People Love seeing other People in Pain

WARNING:
This post contains material and images not suitable for the young or those who have just consumed food. The stuns as described in this post are possible only at the discretion of the person attempting it and all related references made to the show/movie "Jackass" solely belongs to the creator and founder of the production. No person, animal or prominent business enterprise were harmed during the production for the content in this post.

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Title Screen and disclaimer of the show/movie "Jackass". I totally dig their symbol.

A total turnoff huh?

A couple of days ago, a bunch of crazy close buds and I decided, "hey, instead of hanging around aimlessly, lets go eat as much food as our stomachs can hold." (Well, it was actually my persistent request).

We headed to Sakae Sushi for a little afternoon buffet which proved worth both the time and money; a rough estimate of $17 for the quantity equivalent to two meals or so.

That, however, wasn't the bottom line.

About three quarters into our meal, we decided to "spice" things up and the kid within us took over. A couple of my friends decided to "dare" the rest of us to undertake and consume a vile concoction of Japanese spices (namely Wasabi and Ginger slices, due to the fact that we were in a Japanese Restaurant at that time).

"Eat this and drinks will be on me."

Awesome. Free drinks. Though consuming the concoction was pointless and somewhat treacherous, I decided to give it a go. The picture above is the result of my 3rd concoction.

Looks horrible doesn't it?

Quite awhile back, I stumbled (or was introduced, more rather) to a series entitled "Jackass" which was broadcast on MTV. It featured a group of daring (and often regarded as "crazy") people who performed crazy and often obscene stunts.

They would do things like riding bicycles up stairways, wear funny costumes down streets and during this particular episode, one of the members of the "crazy family", Steve-O, attempted to swallow a live goldfish down into his stomach which he then proceeded to vomit out, with the fish still alive and swimming. (For those interested, do a search on Youtube for little clips and snippets of various stunts)

From a media business's point of view, Jackass is a genius masterstroke. Mainly due to the fact that it operates on a very simple theory in business; Low costs, High profits.

Why is this so?

A lecturer of mine managed to shed some light on the reason as to why the show was able to do so well;

People Love seeing other People in Pain.

And in retrospect to what he told us, I found truth in that statement which I subject to the human nature. I guess in a way, the human behavior yields humor in seeing other people getting hurt, a satisfaction of sorts.

Yea. As compared to the stuff on Jackass, I'm sure what I pulled off back at the Japanese restaurant is insignificant. But there was one other major difference too.

The people who star in Jackass actually enjoy being there. They enjoy getting hurt, they enjoy doing stuff people would consider stupid and most importantly, they enjoy whatever they're doing.

To them, the greatest reward isn't money, fame or anything physical. It is the satisfaction of being able to complete a stunt and laugh their butts off while doing so.

To the normal majority, it may seem like stupidity but I feel that its something deeper. Its about enjoying something you do and getting a huge laugh out of it. This also constitutes to being different, stepping and standing out and making a point. And for this fact, I admire the guys from Jackass.

Sure life isn't by any means, a joke. But it isn't an emotional void either.

The greatest reward isn't physical and as in my case, I'm sure that without the reward of drinks on the house, I wouldn't even want to consider sampling the concoction. In a way, this is something that the seemingly "crazy" guys from Jackass understand, giving reason to whatever they're doing.

To me, the only thing that replicates such an attitude is the sole reason to the fabrication of my bucketlist, which by the way, is recently updated and can be viewed here, http://metallic-stains.blogspot.com/2008/04/its-like-well-new-goal-in-life.html

The society has a perception that "doing something different and stupid is totally pointless and outcast".

I feel that we should develop our own perceptions and look beyond the surface and be less superficial. Release our filters and stereotypical perceptions as the world should be embraced with its full purpose.

Alright, I'll stop here for now; plenty to digest I'm sure (no pun intended).

Remember to check back soon for updates not forgetting articles. The new semester is about the unfold and personally, there's no better time for it.

Cya'll later.

Satisfaction; the Delighted Mother and the Inquisitive Child

My daily bus rides to school are usually filled with a compliment of music from my handphone (through my earphones of course) and the usual reading of my notes.

A couple of days back however, during my usual bus ride to school, something interesting happened and though it may seem like a really normal event, something inside me made ponder about the simplicity and the things that life can bring to us.

Basically what happened was...

As the bus reared around the corner of Anderson Primary school and towards the MRT station's bus stop, the duo who were sitting right in front of me fumbled for the bell button, to signal for the bus to stop.

The little boy, about 3 years of age, eagerly reached for the button while his mother carried him, preventing his fall. A bell tolled near the front of the bus, almost instantly soon after, signalling that the bus will stop at the next station.

I observed the boy's expression with great interest; he was smiling, evidently delighted. Following that, caught a glimpse of his mother's expression; nothing less then what I saw on the boy's facial expression. I saw something that many people nowadays overlook in their daily lives.

I've not observed things like this in a long time. These are little details that we often miss out in our daily lives and sometimes, its good and ideal to take a step back and just relax while observing the various human expressions and behaviour.

But just what was it that I saw?

Satisfaction.

Many a time, our lives are hectic and filled with worldly committments (refer to my previous posts for an elaboration). So much as to contributes to our ignorance, for minor but meaningful observations as such.

However, do not mistake my intentions, for I'm not saying that a life without committments is a good one; a balanced blend of the both is much needed.

So what is Satisfaction?

"The fulfillment or gratification of a desire, need, or appetite" (as cited from dictionary.com)? Well, in a theorical way, I guess that'll float the boat. But I like to think that Satisfication is a state whereby one achieves a desired outcome out of a certain action.

At around 5:45AM on Thursday morning, Manchester United won the Champions League (refer to my earlier post, once again). Yes, I watched the match but what I was looking forward to was the celebrations at the end of the game (and of course to see United win).

To me, the pinnacle of satisfaction comes when you've put in an immerse amount of effort into a particular action or endeavour. As such in United's case, I'm really sure that they put in their due effort just to achieve their due reward; a double of titles (BPL and Champions League titles).

The scale of satisfaction however, holds no boundaries. I personally feel that satisfaction is a set quantity; it depends on how the individual views the subject matter.

What this means is that the satisfaction of winning the Champions League (for example), is comparable to say, overcoming a phobia for instance. This is subjective though as not everyone might feel this way. Commonly, the amount or rather, level of satisfaction one gets from a particular action depends on the amount of effort (as mentioned).

To me however, cleaning up my room or even helping our in the dishes wields the same amount of satisfaction as to say, finishing up my assignments. Weird but true.

We must not underestimate the value of satisfaction. Strange as it may sound, this is evident in the world we're living in, especially due to the high demands that the society has on us; we are never satisfied totally.

In a way, this is a good thing as it spurs us on to greater heights and to perform pass our benchmark. But when the time comes to reap our rewards, we should go all out and not dwell on our weaknesses.

Satisfaction can act as a motivation. A motivation to do better, a motivation to improve. In that sense, satisfaction is Powerful.

When one is satisfied with something, we should strive to do better and achieve the same level of satisfaction or better for the future projects. In doing so, working it to our advantage.

So lets open up our social filters and view the world with an open eye. Only then will we find our drive and motivation to achieve greater things.