Sunrise or Sunset...

A Beautiful Sunrise? or A Brilliant Sunset? Sunrise over the Indian Ocean off the coast of Pondicherry? Sunset over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego? Who cares? As the Bard of Avon states - As you like it.

A Model, a role model at that...

From the South Asia pages of the Beeb a.k.a BBC.

A heart-warming story of Guriya Khatoon.

Five Years Studies done in Nine Months.

Some may fold in the face of a single strike. Not this girl. All of thirteen years young. Talk about perseverence and guts. She had three strikes against her - poverty - Bihar - gender. Pile up the fact that her family tried to hush her up behind a purdah because she is Muslim.

Yet, in her own words - "...you have to face all your challenges in life, but most of all get an education. Because without it, you can't change your life - or your world."

Yes, Minister

James Hacker: Opposition is all about asking awkward questions.
Sir Humphrey Appleby: And Government is about not answering them!

Just one of the many memorable exchanges between the Minister for Administrative Affairs Jim Hacker (played memorably by Paul Eddington) and his Permanent Under-Secretary of State Sir Humphrey Appleby (played by Nigel Hawthorne). Throw in the Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley (played by Derek Fowlds) and you had an awesome threesome of comedy.

And for the unitiated, this is from the classic 80's comedy sitcome of the venerable BBC - Yes, Minister. A political satire of the first order, it is well written, and resonates very well, even today, even here in the US.

To paraphrase the BBC's own description:

Clever and complex plotting, cracking and convoluted dialogue, accurately drawn observations and top-notch acting all combined to create a Rolls-Royce of a show that ran with the smoothness of that engine and the precision of a ministerial cover-up. Co-writer Jonathan Lynn saw the show in simple terms: a Jeeves-and-Wooster concept wherein 'the servant is cleverer than his master'.

Lets just say it doesn't take much for a show to get established as top-of-the-line. Hey, you know its good when my only exposure to this show was in the mid 80's pre-cable India when the telly was entirely state-owned and controlled.

Jim Hacker the politician veers from his ideas of commitments to his electorate to his ideas of protecting his own hide/seat. And he is either abetted in his ideals to protect his seat or frustrated in his ideals of serving by the electorate by his typically-bureaucratish bureaucrat Humpy Appleby. And though, if they were real people, (and if they were indeed real, my experience with the system in India would attest to the fact that the show wasn't far away from the truth, and India's systems are designed after the British system) I would be hopping mad, now I am just howling in laughter watching these episodes on DVD.

And the dialog writers have unearthed gems of dialog in the shows episodes...

"If people don't know what you're doing, they don't know what you're doing wrong."
"[Citizens of a democracy] have a right to be ignorant. Knowledge means complicity and guilt. Ignorance has a certain...dignity."
"It used to be said there are two kinds of chairs to go with two kinds of Minister. One sort folds up instantly, and the other sort goes round and round in circles."
"I don't want the truth. I just want something I can tell the Parliament!"

There are many many more gems in the 21 episodes of this series. Once I am finished with them I can't wait to get onto the sequel - "Yes, Prime Minister".

All aboard! The comedy train is rumbling!

Science Top 10

"Evolution is not just something that scientists study as an esoteric enterprise." - Colin Norman, Science

This quote prefaces the BBC's article on the Science magazine's article featuring the Top 10 scientific breakthroughs of 2005.

Curiously enough, experiments and studies that furthered the understanding of evolution (Evolution in action) were named as the top breakthrough of 2005. [Curiously, because of the "debate" over the validity of evolutions' claims, and because of the alternate "theory" purporting to supernatural forces designing life reached tipping point in multitudes of court cases in the US. Heck, even the White House had comments on it. The debate, and its associated contrasts deserve their own post]

Wise-ass comments aside, this is the year that saw the Huygens land on Saturn, and the founding of the ITER (International Themo-nuclear Experimental Reactor).

More year-wise top breakthroughs from the Beeb(back to 1999's stem-cells breakthrough)
2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999

And Science Mag's what to expect in 2006. Interesting. Very interesting.

National Anthems

Fantastic Resource

Lists past anthems for many countries. A trivia-fans' dream-come-true.

Perhaps the kicker...downloadable MIDI tunes, lyrics (with English translations where applicable, and sheet music for a few...

Indian "Encyclopedia"

Bleeding bio-pirates.

But thankfully enough, these pirates have spurred new action from the Indian government - the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library. (sign-up available)

Its about time that the Texmati and Neem-based herbicide patent-holders are put in their places.

But more importantly, it makes available traditional, non-toxic, non-chemical remedies to all of us, at a time when we seem to be living in a chemical soup of food-preservatives and OTC (over-the-counter) drugs.

Organic, Baby. The way to go.

The Golden Quadrilateral

In typical New York Times international columns fashion, a fantastic, yet just a little-bit condescending feature on India's most ambitious infrastructure project to date - The Golden Quadrilateral. A map of this project. A snap-shot of the status, as of the end of September.

For all the condescension that I may have detected in that write-up, I also noticed an under-current of wishful thinking on the part of the writer, that maybe we Indians should not sprint entirely down the exact path that the West has taken and maybe pause, just a bit.

Global Warming

Interesting reads.

- Science Mag - NASA

- Real Climate - (more)

- (even more)

Am not sure what to make of the noise in Washington, dismissing the existence of global warming, but it sure smells more like rotten eggs, much like the rotten eggs that are stinking up Kansas with its intelligent-design as Science crap. Thank God I am not a teacher.

Coming soon to a house near you...

Kids gone wild.

Unruly. Out-of-control. Loud.

Parents wringing hands.

Doomsday for families.

Really? Maybe. Read more.

Paging Mrs and Mr Cosby! You are wanted in Help-me-my-kid-is-wild aisle for clean-up.

BBC NEWS | Health | 'Tourists' harming India's health

'Tourists' harming India's health

Again, the question is...is anybody listening?

"It is time for the government to pay more attention to improving the health of Indians rather than to enticing foreigners from affluent countries with offers of low cost operations and convalescent visits to the Taj Mahal"

Ouch.

Irreverence

indiacorporatewatch

India's answer to Jon Stewart and The Daily Show? Blah...couldn't care less or more. But for sure, it is cut of the same irreverent cloth as Jon Stewart. Maybe both were knit and yarned at Tiruppur or Surat!

As a middle-of-the-roader, I can see how some of the imagery and portrayals may be hideously offensive or insensitive to people. But, hey, if people are going to listen only when they see over-the-top portrayals, then, so-be-it.

Whaaa....?

A six-week old news item on the Beeb (BBC). Here.

Sounds like reforms in the Indian prison system. Progress, right? But then, it does sound like a self-defeatist concept. Not sure if I want my tax monies being spent this way.
Oh wait. I dont yet pay taxes in India! Oh well, I still am not sure I like the idea, as progressive as it may sound or really be.

Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish, Press # to repeat the options again.

Its here. Finally.

Elaborately listed workarounds for the Integrated Voice Response systems that always seem to wall us out of speaking to a customer service rep.

Based on the list..hooray to Amazon.com and Southwest.
You can be forgiven if you dial their numbers directly, and get to speak to a live person, and scream "Its Alive!"

Can you trust Wikipedia?

From the recent pages of Guardian Unlimited.

Judge for yourself. Here.

To be fair though, the "test" isn't entirely balanced, nor is it a really objective test (i.e., no reference is made of whether the Wiki content was referenced against an actual published encyclopedic note). But the overall tenor of the news item just points out to the obvious.

Wiki is WIP. Work In Progress.

"World Champs" no more.

Apparently, the San Antonio Spurs have decided that their winning the NBA title makes them just that - NBA Champions, not World Champions. And who could argue with their case? Not when they employ two players from Argentina, that are the legitimate claimants to the title of World Champs. Atleast the Olympic World Champ.

Maybe, its high time that the champions of the NFL and MLB also gave up on the pretension of World Champion, and called it for what it really is - League Champion. Especially with MLB working toward the concept of a Baseball World Cup. But till that time, I will definitely take the direction that my Spurs are going in. Now, if only someone could drill this sense into the talking heads over at ESPN.

Straight from Cheapshots-ville.

/. had a link to the Singularity project of Microsoft. Clicking it brought this dreaded "nice" error trap page. And that is our image, from Cheapshots-ville.


Yes, a cheap-shot. An ungrateful cheap-shot. Especially when I love everything they are doing with Visual Studio.NET. And yet, what is life if you dont debase yourself, and join the chorus in taking potshots at Microsoft, the behemoth? This is an image capture of an attempt to view the page of the Singularity project of Microsoft, touted as an attempt at dependability over performance. And this error is proof why the concept is more relevant than ever.

(Same-day editor note: As of 2 pm MST, the link is working. Must be one of those curious "not-even-a-day-long" viruses that web-servers can contract on a daily basis.)

Thought. Evolution. Idealogy.

There can be no restrictions on thought, which is a constantly evolving process. There should be room for fresh thoughts and ideas.

It is difficult to pinpoint the final principle of any ideology. It is therefore not right to adopt an attitude that what we have accepted as the final principle of our ideology is the ultimate truth. It is essential that our ideology stands the test of being beneficial for humankind as a whole. The thought process will not come to a halt at any time.

Paraphrased version of a statement by Atal Behari Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India.

I suppose the only relevant question at this point is - Is anyone even listening? Because what this is, is one man's wisdom that actually rings true for the billions in the mob. The mob of fundamentalists everywhere that have taken up a cause, and believe beyond themselves that their chosen cause is the one true cause. The mob that believes that anyone that refuses to believe what it believes, deserve to die.

The subversion of the mob mentality, the group ego, the immovable object becoming the irresistible force, will all of these be intervened by a saner mind? By a saner thought? History says yes, and no. And that sad and conflicted answer is why India's Hindus are still fighting the caste-related issues, while simultaneously displaying remarkable progress in redressing the issues. It is why even after so many years and so many conflicts and so many so-called crusades, the holy land of Jerusalem has yet to see peace amongst its Moslem, Christian and Jewish people. It is the primary reason why the idealogues on the right-wing conservative Republican party bash the idealogues on the left-wing liberal Democratic party in the United States. And it is precisely why foul-mouthed idiots like Ann Coulter, with her immense intelligence, yet manages to spew rhetoric and half-truths.

The voice of reason. The song of thought. The verses of sensibility. The music of this trinity. Sadly they are getting trampled beneath our own weight of stupidity and utter lack of sense. People, for reason or lack thereof, simply want to listen to the jarring notes of stupidity, and forego any claim to thought after hearing it. Simply said, we are all zombies.

Warning: A Closed Mind is a Dead Mind - T.J.S. George

Disclaimer: The content below is a total reproduction in its entirety of a column by T.J.S. George that ran in the New Indian Express on Sunday, October 23, 2005. The only reason for this total reproduction is that I am not sure of access to this excellent op-ed piece without a login ID.

In case you would rather read it off of the horse's mouth, go --->here<---.

---
It's a month since A.B. Vajpayee made the most visionary statement of post-Nehru India. He told his partymen in Delhi: "There can be no restrictions on thought, which is a constantly evolving process. There should be room for fresh thoughts and ideas."

Simple words, but they encapsulate the best of philosophy, political theory, social history and wisdom. Unfortunately the theme has not been taken up for any kind of debate. In the Indian-BJP context, the words immediately got mixed up with the Advani-RSS controversy. But the idea expressed by Vajpayee has a wider universal dimension and all our parties can profit from quietly digesting the meaning of his words.

Not running away from controversy, Vajpayee explained: "It is difficult to pinpoint the final principle of any ideology. It is therefore not right to adopt an attitude that what we have accepted as the final principle of our ideology is the ultimate truth. It is essential that our ideology stands the test of being beneficial for humankind as a whole. The thought process will not come to a halt at any time."

Vajpayee was merely putting in words what history has repeatedly taught us. The ideology of capitalism survived only because it yielded to evolving thought and ceased being a system of cruel Robber Baron exploitation. The ideology of Soviet Communism failed precisely because it refused to give up its rigidities. By contrast the ideology of Chinese communism has withstood the pressures of globalisation by bending with the wind.

In moderistic terms, the British Labour Party changed its ideology from "trade unionism right or wrong" to "trade unionism for growth." Countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, while adhering to their Islamic ideology, have not allowed it to stand in the way of progress. In such an entrenched political system as Japan, Prime Minister Koizumi recently won re-election with one of the largest parliamentary majorities in modern history with a plank of radical reform.

All these are the results of paying heed to the constantly evolving process of thought, of recognising that ideologies do not have full stops. Putting a full stop means closing the mind. Fundamentalist ideologies, whether religious or political, close the minds of their followers so that unapproved thoughts won't enter them. They destroy questioning minds lest questioning minds destroy them.

Political-philosophical schools that have found acceptance in history are based on the twin principles of individual liberty and the equality of people _ precisely the principles that are anathema to fundamentalists, be they fascists or Stalinists, Taliban or Bajrang Dal.

There was mass suppression of writers in Stalin's Soviet Union; according to KGB archives 1500 writers perished, many hundreds were exiled into Siberia. Fascist regimes in Europe regularly burned whole libraries of books. Taliban shot the Bamiyan Buddha into dust. Pol Pot's first order in Cambodia was to kill every citizen who had had an education. Why, during emergency time, Kerala's Youth Congress, aided by the police, burned several public libraries in North Malabar because they had been established by the Communists.

The slogan popularised by Mussolini's Italy said it all: "To believe. To obey. To Combat." Rather different from the theme of the French Revolution: "Liberty, equality, fraternity." Today Italian fascism is gone. Pol Pot, Stalinism and the Emergency are gone. The spirit of the French Revolution remains as a permanent ispiration to people. Vajpayee didn't say it in so many words. But the meaning of what he said was: "My friends, change with the times. Or you'll be gone too."
---

Coffee. Healthy. No Kidding.

Far from being unhealthy, coffee offers perks.
(Forbes.com, via MSNBC online)

Whodathunk it?

Un-flippin-believable.

Coffee in moderation is good. Yay!

Now, I don't have to feel too guilty about swigging a cup o' South Indian-ishtyle filter kaapi or a Starbucks latte or a Circle K or AMPM java every work-day morning!

You'd better agree...

...by reading this blog post that you shall absolve this writer of any and every culpability that may arise out of you spending these couple minutes in reading this crapshoot that has been put out as a blog post. Further, you also agree, to materially relinquish your claims to authorship, ownership, or any other ship of possession that you may otherwise come into being, by virtue of reading this legal mumbo-jumbo. You also agree in toto that this Agreement has been put forth with the express intent of only wasting your time, and that it is not a legally binding agreement to base your grievance claim on.

Reading beyond this point constitutes your complete and irrevocable acceptance of the Terms and Conditions as set forth above.

If you have succeeded in proceeding beyond this point, here is something for you to chew on.

Via /.

*RTF EULA | Among the many classics: "If your computer dies, its not our problem." Or something close to it | Another classic: "We'll make any changes as we like, and you have agreed to those changes."

You'll be in my heart.

Fare-thee-well my friend...
Smokes a.k.a Smokey - August 19 1997 - September 1 2005
You will be missed.

I will always admire your stoic defiance of death and will forever cherish your final assist to us, the family - succumbing to the inevitable in peace in your sleep.

Adieu mon ami...mere words will never be able to express your life with us.

A Wicket Wedding

Cricket - ESPN ishtyle Check it out --> HERE

Sometimes...

...the greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.

- Elbert Hubbard via The Quotations Page and Google Personalized Homepage

Vande Maataram

As a special considering the 58th anniversary of India's Independence, a side-by-side look at two songs written to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of our independence in 1997 - Maa Tujhe Salaam and Thai Mannae Vanakkam.

Yahan wahan sara jahan dekh liya hai ☼
Angum angum ingum ingum sutri sutri thirinthaen
Kahin bhi tere jaisa koi nahin hai ☼
Chinna chinna paravaippol disai engum paranthaen
Assi nahin sau din duniya ghuma hai ☼
Veyyililum mazhaiyilum vittu vittu alainthaen
Nahin kahin tera jaisa koi nahin ☼
Mugavari ethu endru mugam thulaithaen
Main gaya jahan bhi bas teri yaad thi ☼
Manam pitthai ponathae unnai kangal thaeduthae
Jo mere saath thi mujhko tadpaati rulati ☼
Thoda kaigal neeluthaey ithayam ithayam thudikkindrathae
Sabse pyaari teri soorath pyar hai bas tera pyaar hi ☼
Engum unpol vaasam illai aathalaal un madi thaedinaen
Maa Tujhe Salaam ☼
Thai Mannae Vanakkam

Jahaan tu wahaan main tera hoon diwana main ☼
Vanna vanna kanavugal karuvukkul valarthaai
Chupun na chup jaaon tere pyaar ka taraana main ☼
Vanthu mannil piranthathum malargalai koduththai
Chanda nahin sooraj nahin duniya ki daulat nahin ☼
Antha pakkam intha pakkam kadalgalai koduthai
Sirf lootoonga tera pyaar ka khazaana ☼
Nandavanam nattuvaikka nathi koduthai
Ek nazar jab teri, hoti hai pyaar ki ☼
Undhan maarbodu anaithaai, ennai aalaaki valarthai
Duniya tabto mere chamke damke mehke re ☼
Suga vaazhvondru koduthai pachchai vayalgalai nee parisaliththai
Tera chehra sooraj jaisa chaandi si thand hai pyaar mein ☼
Pongum inbam endrum thanthaai kangalum nandriyaal ponguthae

Tere paas hi main aa raha hoon apni bahaen khol de ☼
Thayae un peyar sollum pothae ithayathhil min alai paayumae
Zor se mujhko gale lagaalae mujhko phir woh pyaar de ☼
Inivarum kaalam ilaignanin kaalam un kadal mellisai paadumae
Tu hi zindagi hai, tu hi meri muhabbat hai ☼
Thai aval pol oru jeevanillai, aval kaaladi por sorgam veru illai
Tere pairon mein hi jannat hai, tu hi dil, tu jaan mama ☼
Thai mannai pol oru bhoomi illai, bhaaratham engalin swaasamae

Maa Tujhe Salaam ☼
Thai Mannae Vanakkam

French Family Values

t r u t h o u t - Paul Krugman | French Family Values

Originally appeared on the New York Times Op-Ed page on July 29, 2005. In itself, an interesting comparison. And it throws in a good measure of Republican-baiting to boot.

What hurts though is that the actual productivity of the French workforce, measured in terms of GDP per hour worked, is higher than in the US. Ouch. I am a part of the latter workforce.

Salient points raised in the article include the fact that the European workforce in general has the flexibility to barter extra time off for lesser pay. AFAIK (as far as I know) that is not even an option here in the States. I am not advocating a general reduction in work hours. But what I am advocating is an optional package that lets the employee take more time off if necassary especially when it concerns their family.

Oh sure, you can point to "vacation without pay" concept and say that it is essentially the same as the European one. But if you ever had to do that, good luck to your reputation in the workplace. And oh, try doing that every year and see what happens.

But considering the emphasis on the individual in our society here, as opposed to the family, is this ever going to be a feasible solution. Little wonder therefore, that it was the allegedly left-wing socio-liberal New York Times that cared to write this article.

I can't wait to see what baloney rhetoric will spew from the gutter-mouth of Ann Coulter and her fellow right-wing cronies.

20 great American drives - Road Trips - MSNBC.com

20 great American drives

Just man up and go...car...truck...RV...bicycle :)

Run, don't walk...

....to the March of the Penguins

See Windows Media Video trailer here: March of the Penguins (300kbps)

To quote from the trailer, as narrated by Morgan Freeman (who also narrates the movie)

There is a mysterious ritual that dates back thousands of years. No living creature has survived it.

Except.

The Penguin.


They have wings, but cannot fly. They are birds that think they are fish! And every year they embark on the nearly impossible journey to find a mate.

For 20 days and 20 nights, the emperor penguin will march to a place so extreme, it supports no other life.

In the harshest place on earth, love finds a way.


This is the incredible true story of a family's journey to bring life into earth.

Filmed in the French Antartic territories, this documentary catalogues the life of the Emperor Penguin from the end of one summer to the beginning of the next. And because Antartic is in the southern hemisphere..this is just reverse of the weather pattern as we know it in the North.

What this film tells is the story of the penguin. But what it makes you realize is the underlying unity in the general pattern of life on earth. And yes, that includes us humans as well. The urge to procreate being the common underlying theme. As also the maternal and paternal instincts. And the biggest common theme. Sacrifice. Especially in the face of constant hardships. And a sense of loss. That leads to surprising actions.

I have the urge to rant here about some people dismissing the story as presented by this movie as subjective and an attempt to humanize these animals. But that is a post for a different day.

If not for anything else, just go see this movie for its spectacular presentation of Earth's harshest continent. And to appreciate the efforts of the French crew in making this movie and enduring the same harsh climes that the penguins put up with on an annual basis.

One thing that I cannot help but wonder...what is it that causes Europeans to produce such fantastic nature documentaries at a better rate than Americans (or atleast, why does it seem so?). And what can be done to bridge this trans-Atlantic gap?

So who's the chicken now?

The dismantling of a team has begun..and yet again, the Phoenix Suns will live up to their esteemed name as a development team for players that then move on to other teams and prosper.

So, this guy Robert Sarver flaps his hands in an apparent imitation of chicken, mocking the San Antonio Spurs for not playing Duncan and Ginobili during a regular season game this past March (March 9, 2005 I think). Ah well, in the spirit of revealing secrets, I guess he just preceded the revelation of the man behind Deep Throat.

Where am I going with this rant? Here is where. I live in the Phoenix metropolitan area. And naturally it was assumed that I would be rooting for "your Phoenix Suns". And when I came out of the closet as a San Antonio Spurs fan..well...(insert shocked faces, disappointed faces, angry faces here).

And then the saner amongst them popped the question..Why?

I guess the recent wheelings and dealings of the Suns are the single largest proof that as a fan, this team is not worthy of my followings as a fan. I guess when the team owner goes from mocking others as chicken to being the chicken himself, it just makes for one terrible deal for the people that follow the team.

Of course, it was hilarious to see Sarver mock the Spurs as a Junior Varsity team before tipoff. But I guess he did not catch himself smiling when the JV team was within one point with under 2 mins left.

Yes, I understand sports is a business. And Sarver is being calculated in his decision making. But repeating the same mistake twice..well...you have your classic definition of chickening out. And here is why, amigos, the Suns did not inspire loyalty in me. They are not worth it.

It speaks volumes when one franchise (the Spurs) attracts players that are willing to sign for discounted prices to play and another (the Suns) bungle up the one real good thing they had going for them.

Make no mistake...I like the Suns...but I love the Spurs. And most of it lies in how that team reacts to its community, and how the community reacts to that team. See the Big 5 feature on the right side of this excellent article on ESPN.com

The Cyclorama

Interesting tribute to a Hall-of-Fame QB...

What is the Favre era cyclorama?

"It is a concept for a future museum installation documenting the entire career of Brett Favre.....circular bank of television screens surrounding an audience....over 200 screens one for each game of Favre's streak...entire games including commercials..."

Would be lovely if it becomes a reality.

Back to the present though...will he be able to keep up his streak of non-losing seasons? It says here that he will be able to keep that streak alive.

Summer Nights in Tempe

Night Over Tempe.

Shot from the Fifth Floor of ASU's Ira Fulton School of Engineering's new building in Downtown Tempe. My first snap of lightning strikes. Canon S1-IS's work..



Tempe July 4th Festival.

Shot from about a mile away from the actual spot of the fireworks, from the sidewalk of a bridge over the Tempe Town Lake. Canon S1-IS's work..

Champions....Again....

San Antonio Spurs. Champions of the NBA. AGAIN.

And they did it the classic way. By playing as a quintessential team. By having a sense of chemistry. By relying on each other to pick themselves up off the floor. By using the power of team to win the winner-takes-all Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Maybe they do not always run and run and run in the up-and-down style of basketball that epitomizes the Harlem GlobeTrotters and street ball. Maybe they do not have the flash and dazzle of show-offs. But if you have ever really watched them play, (missive to the people that complain that the Spurs are boring..have you ever really tried to watch them play without having that preconceived notion in your mind?) if you ever can think of basketball as being something else in addition to run, run and then run some more, you will atleast begin to appreciate their excellence.

In the present double-speak ridden world, it is a pleasure to be able to see a team with no ego hassles, no humility issues, no problems paying attention to the coach, and no problem giving their opponents their due respect. It is a pleasure to watch this team not preen and pout and draw attention to themselves like most superjerk players do. And yes, they epitomize almost everything that America says it wants its sportsmen to be...talented, full of character and ability to put team above self. But, didn't I just say "double-speak" ridden world?

So naturally, America turns its back and gets back to tired and irritating cliches: boring half-court team.

My retort: its a pity you missed it.

You missed this most international of NBA teams getting players assembled from three continents to play together as one cohesive unit. You missed this chameleon of a team that (surprise surprise to all you who missed it) beat the Phoenix Suns at their own game, and then turned right around and played Detroit Pistons at their own game and won. You still want to insist that the Spurs are boring? Too sad and too bad for you.

Get used to it. The San Antonio Spurs, along with the Detroit Pistons, are potential dynasties in the making.

Its Tuesday..no...its Wednesday...

Recently, my job afforded me with the rare privilege of pulling an all-nighter in order to get some segments of the system ready for a client presentation. It almost felt like I was back at "school", slogging it out over a course presentation/project/thesis/what-have-you.

Anyway, having consumed boat-loads of caffeine through the course of the two days, it turned out to be pretty easy to stay awake through to the night of the second day..

And then sleep hit..with an irresistible force..and I was the immovable object stuck in its path. So, an estimated 9 hours of sleep on a weeknight ought to be enough. So you would think. Even if it came after being awake for 40 hours straight.

And you would be correct. For the most part. Atleast for the physical part.

But apparently someone really forgot to tell it to my mind..and to my biological system. I woke up the following morning, all refreshed and sprighty...only to realize that my mind was still in "yesterday".

The calender said it was Wednesday..my mind insisted it was Tuesday..and the tug-of-war was on. You see, one of my worst nightmares is this fear that somehow, one fine day, when I wake up, ALL the clocks and calendars in the house would be all pointing to the wrong date and time and throw me completely off-kelter. That meant that in that initial wave of post-nightmare-panic, I could not convince my own mind rationally that it was indeed Wednesday and that I had pulled an all-nighter through Monday night into Tuesday.

Somehow, somewhere, thank goodness, rationality set in and my mind accepted that it was indeed Wednesday and not Tuesday. I consulted with Answers dot com about this, and it spat back with an answer...

Circadian Rhythm..the Biological Clock.

If only it was as easy to reset that clock as it is with the mechanical ones.

You better come with "It"

A splendid ad spot for Gatorade proclaims, amongst other things..."Football is football, unless it is foot-ball. A bat is a bat, even if it is flat. Ten feet on the West side, is Ten feet on the East side. No matter what, you better come with it because it is 90 feet to first, no matter where home is.

(For the uninitiated, the 90ft statement is based in baseball, where the four plates that make up the diamond are 90 ft apart (Home to 1st to 2nd to 3rd to Home is 90 feet each)).

Two profound thoughts in the bolded sentence...

you better come with it...Effort.
Its 90 ft to first no matter where home is. Focus on goals.

Sports cliches maybe, but profoundly true in regular life as well. If only we are able to treat challenges of life as something akin to the challenges of sport..because for whatever the reason, sport seems to get the adrenaline pumping for people.

Until that happens though, we can sit back, and appreciate such wonderful specimens of advertising...

Trivia and Gender

We are just days removed from the revelation of Deep Throat, and in the spirit of revealing information, below is a possible explanation to the wonder of why trivia and trivia-pursuit related games seem to be a domain of the Gentlemen, with not much participation from the Ladies.

Courtesy National Post via fact.on.ca and Trivia Hall of Fame comes this piece of interesting trivia news.

The University of Ulster at Coleraine, located in the northern part of Ireland, conducted a test with 1500 university students taking a 182-question general knowledge test (designed to measure the knowledge in the 19 major domains of what is normally considered as general knowledge, including areas such History of Science, Politics, Sport, History, Classical Music, Popular Music, Jazz and Blues, Art, Literature, General Science, Geography, Cookery, Medicine, Games, Discovery and Exploration, Biology, Film, Fashion and Finance), balanced to eliminate gender bias and also gender differences in memory or in IQ.

Surprisingly, the men beat the women in just about every category, even in fashion. The main explanation left appears to be that men see general knowledge tests as a competition with other males for status and power.This is utterly fascinating considering women tend to do better than men in schools and seem to be outperforming men at jobs in the real world as well.

Now for some really curious facts. Regis Philbin, host of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, has lamented about his contestants being male. Almost half of Trivia Hall of Fame's online quiz game are women, and other research suggest that women are very much drawn to online gaming, provided that they are competing only with themselves.

It may be that most trivia environments are too cut-throat for women, who prefer not to be surrounded by men competing to see who has the biggest ... brains.

Whodathunkit?

Also, you wanna pick up a girl? How about showing off some of your muscles upstairs...in the brains? This link details using those muscles to pick up girls. Check it out here...

How vel kan you spel?

Fascinating language that English is, and given its continual evolution into a repository of words from every which language/dialect of the world, it is no surprise that we have ended up with a ton of words with weird spellings.

Courtesy MSN Encarta, comes a test for your spelling acumen.

Have fun!

Necessity...

...is the mother of invention, or so I was told when I was an itty-bitty kid. Is it true any more? Or are we at an age when the script has flipped?

Invention is the mother of necessity?

'Stop them before they invent again!' is an excellent critique. I was bowled over with laughter on reading some of the things that are being "invented". "RipeSense, a technology to tell you if a fruit is ripe". Just so happens, our noses are geared to do a similar activity..discern smells.

Read on..

Tornado!

Courtesy the National Geographic Magazine.

Inside a tornado. A live look || Thrill of the chase

Maybe we are now ready to de-mystify tornadoes once and for all. Just. Maybe.

Bobbing at the Barbers

You go to the barber shop to get your hair cut, trimmed and primed into place and shape. You wait in the seating area, reading Popular Science, Fortune and other what-not magazines. And then one fine minute you are beckoned to the hot seat. You know, quite like Hot Seat during Senate committee depositions.

After you provide the directions (short on sides, medium at the top or 1 on the sides, 3 at the top, or whatever else you have set between you and your barber), you lie back on the cushioned chair and relax.

Wham..a protective cloth (well, protective for the hair, at the least :P) is put on you, and velcroed around your neck and the barber sets to work...carving your mop of hair up into an artful yet shortened display of style. And then it begins..the endless bobs of your head as they work around, on and all over your head.

Working on the left side of the head? Bob your head and tilt to the right..working on the back? lean forward..working on your right? tilt left. And they put a mirror on the wall facing ou so you can peep at yourself becoming a puppet. The nerve of those people :)

Ever since I struck up a rapport with my favorite barber at my favorite barber shop, I have tried to anticipate her every move and get my head ready for her, and yet I can hardly avoid becoming a puppet in her hands. And so I went..bobbing, weaving and turning everywhich way but here...a puppet without strings.

In about twenty minutes, the puppet show ends, with an excellent haircut and a nice little neck massage to boot. I guess a small reparation for all the puppetry she made out of my head (my poor neck!).

Been there, seen that, heard that, done that

Seen on TV tonight in the Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Zell "The Sellout" Miller peddling his book "The Deficit of Decency". The masterful irony in this even more ironic meeting between ideological opposites (Jon Stewart summed it up best - "we disagree on every issue") is that the sell-out politicians book has a foreword by Sean Hannity. Yes, that Fox News talking head. Yes, that channel with about as much decency as a hooker on Broadway peddling her wares.

Heard over the phone during a conversation with my brother earlier today - "Irregular medical claims filings in India are on the rise, especially after men are filing for maternity claims." I knew we were making progress in medicine in my country, but I never knew we advanced so much that now men were able to get pregnant and have babies. Jokes aside, apparently the rationale for the claim was that during their wife's pregnancy, they were under duress as well. I can imagine now the insurance industry in India following their US counterparts to the letter in fleecing the customers. Afterall, when they get fleeced first, they do tend to bite back..HARD.

Done today - (cooking with a healthy alternative to the native Indian cheese a.k.a paneer) Matar Tofu nee Matar Paneer (Peas cooked with spices and tofu). Just as long as the tofu is of the extra-firm variety and you remember to stir-fry it separately before using in the main dish.

Been there too, you know, faced with a tempting offer. This one, from American Express, is an offer for its card-members and it seems too good to pass up. A 42" Sony HD Wega TV, for $1150, reduced from $2500. I just looked up its retail price on Amazon and it was $2200. A small disclaimer (from AmEx of course) - quantities are limited. A standard buzz word to get people to queue up and buy quicker I suppose. I have until Tuesday May 10, 2005 to decide if I want to buy it. Now, thats a quandry, albeit a not-really-a-loss-if-I-dont-have-the-TV one. Now..eeny meeny miny mo....

F-WWOW

Courtesy Airliners.net, a peek at F-WWOW, the Airbus A380 that debuted on April 27, 2005.

Just like its call sign, I can only say.."WWOW" (sic).
I hope that Singapore Airlines experiences success with this aircraft, if only so Boeings domination of the big aircraft market will end. But only time will tell.

Essential Mani Ratnam

Maligned, misunderstood, revered, copied, inspired, creative, gutsy, innovative. There are many words you could use to describe Mani Ratnam and his movie-making abilities.

Here is an interesting look.

Larry O'Brien Trophy

And so we've just seen the first full weekend of the NBA playoffs 2005 completed. 16 teams, two conferences, a bevy of interesting match-ups, and a lingering conspiracy against the NBA.

Out East, the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls figure to win their first round series, with the Heat and Pistons having a relatively easier time against the New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76'ers respectively than the Celtics against the Indiana Pacers or the Bulls against the Washington Wizards. And just from observing the Heat and Pistons, right now, thats an entertaining match-up thats also a toss-up. If they meet in the Eastern Conference Finals as they are supposed to, that should provide for some hard-hitting heavy-weight fireworks. And I am sure Shaquille O'Neal is motivated against these guys after what they did to his Los Angeles L(F)akers in last summers NBA Finals.

Out West, the Phoenix Suns managed to stave off the Memphis Grizzlies and the Sacramento Kings lost by just five to the Seattle SuperSonics, even after the Kings guard Mike Bibby kept offering the Sonics the game as a gift with his horrendous shooting performance (1-for-16). But the two upsets so far in the early goings of the first-round series happened to the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. Supposed favorites to meet up in the Western Conference finals, they have a lot of work to do to even get out of the first round. Thanks to the terrible shooting by the Spurs, the Denver Nuggets stole game 1 while the Houston Rockets took one from the Mavericks again thanks to terrible shooting by the Mavs. All said, I think San Antonio will be the only higher seed to fall in the first round, leaving the door open for Phoenix to drive onto the NBA finals. As it stands, I expect Phoenix to be facing off against either the Denver Nuggets or the Seattle SuperSonics in the Western Conference finals.

Look for a Phoenix Suns vs. Detroit Pistons finals, with Phoenix taking the crown.

* If San Antonio manages to get by Denver in the first round, all bets on the Phoenix Suns are off. The Spurs are one team that the Suns do not want to face.
** All the above predictions are made after just one game of each of the first round series. And all these predictions are in blatant violation of the first rule of NBA play-off predictions.
*** That first rule is, there are really no rules to predict the outcomes of series after just one game.

Enjoy the playoffs. Unlike the NFL with its one-game knock-out, the NBA playoffs ensure that almost always, the better team advances. So, if you are not in favor of cinderallas, and would rather see grit and true talent surface, watch these NBA playoffs.

Guess Who's Coming...

...to dinner?**

Where: San Francisco, CA
Where exactly: The household of the Draytons (Matt and Christina)
When: This evening, at 6.30 pm.
Who: The Prentices (John Sr. and Mary)
Why: The Draytons' daughter Joanna and the Prentices' son Dr.John Wade are in love and plan to marry.

If life were really so simple and with such ease and without problems, there wouldn't have ever been the need for this 1967 classic.

There was just this one little problem. The Draytons were White*, the Prentices were Black*. And it was the roaring 60's, the height of the civil rights movement and race-riots.

Starring three Academy Award winners in Spencer Tracy as Matt Drayton, Katharine Hepburn (Tracy was her off-screen beau as well) as Christina Drayton and Sidney Poitier as John Wade Prentice, this movie does not even pretend against manipulating the viewers emotions. And goes the whole hog in getting the viewers to think about prejudices and bigotry and ignorance.

Dr. John Wade Prentice and Joanna Drayton met at some conference in Hawaii, and after a whirlwind romance, have fallen in love and want to marry. And they are flying down to San Francisco to meet Joanna's parents and seek their blessings. Only, he happens to be Black*, and she White*. And oh, her parents are said to the bastion of liberalism in San Francisco, her father Matt Drayton, as publisher of the newspaper Guardian, well respected in San Francisco.

What follows is the tale of this movie, how prejudices and ignorance puts the color of a person above the person itself. Even the Drayton's Black housekeeper is prejudiced against the doctor, at one point accusing him of being a fraud, saying "I dont care to see a member of my own race getting above himself".

This movie deliberately makes you examine your prejudices by eliminating any other reason to dislike John Wade Prentice. According to the notes on the inside-jacket of the DVD, the writers made the character of the doctor perfect, with the idea that if you were to disapprove it would be because of prejudice.

Contemporarily, this movie may lack the punch it definitely had back when it was released. And yet, this timeless classic serves as an excellent reminder of the follies of prejudice/hatred/bigotry. And to not let the "pigmentation problem" become an issue.

If you've not seen this yet, rent it and see it.

Personally, this movie is a favorite because of the pairing of Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, two of my fave actors in film. Poignantly enough, this happened to be Tracy's last film. He died just a couple weeks after completing this film.

* Deliberately avoided the PC terms of Caucasian and African-American.
**A big thanks to my pop for recommending this feature. Now I have the privilege of owning a copy of the DVD feature.

The ONE Campaign

♪ We are not asking for your MONEY. WE are asking for your VOICE ♪

♪♪ ...a new effort...to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. Each ONE of us can make a difference. Together as ONE we can change the world.

♪♪ Goals

♪♪ “WE COMMIT ourselves - one person, one voice, one vote at a time - to make a better, safer world for all.”

♪♪ Why ONE (percent)?

♪♪ Promo-video

♪♪ "One by one..,we can beat...starvation...extreme poverty...AIDS...by working together......We are not asking for your money. We are asking for your voice."

This thoughtful (and thought-provoking) campaign was on Comedy Central Sunday afternoon. Apparently this campaign has been out for a while, and they are asking for us citizens to sign a declaration of support. A declaration of support for a ONE percent increase in allocation of government funds to fight global poverty and AIDS. See Why One link above. If its successful in atleast getting the public to realize the spectre of global AIDS and poverty, this campaign would be a huge success. Hopefully it gets the Hill to provide that extra one percent to fight poverty.

Illinois' Fighting Illini

Illini a team like no other

The NCAA Basketball season has wrapped up, the Tar Heels of the University of North Carolina have been crowned the national champions (thank god that they do not call themselves the World Champions of College Basketball like their peers in the professional arena do).

The recently-ended March Madness, for all the drama and overtime games and last-minute comebacks, really fell short on one side - providing us the spectre of a grown man shedding tears. For the uninitiated, Roy Williams, the Tar Heels head-coach, is a rather emotional man and has been known to shed tears when his teams lose especially in the national title game. Anyways, that sadism aside, what this years March Madness failed to provide was the exclamation point to the spectacular season that the University of Illinois Fighting Illini team was having. They had been ranked as the best team in the nation since about December of 2004 - thats almost four straight months as the No. 1 team. They embodied team spirit to the core (cliched I agree, but this was a team that was far greater as whole than the sum of its parts). On paper, no where close to many teams on talent, but they had the "it" going for them - chemistry.

Chemistry, camaraderie, trust, team-execution, these are things that are often overlooked in team sports, especially when faced with the razzle-dazzle of superlative individual talents. Heck, NBA is caught up in its own idolatory craze, its losing sight of the fact that the league represents what is arguably the best team sport in North America (American football is a contender too, but that game is so drawn out, so stretched out, I sleep off during games sometimes). Proof of chemistry being the overridingly important factor over an assemblage of talent actually came in droves this past couple years.

Anaheim Angels of 2002, Florida Marlins of 2003, Boston RedSox of 2004, San Antonio Spurs of 2003, Detroit Pistons of 2004, New England Patriots of 2003 and 2004, University of Connecticut Huskies of 2004. Not to diminish the talent of these teams. But what put them over the top was their sheer chemistry - their ability to come together as a team.

This brings us back to the incomplete story of the 2004-5 Fighting Illini basketball team. Their ability to execute as a team, to trust each other on the floor. One play from earlier this year sums up their "team"-ness. In their Feb 23, 2005 game against Northwestern U., the Illini showed how basketball was probably meant to be played. After garnering a rebound, the Illini ran back to their offensive end, and set their play up, and ended up using the entire 35-second shot clock before making a shot. And no, unlike the selfish Kobe Bryant, they didnt just keep dribbling the ball. They passed the ball around an incredible 15 times, meaning that during that possession, all five players handled the ball an average of three times. Imagine the precision passing, the cutting, the movement without the ball. Simply wow. As one coach succintly put it, they passed up good shots to make great shots. Despite their short-comings against the Tar Heels in the championship game, this is one team, that, to me atleast will not be forgotten just because they came in second.

Environmental Heresies?

Courtesy Glenn Reynolds, via MSNBC

http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/05/issue/feature_earth.asp?p=1

"...adopted a new theory that shocked many demographers: human population is leveling off rapidly, even precipitously, in developed countries, with the rest of the world soon to follow. Most environmentalists still haven’t got the word. Worldwide, birthrates are in free fall. Around one-third of countries now have birthrates below replacement level (2.1 children per woman) and sinking. Nowhere does the downward trend show signs of leveling off. Nations already in a birth dearth crisis include Japan, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Russia—whose population is now in absolute decline and is expected to be 30 percent lower by 2050. On every part of every continent and in every culture (even Mormon), birthrates are headed down...

Apparently though, someone forgot to tell India and China :)

Interesting article talks about alternative energies to fossil fuels (nucular or nuclear energy). And as the above quote mentions, it looks at population as a problem, just not in the current contemporary shouting-yourself-hoarse rhetoric. Now before you get on my neck about how population is a menace in the developing nations, I am not talking of a short term solution and neither is the article. And the population growth rate, even in India is below 2%. What we really need, is better management (duh! isn't that the case in almost every problem?)

G.C.T.N.Y.C

The Grand Central Terminal in collage. From upper left to lower right: View of Atrium, Architecture on wall, Chandelier in waiting area, Length view of Atrium, Architecture on roof, zodiac axis representation on roof, atrium view...in a pile and in collage.

My Canadian Penny

It was probably at the local coffee shop. It was possibly at the local grocery. Heck. It might have been the liquor (& convenience) store across the street. I dont know. But one of these stores ripped me off.

A whole whopping $ 0.002. By giving me a (Queen Elizabeth) Canadian Penny instead of my favorite (Lincoln impression) American penny.

Now, who do I write to get my money back? The Federal Reserve?

Kids Say The Darndest Things

Laugh out loud books are those that make you smile and laugh (oftentimes belly laugh) even if you are reading it in public (train, bus, wherever).

And the book pictured above, qualifies heads-down amongst such books.

Selected samplings from this gem of a book by Bill Cosby.
+ "Mr. Cosby," a six-year-old once told him,"I know your wife's name."
"Really?", he said. "What is it?"
"Mrs Cosby!"

+ Art Linkletter, who preceded Cosby on this show, summed up kids thus:"..mix raw truth, incomplete knowledge, preposterous speculation and pure imagination."

+ "Do you know the story of Adam and Eve?", asked Cosby of a 6-year-old kid.
"Everyone knows that story," replied the girl.
"Well who made Adam?"
"God"
"And who made Eve?"
"Eve was made out of a rib."
"Yes, but she was made from a special kind of rib."
"A chicken rib."

+ A girl of seven on the scientific wonders to be expected in the 21st Century.
"Whats the one great thing that still needs to be invented?", Cosby asked that girl.
"A roll of toilet paper that never runs out." Go figure!

I could go on and on, but then I would run the risk of being sued by Bantam Books for copyright violation. Plus, with my humor IQ on par with that of a grumpy gorilla, I will screw it up for you. So, get out to your local book store, and plunk down $6.75 for this petite-but-worth book. A recommended MUST READ.

Now, where is that pill to abate that ache from all those belly laughs.

Houston, We've had a problem

It was 13.13 hrs in Houston on April 11, 1970. Apollo 13, bearing astronauts James Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, FL.

Two days later, on April 13, Apollo 13 would take its three occupants on the ride of their life. Almost 35 years later, especially considering the recent ill-fated Columbia space-shuttle mission, this harrowing mission and the escape of the astronauts only serves to heighten the dangers of space missions, and that further underscores the bravery, and the daring-do of the men and women involved.

### Courtesy NASA here is a report by James Lovell, one of the three.

Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock is considered the master of suspense for a very good reason. He sustains a viewers interest throughout the movie with well placed clues and suggestions, leaving the viewer wondering what is coming.

Also, his choice of music is astounding, and the strings with their deep tones can create an atmosphere of tension and apprehension, that adds to the mysteriousness of the movies.

Add to it my personal favorite style of Hitchcock - his penchant for continual camera work. If you remember from his movies, the camera does not switch back and forth from views at a dizzying pace. Instead, they tend to gradually turn with the protagonist, or follow the protagonist or stay at a long-shot, showing the total movements of the actor in one shot.

Add to this mix, James (Jimmy) Stewart, my favorite classic actor, and you get a movie thats a classic from the get-go. And thats what Vertigo really is.

Suffice to say, our protagonist suffers from the debilitating effects of vertigo after seeing a colleague plunge to death and has to retire from the police force. He is asked by a friend to follow his wife (played by the hauntingly beautiful Kim Novak), apparently because she has been suicidal and speaks of being haunted by voices from the past. Without giving too much (or anything else) of the plot away, suffice to say that this story takes some VERY interesting turns. And the plot weaves its way to an astounding climax that just leaves you gasping.

James Stewart's portrayal of the Det. John (Scottie) Ferguson is wonderful, and his voice with its notable drawl only adds to it. Kim Novak is manages to out-act Stewart, and convincingly portrays the haunted Madeleine.

I could write more about this movie, but it will not do as much justice as watching it yourself. A must-see/must-own DVD. (and oh, the restoration of the movie into this DVD quality version is astounding.)

Typical of many classics of the 1950's and earlier period, this movie was panned by the critics, and ended up with not as much commercial success as expected. And along with the hilarious laugh-riot thats "Bringing Up Baby", this movie is now amongst the classics of that era.

Parlez-vous Français?

Now, don't let the French tell you that you don't speak any French at all.:)

+ English words of French origin
+ French phrases in use in English

With such abundant borrowing of French words by English, why learn French eh?

Niagara Falls

The Niagara..sideways and behind
Canadian Horse Shoe falls, sideways.

Canadian Horse Shoe falls, sideways.

Canadian Horse Shoe falls, from behind.

Niagara Falls, straddling the US-Canadian border, is so ferocious and powerful, it is eating into itself. Apparently the falls have been retreating through the years, and are currently located at a point that is five miles or so upstream from the spot of the original falls. Staring at it sideways, the noise of the wall of water is deafening, the spray is, well, wet, and relentless.
For the behind the scenes look at the falls, you get to go through a man-made tunnel and peek at the wall of water at two spots. One word. INCREDIBLE.

Nothing is provably certain

A philosophic statement. A self-fulfilling prophecy. Indeed. I mean, how can I ever really prove that "nothing is provably certain"?

In our lives, we are asked to make decisions on the basis of information, which, at best is probabilistic. Starting from our birth. No one can really prove that the child will enjoy a long life. No one can claim with any degree of certainity that the child in question will not be a blot on society. No one can state with any authority on anything thats coming in the childs future. About the only thing that is certain regarding that child is its information, in the here and now. Its physical characteristics, and its present meta-physical, physical and psychological behaviors. But, even this was not provably certain at the time of the conception of the child.

What I am trying to drive at here, with so much of beating around the bush as my father eloquently puts it, is that life is so unpredictable. Life is so in the "here-and-now", that its almost useless (nah, totally useless) to actually get hung up on what could be or should be. Time and again, we hear about people putting something off to tomorrow, in the hope that tomorrow is a better day to do it. What they sometimes tend to forget is tomorrow's another day, with its own set of challenges. I mean, how many of us can honestly say we've never experienced the moving-deadlines curse, just because we were so certain we would finish the task on hand the following day.

Without splitting hairs, one thing that we need to realize is that "tomorrow is another day" and there is no certainity that, tomorrow, you will be what you are today. Chances are pretty good that you will remain what you are today, or be better off or worse off. But, its not certain. Given this situation, isn't it then worthwhile for us to realize the here-and-now and act on things, NOW?

We tend to postpone relaxing and having fun and balance in life to tomorrow, because today we are so pre-occupied with making our life better for tomorrow. But, as the recent spate of advertising by Universal Orlando reminds us, people in general are taking less vacations and are working themselves to death. Ouch. What those folks probably forgot was that they were working to live, and not living to work. I guess they were driven by their faith in a better tomorrow.

Which brings us to the root of the whole "nothing is certain" thing. The belief system. It is the belief in the promise of a better tomorrow that keeps us going. It is the belief in the better future that helps us plod through today. It is the optimism of happy days ahead that helps light the path toward those days. This belief is at the root of all things that make us what we are: human.

But lets not take it for more than what it is. A promise. A belief. Lets not hallucinate ourselves into it so much that we forget to enjoy the today. Life is a sensible balance of living the present and planning the future. Lets live and not exist.

Earworms

No. Its not a parasitic worm in the biological sense. But it can get quite as annoying sometimes.

Presenting...the earworms.

+ Literal translation of German Ohrwurm
+ English usage intro'ed by James Kellaris, Assoc. Prof of Marketing, University of Cincinnati
+ Music that features repetition, simplicity, and incongruity are typical culprits.
+ Music that creates a "Cognitive Itch" kinda sorta like an itchy back.
+ A selected list of the top earworms
+ Affects women, musicians, music lovers and neurotic people more than others! (don't the last two categories just about cover everyone on the planet! ;) )

The Way I See It - 5

Seen on the flip side of this Starbucks coffee cup. "The Zen master would say, if you want to change the government, you've to aim at changing the corporations, and if you want to change corporations, you first have to change consumers. Whoa! Wait a minute! The consumer? Thats me drinking this cup of coffee." - Yvon Chouinard (Climber, surfer, environmentalist, and founder of Patagonia) Image source: Crowne Plaza La Concha, Key West, Fla. Edited on Picasa 2.

Dance with Shadows

Dance With Shadows: A views on news site, with a little difference.

Unlike Rediff, its not (yet) littered with adverts, and flash movies that pop-up and litter your screen. It does not drive you hopping mad with its inane pop-ups. And unlike Rediff, it does not yet seem to want to peddle opinion as news. Because it says it to be opinion. A free-flowing narrative based on the first-person is so refreshing, especially considering the third-person narrative style of the venerated The Hindu, which can get annoying at times.

Best of all, if you like your writings, and want to contribute, you can. Here.

Media Manipulation

Time was, newly independent and democratic nations in Asia and Africa would be accused of propagandizing news to their people. Turns out, the adage - people who live in glass houses should not throw stones at their neighbors - is so true.

This feature on Global Issues website sheds light on something that has to concern every person who considers themselves knowledgeable.

+ Apparently, the misinformation bug is not a developing nation's disease alone.

Vincent Van Gogh