Highest, Tallest, Farthest

Oh look, I missed a few days. Well sock it!

I was writing something about Feminism but ditched it 1/3 through because it is a boring topic. HAHAHAHA! We don't need all these ideologies. Humans are looking for labels are the time. Let it be!!


Right, so. This geography lesson I'm about to share here, I learnt it off QI [Quite Interesting]. If you already know, good. But don't bother stating that because everybody will hate you for it [A lesson I got on Raya that I'm still trying to get rid off].


What is the HIGHEST point on Earth, the TALLEST mountain, and the FARTHEST point from Earth's core?



MT. EVEREST!

Consequently, RIGHT! WRONG! WRONG!

Mt.Everest IS the highest point on the surface of Earth but it is not the tallest of mountains and the furthest of peaks.

Situated on the border of Nepal and China, it stands at the height of 8,850 m OR 29,035 ft above the sea level. Stand on that peak and you'll be the new highest point.

The first recorded attempt to ascent was in 1922.
The first successful ascent was in 1953 by Edmund Hillary (explorer from New Zealand) and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (Nepalese Indian Sherpa mountaineer from Darjeeling).

The Himalaya is indeed growing. Tectonic plate shifting is pushing it up 2 inches a year BUT due to global warming, Everest is losing it's ice caps and glaciers faster. So it's being declared as shrinking instead. [but it's still really tall]

Did you know that it costs around $40,000 to $70,000 to actually attempt reaching the summit? That includes the licensing of course. Scratch that off my list, it's full of garbage and dead bodies anyway.

A Nepali called Apa Sherpa and his "groupie" are campaigning to clean and preserve it. Good Luck! He also holds the world record for reaching the summit 21 times (1990-2011), sharing it with Phurba Tashi (1999-2013)

It was named after Colonel Sir George Everest by Andrew Waugh, the then Surveyor General of India. Everest was his predecessor and pronounced his name as "eever-ist" instead of the modern "ever-est". Now when did that change? By the way, before Everest, it was called "Peak XV" by the Great Trigonometric Survey, "Deodungha" in Darjeeling, and "Chomolungma" in Tibet.



Then what is the TALLEST mountain on Earth?!

MAUNA KEA!!

It's the highest point in Hawaii and only ascends to 4,205 m OR 13,796 ft above the sea level.

BUT from it's base, which lies underwater, the total height is a staggeringly 10,100 m tall.

The first recorded successful ascent was in 1823 by Joseph F. Goodrich, an American missionary, noting that he was not the first after finding unnatural rock arrangements there.

What's on top? A lot of snow and an observatory. It's one of the best spots to look into the sky since there aren't much clouds.

Unlike Everest though, it's a dormant volcano. So without going into any geological details, you can imagine that they are made from different materials.

The last time it erupted was around 4,600 years ago and it may still erupt. But the observatory!!

It's the largest and youngest island of the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain. You see, the islands of Hawaii are all formed from volcanic lava that are spewed from the same spot but because the Earth's crust never really sit still, once it moves the unstable mantle bursts onto a new location on Earth's surface, forming a chain pattern of the movement of Earth's crust. Thus, Hawaii.



Okay, so if Mt. Everest is the highest peak, shouldn't it also be the farthest point from the centre of the Earth?

NO, because Earth isn't a perfect sphere, it's an oblate spheroid. It's a bit squished in the middle circumference at the equator, known as the equatorial bulge. So because of this, Mt. Everest comes in as the 5th tallest mountain measured from Earth's core.

The 1st is MT. CHIMBORAZO in Ecuador.

It is located only 1 degree South of the equator line and part of the Andes mountain range. While Mt. Everest is 28 degrees North.

It's height is 6,267 m OR 20,561 ft above sea level.

Chimborazo is 6,384.4 km from the centre of the Earth while Mt. Everest is just short 2 km. But the thing is, Chimborazo isn't even the highest mountain of the Andes, it's Mt.Aconcagua [one of the 7 summits] located in Argentina which stands at 6,962 m OR 22,841 ft.

What's on top? Mostly glaciers. These glaciers are the main source of water for the locals. They also mine and sell the ice. But like every icey things on Earth, global warming just loves making them flow.

Chimborazo is also a volcano and has been discovered to have erupted 7 times over the course of 10,000 years. It's estimated to erupt every 1,000 years and since the last eruption was 1,400 years ago, it is being view as dangerous.

It WAS known to be the highest peak on Earth prior to the discovery of the Himalayas. People had already been climbing it since the 17th century.


So remember,

EVEREST is the HIGHEST peak
MAUNA KEA is the TALLEST mountain
CHIMBORAZO is the FARTHEST from Earth's centre

Later days...

Memento

I have said that I should start writing again. I said that last month exactly after the holidays started.

But I've forgotten, as usual. I really don't know what goes on in my head sometimes. I am pathologically forgetful, I swear. And having multiple opinions criss-crossing on multiple subjects at one time really does exacerbate things.

You know that hyper-creative state you get into just before you fall asleep? Well that's what it's like on a daily basis for me. A slightly watered-down version than the actual sleepy-brain, but that's one way I'd describe it.

OMNISHAMBLES
- this new word was named the Word of the Year by Oxford Dictionary in 2012. it's still underlined red as I'm typing it.
- it is what you think it means, shambles at large. Go Google it lazybums...
- I'm going to use this word to describe my thought processes. I dub thee, Brain of Edd, Omnishambles.

See I just learnt that tiny piece of linguistic fact from one of many Brit's comedy quiz shows, hosted by Jimmy Carr. And this is what I have decided to do to keep on writing for this failing blog. Which is - if at all possible - write a daily entry of TILs ["today I learned" - for those unfamiliar]. SIMPLE. Be it film reviews, common knowledge, life lesson, or basically a self reminder of how to survive around people [take note introverts].

You might think DUH everybody who blogs does that. Hardly a breakthrough there. Well sorry, I've been stuck on the 'Myself Update' version of blogging that I annoyed myself to stop writing. So please be proud of me for realizing this weightless grain of epiphany and I'll try not to be the reason you hate bloggers. [who the prick blogs anymore anyway???!!!]

I'll set some ground rules as I go about doing it.

I think they'll be mostly on things I'll learnt of QI. I mean, I've already forgotten what I was supposed to put as my first learned lesson that prompted me to actually start typing. Bad Omnishambles!

Later be thy days...

We Don't Get To Choose...

Dear Malaysia

I hate you right now. What do you want? You're making everyone bitter, making everyone arrogant for making their choices. This battle of egos is nothing more than playground politics, it's absurd. No, I don't understand and I don't think I need to. My level of knowledge and education is obviously lower than most of men up there and if they can't see eye to eye, what good would my understanding do? If it is a crime not to choose then cuff my hands. If it is a sin then I'll exile myself into hiding from the eyes of men and spend the rest of my life devoting myself to my God. I see great faults on both pastures and with all the turmoil in the air I see no water ahead. Your flocks will die and you will fade into just another terrible nightmare. Bogeymen of the 21st century. You are all Bogeymen. My naivety is lost under all this hatred. Equal hatred for both parties. Equal hatred for all unnecessary conflicts. Democracy is a myth.

Remember when Qui Gon Jinn found Anakin and thought he was The One, as mentioned in the prophecy? But Anakin turned out to be the one to bring the Jedi down. It was his son Luke instead that was the saviour.

Remember when Merlin thought Sir Lancelot was the prophetic hero? But his affair with the Queen turned out to be the catalyst that lead to many deaths, including Arthur's. It was his bastard son Galahad that turned out to be the hero.

Yes these are fictions but fictions are inspired by real events. I have a point but I am not brave enough to speak it out loud.

Even in desperation maybe it isn't wise to choose to drink from either a poisoned well or a bowl of seawater. It's not like we'd last longer, we'll just suffer more before we die. If we don't choose, we can walk further, struggle further, search further. Maybe then we'll meet a Luke or a Galahad. And die as fate had intended but with dignity.

I'm sorry, this is just my opinion.

After the Wedding

Brook, I can't get this film out of my head. In most ways, it reminds me quite a lot of 'The Separation'. It' about human, life, and emotions. And both films end with their lives moving on, with no conclusive happy endings.  I hope in the future, this is what I will be able to put forth.

I realize that it's impossible for me to start doing them here, under the current dean at UiTM's film school. I can surely try and he will surely shut me down for being 'syok sendiri'. Really? And even so, wouldn't that be my choice? Somehow I feel like he belongs to those Classical Hollywood producers where only profit matters. Showbiz. No, not me. That is not my path. And so now, I can only endure.

Through the Looking Glass

Wow! It has been quite a while HAHAHAHA!

Oh Brook, you old sod. Frankly, I think its because blogging is no longer a trend. That's why I've slowed down terribly. But its really good exercise in language usage. I read my old and earlier posts and get jealous of myself, so I should keep it up, yes? To become a better writer, YES.

So here we go.

For the sake of record keeping, I am now in my 3rd semester at UiTM Puncak Perdana which means I've just started my 2nd year. To be honest with you [Brook], I'm quite nervous about this year. I'm feeling the jitters. More so than the previous year because I'm getting closer to reality. The working life. And 30 [gulp].

List of courses, Semester 3:
- Directing 1
- Cinematography 1
- Single Camera Production
- Post Production (Editing)
- Documentary Script
- Arts Law
- Introduction to Psychology & Sociology

...and 2 language courses. The top 4 courses are core subjects and within 2 months we will be practising them in a production of a short film.

One thing about UiTM thats so different from my studies at UKM is that UiTM rushes you against time. UKM is more calm and takes its time to slowly wean the knowledge into you. But I guess it is necessary within my field because TIME will be an enemy in any production other than finance.

Enough recapping my current situation, let's get a topic going.

I'm really bad at talking about current issues because I prefer a history lesson of some hundred years ago. Current issues nowadays, especially in Malaysia is being bent here and there for political reasons while our politicians are bashing and blaming each other like school kids. Its really not as amusing when you realize they run your country. [I really need to listen more to David Mitchell to be able to rant with humour and intelligence]. I have always guiltily kept a blind-eye towards all that because my brain hates boring stuff.

So no current issues. My gosh I'm empty. I recently have noticed that I am bad at conversations. And realizing this made it worse. Another is being an introvert and having a little social anxiety. Realizing the problem makes it worse! It's like I have labelled myself.

And now my brain is tired. Toodles!