My introduction to an imperialism question, if ever it will come Thursday:

Imperialism was not a new prior to the 1870s, as a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, an Imperial Empire mercilessly governed and replaced the Old Republic.

There, enough said about my exams.

is where I just wanna go :|

Please note that the lack of a title means that I seem to have a lot on my mind. My first paper, Current Issues in International Relations, is tomorrow and all I feel is apathy right now. I should be scared out of my mind, but it seems that I can't really be bothered. I don't really know why this is happening at such a crucial time. Am I not scared because subconsciously I feel ready? Or is it because I'm too scared that I can't even feel scared? Oh dilemma, dilemma... :s

Oh well nothing I can do now but go back to revision :|

You might have noticed (or might not) that my blogging behaviour rate is relative to the intensity of my workload. I've read through my posts dating back a couple of months and mostly are work related or matters that are very pressing to me. Initially, I asked myself why? Why write these things when there are tons more I could do with the time? Why write when I know not many people are gonna subject themselves to my thoughts and worries? Why write when virtually nobody is reading?

Well I guess the answer to all that is merely for some relief. Whenever I try to do work or try concentrating on things, it could just never work without me thinking of other things. Things, even though menial and irrelevant to me now, I just don't want to forget. I guess all that I've written and shared, more or less, originates from my selfish nature of always wanting to remember.

I guess forgetting and losing memories, of either the good or the bad, just scares me. The memories and experiences cherished and burdened upon us all makes us unique. I don't want, in the future, to grow old and forget these things as these things aren't only for me, but also for the sake of not hurting people I love and cherish by forgetting them. So I endear and remember myself, so that I can remember others.

If by any chance I forget, I will always have this to remind me. Better yet, I have you to remind me also. So please remember to let me not forget. =D

*This post sounds kind of grim. Sorry for that. Just letting go of things on my mind I guess

When I started today, I decided that I should keep my blog on at all times just in case I wanted to gallivant about and wander from my studies (of course for reasons of relief nonetheless). Hours of reading meant that I had hours to think about new posts, but I just couldn't think of anything. But then I realised something: I tend to concentrate more on the things that I don't intend to rather than on the things that I wanted to. And today, I concentrated on trying to think of a new post to write, but instead my focus wandered into reading instead. How funny life works.

First paper up for me is my Contemporary International Relations module, encompassing on Post-Cod War Issues. As mentioned in the handbook and reading list, whatever topics included as an assessed essay would not reappear in the examination. Kind of a gift perhaps from the Politics and International Relations Department. Therefore, matters concerning human rights, new global threat i.e. nuclear proliferation and climate change, international organisations and US Foreign Policy has dominated my thoughts.

Now I regret not having paid much attention to the issues of the world prior to this. I should have made it a habit to check the pressing issues and their developments at least once a day either on the internet, newspapers or magazines. However, not much despair though, because the presence of new technology, especially Twitter, I'm now up to date (sort of) with some matters.

With Twitter, I was able to follow the 2010 Elections recently and get updates as quick as they happened. Oh how I love Twitter. But seriously starting next academic year, no more fooling around for me.

but feel challenged.

It's 3:49 am. I'm up. I wasn't up an hour ago. I was asleep. I was asleep for about 6 hours. It was a long day in the library yesterday. But still a satisfyingly productive day. Enrolled for my modules for next year. I felt the adrenaline and I can still feel it. Going to repeat my routine again. So my mind tells me to sleep, but I endeavor to read a bit more.

My life has revolved around revision. This has not been the case in the past. I've never tried this hard ever before. Are these feelings of inferiority in my academics? Do these feelings stem from the challenge purported by my peers? Am I intimidated by the fact that there are, as I have heard, 10 other Bruneian Political students in my batch right now? These questions baffle me as a new question arises: What do I have to be intimidated about? They all are in the same position as I am in.

As my mind wanders in attempting to answer these questions, a conclusion struck. No longer am I subjected to learn what I do not want. No longer do the words calculus, osmosis, titration et al mean anything to me. Only conflict and resolution are in mind. My future is at stake. My life depends on it.

It is human nature to want more. To never be satisfied. To not feel utter fulfillment. My mind seeks more knowledge, perpetually pursuing intellectual satisfaction and fulfillment.

Everything learnt interconnected. One should lead to the other and the other leading back to one. A circle has been drawn. But now I have to fill it. International Organisations and human rights. Terrorism and proliferation. Climate change and governance. Nothing stands alone. Nothing stands unfilled. As words transpire from my mind, more words form within.

If only this can be perpetuated during my examinations. The mastery of not just the course, but also intellect.

PS: pardon the ramblings.

I don't want this to be a photo blog or anything but I just felt like uploading some pics I took over the past few weeks with the new cam me papa got me (And also my blog has kinda been lacking in the images department). Canon 350D nothing real fancy but still I love it. I've been playing around with the camera and tried some things I could never have bothered to try on a normal camera. Also lots of post production here so nothing originally spectacular. However, still does not escape mediocrity. So please note that I have admitted to mediocrity (lots of noise and stuff) and that hurtful words criticizing my work would just be mean =D

In the Pictures below, I retouched them using the open sourced GIMP following the instructions to create lomo-esque picture types.

This is my favourite. This is the Astronomical Clock at the Rattray Building at Leicester University. This I used the manual way of lomo-ing

This was in the library. Yeah same effect but poor vignetting (really dunno but thought I'd use it) I guess haha

This I used the lomo script and it kinda saved me a lot of work and effort.

For my mum =D

Next up are the pictures I took in 3 different exposures, then creating HDR images in post production. Didn't do the manual layer masking or anything. Had some help by an open sourced software hahaha.

What I noticed from most of the pictures is that after post production, even though it doesn't leave the image flat, the pictures end up being dark and gloomy. But yeah thats all I can do now. Maybe during the summer after my exams I can experiment more hahahaha.

postscript: the models in the pictures weren't free. I had to pay them with kfc -_-

All the work I have done, the knowledge I have chosen to absorb, the countless number of books I have read and the advice I have taken from those around me all come together now. Yes my minions, it is the time of the year again. The time of judgement, the age of examinations. Hahaha yeah I know, a bit too melodramatic.

My first paper is in two weeks from now, and in the past two weeks I have been studying non-stop, even my trip to Coventry went along as I have read materials on current international issues and what not. Prior to these two weeks, I thought my revision would be futile as I have been delaying it time after time. Fortunately, the mood in the United Kingdom has been been very political due to the elections.

The political parliamentary condition in the UK is somewhat in a turmoil as some might say, however most are left unaffected and apathetic. As a politics student, I see it as my solemn right and duty to inform you of these matters, just so that you all know that I'm a know-it-all of course in this matter (and also this might help me in my revision, thanks). Although I won't be learning about the UK Government and Politics until the next academic year, I know enough to give enlightenment of this matter.

The electoral system in the UK is of a plural/majoritarian nature, as it is a first-past-the-post kind of election. Unlike the election system of the US, in which they are of the same nature, the Prime Minister of the UK is elected according to the support their party gets and in this sense meaning the party with the most MPs winning seats in parliament have the right to establish a new government. Therefore, in the case of the 2010 elections, the Conservative Party, whose leader, David Cameron, I have personally met on a train to Loughborough (to my surprise), won the most number of seats in parliament. However, Mr Cameron has not been elected Prime Minister due to the fact that his party did not win a majority of the seats. Winning more than half of the seats in parliament is considered a majority. The Conservative Party was and is still short of 20 seats in order to gain majority. The current government under the Labour Party, whose leader, Gordon Brown, I have not met, had lost to the Conservatives by almost 50 seats. Apart from Labour and the Tories, the Liberal Democrats have also taken their stance in the UK parliament having won almost 10% of the seats making them the third biggest party in the Parliament.

The problem now is that without majority in the Parliament, no party is able to form a government, therefore the status in the UK now is that they have a hung parliament, the first to happen in the UK after 36 years. The Tories are unable to form a government, even a minority government due to the fact that they are the opposing party to the current system. The case would be different if Labour had won the elections, as they would have the right to form a minority government, subject to the queen's invitation to parliament of the leader of the party. Therefore, the only chance for the Tories to form a government, is if they have the backing of the Liberal Democrats and with that they will achieve majority. So the past few day, talks between the Tories and Lib Dem have taken place and have been stated as progressive. but the major turning point in this matter is the declaration of resignation of Gordon Brown as leader of the Labour Party in order to gain the support of the Lib Dems. Because of this, I have a feeling that Labour will win. But with a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, I think it would be wrong as it would be a collaboration of the defeated :s

Ok now for sure I know your heads are hurting. Because mine is slightly in pain. Alright now, I will give a solution to this problem. A solution persistently repeated by politicians, especially of the Lib Dems. A solution practiced by most European countries. The solution is: Proportional Representation. Proportional representation means the ratio of votes should equal the number of seats. Unlike the current system now, the elections are based on the number of seats won, not by the number of votes. To explain even further, lets make a hypothesis of a liberal democratic Brunei. Just imagine Brunei going through an election between two parties in Brunei: the Blue Party and the Yellow Party, to determine who the executive should be. Lets take the current electoral system of the UK as a model and use regional types of voting and parliamentary seats and what not. Lets say every every district in Brunei has two contenders each from both parties vying for a seat in the Brunei "Westminster" and the party with most seats will have the right to rule. Lets say the Blue Party won the elections in Belait, Temburong and Tutong, while the Yellow Party only won in the Brunei Muara Districts. This makes the Blue Party having the majority of the seats and are viable to rule the government. However, this does not necessarily mean that the Blue Party got the most votes. Have I lost you now?

Ok let me explain slowly. Ok lets take Brunei's population to be 400,000 with Brunei Muara having 200,00 people, Tutong having 100,000, Belait 80,000 and Temburong 20,000. Can you see where I'm going at now? No? Ok lets move on. Lets say hypothetically in the three districts the Blue party won, the managed to get 60% of the votes of the population. Meaning in Tutong, the won 60,000 votes, in Belait 48,000 and in Temburong 12,000. That all adds up to 120,000 votes, the remainding 80,000 votes belonged to the Red Party. In addition to that lets say they won only 10% of the votes in Brunei Muara, meaning 20,000 votes equating totally in 140,000 votes nationwide. The Yellow party on the other hand won 180,000 votes in Brunei Muara and couple that with the remainders of the other districts, they won 260,000 votes nationwide, clearly more than that of the Blue Party. However, using the British electoral system, the Blue Party would still be considered to have the right to rule due to their dominance in the parliament. Unfair right? Right!

So this is where Proportional Representation should come in. the number of seats in the parliament should be proportionate to the ratio of the votes won. So if the hypothetical liberal democratic Brunei was to adopt PR, 260,000 votes won by the Yellow Party would be translated into 65% of the seats and the rest would go to the Blue Party.

So now do you get where I'm getting at? I hope you did.

PS: the english is a bit mediocre. blabbered everything. lol