**Basics**
Name: Yen Mano
Nicknames: Ean, Lithium, Manwhore
Age: 19
Location: T dot, Ontario, Canada
Sex: I got the magic stick
Sexual orientation: Straight shooter - unlike my pool skills
Zodiac: Taurus
**Favorites**
Bands / singers: Don’t really got any but… Kanye West, Miles Davis, K-OS, Jay - Z, Outkast, Gang Starr and the best group ever: Aqua.
Songs: Blue Rondo a la Turk - Dave Brubeck. I can safely say I’ll listen to the song ‘till I die.
Movies: Kill Bill vol. 1, Green Mile, 12 Monkies, Fifth Element, The Village, Lawrence of Arabia.
Actors/actresses: Whatever, don’t really have any.
Books:: Life of Pi, Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy, Siddartha, Running man, Lord of the Flies.
TV shows: Simpsons, Family guy and the occasional news?
Foods: See-food is the best lawlz! Seriously… there is so much good food in the world. Afrikkaan, Arabic, eye-talian, British, South East-asian, Japanese, Chinese, Korean BBQ, South asian, West Indian. I’m fat ;]
Words: I don’t really have any ‘favourite’ words. Any eloquent words I pick up will be hastily forgotten. However, do remember and enjoy are names. For instance, Sapna (Dreams), Mithra, Smita (smile, I believe), Raece (Prince), Nilani (moon) and Aditya (sun). And of course, McSexerson. I also plan on having many children in order to satisfy my craving of names.
Quote: What is the mind? It doesn’t matter.
What is matter? Nevermind!
Giggle: snertch
**Opinions**
Politics: I’m not really a fan of politics, so generally stay away. Being Canadian, our politics is quite boring except as of recent it got interesting. We have a minority government, the Liberals. The Conservative party and Bloc Quebec are tryin’ to get a motion of no-confidence for another election! (Oh noz, my anxiety shoots up at this kind of political drama!) Anyway, to make matters more interesting, the more conservative parties and the Liberal parties both have 152 votes - so if all vote yes/no it’ll be a tie! But wait - even more political excitement, there are three independent seats in the house! (Do the states even have a third party? Or a fourth one? Is Nader alone?) Oh man, it was crazy. Canadian politics never ever got so “up in ‘yo’ face”. There ended up being no motion of no-confidence anyway.
I’m basically pro-democratic system of politics. Leaning towards the more liberal side yet remaining conservative on international issues such as globalization. Democracy is always the way to go for me, although it is slow and still needs some major change in the structure of the institution, it’ll generally be the best kind of government for the majority.
Suicide: This funny opinion question, I’m pretty sure most people are against suicide. (Not including fundamentalist Muslims and Kamikaze Japanese, of course!)Anyway, when it comes to suicide, I don’t care so much about it because I see Suicide as the symptom of Depression. Depression is the real problem which of course may lead to Suicide. The etiology of depression itself is very complex and has numerous paradigms, so I don’t even know where to begin. Basically, if you want to avoid having suicide in your circle of family and friends, you must be open to unconditional love, acceptance, and reduction of stress and be open to the idea of psychiatric medication.
Gay rights: I’m Canadian; most of us have figured out that gays are people therefore deserve equal rights and opportunities. As Canadian Comedian Russel Peter’s says, “I’m more worried about a gay-arranged marriage. We’ll put you in a good home… with a big closet!”
Abortion: I use to be leaning towards anti-abortion but now believe in abortion rights. I don’t have a final decision or a stance on it. I summed up the debate into “Do you think a fertilized embryo is life and how many personal freedoms does an individual have with their own body”?
When I thought long and hard about this issue, I just realized I had no compassion for a zygote. 46 chromosomes. Oh my. But then I become troubled when I think about how embryos develop quite rapidly into life, which is another human being. Now, when looking ahead, the problem with anti-abortion is various social problems that occur. Not everyone is from a rich family that can take care of an unwanted child. There will not always be a father to help out nor a family. So, yeah, I’m pretty torn apart. I’ll just let women decide, they’re generally smarter than me.
Religion: I like religion. Abrahamic, Vedic, North American, Mythology, s’all good to me. I don’t really know where to start with this question but…
Sai Baba: I think he’s fake. Damn child molester.
The Ismaili’s prophet (Aga Khan, I think): When you are more than 10 generations down a line from a holyman, I think you loose the ability to be holy. Everyone knows the Prophet-gene is recessive.
There are several aspects of religion I like. I like the set morals which help people conduct what is right and wrong, particularly how Muslims pray several times a day in constant devotion to God. I also like Eastern religions and the idea of Moksha/enlightenment where people are constantly striving to attain a certain sense of self where most worldly matters. Then of course there are beautiful myths that are engraved into religion. I believe Campell said, “Myths are things that never were but always have been”. So yes, I have much respect for religion, religious ideals and religious people. At the same time, I have nothing against atheism. Atheism has contributed a lot to Western society with respect to logical studies - especially in science and of course certain ancient philosophies.
Plastic surgery: I’m a pretty ugly guy. I’m open to plastic surgery one day when I’m a little bit richer. I have no stats on plastic surgery but it seems that it has been increasing. People can do whatever they want to themselves, it’s their bodies and money. I’d give warning that if they’re looking to change their self, they shouldn’t look at changing their bodies but rather change their thinking/feelings (Cognition, yo). And of course, people who get into accidents need plastic surgery. I hope it is covered by the government (Free medical care plz, kthx!)
Sex education: I fainted in sex-ed class. So, I’m bitter and wish for it to be gone forever!
Separation of church and state: I believe that the church should have little control over government. They should be separate institution because the personal relationship with God has little to do with the government. The Government, of course, should have religious freedoms. A government that is moral, commits to justice is one that has checks and balances - not one which has hierarchy of religious figures within it.
Animal rights: I generally abstain from meat except for milk, eggs. In a perfect world, I think everyone would be Vegan (Except that perfect world would have good Vegan foods). I just don’t see it happening anytime soon because people have been eating meat for a very long time. Maybe one day a pig will start speaking fluent Cantonese - then it’ll be easier to give animals more rights, protection as well as humane treatment.
Death penalty: I have no valid opinion on this. The whole rehabilitation and prison-system boggles my mind! There are many killers out in the world who are sick who have no concept of right or wrong. It’s a hard (unless I was directly affected by their criminal act) decision to figure out who dies and who lives. Not to mention, the criminal system is one of punishment - where you punish a criminal in order to rehabilitate. I’m pretty sure that the death penalty is not rehabilitation. In fact, I’d rather there be before emphasis on the victims of crime. I’ve been taught to always respect people and it is hard for me to turn back on my teachings and say “these are not people, therefore they’re allowed to die in the name of justice”. The death penalty just seems barbaric, no matter what kinds of justifications are given.
When I saw Star Wars episode three, I didn’t want Samuel Jackson to kill the emperor, even! And he was a fictional character based on evil! ;[
Choose at least three of the following and give us your opinion on each. Delete whichever ones you do not choose, and bold the topics you do choose (not your answers).
Pornography: I’m not against pornography except for Voyeursism (privacy plz), child-related, bestiality and rape. I think society could do without porn because no one really learns much from it. Porn stars really make most sex life look like a joke. The only problem porn is that it sends a pretty simple message: Women are objects. I’d be disturbed by this but I don’t believe that people are only the stimulus they observe. I remember reading an article which states that most violence and rape cases come from people with a predisposition for doing these acts. I’m more worried about genetic based psychology than classical, I guess.
Affirmative action: I believe Canadians have an Equality Employment act that prohibits this. Though I believe Native-Canadian-Indian-Aboriginals have some sort of set quota. I’m not entirely sure. I’m for Affirmative action in the United States because I believe that there is an inequality that discriminates against blacks and Latinos. The US Census Bureausays that a white BA grad earned 2.2 million while a black/hispanic person will only earn 1.7 million, and Asian 1.8 million. A black/hispanic person would only have 1.4 million with an associate’s degree while a white person would have 1.6 million if they only completed some college. It goes on but I’m sure the point of: Oh noz, if you’re white, you’ll never be able to get a job or a happy life ;[. Keep in mind, blacks were no longer separated during the 1950s and Asians were only allowed to vote then too. It’s hard to get back on your feet in 50 years. Affirmative action is just a tool that helps equality be instilled in certain racist institutions.
Other affirmative action cases I believe are justified are in India, where there is a Dravidan/anti-Aryan movement. The Dalit and Sudric castes have the kind of Affirmative action the West does not need: Quotas. Anyway, with this quota system in the government, it is ensuring that lower caste members have a chance for literally thousands of years of oppression. (Indian proverb by a Sudric brown guy: If you see a Brahmin and a snake on the road… hit the Brahmin first!)
I’m not sure, but I believe that there is a system in place that affects the Roma within the European Union nations. The Roma have been treated unfairly for an extensive time.
Creationism and Evolution: Jesus, seems like the battle of the Victorian ages are still upon us. You’d think they’d ease up after two hundred years. I believe in evolution even though it isn’t a proven theory. I believe in micro-evoltuion, of course because it has been seen everywhere. This is just a small step to the grandeur process we call life. Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide, Ammonium + Crazy pressure = amino acids. Obviously the start of life works much more complicated than that.
I believe in Evolution over Creationism. I believe creationism is important though. In my religion section, I put an emphasis on mythology. I believe the parts of Genesis is a merely myth where the significant idea is intrinsic not “this is how God made the planet lol, he’s so great!!”.
**Stuff**
-Give us your own personal definition of ‘inner beauty.’ To be appreciative, compassionate and the willingness to give yourself up for the people you care about.
-What makes life worth living for you? Remember Vanilla Sky? Here’s a quote! “You can’t enjoy the sweet without the bitter”. Everyone has stress in their lives. We all need it. Stress is a motivation that helps us accomplish things. Life is about working hard, playing hard yet enjoying in the moment. I want to fall in love and then get a broken heart as well as later have a happily-ever-after marriage. Then I want to go and fall flat on my face in my work place yet succeed. I want my sperm to fertilize so I have a mini-me to give names, and share my experiences with. Life is worth living by needs that I want to do - which I am motivated to do!
Of course, if I fail my life plan of making it worthwhile… I’ll just live in a small monastery and devote my life to God. The happiest people seem to be monks.
-If you could meet anyone, dead or alive, who would it be? Why? The Dalai Lama. If I meet him, he’d be the most compassionate man I’ve ever met.
-If you could kill one person, famous or not, who would it be and why? (**Note, this is just for fun, if you will. We're not asking you to go out and actually kill someone.) I’m not in a violent mood to answer this question. But I’d have no qualms with killing Hitler.
-What makes you unique? Any weird quirks? Strange habits? I’m pretty far from unique. I am the product of society! Oh nozzz. I do like to make conversation about Eastern Europeans when I’m drinking. That is a kind of unique quirk.
-If you could become famous, what would you want to be known for? Fame doesn’t really interest me. A musician of some sort would be a lot of fun - who wouldn’t want bitches, drugs and money?
-Describe yourself in five words. Ridiculously queer but not gay.
-Name one good and one bad thing about yourself. I talk a lot. I’m not sure if that is good or bad. But I think I listen a lot too. I know one bad thing: I’m terrified of all kind of institutions, like university, bank - whatever. I’d rather just not deal with those people or services.
-What is your favorite childhood memory? I got to see an elephant on the street with my dad. It was a surprise for both of us! I enjoyed it tremendously.
-Guilty pleasures. We all have them. What’s yours? It can be a movie, tv show, food, etc. Then tell us why you like it. Livejournal communities are my guilty pleasure. There are so many stupid ones that I read. Then I waste more time by bitching about it!
-What is the best gift you’ve ever received? Why? My grand rents, and ‘rents decided to get me a gold chain with a religious symbol dangling down. I enjoy it and treasure it! :D
-Would you want people to laugh or cry at your funeral? Why? I’d want them to laugh. No one should have to take along time to accept my death… I hope memories about jokes, good times will continue even without my presence.
-What would you do if you were Frodo and you had the ring? What’s that? A giant eye, goblins, trolls, elephant things, uniting the human civilization, a scary hairy dwarf, spiders, ghosts and going into a volcanoes… and a little squid man following me around? Fuck that, you keep the ring, Gandalf.
-What civil rights issue do you believe in and/or support the most? Racial and Women’s right. I believe women have a lot more obstacles in the work place than men. Stigmas, stereotypes that seem to never die.
-What are some of your dreams/aspirations? I’m the loser who just sort of floats by on life. I just want to be happy. I jus’ dunno how to get there. Scary, eh?
**And last, but not least…**
-Promote us in at least one public entry in a Promotional Community on LiveJournal and give us the link.
http://www.livejournal.com/community/promote_now/489018.html-Why do you want to join this community? I liked the survey. The person who made it, did a good job at creating though provoking questions! Most of LJ is a place filled with mean, nasty people. Even religious communities have members with ego-complexes. The new trendy word for this phenomenon is called elitism. I don’t really detect any of that lameness here; the people are nice, open and learned. Even more important, I can learn from them. (Do I need to suck up more? ;])