A quick note on emojis, emoticons, bitmojis, and smileys
What we allude to as ‘modern life’ is, in my modest opinion, an obsequious psychoanalytic fiction or make-believe realm, if you will, and in which a wide range of emojis, emoticons, and smiley faces call the shots.
These and other delightful pictorial icons are currently the new punctuation marks, symbolizing new language norms while complementing our sentiments and articulation in the umpteen messages we send every day. At times everything in life can seem hard-hitting and make-believe, but thanks to the benefit of 3,460 emojis, which allow us to express our thoughts freely, complexities like human emotion can be alleviated (or help to soften the blow). Emojis are currently the opiate of the masses (or of the socio-digitally-acquainted users).
More than just cute little pictures, emojis (of various types) have taken over the world. These modern-day hieroglyphics have become a new lingua franca (or a new body language, so to speak) of the digital age, the era we all are living in.
Mostly they come with a yellow face and a big grin and can express Anger, Shock, or Laugh rolling on the floor. Or give cadence to the expression of Lust, Smiling Face, Kick, Kiss, Punch, even doing a jolly High-Five, or just acting reverently with Folded Hands while joining both palms together doing a flawless Namaste. (Perhaps more hygienic than a handshake?). You may digitally Clap or Slap someone resoundingly (no one will complain) because it is just a harmless suggestive emoji you'd sent across! (Or you might digitally get a tight one in return!). You can share Sparkles, Red Hearts, or straightaway avoid wearing pants and create welcome distractions while working coolly from home: WFH (Work From Home), a series of emoji-esque designs debuts during this pandemic season - an emoji with a mask on! Check it out. Either make a Sad Face to reflect on life amid the deadly viral disease or tap on a Loudly Crying Face to send. The choice is, of course, yours.
I’d say, have fun freely and indulgently while it lasts. But soon, the hyperbole will wear off due to constant use, and it has already started to feel insincere. These miniature self-emotive characters that have come to inhabit your text messages and social media feeds may soon be a thing of the past, obsolete bombast. With constant internet immersion and using it hundreds of times a day, I’m afraid it will deem uncool to use them, despite being the narcotics of the digitally well-connected. (Well, to each his own.)
While I'm no chief emoji officer (CEO!) to predict the new-age unpredictable or put you off your emoji party, teens and twenty-somethings (Gen Z-ers) are crazily using an increasing number of emojis. Nearly with the result of making their messages confused and loaded with uncontrolled gunk, almost to the point of making their messages unreadable - all in the quest of having to express themselves freely and lavishly. For people of the older generation or Millennial stock, emojis are slowly, if not already have been, becoming an off-limits territory. For them, emojis used to be cool, but now not anymore.
I continue to use them. But I'm starting to use lesser and lesser because these delightfully cute yellow smiley faces end up magnifying, overstating, and overemphasising even messages that are easy to read or comprehend. These smileys and pictograms need not fill in ‘emotional cues’ in the typed messages because I do not want them to. I think from here on, using it sparingly and conscientiously is the way forward. As it turns out, the choice of words is more important than trusting in some fancy, extravagant pack of emoticons to do it for your lack of writing proficiency. And oh, the latest trend in town is the Coronavirus Emoji, and yes, it comes complete with the medical mask on! And, I confess, it really looks so cool!
The initial tech appeal has worn off, as far as I am concerned.
By Arindam Moulick
Hi, thanks for stopping by. Arindam here, and I'm from the sunny South. In my time away from work, I like reading, writing, traveling, taking long walks in the countryside, or picking up seashells and pebbles from the beach. I seek out the great company of friends and yearn for enough free time to trek in the mountains or stroll on the beach. Good food, books, engaging conversations, strong tea, and great music enthrall me.
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Monday, May 2, 2022
Age of Anguish
I've long since surrendered to my own free will, or freedom of thought, and grown accustomed to my fair share of the tricky and complicated realities that this age - this so-called era of predictable unpredictability, globalization, and its discontents - happens to dump down on me.
After all, Oscar Wilde was spot on when he said, "Life is too important to be taken seriously.” So what’s the point of taking life so seriously? Humanity has never been awesome.
Men will be men; women will be women. But women (I doff my hat) have an entirely different dimension to understanding life that men barely comprehend. In their domain, questions never get modelled because answers abound in the Lord’s genius masterwork: the institution of lady, which is womanhood (of distinctively feminine nature). Questions lost their relevance, but answers have gained their meaning at once in the realm of the feminine ethnicity, which is better positioned than the masculine temperament. If men were angels, there would be no crime, no 9/11 or 26/11 horror, no ego clashes, or fists flying. Better angels are women. Catfights are more incredibly charitable and generous than fight-to-the-finish blood spills and butt-kicking psycho-comedy of dogfights that jingoistic men are so inclined to get involved in, physically and mentally (without much gumption).
Men, driven by jealousy and irrational competitiveness and working in the service of the patriarchy, like seeking the destruction of their rivals, real or imagined. We’ve already lost control. One is not implying that men have, ipso facto, proven themselves as unnecessary and violent and that they are at fault. Women - the so-called inferior sex -, on the other hand, are different and better, and they are more likely to "pay attention to the details." Frankly, they are better rulers and administrators. So step aside Jedi Knight in Shining Armour. Make way for the beautiful maidens that launch a thousand ships! (Maybe, men deserve a more accurate depiction than this. That is our hope, but only time will tell if it comes true.)
After all, Oscar Wilde was spot on when he said, "Life is too important to be taken seriously.” So what’s the point of taking life so seriously? Humanity has never been awesome.
Men will be men; women will be women. But women (I doff my hat) have an entirely different dimension to understanding life that men barely comprehend. In their domain, questions never get modelled because answers abound in the Lord’s genius masterwork: the institution of lady, which is womanhood (of distinctively feminine nature). Questions lost their relevance, but answers have gained their meaning at once in the realm of the feminine ethnicity, which is better positioned than the masculine temperament. If men were angels, there would be no crime, no 9/11 or 26/11 horror, no ego clashes, or fists flying. Better angels are women. Catfights are more incredibly charitable and generous than fight-to-the-finish blood spills and butt-kicking psycho-comedy of dogfights that jingoistic men are so inclined to get involved in, physically and mentally (without much gumption).
Men, driven by jealousy and irrational competitiveness and working in the service of the patriarchy, like seeking the destruction of their rivals, real or imagined. We’ve already lost control. One is not implying that men have, ipso facto, proven themselves as unnecessary and violent and that they are at fault. Women - the so-called inferior sex -, on the other hand, are different and better, and they are more likely to "pay attention to the details." Frankly, they are better rulers and administrators. So step aside Jedi Knight in Shining Armour. Make way for the beautiful maidens that launch a thousand ships! (Maybe, men deserve a more accurate depiction than this. That is our hope, but only time will tell if it comes true.)
Meanwhile...
Despite all of the issues and non-issues, modern life is convenient and comfortable, albeit a little stuck up at the moment, thanks to the worldwide pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) and its lethal variants. This highly transmissible Wuhan-born (in China) export variety has changed human life more rapidly than centuries of civilization could. (This pandemic is a direct consequence of the population explosion and worldwide economic globalization fallout).
To put it delicately: Women are better off than men in most aspects of humanity, but men continue to be worse off than women in terms of closing the gender gap because women still are paid less than men. Gender equality is a core tenet enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The pandemic is the new mother of invention, masked up and sanitized - as evidenced by the italicized statement I just made! The coronavirus fallout, no question.
It doesn’t matter if I understand everything about modern life or not. Understanding it is for another time, not now. Being naïve or overly intelligent in the hard bargain of life’s give-and-take situations helps. And in the “Age of Anything-Can-Happen,” all that brouhaha shouldn't become a stress factor if I am broad-minded enough, thick-skinned, and adaptable to a considerable extent possible. Although this trait may come across to be one of compromising, playing second fiddle, or at best a consolation prize, it isn’t so. I mean, I believe compromise is understanding, whereas outlier success is often cruel and violent achieved over other people’s dead desires, wants, and ambitions have gone sour. Your approach to achieving the success you seek will regularly kill relationships and ruin family and friendships, Netflix or no Pepfiz! Modern life does provide many and varied choices but far little joy. Indigestion, acidity, and heartburn included. It’s an age of anything can happen, remember?
Do I feel pensioned off already? I figure I do, which is all right, I suppose. What is there to worry about? I’m okay with any modest encomium that comes my way. Our planet has limited resources, so I am not hard to please. Time brings experience as age wisdom; I can handle that as well. Not a problem. Experience educates and so I can utilize that aspect of life with full gusto. No one is stopping me from doing that. Perhaps age is catching up with me because I am getting middle-aged and all that these days. Being peevish is pardonable, then? I guess so. (But some people take umbrage deliberately. One cannot help them much if they do. That means they have more lessons to learn. I, on the contrary, would like to think that I have a little less to learn compared to their share of lessons). It comes with the retirement annuity package as an unavoidable extra, so there are no complaints. Am I dealing with a middle-aged crisis? Not technically, but practically, I think.
Getting older sounds good, in any case; it sounds superior, helpful, and full of hindsight, if not wisdom. That's a compelling enough proposition for me to consider, as it may force me to think hard and long about how my life will unfold in the future. I'll be able to get away somewhere soon where I can break free from my self-fulfilling spiral of gloom and finally appreciate the joys of living freely, even as I try to make sense of modern life, that's all. Life is still beautiful.
Having said that, I can cheerfully declare that I have arrived at the unavoidable conclusion that modern life is rubbish. But of course, it does have some advantages. So is it too much to come to terms with its reality? I believe that a large part of life is gastroenterological and perspectival psychology. Eat, Pray, Love. Remember the adage? Having read that book (a long time back), I've learned to deduce as much from its contents.
Getting rid of the imaginary truck in my head that used to cloud my sense of humour and (well)-being wasn't easy. For reasons more of personal nature, I was undecided if modern or traditional living is preferable for living a happy life without many bills to pay. That, however, is no longer the case. Some contend that modern life isn't necessarily unpleasant; rather, it is how individuals perceive it. If you believe your life is silly and pointless, there's no point in living an unsatisfying, foolish life. Is this how things are supposed to turn out? I'm not sure. I'm still wary of this way of thinking, but I feel a lot less unmoored than I used to. I am hoping it's a step forward, an improvement.
I'm concerned about our Mother Earth: our only home in the cosmic system of our universe. Is it really so critical to our thinking whether our lifestyles are modern or not, now when the vestigial tail-like artefact had got firmly entrenched between the so-called scandalously modern human beings' legs (pun intended)? Everything in the twenty-first century is the same: we're all doomed.
[Welcome, women of the modern world. Shape our collective future, save our planet Earth. Why don't women rule the world? When women are at the helm of affairs: economic, political, and personal, societies perform better. Every nation should have a woman as the topmost leader; the world would be more peaceful and harmonious, with less violence and instability. Women (of any class or race) should take charge. Women should inherit the Earth and liberate men instead. Show them the way!]Our world is unprepared
Despite all of the issues and non-issues, modern life is convenient and comfortable, albeit a little stuck up at the moment, thanks to the worldwide pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) and its lethal variants. This highly transmissible Wuhan-born (in China) export variety has changed human life more rapidly than centuries of civilization could. (This pandemic is a direct consequence of the population explosion and worldwide economic globalization fallout).
To put it delicately: Women are better off than men in most aspects of humanity, but men continue to be worse off than women in terms of closing the gender gap because women still are paid less than men. Gender equality is a core tenet enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The pandemic is the new mother of invention, masked up and sanitized - as evidenced by the italicized statement I just made! The coronavirus fallout, no question.
It doesn’t matter if I understand everything about modern life or not. Understanding it is for another time, not now. Being naïve or overly intelligent in the hard bargain of life’s give-and-take situations helps. And in the “Age of Anything-Can-Happen,” all that brouhaha shouldn't become a stress factor if I am broad-minded enough, thick-skinned, and adaptable to a considerable extent possible. Although this trait may come across to be one of compromising, playing second fiddle, or at best a consolation prize, it isn’t so. I mean, I believe compromise is understanding, whereas outlier success is often cruel and violent achieved over other people’s dead desires, wants, and ambitions have gone sour. Your approach to achieving the success you seek will regularly kill relationships and ruin family and friendships, Netflix or no Pepfiz! Modern life does provide many and varied choices but far little joy. Indigestion, acidity, and heartburn included. It’s an age of anything can happen, remember?
Do I feel pensioned off already? I figure I do, which is all right, I suppose. What is there to worry about? I’m okay with any modest encomium that comes my way. Our planet has limited resources, so I am not hard to please. Time brings experience as age wisdom; I can handle that as well. Not a problem. Experience educates and so I can utilize that aspect of life with full gusto. No one is stopping me from doing that. Perhaps age is catching up with me because I am getting middle-aged and all that these days. Being peevish is pardonable, then? I guess so. (But some people take umbrage deliberately. One cannot help them much if they do. That means they have more lessons to learn. I, on the contrary, would like to think that I have a little less to learn compared to their share of lessons). It comes with the retirement annuity package as an unavoidable extra, so there are no complaints. Am I dealing with a middle-aged crisis? Not technically, but practically, I think.
Getting older sounds good, in any case; it sounds superior, helpful, and full of hindsight, if not wisdom. That's a compelling enough proposition for me to consider, as it may force me to think hard and long about how my life will unfold in the future. I'll be able to get away somewhere soon where I can break free from my self-fulfilling spiral of gloom and finally appreciate the joys of living freely, even as I try to make sense of modern life, that's all. Life is still beautiful.
Having said that, I can cheerfully declare that I have arrived at the unavoidable conclusion that modern life is rubbish. But of course, it does have some advantages. So is it too much to come to terms with its reality? I believe that a large part of life is gastroenterological and perspectival psychology. Eat, Pray, Love. Remember the adage? Having read that book (a long time back), I've learned to deduce as much from its contents.
[Gyaan session: Life is precious and shouldn't be undermined or squandered amid blunders, nor should it be prone to constant bouts of grandiose delusions. How can you tell if you're falling into one of these traps? That is simple: Inquire with your parents; check with your educators, spiritual gurus, or even close friends to see if they can help you further. If you can seek help, you will be better off in life. Without looking weak, always ask for an answer. Don't live your life all by yourself since everyone who loves you has a stake in it. Always remember: People know more than you do. You'll undoubtedly receive responses to the questions you should be posing. So, ask for help that you might need.]
Fortunately, I am beginning to pursue my continual learning process - by reading, writing, travelling, and calling up long-lost friends. Endeavours like these (in the company of family and friends) give me a lot of joy that I hope will not stop to last for a lifetime. That joy is life-affirming and is contagious enough for everyone to share it freely and be happy. It’s a creative purification of the soul. I can't speak for others, but I believe I am gradually slowly gravitating towards a socialist lifestyle, as I find myself being comfortably frugal, somewhat conservative, and a little bit modern to a certain degree. My simple logic is this: Just hang in there, buddy.
Getting rid of the imaginary truck in my head that used to cloud my sense of humour and (well)-being wasn't easy. For reasons more of personal nature, I was undecided if modern or traditional living is preferable for living a happy life without many bills to pay. That, however, is no longer the case. Some contend that modern life isn't necessarily unpleasant; rather, it is how individuals perceive it. If you believe your life is silly and pointless, there's no point in living an unsatisfying, foolish life. Is this how things are supposed to turn out? I'm not sure. I'm still wary of this way of thinking, but I feel a lot less unmoored than I used to. I am hoping it's a step forward, an improvement.
I'm concerned about our Mother Earth: our only home in the cosmic system of our universe. Is it really so critical to our thinking whether our lifestyles are modern or not, now when the vestigial tail-like artefact had got firmly entrenched between the so-called scandalously modern human beings' legs (pun intended)? Everything in the twenty-first century is the same: we're all doomed.
Dismal analogies aside, life is for living, and living your life as it comes is what counts. It makes no difference whether the time passes quickly or technological change is accelerating it. Or is it the ‘accelerative thrust’ that is responsible for it? (According to Alvin Toffler, an American futurologist, in his book "Future Shock"). You will continue to be happy if you can make your life perfectly ordinary. In other words, the key to living a happy life is to be humble, helpful, and understanding towards everyone at all times. The daily work grind, traffic jams, inflation, and everyday family drama are all part of the routine business of life that triggers a fight-or-flight response to it.
Being especially good in behaviour around individuals who have an uncaring attitude towards others may be encouraged to learn something good, positive, from your sense of virtue. Get slightly more thick-skinned. Does it have a preachy undertone to it? Seem to be sermonising? Is it undoable? I sincerely hope not. But it’s entirely up to you: the individual concerned, who is the conduit for the enigmatic concept of what it means to be a good human being.
Let’s allow ourselves to become accustomed to not winning our daily battles, then life will be peaceful, and everything will be fine. It is as simple as it sounds.
I’m done with the pandemic.
The End.
By Arindam Moulick
End of Part III of III
Written October ‘21 to February 2022.
Being especially good in behaviour around individuals who have an uncaring attitude towards others may be encouraged to learn something good, positive, from your sense of virtue. Get slightly more thick-skinned. Does it have a preachy undertone to it? Seem to be sermonising? Is it undoable? I sincerely hope not. But it’s entirely up to you: the individual concerned, who is the conduit for the enigmatic concept of what it means to be a good human being.
Let’s allow ourselves to become accustomed to not winning our daily battles, then life will be peaceful, and everything will be fine. It is as simple as it sounds.
I’m done with the pandemic.
The End.
By Arindam Moulick
End of Part III of III
Written October ‘21 to February 2022.
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