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Tuesday, Dec 30, 2025 - 21:32 SGT
Posted By: Gilbert

Observances At The End Of The Year

With 2025 drawing to a close, it may be a good time to get some matters off one's chest, to start the new year on a clean(er) slate (yes, an arbitrary cutoff, but it's for sentiment). On perhaps slightly-more-taboo topics first, the biggest lesson experienced over the past year was how much appearances and material stuff actually matters; try to talk sense as a normal bloke, and as Strachan once perceptively observed, one would often be treated as some bum spouting crap (however logical the underlying reasoning is). Flash a car and bungalow (fine, and maybe a bit of grooming), and somehow people happen to become noticeably more receptive to your ideas. Then what if I pull out the private jet? I'm automatically right?

I don't know. Maybe I was wrong from the beginning. Perhaps I should have gone straight for those things first.

I have maintained this blog as my main outlet for (sometimes serious) expression, for several considered reasons:
  • Firstly, it is open and public, so anybody (with an Internet connection, granted) can access and read it. The flip side is, of course, that anybody is also free to not read it as they please. As far as I know, this blog is not mandatory reading for any curriculum.

  • Secondly, the statements are in writing and posted with timestamps, so there is a record of exactly what was expressed, and when. If projections turn out to be inaccurate, they can be taken to account. This hopefully mitigates issues with attribution, as with verbal claims ("i.e. I didn't say/mean that!")

  • Thirdly, the posts are written without any specific individual or group as the target audience; they are broadcast messages, and not intended or tailored for any subject or population. This is because the content and assertions are intended to be valid and hold in general, without regard for the identity of the reader.

    This also avoids the regrettably all-too-prevalent restrictions with interpersonal speech acts, e.g. "You can't talk in that tone/say such things to your senior/superior", "You're not supposed to let them know these things", "OK Moomer whatever you say" etc., that tend to hobble actual communication.

  • Fourthly, the above points assure a consistency of presentation. As the posts are public, written and untargeted, I cannot show a different face or spin a different narrative, depending on the audience. Some may think this a disadvantage, or lacking in proper discretion. With all due respect, I do not agree. If one is going to give a point of view, he might as well say something that he believes, and is willing to defend.

  • Fifthly, the blog remains self-hosted, and is therefore not subject to the vagaries and censorship of any external (social media) platform - or any (automated) attempt to boost, hide or misrepresent the content.

    This allows a certain freedom to choose the topics of engagement; all the more nowadays, there are many subjects that are important, but honestly not (allowed to be?) discussed with sincerity, by either mainstream or social media, as we have well seen with the Pandemic Game, fluoride and acetaminophen etc. - which is just a tiny selection from the healthcare end.

And to be frank, sometimes I do wonder - should I really bother? From long and sad observation, it does seem that people don't really care about what is accurate - or even possible - in general. Perhaps the day will come when, for whatever reason, I am unable to keep this up; when I become more "adult", and learn to dissimulate with a straight face; when I finally feel justified in saying, 他们的死活与我无关, because I have tried to speak some bloody sense for so long, and only gotten grief for it.

May that day never come, then. And have a fine year ahead.



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