tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-311755462024-03-07T23:49:13.544+05:30Psychedelic's ParadiseEverything from Einstein's Relativity to Politics, Sports and associated interesting mind-chow. Anything and everything under the sun that appeals to this restless, idle mind in the desperate search of a literary barbiturate!Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-60540276206304797982011-05-07T03:53:00.004+05:302011-05-07T04:04:51.322+05:30Random Musings on Free-Will, Game Theory, Social Psychology and God<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px;"><b><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Note: This is hopefully the first of a series of posts on the subject, in which case I sympathize with my readers! :P</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><br /></p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; ">Disclaimer:</span></strong> I am an Atheist, a Keynesian Capitalist (Free Markets with Regulation & Intervention) and a firm believer in Free-Will. Also, the topic under discussion is immensely vast, and is of such a scope that every human born into this world contemplates about it at some point of time in their lives, and great philosophers and public intellectuals have pondered on these questions, coming up with their own subtle variations to explaining the nature of life as we see it. I am just presenting a short snippet of my take on the subject and I am trying to stir up some conversation by being a polemicist!<strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "> </span></strong></p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><br /></p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; ">Essay: </strong></p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">As “Neo” tells the “Architect” in “The Matrix”: “The Problem is Choice”. This is one of the most profound self-evident truths in the universe, and yet not only is it under-stated, but also flagrantly contradicted by the corporations, advertisers and by civil society in public discourse.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">We are told, again and again, by people, corporations, entities and Governments that the greatest gift of the 20th century has been “Free-Will”. This statement has been sold to the public repeatedly by the entire society, as if it were a self-evident truth, and people who seek to question its veracity (with the best of intentions) are demonized as being archaic, illogical and evil. This often repeated assertion assumes that Free-Will is necessarily a good thing – that man is happiest when he is given the freedom to choose, that civilizations with immense freedom are necessarily the ones which are the most productive.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Lets try to deconstruct that for a moment.</p><ul style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 5px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; font-weight: normal; "><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Assertion #1: Main is happiest when he is given the freedom to choose:</p></span></strong>Psychologist Barry Schwartz, in an acclaimed TED Talk [3], takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz's estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied, not clearer but more confused.</li></ul><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><ul style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; list-style-type: square; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 5px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; font-weight: normal; "><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Assertion #2: Civilizations with immense freedom are the most productive:</p></span></strong>It is true that the Soviet Union collapsed spectacularly and this is taken irrefutable evidence of the failure of Communism/Socialism and conclusive evidence in support of Free societies. It is worthwhile noting that the Soviet Union had immense power and influence in the world for almost half a century – its power and influence almost rivalling that of the United States. That its power/influence thrived successfully for four decades is indicative that Socialist societies could indeed be productive and influential. Furthermore, it is also worthwhile noting that the Soviet Union, despite lacking political, economic & religious freedom, made very tangible and significant advances in nuclear technology, space exploration technology and other products and services.</li></ul><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Scientists and biologists have discovered that based on current evidence, it can be concluded that an individual’s sexual orientation is a combination of genetic, hormonal and environmental factors [1][2]. Who is to say that in another decade or so, the scientific community will say the same thing about the tendency of an individual to commit murder or perpetrate violence? This is indeed a scary thought, but it may very well be true – that human beings could possibly be merely biological automatons who live out their lives computing a function (which determines sexual orientation, political beliefs, religious inclinations, compassion/arrogance and other aspects of human behavior), which is encoded not in Binary logic, but the logic of the four nucleotides that constitute the DNA.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">I am not saying that Free-Will is a bad thing or that Democracy should be abolished or that we should return to anarchy/totalitarianism (Don’t worry! I am no Noam Chomsky or Naomi Klein!). But we must seek to constantly introspect, contemplate and question the foundational assumptions behind every important assertion (especially if the assertion is held to be self-evident and forms the moral and epistemological basis for modern civilization). And we must admit that our knowledge of the universe and the origin and nature of life is still in its infancy and that as science and technology progresses, we might find alternative explanation models for existing philosophical and moral conundrums.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Now let us say that Free Will exists and that it is a wonderful and noble thing.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Human beings are not strictly speaking universal turing machines, although we are analogous in some respects – we don’t function in a strictly algorithmic way, that is to say we do not function as per a mechanical procedure. Our lives are filled with uncertainty, decision-making, heuristic evaluation and intuitive assessment of goals, rewards and penalties with a streak of irrationality and emotions thrown into the mix. Every choice that an individual makes is predicated upon an inner (partially innate, partially inherited, partially acquired) complex heuristic function, which tries to comparatively assign priorities and subjectively assess various possible decision-paths in life. This heuristic function is individualized and customized to suit the sensibilities and tastes and preferences of that particular individual, and takes into account religious views (Christian/Jew/Atheist), economic ideology (Capitalism/Socialism), political stance (Conservative/Liberal), moral stance on several issues (Abortion, Death Penalty, Euthanasia), and a plethora of other attributes including perseverance, ambition, resourcefulness, etc. The nature of decision making and heuristic evaluation of decision-paths is thus a subjective process, for which there does not exist an objective numerical rating system. Furthermore, there is no universal de-facto standard composition/configuration of the heuristic function, which applies and scales equally well to all individuals.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">It is precisely because of these reasons that the study of Social & Cognitive Psychology is so important and critical to eventually find the true nature of Free-will, ascertain the degree and semantics of the choice we exercise, figure out the exact neuro-cognitive thought processes that help us making decisions, and finally to possibly extrapolate these results into formulation of effective Government policies. Furthermore, Game Theory (and certain elements from Mathematics & Computer Science) involve the use of heuristic evaluation functions, which try to objectively assess the utilitarian benefits of a particular decision path, with the intention of finding a reasonably optimized (if not perfectly optimal) decision path. By its very definition, a heuristic is NOT an objective evaluation but is a subjective assessment of the utility value of a given configuration in the search-space, and most heuristics are based on a concoction of rational thought, empirical observations, logical deduction and critically human intuition.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Game Theory seeks to understand bargaining, pricing and competition – but it does so with the assumption that people plan ahead and carefully figure out what others will do, which often results in mathematical claims that are highly unrealistic cognitively. An interesting article [4] suggests a theory called “Cognitive Hierarchy Theory”, that a key part of strategizing by predicting the behaviour of other people (or corporations, or countries), involves thinking about <em style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; ">what the others think you will do</em>. One can extend this line of thought to also include the factor of <em style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; ">thinking about what others think you think</em> …. And so on. And as can be clearly seen, the intersection of cognitive/social psychology, game theory and neurological sciences is something that deserves celebration and applause, for it will bring forth many critical insights into several aspects of human behaviour.</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">Finally, as an ending note, I wish to emphasize a point made by Christopher Hitchens about the popular conception of the linkage of Free-Will with Existence of God. The religious dutifully and sincerely believe that Free-Will can only be explained by the existence of God – that He (or She for the feminist-conscious) is the one who grants Man with the capacity of Free-Will and confers upon us the right to choose our own path. But by the very definition of Free Will, if it is granted explicitly by a supreme creator, then it CANNOT be called “Free-Will”. Its like a Database Administrator granting privileges to Database users – the administrator is permitting freedom of access, but has the power to strip away the privileges at any time by a simple SQL command. God (if he exists, which I believe is not the case) too can execute SQL and strip Man of Free-Will – thereby defying the very notion and semantics of the concept “Free-Will”. Who would have thought that the religious unwittingly portray God as a Database Administrator?! .... Lets see if any of you can come up with a metaphor correlating God with Operating Systems, Data Structures, Algorithms or Web Programming! :P</p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "><strong style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><span style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; ">References:</span></strong></p><ol style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 5px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 10px; font-weight: normal; "><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_sexual_orientation">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology_and_sexual_orientation</a></li><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><a href="http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/2002/pierce/gaygene.htm">http://www.bio.davidson.edu/courses/genomics/2002/pierce/gaygene.htm</a></li><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM</a></li><li style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; "><a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090215151809.htm">http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090215151809.htm</a></li></ol><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; "> </p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Also Posted On:<br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">* CS8803 HHH (Spring 2011 Georgia Tech) Class Blog: </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://happyhealthyhome11.wordpress.com/">http://happyhealthyhome11.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/random-musings-on-free-will-game-theory-social-psychology-and-god/</a></span></p><p style="font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; font-weight: normal; ">* Facebook Note: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150176561669006">http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150176561669006</a></span></p></b></span></span>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-65409059575612816712010-07-29T11:44:00.011+05:302010-07-30T13:11:39.245+05:30The Curious Case of Bhimsen Ballaru<div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align: justify;line-height:normal"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "></span></b></p><b><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Note:</span></span></span></span><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> This is my attempt to write a small short-story and develop an interesting character, while providing an interesting subtext. I have tagged people because I would like to especially seek their opinions about this story. All feedback is welcome - positive and negative. Comments about the subtext (towards the end of the story) are even more welcome. :)</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">THE CURIOUS CASE OF BHIMSEN BALLARU</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Bhimsen Ballaru wanted to be everything there is to be. Moreover, he wanted to be perfect in whatever he wished to be - he wished to be the picture of extreme perfection in whatever he wished to be. So if he wanted to be a good Samaritan, he wished to be the epitome, the paragon of a Samaritan. And if he wished to be a delusional psychopath, he wished to be the worst, the most twisted and blood-curdling psychopath on the planet.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">And he WAS everything there was to be. He was a kid and an adult. Juvenile and matured. Tamed and Wild. Introvert & Extrovert. Gregarious & Laconic. Inarticulate & Articulate. Capitalist and Communist. Rightist, Leftist and Centrist. He subscribed to the writings of Ayn Rand and immensely liked the manifestos of Karl Marx. He was a stout follower of Arundhati Roy and Noam Chomsky, while being a firm proponent of George Bush and Milton Freidman. He aggressively supported free-market laissez faire capitalism and was an active member of the Communist Party's politburo. He bowed daily to Lord Ganesh and offered coganuts to Lord Shiva and simultaneously claimed to be a convinced non-believer. He was considered a pious individual among religious masses but consistently maintained his atheistic credentials. His musical tastes spanned every genre, his taste in movies was also broadly universal. He had an exceptional talent to grasp at intangible and abstract theoretical sciences, while also possessing the ability to master a variety of practical skills in lightening speed. He was like an unsatisfiable boolean formula or an unsolvable puzzle. To put it plainly, in set-theoretic terms, he was the cartesian product of his parents and then some more.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">By the time</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> little Ballaru Jr. was born, the Ballaru family could be considered to be posh upper middle-class and no effort was spared to herald the little kid's arrival into this world. Social acquaintances, business partners, relatives from near and far traveled to the increasingly affluent household to bear witness to the kicks and movements of a toddler Bhimsen. He therefore grew up with all the comforts of an affluent well-to-do upper middle class household. His parents spared no effort in educating him and enrolling him into classes of all kinds, because they wanted him to be the model educated youth with bright career prospects.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">He matured into a young man who was socially indifferent, politically confused and philosophically lost. He had a profound sense of existential angst, which try as hard as he may, he found it difficult to shake off. This solidified eventually into an absolute nihilism which brought in its wake a cloak of absolute indifference, which again, he found difficult to shake off. He would show streaks of passion and brilliance, but it would inevitably ebb away into dull ennui and placid indifference. And then again, there would episodic moments of dazzling brilliance – moments, where his mind would get a profound sense of clarity and he would be able to picture for himself, a concrete future and a definitive strategy to attain that future. Being such a contradicted and conflicted individual, he would perennially struggle for social acceptance from his peers, his juniors and seniors – and throughout his life, it remained elusive.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The central theme in his life was chaos - utter and absolute chaos in his mind - evident from the vast range of opinions he expressed on a variety of issues, the large assortment of political, socio-economic and cultural beliefs that he held and by his desire to be everything there was to be. His mind was a jumbled ball of rubber-bands and the intricate inter-connected neural pathways were overloaded by a potent concoction of confusion, contradiction, indifference and chaos. The more he grew up, the more confused he became, the more contradicting was his behavior. With each increasing day, like the second law of thermodynamics, the entropy of his neural pathways was constantly increasing and his brain's machinery became more chaotic. This massively complicated and contradicting personality left him with periodic episodes of unbridled confusion, where he would feel as lost as a lamb without its shepherd, agreeing to everything and agreeing to nothing.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Bhimsen Ballaru often wished that he would be a caped crusader, a master crime-fighting super-hero, who would go around beating criminals to pulp. He felt this way on days when he would feel both an intolerable frustration with the status quo of the world, as well as an intrinsic optimism that he had the capacity to correct the ways of the world. Through his teenage years, this frustration was primarily targeted towards the usual targets - the bad men of the blue collar variety - criminals, gangsters and theives - whose obvious acts of vandalism, violence and subterfuge struck an emotionally frustrating chord with him. As he grew up, he became equally disillusioned by the less violent, far more subtle but equally diabolical and ruthlessly insidious nature of white collar crime - reckless bankers and powerful stock brokers were quickly bundled in the same category with robbers and murderers in his mind's moral hierarchical organization. He wished the world to be rid of these insidious agents of Satan, these reckless morons who, in his opinion, created the ills of the world and thrived on socio-political strife and economic anarchy.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Simultaneously, on dark days with a slightly unhinged disposition, he wished to be a murderous psychopath who prayed for exorcism of his inner demons via impulsive violent rampages. He wished to throw things into walls, into mirrors, into each other - to see those things splinter into a thousand fragments was a cathartic act which would expunge his inner emptiness and give him temporary relief from his mind's recurring schizophrenia. He hardly cared if the victims of his psychopathic rage were deserving of the violent punishment he meted out to them. He was apathetic to the concerned individual's guilt or complicity in violating a moral code simply because, in this state of mind, he didn't care about maintaining a moral code. He would rather allow his rage to manifest indiscriminately among his victims - young or old, rich or poor, guilty or innocent - morality & ethics be damned. Unlike life, where good fortune is the result of biased probabilistic exercises, his targets were the result of a perfect unbiased dice throw, which threw up perfectly random choices.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">And then he sometimes wished the bliss of ignorance from the problems of the world, as also relief from his intrinsic self-destructiveness. He wished to have a functional identity independent of his worldly frustrations, and independent of his intrinsic demons. He wished to exist with a distinctive identity, with a concrete role in society, with a well-defined purpose, and an established routine. He wished to be the most quintessential stereotype of the middle-class regular working man. And like regular folks, he wished to be insular from the problems of the world, oblivious to the death, deceit and exploitation so overwrought in the world. He wished to be the aam aadmi, the commoner who has a family, a job and a quintessential cocooned life.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">On days when he would feel particularly capitalist, he wished to be an ace software programmer for the likes of Microsoft and Apple. He wanted to write software apps for these giants that would take them to the cusp of a new technological and marketing breakthrough. He was conscious of how the stock markets would favorably respond, with bullish optimism and a maddening buying spree, to the news of a new cool I-phone app. In his yuppie, capitalistic avatar, he loved the stock market and loved the brokers even more. For he had a lot of stock in these companies and by the time he was done, the brokers would only be showering love on him.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Then again, on days he would feel militantly communist, he would nurse a strong desire to be a supreme hacker for the Free Software Foundation. He would passionately make a compelling case for open source procedures and would extol the virtues of collaborative development. He would berate those supporting proprietary software, sometimes to the extent of explicitly demonizing them, while belaboring upon the need for the world to openly adopt and embrace the free software paradigm. He idolized Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and the Google guys. At the same time, he offered atheistic paeans in the name of Richard Stallman and bowed daily to a life-size statue of Ernesto "Che" Guevera.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">For every act of good that he did, he (consciously or subconsciously) did an act of evil too. He was, in a metaphorical sense, obeying Newton's third law of motion. Like death, he became the great leveler. He would go out of his way to help people and then plot insidiously to bring down other people. He would go onto heroically rescue people from disasters, and then coldly contemplate his next target on his murderous spree. He would save people from natural calamities and then enforce man-made disasters on an unsuspecting populace. He was both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Snake and serpent.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">It is evident, from the trajectory of his mental and emotional evolution, that Bhimsen developed into a deeply confused and highly conflicted individual. His inner conflict was the inevitable result of a lifelong sense of ambiguity and ambivalence on every issue, on every matter in life. After all, he represented within himself, the entire sum total of all human thought, opinion, action and behavior.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">If only Bhimsen wasn't God and God wasn't Bhimsen .... For through his morbidly complicated, utterly confused and perennially conflicted personality, he mimicked the creator's thought processes at the time of the world's creation/inception. The creator of the world, the Alpha & Omega, must have been as conflicted and as confused as Bhimsen while creating the world, and populating it with such astounding diversity of human thought and contemplation. Through Bhimsen's ambivalence and indecision, we can see how conflicted God must have been. Through his desire to be everything there is to be, we can see the diversity of human contemplation and action that God gave humanity. Bhimsen represents all that is good and all that is bad in God. He represents the common-folk, the caped crusader/vigilante and the murderous psychopath within God. Bhimsen was the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in God.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The astounding range and depth, versatility and diversity of human thought, opinion and behavior is a wonderful gift - one which adds color and depth to life, one which ensures an absence of monotony in life, one which encourages passionate debates and decision via consensus. But at the same time, the same fantastic diversity in human behavior becomes the source for much of the discord and dissonance in the world. Disagreement, discord and the resulting cacophony makes life exceedingly complicated and ensure a profound difficulty in forming consensus and establishing an idyllic and peaceful world. Differing opinions creates divisions in human society and polarizes society on the basis of political, social, religious and other differences. It creates violence and strife, bitterness and spite.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">But if the remarkable diversity of thought & behavior is eliminated altogether, the world would no doubt be the perfect peaceful human abode, but wouldn’t it be that much duller and uninteresting? Life would be perfect, but insipid. It would be at once entirely peaceful but also somehow unsatisfying. Variety and diversity, which ultimately results in chaos and cacophony, is the underlying bedrock of human life and serves as the fabric on which human societies and civilizations thrive and survive.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This fabulous diversity in human culture, political and economic thought, societal customs and individual quirks could only have been the result of a conflicted and flawed maker. Bhimsen evidently represented that flawed creator. The confusion, contradictory ambivalence and the intrinsic conflict that Bhimsen experienced on a daily basis, is what the creator must have experienced regularly, while ruminating on his efforts to create the universe. The creator's intense internal conflict and his ambiguity of thought, served as a foundational basis for the versatility and variety in human cognition and behavior. The creator's ambivalence and ambiguity is directly and potently reflected in His creation.</span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'trebuchet ms';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color:black;"></span>Those of us who have learned to adapt ourselves to this contradictory and complicated world or those who wish such a world, would be thankful for Bhimsen's disposition being representative of the creator. Those of us who are bewildered by the inherent complexity of the world and who wish for simplicity in human life, would ruefully wish that Bhimsen didn't represent the creator's intentions. Whatever it may be, Bhimsen surely was a most interesting creation … It is an entirely ironic matter that, while “God” (his holiness/the creator) gained widespread acceptance via humanity’s collective prayers, Bhimsen wasn’t so fortunate and he continually fought to obtain acceptance, which sadly remained elusive …</span></span></span></p></b><p></p></div>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-82462771208645045812009-06-22T02:00:00.005+05:302013-11-27T15:28:30.945+05:30Part 1: Obama Fly Swat - the Incident<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;"><b>Disclaimer:</b> The following post depicts real incident(s) in a sarcastic & sardonic manner. While some extracts of the post refer to real incident(s), most extracts are fictionalized/parodied accounts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">It was another Tuesday morning at the White House and things were going right on schedule, pretty much as planned - no security breaches or threats, no scandalous disclosures and no shoes being thrown (Ah wait! All these had become non-issues since quite some while ago, ever since the arrival of a charismatic, idealistic, dynamic leader, but I digress). Somewhere deep within the confines of the pristine white monolith, President Obama was being interviewed by a C.N.B.C. anchor-man on various issues ranging from Wall-Street to Health-Reform. Though the President was facing some thorny questions (asked no doubt by an anchor-man whose pay-cheques were regulated directly or indirectly by crony capitalists & Wall Street fatcats), it didn't seem to perturb him much. And then it happened…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">A fly, a rather large one at that, came out of nowhere and launched an audacious assault on the President of the <st1:country-region st="on">United States</st1:country-region>, the executive symbol and the living embodiment of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s power in the world. The Secret Service, an institution much glamorized in the country's films & media, portrayed always as adroit at presidential logistics & adept at presidential security, but whose track-record in the real-world contradictorily enough, hasn't been failure-proof (which is no doubt publicly attributed to "nefarious designs of tyrannical men"), stood paralyzed not out of fear but out of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_Awe">shock and awe</a>", notwithstanding their alleged superior neurological & cognitive abilities, supposed split-reaction-times and an abundant supply of technological gizmos.</span><span style="font-size: 85%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 85%;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">As they watched awe-struck as mute spectators, the President himself seemed to be mildly amused at this half-hearted attempt that the minuscule fly made. He did admit that the fly perturbed him - apparently much more than some of the gravest issues facing the planet. He even verbally articulated his displeasure, instructing the assaulting fly to "get outta here", (which some opined also doubled up as a battle-cry), while simultaneously waving his hand in intimidation & defense. The C.N.B.C. crew in the meanwhile gleefully captured an audio-video feed of this inter-species combat that would no doubt hit America's air-waves as a contentious issue for pundits/analysts to belabor upon and also find a lot of takers in educational documentaries of how two different species with radically different sizes battle for the attention of the community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">Ideally, at this stage, several secret service agents , after having whispered complicated permutations & combination of laborious abbreviations (representing situational protocols & heuristic behavioral algorithms) to each other over super-encrypted secure digital channels, should have formed an ad-hoc tactical-response unit, moving in formation towards the President (source: Hollywood). It was assured (by <st1:place st="on">Hollywood</st1:place> portrayals) that the end result would be a bloody execution of the assailant (in S.S. euphemistic parlance, "swift neutralization") while simultaneously securing the safety of the President. Alas, this failed to happen.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">As the President was fighting a lone battle against the fly, the C.N.B.C. anchor-man opined rather intellectually that the fly was indeed one of the most persistent ones he had seen - there was a tacit admiration in his voice & an implicit suggestion that the fly possessed perseverance and fortitude - qualities that all Americans (and the World) need to emulate. The fierce battle had gathered enthralled spectators from amongst the C.N.B.C. crew, all of them egging on the President to go for the kill by chanting jingoistic slogans and juvenile cheers. After a prolonged arm-wrestling battle, the fly decided a time-out was in order. The President too was relieved that he wouldn't have to continue to keep up with this macho charade and tried to resume bilateral talks with C.N.B.C. Little did he realize that in the short time-span of a fly's life-cycle, a second was more than sufficient to rejuvenate for the next round of the fight. For in a second, the fly dramatically landed on the President's left-hand, as if to offer a hand of friendship announcing peace & reconciliation, all the while looking insidiously for a sign of complacency in the opponents demeanor, a sign of his opponent letting down his guards. President Obama saw through the fly's flimsy farce and decided to end the confrontation once and for all.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">With measured movements, he raised his right-hand in a position that quite resembled the one he had used to take his oath. For a fleeting moment, it appeared that the President, apparently rendered insecure by a desperate opposition (with an odd-sounding moniker 'GOP') wanted no stone unturned or no oath un-uttered, and so not convinced about having taken oath twice under two independent/competent authorities, he had decided to re-take the oath to be apparently administered by the assailant-fly. But as he brought down his right hand in one continuous sweeping motion, it became clear, both from the angular velocity and the directional trajectory of the President's right-arm, that this was no proud oath-taking moment, but a hostile action whose intended consequence was the immediate termination of the said assailant. With one swift motion, the long-fought truculent battle was over - the preceding seconds of tension, mistrust, war and misery eclipsed by the sweet taste of a just victory. The victor brushed off the vanquished and saw it succumb to the force of gravity, only to be later swept by the victor's long wispy legs. The President seemed content with himself, having just realized the patriotic symbolism of the moment, also deciding to parade his kill for the cameras. He invoked a profound existential rhetorical question: "That was impressive, wasn't it?", following it up with a vehement articulation of victory: "I got the sucker".</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">The President then continued to discuss policy issues (non-interesting matters) with C.N.B.C. in his trademark composure and suave sophistication, quite as if to deny the occurrence of the epic battle that had unfolded a few seconds ago. As the interview concluded, the President, perhaps out of a mark of respect for the dead or admiration for the persistent assailant or esoteric curiosity (or simply perhaps out of a strict adherence to the <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Geneva</st1:place></st1:city> conventions), decided to give the assailant-fly a dignified disposal. President Obama undertook a presidential parade in somber remembrance of the slain assailant, carrying the tender, lifeless body of the beast wrapped in tissue in his own bare hands. In doing this, he proved once again very visibly, that he is the humane warrior - providing a dexterous, pain-free execution to those who cross him needlessly while also ensuring dignified treatment in the immediate aftermath of these spars.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 85%;">The President, unbeknownst to him, has seemed to kick off a storming pot of controversies on everything from Foreign Policy to Economic Policy to controversial domestic issues to backburner animal-rights issues. It has gotten everyone worked up – right from an (in)famous dead-pan comedy-show host to a yesteryear actor (who incidentally played a fly) to tyrannous dictators and evil men wearing pirate eye-patches. The impact of the actions that the President undertook during his <b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind">armed encounters of the fly kind</a></i></b>, shall no doubt shape public policy for years, if not decades to come. This shall be the subject of an investigative report (read: conspiracy theory/burning satire) put out by our hard-working reporters to be tabled very soon (as soon as we are able to concoct more lies and/or sensationalize trivialities for public dissemination) and you can then make an independent (but moronic & entirely misinformed) decision about whether the President has opened the Pandora’s Box.</span><span style="font-size: 78%;"><span style="font-size: 85%;"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">
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<span style="font-size: 130%;"><b><span style="font-family: Verdana;">LINKS & REFERENCES:</span></b></span></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/16/obama-crushes-pesky-fly-o_n_216453.html">Obama Fly - HuffPo Link 1</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_Awe">SHOCK & AWE @ Wikipedia</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Close_Encounters_of_the_Third_Kind">Close Encounters of the Third Kind @ Wikipedia</a></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 78%;"><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/06/colbert-report-jeff-goldblum-obama-fly.html">Infamous Comedy Host & Yesteryear Actor</a></span></li>
</ul>
Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-47121935969289499472008-12-12T02:00:00.003+05:302008-12-12T02:16:32.144+05:3026.11.2008: Introduction & Media's Role<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CARIYER%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} @font-face {font-family:"Trebuchet MS"; panose-1:2 11 6 3 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Verdana; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:536871559 0 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:67966427; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:1321391890 -1918856242 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l1 {mso-list-id:860165398; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:1311291364 -1918856242 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l1:level1 {mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} @list l2 {mso-list-id:1888491291; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:535474798 67698693 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l2:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l3 {mso-list-id:2024817484; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-223432736 67698693 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l3:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:.5in; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Wingdings;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><u><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana;">NOTE: This post lays the introduction and presents PART ONE of a multi-part post.</span></u></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><b style=""><u><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana;"><o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><u><span style="font-size: 8pt; font-family: Verdana;">WARNING: Long, Long post! Apologies for the length! Please be patient and read! I am sure it will be worth your while.<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>We all know what happened on 26 November, 2008. Each one of us saw the grisly images, the horrendous testimony of people who survived, the horrific story of victims and their families, the tragic heroism of a few brave foot-soldiers of our police and armed forces. And each one of us, I am sure, shall never forget this day. Ever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>To reiterate the facts again, armed gunmen with AK47’s and grenades, opened indiscriminate fire at innocent people across several parts of <st1:place st="on">South Mumbai</st1:place>. Among the attack sites were a very popular café (Leopold Café), frequented by foreign tourists and Mumbai’s upper classes, the monolith heritage structure of C.S.T. and two landmark five-star hotels – The Oberoi and The Taj, both monuments to a resurgent, confident India and the site of many a high profile business deals. A small Jewish community centre ‘Chabad House’ (locally referred to as ‘Nariman House’), run by Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-orthodox Hasidic sect of Judaism, was also made a target by the terrorists, who killed a young Rabbi and his wife among many others. For three days, they laid siege to the two hotels and the Jewish center and managed to uproot any traces of confidence that Mumbai had in its Govt. institutions. For almost 72 hours, they managed to terrorize a city to the core, a city otherwise known for its resilience and also infamously for its numbness to such shocking incidents. It began dramatically, resulting in a bloodbath in <st1:place st="on">South Mumbai</st1:place>, and total terror throughout the city, and indeed the nation. When it all ended (which was ironically not at all dramatic), over 190 people had died, a majority of them Indians, with a sizeable number of foreigners of varied nationalities. The incident shook the city’s complacent feeling of self-contentment and false sense of security, apart from shaking confidence in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s image as a tourist-friendly and investment-worthy nation. It also undermined <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">India</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s increasingly vocal assertions at the global stage as an emerging super-power, by exposing the evident inadequacy of security and Govt. infrastructure to tackle such calamities.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>As it unfolded, the tragedy gained a level of non-stop reporting and endless critique by political and defense analysts, unprecedented in Indian Media history! Every news channel justifiably covered the story 24*7 for three consecutive days and beyond. I do not doubt that the situation merited such an exhaustive coverage - it was after all an audacious attack, meticulously planned and executed with chilling perfection. However, what I object to is the manner in which the media covered it. Many aspects of most of the NEWS reporting I saw were fundamentally flawed, dangerously jingoistic and indeed subtly (yet noticeably) biased towards the voice/opinion of the richer classes. Watching these endless news broadcasts along with judiciously reading detailed analysis/editorials and opinion pieces in a leading newspaper (Times of India) along with following it up on several web-blogs and online newspapers (Huffington Post, Indian Express, GreatBong, Hindu, Hindustan Times, etc.), I couldn't help but formulate my own views on the entire tragedy on several fronts - what went wrong, who were responsible, how to deal with the perpetrators, how to respond to Pakistan's seeming complicity in this regard, the media's coverage, the various analysts and their enlightened opinions, the Page 3 socialites who turned crusaders overnight, etc. Below, I list down my own critique of the tragedy, its representation in NEWS media, and what we ought to be doing about it (all my personal opinions of course, which anyone who disagrees is entitled not to follow!)</span><b style=""><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">
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<br /></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">PART ONE: THE MEDIA<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Some may argue that given the situation, the media performed well, doing a commendable job and performing the crucial public service of fact-dissemination. But as it turns out, the media is justifiably receiving a lot of flak for its voyeuristic approach to the tragedy and for its propensity to propagate <i style="">"unsubstantiated facts”</i> or <i style="">“unconfirmed reports"</i> (heavy euphemism for a rumor). There are, broadly speaking, three main aspects of all media reporting on the tragic attacks (especially T.V. news), which I found deeply disturbing and even unsettling.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The most striking among these is the media's complete disregard for factual accuracy & ignorance of its own self-regulated protocols of fact-checking (which in retrospect have proved to be meager, if not non-existent, and totally un-enforced), which lead to much unnecessary panic and chaos. The immediate announcement by most news channels of "breaking news" of "unconfirmed reports" or "reliable sources" suggesting some sinister shooting/bombing, without even bothering to check its veracity and authenticity, lead to much tension in a city already over the edge. Some incidents noteworthy in this respect were:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">CNN IBN's CST gaffe </span><b style=""><sup><span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">[1][2]</span></sup></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> - Rajdeep Sardesai's premature announcement of fresh shooting at C.S.T., as a result of his hyperventilated enthusiasm to be the source of the sensational breaking news (to the point that he forgot the most basic tenet of journalism – fact checking), and his subsequent flushed apologies. Unfortunately, the damage had been done. Droves of train-travellers and city-dwellers were in varying degrees of cardiac arrest (courtesy: panic and chaos) and the city was thrown out of gear. Ironically, in his misplaced enthusiasm, he epitomized the tagline of IBN: "Whatever It Takes!” Whatever it takes indeed!<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Constantly conflicting reports on NDTV, Headlines Today, CNN IBN, Times Now, etc. regarding number and status of terrorists at the attack-sites (in particular Taj, where so many volte-face were made that I have lost count!). At one point, Javed Jaffrey being interviewed by Barkha Dutt was informed by her that a conversation with NSG chief revealed that one terrorist was still alive at Taj, even though all media reports at the time were to the contrary. Within seconds, Jaffrey was interviewed by reporter from another rival channel and was being vehemently confronted by the adamant reporter who insisted that terrorists at Taj were completely neutralized (the reporter and the channel reverted to the “<i style="">one terrorist alive”</i> version within a couple of hours).</span></li></ul>
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<br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>A second appalling aspect of the media coverage was the complete disregard for the sensitivity and confidentiality of information concerning counter-terror operations. I concede that the media is supposed to be the conveyor of all information pertinent and relevant to the general public. I also agree that the media’s mandate empowers it to poke its nose, scratch the surface and explore the unexplored. But there must be some sense of discretion and discernment to differentiate information that can be broadcasted without having a feedback to the way events are likely to unfold, from information whose dissemination might influence the outcome of the concerned event. Put simply, the media has to exercise appropriate self-regulated censorship to ensure that information (which may or may not be relevant) that compromises the operations of security forces and neutralizes their advantage vis-à-vis terrorists, is never let out either intentionally or otherwise. However, caution was clearly thrown out of the window by a news-hungry, breaking-news-eager media, which did the exact opposite. All kinds of information regarding positioning of armed forces in the vicinity of the scene of CTU operations were beamed across T.V. sets, along with detailed descriptions and candid visuals of the relative location of security forces, firepower, deployment strengths, etc. All this undoubtedly gave away strategic advantage and the crucial "element of surprise" that the CTU teams needed to ensure decisive victory over the terrorists. It can be argued that this only prolonged an already long-drawn battle and may have unintentionally aided the loss of NSG forces. Repeated warnings and fervent requests by police authorities for the media to keep a low profile went completely unheeded. Finally, when the exasperated authorities decided to request cable operators to switch off news feeds to their customers as a last resort, the decision was ruthlessly derided by most media channels. The extent of the self-serving and narcissistic nature of Indian T.V. news media is best illustrated by the completely misplaced hyper-accentuated sense of self-righteousness indignation of an irate Arnab Goswami of Times Now, who called the cable black-out unacceptable and a black moment in the history of the country’s democracy (or something to that effect – I have forgotten the exact words and tried searching exhaustively for it on the Internet in vain. My version may be a little exaggerated, but rest assured Arnab’s actual pearls of wisdom were something equally ridiculous and pompous!). Apparently, Mr. Goswami felt that the day was black and sad not just because terrorists were killing innocent people, but more so because the Govt. was taking draconian actions to muzzle, what he most likely contended was a <i style="">‘daring’</i> media (notwithstanding the media’s general excesses in context of the tragedy) Mr. Goswami, I cannot tell you how conceited and indeed strangely amusing you sounded when you spoke those words! (However, one has to give some credit to both Mr. Goswami and Times Now for being the more restrained of most T.V. channels </span><b style=""><sup><span style="background: yellow none repeat scroll 0% 0%; font-size: 8pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;">[3]</span></sup></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">. That however, does not exculpate them from justified criticism generic enough to be directed at the general media.) RIP cool-headed, factual reporting with a premium on objectivity and neutrality. Welcome self-obsessed, super-touchy, hyper-enthusiastic and supremely voyeuristic reporting.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The third criticism I have of the media coverage was the utter disregard for basic etiquette and code of behavior. When greeting a decorated officer of the Indian Armed Forces, one would expect a basic sense of discipline and decorum. However, the media behaved anything but civil. There seemed to be constant rioting and jostling among media-persons at the attack sites, each bout of frenzy triggered by the arrival of yet another high-voltage politician/dignitary, high-wattage celebrity or distinguished serviceman of the armed forces. Some points to be highlighted in this regard were:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Persistent harassment of freed and traumatized hostages (idiotic questions including the likes of <i style="">“aap kaise feel kar rahe hain?”</i> or <i style="">“dead bodies ko dekhkar aapko kaisa laga?”</i> or <i style="">“Were you scared?”</i>. These questions subjected relieved hostages to more trauma and irritation, compounding their pain instead of relieving it.)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Insane jostling to get sound-bytes from anyone and everyone (especially the pandemonium the media-persons created near The Oberoi, when the NSG chief was completely mobbed by super-eager anchors & cut-throat cameramen, who were shoving and swearing to try to get a good shot. This kind of behavior is unacceptable in the face of such a situation and when addressing a distinguished member of the Armed forces. It is unbecoming of an otherwise aware media.)</span></li></ul>
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<br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>My fourth and final grouse against the media was their steady and subtle leaning towards the views and opinions of celebrities, page 3 socialites and the insecure elite. Throughout the coverage, The Taj and The Oberoi were in constant spotlight (to the point of being completely overdone), while the massacre at C.S.T. went terribly under-reported. It was as if the mayhem at C.S.T. was too unglamorous to the media, as compared to the juicy stories of the elite of Mumbai facing a terrifying ordeal and the prospect of a grisly end. Part of this bias in coverage may be attributed to the fact that these hotels are recognizable landmarks (The Taj, especially is an iconic heritage structure) and the siege there continued over multiple days and nights, in contrast to C.S.T.’s ultra-quick massacre, which was over in a few minutes. However, this still doesn’t completely & satisfactorily account for the clear bias in reporting towards the Taj & the Oberoi. As the coverage progressed, we witnessed the media chasing celebrity after celebrity (or mebbe it was the other way around). Even after the tragedy came to a bloody conclusion, we saw the media favoring to air celebrity opinions more prominently (with greater air-time on prime-time slots), as compared to views expressed by ordinary citizens. Some within the media introspected on this bias and mused whether such a huge outpouring of public anger would have emanated, had the tragedy occurred in say public transportation systems. Most such introspections concluded: probably not. I, for one, believe that the media demonstrated a systemic bias in stoking public rage more prominently in response to this attack, than say as compared to previous ones. This was done in conjunction with the city’s elite, whose sudden consternation was primarily a result of their incredulity at being made targets. [More on this theme in a subsequent PART that deals with the reaction of the elite classes and the way in which they perhaps hogged the limelight.]<o:p></o:p>
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<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Other long-time, familiar deficiencies surfaced again. This included no sense of respect for the bodies of the victims and the forensic sanctity of the attack-sites, a complete lack of empathy for grieving relatives whose wailing requests for a few somber moments of privacy were unheeded by an intrusive media, among other complaints. One last thing that came to my mind was the bastardization of the name of the tragedy (<i style="">“26/11”</i> or <i style="">“<st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s 9/11”</i>) to a style more suited to the Americans, etc. The media chose to portray this in context of <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">America</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s 9/11 and while the comparison was justified in essence, it somehow lacked conviction and gave the appearance of defining this tragedy in a manner digestible to international audiences. This to me came across as being somehow contrived.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p>While there were glaring inconsistencies in tens of versions of the same story across various news channels, while there were gross neglect of some foundational principles of journalism, one can’t deny that the media proved to be quite effective in capturing the tragedy in all its horror. It somehow rather morbidly provided the intricate details of the macabre attacks and the carnage that ensued. The entire way in which it was presented may have been tasteless, but it proved to be instrumental in evoking a very strong public outcry on the basis of its own grotesque content.<o:p>
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<br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">References:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://mumbai2611.rediffiland.com/blogs/2008/12/08/Shobha-De-to-the-rescue-1.html">Shoba De to the rescue of T.V. NEWS Channels: Rediff Blogs</a><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1210101">Rumors cause panic, prompt channel black-out: DNA Mumbai</a><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://www.groundreport.com/World/Mumbai-attack-Terrorism-in-the-digital-age">Mumbai Attacks Show Terrorism in the Digital Age: GROUNDREPORT.COM</a><o:p>
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<br /><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><o:p style="font-weight: bold;"></o:p><span style="font-weight: bold;">Other Blog-posts on Media’s Handling of 26/11:</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <ol style="margin-top: 0in;" start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"><a href="http://calamur.org/gargi/2008/12/07/week-1-post-2611-quo-vadis-news-media/">Week 1 - Post 26/11 - Quo Vadis News Media ?: CALAMUR.org</a> [Follow all the other links listed at the end of this blog-post] <o:p></o:p></span></li></ol> Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-71322477599255472962008-10-22T20:14:00.011+05:302008-10-22T22:27:07.815+05:30'We got the whole moon in our hands!' :P :D<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SP9bNdfjQrI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/O-x93Iyhauo/s1600-h/Chandrayaan-I_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SP9bNdfjQrI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/O-x93Iyhauo/s320/Chandrayaan-I_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260023176605418162" border="0" /></a><br />India's Technological Marvel!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br />This shall no doubt join the group of thousands of other blog-posts written by a sea of avid Indian bloggers, who have much reason to feel pride and a sense of achievement. Even though, I risk re-iterating what you must have no doubt gleaned via mainstream news media, I feel the simple urge to express my feelings on the issue, especially since I feel some ambivalence at this achievement and concern on its fiscal prudence given a country with a dichotomous social fabric.<br /><br />No doubt, this is a historic day in this country's voyage to not only the stars, but also to a state of technological supremacy and global power. With this successful launch, India sends out a rousing message to the world, announcing (in fact asserting) its intention to be no more seen by that misinformed & jaundiced western periscope, which branded it as the 'land of the snake charmers'. That perception has been consistently proved wrong with India's booming economy and its advancements in the technological spheres of I.T., aeronautics and aerospace. But whatever residues persisted have been completely expunged today at 6.22 a.m., the moment the 320 tonne <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Satellite_Launch_Vehicle">PSLV-C11</a> carrying the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandrayaan">'Chandrayaan-I'</a> lifted off with a thunderous boom from the <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satish_Dhawan_Space_Centre">Satish Dhavan Space Centre (SDSC)</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sriharikota">Sriharikota</a></span>. Over the course of the next 15 days, it shall encounter the moon, when its special moon impact probe would impact itself on moon's surface. In doing so, it shall provide a plethora of information on various geographic and chemical aspects of moon and its surface, which scientists say shall prove invaluable to both future moon missions, as well as on research for life on moon.<br /><br />Already the congratulations are pouring in - The United States Ambassador to India, The <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency">European Space Agency (E.S.A.)</a> all applauded India for both the cost-effectiveness of the mission (the previous Chinese & Japanese missions were relatively far more expensive) as well as for its technological drive and willingness to collaborate and share both technology and technical know-how with the world. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency"><span style="font-weight: bold;">E.S.A.</span></a> was especially vocal in its admiration, calling India "an ever increasing space power".<br /><br />Thus, it is indeed a moment of intense national pride for every Indian citizen in the world. This signals India's willingness to be audacious in its vision and dexterity in executing it. It is a larger indicator of India's bullish brazenness on everything from industry to technology. It is also a fantastic sign that India can effectively participate in an international framework, not preferring to sit on the sidelines as it did on numerous ocassions in the past, but to seize the moment and take initiatives. The success of this project - which saw participation of scientists and technocrats from <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N.A.S.A.">N.A.S.A.</a> & <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Space_Agency">E.S.A.</a> among others, as also a firm politico-technological framework spun across the world - indicates of India's increasing alacrity at projects of trans-continental impact and global significance. It also in many ways is a sure sign of how red-tape and bureaucracy are slowly but surely being superseded by well-educated and influential technocrats in various arms of both conventional government and government agencies like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISRO">I.S.R.O.</a> It is this new crop of technocrats along with old stalwarts like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Madhavan_Nair"><b>G. Madhavan Nair</b></a>, whom we owe this visionary success to. Already, there is a talk of future missions, among which a grand plan to send an Indian to set foot on the moon's pristine white surface!<br /><br />Thus, as we are seemingly standing on the cusp of a technological make-over (and possibly an eventual take-over :P), one would have the tendency to wonder: "Now nothing can go wrong! India has arrived!". However, is that going to be the case? Clearly, we have astronomical levels of abject poverty in this country and this does not bode well for the social and political stability of the nation. It is estimated that a record number of the educated unemployed are post-graduates. Clearly, something is terribly amiss here. While I don't seek to be the killjoy, trying to predict a doomsday situation, I certainly feel that some objectivity should be maintained.<br /><br />Now in a country of teeming billions and umpteen problems (rising inflation, absolute poverty for the majority, extreme wealth inequality, etc. to name a few), is it fiscally prudent to spend a significant amount of financial resources into an endeavor, which while it brings pride and prestige, is probably more an exercise in showmanship than a commensurate return on investments? Simply put, when the U.S., Europe and China are already onto it, why duplicate their efforts into similar projects? While it is true that this project, its predecessors and successors have proved quite invaluable to providing a space-swarjya (space self-independence), we must not try to overdo it by excessive spending on grandiose projects, which are more an ostentatious display of our newfound (and may I say quite misplaced) ego than a true scientific excursion.<br /><br />But let me not spoil the merry mood with my serious talk and calls for introspection. Let us Indians indulge ourselves a little more on this magnificient success and bask in its glory. The hard-working, underpaid scientists at I.S.R.O. (and other ancilliary govt. agencies) deserve to be applauded and admired. They deserve every bit of adulation and slavish attention that they are getting from the Indian media and the Indian people. We owe them that much! However when the dust settles down, we must not forget them! We must seek to motivate such scientists by providing better financial emouluments and a better scientific framework in which they can exercise their creativity and embark on technological innovation.<br /><br />But when the time eventually comes, we must have an iota of humility at the insignificance of these grandiose achievements to the millions of people, who lead desperate and abject lives in absolute poverty and no job security. And we must seek to improve their lot, so that in the future, such a moment shall be cherished by a majority of India's citizens, instead of a small, financially stable minority.<br /><br /><br />PS: For those who didn't understand, the title of the post is a reference to the late 50's spiritual song <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He%27s_Got_the_Whole_World_in_His_Hands">'He's Got the Whole World in His Hands!'</a><br /><br /><br />N.E.W.S. Links:<br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081022/1241/top-after-karwa-chauth.html">'After Karva Chauth' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081022/982/tsc-a-perfect-13th-successful-launch-for.html">'A Perfect 13th successful launch for P.S.L.V.' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081022/982/tsc-with-perfect-launch-chandrayaan-head.html">'With perfect launch, Chandrayaan heads for Moon' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081022/804/tnl-chandrayaan-i-successfully-put-into_1.html">'Chandrayaan-I successfully put into earth's orbit' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081022/812/tnl-us-lauds-india-s-moon-mission_1.html">'U.S. lauds India's moon mission' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/43/20081022/982/tsc-president-prime-minister-congratulat_1.html">'President, P.M. congratulate Indian scientists on launch' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a><br /><a href="http://in.news.yahoo.com/photos/slideshow/moon-mission-launched.html">'Chandrayaan-I Picture Slideshow' @ Yahoo! NEWS</a>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-51115889767082212322008-09-04T00:06:00.008+05:302008-09-23T16:50:00.325+05:30Wanted: Stylish No-brainer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SNjO7-MLsKI/AAAAAAAAAEI/c4-QuktKNrE/s1600-h/Wanted_film_poster.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SNjO7-MLsKI/AAAAAAAAAEI/c4-QuktKNrE/s320/Wanted_film_poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5249172895402012834" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />Rating: 2.5/5.0<br /></div><br /><br />To say that '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_%28film%29">Wanted</a>' is devoid of a meaningful, coherent script would be an under-statement. To say, however, that 'Wanted' is devoid of fun and style would be inaccurate and unjust. The movie is indeed a no-brainer and takes such fantastic and bizarre liberties and an overtly fertile imagination of the script-writers, that it rattles the mind. However, while the absence of any real, plausible plot is a cause for irritation, the stylized action sequences along with the imperturbable chutpaz of its lead characters (played by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McAvoy">McAvoy</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jolie">Jolie</a>) lends a certain cool charm to it and manages to convert, what would have been an otherwise flimsy and frivolous misnomer, into a darkly amusing and very stylish film.<br /><br /><br />As mentioned earlier, the plot is indeed frivolous and nearly non-existent, but the gist of it deals with the transformation of a tractable, docile young man 'Wesley Gibson' (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_McAvoy">James McAvoy</a>) with a staid, stolid life into a raging bull, a skilled marksman and a willing killer.<br /><br />Plot Summary: Wesley Gibson is the quintessential average modern-day employee at a huge accounting firm. His daily routine is both monotonous and boring and he has little to look forward to in his life - with a non-existing family, a disastrous love-life and an impecunious existence. He has to silently bear the torments of his menacing office boss (quite the bitch), as well as by the braggadocio of a colleague. He also suffers from acute anxiety and panic attacks, by virtue of which he loses his cool at the most minor of perturbances. His chance encounter with a mysterious woman named only as "Fox" (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jolie">Angelina Jolie</a>) leads him down a path that includes oodles of kick-ass action and some insane killing-gore that de-sensitizes him and leaves him completely detached from his previous docile life. As it turns out, Fox is working for a secret society of assasins that seems to have been existing for thousands of years. Fox rescues him from a hitman 'Cross' and takes Gibson to the clan's citadel - a textile mill, where Gibson has an encounter with Sloan (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Freeman">Morgan Freeman</a>), the leader of the clan. Sloan informs Gibson that his father, an elite member of the assasin squad died on an operation and that it is his duty and fate to avenge him. This leads him to undertake intensive training that involves severe violence and physical training. He discovers that his anxiety attacks are actually a unique ability to pump astronomical levels of adrenaline into his system, that leaves him with insanely high percerptibility and dexterity. At the end of it emerges a man who just faintly resembles his past in appearance, but whose character has now undergone a kick-ass transformation.<br /><br />The effectiveness of the movie lies in its ability to create stunning action sequences and the coolness of its central characters. The movie succeeds in creating a glamorized, stylistic world that the previously docile Gibson can play around in. In this sense, it seeks to give us, the audience, an impossible world in which we are coolness personified. We secretly root for and admire Mr. Gibson, as we watch his transformation and we secretly aspire for the debonair style of the film's setting. Thus, the movie creates a bond with the audience, that we are able to relate to. However, where the movie begins to falter is its willingness to take itself seriously.<br /><br />Wanted, tries in many ways to be a debonair version of Fight Club and it fails miserably. While we are amused and entertained by the antics of the newly empowered 'assassin' Mr. Gibson, we are also irritated by the narcissistic nature of the secret group of assassins. The movie falls into a self-created chasm of narcissism by trying to pass itself off as a serious piece of drama, where critical decisions must be made. Movies such as these, known for its macabre and fantastic content, often shock and please us, but never do they allow self-indulgence. This movie's plot isn't half as allegorical/metaphorical as say a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fight_club_film">Fight Club</a>" or a "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulp_Fiction">Pulp Fiction</a>", yet it tries hard to be considered as a serious film. And alas, it fails miserably. The later half of the movie constitutes this feeble and pointless attempt at trying to masquerade as some of the classic noir dramas.<br /><br />The movie does redeem itself by its last scene, which is again as tongue-in-cheek and unapologetically brutal as most of the movie. Overall, the movie is definitely worth a watch at the theatres, if only to badly yearn for a more interesting and eventful life, quite like the new Mr. Gibson. Like Mr. Gibson says: "What the f*** have you done lately?"<br /><br /><br />Wanted Links:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_%28film%29">Wanted @ Wikipedia</a><br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493464/">Wanted @ IMDB</a><br /><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/wanted/">Wanted @ Rotten Tomatoes</a><br /><a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=wanted.htm">Wanted @ Box Office Mojo</a>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-57592228185713849102008-07-20T20:15:00.006+05:302008-07-20T20:27:08.378+05:30"The Dark Knight" is a shining and moving piece of cinema!<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><b><span style="font-size: 18pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The Dark Knight - The Review</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SINRs16V5fI/AAAAAAAAADM/6MQ2dpiMIqk/s1600-h/Dark_Knight.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SINRs16V5fI/AAAAAAAAADM/6MQ2dpiMIqk/s320/Dark_Knight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5225109823507785202" border="0" /></a><br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Rating: 4.5/5 – Simply Superlative<br /><br /></span></b><div style="text-align: left;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Note: Apologies for the lengthy review – this movie is too phenomenal for a small, mundane review. It simply deserves a thorough dissertation to do justice to it. Please be patient and persevere through the review – I assure you that your time will be worth it! ;)<br /> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br /> <!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Let me begin by saying that what I expected to see was another super-hero movie with a clichéd storyline containing all the usual elements – the good vs. evil thread, the proverbial love-interest in distress, the megalomaniac who turns evil with excessive power, the humble common-man who rises above the mundane to become the hero, etc. All done and redone rather thoroughly by a dozen film-makers in twice as many films in the past decade itself. In short, I expected to see the quintessential masala super-hero movie with oodles of feel-good patriotism and boisterous bravado, none of which I thought would justify the 200 bucks I spent on the ticket. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">What I saw instead was a gravely serious and supremely grim tale of a city going through dark times – besieged by violent crime and corruption – which is further exacerbated by a maniacal madman whose primary objective is the spread of absolute anarchy. What I saw was a movie which transcended the level of all other super-hero movies by providing not only a scintillating visual spectacle, but more importantly also a character driven analysis and a deep psychological treatise on the best and the worst amongst us and the factors that motivate us to be either supremely good or maniacally bad. And let me say that it was worth the 200 bucks!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Plot-Summary: The story begins with a violent bank robbery orchestrated by a masked man who calls himself the “Joker”, (played previously by the legendary Jack Nicholson, who pales in comparison to the portrayal here by the Late Heath Ledger). We are given an indication of his ruthlessness and his anarchist methods, when he double-crosses his accomplices, killing them mercilessly and takes all the loot away. Right away, we know that this is a man who has a very black heart and whose mind leans towards the maniacal. Then, we are introduced to members of “The Mob”, whose wings have been clipped by Batman’s heroics (Batman being played by Christian Bale). The Mob’s operations are shut-down and its members indicted by the legal acumen of Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the newly appointed crime-intolerant District Attorney (D.A.), with the help of a beautiful assistant Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal). “The Mob” have an interest in seeing Batman dead/disbanded. The Joker suggests that in return for half their financial assets, he neutralizes Batman, to which the Mob reluctantly complies. The rest of the movie chronicles the war (and its many casualties) between The Batman and the D.A. Harvey Dent on one side and the Joker on the other. As the war progresses, we see the balance constantly tilt in favour of the evil, helping to maintain the tension and the overpowering sense of gloom that serves as a harbinger of a dark future. We witness the transformation of good men, by circumstance and tragedy, into evil beings, consumed by the blind-anger of revenge.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">One question that may come up in your mind – “So What?! This doesn’t seem new at all.” I beg to differ – it might not be completely “new” and it is very much the story of good vs. evil at its core. But, it is the manner the story unfolds that leaves you spellbound and deeply unsettled and disturbed. Beyond the evident storyline is a careful examination of the psychological and moral conundrum that Batman and Harvey Dent face as they go about dealing with crime in the city. Harvey Dent is the kind of hero that Gotham City deserves – fighting crime with legal recourse, but the vigilante Batman is the one that it needs currently. The Batman feels that Dent’s methodologies are indeed more suitable for a civilized society, but is forced to don the mantle of an outlawed vigilante. Both of these men face tough choices when they are confronted by an evil madman who is not motivated by money or self-advancement, but by the pure black desire for absolute chaos. The Joker threatens the city with increasing violence as a bait for Batman to reveal his true identity. This is when the troubling conundrum comes up – should Batman give himself up to prevent bloodshed and cause a moral victory for the anarchist ideology or should he risk bloodshed in order to subdue the Joker?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">On the performances/casting front: Christian Bale as the Batman/Bruce Wayne manages to switch rather effortlessly in the two personas – being the persistent but placid Batman, while also being the flamboyant millionaire. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent, the crime-tough D.A. gives a moving performance as a good, earnest man who when befallen by tragedy, transforms into an extremely violent vigilante. Gary Oldman plays Commissioner Gordon with all the marks/nuances of a seasoned top policeman. Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Rachel Dawes as a mixture of toughness and tenderness – portraying her confusion of feelings towards two great men (Bruce and Harvey) who play a central figure in her daily life. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">But the one that beats ‘em all, is the portrayal of the Joker by the Late Heath Ledger, whose performance is stellar and superlative. It is not everyday that one gets to experience evil in its purest form. Throughout the movie, I found myself spell-bound by this Joker, grudgingly admiring his capacity to transcend mundane criminals into the stratosphere of evil. I couldn’t help finding him more humanistic and dynamic than the “good” but rather rigid Batman, whom I found rather placid. This ambivalence of feelings is a testament of Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker – Ledger manages to make a character whom you should despise into a character whom you are mildly amused with and whom you begin to even unintentionally admire! His is truly a spine-chilling performance that just sustains the movie with constant climatic tension throughout.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">At 2hours 45mins, this movie is indeed unusually long for hollywood’s standards, but never did it feel long. There was never a dull moment in the movie and the screenplay kept things tight and ensured plenty of action. The direction and cinematography is spot on, managing to capture a range of emotions on different characters, all from the most strategic angles. The special effects were spectacular and complemented the stylish action on screen.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">There are a lot of moments in this movie that gives you goose-bumps and spine-chills. Most of them have the Joker and Harvey featured prominently. These two characters – brought excellently to life by Eckhart and Ledger – completely steal the show from the Batman. Particularly memorable is the moment when the Joker tells Batman that “when the chips fall down, these so-called ‘civilized’ people will become wolves and chaos would ensue”. Later on, when such a ‘chip-falling’ situation occurs (not revealed because it would be a plot-spoiler), in a spine-chilling moment, we realize that the Joker’s prediction might come true – that chaos would indeed ensue. It is in these moments that you come to grudgingly agree with the Joker, as he reveals the hypocrisy and the self-advancement of each individual even in a civilized society to the point that it threatens to become barbaric. In that moment of epiphany, you realize that The Joker is simply a doppelganger of the Batman – the evil complementary alter-ego which completes the whole. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">As a testament to the movie’s resonating power among movie-goers, the I.M.D.B. already features this movie on its Top 250 movie list at the 1<sup>st</sup> position – the top of the pedestal (as of July 20<sup>th</sup>, 2008, 8 p.m. I.S.T.). It has managed to secure a cumulative rating of 9.7 (higher than movies such as The Godfather & The Shawshank Redemption). Whether it is worthy of being christened as THE Best movie of all times, is not as relevant as the troubling questions it raises (which have tremendously profound parallels to real world situations including world politics). This movie truly deserves to be in the league of the best movies ever made as an unusual entrant – a super-hero movie which crosses its genre and becomes a poetically grim dissertation on the dilemma that we all face – whether it is prudent to become evil in order to fight evil. And yes, Heath Ledger deserves to be at least nominated (if not win) for the Oscars for his haunting performance – it was his parting shot which deserves to be honoured.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Bottom-line: An absolute jewel – this is indeed on my top movies list, amongst other gems and cult-classics. It is a definite must-watch, worth each and every cent!</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Links:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Knight_%28film%29"><span style="color: blue;">The Dark Knight @ Wikipedia</span></a>: Exhaustive Plot Details and Production Notes, etc.<br /><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/"><span style="color: blue;">The Dark Knight @ I.M.D.B.</span></a>: User Comments, Facts and Trivia (IMDB Rating: 9.7)<br /><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_dark_knight/"><span style="color: blue;">The Dark Knight @ Rotten Tomatoes</span></a>: Aggregation of Critic’s reviews (Tomato-meter: 94%)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span><b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span></b></p></div></div>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-80255399656146679962008-06-06T19:54:00.006+05:302008-06-06T20:38:02.520+05:30Random Thoughts 1<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">This is the first of hopefully a long series of short PJ's and amused musings, most of which have originated from the depths of an idle, devious mind. This series is "inspired" from the <a href="http://crucifirex.blogspot.com/2008/03/random-thoughts-7.html">series of posts of the same name</a> on <a href="http://crucifirex.blogspot.com/">Crucifire's Blog</a>. So credit to him for "inspiring" me :P</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Also, I just want to mention the fact that brevity is not my cup of tea - my skill and my interest lies in the complicating the simple, restating the obvious, expanding the brief and inflating the smallest into one humongous blog post - my archives will bear testimony to this!! That and the fact that 8 semesters, 45 exams later, I have mastered the art of putting random words together!! So, this series is all the more challenging for a person devoid of any succinctness. Here's to brevity!!</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Oh! And please do gimme </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feedback">feedback</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> (</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_Feedback">positive</a> or </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_feedback">negative</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">)!</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Here goes ....</span><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Q. "What do <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahrukh_Khan">Shahrukh Khan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Sandler">Adam Sandler</a> have in common??"</span><br /><br /></div><br /><br /><div face="verdana" style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SElPVr32mFI/AAAAAAAAACY/sYHDAywEZrw/s1600-h/AdamSRK.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/SElPVr32mFI/AAAAAAAAACY/sYHDAywEZrw/s400/AdamSRK.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208781678003525714" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A. They are both wedding singers!!</span><br /><br /><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:verdana;" >Links:</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wedding_Singer">The Wedding Singer (1998 movie) @ Wikipedia</a><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/Dec202007/national2007122042222.asp?section=updatenews">Deccan Herald Report of SRK paid as a wedding guest</a></span>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-11688541227892436442008-03-23T15:52:00.006+05:302008-03-24T14:08:23.924+05:30P.G. Wodehouse - the comical genius of 20th Century<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/R-YzZStwgrI/AAAAAAAAABw/qYO_akiOlT8/s1600-h/PGWodehouse.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 357px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/R-YzZStwgrI/AAAAAAAAABw/qYO_akiOlT8/s320/PGWodehouse.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180884930949841586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir P.G. Wodehouse - the literary comic genius - in 1904 (aged 23)</span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />The other day I was feeling a little morose at how static life is and in general about the apparent futility of life (a topic thoroughly dissected in infinite detail by me and umpteen philosophers, yet completely unanswered). I just happened to pick up the book "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Fred_in_the_Springtime">Uncle Fred in the Springtime - A Blandings Story</a>" and started perusing through it.<br /><br /><br />No sooner had I started reading, I found myself chuckling to my heart's delight, completely forgetting the woes/boredom of life. The mood instantly lightened by the amusing and highly entertaining antics of these completely lunatic caricatures. I paused a second to offer my silent salute to the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PG_Wodehouse">Sir Pelham Greenville Woodhouse</a>, whose fertile imaginations and idiotic ruminations produced such wondrous literary comics, that even after a century, still remain one of the most ticklish sources of upper society mirth.<br /><br /><br />There are just so many of his novels to choose from - each an absolutely rib-tickling account of some idiotic, downright silly episode in the lives of extremely unrealistic city-slickers turned village-idiots! There are dozens of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeeves">Jeeves</a> adventures and tens of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blandings_Castle">Blandings Castle</a> stories and many more assorted loony tales.<br /><br />Yes, his plots are extremely silly, requiring a degree of naivety from the lead characters, that is completely unrealistic in a matter-of-fact world such as this. Add to this the regurgitation of the formulaic narrative and we get a series that is naive, idealistic and repetitive. Yet, even though Wodehouse can be accused of repeating several plot elements throughout his novels, his deft mastery of the English word and prose lets him get away with it! Each of his novels seem so refreshingly new (even though a close scrutiny would prove the similarities) and do not fail to evoke peals of laughter from avid readers.<br /><br /><br />I remember my initial reluctance at picking up a Wodehouse - I was very much a cynic at the time (and I still am) and I used to find the naivety & exuberance of the novels extremely irritating. Over time, as I read more, I loosened up and began enjoying (even relishing) Wodehouse novels. I realized that though the novels are naive, it is exactly the romanticized notion of love, life and work that makes Wodehouse's crazy world an Utopian getaway from a cynical, dystopian reality. It offers for its readers, who are willing to overlook its pitfalls, a tool of rejuvenation for the tired mind, previously brainwashed into cynicism by the chores and mundaneness of everyday life. It at least makes me realize the umpteen good things in life I take for granted!<br /><br /><br />Of course, the "Wodehouse effect" requires certain pre-requisites:<br /> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A reasonably strong command over the English language (this does not mean that you have to be a linguistic maestro to relish his novels)</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->An ability to follow/comprehend large sentences & paragraphs (and believe me, his novels are full of insanely long descriptions - each extremely funny)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 39pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family:Symbol;"><span style="">·<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Finally, a certain indulgence from you of becoming naive, at least temporarily.</p><br />These pre-requisites may seem a little demanding, but believe me, the catch is worth the bait! The resulting mirth and enjoyment derived from his works will cast a spell of exuberance & optimism on you, albeit, as long as the novel lasts at least!<br /><br />The reason why I write this post is to enlighten avid bookworms and readers, who are as yet uniformed of Wodehouse and his ingenious work, about both the quantum and the quality of his work, which is the stuff of legends among novelists/authors. I hope that after reading this post, you pick up a Wodehouse and read it the way I (and millions of other Wodehouse followers) read - with absolutely no care in this world!<br /><br />Here's to Wodehouse - he has given us a reason to laugh and celebrate the idiosyncrasies of human nature!Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-85300206629759208502008-01-16T12:28:00.000+05:302008-01-22T22:25:20.621+05:30Taare Zameen Par - The Review<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/TaareZameenPar.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bd/TaareZameenPar.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">The Disciple and his Guru<br /></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Rating: 4.0/5.0</span><br /></div><br />Few movies evoke the kind of emotional upheaval that clean-sweeps you, that achieves the all-elusive emotional null that is very difficult to achieve. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taare_Zameen_Par"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Taare</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Zameen</span> Par</a> is easily one such movie. It sweeps you off your feet and creates the kind of innocent, pure emotional ache that you must have experienced only as a child. Its a movie that is bound to leave your tear glands more than a little dry.<br /><br />The premise is indeed very simple and completely believable. The story follows <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ishan</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Avasthi</span></span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Darsheel</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Safary</span>), a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyslexic">dyslexic</a> boy whose inability to read and write and other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">behavourial</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">anamolies</span> is interpreted as a purposeful disobedience and non-conformance to societal strictures and school discipline. Thus, in school he is considered a nuisance and admonished regularly by unsympathetic teachers and is usually otherwise victimized by the system, which rewards conformers and castigates non-conformers. At home, he draws unflattering comparisons with his elder brother <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Yohaan</span></span>, who is the quintessential mugger/topper of the class. His parents are routinely irritated by the vast chasm in academic performance between <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Ishan</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Yohaan</span> and tend to blame it as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Ishan's</span> incorrect attitude. They keep failing to understand all along that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Ishan</span> is unable to comprehend the written word and is hence unable to perform simple mathematics & grammar. His father decides to pack him off to a boarding school. Though <span style="font-style: italic;">Maya <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Avasthi</span></span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Tisca</span> Chopra) is a loving mother, she chooses not to over-rule her husband - perhaps because, deep down she too believes that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Ishan's</span> problems are a result of indiscipline. At the boarding school, he suffers initially at the hands of stricter teachers, who do not take kindly to his lapses of attention and his inability to comprehend instructions. But his luck changes as a new art teacher <span style="font-style: italic;">'Ram <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Shankar</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Nikumbh</span></span>' (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aamir_Khan"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Aamir</span> Khan</a>) takes over. Ram notices the boy's reticence and his patters of behaviour and finds it disturbingly consistent with dyslexia. Ram, then informs <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Ishan's</span> parents and sets him off on a course to improvement and recovery. The rest of the movie chronicles this process, which culminates in a much quieter <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Ishan</span>.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Vipin</span> Chopra as <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Nandkishore</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Avasthi</span></span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Ishan's</span> father) plays the role of the typical male patriarch perfectly - he rises early, does his work hurriedly as he eats his breakfast, goes out on business tours and in whatever little way he can cares for his kids, often loading his ambitions & cumbersome expectations on his kids. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Tisca</span> Chopra as Maya <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Avasthi</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Ishan's</span> mother) gives a sublime performance as the doting mother, who can't bear to be separated from her child and yet chooses exactly that - her tearful reminiscences and subdued performance is proof of her proficiency as an actor. Sachet Engineer as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Yohaan</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Avasthi</span> (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Ishan's</span> brother) plays the rather bitter-sweet role of a caring brother, who unknowingly is the cause of much pain to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Ishan</span>. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Aamir</span> Khan as Ram <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">Nikumbh</span> gives another subdued yet solid performance as the art-teacher that transforms <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">Ishan</span> from a timid, reticent boy to a happy child. Finally, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_35">Darsheel</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_36">Safary</span> as <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_37">Ishan</span> is one of those rare <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_38">occurences</span> in the casting world - an actor that fits the bill perfectly. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_39">Darsheel</span> doesn't act <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_40">Ishan</span> - he IS <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_41">Ishan</span>. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_42">Ishan</span>, he makes us an eye-witness to his life - making us laugh, making us cry. All along, we get to see the emotional vulnerability of this boy, who at first glance appears <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_43">indisciplined</span> and disobedient.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_44">Aamir</span> Khan has perhaps discovered his calling - he is an astute director, who captures the innocence and vulnerability of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_45">Ishan</span>, along with his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_46">mischevious</span> exploits. This creates for the audience a great sense of a 'conspirator' and a 'sufferer' - we are tickled by his mischiefs while emotionally touched at how society and family treats his genuine disability.<br /><br />There are moments in the movie, when the triumph of the human spirit is beautifully captured - without pretense, melodrama and emotional manipulation. However, the movie does veer of in the end, a little towards the manipulative and cliche. The manner in which the results of a painting competition is announced reeks of saccharine and melodrama - a contrived, manipulative device to elicit tears from the audience. Save that scene, everything else is done tastefully and subtly.<br /><br />Bottom-Line: This movie is an opportunity to let go. To rediscover the pure, naive insecurities that all of us must have had as kids or even as adults. Some of us still may have these insecurities and to such people, this movie would be a tool of rejuvenation. As <a href="http://www.ibnlive.com/">CNN <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_47">IBN</span></a> critic <a href="http://www.ibnlive.com/news/author/Rajeev+Masand/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_48">Rajeev</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_49">Masand</span></a> said during his review, "Go watch <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_50">TZP</span>. You might just discover a little bit of you and your problems in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_51">Ishan</span> and his"Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-69023195087469436652007-12-28T19:16:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:25:42.130+05:30Light a Candle - Click and mourn!"Pay a tribute to Benazir Bhutto by lighting a candle" proclaims this <a href="http://features.ibnlive.com/packages/tribute-to-benazir.php">CNN IBN webpage</a>. Seems a very noble thing to do .... Until you realize that the candle you are "lighting" is the result of a few key presses and clicks from your personal computer and some very basic HTML/JavaScript programming - all this while, you sit reclining in your swivel chair, 'mourning' for a woman whom you didn't even know remotely as a person and whose death, while untimely, tragic and politically significant, is not likely to have any noticeable impact on your personal life!<br /><br />Welcome to the world of online tributes, mostly provided by NEWS corporations who would do <span style="font-style: italic;">whatever it takes</span>[1] to get there! Where you can express your outrage and your anguish at tragic events around the world by lighting a virtual candle, all by clicking a few buttons in the comforts of your small home. Thanks to such services, political tragedies have now become a matter of personal mourning in the lives of every tom, dick and harry.<br /><br />It seems that the recent trend of a booming economy, soaring stock markets and surging purchasing power, along with a sky-rocketing job scenario, lead us Indians to a state of complacent happiness - we were all contended and relatively happy with the way things were going. The Indian Media, however wasn't happy at all, as their TRPs fell and their creative reserves were quickly drowning up - I mean, there is only so much coverage you can give to stories about Dhongi Baba doing the nanga nach, "kutte ne ajgarh ko khaaya", etc. Plus, as they would want us to believe, the Indian Media portrays itself as the German Shephard - the watchdog - that brings out the grime, crime, slease and corruption in our society with a stated view to trigger a social revolution (and as an afterthought, boost their TRP's).<br /><br />So, the Indian Media wasn't very happy about all the freaking stability (its no secret that Video NEWS gorges on disasters and tragedies. alas! it only feeds the baser aspect of human nature!) - they were looking for a story that would shakes us, something so sensationalist and yet moving, that it would wake us from our happy reverie and make us mourn and ponder. Bhutto's assassins have, rather unwittingly, done the Indian Media (and the International Media to an extent too) a great favour.<br /><br />Newspaper editors around the country (and the world) must be smacking their hands with glee at the prospect of the amount of Newsreel this story would cover. In the coming days and weeks, 'analysts' will pore over every small nuance of Bhutto's life and dig out everything there is to dig out. Amidst all this, a new battle emerges - not one against extremism & dictatorship in Pakistan, not one for moderation & democracy - but one to put out the best analysts, the best panelists, the most respected diplomats & politicians & the best show on prime time television. On the bright side though, the dhongi babas & kuttas & ajgarh's will be sidelined atleast for the moment. We shoudn't be very hopeful though - people will get tired of all the analysis & slowly, NEWS broadcasts will contain the latest updates of Saas-Bahu serials and Dhongi Baba's revolutionary cures.<br /><br />I am not for a minute suggesting that Bhutto should not get her due respects - she was, for all the controversies and alleged misgivings, a shining example of a successful Muslim feminist movement, a moderate voice that could have brought some peace to troubled Pakistan and most definitely, an influential figure in the history of Indian-subcontinental politics. She needs to be mourned and her loss needs to be marked.<br /><br />But lighting a virtual candle is exactly the kind of marketing gimmick & new-age-click-away -your-mourns crap we shouldn't be buying. And yet, sadly many people do. This afternoon, the sombre newsreader announced on CNN IBN, rather triumphantly of the tremendous response on the "light a candle" campaign (they had done this with the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/11_July_2006_Mumbai_train_bombings">Mumbai 2006 Blasts</a> and chances are, they would do this at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayawati">Mayawati's</a> death too). While the intent of people responding to such campaigns is appreciated, the means/methods to express their grief is highly questionable. And, most of all, it is indeed highly manipulative for NEWS corporations to offer such trivial platforms for expressing 'grief'.<br /><br />I would definitely like to hear what you think on this one. Would you, for instance, light a candle for Bhutto on the website? Or do you think that it is a contrived, manipulative device to garner people onto the website? Please do post your comments & feel free to disagree.<br /><br /><br />Note[1] - "Whatever It Takes" happens to be the slogan of CNN IBN. Naming an Indian NEWS Organization's slogan as that! Amusing opportunity for pun, isn't it?Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-70220132204371961662007-12-20T22:26:00.000+05:302007-12-22T19:11:37.436+05:30I am Legend - the ReviewNote: Sorry for the late review - just returned from a trip<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/R2qgwI7rC4I/AAAAAAAAABo/1RL9on6jqhA/s1600-h/I_am_legend_teaser.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/R2qgwI7rC4I/AAAAAAAAABo/1RL9on6jqhA/s320/I_am_legend_teaser.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146102273116146562" border="0" /></a>The lone sane survivor<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rating: 3.5/5</span></span><br /></div><br /></div><br />At first glance, we see the genre (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombies_in_popular_culture">Zombie Horror</a>) and exclaim with exasperation & disdain, "No way! Another one of those semi-dead zombies crawling the earth & consuming/tearing everything in their path. In comes a man to somehow save the world/himself!" .... been there, done that! ho-hum!<br /><br />But no, the first glance is deceiving in this case. Allow yourself to be temporarily deceived and watch this movie. You will find that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_%28film%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">I am Legend</span></a> is just exactly that - a legend, an outcast among Zombie horror movies - in the sense that it retains the all-important human element (an emotional, sensitive core) while the mutilation progresses on screen.<br /><br />Basic Plot Premise: "Genetically engineered virus, initially hailed as a cure for Cancer turns killer, wiping 90% of human population. 2% remain alive and sane. Remaining 8% become zombies. Enter Will Smith as the only sane surviver in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_city">New York city</a> and the apparent impression that he is the last man on earth (with a dog named "Sam" for company - apparently canines are resistant from the air-borne form), searching for a cure. In one of his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie">Zombie</a> encounters, he is overpowered, then rescued by another survivor named Ana and her child .... " - for the rest, watch the movie (or read Wikipedia :P)<br /><br />What is surprising about the movie is that there is very little of the mutilation and gore. The movie delivers its scares by building up a persistent, never-ceasing tension throughout and introducing suddenly the agile, super-strong zombies. While the scary stuff lasts you an instant, what lingers on is the emotional core of the movie, played perfectly by Will Smith, in what could be described as one of his best performances.<br /><br />New York as the choice of the desolate city couldn't be more apt. In many ways, NY is perhaps the epitome of human financial & technical achievement - the result of an empowering vision of capitalism and free-will - the bastion of man's creativity. And in many others, NY has suffered tremendously (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11%2C_2001">Sept 11, 2001</a>). In a world bereft of sane human habitation, this city serves as a haunting window to glimpse into a world deserted and forgotten. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan">Manhattan</a>'s famous skyline lies deserted, the entire of NY becoming an eerie ghost-town, with weeds growing on the streets and wild animals roaming freely. NY, once home to a bustling populace, now inhabited and overpowered by nature's forces - an illustration of how natures tames human beings. In an atmosphere as overwrought with desolation as this, enter <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_Smith">Will Smith</a> as the city's lone survivor scientist, who even after 3yrs continues to believe that he can "fix it".<br /><br />Will Smith might have wasted himself over disasters such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_in_Black_%28film%29">MIB</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_in_Black_II">MIB II</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_day_film">Independence Day</a> (yea, you can call them time-pass, but they are little more than the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney_Spears">Britney Spears</a> equivalent of movies) , but here he brings to play the same sense of emotional ache and angst that we saw in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pursuit_of_Happyness">The Pursuit of Happyness</a>. As the last man alive, his motivation to live is constantly wavering and he searches for some tangible meaning to living alone the rest of his life. In order to maintain some degree of sanity, he views tape-recordings of NEWS broadcasts from the happier past, arranges mannequins in a DVD store and strikes up a conversation with them while picking out DVD titles, all along trying to act normal. And we see streaks of how heartbroken and desolate this man really is. And we see how close he is tethering on the border of insanity and hysteria.<br /><br />Especially notable is the scene where the dog attacks Smith after being infected by the virus and Smith responds by killing his own dog (Sam), his lone partner in his struggle. In that one moment, we see the absolute, maddening grief of a man who has just lost that one thing that has sustained him through a phase of immense turbulence, that has given him some false yet quantifiable sense of hope. And that grief - the magnitude and enormity of it - is completely evident by the subdued yet profound way in which Smith portrays it.<br /><br />And these are the moments where the movie strikes a chord with your emotional side, as you sympathize with this lone sane (borderline insane) man in a world bereft of all human consciousness and where centuries of human progress lies unused, unappreciated and forlorn.<br /><br />And thats where this movie is different from other Zombie thrillers - the protagonist (Smith) here is not an uber-cool, unemotional guy, who doesn't flinch even once while going on a massive zombie killing spree or utter even a monosyllable of horror at widespread cannibalism (read: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milla_Jovovich">Milla Jovovich</a> in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resident_Evil_%28film%29">Resident Evil series</a>). Instead, the protagonist is an emotional intellectual, who fervently wishes that he can set things right and is so totally vulnerable at times. This along with a haunting, deserted ghost-town of a megapolis (NY) gives this movie a certain authenticity. Granted there are moments when the movie is not believable (the source/reason for Will's motivation to live as the last man, the manner of Will's rescue, etc), but overall this is definitely a fine piece of cinema with a tangible emotional core that rattles you at times and leaves you distinctly unsettled.<br /><br />Bottom-line: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_%28film%29"><span style="font-style: italic;">I am Legend</span></a> is more a movie about the desolation & grief of a lone man and how he battles it, than a Zombie thriller. It is also a very chilling visualization of how <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City">NY</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumbai">Mumbai</a>, etc will look like once human habitation withers away. In many ways, it reminds us of how far human civilization has progressed and how fragile our existence is. Go watch this movie for more than a scare or two - it will leave you in a thoughtful state, as you contemplate the horror of no human habitation, of all things human - culture, art, music to cease existing - just imagine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Vinci">Da Vinci</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare">Shakespeare</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_Floyd">Pink Floyd</a> all coming to naught ....Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-15351322664932314582007-11-21T23:15:00.000+05:302007-12-20T22:59:54.012+05:30Om Shanti Om - the Review<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://in.yimg.com/movies/movietalkies/20070918/11/omshantiom-2007-6b-1_1190093626.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 373px; height: 279px;" src="http://in.yimg.com/movies/movietalkies/20070918/11/omshantiom-2007-6b-1_1190093626.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />SRK - Supposedly Six pack Khan - ah! never mind!<br />Deepika Padukone - the most beautiful and graceful girl ever!<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br />Every once in a while comes a film that moves you, that forces you to think - to contemplate and reflect - and after much deliberation, you feel you have gained something more tangible than a couple of hours of entertainment - that you have gained some insight into an aspect of life that was previously unvisited. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Shanti_Om"><span style="font-style: italic;">Om Shanti Om</span></a> is definitely not such a movie! What it is though is pure, unadulterated masala entertainment at its very best.<br /><br />Not that <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om_Shanti_Om"><span style="font-style: italic;">Om Shanti Om</span></a> is not corny - it is cheesy and at times exceedingly melodramatic - but its charm lies in its excessive, unabashed celebration of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian">Indian</a> melodrama at its cheesiest worst! This movie is so cliche and typical, that somewhere down the line it becomes charming.<br /><br />The plot is simple enough (in fact, its barely a plot, but thats the point - the absence of a tangible plot adds to the silly, charming pointlessness of the movie) :<br />It is circa 1970 & <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SRK">SRK</a> stars as an aspiring actor (a junior artist) whose ambition is to make it big. He wishes to marry the girl of his dreams - Shanti<span style="font-style: italic;">ji </span>played by the divine <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepika_Padukone">Deepika Padukone</a><span style="font-style: italic;">, </span>who is the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Hepburn">Audrey Hepburn</a> equivalent of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollywood">Bollywood</a> in the era. A lot of cheesy/goofy/charming comedy and beautifully shot songs later - Shanti is killed by her husband played by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arjun_Rampal">Arjun Rampal</a> (finally the guy is getting some work!). This gives rise to simultaneous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death">death</a>-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reincarnation">reincarnation</a> of both SRK & Shanti. SRK grows up and enlists the new Deepika to avenge Shanti's death.<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_Rukh_Khan">Shah Rukh Khan</a> plays yet another role which seems to have been tailor made for him - down to the last dialogue - Khan's tongue-in-cheek personality is perfect to essay the role of the quintessential bollywood struggler of the 70's. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiron_Kher">Kiron Kher</a> delivers yet another endearing performance, proving her versatility once again. Of special note is the scene where she baulks with her knuckles in her mouth when SRK apparently insults his dad - classic! And <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shreyas_Talpade">Shreyas Talpade</a> is the stereo-typical side-kick and plays it to the hilt.<br /><br />But what did it for me as I am sure for many others is Shanti<span style="font-style: italic;">ji </span>played by Deepika Padukone - never before have I seen a woman (a actually girl - she's just 21!!) so beautiful and so graceful and so amazingly divine. Stick a couple of extra hands and she would look a goddess - a real one! Deepika's face especially in the 70's period (1st half of the movie) is something to look at - incredible beauty and amazing poise! The song-writers (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javed_Akhtar">Akhtar sahab</a>) seem to have been inspired by Deepika's presence when they wrote the songs! Not only does she look the part, she acts the part too - I was pleasantly surprised by good emoting skills (of course, the real test for her would be to play method roles). Deepika dazzled me by the magnificence of her beauty and the poise with which she carried herself. I am sure India has found its next sensation - beware <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aishwarya_Rai">Aishwarya</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bipasha_Basu">Bipasha</a> and rest - Deepika is here and here to dazzle!<br /><br />Of course the movie is not without its pitfalls - it wishes at the most trivial of excuses to give SRK an opportunity to showcase his 6-packs! Agreed that SRK has toned his body, but a male cleavage show of the extent and degree as in that irritating and redundant song 'Dard e disco' is clearly abominable & causes uncomfortable squirming from the male quarters of the theater, while eliciting squeals of delight from a few, enamoured teen girls. Clearly, the song was a diversion to the plot and could have been done without.<br /><br />In the end, the movie was an enjoyable experience - nothing memorable, but worth the buck. It celebrates and ridicules the absolute melodrama and repetitive nature both of Indian cinema and Indian melodrama and does so with unabashed glee and unrepentant scorn. The pointless plot serves merely as an excuse to both celebrate and castigate Indian stereotypes, cultural and social situations. It is this dichotomy that makes it so bitter-sweet! I felt the rational side of me hating it - so damn unrealistic and typical! Yet, there was something in it which was achingly genuine. Put it this way - <span style="font-style: italic;">Om Shanti Om</span> is as much an ode to Indian cinema as much as it is a caustic, unsparing critique.<br /><br /><br />Some Links:<br /><a href="http://in.movies.yahoo.com/movies/Om-Shanti-Om/wallpaper/photo-gallery-9581.html">OSO Wallpapers on Yahoo! India Movies</a><br /><a href="http://in.movies.yahoo.com/movies/Om-Shanti-Om/posters/photo-gallery-9581.html">OSO Posters on Yahoo! India Movies</a><br /><a href="http://in.movies.yahoo.com/movies/Om-Shanti-Om/moviestills/photo-gallery-9581.html">OSO Movie-Stills on Yahoo! India Movies</a><br /><br /><br />PS: Sorry for the late review - its courtesy of the Sem VII exams coming up ;)Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-57586490575817904832007-10-20T22:38:00.001+05:302007-12-31T00:29:51.571+05:302007 Formula One Season - The Culmination!I will begin with a cliche - 'What a season it has been!' .... There seriously isn't any other way to express it - we had just about everything - some breathtaking racing in stunning circuits and with gorgeous pit-babes for company, some absolutely maddening rain-races which have swung like a pendulum, a LOT of politics & controversies, and ofcourse a stunning 4-way in the drivers championships, where a rookie & a 2-time WC are neck-in-neck with each other. Incredible is the word to describe this season!<br /><br />The exit of Formula One Legend Michael Schumacher was considered by many as a precursor to Formula One's decreasing popularity - in fact, its been nothing of the sort! It was considered the end of an era - it is indeed the end of an era - an era of absolute dominance & monotonous race victories. Diversity, truly the essence of life, is now in full-steam in Formula One, as we now see 4 equally capable and persevering contenders battling it out for every point.<br /><br />All the fighting on & off track aside, all politics & gossip aside, it all culminates into tomorrow - the mother of all battles - Brazilian Grand Prix - the track notorious among the F1 community as for its bouncy & uneven surface, as it is for its thunderous weather. If it is going to be a rain-race, which it very well might be, it is going to be a perfect game of probability & chance - quite like a game of high-stakes poker.<br /><br />All of the three contenders (Alonso, Kimi & Lewis) deserve to win - and to recite a typical phrase "but only one will walk away with the title". The question is which one? My heart says Alonso but the mind says Lewis - Kimi anyways has a remote chance.<br /><br />With qualifying over & Massa taking pole with Lewis behind, Kimi on 3rd & Alonso a distant 4th, the stage seems set for an exhilirating Brazilian GP 2007! This is it - this is what all F1 fans have been waiting for - the moment of truth arrives at 21.30 IST Sunday!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">EDIT:</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">I am pretty much chewing my hat now! If you notice the last line of the 2nd last para of the post, then you would know what I am talking about! Talk about the unthinkable / unexpected! Anyways, Kimi absolutely deserved the victory - kudos to him! And cheers to Formula One and mad racing! .... More on the phenomenal F1 Season 2007 to follow very soon - I plan to write a review of the season .... till then, congrats to all the Ferrari & Kimi fans - your dreams have been realized ;)</span>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-80763844015362915172007-10-08T19:15:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:26:49.384+05:30Testimonial Categorization!Having been on Orkut now for (the better part of) a year & a half now, I have noticed the spate of the rather meaningful testimonials that give a stunning insight into of the concerned person (all the sarcasm intended).<br /><br />Some authors are poetic in their expression, preferring to write poems & sometimes songs in praise of the fellow. The colourful, sometimes-cryptic-sometimes-descriptive words sewn together to form lines & then stanzas ring out so rythmically & with such rhyming, that the heart soars when it reads! :P<br /><br />Other authors prefer a more philosophically engaging way of expressing themselves, as they choose a recursive mode of writing. A generic example of such a recursion would be : "this is a blog post" OR " this is a testimonial" - a careful scrutiny of the statement reveals such hidden information & philosophical implications that you will be stunned by how <span style="font-style: italic;">so much</span> can be implied in <span style="font-style: italic;">so little</span>! :P .... Truly, brevity & recursion is the soul of a testimonial! :P .... The authors of such testimonials are usually philosophers, sears or computer programmers who understand the philosophical dichotomy of recursion!<br /><br />Be it in poetry or prose, both testimonials have one thing in common - they are mass manufactured & copy-pasted/submitted/accepted in bulk - quite like that Archies card you gift some-one. Even that is a tad more original & authentic! This is not to say that the authors mean anything less than a sincere friendly testimonial - but many unfortunately haven't been blessed with the gift of the pen ;)<br /><br />Then we have authors, who not satisfied with a mass-propagated material, make sincere attempts to be original & creative. While their efforts are valiant & appreciable, the result unfortunately is hardly flattering. But, atleast these guys make an effort to write something unique & different - its not just the end-result, but the gesture that counts.<br /><br />And then, there's a category of committed love-birds, who choose to let out their feelings for each other via multiple testimonials, each of which read out like a Mills & Boons novel :P - okay mebbe not that bad! But its bad enough! Some of them divulge in such great detail the small nuances/idiosyncrasies and incidents that established their relationship, that would satisfy the apetite of even the most voyeuristic amongst us.<br /><br />And finally, there are authors like me, who use a dozen adjectives & so-called "hi-funda" words (I like to think of them as illustrations of my linguistic mastery - yea, call me pompous & grandiloquent :P) .... Of course, it comes at a price - such testimonials are beyond the comprehension of the general orkutting masses and defy the very purpose of having a testimonial! People get more pissed when they receive such testimonials than when they have none - the reason? they don't understand half of it!<br /><br />In the end, there are two ways of looking at it - that testimonials are tools for self-gratification and peer-approval on the internet in a manner that is as frivolous as it is dangerous/delusional OR testimonials are just a funny, light-hearted (and often copy-pasted/badly written) perspective on near friends/family that is meant NOT to be taken too seriously. Which one is the case, I leave it to you guys to decide.Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-34582602570432177472007-07-29T23:30:00.001+05:302008-03-24T14:18:00.840+05:30A visit to the temple - A Rare spiritual experienceToday, I visited the temple after ages! Its been over a year since I have paid a visit to the local temple I used to frequently visit with my parents when I was child. Years of westernization - rock music , hollywood, Television, & agnostic orientations, coupled with a nihilistic outlook towards life have rendered me very cynical towards the very concept of religion & God & especially to conventional forms of worship.<br /><br />Yet when I went today to the temple, I prayed - I prayed from the bottom of my heart. I was in peace with myself for those 20 minutes. I was far removed from the daily bustle of life, from the negativity & pessimism of the daily News, from the din & chaos of a maddening megapolis, from the lack of objectivity & confusion that surrounds my life and yea - not to mention, from the programming!<br /><br />What surrounded me was a sense of peace & bliss. The flickering of hundreds of small diyas, the ringing of bells, the idols cast in black, colourful malays(garlands) that adorned their necks, the priests performing puja, the devotees with their offerings, the priests chanting Sanskrit hymns which originated thousands of years ago. Technology has created the illusion of the world being smaller, but reality is that there is so much diversity of human art, culture & religion! Where technology fails is to enable us to be at peace! And perhaps, to escape the routine monotony & the woes of daily life, man seeks refuge in the shelter of God's abode.<br /><br />I prayed yet I did not utter a single sanskrit mantra - my prayers were said in English. After all, a prayer is supposed to be the gateway for you to connect with God. What use then, is a prayer in Sanskrit when you don't understand it? I prayed for myself, for my family & for the world. I prayed for success in my studies, success in projects that I undertake - but most importantly I wished & prayed that my life becomes structured, that there be direction &objectivity to it & that the cluttered & confused mind be tidied for clarity of thought. I also prayed that wisdom & foresight prevail upon this world & that God help us seek solutions to some of the problems facing man today.<br /><br />After those 20 minutes of silence, prayer & solitude, I was certainly rejuvenated. Its been refreshing - a much needed break from loud music, endless television programs, movies & all other associated forms of escapism.<br /><br />There is something deeply satisfying in the thought that we are being guided by an invisible force, that this force will be there for us as a guiding beacon in times of despair. Call it faith or maybe the human mind's psychological need, "God" is comforting. I still have some reservations to blindly accepting God or associated humanized idiosyncrasies, but thats another matter.<br /><br />There are events & facts in the world which lead me to be Agnostic, to be a non-believer. And yet, there are acts of good samaritans going out of their way to help or heroically rescue others, which affirm the existence of a positive, omnipotent & omnipresent force that guides us. Yet, I must admit - for a long time now, I have believed that the situation in the world is too unfair & grim for me to blindly believe that God exists. If He does, why doesn't he intervene? Perhaps because he wants us to learn on our own? I really do not know.<br /><br />My point simply is this - whether God exists as a real entity or is the result of the human psyche - it is deeply humbling & peaceful to imagine yourself to be a server of such a pristine cosmological master. Though slavery of any form is an abomination, yet it is deeply moving in some way to subjugate oneself at the hands of such a force. To tuck oneself in God's arms, free from all woes & without a care in the world.<br /><br />In the end, I do not know whether God exists or not, but I sure hope & pray he does.Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-52634217372388275762007-03-12T20:47:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:24:28.783+05:30GREy Matter - Hallowed Be Thy Name!The following is an entry to the "GREy Matter" post writing contest held to shortlist and publish the best entry in the college magazine 'Samanvay'. The contest basically involved a lexicon of 26 words listed here and an essay/short-story had to be written using any 20 of the 26 words from the word-lexicon.<br /><br />Word-Lexicon: Aficionado(n.), Blasphemy(n.), Crescendo(n.), Disheveled(adj.), Exodus(n.), Fuzzy(n.), Glasnost(n.), Harbinger(n.), Incipient(adj.), Juxtapose(v.), Killhoy(n.), Lachrymose(adj.), Masquerade(n.), Neophyte(n.), Ostentatious(adj.), Plagiarize(v.), Queer(n.), Rhapsody(n.), Surreal(n.), Torpid(adj.), Unequivocal(adj.), Virtuoso(n.), Winsome(adj.), Xenophobia(n.), Yuppie(n.), Zealot(n.)<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:16;" >GREy Matter –<br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size:130%;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:16;" >Hallowed Be Thy Name!</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><br /><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:16;" ><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=""></span><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style=";font-family:Castellar;font-size:130%;" >“</span><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:130%;" >The way is shut! It was made by those who are dead.<br />And the dead keep it! The way is shut!</span><span style="font-family:Castellar;"><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >”</span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-family:Castellar;"><span style=""> </span></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >A voice murmured from a corner of the spacious room. The figure spread-eagled on the huge master-bed who had just managed to attain uninterrupted sleep stirred slowly - he cringed and turned and finally woke up. All this while, the chant was murmured again and again - quite like a <b style="">rhapsody</b> - its amplitude rising slowly with each repetition until it reached a deafening <b style="">crescendo</b>. In the darkness, the now wide-awake man could make out the <b style="">fuzzy</b> silhouette of a figure that was not human. It was the source of the chant which had now reached a feverish pitch. <b style="">Surreal</b> as it seemed, the figure seemed to be floating, unsupported and suspended. The next instant, it was advancing towards the bed, its entire frame now in the direct path of the moonlight coming through the window, its horrific features now entirely visible. And as it did, the <b style="">disheveled</b> man let out a shriek of absolute terror – the way a man tends to do when he is resigned to the horrific finality of his fate.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>The figure was clothed in long robes covering the entire of its body. The hood covered the head, only revealing the face - pale white with red blood-shot eyes. As it advanced, its demeanour changed from menacing to aggressive. It slid over to where the man was now crouching timidly against the wall and whispered a few unpleasant nothings into his ear. Having done with its <b style="">blasphemous</b> speech, it then proceeded to treat the scared man as a laboratory animal, performing on it all those experiments, which when performed by a human on another would be deemed torture. For the floating figure, it was a source of sadistic pleasure. As the man writhed in pain, kicking & fighting & wailing, the floating demonic figure seemed more and more contended. With one last blow, the man’s skull was squashed, splintering into a thousand fragments and all movement that emanated from him finally stopped …</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></span><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" >Doug Cornwall was a wealthy man – as wealthy as they come in this part of the world. He was an ambitious <b style="">yuppie</b>, with his palatial retreat in the centre of <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Monte Carlo</st1:city></st1:place>’s most prized real estate – which offered a fantastic view of both the bay and the annual Formula 1 action – and no-one doubted the influence and power he wielded. It was another matter, that no-one quite knew what this man did for a living and how he made such vast fortunes. As it happened, Mr. Cornwall was a <b style="">masquerade</b>r – I say ‘was’ because now, he no longer requires putting on an act, courtesy of his indigenously acquired wealth. In the <b style="">incipient</b> stages of his business, Mr. Cornwall appeared in many parts of <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> as “Mr. Cornwall – the wealthy tycoon” and secured deals whose general details were not known. One thing was certain – that he made a lot of money in these deals and now he resides in that palace in <st1:country-region st="on"><st1:place st="on">Monaco</st1:place></st1:country-region>. Even back then, from the very beginning, it was clear that this man wasn’t a <b style="">neophyte</b> – he was firm and ruthless when dealing with his competitors, yet being <b style="">winsome</b> when among his allies and well-wishers. He was certainly no <b style="">xenophobic</b>! In his business, he had to deal with anonymous people and strangers all the time.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>His wealth (whether initially fictitious or later on for real) also served as a source of funding for his passion – as an <b style="">aficionado</b> of all things ancient, his house was decorated with antiques and ornaments. Little did the outside world know that this aspect of his life was also a lie and it was this lie that was feeding his business. He was an artifact smuggler – an ingenious one - and these antiques were a result of his plunders across the world. There were exquisite ornaments from the world’s most prized jewel-sets, carefully carved sculptures cast of ivory and stone from some of the world’s rarest sites.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>The world knew of Mr. Cornwall & his wealth & even some sketchy details on how he acquired it, but was unaware of the existence of a chap called Vladimir Zapav. They say behind every successful man, there is a hidden gem. Vladimir Zapav was one such gem - a Russian by birth, he was brought up in <st1:country-region st="on">Britain</st1:country-region> & now calls the whole of <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> as home. There isn’t a place in <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> he has not visited or a businessman he hasn’t heard of or dealt with. Unlike Gorbachev’s “<b style="">Glasnost</b>”, Mr. Zapav followed the policy of utmost discreetness. He was a <b style="">virtuoso</b> in the field of anonymous clients and unusual package deliveries. It was this quality that brought him in contact with <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cornwall</st1:place></st1:city> and so an association began.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>It was ironic that when they first met, <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Cornwall</st1:city></st1:place> was neither rich nor famous but masquerading to be both! Through Zapav, <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cornwall</st1:place></st1:city> attained all his wealth. Zapav was the feather in the cap – the invisible force that rocked <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cornwall</st1:place></st1:city>’s smuggling cradle. Each heist brought them newfound wealth of increasing magnitudes. However, as the years passed, <st1:city st="on">Cornwall</st1:city> became increasingly famous amongst <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place>’s elite and found it increasingly difficult to come up with a plausible cover-up story of his wealth and how he acquired it.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>So, finally & very reluctantly, he had to abandon his smuggling trade and he turned legitimate. And in a style typical to him, he ensured that his partner of many years - Zapav - was also not permitted to carry on the business. Zapav was alarmed at this change of events & by his partner’s disloyalty and lack of faith & so in a fit of rage, he threatened to reveal everything to the world. <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Cornwall</st1:place></st1:city> had already made up his mind by then – his partner would not live to see another day. And in a dinner he arranged with Zapav for reproachment, he committed the planned sin by squeezing a small capsule of potassium cyanide into Zapav’s drink. Within seconds of consuming the drink, the cyanide used up all the Haemoglobin in his blood for a chemical reaction, thus leaving no oxygen carrying capacity and Zapav thrashed and writhed to death. That was exactly 5 years ago …<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:100%;" ><o:p></o:p>That night completed five years after that dinner and in the company of all his wealth and the <b style="">ostentatious</b> surroundings, he felt a little <b style="">queer</b> having his dinner. He had the feeling that one usually has when the occurrences of the day were unpleasant & <b style="">killjoy</b> – that his queer feelings were a <b style="">harbinger</b> of something worse to come. With dinner eaten in silence and in solitude, he went to the bedroom to call it a day. He tossed and turned and slept fitfully – all the time his anxiety gnawing at him, waking him up from his just attained slumber. Finally, his mind let go and he slipped from <b style="">torpid</b>ity to a state of stupor, for what seemed like ages. Until … a voice murmured from a corner of the spacious room … As you can now infer, it was Zapav’s voice – a deathly scrawny voice, whose owner had now come to claim its revenge.</span></p>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-29874829954213899712007-01-14T17:27:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:31:37.792+05:30Frequently Asked Questions!!"Buzurgon ne,<br />Buzurgon ne pharmaaya ki pairon pe apne khade hoke dikhlaao,<br />Phir ye zamaana tumhaara hai.<br />Zamaane ke sur-taal ke saath chalte chale jaao,<br />Phir har taraana, har fasaana tumhaara hai.<br /><br />Arrey toh loh bhaiyaa ab hum pairon ke upar khade ho gaye aur milaali hai taal"<br /><br /><br />And so the song goes. Life it seems, echoes the sentiments of the song. As I step into what is the 21st year of my colorfully mundane existence, the familiar taunts & retorts about responsibility & adulthood seems to be all pervasive & omnipresent. Its the last year they say .... the last year before you are expected to take a shovel and in a barren, cold place called the "world", dig for yourself a trench large enough to satisfy both your needs & your materialistic demands.<br /><br />As if going through the motions of a tiresome, grueling engineering schedule wasn't enough, when the tired soul returns home for some much needed rest, he is subjected to the added bonus of a heavy dosage on the 'responsibilities' of an adult. In such times, the lectures one has sat through & managed to survive seems far more endearing! Adulthood while being no way easy by any stretch of the imagination, surely has to be better than the daily sermons so freely doled out by one & all in the family!<br /><br /><br />But that is not even the point! The point is that trench which we are supposed to dig, that niche we are supposed to carve out, is but an infinitesimal volume in a void of infinite space ....<br /><br />As I turn 20, my mind keeps returning back to the questions which I had asked at age 10 & for which till today no rational answer is forthcoming .... why do we live life? what is it that makes us fear death, makes us want to postpone that last fatal blow as long as possible? Why that instinct to survive & to what end? what is the purpose behind it all? Are we an accidental creation of some unknown force & that our existence and/or activity is incidental? .... or are we the result of some intent on the part of some creator?<br /><br />As I ask these questions & try to seek an answer, I find myself more and more engaged in the nihilistic point of view of man's existence. Nihilism is the philosophy that says man has no purpose, that his life and his activities are inconsequential to the reality of the universe. In short, Nihilism says plainly that whatever man does is irrelevant and hence the next question one asks - then why do we do it? why do we continue living? another one in a long line of unanswered questions!<br /><br />As a result of being convinced in part, by the rationale of the nihilistic explanation of life(or the apparent lack of it), I just cant seem to give a structured direction to my life. I am akin to that confused, clueless lamb who has lost sight of the Sheppard and has lost all sense of direction. Every time I seek to give a direction to life and try to move into areas unexplored, every time I am reminded of life's apparent futility.<br /><br />These questions have been bugging me (as they must have almost everyone) for a long time now. And I am convinced that unless I get some straight answers, this delusional mind will tend to indulge in a false psychedelic comfort and justify the procrastinator within!<br /><br />So there you are. On the occasion of my 20th birthday, I am happy & optimistic .... but there is also this nagging sense of uneasiness at how seemingly futile human life is - especially in the context of this consumerist, brand-conscious world.<br /><br /><br />As these thoughts occupy most of my temporal lobe most of the time, I am reminded of a quote I read in Reader's Digest the other day:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">"Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday." - Dale Carnegie</span><br /><br />Maybe I should just leave it at that and make a new start. Do share your insights into what you feel life is.Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-24376168399449656812006-12-27T19:21:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:33:09.623+05:30Jeepers Creepers! Lord save us!<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/RZKEtmpLQbI/AAAAAAAAAAU/u9WK2cGQ09M/s1600-h/DSC00619.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_Y_cMww8lDNQ/RZKEtmpLQbI/AAAAAAAAAAU/u9WK2cGQ09M/s400/DSC00619.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5013215254219014578" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" >Hell Hath No Fury Like a Himesh Reshammiya Song! :P<br />"India's First & Only Rockstar" - Truth is stranger than fiction! :P</span><br /></div><br /><br /><br />At the time of writing this post, my hands are shaking, my legs are tapping the floor with such enthusiasm & frequency so as to match the fundamental frequency of vibration of my building, hence bringing about resonance ..... my mind is numbed in awe & my heart fluttering with eagerness .... all this in nervous anticipation of the 'bonanza' that is going to take place on 31st December, 2006 .... my informant - an ad in the movies section of Bombay Times<br /><br />Yes ladies & gentlemen .... Himeshji will be lending his soulful voice & sing his melodious tunes to usher in the new year and he has invited all of us to join him in his nasal renditions of his most melodious tunes :P<br /><br />And what better venue than a 5-star premium hotel like Renaissance, Powai? Really, I admire Himeshji's tastes! Its another thing, that I disapprove of Renaissance's taste! :P<br /><br />To remind us of his apparent (yet thoroughly undeserved) greatness, the ad stresses on the fact that Himeshji is afterall India's first & only true rockstar .... such is his apparent greatness that the ad proclaims this as "THE MOST PHENOMENAL NEW YEAR'S EVE" ..... And like the central-attraction in a circus, Himeshji is being touted as "SPECIAL ATTRACTION" .... Ofcourse with his unshaven, unkempt appearance coupled with a wardrobe that consists of all things animalistic - Himeshji could well perform in a circus as well :P<br /><br /><br />I am not at all surprised that brands such as Provogue are sponsoring such an event .... after all Himeshji is the GREATEST singer/composer to have graced the earth :P .... Mozart pales in comparision & Beethoven is like a piss-in-a-bucket when compared to our Himeshji :P .... and ofcourse, Provogue seems to have found a great ambassador in Himeshji to sell their products - most of which will now come equipped with those great caps Himeshji keeps sporting. See, Himeshji is now India's first & only fashion icon!! :P<br /><br />Now I am one among the Anti-Himesh brigade - one among those who give hope to the rest of the tormented mankind .... why would I be waiting in anticipation for this event u ask? well simple - I forgot to mention that I plan to place a whole-sale order for 200kg of tomatoes which I plan use as projectiles against Himeshji & co .... Now, THAT surely would be "THE MOST PHENOMENAL NEW YEAR'S EVE"! Don't u agree? :P<br /><br /><br />PS:<br />Somebody please hack this site!!<br /><a href="http://himesh-reshammiya.com/blog/2006/12/21/himeshji-to-perform-in-mumbaiinterview">Himeshji_performing_in_Mumbai - From THE Himeshji's very own nasal Blog</a>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-23457732760896708632006-12-26T23:49:00.001+05:302008-03-24T14:25:52.185+05:30The Psychedelic rears its ugly head again! :PWell people,<br />after a long hiatus , we meet again .... after more than 2 months away from active blogging, I have decided to subject the keyboard to the vigorous thrashing it deserved & was spared for so long :P<br /><br />But unfortunately, the mind has trouble forming words suitable for public consumption - the vocabulary in common use today & with which the mind has made such an unbreakable connection, is unfortunately of a very virile quality & not something that one can use to pen down a blog as precious as this one :P<br /><br />If you however somehow get past that obstacle, you have innumerable others to deter you - you decide to put on the computer, log on to the internet ....<br /><br />and when you do, the better part of the day goes in performing important activities such as checking your mail, forwarding forwards, deleting junk mails that solicit to enhance either your finances or your body parts both of which we know are less than modest :P ....<br /><br />and ofcourse, the other half of the day goes in chatting up with friends through an online portal called Orkut - we discuss and thrash out issues of local, national & political interest :P .... and so on those rare ocassions when you receive no new mails or no new 'scraps', you tend to be in a state of profound sadness - wailing at the thought of online isolation & networking loneliness :P<br /><br />If however, after great persuasion, the mind achieves clarity of thought & you begin to synthesize that all elusive blog-post .... you are furiously hitting the keyboard, not looking on the screen - not daring to look, as you try to keep pace with the scorching speed of your brain .... and then after about half an hour of rigorous typing you look at the screen only to realize that its blank - blanked by the daily event that has come to characterize a 21st century nuclear India - the absence of potential difference for a supposedly scheduled period of time(for those of you, who are missing the hidden reference - I am talking about load-shedding) .... and this ironically makes all the potential difference between sweet success & bitter failure :P<br /><br />Every writer/blogger goes through a phase of such agony and persecution .... from this pain & anguish is born many a essays, poems & ballads .... culminating in the addition of a new post as this one .... one in an ocean of the infinitesimally meaningful & the infinitely absurd.<br /><br />And now that this restless mind has been subdued by the barbiturates of penning down a blog-post, notwithstanding its pointlessness, its time to give the poor keyboard a little rest .... and perhaps give the poor soul(s) who is reading this some time to recover .... not to mention that Orkut beckons :P<br /><br />Until next time fate deems fit, sayonaara.Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-1160401703224004772006-10-09T18:43:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:35:58.870+05:30North Korea tests the Nuke! .... And boy, does it shake the world!<table style="border-style: none; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: transparent;" class="cquote" align="center" cellpadding="10"> <tbody><tr><td valign="top" width="20"><div style="overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 20px; height: 20px;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" class="image" title="2006 North Korean nuclear test"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/6b/Cquote1.png/20px-Cquote1.png" alt="2006 North Korean nuclear test" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote1.png" height="15" width="20" /></a></div> </td> <td>The field of scientific research in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPRK">DPRK</a> successfully conducted an underground nuclear test under secure conditions on October 9, 2006, at a stirring time when all the people of the country are making a great leap forward in the building of a great, prosperous, powerful socialist nation. It has been confirmed that there was no such danger as radioactive emission in the course of the nuclear test as it was carried out under scientific consideration and careful calculation.<br />The nuclear test was conducted with indigenous wisdom and technology 100 percent. It marks a historic event as it greatly encouraged and pleased the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_People%27s_Army" title="Korean People's Army">KPA</a> and people that have wished to have powerful self-reliant defense capability. It will contribute to defending the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the area around it.</td> <td valign="bottom" width="20"> <div style="overflow: hidden; position: relative; width: 20px; height: 20px;"> <div style="overflow: hidden; position: absolute; line-height: 20px; letter-spacing: 20px;font-size:20px;"><strong class="selflink"><span title="2006 North Korean nuclear test" style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></strong></div> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" class="image" title="2006 North Korean nuclear test"><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/33/Cquote2.png/20px-Cquote2.png" alt="2006 North Korean nuclear test" longdesc="/wiki/Image:Cquote2.png" height="15" width="20" /></a></div></td></tr></tbody> </table> - Statement issued by the Korean Central News Agency on October 9th, 2006, as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DPRK">North Korea</a> conducted its 1st ever nuclear tests - an event which has shaken the world to its core and is giving sleepless nights to the champions of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_Non-proliferation_Treaty">Nuclear non-proliferation</a>.<br /><br /><br />Wasnt this imminent?? Absolutely - with the United States involved in clearing the mess in Iraq and so much focus on the Israel-Palestine issue and the alleged Irani involvment in the Lebanon crisis - North Korea had a free-run to taste the forbidden Apple of the 21st century - the Nuclear Weapon.<br /><br />Now with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il">Kim Il Jong</a> armed with an arsenal of nukes that is not just on paper for propaganda, but very much there for potential use - the entire scenario has become a nightmare. Mess in Iraq & Middle-East, increasing Anti-Americanism, the rise of Fundamentalism within mainstream Islam, the Islam-West divide, the mess in Afghanistan, the fall-out with Iran & Iran's veiled threats to go nuclear and now .... to add to this pile of existence-threatening time-bombs, is an added threat of an arsenal of potent nukes in the hands of a pyschological wreck, a mad-man and a Schrezopheniac (namely <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il">Kim Jong Il</a>)<br /><br />Now what? Till now the mention of North Korea elicited cautious & weary responses - that was when the North threatened to test missile delivery systems & some threats of testing nukes. The West never took the threat to test nukes seriously and paid the price. Now, mention North Korea's name and u will get responses varying from anger to desparation to panic. The North will use this as a levaraging factor during its negotiations with the West. Already, South Korean mkts fell more than 3% as a knee-jerk reaction to the tests, to recover slightly - they were still down by 2.5%. Clearly, this aint good for business, politics and society.<br /><br />And then ofcourse, the North may use arm-twisting tactics such as threats to make its technology available on the international illicit nuke-trade, which would be a great place for Osama and co to go shopping.<br /><br />So, there we are. President Bush claimed a few months ago that the world is a SAFER place to live in. Thank you Mr. Bush for the most flimsy piece of propaganda that your Govt has dished out so far. In the light of the above enumerated problems and the absolute mismanagement of all concerned situations by your inept administration, only a moron like you cant see through such horse-shit. The world aint safer - its become a lot more dangerous. All on October 9th, 2006 .....<br /><br /><br />Some Links/References for More info on the Nuke-test:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_North_Korean_nuclear_test">Wiki's Page on North Korea's Oct 9th 2006 Test</a><br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15191118/">Full Text of North Korean Announcement</a><br /><br /><b><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></b>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-1159552000069041482006-09-29T22:31:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:37:03.102+05:30J&K Flip-FlopAt the time of writing this post, Mr. Pervez Musharraf may have yet again flipped on his own statements and issued vehement denials of his own claims. This flip-flopping is characteristic of the General. So it comes as no surprise that the General wrote down one set of claims and ideas <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Line_of_Fire:_A_Memoir">in his 'memoirs'</a> and then refuted his own written claims, even going to the extent of feigning ignorance of what was written in his own book!!<br /><br />The story thus far is that Musharraf has claimed in his 'memoirs' that the C.I.A. paid the Pakistani Govt millions of dollars in return for the 600 or so suspected 'terrorists' that are now spending their time in the confines of detention centres around the planet (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detainment_camp">not to speak the *care* with which they are handled</a>). Such a monetary renumeration by any agency of the United States Govt is not permissible as per U.S. law. Not that the current U.S. administration isnt capable of flagrantly violating its own laws! :P .... Anyways, Musharraf then went on to refute his own claims during an appearance on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_Blitzer">Wolf Blitzer</a>'s show on CNN, by saying that such a remark was never made in the book and that he may have to review some changes in the book. He implicitly said that the Pakistan Govt was not a recepient of any monetary rewards given by the C.I.A.<br /><br />One can see the same pattern of flip-flopping in the J&K issue as well. Musharraf has on several ocassions offered conflicting views on Kashmir and its role vis-a-vis Indo-Pak relations. Today he says, "Pakistan is willing to sit at the table and discuss <span style="font-style: italic;">all possible alternatives</span> for seeking a solution to the J&K and other problems". The next day, he does a flip-around and says, "Pakistan cannot ignore the aspirations of Kashmiris to be independant and hence cannot stop our support to our brothers fighting for that freedom. Kashmir <span style="font-style: italic;">MUST </span>be an independant state" or something to that effect. Its this constant flip-flopping, which by the way is also the Indian Govt's story, that is so frustrating - given that both countries have many other issues such as poverty and globalization to deal with.<br /><br />In the light of all this, the many other claims and so-called 'facts', which have been 'revealed' in his 'memoirs' have also fallen to suspicion. He has made some very disturbing and rather controversial remarks about the Kargil conflict, its premise, its conduct and its outcome. Some of the claims Mushy has made are:<br />1. Pakistani Intelligence suggested that India was planning an incursion along the L.O.C., to capture key Pakistani posts - it fails to mention the magnitude of this alleged Indian 'plan'<br />2. In light of these Intelligence reports, Pakistan had no choice but to pre-empt India, by launching its own incursion along the L.O.C. and this is what happened<br />3. Pakistan with remarkably less manpower was able to stage a war for such a long duration<br />4. Pakistan with the help of strategic planning compelled the Indians to deploy a maximum strength force, which included many columns of the Army and Air Force and yet 'persist' for such a long time<br />5. Official figures regarding Indian casualty of about 600dead is undersated. Musharraf says it is actually double of that. Pakistan, on its part, suffered remarkably less casualties in a war of such duration. Thus, he implicitly indicates that Kargil was a failure for India and success for Pakistan.<br />6. Much of the progress made on the Kashmir issue (btw, I dont see any) can be attributed to the operation of Kargil<br /><br />These facts obviously dont seem to have gone well with the Indian polity - the corridors of power in New Delhi have chosen to either vehemently deny or ignore altogether the General's sensational claims. How much of it is truth and how much fiction can perhaps only be revealed by Mushy himself, as he flip-flops his way to hell! :P<br /><br />On the <a href="http://flipsydemusic.com/main/">Flypside</a>, the General does seem to have a good sense of humour and is definitely 'kool' by the standards of a military dictator! Uploaded here is a video of Musharraf appearing on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daily_Show">Daily Show with Jon Stewart</a>(which is a very popular <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fake_news">Fake News Show</a> hosted by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Stewart">Jon Stewart</a>, that is an excellent satire on American & International politics):<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/PmtgRS10Vvk"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/PmtgRS10Vvk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />If the video is anything to go by, Musharraf just got a huge P.R. boost in the U.S. of A. Ofcourse, where he really needs such a positive P.R. is in his own homeland, where by the day, he seems to be making more foes than allies.Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-1159364925565797642006-09-27T17:05:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:40:01.142+05:30Pop Vs Rock vs Other Musical Genres and other Nonsensical Stuff<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">NOTE: Commenting For this post has BEEN CLOSED! .... As the principal characters involved have already commented.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The following post is meant only for my college buddies and may not be understood by my other readers! This is the 1st time I am departing from the tradition to blog about General National and International issues and write something regarding college life and its controversies!</span><br /></span><br /><br /><br />A burning debate seems to have engulfed the entire country, which threatens to divide the people into two groups bitterly opposed to each other, resulting in Political and Musical strife. It may also spill out as a Musical civil war, which could leave thousands of innocent MP3's and 3GP's (read women and children) dead and deleted .... well, ahem, not quite .... mebbe not the nation - to be more precise the entire city of Mumbai .... well, ahem, another over-statement .... Forget a nation of 1 bn people or a city of 10 mn people - It certainly has managed to get a small group of nobodies n wannabes (which includes me:P) within our class all worked up! :P<br /><br />At the core of the debate lies the important issue of the dominance and superiority of one musical genre over another. Music-Lovers (and those non-living entities who dont listen to any music) are divided broadly into two categories -<br />1. Those with a agile and nimble neck (for the purpose of the rather energetic and rythmic oscillations of the neck, that could very well give Giraffes a neck-sprain :P) and high on profundity and psychobabble prefer Rock!<br />2. Those low in the aformentioned criteria prefer listening to 'Pop' :P<br /><br /><br />So the question is - Is Rock better than Pop? Or is it the other way around? Consequently, the Corollary: Are Rock-Lovers superior to those who prefer their music without all the agression (not to mention the philosophy as well)? This is a question that is so important (or atleast, seems so important to us anyways!:P), that it could well eclipse other existential problems that mankind today faces! :P .... btw here,<br />'mankind' = a small group of eccentric and insane people in TE Comps :P<br /><br /><br />Look at the way 'mankind' is divided - the Pop-Lovers (which consisted of a solitary individual, whom I shall now refer to as BoyZone :P) screaming hoarse on the pitfalls of Rock music and its 'superficiality'. And then we had the virulent and often vitriolic catcalls of the Rock-fans, who defended their genre with such fervour and passion as begets a man from the lairs of Osama's jihad factory! :P .... From the Rock-fans, there was one particularly agitated fan(whom I shall now refer to as Manson :P), who took very strong objections to what he claimed were the jaundiced views of an ignorant and imature(in his words 'sissy') followers of a bygone genre.<br /><br /><br />Boyzone kicked off, what at the time seemed to be a small conflict, which has now turned into full-blown war - which could have both profound and drastic (and disastrous) influences on the way music evolves in the new millenia. :P .... (alrite alrite, I shouldnt be overdoing the hyperbole :P)<br /><br />Boyzone's objections were that Rock-fans were mainly "wannabes trying to get a blonde's attention" and that Rock-fans must not rubbish other musical genres. He further went on to say that "this is blatantly against those die hard rock fans[u better die :p],who consider any music other than rock as shit." He continues with the diatribe, which it seems is peppered with more such philosophical gems :P .... Manson countered with some arguments of his own, which while holding merit, also didnt fail to deliver sucker-punches to our Pop-Lover, reliving memories rather forgotten. And as it happened, both Boyzone and Manson didnt leave the opportunity to score brownie points and browbeat each other on issues totally personal and which couldnt be farthest from the focal point of the debate!! Human-nature at its best or worst - whichever way u look at it! :P<br /><br /><br />Now, just picture Boyzone as the sole Musical dictator of the planet! He gets to call the shots on the music being made! Guitar music will be dead, Britney Spears will be shown in "Headbanger's ball", Himeshji's wonderful nasal masterpieces will be played here, there and everywhere(I know thats already happening :P)!! .... If Mr. Boyzone has his way then every Rock mp3 will be deleted from the face of this planet!! No<span style="font-style: italic;"> Dance of Death</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Fear of the Dark</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">For Whom the Bell Tolls</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Losing My Religion</span>, etc!! :( .... Musical 'compositions' will be churned out by the dozen by the nasal factories of Himesh, Britney & co .... Music will be lame, loud and banal! The sounds of the heavings and farts on Mumbai's locals would seem a much better option to drown the sorrow and misery of thousands of dishevelled Rock-Lovers! :P<br /><br /><br />Now, contradictorily, picture Mr. Manson having his way! He gets to censor/approve the Music of the planet! What would then happen?? With the zeal of a man possessed by the sensibilities of his genre and quite taken away by it, he will bind the same passion on others! So, gudbye Miss Spears and Mr. Nasal Chammiya!! Hell! This doesnt seem to be a bad proposition after all! :P .... No but seriously, the melodies of ABBA - to whose tunes an entire generation danced and who viewed them with such reverance and many other melodies will be incinerated by this rock-madman in his over-zealous efforts to ensure a totalitarian world of Rock, Rock and ONLY Rock!! Hell! If he has his way, newborns will be listening to Cannibal Corpse! :P<br /><br /><br />So there u are - my take on it - back of guys, both of u! Mr. Boyzone and Mr. Manson - both ur genres are required and I say 'required' with gr8 reluctance - coz pop sucks 4 me :P .... however grudgingly I may admit, I concede that in the interests of music full of versatility and variance, its important for both genres to exist and evolve - although, I dont think they will ever learn to 'co-exist' peacefully! :P<br /><br />And as far as which Genre is better! ROCK certainly is! Hands down, Legs up and Heads Banging! :P .... So, corollary : ROCK fans are certainly superior to Pop fans!! :P .... no offense to all the pop-listeners, just one suggestion - grow up! :P<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">PS: Both 'Boyzone' and 'Manson' happen to be close buddies - I didnt intend to hurt them - merely to laugh at the things people pick and fight on and present it in a humourous and sarcastic way.<br /></span></span><em></em>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-1158419945484708822006-09-16T19:25:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:43:49.750+05:30Schumi's Race-ituary!<div style="text-align: center;"> <div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >There isnt much that I can say, that can fully capture this man, his persona and his accomplishments. So when he announces his retirement from active Formula 1, there isnt much I can say except offer a small tribute to him by writing a Race-ituary for him!<br /><br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span></div> <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" > </span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5913/3360/1600/michael_schumacher.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5913/3360/320/michael_schumacher.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"> Michael Schumacher<br /></div> (1991-2006)<br /><br />Beloved son of Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher<br />Loving husband of Karina Schumacher<br />Doting father of Gina-Maria and Mick Schumacher<br /><br /><br />A 7-time Formula 1 Champion (can he make it 8? looks very much like it) with:<br />5 consecutive Championship titles,<br />90 GP victories out of which 71 were with Ferrari (Is that surprising? :P),<br />7 consecutive GP victories in the 2004-05 season,<br />8 victories on the same circuit - at France's Magny Cours track,<br />68 Pole Positions,<br />75 Fastest Laps,<br />148 points in a single season in the 2002-03 season,<br />43 Second places and a total of 153 podium finishes,<br />19 consecutive podium finishes in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons,<br />4726 laps as the leading car on track,<br />And a Grand Total of 1354 Championship points.<br />(Please remember, knowing him,<br />these statistics may very well change! :P)<br /><br /><br />A two-time Laureus Sporstman of the Year (He got nominated thrice),<br />A leading Spokesperson for the Road Safety Awareness Campaign,<br />A Special Ambassador to UNESCO,<br />And The only sportsman to have donated 10million $ to the victims of the<br />2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami.<br /><br /><br />A Demi-God for millions of Ferrari/Formula 1 fans and till recently for me.<br />A Pain in the Arse for: Flavio Braitore, Fernando Alonso and the rest of the F1 circus and since recently for me :P<br /><br /><br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;">has left the Formula 1 track for a homely abode on the 10th September, 2006. His departure was peaceful, but has left a void in all of our lives.<br />We all deeply mourn his absence on the track and we pray and wish him peace and success in what he does!<br /><br />May the Lord be with him! And may he be with Renault! :P<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;">NOTE: All statistics and associated information has been taken from Wikipedia's page on Schumacher and a couple of other webpages, which are listed here:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schumi">Wiki's Schumi Page</a><br /><a href="http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/shu_bio.htm">Schumi in the GP Hall of Fame</a><br /><a href="http://www.ddavid.com/formula1/shu_bio.htm">Schumi's Profile on Yahoo/Reuters</a><br /></span></div> </div>Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31175546.post-1157991209460304212006-09-11T17:51:00.000+05:302007-12-31T00:45:13.515+05:309/11 - 5 years on - A Reflection<span style="font-size:130%;">NOTE: I strongly recommend reading Wiki's pages (or any other informative site's pages) on:<br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:130%;">1. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11">9/11</a><br />2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war">Iraq war</a><br />3. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_war_in_Afghanistan">2001 Afghanistan war</a><br />4. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_war_in_Afghanistan">The U.S. role during the Afghan war of 80's</a><br />5. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Dossier">September Dossie</a>r" issued on 24th Sept, 2002 by the British Govt<br />6. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodgy_dossier">Dodgy Dossier</a>" issued on 3rd Feb, 2003 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alastair_Campbell">Alaistair Campbell</a><br />7. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Tony_Blair">General Criticism of Tony Blair</a><br />8. the so-called "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror">War on Terror</a>"<br /><br />and associated pages. I know its a lot to ask, but there is a veil of ignorance on the entire issue. It is, however, in no way a pre-requisite for understanding the below article.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5913/3360/1600/TVScreenCNNBreakingNews.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5913/3360/320/TVScreenCNNBreakingNews.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">That horrific sight, which beamed across T.V. screens around the world exactly 5 years ago on this date and which has since transformed the world politically.</span><br /><br /></div><br /><br />Five years ago, on this date, 20 normal looking, well-educated and apparently "sophisticated" men used some average-sized knives to hijack 4 U.S. domestic airliners and unfolded the most spectacular and wide-scaled terrorist strike of all times, in the heart of Manhattan - the epicentre of American capitalism, killing more than 3000 people and causing an estimated loss running into billions of dollars. By doing this, they managed to circumvent the "impenetratable" defenses of the world's sole super-power. All of a sudden, America's super-hi-tech nukes and anti-missile defenses looked feeble as compared to the lunatic determination of Islamic extremists who seem to be experts at modern-age guerilla warfare.<br /><br /><br />So, in the past 5 years, what has happened? Has anything changed? Are we closer to defeating terrorism? Has <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osama_Bin_Laden">Osama Bin Laden</a> been brought to book? Are we living in a safer world? - We all know the answers, all of which are in the negative. Not only has nothing changed, things have infact gotten a whole lot worse. The '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_Terror">War on Terror</a>' was launched a month after 9/11 and began with the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_war_in_Afghanistan"> justified invasion of Afghanistan</a>. However, as we now know, it degenerated into a cover (a rather flimsy one at that, but somehow, Americans dont seem to be able to look through it) for the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_W._Bush_administration">Bush Administration</a>'s own imperial agenda.<br /><br />The Afghanistan invasion was completely botched up. The U.S. Govt. went in with very little troops and equipment, with the result that Osama had a head-start of over 2 months, before American troops finally reached <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tora_Bora">Tora Bora</a>. Hell! As per <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit_911">Fahrenheit 9/11</a>, there are more policemen in Manhattan than U.S. troops in Afghanistan! The Taliban was allowed to get away to greener pastures (Pakistan and Southern Afghanistan). A pseudo-democracy, whose strings were controlled by the folks at the White House was put in place. An absolute lack of planning and some very personal agendas has resulted in an Afghanistan that is fractured and unstable. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_production_in_Afghanistan">Under the Taliban, Afghanistan's contibution to poppy was actually LESS than what it currently is!</a> Afghanistan accounts for almost 66-75% of Cocaine production in the world - Hell! A major chunk of the economy runs on it! Warlords rule most of the territories and factionism is rampant. A resurgent Taliban is kicking arse in eastern & southern Afghanistan. Afghanistan is pretty much the farthest corner of hell! As we now know, the American Govt never intended the Afghanistan war - it was just a namesake war, a formality which had to be fulfilled. They had much bigger and (h)OILier intentions.<br /><br /><br />And then <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_war">Iraq happened</a>. And the rest we know is history. I still remember watching Messrs Tony Blair and GWB articulate the 'serious and grave' threat posed by this 'murderous and tyrannous' dictator. Look who's talking about tyranny and murder and dictatorship! And Mr. Blair, what about the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WMD">WMD</a>'s that could be launched <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_Dossier">at the push of a button within 45mins</a>?! And what about the chemical and biological mobile labs that Saddam would not hesitate to use against the "Free World"? (which by the way, consists of the United States and the United Kingdom)<br /><br />Iraq has turned into a nightmare, a 2nd <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_war">Vietnam</a> for the United States. Again without any post-war planning and with just the outline of a 'war', the U.S. launced its "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_and_awe">shock and awe</a>" campaign into Iraq. The results are disastrous - the country has become a safe haven for all kinds of shady operators - drug-dealers, arms-smugglers, insurgents and 'terrorists'. If that wasnt enough, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shi%27a_Islam">Shites</a> and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni">Sunnis</a> are slugging it out in a body-count contest. Iraq is just short of having a civil war - its hanging pretty much by a thread. All this ofcourse, after spending <a href="http://www.nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=61">350 billion $</a> and losing more than 1500 American soldiers and thousands of innocent Iraqis. And Sample this: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Stiglitz" title="Joseph Stiglitz">Joseph Stiglitz</a>, former chief economist of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Bank" title="World Bank">World Bank</a> has suggested the total costs of the Iraq War on the US economy will be $1 trillion in a conservative scenario and could top $2 trillion in a moderate one.<br /><br /><br />We know all this. But, what really is the most important aspect of the story is that the events on Sept 11th, 2001 set in motion events and politics, whose ramifications we are still feeling (and to also add, reeling from). The events of that day has made an entire nation (the one nation that matters) even more sceptical and unresponsive to the frustrations of the rest of the world. Whatever little concern and/or sympathy Americans had for the rest of the world evaporated the instant those towers collapsed to their doom. Till Sept 11th, 2001, it was the United States Govt which played politics and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA">the CIA which did the Govt's dirty work (and still does)</a>. Post-9/11, it seems to be normal Americans who have chosen to be deeply mistrustful and sceptical of the R.O.W. and have supported the misguided (and imperial) policies of their Govt.<br /><br />This is evident on the choice made by Americans on another historic day - <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Presidential_Election">Nov 4th, 2004, when Geroge W Bush was re-elected as the 43rd President of the United States</a>. On that 2nd historic day, Americans chose a political ideology that sought to reciprocate/counter Osama's extremist ideology, when it comes to matters like wars and/or intelorance. In their anger and spite and an exaggerated paranoia of the world, they chose an ideology which to the rest of us seems equally irrational and criminal as Osama's loony-bin thinking. Isn't it then ironic then, that Osama perhaps achieved much more than what he really aimed at? America has become a lot more aggressive and paranoid - in many ways, its managed to lose all credibility and managed to become synonymous with 'tyranny' and 'unilateralism'. Hell! Osama has managed to make out America as the 'demon' or '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dajjal">dajjal</a>', atleast in the Muslim world. With each war, America grows in unpopularity and Osama grows in his cult-figure stature.<br /><br /><br />Where are we headed to? Some Christian and Muslim fundamentalists would like us to believe, we are headed for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon">Armageddon</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiyamah">Qiyamah</a>. Five years ago, I wouldnt have bought that religious shit, today I think its pretty much happening. The so-called "War on Terror" has taken a distinctly religious tone - its now more of a <span style="font-style: italic;">Christianity/Judaism Vs Islam </span>crusade. And the focal point of this issue is the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Land">Holy Land</a>" or what we now call <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel">Israel</a>/<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine">Palestine</a>. Thats where both sides lead us to believe is the crux of the issue.<br /><br />Some reports indicate that the Christian lobby in America is so powerful that it influences American policies vis-a-vis Israel-Palestine. This inturn infuriates the Muslim world, which then rides on the false promises and personal agendas of Osama and his cronies and seeks revenge in the form of '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jihad">Jihad</a>' - little do they know that Mr. Osama is a crooked psychopath advocating a recipe for disaster. Here we are - in the 21st century and we are fighting a global war on the basis of stuff that was written/happened two millenia ago! Can't we just let it go? Perhaps its time to screw all the Religions and Religious texts, the accusations and counter-accusations - just wipe the damn slate clean and have a fresh start!<br /><br /><br />Whatever all this is leading to and however "justified" this religious and political crusade seems to either side, one thing is certain, all this doesnt matter to the people who lost their loved ones on that fateful day 5 years ago - neither to those who have since lost their lives to American paranoia and thousands who will continue to lose their lives to this madness.<br /><br />In the memorial service, as the names were being read out and memories rekindled, one woman recounted her husband's life (He was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NYFD">NYFD</a> firefighter who died with 6 other colleagues while evacuating the towers) - she recounted her love for him and how the children and other family members missed him in an emotional speech. She then barely whispered of how the family had given the 7 of them a nickname - "We call you the seven in heaven!", she said.<br /><br />I guess, there isnt much left to say. Lets end this madness and arrive at a compromise through a middle-path! Lets accept wrong-doings, gulp down our egos and stop trying to prove "My religion is greater than yours" - Lets just be plain human beings and think rationally for once!Directionless Wandererhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02667536436929439838noreply@blogger.com11