Hello there. I am glad to take up a discussion worth while. It will stand for time as Junk is something which has constantly been sticking with humanity. By the end of the blog you will become aware about what you are doing involuntarily. My idea is to bring back things in your life to the way it was; which you may call a "Simple Life." Let me help you in restoring you! You may also think, who am I to guide others? I am not any 100% perfect guy. I am 26 and I atleast have realized quite early in my life to avoid certain things, as far as I can.
Shall we broadly classify Junk?
1. Junk Food.
2. Junk Knowledge.
3. Junk Entertainment.
I think these are the best suitable categories since the medium that Junk enter our body or mind are Eating, Hearing, Seeing.
1. Junk Food:
I am sure the very thing that comes to us when we hear the word Junk is food. Food in many ways has affected our lives. Life has become fast and food has become fast food. Half, raw cooked yet tasty and captivating food has driven us all mad. Double layered chocolate cake, almond cup cakes, Cashew muffins, Large plain bread burger with potato, tomato, cabbage and mayounese sauce, Green Mexican wave Pizza with cheese burst, Hot wing chicken with extra spice. Excuse me, are you feeling hungry just by reading this? See! I told you. Your brain is tempting your stimulus to feel hungry just by thinking about it. We are all addicted to junk and great smelling food. The industry of Food and Beverages has very vastly taken control of people by mass media and social media. Nevertheless it is marketing and has to be that way. In a way it has made people to think that to not to go to such places is a shame or lack of image in a social circle. Ofcourse even I love to go to places and eat and have fun with friends. Once in a while and the reasons have to be valid. Since I have had the adverse effects of growing fat too. The chips, cool drinks and all that we have for refreshment also has a vast side effect. Potato chips sealed tight in packets have so much adverse effects on intestines. Close a room seal packed for 6 months and open it. You will find a drastic difference from the outside atmosphere and the room locked for months. So what to say about a chips pack? Same with cool drinks. Its pure carbonated water. It contains nothing but gas. Stomach is already packed with gas. Its a balloon filled with air. Pour a little more gas into it. Crazy! There are many other FMCG edibles that have actually eroded the way humans have evolved. I will have to talk about advertisements for which I will connect you with Junk Entertainment later. Meanwhile, whatever may be the ads, it is us who decides what we want. In my dad's period being thin was common. My dad put up weight recently since he started using car and his activity of public transport got less. During my grandpa's days being thin and healthy was life style, an easy task. Today in my generation and the forth coming generations being thin is becoming a necessity. It is becoming so important that we have to remain fit. There is no point in eating junk and working hard in gym. I will give you solution in the end of this discussion. Let's take on the other topic.
2. Junk Knowledge:
What do I see, what do I hear is what I think and what I do. Thereby the society is shaped and the generations evolve with what is fed to it. Education and Media are the pillars of a generation coming up. I remember my parents telling me. My mother used to listen to songs in AIR- All India Radio at 10.00PM, since that was the only timings when cinema songs were aired. Doordarshan used to telecast movies once a week. They had to wait for periodic timings to see news and read newspaper. Even a message to be sent for a loved one took a lot of time. Might it be Telegram or Trunk call. The reason I am mentioning this is they had a simple life with less distractions. That period had a lot of common sense and high IQ. Even travelling in a car was fantasy. My dad would ask mechanics and drivers loads of question on vehicles and their functions. He learnt things on hand. Today we are in an era of hurry bury. Passing knowledge in the form of educational institution or media has become a business rather than service. Too many things to know, too many things to do. I can recall any dude for that matter or atleast a boy who shows off that he knows a lot of stuff.
"You know I am always busy. I talk with so many friends. I am a multi tasking personallity. A super hero, my friends call me." I am telling you, just ask this person a simple question.
You- "What is your favourite?"
Super Hero- "You know I like automobiles. I am a pro in bikes. I do wheelie, endo and all other stunts."
You- "OK, what force acts on a bike's wheel which makes it turn without tumbling the bike down?"
Super Hero- "Meehhhh, It all depends upon clutch, brake timing and body balance.!!"
Super Hero doesn't know the term.! It's Centrifugal Force. Something we studied in school physics.
Also find a newbie photographer who has just bought a DSLR camera and created a page with their name followed by Photography on FB. I am not telling this to offend all those who are really good in pictures. Just the ones who show off themselves. These genius don't have the simplest idea of lighting, frame, detail in the image, long shot, close up and all other basic concepts which makes a decent photograph.
My point is anyone and everyone has started to speak as if they know everything. The actual interest in learning something is absent. The problem I must say is movies and other reality shows and also the friends and other circles which again falls prey of media. Here they make you think that you are super hero only if you do all these things. Things like, "Have a multi coloured hair, wear funky torn dress, wear dangles and earrings much more than a native tribe does, talk in an accent as if a frog is stuck in your throat." A good reformed personality is looked upon as geek.
Facebook in itself has become a virus for spreading fake and wrong information. Two images will be displayed. On the left a player or a film star A, on the right a player or a film star B. Like for A, Comment for B. A poor man will be shown carrying a gunny bag and earning his wage. This bloody crook sitting in home will upload this image and ask, 1 like for respect. 1 share for humanity. Ofcourse we all will do it, but the person there just wants to increase the number of likes and shares. What's the point? Yes one more famous thing. "She is suffering from Cancer. FB has decided to generate fund. 1 share= $1. Please save an innocent life." Really?? I never knew Facebook had its own public bank account for donation and charity.
The essence of a knowledgeable person lies in how much he/she listens, observes, thinks, shows respect to others and how much he/she really has interest in doing something. Interests vary vastly from person to person. The knowledge gained in the field which you think you are involved speaks volumes. You might have to be a role model to demonstrate and speak just for the sake of inspiring someone to be knowledgeable like you. Now the next prominent category.
3. Junk Entertainment:
Welcome to world of Media, ads, reality shows, music, movies, dances, novels which if channelized properly can do wonders. I don't know where to start since in India we are super dominated by the voice of media. It has become so scarce to find out where to get true and unbiased information. May it be news, ads, shows. Knowledge has been deliberately blind folded from us when it comes to certain news channels.
On the whole talking about media, we understand that political influence has played a key role in news varying from channel to channel. Nevertheless in India I still rely on Doordarshan news and The Hindu newspaper. I am confident I am given optimum true stories. Since The Hindu mostly gathers information from PTI (Press Trust of India.) which is why in The Hindu we get precise word to word explanation as it may be found in a Gazetter Order or Court Notice. There are other few newspaper for whom marketing is the key. They have a dedicated supplementary just for celebrity gossips and entertainment. Sunday Dash, Party Bash and all that stuff. Not to blame the buyer, he sure wants to know what is happening with his favourite heroine. There was also a period when so many complimentary gifts like shampoo, soap, powder were all given free with a magazine, just for promoting and selling it. Going on to other music channels. They want to run reality shows, host gossips programs on celebrities and all that third grade unwanted junk. Not just music channels even most other TV channels have got a desire for reality shows. I appreciate a few of them whole heartedly.
Reality shows of dance and singing are good to some extent. Even then the choice of a right person lags. We also see the contestants ending up in movies. A few other reality shows which really promote nothing fruitful for youngsters but just let them quack and fight in international television for a god forbidden title, "Roadster 2013." Whatever!
Talking about ads. Advertisements have lost the core value of conveying a simple message of why to buy a product. They have to twist and turn, cook up a story, create a scenario just for making someone to buy their products. Thanks to a few hopeless advertisers even that standard has gone. I personally am a fan of Ogilvy & Mather. They are truly the best in delivering clear cut message through ads. Their ads deliver thought provoking message and leave behind an impression of creativity. Talking about bad example, I found few ads strange and funny. One has to drink a cool drink to get adrenalin kicked up to jump from a mountain or do some brave task? I'am sorry sir, I don't see a biological connection for adrenalin pump by a cool drink. What has a girl got to do with being attracted by a perfume? Perfume is for avoiding body odour. Primary goal achieved. It is not for attracting women all the way you walk! Hush!!!
Music is essence of life. It is the best way to sooth a soul. Get us to peace when we feel stressed. Its been a while people have liked such music. A hard beat song, a crazy funny step and all that shiny colourful costumes. The essence of enjoyable lyrics, music, articulated dance and serene visuals have gradually departed.
Even movies have become narrow based. It is not that there are no directors who want to make interesting story lines. They are feared for loss in Box Office if audience don't understand the movie. So atleast in India the movies have become more commercial and stereotype. We say movies changed the taste and trend of people. They say we are aiming at satisfying audience. This debate is probably never ending.
I am sorry but even a few novels have gone that way. All based on love, sex and stuff. No one wants to read and imagine a novel and enjoy it page by page. People find sexually contented books much interesting to read. Hats off to Sidney Sheldon, J.K. Rowling, James Patterson and many other interesting novelists who redefined fiction.
I think I have arrived at a conclusion of my efforts. Putting it in simple terms here I present to you, what to do and what not.
Remedy:
1. Please avoid junk food and eat a lot of healthy fruits, vegetables, rice, wheat, little meat (if you eat non-veg), milk. These are the key ingredients which make a proper metabolism.
2. Look for knowledgeable books, articles, magazines which provoke thought and induce curiosity. Talk with elderly people. They are a great source of knowledge.
3. Always make sure you cross check something before you come to a conclusion. As the old tamil saying goes. Kannal parpadum poi, kaadhal ketpadum poi, theera visaripadhe mei. "Its false whatever you see, it's false whatever you hear, it's true only if you ask and clarify doubts."
4. Please listen to a lot of good musics, watch movies which leave you mentally uplifted. Please read movie reviews before attempting to watch it.
5. Make good friends. Friends are eventually going to become your character. No matter how old, true friends will be an integral part of life.
6. Silence is Strength. Silence makes us wise. The more we are silent, the more we listen to others.
Dear friend. I hope you enjoyed this blog. This advise and suggestion is for me as well. I am going to make sure I do all these things and this blog will act as my check list. Take care and please grow into a Junk free, wise human being. (Shift + Delete!) I know you have deleted junk permanently by the end of this line. Great job! Take care.
Love & Care,
Naren Pillai.
12/09/2013.
Shall we broadly classify Junk?
1. Junk Food.
2. Junk Knowledge.
3. Junk Entertainment.
I think these are the best suitable categories since the medium that Junk enter our body or mind are Eating, Hearing, Seeing.
1. Junk Food:
I am sure the very thing that comes to us when we hear the word Junk is food. Food in many ways has affected our lives. Life has become fast and food has become fast food. Half, raw cooked yet tasty and captivating food has driven us all mad. Double layered chocolate cake, almond cup cakes, Cashew muffins, Large plain bread burger with potato, tomato, cabbage and mayounese sauce, Green Mexican wave Pizza with cheese burst, Hot wing chicken with extra spice. Excuse me, are you feeling hungry just by reading this? See! I told you. Your brain is tempting your stimulus to feel hungry just by thinking about it. We are all addicted to junk and great smelling food. The industry of Food and Beverages has very vastly taken control of people by mass media and social media. Nevertheless it is marketing and has to be that way. In a way it has made people to think that to not to go to such places is a shame or lack of image in a social circle. Ofcourse even I love to go to places and eat and have fun with friends. Once in a while and the reasons have to be valid. Since I have had the adverse effects of growing fat too. The chips, cool drinks and all that we have for refreshment also has a vast side effect. Potato chips sealed tight in packets have so much adverse effects on intestines. Close a room seal packed for 6 months and open it. You will find a drastic difference from the outside atmosphere and the room locked for months. So what to say about a chips pack? Same with cool drinks. Its pure carbonated water. It contains nothing but gas. Stomach is already packed with gas. Its a balloon filled with air. Pour a little more gas into it. Crazy! There are many other FMCG edibles that have actually eroded the way humans have evolved. I will have to talk about advertisements for which I will connect you with Junk Entertainment later. Meanwhile, whatever may be the ads, it is us who decides what we want. In my dad's period being thin was common. My dad put up weight recently since he started using car and his activity of public transport got less. During my grandpa's days being thin and healthy was life style, an easy task. Today in my generation and the forth coming generations being thin is becoming a necessity. It is becoming so important that we have to remain fit. There is no point in eating junk and working hard in gym. I will give you solution in the end of this discussion. Let's take on the other topic.
2. Junk Knowledge:
What do I see, what do I hear is what I think and what I do. Thereby the society is shaped and the generations evolve with what is fed to it. Education and Media are the pillars of a generation coming up. I remember my parents telling me. My mother used to listen to songs in AIR- All India Radio at 10.00PM, since that was the only timings when cinema songs were aired. Doordarshan used to telecast movies once a week. They had to wait for periodic timings to see news and read newspaper. Even a message to be sent for a loved one took a lot of time. Might it be Telegram or Trunk call. The reason I am mentioning this is they had a simple life with less distractions. That period had a lot of common sense and high IQ. Even travelling in a car was fantasy. My dad would ask mechanics and drivers loads of question on vehicles and their functions. He learnt things on hand. Today we are in an era of hurry bury. Passing knowledge in the form of educational institution or media has become a business rather than service. Too many things to know, too many things to do. I can recall any dude for that matter or atleast a boy who shows off that he knows a lot of stuff.
"You know I am always busy. I talk with so many friends. I am a multi tasking personallity. A super hero, my friends call me." I am telling you, just ask this person a simple question.
You- "What is your favourite?"
Super Hero- "You know I like automobiles. I am a pro in bikes. I do wheelie, endo and all other stunts."
You- "OK, what force acts on a bike's wheel which makes it turn without tumbling the bike down?"
Super Hero- "Meehhhh, It all depends upon clutch, brake timing and body balance.!!"
Super Hero doesn't know the term.! It's Centrifugal Force. Something we studied in school physics.
Also find a newbie photographer who has just bought a DSLR camera and created a page with their name followed by Photography on FB. I am not telling this to offend all those who are really good in pictures. Just the ones who show off themselves. These genius don't have the simplest idea of lighting, frame, detail in the image, long shot, close up and all other basic concepts which makes a decent photograph.
My point is anyone and everyone has started to speak as if they know everything. The actual interest in learning something is absent. The problem I must say is movies and other reality shows and also the friends and other circles which again falls prey of media. Here they make you think that you are super hero only if you do all these things. Things like, "Have a multi coloured hair, wear funky torn dress, wear dangles and earrings much more than a native tribe does, talk in an accent as if a frog is stuck in your throat." A good reformed personality is looked upon as geek.
Facebook in itself has become a virus for spreading fake and wrong information. Two images will be displayed. On the left a player or a film star A, on the right a player or a film star B. Like for A, Comment for B. A poor man will be shown carrying a gunny bag and earning his wage. This bloody crook sitting in home will upload this image and ask, 1 like for respect. 1 share for humanity. Ofcourse we all will do it, but the person there just wants to increase the number of likes and shares. What's the point? Yes one more famous thing. "She is suffering from Cancer. FB has decided to generate fund. 1 share= $1. Please save an innocent life." Really?? I never knew Facebook had its own public bank account for donation and charity.
The essence of a knowledgeable person lies in how much he/she listens, observes, thinks, shows respect to others and how much he/she really has interest in doing something. Interests vary vastly from person to person. The knowledge gained in the field which you think you are involved speaks volumes. You might have to be a role model to demonstrate and speak just for the sake of inspiring someone to be knowledgeable like you. Now the next prominent category.
3. Junk Entertainment:
Welcome to world of Media, ads, reality shows, music, movies, dances, novels which if channelized properly can do wonders. I don't know where to start since in India we are super dominated by the voice of media. It has become so scarce to find out where to get true and unbiased information. May it be news, ads, shows. Knowledge has been deliberately blind folded from us when it comes to certain news channels.
On the whole talking about media, we understand that political influence has played a key role in news varying from channel to channel. Nevertheless in India I still rely on Doordarshan news and The Hindu newspaper. I am confident I am given optimum true stories. Since The Hindu mostly gathers information from PTI (Press Trust of India.) which is why in The Hindu we get precise word to word explanation as it may be found in a Gazetter Order or Court Notice. There are other few newspaper for whom marketing is the key. They have a dedicated supplementary just for celebrity gossips and entertainment. Sunday Dash, Party Bash and all that stuff. Not to blame the buyer, he sure wants to know what is happening with his favourite heroine. There was also a period when so many complimentary gifts like shampoo, soap, powder were all given free with a magazine, just for promoting and selling it. Going on to other music channels. They want to run reality shows, host gossips programs on celebrities and all that third grade unwanted junk. Not just music channels even most other TV channels have got a desire for reality shows. I appreciate a few of them whole heartedly.
Reality shows of dance and singing are good to some extent. Even then the choice of a right person lags. We also see the contestants ending up in movies. A few other reality shows which really promote nothing fruitful for youngsters but just let them quack and fight in international television for a god forbidden title, "Roadster 2013." Whatever!
Talking about ads. Advertisements have lost the core value of conveying a simple message of why to buy a product. They have to twist and turn, cook up a story, create a scenario just for making someone to buy their products. Thanks to a few hopeless advertisers even that standard has gone. I personally am a fan of Ogilvy & Mather. They are truly the best in delivering clear cut message through ads. Their ads deliver thought provoking message and leave behind an impression of creativity. Talking about bad example, I found few ads strange and funny. One has to drink a cool drink to get adrenalin kicked up to jump from a mountain or do some brave task? I'am sorry sir, I don't see a biological connection for adrenalin pump by a cool drink. What has a girl got to do with being attracted by a perfume? Perfume is for avoiding body odour. Primary goal achieved. It is not for attracting women all the way you walk! Hush!!!
Music is essence of life. It is the best way to sooth a soul. Get us to peace when we feel stressed. Its been a while people have liked such music. A hard beat song, a crazy funny step and all that shiny colourful costumes. The essence of enjoyable lyrics, music, articulated dance and serene visuals have gradually departed.
Even movies have become narrow based. It is not that there are no directors who want to make interesting story lines. They are feared for loss in Box Office if audience don't understand the movie. So atleast in India the movies have become more commercial and stereotype. We say movies changed the taste and trend of people. They say we are aiming at satisfying audience. This debate is probably never ending.
I am sorry but even a few novels have gone that way. All based on love, sex and stuff. No one wants to read and imagine a novel and enjoy it page by page. People find sexually contented books much interesting to read. Hats off to Sidney Sheldon, J.K. Rowling, James Patterson and many other interesting novelists who redefined fiction.
I think I have arrived at a conclusion of my efforts. Putting it in simple terms here I present to you, what to do and what not.
Remedy:
1. Please avoid junk food and eat a lot of healthy fruits, vegetables, rice, wheat, little meat (if you eat non-veg), milk. These are the key ingredients which make a proper metabolism.
2. Look for knowledgeable books, articles, magazines which provoke thought and induce curiosity. Talk with elderly people. They are a great source of knowledge.
3. Always make sure you cross check something before you come to a conclusion. As the old tamil saying goes. Kannal parpadum poi, kaadhal ketpadum poi, theera visaripadhe mei. "Its false whatever you see, it's false whatever you hear, it's true only if you ask and clarify doubts."
4. Please listen to a lot of good musics, watch movies which leave you mentally uplifted. Please read movie reviews before attempting to watch it.
5. Make good friends. Friends are eventually going to become your character. No matter how old, true friends will be an integral part of life.
6. Silence is Strength. Silence makes us wise. The more we are silent, the more we listen to others.
Dear friend. I hope you enjoyed this blog. This advise and suggestion is for me as well. I am going to make sure I do all these things and this blog will act as my check list. Take care and please grow into a Junk free, wise human being. (Shift + Delete!) I know you have deleted junk permanently by the end of this line. Great job! Take care.
Love & Care,
Naren Pillai.
12/09/2013.
Innovation 'n Technology has its own "Pros 'n Cons".....its a matter of choice.."Who" picks "What".....
ReplyDeleteDear Richa. That's pretty much true. We are our masters. Thank you so much! :)
Delete