Saturday, June 24, 2006
Discourse on Smoking - Post 1
Let's do something interesting.
While browsing amongst the wonderful books of Kinokuniya, I came across this book which had American ads from the 40's and 50's. For each era they picked the most effective ad, and these are the ones for cigarettes that i used my handphone to snap. Lousy pics, i know. But at least they're legible. Here we can see why people smoked, and the concerns of that era (waay before lung cancer was a major concern) X_x .
The first is an ad by L&M. We see the most major concern: Tar. Tar is visible as a brownish substance trapped in the filters of a cigarette, and people knew that this stuff was going into their lungs. So what does L&M do? An excerpt reads: "Our new technology puts electromagnetically charged filters in each cigarette, adding to the number of fibres in the smoke's way." Yep. Trap more smoke, get more customers. Also, the star of TV serial Gunsmoke is seen endorsing the brand, which was a very conventional marketing method. Glamourise smoking, get more customers.
The second is a winning ad from Marlboro. We can see an entirely unorthodox marketing technique: CUTE BABIES! Awww... the text, kept short and simple, reads "Before you scold me, mom, maybe you'd better light up a Marlboro!" This ad won because of its ingenious (although perhaps a bit underhanded) use of an innocent infant to bring smoking all the way down to the most basic, family level: people smoke for relaxation, and not for glamour. This ad appeals to the masses, no doubt. But here we see another property: It targets women. Mothers! Marlboro probably saw the potential of getting the other half of the American population to pick up smoking. No more was smoking a 'manly', 'masculine' activity: the ladies could light up too!
This is the winning ad from the 40s, by Camel. Still existing today in exactly the same box artwork, its price has also survived through the generations. Back then it marketed its quality: "Costlier Tobaccos". Now Camel is still one of the most expensive brands, although it has mostly lost its widespread appeal (in Singapore at least), known as the 'uncle's brand'.
But that's not what's important about this ad. The text reads "More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette!" and this information was based on a survey! What could be safer than smoking the same brand that your physician smoked? Yep, Camel had an extremely effective strategy, even with the minimal artwork. Who cares about movie stars? We're all concerned about our health.
At the bottom right is a sort of 'test' to determine which brand one should prefer. Once again we see a decent, house-wifey woman pictured. And a very young one at that. A transparent "T" appears over her mouth, and this is the Taste Test. Apparently, Camel asked its customers to discern a cigarette's Taste, and see whether it made the Throat uncomfortable. Of course, the last sentence goes "You'll know that Camel is the brand for you."
Erkay. In summary, people in booming postwar America smoked because of (in order of priority):
1. Relaxation
2. Glamour
3. Taste of tobacco
And they were concerned about:
1. Tar getting into their system
2. How smooth a cigarette is when smoke is drawn through the filter
3. The 'roughness' of a cigarette on their throats (whether the smoke was stinging)
=)
jOhn thought at 4:26 AM
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
From Dust You Were Borne, And To Dust You Will Return.
Today while reading Today (hee.), I came across another one of those "I-just-realised-how-fragile-and-uncertain-life-is" kinda article. This time it was by a middle aged guy whose daughter's friend died in a motorcycle accident.
Well.
This blog entry's unusually long, and its intentions are crystal clear at the end. Should it ultimately fail, then someday I'll write it again, better and clearer. Should it offend you due to references to certain practices by certain parties, I offer my sincerest apologies. Should I misrepresent or if my facts are wrong, I am open to correction.
When we're young, everyone's invincible. Parents always there for us, friends always behind us. We can do crazy things, get into trouble, and run away with it. Young's the time to try new things, they say. Go crazy. Live life to the fullest, sans obligation, responsibility and consequence. Young's the time when we are the most accepting of people around us, regardless of their habits and beliefs.
Teach the child in the way he should go, and when he is older, he shall not stray.
But everything we do has an impact on the future. Parents, especially Asian ones, believe strongly in education. Go to a good school, get a good job, life is a bed of roses. Is that really true?
Say someone leads the ideal life - born to a middle class family, goes to RJC, on to NUS, then on to Masters at Harvard via a government scholarship... what if somewhere along the way... One snowy winter day in the USA, sleet ice on a road drives a car off a mountain road leading to a ski resort. The bodies of 4 were found, all in their late 20's. One of them was a Singaporean scholar.
How will that scholar be remembered? By what he's done in his years, of course. In his funeral, everyone will come forward with glowing praise. Oh. what a filial son he was. Oh, I remember how he used to help me tirelessly in my homework. Oh, what a great student and sportsman he was. Oh, what a waste. What a waste.
Must life be led such that we cannot be productive before our education is complete? Life begins at 0 years old and has a limit. On our tombstones, those years will be represented with a simple '-', e.g., Tan Wa Wa, 1970 - 2030. What will we do during that dash?
We often live our lives with no consideration for its end. Yes, we may give it some thought, but life still goes on. Yet, cancer patients see it differently. The day they are given mere months to live, life takes on a new meaning. No more 9 to 5 jobs, or schedules and appointments to make. In fact, this cycle of continuous work is broken and they become seperate from the rat race...
A CEO in the USA. Personal net worth, uncountable millions. Chairman of one of the most successful accounting companies to date. Listed on Forbes Fortune 500. A man at the top of his game, with a loving wife and even children to boot. A dream come true, many will say.
But a man with cancer. Terminal. The day he was given three months to live was the day his life changed. No more work weeks with 'golf breaks' just to ease his soul and convince him that he was not another robot in a large souless city. What did one of America's richest men do?
He reconciled with his past. With people. With family. "As a leader I have always encouraged my employees to spend time with their family and have positive relationships, but I myself have neglected this." He realised that people were the only ones worth giving time to, and spent as much time as he could with his children, with his beloved wife. He visited personally all those whom he had something to say to, to all his old classmates and friends. He apologised to all he hurt, and realised that time may stop the bleeding from a broken heart, but only words would have a chance at healing the wound. And he wrote a book about it. Not to make money, but to send his message out to the world. Would that not be a book worth reading?
What then might be the goal of life? I shall try to define it here. Its goal would be to affect other people, in a positive way. Because whatever religion or belief you have, no matter what you think or believe about the afterlife, nothing you own on earth's going to go with you once the sands of time run out. No, even if you had people offer a paper Mercedes up to you, do you, according to all human emotions of desire, want to be stuck with a Mercedes (and a paper one, at that) from 19XX A.D.? Would Heaven have a Heavenly Mercedes-Benz that makes nice new cars for its rich residents, cars that the poor-but-kind-hearted can't afford, just like the Earth one? Who's gonna work there? Heavenly Engineers too?
Things on earth are here to help you along the way. The only thing you started with are your mind and body, and those are the only things you'll leave here with.
With your mind you can create, because humans were made with the ability to be creators. And creating does not always mean making a new tool or machine. Creating can mean creating happiness for someone else, helping someone along the way. Your body can help. Hands that produce and work, hands that comfort and heal.
Because if there is indeed a Heaven, the people you affected will all be there with you. Not your possessions. Once you pass 20, it is inevitable that the people around you will start going without a trace. Should you wait till then to be awoken to the hard facts of mortality?
"Built or unbuilt, no matter what building I design, it shall be conceived so that if I were to die the next day, any one single building can represent a lifetime's effort to return, and add to this world what it gave to me." -Me. Again.
jOhn thought at 4:45 PM
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Occupation for the Control Freak
Hmm. Isn't it interesting to know that when architects, nestled in their cushy air-conditioned studios, draw two simple lines on paper, many others have to:
1. Prepare groundwork for the site.
2. Order the cement.
3. Mix the cement with water and sand.
4. Check if the cement is suitable for construction.
5. Chop down and cut wood planks to mould the cement.
6. Pour the cement into the nicely arranged wooden mould.
7. Let the cement cure to form a concrete wall.
8. Throw away all that wood (it can't be reused).
9. Paint the concrete wall.
10. Prepare it for inspection by the architect, and authorities.
All because an architect nonchalantly penned two lines...
Whee.
jOhn thought at 5:24 PM
Saturday, June 10, 2006
Music
Music is fuel, course through my being...
In the still of darkness,
Shattered by the driving beat,
Accept me in your embrace,
Be my wings for tonight.
In the still of darkness,
wake my imagination,
close my eyes,
This ship my soul shall abandon.
Shattered by the driving beat,
its where I belong,
not in the still,
But the strong.
Take me up, drown in your embrace,
floating, falling, sweet intoxication,
to the heaven which only dreams mention...
Belong to me, music of the night.
jOhn thought at 2:59 AM
What if our lives lasted only one day?
Morning is infancy. You wake up to a whole new world, sunlight piercing your vision. You stagger while making your first few steps away from the comfort of the bed, struggling to make sense of it all. By the time you reach the bathroom, you feel much more awake. Oh, so it's a new day.
Bathrom, education. You enter sleepily and unaware, and exit with your eyes wide open, refreshing water dripping down from your face. Soon, it dries and off you go to work, just like everyone else. You stare at them and they stare at you, the travelling time translating into seemingly endless boredom. Once you settle nicely into your cubicle, you work until 6pm. If you didn't finish that report, it's considered another unproductive day and you're looked down upon by your colleagues and boss.
1 report. 1 child.
6pm. 60 years old.
Lunch break. 1 hour. 60 minutes. 60 overseas vacations.
You get frustrated at the peak hour jam. 6.30pm and they still wanna $%#& with you? You just want to go home, have a good rest and enjoy yourself and watch tv, something you never could do while on the job, although you very much wanted to.
Once you arrive home, you feel restless. What the heck am I doing here watching tv when I can complete more work and please my boss?
Home. Retirement.
Work. Volunteer tuition teaching.
Boss. Conscience.
Suddenly, you feel tired. Your eyes begin to fail you and no matter how hard you try, you cannot keep them open. But there's work to be done, you complain. Still, your tortured eyes defy you, and you finally give in. Feeling dead tired, you stagger over to the cosy, inviting matteress of your bed, and weakly you lay yourself out over the sheets, stretching comfortably.
With a final sigh, your eyes shut forever... and the first smile of the day creases your face.
jOhn thought at 2:30 AM
Monday, June 05, 2006
The Simple Guide For Surviving Storms.
You are a boat. No, not just any other puny rowboat, but a tall, proud ship, with an arcing bow that slices the waves of life like knife through butter, leaving an instantly recognisable wake behind, as if the ocean is forever carved with your journey.
Everything's been calm seas and wonderful sunny. Your decks are scrubbed clean, your prow polished a gleaming white, your passengers having nightly parties and having a blast..
Suddenly.. in the middle of the Atlantic, you run into an iceberg field! Jagged peaks only give slight hint of the beasts that lie invisible below the waves. You stare in shock as storm clouds gather, and soon the glass surface of the ocean is an angry, heaving mass, and your captain fights to keep you on course, as the waves threaten to tear you apart..
Nature contacts steel, and a sickening tear resounds through the cabins. You are horrified as water floods into your heart. Already your bow is drooping, a far cry from its former glory, and the water threatens to swallow you whole..
Engineers race around, braving the waves to asses damage, and the report is negative to the extreme. All signs say that abandonment is compulsory.. You face the threat of loneliness, every ship's nightmare becoming reality for you..
But no, you do not give up.. The turbines are intact, and you coax them to full power. If the storm's not going to go away, you are.
It works, and you emerge out of the dark, limping from critical damage.. Not knowing what to do, you push ahead, carrying every one of your passengers safe and sound, giving them some sanctuary in the rigid steel of your decks, as if promising to take them to a better place..
But you're so, so scared.. You don't know what could happen.. The flood has stopped, but the damage has been done. You limp through the waves, and they seem to mock you. "Where is your pride?", they laugh..
But shortly on the horizon, land appears, and the bright lights of the dock beckons, telling you you're home, you're home..
And as you enter calm waters once more, you thank God for giving you the strength to sail through a storm, knowing that damage can always be repaired, and that the next storm is lurking not very far away..
jOhn thought at 1:46 AM