A Bend in the Lane

Us or Me

2010-05-01T00:32:00.000+08:00

For our Leadership & Accountability Class, we had to read a chapter of Ian McEwan's book "Enduring Love". In true McEwan style, this paragraph was captivating -

"I didn't know, nor have i ever discovered, who let go first. I'm not prepared to accept that it was me. But everyone claims not to have been first. What is certain is that if we had not broken ranks, our collective weight would have brought the balloon to earth .. But as Ive said, there was no team, there was no plan, no agreement to be broekn. No failure. So can we accept that it was right, everyman for himself? Were we all happy afterward that this was a reasonable course? We never had that comfort, for there was a deeper covenant, ancient and automatic, written in our nature. Cooperation - the basis of our earliest hunting successes, the force behind our evolving capacity for language, the glue of our social cohesion. Our misery in the aftermath was proof that we knew we had failed ourselves. But letting go was in our nature too. Selfishness is also written on our hearts. This is our mammalian conflict: what to give to the others and what to keep for yourself. Treading that line, keeping the others in check and being kept in check by them, is that we call morality. Hanging a few feet above the Chilterns escarpment, our crew enacted morality's ancient, irresolvable dilemma: us, or me."

Me & The Man Share Our Ambitions

2010-03-28T00:31:00.002+08:00

Me [in a whiny mood, with fervent passion] : I don't want to study no more. I WANT to be a house wife.

The Man [without skipping a beat] : And I WANT to be a bachelor.

The Man's Birthday Wish

2010-03-28T00:28:00.002+08:00

Me: What do you want for your birthday, tell na?

The Man: Mental peace.

[pause]

The Man: So don't call me on that day.

Where Has It All Gone?

2010-02-24T15:30:00.002+08:00

There are some books you grow too old for. And then, there are books that you are never too old for. I unabashedly enjoy reading and re-reading L M Montgomery's classic, no not Anne of Green Gables, but Emily of New Moon. Dont get me wrong, I was/am a devoted fan of the entire Anne of Green Gables series and practically devoured all 5 books. But Emily of New Moon has a special place. I still remember exactly when I finished reading it - St Catz library, Oxford, an afternoon in November 2003, in my 20s! - I shut the book, traipsed down the spiral staircase, literally skipping here and there and promising myself that I shall be like Emily in terms of retaining my childish passion for life for ever and ever. Old promises have a way of coming back and biting you. Where has it all gone?

It all reminded me of the Old English poem, The Wanderer, that my Olde English professor made us memorize. My memory does not do justice to the entire peom, but i remember the most poignant which I have 'Ctrl+C, Ctrl +V' ed.

	Hwær cwom mearg? Hwær cwom mago? Where is the horse gone? Where the rider?
	Hwær cwom maþþumgyfa?	Where the giver of treasure?
	Hwær cwom symbla gesetu?	Where are the seats at the feast?
	Hwær sindon seledreamas?	Where are the revels in the hall?
	Eala beorht bune!	Alas for the bright cup!
	Eala byrnwiga!	Alas for the mailed warrior!
	Eala þeodnes þrym!	Alas for the splendour of the prince!
	Hu seo þrag gewat,	How that time has passed away,
	genap under nihthelm,	dark under the cover of night,
	swa heo no wære.	as if it had never been!

Old Wrongs

2010-02-24T15:04:00.002+08:00

How do you you right old wrongs? There havent been many, fortunately. But the few gnaw, bit by bit, inch by inch, at your peace of mind. They linger and fester. Mock at you. They shant be silenced till you have the courage to go back and right the wrong. Even if the other person(s) has moved on and can scarce remember what you are talking about.

I am feeling reckless today. One of my biggest and oldest wrongs was when I refused to walk to the medical shop to fetch my sister pain killers when she was in agony. This was when I was in 6th grade. They say children can be cruel. But I was no child. It cannot be explained away. I still am frightened about my capacity then to be cruel. I have never apologized to my sister. But I have, ever since, tried to never let my sister down. But an apology is long overdue. I am sorry.

Hank Paulson

2010-02-23T07:12:00.001+08:00

spoke at Burden Auditorium an hour ago. The ex Secretary of the Treasury of USA spoke about leadership, ethics and his decisions during the global meltdown. He also spoke about his most important skill he picked up at HBS ( he was class of 79 if I remember correctly, and was from my section!) was the ability to convince and influence people through oral communication. Which isnt very different from what I thought would be the most important skill I need to learn before I am out of here.

Who Reads the Papers

2010-02-23T07:05:00.001+08:00

I needed a dose of humor over the weekend, and who else do i turn to but Yes, Minister, in my opinion, the finest jewel of British comedy. Saw the episode where MP Jim Hacker tells about who reads the papers as below -

Hacker: Don't tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers: the Daily Mirror is read by people who think they run the country; The Guardian is read by people who think they ought to run the country; The Times is read by people who actually do run the country; the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country; the Financial Times is read by people who own the country; The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by another country; and The Daily Telegraph is read by people who think it is.

Sir Humphrey: Prime Minister, what about the people who read The Sun?
Bernard: Sun readers don't care who runs the country, as long as she's got big t@*s

Its -11 degrees Celsius

2009-12-18T12:37:00.001+08:00

...outside but weather.com tells me that it feels like -22deg Celsius thanks to the howling beastly wind. This is the coldest weather I have ever lived in and its quite weird. Cant wait for the snow storms In February. There is ice on my Vicotrian semi-bay window panes. I am prep-ing for an unprep-able final tomorrow in a warm bed and thinking of all the books I can devour after I am done with awful phase of B-school.

Snippets of Wisdom

2009-12-17T08:31:00.001+08:00

from our LEAD class -

"Nothing is worse than procrastination.. It's better to make decisions quickly and be right seven out of ten times than to waste time trying to achieve the perfect solution. To stick one's neck out and do the right thing is obviously best. But the second best is to take action, make a mistake and learn from your action. To take no action is the only unacceptable behaviour for ABB managers" - Percy Barnevick (Europe's answer to America's Jack Welch

Quest for Inner Ring

2009-12-12T08:06:00.001+08:00

CS Lewis's very relevant take on corruption -

To nine out of ten of you the choice which could lead to scoundrelism will come, when it does come, in no very dramatic colors. Obviously bad men, obviously threatening or bribing, will almost certainly not appear. Over a drink or a cup of coffee, disguised as a triviality and sandwiched between two jokes, from the lips of a man, or woman, whom you have recently been getting to know rather better and whom you hope to know better still-just at the moment when you are most anxious not to appear crude, or naif, or a prig-the hint will come. It will be the hint of something which is not quite in accordance with the technical rules of fair play: something which the public, the ignorant, romantic public, would never understand: something which even the outsiders in your own profession are apt to make a fuss about: but something, says your new friend, which "we"-and at the word "we" you try not to blush for mere pleasure-something "we always do." And you will be drawn in, if you are drawn in, not by desire for gain or ease, but simply because at that moment, when the cup was so near your lips, you cannot bear to be thrust back again into the cold outer world. It would be so terrible to see the other man's face-that genial, confidential, delightfully sophisticated face-turn suddenly cold and contemptuous, to know that you had been tried for the Inner Ring and rejected.

And then, if you are drawn in, next week it will be something a little further from the rules, and next year something further still, but all in the jolliest, friendliest spirit.

It may end in a crash, a scandal, and penal servitude:

it may end in millions, a peerage and giving the prizes at your old school.

But you will be a scoundrel.

The quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it"

We were discussing fraud in our accounting class, and our fantastic professor (who makes accounting dynamic!) ended the class with this quote.

A Thoughtprovoking Discussion

2009-12-11T01:18:00.001+08:00

In our LEAD class, we were made to read a bunch of 10 year and 20 year memoirs of the HBS Class of 1976. The ensuing discussion in class was thought provoking. We went on to desribe our personal take on 'what is success'. It was an almost touching experience to hear how my very accomplished classmates measure success. And let me tell you it wasn't just coming to HBS or getting awards.

One said his immigrant grandfather taught him that true success can be measured by how many people attend your funeral. Because when you die, people don't owe you anything, except for respect. Another said, success cannot be achieved if you pursue success. Instead if you pursue happiness, success will follow. Yet another said that maybe success is not just about yourself and is actually about striving for the success of others. I wont go into mine, because I think anybody who reads my older posts can pretty much get a sense of it. In fact, someone had written my thoughts better than I had ever did almost a century before me - It was Kipling with his poem 'IF'.

People brought in many personal philosophies into the discussion that made it very touching. Some refused to comment, or share their goals in life, some talked about them openly. I think this was the first entirely meaningful, sans-buzzword, sans trying-to-get-class-participation-credit, sans-faff class i have sit through at HBS.

Simple Pleasures

2009-11-25T08:22:00.001+08:00

I have 2 amazing books to read over Thanksgiving - Winterson's Lighthouse Keeping and Murakami's The Elephant Vanishes. I am as excited as a 5 year old would be on Christmas Eve, waiting to open her gifts. I wish it was perfect weather to go with these books. There are plenty of wooden benches beneath maple, birch and other trees here, which are so forlorn - yearning for someone to sit on them. But the cold is just too bone chilling to read sitting on them.

Flag Day at HBS

2009-11-20T07:38:00.002+08:00

Flag Day is an important section event. It's the day we hang our national flags in our classroom. The # of flags raised in my section is 30; i.e my section mates come from 30 countries. Unfortunately, HBS's policy dictates that the Taiwanese national flag should not be put up. Fortunately, for my Taiwanese classmates, we hung the Taiwan Olympic delegation's flag. That diffused the uncomfortable situation a bit. To introduce our flags, we give a 3 min fun presentation of our countries - quirky facts, trivia, a bit of patriotism thrown in. The below hilarious map surfaced during the USA presentation, all in good fun. Notice Africa doesnt even exist!

Are You Here Yet? -2

2009-11-18T11:10:00.001+08:00

I know the heights of egotism and pomposity is to quote oneself. But i cant help it, I want to remind myself a promise I keep making to myself. I need this reminder ever more so here at Harvard, to not get drowned with all the work and the many ways one can spend time here. Eastertide, here goes all over again March 09, 2009-

You have to be a Jack of all trades. Being a Master is overrated. You need to be able to sing a ditty, dance the lindy hop, discuss the Palestinian situation in Middle East, solve a cryptic crossword, be content with your own company,be comfortable going to parties alone, steer a sparkling conversation over lunch, climb a peak - kilimanjaro or kinabalu - once in a while, run a marathon, swim a kilometer, backpack across continents, be kind to the dog or the kid, know all about wines and yet remain a teetotaler, know all there is to know of cigars, and yet remain a non-smoker, learn a language, give a dime to the old man selling tissues, canter and gallop with your horse. To all this, you need to have a sense of humor nothing can diminish, a goodness nothing can tarnish, a soul that is free and that transcends all this and everything. Are you here, yet?

Professors & Rankings

2009-10-17T04:42:00.001+08:00

My 'homeroom' professor , the professor who is sort of the assigned 'spiritual' guide to our section, has been ranked #44 in World's Top Business Thinkers this year!

http://www.thinkers50.com/biographies/44/2009

Bob McDonald P&G CEO at HBS

2009-10-07T09:21:00.004+08:00

My husband asked me to attend this talk without fail. And being a dutiful wife, I did just that. And here is my report -

Bob McDonald talked about his 10 maxims for leadership, a work in progress through his many years of leadership in the Army and at P&G. I have condensed a lot of points and hence may not be as eloquent as his speech. Anyhoo, here goes -

Have a purpose in life. My purpose has always been helping people. That is why I was a Boy Scout, then went to West Point and subsequently the Army. Then I joined P&G because the purpose of P&G aligned with my purpose. It was touching lives and improving life. He listed the P&G core values, etc.
Everyone wants to succeed, success is contagious.
Putting people in the right job is one of the most important jobs of the leader.
Character is the most important trait of a leader. By character, I mean (a) putting the needs of the organization above your needs. Have ambitions for the organization, not for yourself. (b) Integrity - at P&G we dont cheat, steal or lie. And we don't want people who do that. (c) Taking Responsibility - In West Point, for any problem or issue, there are only 4 answers - 1. Yes, sir 2. No, sir. 3. Sir, I do not understand 4. No excuse, sir. And I learnt through experience that the correct answer is No, excuse Sir whenever you mess up. Even if the causes of the failure were outside your control. Take responsibility. (d) Choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. Whenever something is turning out to be easy, think again. Maybe you are doing the wrong thing.
Diverse groups of people are more innovative than homogenous people. We want our people to be exactly like our consumers. Diversity is key to innovation. And innovations are more about connecting the dots than straight lines. Inventions never get used for what they were meant/designed for. For, example, Graham Bell designed the telephone as an aid for the hearing impaired. Marconi meant the radio to be used to communicate from a ship. Certainly not for entertainment on land! Father of IBM's most famous quote is "I think in future, the United States of America may need one or two computers." P&G also uses the Platinum Rule (as opposed to the Golden Rule: Treat otheres as you want others to treat you): Treat others as they want to be treated.
Ineffective strategies, systems and culture are bigger culprits than people. As a leader, when things go wrong, investigate processes and strategies first. Not people.
There will be some people in the organization who will not make it on the journey. This is a difficult admission, as much as I am an optimist and an idealist.
Organizations must renew themselves. The most important thing you will learn at Harvard is 'how to learn'. P&G wouldn't be celebrating its 172nd year this October if it hadn't constantly renewed it self. In 1980 (when Bob joined P&G from the Army), P&G's overseas business is 25% of the total. Today it is 60%. It had 60k people. Today 130k. It had zero billion dollar brands. Today it has 23 of billion dollar brands. It has 20 half a million dollar brands. (Quick aside: These 43 brands make up 95% of their profits. So Bob joked that what the other 180 brands were doing is a question he asks everyday and joked about cutting brands!)
Recruiting is the top priority. We have a culture of promoting from within. This is why, I am here today and try to be here at HBS every year. This is why I am going to talk to you after this speech. Because, I am looking for the future CEO of P&G.
The true test of leadership is the performance of the organization when he/she is absent or after he/she departs. He gave the illustration of how the true test of your parenting is how your teenager behaves when you are absent or on a holiday.

I found him to be very down to earth and personable. In response to certain Q&A, he asked the person to email him so that he can get back to him with more infomration! I mean how often does the CEO of a $80 billion dollar company does that?

Aldrich Art & Life's Little Things

2009-09-24T10:49:00.001+08:00

The other day, I remember walking along the halls of Aldrich and coming across this piece of art I found quirky and yet haunting. I shan't quote it just yet because I want to get it exactly as the artist said of the piece. Tomorrow, I will go in search of it. And I will quote all of it. It reminded me of life's little things. A reminder to not be buried in the hurry burry of everything, and to marvel at the strange fates at work that brought me to Harvard, to Aldrich, to that hallway, standing at that very art piece on the cusp of the beautiful moment that will be so full of comprehension and beautiful simplicity.

If I Could Tell You, Auden

2009-09-24T10:40:00.001+08:00

.... If we should weep when clowns put on their show,
If we should stumble when musicians play,
Time will say nothing but I told you so.

There are no fortunes to be told, although,
Because I love you more than I can say,
If I could tell you I would let you know. ...

I always always always end up connecting with Auden's magical, lyrical haunting poetry. No matter what I read or don't.

W.

2009-09-19T04:14:00.001+08:00

Shock of the week - to find out that of all the famous people in the world, George W. Bush was from my section.

Just one question. Why?

PS: Mitt Romney was too.

First Day of Serious Classes

2009-09-11T06:56:00.001+08:00

Today has been the first day of serious classes. And you all may or may not ask, "How has it been, H?" and other variations questions. Well it depends -

On Cases & Classes -

I like it a lot. I think, I am going to actually like my 'fluffy' classes quite a bit- LEAD (Leadership) and Maketing. We also looked at a case of Lapdesk, a for profit social enterprise in South Africa. I haven't been as concise and articulate as I wished to be during class. But, I will get there. I better as 50% of my grade is dependent on the quality of my comments.

On Diversity of Classmates -

The sheer number of things my classmates have achieved in their 'personal' time was plain outstanding, their careers, I felt needed some room for diversity. Most had followed the consulting and private equity route, if not the IB and private equity route. So much so that I quickly realised that I was the exotic diversity candidate at Harvard, the 'poet'! Where are the promised chefs, the Olympic triathletes? Sure I have a section-mate who wrote Broadway musicals and another who was a surgeon. But we make a small motely band of "poets".

On Everything Else -

Consulting is huge here. The first day, BCG clogged my mailbox with awesome umbrellas and a personalised note from the CEO. Not to be outdone, the second day, Bain & Company sent me(and all other RCs) super cool water bottles and email Ids of real people, urging me to contact them. That's all very flattering I am sure. But it makes my search to tread the path lesser traveled rather challenging. The array of social, club activities is staggering. The skys the limit. Being the old bore, I have opted out of all the bar-disco-club nights. But I fancy checking out plays in the Sanders Theater, making full use of the collection at Lemont and the archives at Widener across the river. I plan to go to university stand-up comedy and dance and plan to row or dance. If it's all free, that is, as I happen to be in a financial mess.

It's only been 5 days, but I feel distant from my old life.

Thucydides said

2009-07-16T12:38:00.001+08:00

Thucydides said, "The secret of happiness is freedom. And the secret of freedom, courage"

I often thought that I ranked 'way above average' when it comes to courage. Not the kind of 'let's jump off a cliff for a skinny dip' courage, or 'let's sleep in a haunted house' courage, or 'let's do a 100m bungee jump' courage. Nay, not that kind of courage.

Rather the kind of courage that doesn't think twice to confront a misbehaving stranger on a bus, the kind who doesnt hesitate to call the cops on some random jerks on the buses trying to molest women, or the kind who doesnt take it low at work be it a colleague, or my boss or his boss if I dont like something (and hence is often not well liked).

But, at times, I have this nagging doubt that I am courageous not because I am aware of the precariousness and the dangers of my actions, but rather, I am foolish and naive to know of them. Or lack the tact and sauve to tackle the situation. So am I still technically courageous?

I am confused.

Advice & Wisdom

2009-07-16T12:31:00.001+08:00

"He advised those who had no government of themselves never to taste of things that tempt a man to eat when he is no longer hungry, to drink when his thirst is already quenched, because it is this that spoils the stomach, causes the headache, and puts the soul into disorder."

Welcome Party Antics

2009-07-09T11:24:00.001+08:00

Yesterday I came across an unfinished post recollecting the embarrassment I and my cousins put my sister through in 2001 while receiving her at an undisclosed airport in Arizona. It was loads of fun planning the whole sham. It was winter vacation. I went to my uncle's place in an undisclosed great American suburbia in Arizona. So, did two other cousins from up North and Canada. My sister was the last to fly into Arizona. So, we all put our heads together to make her feel very 'welcome' by organizing a welcome procession at the airport.

Banner

Every welcome party, needs a banner. So, the first task was to make one that screamed "Welcome Name-of-Sister!" I employed the talents of my uncle's 3 year old, Cousin A to come up with the artwork to 'decorate' the screaming letter written in pencil. She scribble mysterious things that vaguely looked like lop sided flowers with wings, dogs that looked like a horse with three legs ("it hurted it's leg and it dropped off"), stick figure and other such crap that parents gush about when kids like A draw them. In case u dint get the idea, she did a disgusting job out of it. Which was the general effect we wanted of course. To hold up the banner, we glued the banner to two tall twigs we found in the backyard.

Garland

Garlands made out of money are a common gesture in India. So, we decided to make one with monopoly currency. My aunt though was a fly in the ointment. She absolutely refused to allow us to waste good Monopoly money on this mad sham. So, we just glued cut white paper with dollar sign. The skilful artwork was again provided by the 3 year old Cousin A (who by now is beside herself with self importance as we found her talents crucial).

Music

Cousin Ash (all of 6 years found his toy plastic drums (the kind that you sling around your neck for marching bands) meant for 3 year olds. I dug up a toy cymbals that made quite a ruckus.

The Welcome

Uncle drove us to the airport. He was armed with a camera. We are a very mature family, I suppose. The welcome party consisted of my uncle, 3 year old Cousin A, 6 year old Cousin Ash, 26ish Cousin K, 31ish Cousin G and myself. My aunt politely opted out of this sham.

Anticipation was high as we waited at the arrival gates.

We caught sight of her. She was a 30m away.

She waved.

I signalled.

The hideous, lopsided paper banner with glue stains and Dali-esque artwork was popped up and unfurled to full glory.

My sister blinked.

We chanted "Welcome, welcome to Name of Sister"

She stopped.

Everybody stared.

Cousin Ash added the background score. He began thumping his heart away on the plastic drums.

Everybody stared some more. Some sniggered. Others shook their heads.

This was a lot more embarrassing for us than I thought it would be, but oh heck, damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!

Meanwhile my sister was wildly looking for an escape route.

We were making our way towards her. Then the final touch – the paper garland was extracted from the plastic grocery bag.

She abandoned her cabin bag and tried to run.

Amused passerbys made way a little.

Cousin Ash abandoned the toy drums and lunged at her thighs, I latched on to her shoulders. Then Cousin G, pushed the garland over her head. The welcome was complete. Needless to say, my sister sputtered with rage and embarassment or at least half a day. She thought we were all terribly unclassy and vulgar. Garn! I say, we had a load of fun, as long as it was someone else being welcomed.

The Most Important People in the World

2009-06-28T22:21:00.001+08:00

The other day, while I was driving past IKEA, a billboard caught my eye. A billboard announcing the sale of childrens' furniture. The hoarding read - "For the most important people in the world" - obviously referring to children. What struck me was what a load of marketing balderdash the statement was. At least in my opinion. When did the world gang up and decide that children are the most important people in the world? They ARE important. But surely they are not the MOST important? Look, it is a given that I would do just about anything to protect a baby.

But what about the old and the aged? Dont they figure as the most important? They have lived decades and have attained, hopefully, wisdom. We have many lessons to learn from their experiences, from their mistakes. We have wisdom to partake. If there were no old, there would no wisdom to teach the young. And what is a generation sans wisdom worth?

And what about women? Dont you think they are much more important? The stupendous depth & intensity of love that they are capable of.Surely we dont need a Mother's Day to remind us of all that?

I do love most children & all babies. But children aren't the most important people in the world.

Meetings 101

2009-05-29T17:28:00.001+08:00

In a meeting, if someone is not arguing with you, dont join the argument. Not even to defend your boss, Or boss's boss. Bosses can take care of themselves. That is why they are bosses. Its not a fisty-cuffs in the school yard. Its Machiavellian maneuvers in the board room.

The Lessig style of presentation is all nice and jazzy and gets you lots of attention usually. But not always. Sometimes, it looks shallow and like you haven't put in enough effort. Especially if you do not know the difference between Scheme and Fare.

Which brings me to - there IS a difference between Scheme, Fare . Dont argue. Especially with policy makers. Especially with big honcho-policy-maker. It's foolish.

And my best learning - shut up. If you cant shut up, sleep. If you cant sleep, doodle. They will survive fine without your two cents worth. They have till date.

Wisdom & Humility

2009-05-14T17:45:00.001+08:00

"I come to embrace it, to heartily concur, to affirm that one's title -- even a title like president -- says very little about how well one's life has been led," he said. "That no matter how much you've done, or how successful you've been, there's always more to do, more to learn, more to achieve."

~ Barack Hussein Obama

A Woman's Life

2009-05-05T11:13:00.001+08:00

... is a taxing one. And it is an unfair one. Tomorrow, I shall rant. Today, I shall just be plain old sad.

Are You Here, Yet?

2009-03-09T23:15:00.002+08:00

God Has a Great Sense of Humor

2009-03-05T15:00:00.001+08:00

God has a great sense of humor. Almost the fiendish kind. I have known it more and more recently. But today, was just. Well, He just took it to another level, today. Eastertide, remember. Remember today. March 5th. You felt all these feelings within 10 minutes.

One disbelief.

Two Curiosity

Three disbelief, the excited kind.

Four Realisation

Five Sinking

Six Panic

Seven Desperation

Eight Panic

Nine Desperation

Ten Dread

Peter O'Toole's Oscar Speech

2009-02-22T20:50:00.002+08:00

Whattay an eloquent speech. No tears, no thanking the whole world and its aunt. Just plain dignity.

"... and i am honoured. The magic of movies enraptured me when I was a child. As i totter into antiquity movie magic enraptures me still. Having already bagged this baby, spared uncertainities prior to the opening of an envelope, I am able to think.

I think of our colleagues our old friends, now gone, who played their parts in this earn
I think of the sumptuous talents alive well
I think of the astonishing young, the gifted and able young men and women, of whom i grab energy in handful."

They gave him the Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. He is probably one of the 5 actors who deserved an Oscar for acting, but, alas, never did get it. The other 4 are Barbara Stanwyck (she made it all seem far too easy), Edward G Robinson (a phenomenol powerhouse of acting), Cary Grant (probably because comedy isn't so terribly appreciated by the Academy), Charles Boyer ( it's an unforgivable sin to have denied him one).

Arsonists

2009-02-12T10:30:00.001+08:00

I just don't get it. Why would people start bushfires? Why? No, this is not a tirade. Put aside my complete outrage. This is me completely baffled by the psyche of the arsonists. To relieve boredom, to bring chaos and excitement, to crave attention and recognition, I am told. Still, that's just too simple to explain away the psychology of someone who would deliberately cause such damage. Plus it's puzzling that Australia has so many skulking pyromaniacs.

Decency Is Heroic

2009-02-11T18:25:00.002+08:00

Gregory Peck was the best Atticus Finch there ever was and there ever will be. For me. And for Harper Lee, at the very least. 'Cos she said, her Atticus Finch was a role that allowed Peck to play himself. Peck. A quiet man. A quiet, decent man. He had to " put everything I had into it – all my feelings and everything I'd learned in 46 years of living, about family life and fathers and children. And my feelings about racial justice and inequality and opportunity". Peck was a decent man. The quietly decent kind. Decency is special. It is such an underrated virtue. Decency is heroic in these trying times. Hollywood, please, no remakes.

A Lethargic Soul

2009-02-06T10:28:00.001+08:00

Sitting down to quote oneself is the heights of pomposity. But right now, I cant help recalling what I once said, " A bit o' sun, a gust of wind, a patch of blue skies, a twinkle in the eye and an insouciant soul are good things for the lethargic soul."

Aye, I said it right. Today I need all of that. Today is one of those days I am tired in the bones.

Are You Afraid

2009-02-03T22:19:00.001+08:00

My life's motto was compactly summarised in 4 beautiful lines at the base of the Jaipur Column decades ago-

In thought, Faith

In word, Wisdom

In deed, Courage

In life, Service

It is easier to carry them around as words engraved on a medallion everyday than to live them everyday. Especially the line that speaks of deeds of courage. And to find comfort I turn to Auden and he mocks at me from his grave - Pick up a fight, go to war. Leave the hero in the bar. climb a peak, fight a lion, let no one guess you are weak.

MBA Updates

2009-01-28T21:57:00.001+08:00

I have been accepted into the Kellogg School of Management (1 year program) as well as the Harvard Business School for my MBA.

I dont know which one to go to. It's an agonizing decision. Which one, dear reader? Which one?

Some very mature ways of decision making I have resorted to -

- if I see two mynahs , it;s a sign I have to go to Kellogg. If I see three, I have to go to Harvard.

- if the bus arrives in the next one minute, i have to go to Harvard.

- if the leaf falls off the branch and touches my right shoulder, I go to Kellogg.

ad infinitum, ad infinitum,and so on.

One Egg

2009-01-20T15:51:00.001+08:00

There was a store in our colony where we did most of our grocery shopping. I often ran the chore of getting a dozen eggs from the store for Mother. I liked that chore. I liked to feel eggy cool smoothness. Hunt for cracks. Jiggle 'em a bit. Pick the largest. I took my time. The owner didn't mind. He knew me since my toddler years and he let me select my own dozen eggs.

On one particular trip when I was 9, I laid them carefully in a paper bag and walked over to pay up. While walking, I counted them all over again. I counted 11. So I grabbed one more egg and added it to the paper bag. At the counter, the owner-uncle took my money. Before stapling it, he took a quick peek and counted. He counted 13. He looked up and looked at me. Or rather, he gave me a look. A very quiet look. A very very quiet look. A look that held me guilty. Without saying a word, he took one egg out and stapled the bag.

I, very puzzled, opened my mouth to protest. I grabbed the bag and counted. I counted 12. I shut my 9 year old mouth. He gave me another look. Other customers witnessed this, convinced of my guilt. A nine year old cheat, their eyes said. But I didnt say anything. Nothing in my defense. What could I say? I didnt know how to count? I counted incorrectly? I really wasnt stealing? After that day, he always counted my eggs over the years. And after that, i didn't like my chore any more. I was guilty every time I stepped in his store.

It took just one egg to lose my credibility.

This ancient memory still stings - the helpless humiliation of being thought a cheat. That one egg quite simply wiped out any possible desire to really pilfer pennies or shoplift for real. And from that one egg stems my abhorrence to a situation where the integrity of my actions or motives are questioned and where I have to explain myself or prove my honesty. Because I know I shall do a bad job of proving it. As bad a job as on that day when I was 9 years old.

So I choose to speak the difficult truths everyday. In any given situation. Especially with people who are part of my life 24x7. And expect the honesty be returned in good number. And expect to be trusted. Always.

The Cure for Emptiness

2009-01-08T19:13:00.002+08:00

There are days when you feel utterly empty. You will yourself to feel something. Anything, and yet you dont. Not a tingle. Not a whisper. What is the cure for those days? A change? A walk in the park at eventide? Getting a dog? Or a goldfish? Reading a book? Cuddling up to mom? What is the cure? Tell me right now!

Travel Agents

2009-01-02T23:29:00.001+08:00

My parent's wedding anniversary was around the corner. In preparation of a surprise, i decided to go to ABC Travel Agents to get them a nice weekend holiday. The ABC happens to be the Walmart of travel agents in Singapore. Except that they are not as cheap as Walmart. (Which actually means that they cant be the Walmart of travel agents, but thats beside the point.).

I had a bit of a nasty experience.

One chirpy day was spent being put on hold by their really advanced telephone system for 50 minutes, being directed to the wrong branch (they have all these silly branches which serve you depending on the region of travel, the mode of travel, your race, ethnicity, mother's name, last name, time of birth. No seriously!), spending 1 hour in the queue system (again supah advanced) and talking to the officer and then being directed to the correct branch, only to find it closed.

The second day was a lot less painful. But, the prices quoted were..lets say, not Walmart cheap. In fact, M travels was doing a visa for $30 while these people quoted $58. The man called Jackson who was serving me wouldnt give me any packages other than those for just ONE hotel. Then AFTER paying the deposit, he says something suspicious "Your deposit is non refundable and we do not gurantee that you will be able to travel on these dates or gurantee a place in the said hotel". WTFudge???? I mean seriously, WTFudge????? Have you ever come across a travel agent saying, "you will have to travel on alternative dates as we dont gurantee these said dates AFTER taking a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit."

At this point, I stood up, snatched my money from him, l.i.t.e.r.a.l.l.y and stopped nearly short of swearing at him cuz I was brought up to be well mannered and polite to people who serve you. Then i told him how utterly stupid that statement was. He said I could take my business elsewhere.

Of course, after this, i took charge of this whole situation - entirely.

I gave him my money, agreed to his condition and walked out thanking him.

And 10 min ago, I see my Staff Club organising a trip to the same destination for a decidedly cheaper fare.

The Agony of Many Options

2009-01-02T23:11:00.003+08:00

Suddenly i have a guzillion books that I have to read and are staring at me from my bedside table. The Known World, Cloud Atlas, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Prozac Nation...just to name a few. And, i am so terribly excited that I could jump up and down on my mattress had I been 5 years younger. I want to read 'em all at once.

A new year and a new resolution to be more disciplined. That has saddled me with the burden of bearing the agony of many options and only one choice.

In code

2008-12-31T09:26:00.004+08:00

In vs vt da xz bi sw!
PS: The cipher key is ' A Beginning'

Women...

2008-12-30T23:11:00.002+08:00

There is a sad statistic out there on the net that 90% of women will have at least one new year resolution that states "get in shape" or "lose weight". Thought this might be a tiny reminder to appreciate and accept your body.

The Agony of Incomplete Reads

2008-12-25T09:17:00.001+08:00

Bibliophiles must know the agony of the assault of to-read books on book shelves. The books that one buys in an ambitious impulse but somehow never got around to finishing for whatever reasons - the print is too small, the writing sucks, i dont feel for the characters, there is a typo on pg156 - ad infinitum.

Last I checked, here's my wicked list -

1. Andew O'Hagan's Our Fathers

2. Mahabharata

3. Freakanomics

4. Art and physics

5. Plato's The Republic (never got beyond Book IV)

6. Chomsky for Beginners

7. The Hill Station by J G Farrell

News & Headlines

2008-12-11T12:16:00.002+08:00

Why does it matter what Oprah Winfrey weighs now? Why is it headlines on CNN? Why?

The haunting beauty of Raintree County

2008-12-10T17:38:00.002+08:00

Excerpt -

"Nothing is left of the dead but earth. Can you refute this wisdom?

--Perhaps I can.

-And how will you do it, hero boy?

--By the legend of my life, with which I refute all sophistries. By a myth of homecoming and a myth of resurrection.

Come back to Raintree County, wandering child. Remember the great deaths and the great homecomings. Come back, and bring a sprig of lilac. For you will always be on trains and coming home, and the legend that recalled you from the City will always be tingling along the wires of the Republic. Come back to Raintree County and find your home again. And you will find again the sphinxlike silence of the earth. Knock hard, young hero, on the gates of death.

Listen to the wail of the train at the crossing. This is the myth of America and of those who cross America on trains. This is the myth of those who come back home.

A Lighted Hearth

2008-10-30T22:23:00.003+08:00

A Leaking Ship - 2

2008-10-09T22:26:00.001+08:00

I have a leaking ship to captain right now. It needs all my atttention.
Can I like bore you with my thoughts, say after October 18th? I suppose, you shall all be able to survive the deprevation just fine, as my two cents worth are not really worth two cents.
Anyhoos, let's not say Good Bye, but rather Till We Meet Again on October 18.

Are Finders Keepers?

2008-09-19T14:36:00.004+08:00

Actually they are not. I've always been terribly dissapointed with Indy Jones - he finds treasure and he never claims it for his own. Ditto with Nancy Drew (who by the way is so annoying with her model citizen act, calling the authorities after discovering ancient treasure). Well one guy on some Gold Prospectors forum was mightily peeved over ownership rights of found gold and vented his frustration thus -

A)They would come under the antiquity laws.
B)They would come under national treasure laws
C)They would come under normal treasure laws.
D)They also would be under normal mining laws.
E)They could come under native repartition laws also.
F)Some how, the Jesuits could have a claim too.

I say, what is the point of breaking your back while trying to find The Dutchman mines or Oak Island's money pit, when you actually cant keep the gold? I mean isn't that being dumb? I know the journey is all exciting and yadayadayada but isnt that like saying something dumb like "I work for free cuz i love my job".

To Live In Times

2008-09-17T15:04:00.002+08:00

To live in times when names like Lehman Brothers; Merril Lynch will no longer exist. In times when an omniscient insurance company teetered on the edge of collapse and finally gets taken over by state! Egad! I am finance-challenged. Despite that, I cant help but feel a growing sense of dread in the pit of my tummy, and a perverted tingle of excitement - one that 49ers may have had when setting out to 'go west' to find gold in caravans, in boxcar trains. Except that we ain't going west. And there aint gonna be any gold awaiting at the last stop. And the only people who shall come good out of these times are the kind who sold water then.

Blog Format

2008-09-15T23:57:00.002+08:00

My blog format is screwed. Blogger sucks :-( Or i suck :-(

Big Bang Day

2008-09-10T09:38:00.002+08:00

Folks! Today is Big Bang Day. The very day when the LHC ("Big Bang Machine") will be switched on (two years behind schedule) at CERN. And, possibly, as we speak, the condition in that 27km tunnel will be similar to the condition of the universe about a billionth of a second after Big Bang! The greatest scientific endeavor since we landed on moon.

Doyle & Edalji

2008-09-06T20:53:00.001+08:00

You may have heard of the highly publicised involvement of Emile Zola in the Dreyfus Affair in France. Interestingly, not many people know about the infamous Great Wyrley Outrages and the subsequent crusade of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to free George Edalji ( a Parsee + Scottish 'Indian' man). Even Wikipedia does little justice to this fascinating case.

The Edalji case has almost been forgotten, while the Zola was eulogised as "a moment of conscience in humanity" for his involvement in the Dreyfus scandal. It's puzzling cuz, both cases were similar - A popular literary figure (Zola, Doyle) crusading for justice, working against establishment and government to free the accused (Dreyfus, Edalji) who was being discriminated due to his religion/race (Jewish, mixed blood-Catholic). If you get a chance, pick up the Booker nominated "Arthur & George" It does the case justice.

You Know You Are Getting Old ...

2008-09-02T04:42:00.001+08:00

...when your collegemate's wee-little brother adds you as a friend on Facebook.

Campaign Wit

2008-09-02T04:38:00.001+08:00

I dont know too much about Sen. Joe Biden. (We shall soon though now that he is the Democrat Vice Presidential nominee.)
But, I thought he was a witty when I heard his famous one-liner about Republican Rudy Giuliani's Presidential campaign in 2007 - "There's only three things he [Giuliani] mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11."

Also, heard he is a powerful orator. That should be helpful cuz personally, I think oratory is not exactly Obama's forte. He has too many pauses, "err", "umms" in his speeches. Interesting days ahead,

A Thought on Olympics

2008-08-24T20:02:00.003+08:00

I am watching the 2008 Olympics ceremony as I type and it struck me that the world has heard the Chinese national anthem so many frigging times (51 times + 1 time during the opening ceremony) that i betcha a lot of us have it practically memorised!

Oil! Oil!

2008-08-22T23:42:00.002+08:00

I know we are all very preoccupied with Bolt's 9.69 sec 100m, and how many chicken sandwiches Phelps eats for breakfast and other trivia that makes a whole lot of difference in our lives. So, i am almost feeling guilty about posting this link for you to read and well..think.

How Should We Live?

2008-08-05T11:56:00.002+08:00

How should we live? "Through knowledge for its own sake, curiosity, the craving to know things as they really are."

Malice

2008-08-01T23:39:00.003+08:00

begin rant;

Oh! Why dont we all shut it and mind our bloody/unbloody business? Oh, why dont we just stop bothering people and shoo away and do our own thing instead? In defeat malice, in victory revenge seems to be the order of the day. Malice, malice, vomit, malice. Yeah, I know. Everybody is nice, unless proven un-nice. But if everybody was nice, why are such shitty things happening right now? You and I think we are exceptions. Well, think again. We are just ignorant. In addition to being filled with malice. We deserve one another.

end rant;

Sidey Irrelevant Note: Perhaps malice is the reason why I never liked the name Alice/Alaise or the Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass.

Pink Shoes & Bombs

2008-07-31T22:40:00.001+08:00

What's with shoes and girls, you guys ask? Beats me too. How shoe shopping can be therapy baffles me. Being in a mall for more than 50 minutes is all very disturbing. But trying to cramp my broad toes into an area of 2 cm by 2cm is very distressing and I need to go home and lie down after the effort.

Some lunatic stole my Nikes a year or so ago. Instead of shoe shopping, I dug out these 7 year old Reebok's out of the shoe rack and began parading around Singapore in the embarrassments called running shoes for 9 months or so. My dad even threatened that either I stay or the shoes stay. Finally, a month ago I was bullied into shoe shopping. Got some pink Nikes. They look awright, I suppose. I mean, I wear the ugliest Dr. Scholl's in town, so pink shoes aren't gonna dent my self-esteem much. I have matching pink socks to go with.

Why are we garrulously talking about shoes and hair when bombs are rocking the Old Country? I dont know. Honestly, it's all terribly disappointing the way we all move on so quickly. But, professing anything more than shock, like for example professing grief, anxiety, tension, nervousness, will be taken for hypocrisy and melodrama. So one just feels claustrophobic, says a prayer and goes on talking about frivolous things.

Hairy Woes

2008-07-28T21:15:00.001+08:00

I need a hair makeover. Something drastic. Chop Chop Snip Snip.
Any ideas?

Step by Step

2008-07-23T22:28:00.002+08:00

Here I recall a line from my all time favourite movie The Lion in Winter -
Eleanor of Aquitaine, utterly spent from the bitter fight she just has with Henry II, asks him in unguardedly -
Eleanor : "How did we get here?"
Henry: "Step by step"

Isn't that true? Isn't that how you become your destiny? Step by step, choice by choice.

And at the end of the day, will you be able to live with the choices you made that made/unmade you? When shadows lengthen, and I am solitary, can I face my face in the crooked mirror?
Have you lived the destiny you wanted? What gnawing regrets are you harboring? Hush, now. Listen carefully. To the whispers within. Hush, now.

Unbearable Lightness of Being

2008-07-18T23:05:00.004+08:00

The book brims with poignant wisdom about human emotions and motivations for human actions. It has many timeless and some brutal truths about human emotions and weaknesses. A lot of it rang true. A lot of it was distressing. Especially the message that the major/minor decisions we take really come from very simple motivations, and that how your life turns out is largely dependent on these decisions made because of these silly motivations. It was rather frightening for someone who believes that we make most decisions by weighing the good and the bad consequences in some form or the other. Kundera argues that what we perceive as good is really our personal kitsch. I would read it if I were in a exploring mood. It ain't light reading. But you ain't gonna stop reading once you start.

New Hands and Old Burdens

2008-07-18T22:53:00.003+08:00

There are some very rare days when I read my morning news and I get depressed. Today was one of those days.

Mr Mandela recently said , "It is time for new hands to lift the old burdens; it is in your hands now". These words call for passionate, honourable wisdom. Sounds rather heroic, innit? Well, with all honesty, I dont really feel like carrying these burdens.

These burdens like Oil costing an insane $130 per barrel now when it only cost $40 in 2005.
I saw the price of rice bag I buy double in 3 months.
Terrorism is now a domestic issue for most countries.
War and assorted injustices happening in Iraq and in Afghanistan.
Things dont look so good in Africa. Especially in Zimbabwe and Sudan.
Things dont look so great down in Antarctica either, with that ice shelf collapsing in March and all.
Bird Flu scares are too frequent.
We are exposed to more carcinogens than ever.
The person in front of me in the line in the supermarket asked for double plastic bags for her groceries.

'New hands' have been left a broken world, Mr Mandela. And I just dont know whether these new hands can fix it. It is all very distressing and I need to lie down now. Or some gardening.

Oh hang on a minute, I dont even have a potted plant, let alone a patch of green.

Mandela's Bday Present from Bush

2008-07-02T14:11:00.001+08:00

George Bush has a HUGE birthday present for Nelson Mandela. Mandela, is now taken off the US Terrorist List. Which means, Mandela can travel to the USA without a waiver from Condi Rice. Now, how is that for a big bonus? I mean what more could a 90 year old respected world leader ask for in life? I mean, seriously!

Bumble Bee

2008-06-29T14:54:00.003+08:00

Crocheted this silly bumble bee bookmark on a laaazy Sunday aftie.

You can have one, if you are nice to me :-)

The 'Re: Fw: Re: Re: XYZ' Generation

2008-06-26T22:17:00.001+08:00

Ever experienced logging to email and getting a seizure upon noticing that you have 70 new emails? And all of them replies to the original email, or reply to the reply to the original email, or reply to the reply to the forward of the email. As in "Re: Re: Re: Fw: Re: Re: XYZ"*. And upon opening the 45th Re: Fw: Re: Fw: Re: Re: XYZ* email, you notice that the contents are as far removed from the original topic as can be? Admit it, you are guilty too.

[* where subject XYZ can be "Hangout at My Smelly Room on Friday the 13th" or "Who Stole my Muffin in the Fridge in Office Pantry Level 34?" or "Farewell, I am Finally Leaving" or "Movie Plans for 13 December 2023" or "End War in Iraq by Signing This Petition Which Nobody Reads" or or ..well you get the drift]

Well, I found the below extract, hilarious and so true to us, the Generation Re: Fw: Re: Fw: Re: XYZ'. Something similar happened, albeit with less collateral damage and drama, when a freshmen Yours Truly sent a mass-email to my entire dorm at college. I should have written about it and gotten an A, like this guy did for his Culture Shock class at MIT -

*****

" Picture this...On October 23rd 2006 at around 1:00 am, a freshman, let's call him John, sends a seemingly innocent email:

"Hey, did anyone find/grab/steal a brown Aeropostale Sweatshirt from the Physics Lounge in building 8 on Friday? I was in there working on a Pset on Friday and I stepped out for a moment and the next thing I knew it was gone. If you found it please contact me. My fraternity's pledge pin was on it and I need it back."

The email was sent to a mass email list consisting of East Campus, Bexley, Random Hall, Next House, MacGregor, Baker, and Senior House, among other dormitories. A young lady, whom we shall call Elsie, replied: "You should probably die." John hit the "reply to all" button and sent this email:

"WTF. So apparently this one's a bitch. Sorry for spamming but if you don't want to get forum mail you can leave the mailing list instead of being rude. I don't know this person and she probably doesn't have any friends but if anyone sees Elsie, tell her to fuck off for me. Thanks. And thanks to those who were actually helpful."

Kristin, from Senior House, also hit the "reply to all" button and let John know her low opinion of him, how lame he was to lose his sweatshirt in the first place, how lame he was to send an email to the entire school, how lame he was not to realize that an average MIT student spent 30 seconds reading his email, which amounted to a loss of around $300 of future earnings, and on and on. She actually did some math to determine that. Patricia seconded Kristin. Then Peter, Scott and Dan. Within a few minutes, John received a huge pile of very nasty emails. Fortunately, MIT students value community and the importance of keeping everyone informed. Therefore, everyone who replied hit "the button" - reply to all.
A brother in the Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, sensing the situation was running out of hand, thought it would be noble to reply to all too:

"We're all MIT students and we should be mature enough to understand this situation. John, a pledge brother of mine, has lost a sweater and is deeply upset because it had on it the most valuable emblem of fraternal brotherhood: the pledge pin. I'm sorry that anyone might be irritated with the many emails you get from being on your house mailing list. But if you have a problem with these announcements, go to MIT web services and unsubscribe from your house mailing list. Thanks to the hundreds of others of you for understanding. I think John deserves a lot more respect and those who don't have the experience and qualifications for being a fraternity pledge should have nothing to say. Thanks and have a good night".

Little did he know that his email would be the spark that ignited a flurry of more than 150 emails that night. He was called obnoxious for thinking he was better than "us" because he was in a fraternity. (Remember that the email was sent to dorms). Fernando pointed out that fraternities suck and only losers join. Julia asked if her not having a penis dangling between her legs means she had no right to express her opinion. Zos wrote a wonderful piece on how soldiers of certain orders had pledge pins to help them survive being captured by the Japanese sometime in the 19th Century. The email was more graphic than I am willing to put in print. He said it was valuable advice that one may use to prevent getting captured and sent to Guantanamo. Yes, the connection between Guantanamo and the pledge pin doesn't seem to make sense, but trust me, it does. Stacy tried to dissuade people from sending more emails by writing a 250 word essay and sending a modified version of a poem by Pastor Martin Niemöller. Later in the night Koo enlightened us by saying that the poem was actually written by the Nazis glorifying the sending of Jews to concentration camps, so would Stacy "just go and fuck herself." Scott, an electrical engineering and computer science major, sent a story of Vlad the Impaler. Vlad is known to have killed between 40,000 and 100,000 people during his reign. He ruled Wallachia (now a province of Romania) three distinct times over the course of his life with the second reign being the bloodiest. The email listed many of the methods he used to impale his enemies and law breakers. The readers were given advanced warning not to read on if they were in any way faint-hearted because the descriptions of the impaling Vladd practiced were graphic and brutal. For example, one unfaithful wife had her breasts cut off and was then skinned and impaled. While she was dying, her skin was on a table right next to the stake.
Due to the versatility of the MIT student's mind, the simple subject of a lost sweatshirt generated stories from history, current affairs, definitions and descriptions of all the airports in the U.S.A, the pros and cons of fraternities, the reason why Sloaners (people from the MIT Sloan School of Management) are the bombers (cool people), to hundreds of other topics. Those who were fortunate enough to read these emails could testify that all had a moral and helped castigate, abuse, confirm or contradict some earlier email. A grammar freak's contribution was expressing how sad she gets when people write "an hero". The next twenty or so emails hit her hard with criticisms of her freakiness and why no one cares about spelling. We deal with integrals and sigmas and numbers, not words. This is MIT, right? Suggestions for "an hintententinal error", an horse, an hamburger, among others, were floated and argued for. At the end of the night, solid support for "an hero" was found from the urban dictionary and http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/index.php/Mitchell_Henderson. The latter is a funny extension of the issue. George, the freshman who is taking 18.701, which is a senior mathematics course, took two hours off his pset to analyze and contribute to the "Re: Fwd: Lost Sweatshirt" thread - even though he was keen on getting an A in a Pass-Fail Freshman semester. Before the end of the night, a Facebook group - "I Participated in the Great Campus-Wide Sweatshirt Search of 10.23.06" – was formed. I am a proud officer of the group with the title "spammer." Our beloved group has 29 members so far and everyone is an officer. We believe in equality.

In the wee hours of the night, six students got some costumes together and made a movie in Bexley with a cast from the spammer email thread. It highlighted the events of the night including John's habit of punching girls in the face. (John is the one who lost the sweatshirt). I must mention that at MIT, we stay awake till 3:00 am sometimes doing psets (problem sets). But then we still have some time off to make a movie or two. Clearly, if you are looking for creative, energized, innovative and smart people in the country and the world you can count on MIT, even in the wee hours of the night. I read the responses all night and took twice the time to do the calculus pset due the next day. By 5:00 am in the morning, the activity had died down even though some more emails were sent the next day. But that wasn't all. A party to commemorate this once-in-a lifetime event was organized for the following Saturday night. Posters were all over campus the next day inviting everyone to the "Lost Sweatshirt" party.
So if you thought that we only do high-tech research at MIT, you are wrong. If you thought MIT has only nerds who don't know how to communicate (like you see in the movies), you are wrong. If you thought that MIT students are clueless about anything that isn't math, you are wrong. We can make movies, we can correct grammar, we can respond to emails faster than we can respond to calls, we can relate what we learn in class to relevant day-to-day occurrences, we respect the right to educate John and similar-minded people by inflicting some pain, we respect the right to keep everyone informed, so we always hit "the button." We love and hate fraternities, we don't just wear pledge pins without knowing their histories, we have exotic ways to spend our free time between psets, we teach our schoolmates about responsibility, we love life, we live large, we are MIT."

Newton's not Turing's Apple

2008-06-23T17:41:00.002+08:00

There is this cool urban legend that the logo of Apple Computers (multi colored, striped apple with a piece bitten off) was a tribute to 'father of Artificial Intelligence' , 'father of Cryptography' , 'father of Computer Science', Alan Turing. Much persecuted during the WWII because of his homosexuality, Turing committed suicide/accidentally killed himself/was assassinated (whichever theory you believe in) by eating a cyanide laced apple. His cleaning lady found him the next day with a half bitten apple beside him.

However, its an urban myth. The Apple Computers logo is a tribute. But it's a tribute to Newton's apple, not Turing's apple.
And the compelling evidence is from Kelley Advertising -

An earlier Apple Computer logo featured Sir Isaac Newton under an apple tree.
"Rob Janoff of Regis McKenna Advertising designed the logo with the apple representing "the acquisition of knowledge." This account goes on to describe how Steve Jobs added the rainbow colors to the logo Janoff designed to emphasize the Apple II's superior color output. "

Yaksha Prashna

2008-06-23T17:10:00.003+08:00

Felt like posting excerpts of the immortal wisdom of Dharmaraja'a answers to Yaksha Prashna:

What rescues man in danger? A.Courage is mans salvation in danger
What is faster than the wind? A. Mind
Which is the biggest vessel? A. Earth that contains every thing in it.
What is happiness? A. It is the result of good conduct
What is that abandoning by which he is loved by all? A. Pride
What is that loss that yields joy and not sorrow? A. Anger
What is that by giving up which man becomes rich? A. Desire
What is the greatest of all wonders in the world? A. Every day man sees creatures die. Yet those who live seek to live for ever.

Facts and Opinions

2008-06-18T22:18:00.001+08:00

Late senator Daniel Moynihan said that people are entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.

How absolutely true, and how often we forget this while getting all tangled up in our opinions.

Chai in a Bag

2008-06-16T12:57:00.001+08:00

Inexpressibly, I found this photograph incredibly touching

Nat Geo Traveller's Places of a Lifetime Quiz

2008-06-16T10:44:00.001+08:00

London - I scored 6/10 :-(
How did you fare?

It's Not a Lost Cause ...

2008-06-14T13:12:00.004+08:00

... I have some remnants of talent. A cellphone case I made over commute and lunch hour -

Admit it, its rather shady, innit? Oh, well, I picked up the crochet needle after a 7 year sabbatical. So, I guess I can be excused.

Miranda vs. Arizona

2008-06-13T14:33:00.002+08:00

... a landmark case that mandated a 'Miranda warning' before arresting a criminal suspect. Without this Miranda warning an incriminating statement bu a suspect will not constitute as admissible evidence. A typical 'miranda warning' sounds like - "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you."

PS - Yes, I lunched in and hence, went berserk on Google.

Insomnia

2008-06-11T05:09:00.001+08:00

...is when you stare into the golden glow from the green lamp above your head counting sheep and wondering at the silence of the fourth hour of the new day. By the fifth hour you arise to post a lame post on your already lame blog.

Miracles on Monday

2008-06-09T10:23:00.002+08:00

A 4 hour Monday meeting has been canceled!
And to think that the very thought of this meeting made me take 35 minutes to get out of bed this morning.
Miracles do happen on Monday!

PS: On a side, the title has been inspired by a 1940s tearjerker I saw yesterday, "Miracles in the Rain". Jane Wyman as usual made me reach out for my Kleenex.

Nil Desparandum

2008-06-03T21:46:00.000+08:00

Nil desparandum! Nil desparandum!
There is light at the tunnel.
Tread the path
Consilio et animis.
Nil desparandum.

North By Northwest

2008-06-03T21:39:00.000+08:00

North by Northwest is my favourite Hitchcock. Close runner up would be The 39 Steps. Though, separated by decades, both movies have the famous Hitchcock touches -

The McGuffin.
Man on the Run
Mistaken Identity
Blonde woman embroiled in espionage

When I first heard of the McGuffin touch, I thought it was all jolly clever of Hitchcock. The whole movie/plot revolves around this "McGuffin" (which could be an idea/plot/secret/person). But its inconsequential to the movie, what this McGuffin is. What is important is the drama that results around the McGuffin. For example, in The 39 Steps, the whole film revolves around this quest to uncover what The 39 Steps is by the hero, but what the 39 Steps is ultimately unimportant to the plot. What happens in the hero's quest is essential to the movie.

Hitchcock also can be terribly original. Take certain chilling scenes of North by Northwest - he revelutionised the thriller genre. Think about this, when we talk about horror/thriller scenes, we conjure up dark, dimly litted scene, closed/enclosed spaces/corridors/rooms, shadows etc etc, innit? Now, take the legendry Crop Duster scene in N by NW. It's a chilling scene. But everything about it is contrary to the usual features. It's set in the praires of Illinois, in the vast wheat fields. in the afternoon. no shadows, no corners. no enclosed spaces. In fact the hero has no where to run for cover. And yet the first time you watch it, you grip the cushion in anxiety. I thought it was all remarkably original for 1959.

Plus, Cary Grant's one liners are chuckle worthy. His character, Roger Thronhill, is a fast talking, acerbit wit. The dialogues are so witty! Especially, those when he first meets the stupendously charming villain, played by James Mason.
Some dialogues below (thanks to IMDB) -

Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant): And what the devil is all this about? Why was I brought here?
Phillip Vandamm (James Mason): Games, must we?
Roger Thornhill: Not that I mind a slight case of abduction now and then, but I have tickets for the theater this evening, to a show I was looking forward to and I get, well, kind of *unreasonable* about things like that.
Phillip Vandamm: With such expert playacting, you make this very room a theater.

.
Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant): Now you listen to me, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself "slightly" killed.

Watch it!

Wise Words Overheard On A Thursday Night

2008-05-30T14:45:00.001+08:00

<Skip this post if you do not wish to get a heavy dose of spirituality or the whole works.>

<I told you to skip it. You still want to read? Fine, suffer.>

Yesterday, I attended the first in a series of spiritual talks that are being given by a visiting professor, Prof Anil Kumar.
I shan't go into all the song and dance of the purpose of these talks, except that they are highly enjoyable not only because of the insane humor the Professor injects into spirituality, but because he tends to address the usual doubts that ail ordinary believers of God.

He talks about how God is the truest form of unconditional love and that all human relationships are bound by one or another form of give and take. Human relationships, be it mother-child, wife-husband, guru-sishya, friend-friend rarely are unconditional. (Interestingly, I recently posted about this very point.) That the only love that is unconditional, boundless and limitless is that of God's.

Here is a rambling summary of the Q&A at the end of the talk. He had some points that I have always believed in and resoundingly agree with. I am sorry, but this summary Q&A is devoid of the humor and the many wise anecdotes he injected into his answers-

Question: When do you know it is the time to let go?
Answer: Right Now! This very instant..[insert anecdote]...Remember, life needs to be a journey of choiceless awareness. Forgo desires, and believe that 'This Too Shall Pass'. Let go now!

Question: Sai Baba tells us to practice selfless, unconditional love for everyone. But in this modern era, it is often perceived as a weakness and you can be taken advantage of when you practice this. Please advise.
Answer: Why should you let go of your good habits because of the faults of the other person? [Here he narrates the fable of a Yogi and Scorpion] Unconditional love is u-c-o-n-d-i-t-i-o-n-a-l. Without a desire for a result. Not even a desire for the other person to treat you well in return.

Question: Sometimes I wish God can be contacted with a phone call when in a dilemma. How do I communicate with him for answers?
Answer: Oh! Now people want to get God a cell phone too eh? Look, you dont have to talk to God. He is within you. God is within each of us. Listen to him. You may call it your intuition, inner voice, whatever. But, you will hear a voice when you listen and pray.

Question: How can you reconcile the existence of God with the fact that often innocent people get hurt because of the crimes of others? If God exists why do so many bad things happen to good people?
Answer: Who are you to judge that a person is innocent? How do you know the Truth? You do not even know what happens in the next minute, how can you be sure that the innocent are innocent, and the evil are evil? God is omnipresent, omniscient, limitless, boundless. He knows your past, present and future. He knows the Universe's past, present and future. He does everything for a reason. [Insert the anecdote of the King with the Amputated Finger] Comfort yourself with the faith that everything happens for a reason and it is all for your own good. If you cannot comprehend how it could be for your own good, then remember "This too shall pass".

<end>

Right, now, you can go on and call me banal, trite and stale. But I do take comfort in it all. Especially because they resonate well with my own personal beliefs.

NICE

2008-05-28T13:21:00.001+08:00

There are inspiring stories behind all those orgs like Asha for Education, CRY, Habitat for Humanity...But the story behind NICE is very simple. It is the man who is inspiring. Sri Poornachandra Rao so inspired another man that, a decade after meeting him, the inspired man featured a character based on Sri Poornachandra Rao in his touching road movie Gamyam.

I looked up NICE's annual report to find that the org isnt too big for our non-monetary donations (pens, books, chairs) to seem feeble or our monetary donations to disappear in administrative charges. SIN$130 covers a child's 1Y education. $130 for a year of knowledge. That's what I spend on 13 movie tickets.

Take a look.
Dont be lazy.
You may or you may not wish to donate.
But read his story.

Agneepath

2008-05-16T12:24:00.002+08:00

A towering verse penned by Sri Harivanshrai Bachchan -

Tu na thakega kabhi, tu na thamega kabhi,
tu na mudega kabhi,
Kar shapath, kar shapath, kar shapath,
Agneepath, Agneepath, Agneepath.

Edited to add meaning as requested -
My literal translation:
You shall not tire ever, you shall not give up ever,
you shall not turn back ever,
take the oath, take the oath, take the oath,
Path of Fire, Path of Fire, Path of Fire

My shallow broad translation:
Swear that you will persevere resolutely, with the test of fire, without ever tiring, without ever giving up, without ever turning back.

Not-so Unconditional Faith

2008-05-15T17:56:00.001+08:00

I was talking to Jayesh about how faith in God should be independent of the joys and misery God puts us through, that Faith should not be conditional. I scorned people who did otherwise. But after the conversation, I got off my judgmental horse and realised that I was talking pure idealism that even I (gasp!) have not matched up to.

Most human relationships are conditional. We love because we are loved. We help because we are comfortable. We feed because we are well fed. I am not making sense am I? Oh dear, let me try and explain. Did you ever feed someone - a beggar, your child, mother, whoever - when you were going hungry? Do you love your family/partner/dog without expecting something in return? Did you ever donate your (not your dad's, mom's, ancestral) money to a cause you believed in when money was hard to come by? Perhaps not all of us have been in such situations, so lets just simply ask, have you been unconditional? That one glorious shining moment when you realised that right there, in that one microsecond of your 25/45/80 years of your existence, you have been unconditional?

I have examined myself a little. I have faith in God because by and large he has been generous to me. I love my family as they put up with all the torture one goes through to have me around. I donate because I have no great desire to own things with money. So, I suppose, life has been kind enough to allow me the luxury to be an armchair idealist, discussing unconditional faith in God. Others might not. When one goes through what the biblical Job has gone through, one has the right to judge the nature of someone else's belief. Till then, I probably should shut it, and let people believe in God for their own reasons. One's faith is one's private affair.

I apologise. Sincerely.

Senator Obama on Race

2008-05-09T15:37:00.004+08:00

Like the other 10 million blogs, I have decided to do a post on Senator Obama's speech on Race. Anybody who lives on Earth and has access to mass media could not have missed the Race speech he gave a couple of months ago. Like many of us, I was too busy to read the whole transcript. I just read the excerpts on MSNBC and NYT and saw some clips on Youtube. I thought it was a fantastic speech. That was before I read the whole thing.

Yesterday, I decided to read the whole speech. Mid way through, I got so worked up, and eyes began welling up that I knew i had to actually see him utter these magnificent words. So, I went on Youtube and heard him. The whole 37 min.

Gentlemen, anybody who heard this speech and still doubts that he can be the president the world needs to have, should quickly move to Mars.The response was overwhelming. My Oxford roommate, who is a poet, actually wrote a poem about Barack Obama after the speech. Here is one response i found online -

peaceful easy feeling Says:
After Obama wins the presidency this speech will be referred to as his ‘I Have a Dream’ moment.

Some people were more pragmatic -

Ruthless People Says:
A uniting, intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, president who can string two complete sentences together?
That would be Change.

{harika adds - I guess, Michael Moore's 2004 slogan 'Anybody But Bush' lingers}

Anyhoo, I urge you all to read, at the very least, the now famous excerpts.

The Genographic Project

2008-05-07T15:05:00.002+08:00

I was looking at all the projects that National Geographic Society is providing grants for when The Genographic Project caught my eye.

The Genographic Project, touted as a landmark study of the human journey, is the making of an atlas of the human journey, the tracing of our ancestors steps, where you and I really come from, and how did we get there from that group of African ancestors over 60000 years ago? It sounds phenomenal! A 5 year project involving scientists and IBM researches (for cutting edge genetic & computational technologies) entwining genetics, anthropology and technology. There are some phenomenal visuals about human migratory history in the site.

The exciting thing is, you can actually participate in this study. With a painless cheek swab you can sample your own DNA and submit it to the lab. Then the project people run a test to your DNA, it reveals your ancestry and the journeys that they made over 60000-10000 years ago!

The project director, Dr Spencer Wells, promises -

Your results will reveal your deep ancestry along a single line of direct descent (paternal or maternal) and show the migration paths they followed thousands of years ago. Your results will also place you on a particular branch of the human family tree. ... For example, if you are of African descent, your results will show the initial movements of your ancestors on the African continent, but will not reflect most of the migrations that have occurred within the past 10,000 years.

Enthralling, if you ask me!

My Sister, the Gardener

2008-05-05T15:34:00.020+08:00

My sister is a gardener. She likes plants. Plants seem to like her too. They bloom under her eye. Take for example the record sized eggplant she grew last year. It actually resembled a bulbous freakish purple monstrosity. I wish I could just show you what a terror it was, but unfortunately, I deleted the pictures she sent me of this monstrosity as they gave me seizures.

This spring she managed to germinate many seeds and transfered them into 80 pots. She will soon get her husband to transfer the potted plants to the vegetable patch in the backyard and the flowerbed in the front lawn. She grows her own veggies - carrots, tomatoes, eggplant, okra, or whatever catches her fancy. She also grows flowering shrubs - tulips, poppies (no, not for pot), geraniums, violets, azaleas, blah blah blah. You get the drift? Quaint, innit?
Below is a picture of a few of her tulips she planted around a lamppost in their front lawn.

I dare say, I contributed to this passion of hers in the beginning. In the summer of 2004, I went berserk with a rake and a hoe at the bottom of her backyard. I went on a digging and weeding rampage - uprooting veronicas, crabgrass, dandelions, and other weeds. I dug and dug, ripped dastardly weeds, stamped touch-me-nots, chopped at this random tree root that appeared out of nowhere, cut worms in two (just kidding), threw tufts of grass at curious squirrels ... basically did a very noisy job of helping to clear the vegetable patch. Then I helped her put some foul smelling manure, rolled around in it for a bit (just kidding) and helped till the soil some more.

By next summer, when I visited them again, all my unpaid for, free of charge, slavish efforts paid off. The veggie patch was blossoming. It was a modest success, if only the damned rabbits were taken care of. A neighbourhood band of rogue rabbits chewed all her veggie plants in the patch and made a general nuisance of themselves everyday. Even before i came, she put a low fence around the patch. But thieving wabbits being wabbits, jumped over the joke of a fence and continued nibbling away her plants and generally filling their greedy tummies. So every time we opened the backdoor noisily, out popped 4-5 wabbits in the air and quickly scattered away into the field beyond their fence. If it wasnt so damn irritating it was quite a funny sight. At one time, i went at them like a screaming banshee which scared her neighbours more than the damned rabbits. She soon solved the problem by putting a fishnet over the veggie patch.

If you notice in the background of the below pic, the brownish low fence in front of the white fence is the vegetable patch. To the right, in the back ground, the wooden stand was built by my brother in law to hold all her pots. A sort of artsy backyard functional garden piece. I guess. In the foreground are just 0.1% of her plants this summer. They will soon be planted in the patch in the backyard.

Before you think she is a homely gardener, let me inform you that she kicks ass in driving large manly equipment. She is licensed to drive large hydraulic CAT excavators, like this -

and CAT Motor Grader (model 140M) like this

and CAT Backhoe Loader (Model 420E) like this -

which all, if you ask me, look even more monstrous than the formerly mentioned eggplant.

She is also into sports cars. She drives this yellow mustang (notice, it has a very macho license plat no. that goes 'DREAMZ') -

She is likeable. doesnt bite your head off if you pry, a little irritable and sulky, but by and large a sensible, generous soul who goes about pottering around her house and her garden before she pokes her nose in other people's affairs. (This is a very rare quality in women. So, dont write off the magnificence of that quality.) She seems to like me. She brought me one suitcase full of goodies from the glorious nation of the United States of America. For this reason, I also like her.

To Know When To

2008-05-03T22:47:00.001+08:00

One needs to learn many things in life. To become wise and stay young at heart. To know the time to pry and the time to be quiet. To know when to shake hands and when to hug. To know when to talk and when to listen. To know when to carry the joke farther and when to draw the line. To know when to try and when to let things take their course. To know when to have secrets and when to let people in. To know when to fly the nest and when to plant your roots. To know when to sow and when to work the harvest. To know when to hold on and when to move on.

A quarter of a century wasn't quite enough. Would the rest of the 40 be enough?

Evil Drip by Drip

2008-05-03T13:02:00.001+08:00

A fool fills himself with evil a little at a time.

Rosemary

2008-04-30T13:04:00.001+08:00

"Gardeners say that the seed of rosemary never grows in French soil, but if you pull off some little branches of rosemary, strip them down toward the base, hold them by the tips, and plant them, they will grow again. If you want to send rosemary branches a long distance, wrap them in waxed cloth, sew them up, anoint the outside with honey, dust them with wheat flour, and send them where you will."

My First Tag

2008-04-23T14:40:00.001+08:00

'Twas fun to do. Might be tiresome to read though.

Last Movie You Saw In A Theater:
El Orfanato, a Spanish spookie.

What Book Are You Reading:
Malcolm Caldwell's Blink

Favorite Board Game:
Taboo

Favorite Magazine:
Ever heard of The World & I?(although I have grown out of it) And, someday, I would like to say The Economist here, if only I understood 60% of the analysis in there.

Favorite Smells:
Distinct scent of grandmama's zari sarees and skin. Bath and Body Works Gardenia Lily body splash. Crispy air right after the rain. Freshly mowed grass, Sea Spray.

Favorite Sound:
Wind chimes tinkling, sounds of a gale, church bells tolling, voices of a couple of people.

Worst Feeling In The World:
Helplessness in the face of injustice small or big. Disappointment with oneself.

What Is The First Thing You Think Of When You Wake?
Depends. Mostly God.

Favorite Fast Food Place:
Subway.

Future Child's Name:
Sathya (irregardless of sex of baby). Or Mohana Leela.

Finish This Statement. "If I Had A Lot Of Money I'd…"
travel a bit by air, water, road. Settle down to do some gardening while simultaneously fund a top-notch geriatric home.

Do You Drive Fast?
Umm…Is 50km/hr fast?

Do You Sleep With A Stuffed Animal?
Technically yes. But only because my pillow unravels into a 2m long green, slimy snake. Never slept with teddy bears and other furries.

Storms-Cool Or Scary?
Awe inspiring. So that would be, cool.

What Was Your First Car?
My dad's car. Don't know its model. brownish and looks sensible.

Favorite Drink:
Badam Milk.

Finish This Statement, "If I Had The Time I Would ….."
learn to fly, learn Latin, Korean, French, Esperanto, attend a Vedic school, attend Kalakshetra in Chennai and get a dance degree, read all the Latin classics, learn gardening and work as a asst gardener, climb up the peaks of Kilimanjaro, Mt Fuji, Kota Kinabalu and couple more sidey mountains, learn to …

Do You Eat The Stems On Broccoli?
With gusto.

If You Could Dye Your Hair Any Color, What Would Be Your Choice?
A tinge of brown.

Name All The Different Cities/Towns You Have Lived In.
Vizag, Singapore, Houston, London, Oxford,

[definition of 'living' being staying in a place for more than 3 months continuously]

Favorite Sports To Watch:
Olympic Games.. I know, I know, it ain't a sport. But hell, I watch every sport during the Olympics. And of course, India vs Pakistan matches

One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You:
Not Applicable.

What's Under Your Bed?
My bed is actually part of the wooden parquet. So, it has these really cool, hard to detect drawers which slide out in a jiffy to reveal my messy life - I stow away my costume jewellery, financial statements, 6 non-functioning earphones, ipod, papers, files, everything, note paper, bed time reading, aroma candles, lamps, paper clippings, knickknacks.... I mean everything..

Would You Like To Be Born As Yourself Again?
Yeah. I like myself a whole lot. (no that wasnt a joke)

Morning Person Or Night Owl?
Both. Its not the timing, it's the quietness I get during dawn and twilight. So both.

Over Easy Or Sunny Side Up?
Scrambled.

Favorite Place To Relax:
My toilet or a quiet library or a movie theatre

Favorite Pie:
Blueberry.

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor:
Vanilla.

You pass this tag to -
Anyone who wants to pick it up.

Of All The People You Tagged This To, Who's Most Likely To Respond First?
Lame Q.

An extract from Claudius, the God

2008-04-22T18:19:00.002+08:00

Sorry, I haven't been able to think/blog as much as I would like to. But I was re-reading certain parts of Claudius, the God ( a present from a friend :-) ) and thought it was pretty telling of how sharp witted Emperor Claudius was contrary to historian's belief that he was dull witted-

" Before I forget it, there is another story that I want to tell about a stolen gold cup...Once I [Claudius, the Roman Emperor], invited a number of provincial knights to supper - and would you believe it , one of the rogues, Marseilles man, went off with the gold cup that had been put before him. I didn't say word to him, but invited him to supper again the next day and this time gave him only a stone cup. This apparently frightened him, for the next morning the gold cup was returned with a fulsomely apologetic note explaining that he had taken the liberty of borrowing the cup for two days in order to get the engravings on it, which he much admired, copied by a goldsmith; he wished to perpetuate the memory of the enormous honour that I had done him, by drinking from a similarly chased gold cup every day for the rest of his life. In answer I sent him the stone cup asking, in exchange, for the reproduction of the gold one as a memento of the charming incident."

More Native American Wisdom

2008-04-01T21:54:00.001+08:00

This time, its Big Elk's wise words -

"Do not grieve. Misfortunes will happen to the wisest and best of men. Death will come, always out of season. It is the command of the Great Spirit, that all nations and people must obey. What is past and what cannot be prevented should not be grieved for ... Misfortunes do not flourish particularly in our lives - they grow everywhere."

Such seemingly simple calming words are difficult when faced with circumstances that the Omaha Indians faced - disease, war, disappearing hunt, intruding white men, pressure to become 'civilized', etc.

Crowfoot's Dying Words

2008-04-01T17:22:00.001+08:00

are :

"What is Life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night.
It is the breath of a buffalo in the winter time.
It is as the little shadow that runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

Wise words of a wise man.

Tongue in Cheek Guardian

2008-03-30T16:09:00.004+08:00

I was reading the Guardian Books section (yes, i have to drop names just to try and pass off as belonging to the intellectual gentry) when I saw this tongue-in-cheek ad on the page.

I loved the "Go on George, its free" line in the third column best :-)
[click on the image, you can see it better]

Somethings Never Change

2008-03-28T14:34:00.001+08:00

I came across this excerpt while reading Count Belisarius by Robert Graves -

" It is a well known that almost everyone in the world is discontented with his trade or profession. The farmer would like to be an emperor, the Emperor would like to plant cabbages; the lean captain of a trading vessel envies the big paunched wine shop proprietor - who returns the envy dissatisfied with his stay-at-home life."

That was during the 6th century Roman Empire. It holds true even today. I suppose some things never change.

Some Help for Monday Mornings

2008-03-24T15:45:00.002+08:00

Jayesh replied to my post "Monday Mornings" in the following way -

"Suggested happy thoughts just for Monday mornings:
(1) Your boss might be on vacation / call in sick / get hit by a falling aeroplane
(2) You will be promoted today to President from Vice-President (in charge of Photocopying, Faxing, Taxibooking & Getting Yelled At By Painful Clients)
(3) they have replenished the coffee in the vending machine
(4) Friday is JUST 5 days away
(5) Retirement is JUST 35 years away
(6) Your zodiac forecast says that you just might travel to Cambodia in two weeks with some really really cool people"

:-)

Why Are Men So Exasperating?

2008-03-20T22:30:00.001+08:00

I wore this very 'Abercrombie & Fitch' sorta purple skirt that has this very gunny-sack, ragged and faded feel to it. My grandmother definitely wouldnt have like it. In fact she would have pointed out that her maid wears better rags than that.

Anyhoo, I was feeling very attractive in this skirt, and needed some feedback. If you havent already noticed, i need constant feedback from the men in my life. So, I approached the single most important male figure in my life, my dad. He was (you guessed it), watching news.

Me: Dad?
Dad: Uh huh.
Me: Dad, am I looking pretty?
Dad [without giving me a glance]: Uh huh
Me[whining]: Daaaaaaad
Dad[looking up]: Uh huh?
Me [doing a pirouette]: Dad, look! Look! Am I looking pretty in this skirt?
Dad [slightly puzzled]: Come a little closer.
Me[pirouetting some more]: See, its pretty, innit?
Dad [puzzled]: you are wearing it inside out. All the thread and seams are on the outside showing.
Me[blinking]:Dad, its supposed to be that way. Its the design
Dad [more puzzled]: Eh? You mean its supposed to be worn inside out?
Me[patiently]: Dad, i aint wearing it inside out. Its the design.
Dad[even more puzzled]: You mean they instruct you to wear it inside out?
Me[accusingly]: YOU have no clue about the current fashions.
Dad[mumbling and grumbling ]: Well, i dont rightly understand rags that are being passed off as clothes these days. Not even our village beggar used to wear such rags.
Me[sulkingly]: So, I am not pretty is it? Thats it, innit?
Dad[grudgingly]: Well in spite of wearing the rag inside out, you look alright I suppose.
Me[considerably cheering up]: Promise?
Dad[resuming watching news]: uh-huh
Me: ....blah blah blah....

But, honestly, why are men so exasperating?

'Seven Social Sins'

2008-03-17T17:40:00.002+08:00

Food for thought :

"Politics without principle,
wealth without work,
commerce without morality,
pleasure without conscience,
education without character,
science without humanity,
and worship without sacrifice."

~ MK Gandhi

Monday Mornings

2008-03-17T17:25:00.001+08:00

Monday mornings are such ghastly, hateful things.How does one survive 'em?
Call in sick and stare at the ceiling for ages? Take urgent leave and sleep in? Stay at home and watch reruns of Days of Our Lives? Quit the job and become a gardener?

There needs to be one thought, one damn happy, inspiring thought that should make it worth while to endure a Monday. One happy thought. What could it be?

Why did so many Nazis flee to Argentina?

2008-03-14T09:57:00.001+08:00

Why Argentina? Well, number of reasons. But simplistically speaking, here are 1-2-3 -

1. Many Germans began to migrate to South Am since the 19th century. So, the SS men/ fugitives could integrate with the community there without raising any suspicions.

2. Although Argentina declared that she was neutral, Juan Peron, the then President during WWII was a known Nazi sympathiser.

3. Argentinian extradition laws are pretty rigid. Getting a fugitive extradited from Argentina is a Herculean task. Historically speaking, South American governments like Chile, Argentina, etc were always bogged by one coup or the other. Leaders often flee to neighbouring countries for political asylum or otherwise. Hence, South Am countries as a general rule have very strict extradition laws that seem to 'protect' fugitives. Think about it - You are President John Doe of a South Am country. You allow President Bud Joe who escaped to your country after a coup to be extradited to his Country C where he will be imprisoned or dropped into the Pacific. But, it might be your turn a few years down the lane. So you rather not rub Country C's allies or even some party in Country C in the wrong way. This results in an extradition culture that could sometimes provide a haven to Jack the Rippers and Son of Sam and so on..

"Oh! Sun, Oh! Land."

2008-03-10T21:07:00.001+08:00

Aye, its "Land Ahoy!"
The leak has been plugged. I sailed the high seas and am back on land.
I can safely say, that I have a lot of time to bore you all till the paint peels from the wall.

A Leaking Ship

2008-02-27T10:10:00.001+08:00

I have a leaking ship to captain right now. It needs all my atttention.
Can I like bore you with my thoughts, say after March 8th? I suppose, you shall all be able to survive the deprevation just fine, as my two cents worth are not really worth two cents.
Anyhoos, let's not say Good Bye, but rather Till We Meet Again on March 8.

Caulfield's Complaint Is So Mine!

2008-02-16T22:27:00.005+08:00

Sometimes, you come across a few lines which sum up exactly what you think or thought up of except that somebody else had already thought it up 50 years before you did and hatefully, had written it down so much better than you could ever hope to. Sometimes you hate that somebody for that. But most times you feel a certain kinship with that somebody. Well, there were so many many many instances of the later kind while I was reading Catcher In the Rye. Take this excerpt -

"And yet I still act sometimes like I was only about twelve. Everybody says that, especially my father. It's partly true, too, but it isn't all true. People always think that something's all true. I don't give a damn, except that I get bored sometimes when people tell me to act my age. Sometimes I act a lot older than I am -I really do- but people never notice it."

Holden Caulfield's complaint is mine! It is so true. Take how I behave around my folks - childish , pouty, throwing mock tantrums, etc etc the usual 5 year old's behaviour. But, at times of need, I have often been very perceptive and very wise. But, they rarely remember these moments (It is not important whether these moments of wiseness come but rarely. The important thing is whether they come when needed.) Sigh! I suppose one behaves in a certain unique way with every person in one's life.