Ideas, Events & People

"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people”
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Haiyo, look at Ah Poh these days. She has slim down lah.
Ya-loh. She used to be fat. What did she do to become so thin ah.
Don't know leh. Maybe she exercise. Go jogging in the park.
Hmm, but i don't think so lah.

Then what?
I think she must have an operation.
Liposuction ah?
Aiyah, i don't know what they call it. Operation to throw away all the fat in body.
Haiyah. To get a boyfriend maybe.
Huh, but she's still not pretty. Only got pretty body. I'm more pretty.
Haha, but you don't have her sexy body leh.
Ceh, i can go for operation also what.
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Hey, did you read that our neighbour down south is planning to retrench about 300,000 foreign workers in the coming months?
Ya, the economy is really bad. And just after Chinese New Year.
It's the worst. Much worse than the recession in '97. Did you know that about two-thirds of those foreign workers are Malaysians.
Really? Damn. How many are they? 200,000? Then they're going to be coming back here lah.
Aiyah, of course. Where are they going to if not back here?
Hmm, we will have a serious problem then. There won't be enough jobs here for all of them.
Yes. don' t forget we're retrenching people here too. How to find jobs for those? We don't even have a good social safety net to help them.
And don't forget our local graduates also. Many are joining the workforce every year. What would happen if they can't find jobs?
Hey, my daughter is graduating this year, you know. I'm really worried about her getting a job.
Haiyah, don't worry too much lah. She's so clever. Can find a way. Ask her to take a postgraduate degree la.
What? And break my retirement fund. You're kidding me!
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Hey, do you think Radiohead's 'OK Computer' is a concept album?
No, i don't think it is. Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. Now that is a concept album.
I know The Wall is a concept album, but that one is very old already.
In the 70's. But it's still a great piece of musical work.
But it's concept is out-dated by now. It basically revolve around one person. Radiohead's album revolves around a wider social perspective. There are more themes inside compared to The Wall.
Hey, the themes inside The Wall deals with human conditions. It's more universal.
The theme is one man's disillusionment with his rock star life. It's nothing new. Radiohead's album talks of the modern life. Working man's life and its sense of alienation, social injustice. Even government abuse of its people.
Yes, but the music is kinda depressing with all those electronics stuff lah.
That could only add a dimension of atmosphere to complex subjects. You can't be playing straight-ahead guitar rock to deliver those messages, right?
Well, i don't quite like the sound there. Especially "No Surprises". Sounds like a musical box to me.
It's only because you don't appreciate the subtleties. It sounded like a musical box to lull listener into a sense of false well-being. The message is about government oppression on the people. The ordinary working people are being lulled into a false sense of security lah.
Is that so? Not to me. It's more like a lullaby than a song. "Comfortably Numb" is a much better song. There's guitar in there, not wind chimes.
Hey, it's not windchime. It's called a glockenspiel. Similar to xylophone but it's made of metal not wood. Also, it produce a higher pitch. Used in the background, it simulates the constant barrage of propaganda news the government feed its people.
Hah, that's just your opinion. The two guitar solos on Comfortably Numb creates the most melodic lines i'd ever heard. And the lyrics about one man's descent into insanity is the best ever. The vocals interplay between Roger Waters and Gilmour are excellent too.
Yes, i have to say "Comfortably Numb" is a great song. So is "Is There Anybody Out There?" I'm just saying their theme is not as wide in scope as the songs in Radiohead's album.
Okay, let's just leave this concept album thing for now. I'm hungry. Let's go eat.
Well, we could always talk about this again after dinner right?
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Must say the scenarios depicted in the third section is not very convincing of great minds. But the idea is they're discussing ideas from a musical context.

I guess most people are only average, so it's nothing to be ashamed of. But when supposedly great minds-leaders of an organization or country engages in discussing people more than ideas, then what does the majority of "average" or "small" minds of the rest would find to say?

To borrow a phrase; "we all talk about the world like it's someplace that we've all been." Most probably, we've not been there at all.

My wife said i'm very kepoh-chi one. But i like talking and reading about events. Aiyo, so i'm somewhere between small and average then. Now, which type are you?