Who's in charge here?

I'm no psychologist. I'm no visionary. Nor am I an anthropologist. But my mind does wander, and, scary though that might be at times, it leads me occasionally to something worth sharing. This was one of those times...

During one of these mental roaming, I came up with my own theory regarding human behaviour. I based it on what I'd like to call the Four Command Centers of the Human Body. (Lame? Yeah, I know... it had a cooler name the first time I typed this)

Consider the following question if you will: If you had time to pull only one thing from a burning building, what would it be? Pick the first that comes to mind.

a. A backpack
b. A memento of a loved one (not necessarily departed)
c. An extinguisher
d. A pack of condoms/ birth control method (for ladies)

Got your answer? Read on ONLY if you do...

Right, let's see what my theory has to say about people who picked Option number one: the backpack. Now, I'm guessing you picked the backpack as it either contains or will contain all your essentials within. You let your head lead you and always pick the logical course of action, carefully weighing the pros against the cons before making a move.

On the plus side, you're more or less a high-intellect person who has all the answers and have a pretty high perfection streak. Unfortunately, you tend to overthink things and waste time pondering a choice/ list of choices instead of going ahead and doing it. Your perfect record's very important to you too, and tend to do all it takes and then some to keep it going. Failure to do so can upset you rather badly and lead to fits of depression.

Next we have Option Number Two, the memento. Now, if this was your first choice, you value your feelings, morality and the well-being and happiness of other above all. Your main command centre is your HEART, and it's quite a big one too.

Your strengths include being a nurturing and caring person, willing to sacrifice what you want for the people around you. Your moral compass always points true North and you always consider the people around you's well -being and value fairness and equality. On the flipside, people see you as a softy, a pushover and easy. And they're right. You're so busy looking out for others you neglect yourself and your interests.

Command Centre Three, option three: the extinguisher. I'd say you picked the extinguisher (if present) because you'd rather save the building than one single thing. You possess great courage and you know what must be done to save all that's important. Major Guts leads your actions and your credo is "No one gets left behind."

Perks of following your gut is that you're a natural leader and you have the initiative to get things done. You generally do the right thing although you tend to veer south of the moral equator. Regardless, you do everything boldly and lack fear of reproach. Bravery is admirable, but following your gut can lead to some rather short-sighted actions.

And finally, Door number four: the condoms- slash- birth control apparatus. You, my fine yeomen, are led by "Napoleon Bonaparte" or your 'Little General', for sake of censorship. You live in the here and now. Life's a party, and thinking about it is a waste of time. Napoleon takes point when something that requires a lot of balls comes up, and in most cases, you tend to do things because

a. It's fun
b. You want to
c. You can
d: All of the above

You know how to have fun and you let no one stand in the way of having it or doing what you please. You have the drive to get what you want and everybody knows it. You're also extremely self-confident and never let doubt cloud your decision-making. A little warning though: Following Napoleon too closely for too long results in you making a dick of yourself (or the female equivalent in the case of the ladies)

Try to strut for a moment please (Chest out, eyes staring the world in the face, leaning back in a bit of a swagger as you walk) and tell me: which part of your anatomy's in the lead? and who's bringing up the rear? I see you get my point... When you let Napolean lead your charge, and you hit the "Oh, sh*t" brick wall, you end up hurting where you simply should not.

Lastly, I'd like to say this theory is not perfect. Freud may use it for lavatory paper. Kubler-Ross may scoff. And so may you. But I think there's some merit to this hypothesis. And I also agree that I need something profitable to occupy my time.

I've said my piece. Time for you to say yours.

Hooray for Mob Justice!

... not.

It's all over the airwaves, the newspaper(s), it's rapid spread over Youtube and Facebook were quickly halted... but the story cannot be stopped if people are ready to voice out about it.

For those who may not be aware of the latest from our tertiary system's news front, a quick recap:

Early Thursday morning, a young woman dubbed/named Amina Eunice, was caught stealing from one of the halls of one of our most prestigious universities. After handing her to the university authorities, some members of the hall felt she had not been "punished enough"... and took the law into their own hands. Taking her back from the security guard, they proceeded to beat her up, shred her clothing and sexually abuse her in a group. After much pleading and tears fell on deaf ears and stony hearts, these "intellectuals" finally left her to the authorities once more to handle formalities.

Mob justice is altogether sadly not an unusual occurrence in our society today. From beating would-be thieves to bloody pulps or worse with two-by-fours to lighting "witches" on fire (A couple of centuries slow, folks), many of our countrymen have taken it upon themselves to act above the laws which have been drawn to govern a country as a law unto themselves (if I got that wrong, someone correct me please.) As the nastiness of the punishment meted out increases, one can only wonder if these lynch mobs are trying to outperform each other (sick as that may sound) and how far they will (be allowed to) go before they reach the threshold of self-realisation that "this has gone too far."

While I truly wish the perpetrators of this horrendous act are brought to swift and well-deserved justice, we must wonder how often this has happened and how often those responsible are allowed to get away with it. Such mob action, whether in the name of "upholding the law" or breaking it, has been running rampant for ages. And when I think that it's the "intellectuals" of our societies, those to whom most will entrust our nation's future who play a major part in some of the worse and most publicized instances, the question that pushes to the forefront of my mind is "Just how safe is our future?"

Answer: not very much.

But let's be frank: would any crime warrant mob action as a result? And what can be done to get this mentality that anyone can be the law out of our heads? We're not really setting the "land of peace and development" aura we want the world to perceive, wouldn't you say?

On the thirteenth day of Christmas...

... what would you want from me? I know what I'd want:

- A complete set of Ironfist Chinmi manga (in English)
- A Nintendo Wii (for stress relief and general recreation)
- One new Nokia battery
- Our government to be serious (fuel prices are, safe to say, totally insane at the moment...)
- My Ipod to be working
- An HTC Tattoo
- A fully-furnished five bedroom flat/house (in a good location with fast, reliable internet access)
- My driving license (and a good car too...)
- A lovely lady with brains, who would truly love meee... (Relax, I'll love her in return with all I've got)
- A PS3 with the God of War Trilogy ( and the Jak and Daxter series. Again, for stress relief...)
- A clean bill of health
- Goodwill to all man
- and a diary/day planner for me year! (Don't ask why, I really wouldn't tell.)

How about you? If you were giving twelve gifts to your loved one (or receiving them), what would you give, or want?It's never too late to wish... after all, that's what birthdays are for...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Talk about the Red, Black Gold and Green...

Hello, everybody! Today's a special day for Ghanaians as we join OPEC! (What, we're not in yet? My bad... )

But in all seriousity, Ghana seems to be taking quite the big step forwards today with the beginning of official drilling and export of our own oil. We could run a discourse on what took us so long to notice something that was under our noses all along, but now's not the time for it. The fact is: we've found the black gold, and we're gonna make a better future for us all as a nation.

Or are we?

Sure, we've watched and learned a lot of the flaws of other oil-endowed nations around us, and we've taken preemptive steps to prevent the smuggling of the invaluable resource, but we can all hope that it'll be enough. There are bound to be issues arising, and it'll take more than a committee's mind to address them all.

So how does the future look from your point of view regarding the "slick manouevres" Ghana has planned for today?

Happy (belated) World AIDS Day!

So, yesterday was World AIDS Day, and I have had mixed feelings about the issues some people have pushed for. Namely, a cure.

While I'm all for hope and advancements in health, I get the feeling that a cure for AIDS would only up the frequency of unprotected sex. Prevention is meant to be better than cure, but let's be frank: if there was a cure for HIV-AIDS, would you, or wouldn't you boink more liberally? Barring pregnancy, I do think we would. We're a rather dogged species, especially when we find something we really like.

It may seem harsh, but sometimes the threat of HIV-AIDS is all that keeps some people from engaging in unrestrained nymphomania. If the cure is used to save people who are dying from it, you have a good thing there, but if made available to the public, who knows what society would degenerate to?

Once again, this has been the R.E. Porter, bringing you exclusive coverage of a philosopher's disjointed and sleep-besotted thoughts. Until the next time.

Tick-tock...

Morning, world! Anybody interested in trading lives?

My mornings are odds-on not my favourite time of day. For one thing, I'm actually starting to enjoy my sleep. The thought of having to interrupt it (save for family or any other kind of crisis) is starting to wear on me.

Take last Saturday for instance (yes, the rainy one.) According to my analysis, the sky seemed to open up and drop about fifty thousand gallons on the Earth all at once. Actually very favourable sleep weather. And I almost indulged. Almost...

You see, like most of you, I work. Unlike most of you, I work for my dad. And like even fewer of you, my workplace and my house exist in the same compound.

Now, given these circumstances, you'd think I could get a bit of a lie-in. I mean, I'm on constant call, work hours beyond the realms of ethics or rationality. And I'm in two different departments, so fatigue is to be expected.

But nooooo... I have to be up as early as four (or I will sleep in), in the office before six (Like I'm going anywhere else. People, my bed and my desk are less than a hundred paces apart... fifty, if I stride! I mean, what the hell?!) And as everybody's on a final written warning, one slip-up is out of a job! (Not too bad a deal. The boss does have a thing for being irrational and irascible.)

I mean, sure, I'm meant to be a supervisor of one department (now both of them for a month... ugh) and set an example, but the (AHEM!) boss gets to stroll in anytime he wants! The hell?! What happened to the "leadership by example" speech I was steamrollered by? Great example, Chief!

In all fairness, people had been really lax with time management (Coming when they like, leaving as soon as 1800H rolled around. TUC workers, my mom called them...) but seriously. I can't exactly quit for social stigma. Not that I care about that much... Either way, It's not like my resignation would be accepted. My older sister "resigned" over a year and a half ago... and she's still here...

Basically, I need a long, long, LOOOOONG... vacation. Somewhere where the world can't and won't find me. Any ideas?

He-yo!

Hello, everyone! How are you? My name is E. Porter, and this is my new blog (Will is my alias in case you were wondering...)

Those of you who Facebook might know my series "Let's Talk About It"... Those who do not will not have to worry. For the pieces that generated the most controversy and interest will be posted here, interspersed with random ramblings that hit me during my few and disjointed exploits in the outside world, alongside the inanities my out-of-this-planet mind might concoct (without the help of hallucinogenics. All insanity is 100% organic.)

Well, this is a hello post. I will run back when I have something interesting to run across.

This is E. Porter, signing out~