Author: bcansevgisi

The Addiction to Fear

The reason why the human race has survived for so long is rooted in our basic instincts; our sugar-coated emotions. Feeling disgust, for instance, may make you want to puke every time you experience it, but in reality it’s one those feelings that can easily save your life. Would you drink your own piss, eat your own excrement or hug a leper? No, right? (if you do enjoy such activities, you can skip this section and proceed to the next one below). If we hadn’t had such an effective defense mechanism, we would have been long wiped out by diseases or infections rather than surviving by running away from things which might have harmed us.

Fear is another, useful instinctive feeling that has saved our lives numerous times and ensured the survival of us all. Yet again, it may not be our most favorable emotion but it sure is a steel wall of defense, protecting us every time it emerges. We may not be running away from wild animals in the age of technology, but we still have those friendly, vital shivers when push comes to shove. Fear unfolds our true character and unmasks our soul. Stripped out of our behavioral armor, only then we transform into our purest form.

Being scared is good and healthy for our own good. Observing other people in fear teaches us about those who conceal themselves under a deep web of fake emotions… when you’re in fear, you can never run away from your true self and that is why I am addicted to fear…

Drift away!

You! The timid resident of middle of nowhere! Abandon your kingdom, leave your shell (or hell) behind and drift away… Liquidify slowly into the unknown beyond and embrace it with your most basic instinct. The unknown becomes familiar and the fear gradually melts away once you start exploring its boundaries. Drift away as when you are on the run from something, you’re actually getting closer to another thing. Choose wisely! But, even if you want to get away from negativity and all you find is more negativity in your final drift, remember that even two negatives makes a positive. Choose wisely! Choose change!

Get away with crime and make yourself and everyone else happy

The human kind has always had a darker side. A blotch in the soul fueled by violence, greed, jealousy, pride… and such. Our souls have long been contaminated. Perhaps, that’s why it stinks when we fart; it’s just the scent of our rotting spirit trapped inside a prison called ribcage. We all have moments when our evil deeds emerge… wanting just to be pure evil.

Well, good news!

There are ways to feed our dark side, be the evil incarnate and still get away with it even when we are caught. 

Here goes:

1. Kill….. time with people you love. It really doesn’t matter what you do. Being together should suffice on its own…

2. Steal….. someone’s heart. Love is still the best medicine out there for our souls even if we do stupid things or it ends badly. Live for the experience.

3. Break all the rules….. of society. You are defined only by you and yourself only. 

4. Lie….. on the meadows, watching clouds linger by slowly and spend time alone, just thinking. Sometimes, you only need yourself.

5. Hack…… life itself. Try to find easier and more convenient solutions for any problem you come accross.

6. Poach…… eggs in a frying pan. Nothing beats starting the day with a good breakfast.

7. Kidnap….. your own inner child and never let go until you die. 

8. Bribe…. your loved ones with soft kisses and hugs as often as possible.

Soothe your demon…

The Alien Society

aliens

No more wars… Eternal peace on Earth… Is it even remotely possible? Not every human is fond of wars, as nothing good ever comes out of them. But, most are… Perhaps, not directly vouching for wars, but admiring violence in forms of entertainment. In ancient Rome, it was the gladiators and in modern times, through films, video games and paintball (The last one was a joke). Perhaps, that’s because we humans are ultimately divergent amongst each other; just like different species trying to live with each other. Imagine two armies of hedgehogs on a battlefield, with both sworn to crush the other or a huge field of sun flowers staring at each other with intentions of gutting (perhaps, this is not the right word to use for sun flowers) its opponent. It will never happen as they are the same species. But, humans? Have we evolved backwards on the way or are we different species amongst us indeed? I believe some of us don’t belong here and never have… Don’t the stars on a pitch black night amaze you? If yes, is it because you are into astronomy or simply… Do you feel homesick?

Some people always feel alone although they are surrounded by people (but of different species) all the time. We are constantly searching for fellow-minded people, but we are stuck on an alien world and bound by gibberish rules invented by the natives called “society”. The anagram of “society” is “yeticos”; a word that does not mean anything… just like the concept of society.

Reach out…

Or…

We are doomed…

Dead among the living

Living and dying…There isn’t much difference after all. We, the living are not that different from the dead!… if not worse. At least the dead are remembered, commemorated, idolized and valued while the living are trapped in a vicious circle of routine: working hard, paying bills for stuff that we can’t find time to enjoy, trying our best to be appreciated by society and looking for love in all the wrong places… We are defined and refined by society and cannot or will not act otherwise. We all die alone and that’s the only time we can free ourselves from the tight grip of the unspoken rules of society. Dying is a unique act that can be done individually. It’s like a one-person invitation to a posh party. 

Don’t get me wrong! I am not suggesting that we should all die… but we should definitely do something to change our lives for the better. Ignore what society demands, and live our lives as we wish. The dead can do it (minus living)… we are much more able…we can tailor the society to meet our needs… Here are some tips:

1. Always be honest to people. We all need to hear the truth…

2. Do what you want not what the neighbours would like you to do…

3. Eat as you wish… your soul does not put on weight. It’s always 21 grams…

4. Feel pain if you need to. It differentiates you from the dead.

5. Try new things. You are not your great-grand father… Adapt…in a fun way.

6. Find like-minded people and spend time with them. Learn from them at every opportunity.

7. Make fun of things… life is not something that should be taken seriously.

8. Brush your teeth at least three times a day. (This is for my young readers).

9. Drop me a line… I always listen…

And…never give up…

The pros and the pros of dating friends

The attraction to physical beauty makes only one side of the three-dimensional medallion in dating: The rim and the edge; the almost nonexistent part. The rest is all about honesty, trust, mutual understanding and having fun in whatever a couple is doing (from having sex to watching the grass grow in shared silence). Those qualities listed above create the chemistry between couples more than anything else. 

Nowadays, more and more people seek only their desired physical qualities in their partners… but that is never enough on its own. If that was the case, people would wildly date Picasso paintings or the full moon in a pitch black night, as that’s the real beauty in its purest form.

Becoming friends with a loved-one first is a must although there is always the risk of falling into the friend zone. But the concept of “being in the friend zone” was invented by those who have never experienced the pleasures of such a relationship in the first place. They accuse you of “trying to screw a friend” when there are so many other ways that you can screw a friend, which are far more destructive. 

I am not implying on dating every friend you have. However, the tiniest physical attraction you might have towards a friend is just a start in having the relationship of your life…

And on the plus side, you never get to lose your friend even if the romantic endeavor is over, as friends tend to stay in your life no matter what.

Trust me! I have experience….

The Evolution of Fear

The Evolution of Fear

As we have been living in the age of social media for a while now, most aspects or concepts of the past has become a thing of the past. Just like our fears!!!

Lethal diseases that we feared greatly, have become minor health problems… Monsters have evolved into children’s entertainment in the form of toys and cartoons… and werewolves have found their literal and lexical meaning as in “were feared”…but not anymore. These days, we use vampires and werewolves merely for entertainment as seen in movies and novels. Even romance has been a popular subject amongst the supernatural beings. We do not really fear them, we love them.

But, what do we fear nowadays?

Of course; the dangers of social media and insensible posting…and the consequences.

After a little thinking, I have made a list of modern fears related to the internet and some popular social media apps and number 3  and 7 really give me the creeps!

Here goes:

1. You’re lost in the middle of nowhere and you have no wifi…

2. Finding out that a stranger has dethroned you at your own house (private address) on swarm.

3. Booking a place on AirBnB and once there discovering that it’s a freshly dug empty grave with your name on the tombstone.

4. A stranger posts photos of your most intimate moments, tagging you on Instagram.

5. Your Facebook page is suddenly liked by over a thousand users who have recently passed away and they say they can’t wait to meet you in the comments section.

6. Your match on Tinder turns out to be your sibling…after your chat with each other for hours about each other’s sexual fantasies.

7. Posting a short video clip onto YouTube titled “the best way to kill your neighbour”, then waking up the next morning with the police knocking on the door as your neighbour had been murdered the same way as shown on your video clip. The video watch count shows 0 visitors…

8. Trying out a diner’s burger, licking your fingertips due to its delicacy and then discovering thousands of negative comments on Four Square mentioning the restaurant’s use of rat meat in their burgers.

9. Getting lost and needing rescue in New Zealand’s Porangahau region: “Tetaumatawhakatangihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukapihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanarahu” after a hiking accident and discovering that the only means of communication with the authorities seem to be by Twitter, limiting your report of what has happened to you and your whereabouts in only 140 characters. To make things worse, your phone has juice left only for one tweet!

What do you say?


Ain’t modern life scary?

Non-Native Language Teachers versus Native Language Teachers

Non-Native Language Teachers versus Native Language Teachers

mapEnglish2

In an ever globalising world like ours, you can be born anywhere on the sphere (Perhaps, Antarctica is a less likely destination but still… there are plenty of places to be born on our planet.) You have an instant advantage in becoming the master of your culture and native tongue the moment you are born. You begin learning your native tongue without even being aware of the process. It’s total immersion.You do not even remember learning how to speak it, read it or write it. It’s almost automatic like breathing.

Breathing!

The first action we learn right after being born! Every soul born, masters it in just a few seconds. Everybody is excellent at it… We can easily say that we are all native breathers! Now, imagine that you are hired as a native breathing-instructor to teach how to breathe to a bunch of newborns (and just for the fun of it, imagine that they cannot learn it by themselves). What would you do? How would you even start? What would your first instruction be?

Open your mouth and suck in air through your mouth or nose???

In theory, being a native and having it done a zillion times, you should be an excellent teacher at Breathing – 101. However, that’s not the case, is it? Think about Albert Einstein or Dr.Michio Kaku (if you want a more contemporary example)! Did they start gaining scientific knowledge right from the time they were born? Were they native physicists? The answer is a big “no”. But, noone can claim that they are (or would be) “not so competent” in teaching Physics, can they? We should look at the non-native language teachers the same way. There may be marvels among us (language teachers) who will always fall behind in job hunts just because we are not passport holders of a country that we are teaching the language of. Having mastered the target language for decades will not put you in front of a native candidate (in a job application) who has no experience in teaching! Sometimes the label is more important than the content.

I have no intention of offending native language teachers in this article, but don’t we at least, deserve an equal chance in professional life? Below are some points which might make non-native language teachers a choice at least:

Non-native language teachers…

* have gone through a similar learning process as their pupils and can identify the tough parts in learning the target language and take precautions…

* can explain unexpected questions about grammar points as they have not learned it unconsciously unlike native teachers…

* can adjust their level of English according to the students’ level and communicate much easier with them…

* are more intercultural and aware…

* have better sppelign, speeling, splenig….spelleing…. (or maybe I should leave this one out)

I want to know what you think. Please comment!!!

Why do we kiss?

Just observe the world. You will not find one animal that kisses its partner to demonstrate its affection. Fish, birds, gazelles don’t do it and no, your cat or dog is not kissing you. It might be touching you with its mouth because you hug its head in point blank range and its mouth just touches your skin. It’s inevitable. And plants… they certainly can’t kiss each other. So, that leaves us…humans; the only kind that kisses others for pleasure. But why do we do it? Is it just an unavoidable perk of evolution or is there something deeper behind all that kissing?

Here are some thoughts:

1. Kissing violates personal space. The no go zone is conquered in the most pleasant way.

2. All your senses are heightened as you approach your partner for a kiss; the eyes have microscopic view of the loved one’s facial features although they also contribute to spoiling of the eyes if you keep them open during the time, the nose picks up smells that normally vanishes into the air when there’s distance, the ears can hear sounds of affection, the touch is performed by one of the most sensitive organs (the lips) and the taste? The lips and the tongue can make you experience flavors you’ve never experienced before as everyone has a different flavor. 

3. Kissing is good for the immune system as partners exchange thousands of bacteria which strengthen each other’s immune system. However, I highly doubt we kiss for medical concerns.

4. Kissing each body part has a different meaning; the lips show romantic affection, the hands demonstrate respect and the butt (not literally) tells a lot about a person’s lowly character (kissing the butt literally just shows you have a kind of weird fetish)…

And finally, kissing improves the memory! The first romantic kiss is never forgotten as it marks your transcourse from infancy to puberty….

I remember my first kiss like it was yesterday (although it happened more than a quarter century before) Her name was Rosemary, a Dutch, red-headed gal who put me over the clouds for at least a week. 

So, if you would like to share your story of your first kiss, please feel free to comment…

Nobody knows

It’s our world now… we live in a realm where nobody knows anything. No one cares anymore; not the nobility, not the simple peasants, not even the nosy people you run into here and there. Nope. The hope is long gone and all that remains are the distant noises of some inner conflicts one might have, barely audible like northern winds on a warm summer night. Knowledge is what we lack and somehow we have no intention of reaching for answers even if it knocks on our doors. Answers are not welcome anymore. We have become noobs where once experts thrived in this world. 

A change might be coming, hiding behind a simple yes/no question. You have to decide NOw….