my karma is contraband

[smbc-comics]

[as-per-usual]

Based on this tweet by Fred_Delicious!

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[upandoutcomic]

Just open up, you’ll feel so much better.

BUY MY BOOK - Patreon- Facebook - Twitter - Subreddit

[meetzer]

[dutchster]

this can’t get any more golden retriever

[lizclimo]

RIP David Bowie ♡

[jahdman]

Art by: Butcher Billy #RIPDavidBowie #groundcontroltomajortom #Joker #Art #DCComics #Starman #SpaceOddity

[upandoutcomic]

Blowin’ this Star Wars story wide open!!

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[contrabandkarma]

#SpoilerAlert

[carouhell]

Pork soup

[contrabandkarma]

AKA duck rice

[perfectmidnightworld]

[copycats]

“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Chromatics 

Originally by Cyndi Lauper

[contrabandkarma]

Great lazy weekend music.

[banditnanna]

"I remember the first time I saw him. He was 13 and he floated across the ground like a cocker spaniel chasing a piece of silver paper in the wind." - Sir Alex Ferguson

Print available here.

T-shirt available here.

[contrabandkarma]

Giggsy over the years.

[butcherbilly]

Marvel Selfies: Avengers Project by Butcher Billy on Behance.

[contrabandkarma]

This is so awesome.

[harrattanparhar]

Visit Original Link

[lacienegasmiled]

Demo of Beat It composed using only Michael Jackson’s voice

As Jackson couldn’t fluently play any instruments, he would sing and beatbox out how he wanted his songs to sound by himself on tape, layering the vocals, harmonies and rhythm before having instrumentalists come in to complete the songs.

One of his engineers Robmix on how Jackson worked: “One morning MJ came in with a new song he had written overnight. We called in a guitar player, and Michael sang every note of every chord to him. “here’s the first chord first note, second note, third note. Here’s the second chord first note, second note, third note”, etc., etc. We then witnessed him giving the most heartfelt and profound vocal performance, live in the control room through an SM57. He would sing us an entire string arrangement, every part. Steve Porcaro once told me he witnessed MJ doing that with the string section in the room. Had it all in his head, harmony and everything. Not just little eight bar loop ideas. he would actually sing the entire arrangement into a micro-cassette recorder complete with stops and fills.”

Reasons why I laugh when people say he wasn’t a real musician.

[contrabandkarma]

This is how Michael Jackson used to write his songs. Amazing.

[contrabandkarma]

She said she didn't want flowers for #ValentinesDay…

[contrabandkarma]

On State Nannying

You know about the whole Ashley Madison thing, right? You probably do if you've been in Singapore the past couple of weeks. Short summary: Website that enables married people to find other people to cheat with says they want to set up shop in Singapore, conservatives get outraged, set up Facebook group petitioning against it (as you do), and finally the Government decides to block the website, calling it "objectionable". Cue much rejoicing from said conservatives.

  It really would be amusing if it weren't so sad.

  Now let me state that I find Ashley Madison's business model to be terrible in terms of morals. This is where I bring to mind the famous quote on freedom of speech:

  I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it

    Look, I disagree with what Ashley Madison does. That is why, had it actually been able to set up a Singapore office, I wouldn't have visited the site. However, I wouldn't have done what those conservatives did: insist that just because I disagree with it, nobody else has the right to look at it.

  This is so typical of Singaporeans, really. We've been complaining about the government being too restrictive, about a lack of freedom of speech, and then on the flipside we're actively campaigning for more restrictions on what we can do and for our freedom of speech to be curtailed. What the hell, people?

  This isn't even the first time it's happened – far from it. Any time a group of people finds something objectionable or against their beliefs, they lobby the government to ban it, censor it or otherwise prevent others from seeing/hearing it. How is this supposed to be healthy for Singapore? How is this supposed to help us grow and mature as a society?

  I wasn't even going to write about this whole affair (pun!), but I was tipped over the edge this morning by a Facebook comment on the tragic news of a 7-year-old who fell to his death after being left alone at home. The person actually suggested that perhaps there should be a law against leaving children under the age of 12 alone at home.

  What. The. Fuck. Just let that sink in for a moment.

  And then let's go again. What. The. FUCK.

  Seriously, must EVERY goddamn thing be legislated? How about using some bloody common sense? How about we don't expect the government to be our nanny in every single aspect of our lives, and actually take some responsibility?

  I mean, hey, I'm politically left-leaning so I definitely think the government has a role to play in citizens' lives, but hell, any reasonable person should be able to recognise the insanity of people wanting THAT much state interference – regardless of which part of the political spectrum you belong to.

  Come on, Singapore. You can do better than that. Don't like websites that facilitate cheaters? Don't visit the website. Don't want kids to fall to their deaths? Don't leave them alone at home without letting them know.

  Don't expect the state to block every website you disagree with. Don't expect the state to enact laws mandating adult supervision at home for every child. This really isn't that difficult, is it?

[contrabandkarma]

“The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.” - John W. Gardner

[contrabandkarma]

Why We Lie

Saints may always tell the truth, but for mortals living means lying. We lie to protect our privacy ("No, I don't live around here"); to avoid hurt feelings ("Friday is my study night"); to make others feel better ("Gee you've gotten skinny"); to avoid recriminations ("I only lost $10 at poker"); to prevent grief ("The doc says you're getting better"); to maintain domestic tranquility ("She’s just a friend"); to avoid social stigma ("I just haven't met the right woman"); for career advancement ("I'm sooo lucky to have a smart boss like you"); to avoid being lonely ("I love opera"); to eliminate a rival ("He has a boyfriend"); to achieve an objective ("But I love you so much"); to defeat an objective ("I'm allergic to latex"); to make an exit ("It's not you, it's me"); to delay the inevitable ("The check is in the mail"); to communicate displeasure ("There's nothing wrong"); to get someone off your back ("I'll call you about lunch"); to escape a nudnik ("My mother's on the other line"); to namedrop ("We go way back"); to set up a surprise party ("I need help moving the piano"); to buy time ("I'm on my way"); to keep up appearances ("We're not talking divorce"); to avoid taking out the trash ("My back hurts"); to duck an obligation ("I've got a headache"); to maintain a public image ("I go to church every Sunday"); to make a point ("Ich bin ein Berliner"); to save face ("I had too much to drink"); to humor ("Correct as usual, King Friday"); to avoid embarrassment ("That wasn't me"); to curry favor ("I've read all your books"); to get a clerkship ("You're the greatest living jurist"); to save a dollar ("I gave at the office"); or to maintain innocence ("There are eight tiny reindeer on the rooftop")….

An important aspect of personal autonomy is the right to shape one’s public and private persona by choosing when to tell the truth about oneself, when to conceal, and when to deceive. Of course, lies are often disbelieved or discovered, and that, too, is part of the push and pull of social intercourse. But it’s critical to leave such interactions in private hands, so that we can make choices about who we are. How can you develop a reputation as a straight shooter if lying is not an option?

– Judge Alex Kozinski's opinion in US v Xavier Alvarez

[contrabandkarma]

On Car Loans and Public Transport

Yesterday, DPM and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam delivered the Singapore Budget for 2013. One of the main things announced was a pretty fundamental change to car loans; whereas up until midnight yesterday some banks offered up to 100% financing at tenures of up to 10 years, the new rules that kicked in today mean that car buyers now have to pay up to 50% of the car price upfront, with loan tenures of a maximum of five years.

Predictably, there was an uproar with many unhappy that owning a car, already a terribly expensive exercise in Singapore, would be pushed even further out of reach for them.

However, I actually don't disagree with the new car loan restriction policies. Besides slowing car growth (and hopefully leading to less crowded roads), it forces people to be more fiscally prudent instead of overextending themselves financially just to own a car. This is a good thing, just so we're clear.

My issue is this: Instead of improving public transport to make it more attractive, the government simply decides to make private transport less attainable. Can't you fix what's broken first?

The problem of overcrowded roads/public transport is not an easy one to solve, for sure. However it is complicated by the fact that our public transport operators are privately-owned... Or as "private" as Temasek Holdings and GIC can be, anyway. They then have to put profits first before anything else, as it should be for any privately-owned company.

One wonders if things might be different if:

A) the public transport operators were nationalised; and/or

B) there was more competition allowed (for buses at least, not quite possible with trains obviously)

People should be attracted to make public transport their primary means of transport because it is so affordable and convenient that private car ownership makes less sense. They should not only be forced to take crowded and infrequent public transport because they cannot afford cars and have no choice.

Simply penalising car owners (through ERP, etc) and making cars less attainable cannot be the only answer.