Culture, Community, Country

In a world of increased mobility, do you feel if your country is the same as your culture, if your goverment synchronises with your personal values, if your religion or language remains part of the national tapestry and if your citizenship is your ethnicity?

There are still homogenous demographics remaining within several nations, despite the rise of multi-cultural diversity in Western societies and the historical mixing of different races within countries formed from the legacy of colonialism.

Thailand, Japan, China, both North and South Korea, Russia and Latin American nations have a high degree of having a shared spoken and written language, which further strengthens their sense of cultural heritage. Thailand is perhaps the only non European country in the world to be not subject to colonialism.

In terms of having less diverse populations, Japan does stand out due to their de-emphasis on accepting migrants and their geographical nature of being a string of islands. 

In contrast, Australia, Israel and Canada have allowed the settlement of peoples from around 200 other nations. Israel welcomes migrants with a shared cultural and religious background. Australia and Canada especially encourage the use of languages other than English.

The USA had been heralded as a promised land attracting, amongst many, war torn migrants from Europe, Spanish speakers from south of its borders, students from an Asia with rising incomes and Middle Easterners. The USA claims to be the original melting pot in nation building in recent history.

The European continent saw the regular redrawing of national boundaries due to war, political alliances, royal marriages, religious transformations and internal migrations, especially in the past 200 years before the 21st century.

Immigration can change the nature of societies - look at France, Australian capital cities, the proportion of non Muslims falling in Malaysia, Birmingham in the United Kingdom and Germany in recent years.

The island nation of Singapore utilises racial numbers as a critical factor in ensuring racial harmony in a small country. South Africa has up to a dozen official languages. The modern Republic of India was federated from lands with different languages and ethnicities collated under the rule of Britain and the former British East India Company.

There are small islands in the South Pacific that are still linked politically, culturally and financially to European masters, a legacy of the 19th century.

The carving of territories by colonial powers, at times subjectively, has divided people of the same culture across different nation states - think for example, of the Kurdish; the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea; and the Arabs.

Indigenous peoples across many parts of the world have lost their original nationhood. Those still having some structural sense of independence are grouped around New Zealand, where the Maoris perhaps maintain the highest level of political dignity for indigenous peoples.

Increasingly it can get harder for an individual to assert that my country, my government, my culture, my religion, my personal values, my citizenship, my mother tongue and my ethnicity share a high degree of commonality.

Perhaps the idea of a nation state is increasingly irrelevant. World citizenship can resolve many administrative issues. However the inherent nature of mankind can continue to be divisive, to differentiate and to dominate over others.

#yongkevthoughts

Reflections

The water supply to my neighbourhood was cut off unexpectedly last night. This unplanned event had several of my neighbours talking to each other. Not that they do not in otherwise normal circumstances. There was a Sydney Water website live update on this supply interruption, but it was more fulfiling with chat amongst the neighbours.

Have you ever written a letter to your Prime Minister?

When was the most recent time you gathered with family or friends just to talk of happy things?

Do you have a chill out from screen time regularly to admire Nature, smell the roses or dabble in some artistic pursuit?

Does it really matter if you did not know about significant happening in news from the media?

How did you stay in touch with your mates before apps like Facebook?

When was the last time you walked with your pet to the beach?

What is the most impressionable thing that gives a glow in your heart, despite the clutter and rush of contemporary routine?

How was your walk doing nothing today, and yet who or what did you come across?

Did you just do something, big or small, that you normally would not, with positive vibes for yourself or others?

For once, do you consciously recognise the ability of your own body and mind to self heal?

Can you reflect and choose one thing, habit or act, that commercial society expects of you, but which you and family do not need?

Have you got into touch with a long lost friend or family member still deep in your heart but somehow not been communicating with?

Have you allowed yourself to fly, not literally, but with your own possibilities?

Do you occasionally ask yourself, "Why Not", and proceed at times with your gut feel?

Other people may offer a sympathetic and listening ear, but in the end, it is only you, and you alone, who can liberate yourself.

My house water supply was restored this morning. For a fleeting moment, I realised how I had long taken for granted the gush of still clean water from the turn of a tap - and how rare such a cut off in residential water supply occurs in suburban Australia.

To close, I have one more question for you ........

Is it more upsetting to have your wifi connections cut off for a longer time than you had to do without water or electricity supply?

#yongkevthoughts

Selective Reasoning

Selective reasoning....

My cause is more important than yours. I hurt more as a victim than other clamaints.The masses cannot do this due to breach of institutional and constititional laws, but the most powerful in the land can do anything.

We have to accept collateral damage for the greater good of our nation. Read: We can sacrifice the small fry to protect the big man, me, the one in power.What happens in state election outcomes does not apply to the national level, due to state issues.

What happens in state election outcomes will be echoed at national level elections, it is a warning sign.

Research can produce engineered outcomes, as long as we do not detail the sample size, pre-existing conditions, test limitations and who really sponsors the activity.I shall dish out my advice which is good for you, but I will not in practice follow what I say to you when I face the same situation.

To distract the masses within your own disrupted nation, make negative accusations of foreign leaders and nations in what you have already done yourself as a leader.Ensure your own top level renumeration and get rid of dispensible people who actually do the work to cut costs, as to meet the agreed indicators for getting more incentives for yourself.

Socio-political victors rewriting history, forgetting specific parties who helped them win and destroying any evidence of help from the perceived opposition.

Twisting the positive intents of people you want to destroy, while over stacking and exagerating your own postive virtues and achievements. This can include unfairly belittling people you do not like and basking in your own bizzare personal glory.

Biting the hand of the one who feeds you. Even dogs do not stoop so low, or at least those I have come across.

Not realising that it takes both hands to work in a marriage - and forgetting that magical moment when the romance started.

#yongkevthoughts

The Past Twelve Months

CHRISTMAS  2018

Reflecting beside the lapping waves of a remote bay…….

It has been a year different from others, but yet rewarding and eye opening.

I have had an opportunity, albeit unexpected, to look more into my inner self,

clear the decks of past practices, letting go of temporal distractions and

enhance my appreciation of life.

The mind and the heart synchronized better, like the stars in an alignment to

reaffirm and learn more important things.

Time is relative and the passing of time by itself, a man made concept.   I got more in tune with my biological clock.  I realized how much more our body can heal itself, how our potential is much unutilized, to avoid inflammation (in the widest meaning of the word) and to savour oxidation  ( in all implications of the word).

Some things are never done and seem repetitive in a cyclic process, but it does

add to the transformation.   Other things are done once and we move on.   Some things will never be and others yet can be “Why Not?”

To break free, I woke up to stop accumulating things that add to bother, diversion, hesitancy and clutter.   Yet I acknowledged why I had been attracted to such things.   A want or a need has to be fed, but once I cut off the want, I am liberated to do other things.

Cyberspace and physical reality merged more on all fronts  - work, business, down time and social time.   The ease with which virtual reality offers can be a two edged sword, as there is nothing more refreshing than meeting up face to face and chatting vocally.

I appreciated more the removal of clutter.   I value more the ability to be independent, to be more patient, to be cognizant of higher things.

Society, with a larger population and more demands put upon it, can have its seams breaking down in lowered standards and practice of ethics.   I watched with bewilderment the blatant disregard in how corporations mistreated customers, how individuals in business and politics just took care of the very selfish needs of themselves  - and how compliance requirements are disregarded when they should not be.

I continue to observe the greater intensity with which, in my own country, excessive drinking, drug addiction, rude driving, uncontrolled gambling with the dice and a coddled and dependent mentality can wreck havoc and malfeasance for my society and community.   I acknowledge the dangerous addiction with smart phone apps and social media.

Yet there have been magical moments of being able to catch up with friends and relatives from far and near…….London, Hong Kong, Zurich, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Auckland, George Town, Brisbane and Melbourne.   It was a wedding, it was a dinner and drinks, it was shopping, it was a home meal, it was a car ride.

I never take for granted the cool breezes coming form the ocean where I live.  I accept with a renewed gratitude that there is still a shared sense of community where I choose to reside.   I treasure the option of meeting new people.   I do not take for granted the cocoon supported by reliable friends.   I have tried new culinary dishes  - maybe more by consuming them than cooking them.  

I am more eager to try natural food to feed my body than swallow manufactured tablets and the hype of fake news nutrition.    The way that moderation has not been practiced is more observed by me, whether it is in the shopping malls, reactions of negative people, the manner some people carry on their shoulders and in my not using all of my capability and capacity.

There have been iconic moments this past year……walking along the river at Port Macquarie at dawn, spending time with beautiful souls, missing the company of significant individuals, being able to try diverse cooking and more.   Challenges have been taken by the bull’s horns, outcomes enjoyed like with a doggie on my lap and the passion not reduced for life.

Kindly yours,

Kevin Yong

The State of the Barista Coffee Business

There are single origins and blends. Is the Australian retail coffee sector waiting for a shake up, more innovation and a less fragmented industry framework?

It is reported there are at least 650 micro coffee roasters for a nation with a population less than that for the greater Tokyo region.

The retail coffee business is said to be only growing at 5 per cent per annum. More players are entering an already crowded field that is crying out from a possible bubble. Some apply social media to enhance marketing and presence in a competitive field.

If you are a barista cafe owner, do you still depend on early morning turnover and the brunch margins? Labour costs make you think twice of offering cuppas at midnight, like they do in Asia. The multi business model of having a licensed bar on your rented premises is attracting customers, but it depends on which market you are operating in.

Coffee beans are a commodity in world trade and are subject to the vagaries and volatility of supply and prices. The question of minimum pay for workers in cafes, especially those working part time and on a casual basis, can raise its ugly head. For the business operator, there is a constant and hawkish need to monitor margins and costs.

It can be said that if you do well in three important things at your cafe, your regular customers can be relied upon. Your coffee has to stand out in bean taste, espresso texture, coffee varietal, body, serving temperature, crema consistency and roast freshness. You need to have an addictive food item, savoury or sweet, on your cafe display shelf or menu. And you need one engaging personality based in your cafe to close the deal.

Running workshops on creating coffees, holding community catch ups and offering different styles for cold and warm weather are useful options, but require resources with which sole proprietors can ill afford.

The strength of the barista business can be its weakness. 

We love the fact that many in the coffee business at street level can shape their own parameters - unique, focused, hipster or down to earth.

Having coffee can be like in the perfume business - reflect on the aroma, the elegance, the reliability, the special moment. Once a particular offering captivates you, you as a customer will return for more.

At the same time, how a barista prepares
from the same blend (say Campos or White Horse) can result in different nuances on the tongue. This also echoes the different skills in making the cuppa.

It has been beneficial for serious coffee lovers in Australia for the market to break away from straitlaced processed coffee from the supermarkets, commercial fast food like chains and bland ground bean blends. The significant influence and inspiration from Italian espresso making is much appreciated. 

Are consumers tending towards consuming more bold coffee on a daily basis? Will there be more negative health pronouncements
for your customers having their fourth cup for a single day? Is there an opportunity for more cooperation by the disparate spectrum of players?

#yongkevthoughts

#baristacoffee

Social Media Addiction and Downside

It is scary. The three apps I most often use are Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.

They are all owned by the same business entity, which has more customers than many corporates, more users than populations of many nations and more followers than some religions.

I ask myself, what happened to the pleasure of speaking on the phone? Increasingly we can use our fingers more than our vocal chords. 

Our life routines and special moments are punctuated by electronic images and words that can be disposed as fast as they are created, or so we think. The huge number of records of every human being having access to wi-fi grows exponentially and are not just kept by the person who created them. Data is over analysed but not necesarily for benign and progressive purposes.

Data is not just kept on an aggregate basis, but details can be sliced and detailed. 

The addiction to using apps can be experienced akin to the pleasure of drug induced states, gambling thrills and rewards of repeatitive behaviour. Is communicating through social media really the same as meeting up face to face with social friends?

Have you observed how often software updates are required of you? Are such updates of more benefit to your provider than to you as a user?

It is easier to access electronic records than physical ones. And not just by you.
Each of us resents being manipulated by others in the face, but can willingly increase our risks of further manipulation by forces unseen, unheard and unrealised.

We have been induced to look for information the easier way by Googling, but have we truly stopped to query about the validity of such purported facts? 

It is easier to search for news on screens than to read them on paper. This simple situation illustrates the two edged sword nature of electronic information - easier does not mean true, harder does not mean fake, faster does not mean sincerity, slower does not mean not meaningful.

The sanctity of ethics is not protected, because it can be subserviant to other demands and priorities of your provider of the data and information you digest. Your personal data, life moments and images which you happily contribute to cyberspace are not yours for privacy anymore, but swallowed up to in turn sell you not just consumer goods, but ideas, politics and cultural beliefs. 

The Big Brother is smiling - even more as it is so easy for individual human beings to tell Him everything. 

You, as a speck on this Earth of human beings, can be naive to want to share and connect, but you have compromised yourself in this process. You are also possibly connecting unwittingly to forces darker than what you thought exist.

Such forces can be too big to fail and each of us are too small to resist. Despite regulation, protests and hearings, the relentless push of the giants carries on.

#yongkevthoughts

Using Facebook

In view of the greater risks to privacy, security and integrity when posting on Facebook, I emphasise my policy when using this facility.

1. Not everything that happens in my life are posted on Facebook - when scanning my FB postings, you do not know all my friends, relatives and positive people in my life - many choose not to be seen, photographed or mentioned in Facebook. Several of my friends have asked me not to post them or their activities with me in real life on Facebook. You do not see all events I am involved in, and most of the time if a photograph appears, thay are not on line real time.

2. I shall use Facebook to share positive, significant, inspiring matters - and topics which need thoughtfulness, decision making and action to follow up with. I shall try my best not to post speculative, rabble rousing and false news from external websites. Facebook users must think more for themselves and not accept that news feed on Facebook is necesarily true, just like we do not fully trust the traditional press, Tv news channels and other social media outlets.

3. Unless stated, the images and videos that appear on my Facebook postings are copyright to me and protected under Creative Commons. Do ask permission from me if you wish to use them for commercial profit.

4. I encourage you to let me know if any of my statements or third party reports that appear on my Facebook postings are not accurate or correct - and I shall follow up to acknowledge your concerns.

5. If I have emerging trends in my Facebook postings, it does not necessarily mean I want to buy them, or are interested forever in such things, or have a mindset that reflects such implied views. I retain the right to change my views or mindset on products, people, politics, social matters and more. 

6. My Facebook postings are subject to my own actions on deletions, changes and retention.

7. I utilise Facebook for moderate fun, positive diversion and sharing on an intelligent basis. I do not believe in applying to a wide extent that everybody is interested in me, wants to connect with me or wants to share with me. I do not want to connect with every one , only individuals who give me positive vibes.

8. I do use other means of communication apart from Facebook. So my Facebook is not totally me, and I am not just living a Facebook life.

#yongkevthoughts