help to think beyond the reasoning given.
Cats are divided into categories and many different kinds of breeds. There are wild cats, big cats which usually mean tigers and domestic cats, which live in-door with their owners. I am not quite sure which category was referred to as the information was being told to me without specifications. It is imperative to know of such a fact and if it is applicable to our situations. Circumstances do not allow you to fully oblige by the dos and don’ts of certain things and somehow you just have to settle for second best most of the times.
I might not have read enough nor have I asked a lot. After gathering informations from certified and experienced cat breeders and owners living in flats from the cat society, many opinions on cats getting depressed with heights or the lack of space differ from individuals. However, everyone agreed that cats are not encouraged to be cooped up in cages. This of course is directed to domestic cats, which is applicable to my situation. No matter where you are living, spacious or not, let them roam freely and provide them with enough care and love.
Since it was emphasised that the information came from National Geographic, I spent my days and nights reading. I came across an article about feral felines, which have been causing a lot of problems to the environment. Julie Levy, a veterinarian and professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville says the Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) method is the answer to permanently reducing wildcat populations. The entire colonies of cats are trapped, vaccinated, and sterilized by a veterinarian.
Homes are found for young kittens, which can be tamed. Healthy adults are returned outdoors, where volunteers feed and look after them for the remainder of their lives. The method, however, is neither quick nor simple. But the Wildlife organizations suggested that killing those cats is the best solution but Levy does not agree saying it is not feasible. A speaker of the Wildlife Organization has this to say to people, who oppose the idea telling me that it is either you go along with it or you go to war with it,
"If people object to those cats being euthanized, since quite often homes can't be found for them, then those people should take those cats and put them on their own property or in stray and feral cat sanctuaries, where they can be protected and safe and not harm any other animal or harm the general public, that, to us, is the real solution."
After much has been said, it all boils down to the cat owners themselves. They must be responsible towards the well being of their cats. Food, health and cleanliness are factors to be seriously taken into account. A responsible owner will do whatever in his capacity to provide the cats with a good home. It’s pointless to provide a spacious home for cats when their basic necessities are ignored. Come to think of it, there would surely be chaos all over the world if cats’ owners living in high-rise buildings decided to set the cats free because National Geographic said that cats get depressed with heights. I cannot bring myself to imagine that.
I read an article that was published in the paper about the most approachable method to discipline a child between caning and reasoning. Both have their flaws and the good sides of them. Surveys and researches have been conducted and they show that parents who use the cane to discipline their children resulted in their children having less behavioural problems but are usually emotionally estranged and parents who use the latter method resulted in the children having more behavioural problems but are unlikely to be emotionally estranged. A group of psychologists have been called and most of their opinions vary. However, all of them agree on one thing, which is to have a balanced diet of disciplinary methods on the children.
As we have advanced into the millennium with all the digital gadgets and people are getting more educated and knowledgeable, I cannot stop to think about the ways parents raised up their children in the olden days. There was zero or very few cases in the olden days about students threatening or hitting the teachers in school but it has been occurring too often nowadays that parents, teachers and the government are thinking of where did it go wrong and started suggesting remedies to that social problems. They started to make studies and seek opinions from experts pertaining the issues and come up with all the theories. But have we ever stopped to think if it is really effective to apply all those theories in real life situations? I often wonder why do we come up with new ideologies and theories when we could learn from the past? It seems to me that the more technologically advanced and superiors we have become and the more books on raising up a child are published, the more social problems we are likely to have.
Let’s go back to animals; if there were two animals on earth that I am chronically afraid of, they are sharks and crocodiles. I watched ‘Open Water’ which was based on true events in the cinema recently. Although I am very much afraid of sharks, however, I am still a little fascinated about them. Open water is a story about a husband and wife who went for a holiday in the Bahamas. They went for a scuba diving trip and were stranded literally by their boat in the open sharks infested water. The dive master miscounted the number of people on board when he did a headcount and left the spot where the couple were scuba diving leaving them behind. The rest of the movie showed how the couple depended on each other for support and strength to survive that ordeal but they never made it because the sharks were too hungry. I have read in books that say, sharks do not prey on humans. When we are facing them, try to remain still like we are dead because sharks hate dead bodies. I watched how the couple tried to remain calm but still the sharks did not leave them alone. The husband got bitten at the leg and died due to excess loss of blood. The wife let go of his body and it floated further and further away from her. After awhile, I saw the sharks started to feast on his dead body, shaking and moving it on the water. I started to wonder if what we read and know can be helpful in times of true events such as this especially when we are dealing with dangerous animals. So many tips and advice but how calm can we be to apply the knowledge in dangerous situations? It's hard not to get panicked, almost impossible.
I have got myself a few handbooks on cats rearing and registered myself as a member of the Cats Society. All I wanted to do is to give Serena a shelter, love, care and a place where she can call it home in her own language. Doesn't matter what National Geographic or what the Wildlife organisation think. I am going to give her balanced treatments of love and discipline, I am going to allow her to have all the space indoor she needs and I am going to be her mother. It's good to have tips and guidelines from experts and the right sources on how to handle situations but it is only up to us to know if it does really work. Having guides, tips and advice is not enough unless you know how to apply them effectively and according to circumstances and situations, otherwise it would defeat the whole purpose because even opinions, suggestions and remedies to a problem from experts and professionals in the relevant field vary let alone the ordinary people like us.
