What is Literature?

I hate reading so called "literary" books, most of them are extremely boring and the only good thing it can do is acting as a good hypnotic. (Tho when I have insomnia, I usually resort to studying my notes in bed. 100% effective. So these books have no use to me.)

I have always thought books should be entertaining. It's useless to write books only few can understand and appreciate. The same goes for movies and paintings. I still remember studying The Pearl (written by John Steinbeck) in English Literature in secondary school. It's so boring...

Don't get me wrong. I hate superficial stuff. Like comedy by Stephen Chow. I love books/movies that I can re-read/re-watch again and again, and discover new meaning every time.

Recently I have read a discussion on the web about definition of literature. Diana Gabaldon offered this amazingly good definition, which I think is very true...

"My personal definition of "literature" is "any book that _lasts_." By this definition, most of the literary prize-winners and short-listed titles aren't literature, because they're gone without a trace in three or four years--if not less. (Most people--even dedicated readers of "serious" stuff--can't tell you who was short-listed for the Orange, the Whitbread, the Man Booker, etc.--even from last year.)

Generally speaking, a book needs to have some substance in order to last--but damn few of those that last aren't entertaining.

(And fwiw, even though the _average_ hardcover book these days lasts six months or less on the shelves--all of mine are still in print in hardcover, fifteen years in and counting. Keep your fingers crossed. )"

Beware Of 'Infomania'

I read an article on this in the Forbes' website...

scary... pls read the full article here

as for the extract, pls read here, maybe I should use less MSN/ICQ... email has become and essential part of my life...

"The Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London conducted clinical trials with volunteer office workers to measure how a constant flow of messages and information affects a person's ability to focus on problem-solving tasks.

Instead of boosting productivity, the constant data stream seriously reduced the volunteers' ability to focus. The study reported that an average worker's functioning IQ falls 10 points when distracted by ringing telephones and incoming e-mails, more than twice the four-point drop seen following a 2002 Carleton University study on the impact of smoking marijuana.

The study showed that 62% of adults are literally addicted to checking e-mail and text messages during meetings, in the evening and on weekends.

Half of workers respond to e-mails immediately or within 60 minutes, and one in five people are happy to interrupt a business or social meeting to respond to an e-mail or telephone message within 60 minutes.

The study warns of the abuse of always-on technology and calls this endemic condition infomania."

10 points of IQ, that's like 10% of my IQ!!! I'm going to shut my computer down NOW!

Helping Lebanon

I have always wanted to travel to Lebanon, the reason I haven't been there yet is because I can't find someone to go with me, and I haven't ran out of "normal" places (where there're actually friends who are willing to go with me) to visit.

Today, I received this forwarded extract from Financial Times from a friend.

"Please, don't stop visiting

By Justin Marozzi

Published: August 5 2006 03:00 | Last updated: August 5 2006 03:00

The most peculiar thing I heard during 12 months in Baghdad a couple of years ago was a retired British Army corporal asking me whether it was safe to visit Beirut. I found it hard to suppress a smile, the question coming from a man bold or foolish enough to live in the heart of a war zone. Angry young men were blowing themselves up daily at checkpoints only a stone's throw away, mortars were landing with heart-stopping regularity around our flimsy accommodation, any travel in Baghdad ran the real risk of ending in injury or death, much of the country was in flames and my colleague wanted to know whether Beirut, playground of the Middle East, was safe enough for a summer break.

Today, the same question would elicit tears rather than smiles. Every bomb landing in Lebanon sends the country further down the road to oblivion, smashing its economy and removing it from the list of travel destinations for years to come. This is bad enough. Lebanon's phoenix-like recovery from the 1975-1990 civil war and the resurgence of its tourism industry was one of the region's most spirit-lifting stories of recent years."

Together with it, there's an article on MSF's mission on Lebanon. The situation is really saddening. Precious lives being wasted.

"It was incredible and shocking to see these old women coming out from devastated houses, screaming, crying, desperately seeking help. We could not find any wounded but the distinctive smell of dead bodies was all around us", Ledecq (the surgeon in the MSF team) recalled.

I probably won't be visiting Lebanon in the near future. (I am not living in Baghdad, so Beirut is too dangerous for me.) To help these people, the only conceivable ways (for me) are by praying and donating.

Apart from MSF, we can also donate to World Vision.

There're still another few more years to go before I can consider actually going to these war zones or other disaster-struck area to help. (I just realised I can actually offer help for minimum of 6 weeks in MSF instead of 6 months by following the links in the MSF site. 6 months is probably to long for me. =P) For now, I am going to give money to help.