Life is beautiful,
Life has treated me funnily pushing me down ... pulling me up when I least expect it.
Recently I had a wicked sense of deja vu ..... my life has not come full circle but quarter circle possibly if such a thing exists.
June and July have been really important months from a personal perspective.
A lot of life altering decisions were taken in these two months for the last 15 years of my life. These months make me experience a plethora of emotions ensuring that no brakes are applied in the roller-coaster that is my life experiences.
In my humble view if I had to label my life I would term it,
adventurous, befuddling, cultured, discrete, enchanting, funny, generous, hilarious, independent, joyous, knowledgeable, lively, mature, neurotic, opulent, placid, quiet, reflective, shrewd, tough, unconventional, vivacious, witty, xenomorphic, youthful, zany .......
Life .. Loving it .. Living it
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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kind of family employment schemes. The Prime Minister "revealed" to a group of journalists that he had decided to resign if the nuclear deal with the US was not passed in Parliament. To fulfil his "kasam" to Washington, he silently saw the lawmakers' highest body turn into a mandi.
For him, his "kasam" was more important than the "maryada" of his nation's parliament.
I wish he had honoured in the same way his "kasam" to the Indian people – the oath he took while taking the office of Prime Minister, that bound him to protecting the lives of his people and giving a government that treated all citizens equally.
Pota was removed to please Muslims. A special reservation scheme was implemented at Aligarh Muslim University to have seats for a particular religious group reserved.
The Planning Commission allocated Rs 3,000 crore for minority (read Muslim) development schemes and banks were directed to give loans to the minorities at a special consideration. To address Kashmiri Muslim "sentiments", Afzal's hanging was delayed till the next government is formed. Ram Sethu was brutally assaulted and Rama's existence was denied – all before the eyes of Mr Nice and Dr Decent. Not a single word was spoken to address the sentiments of Hindus.
He kept a studied silence seeing the butchers of 1984 being protected and promoted as party candidates for Lok Sabha elections till a shoe throw compelled the leader to delist them.
So much for his "kasam" to provide impartial governance.
The "kasam" to protect the people and safeguard the honour of soldiers was "fulfilled" in such a manner that soldiers returned their war decorations and had to demonstrate like pariahs at Jantar Mantar. The government was busy decorating the liars and voices of terrorists.
And now, there is a controversy regarding a story sourced to the Special Investigating Tribunal blaming certain NGOs for cooking up ghastly stories of barbarism, which, the report says, never occurred. The person who has been charged having helped file such "cooked up" stories became a darling of the secular media noises in Delhi who would present her stories like a constitutional tribunal's report.
There is a contradiction which is further confusing as SIT is still silent on it. For the sake of justice and fair play, the truth must be investigated and the honour of the people, whichever side they might belong to, be restored. If the Kausar Bi story was filed truthfully, the criminals must be hanged in public along with the perpetrators of Godhra. But if it was a fabrication, the "writer" must be punished because if a mind can cook up such ghastly scenes, what will be the difference between what Kasab and his gang did in Mumbai and what these pen-pushers of the secular chill club do to India and her people? A writer more known in London wrote a story as spine chilling as was the Godhra fire. It read, "A mob surrounded the house of former Congress MP Iqbal Ehsan Jaffri. His phone calls to the Director-General of Police, the Police Commissioner, the Chief Secretary, the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) were ignored. The mobile police vans around his house did not intervene. The mob broke into the house. They stripped his daughters and burned them alive. Then they beheaded Ehsan Jaffri and dismembered him. Of course it’s only a coincidence that Jaffri was a trenchant critic of Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, during his campaign for the Rajkot Assembly by-election in February.'(Arundhati Roy’s article, Outlook, dated 6 May 2002).
Ehsaan was killed but the rest of the story was false for which Roy had to apologize. A people traumatized, painted black all over the globe, their character mutilated and just an apology?
And who were those killed in the Godhra train who never got a line from these "chroniclers of human tragedies"?
Just waste paper?
Read what the Union minister of state for home, Shriprakash Jaiswal, who belongs to the Congress, told Parliament on May 11, 2005: "790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the riots, 2,548 people were injured and 223 people were missing."
Who were those killed in Gujarat riots along with Muslims?
Just dirt?
The hate-Hindu cartel represents the hate of Ghaznis and Ghauris. They survive on the funds given to them by Congress-Communist groups and state powers controlled by them. Their social acceptability and glamour is enhanced by "praise for each other" societies. And Mr Nice and Dr Decent pats them with state awards.
Amid cacophony and intemperate language laced with shoe throws, criminals and convicted actors are having a field day canvassing for their parties and though a mature and stable democracy we pretend to be, the first casualty in this situation has been decency in public debate.
The poll scene has turned the nation into a war room. The last 62 years have witnessed our motherland's vivisection, a million people killed, 1.25 lakh sq km of land illegally occupied by aliens, massacres by Pakistani marauders in Mirpur and in Bihar by Maoist terror outfits, the jeep purchase scandal in 1948, a humiliation like 1962 when ordnance factories were ordered to make coffee machines instead on rifles, the Nagarwala mystery, the submarine scandal, wheat import commissions, farmers' suicides, forced exile of Kashmiri Hindus and desecration of more than 172 temples. The list is ever-growing amid inspiring stories of Indian people’s perseverance and achievements.
Isn't it time we rose above fault lines, gave a chance to an India that would make every Indian of every denomination, faith, colour and creed an equally proud partner? Can't we think and vote on issues that overpower religious, caste-based and parochial concerns? Will this war room kind of atmosphere result in a decisive mandate?
(The author is director of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation)
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Muh ki baat chin li !
Article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2975525.cms
(Author is a BJP MP, National Secretary and convenor of the party's think tank)
(Author is a BJP MP, National Secretary and convenor of the party's think tank)
The importance of being a Gandhi-Nehru
Two recent developments – repeated references to Rahul Gandhi as “Yuvraj” (the heir to the throne) by a Congress MP in the Rajya Sabha and an innocuous recent press advertisement – have underlined the malice of dynastic politics that continues to plague the Congress, India’s oldest political party.
Last Monday, Dr E. M. Sudarsana Natchipan was participating in a discussion on the Rural Development Ministry in Rajya Sabha. In the true tradition of his party, he reduced the entire issue of rural development to singing paeans of Rahul Gandhi. Calling Rahul a “Yuvraj” a number of times in his discourse, he compared him to Lord Buddha. Dr Natchipan conveniently forgot that in a democracy, there is no “Yuvraj” or “Yuvrani”. And if there is a “Yuvraj”, logically there will be a “Rajmata” as well. And who is the “Rajmata”? No prizes for guessing.
In another development, several newspapers recently carried an advertisement from the government mouthpiece Prasar Bharati. The advertisement says that the Prasar Bharati will "soon be coming out with a comprehensive website on the great leaders of India". It has sought audio-video material on these great leaders from those who may be having such material in their possession. The public has been asked to send these to the Doordarshan archives.
The advertisement also carries the photographs of these "great leaders of India" – Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Now, I have no quarrel that the first three contributed to the greatness of pre-independence and post-independence India. Most historians would have reservations about Rajiv Gandhi being included in this list. But even that could be ignored.
However, can we ignore the underlying insult to this great country by a government body’s decision to recognise only these four people as "great leaders"? What about Subhash Chandra Bose? Or Bhagat Singh? Or Rajaji? Dr Rajendra Prasad? Veer Savarkar? Dr. K B Hedgewar? Lal Bahadur Shastri, under whose leadership India was able to recover its prestige in 1965 after Nehru's disastrous policy allowed China to slap India across the face? Is he not among the "great leaders of India?" Or is it that this tiny man with no aristocratic blood to flaunt or Cambridge degree to distinguish him has no place among the "great" of post-independence India?
What about Jayaprakash Narayan whose tremendous power of moral force toppled a dictatorship in 1977 even though he and his followers were jailed for 19 months? Is Rajiv Gandhi who came to power on the strength of his family connection — without having to sacrifice anything — greater than JP, a hero of not only 1975-77 but also of the 1942 movement, the entire independence struggle and the Bhoodan movement? Rajiv Gandhi came to power on a sympathy wave but his massive two-thirds majority could not help him avoid an electoral defeat five years later.
This insult to India is carrying on unchecked because we have "leaders" who do not have the guts to tell the “royals” the truth. Emasculated by years of slavish underdog-ism, these leaders not only genuflect but also cower and crawl before the party's royal family. One angry look from 10 Janpath is enough to send these "leaders" to Tirupati to beg the Lord of the Seven Hills to spare them from this royal rage.
In that respect, I would any day give the thumbs up to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. At least she has the guts to take on the “prince”.
Coming back to the advertisement, Prasar Bharti is not to be blamed in the prevailing environment of sycophancy. Enough care has been taken to stamp out all other great names that participated in the freedom struggle and afterwards lent their shoulder to shepherd the country through tough times. For instance, behind the seat of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha there is a list of his predecessors. When Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, it fell to the Opposition to raise a howl over Shastri's omission from this list. This could not have been a simple mistake because the Lok Sabha records cannot be trifled with and any writing therein is checked 20 times. The conclusion is obvious: no other name was to come up before the public except those belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Across the country, almost every government institution is named after members of only this family. Only in Kolkata has the local sentiment ensured that the airport is named after Netaji; the same has happened in Mumbai. But in Hyderabad, the new airport was not named after the tallest Andhra leader, N.T. Rama Rao or any other Telugu leader — one can think of many like T. Prakasam a fiery freedom fighter and a chief minister afterwards. Once again, it is Rajiv Gandhi’s name that has won out.
Such devotion to one family may please Congressmen but it is a national shame that this country of over 100 crore people with a civilization that is thousands of years old is being made to ignore its past and the string of great leaders it produced in every field. For instance, would it not have been more appropriate to name the government-funded culture and fine art centre coming up at Rajendra Prasad Road in Delhi after Rabindranath Tagore rather than Indira Gandhi? We can cite a number of other instances where Bharatiya men of eminence in arts, sciences, philosophy, etc have been ignored and the institution carries the name of one of the Congress' "royal family".
A nation whose top and middle level leaders are placed in the straitjacket of a single family loyalty is only damaging its own leadership mettle. This is like a mighty tree drawing on only one root and letting all other roots wither. Sometimes we are unhappy over Mayawati making a fetish of Dr Ambedkar and putting her own statues along with that of the architect of the Indian Constitution. But that counterweight is at least preferable to the refrain Congressmen have and are seeking to impose on the country. In 1975 we came across the slogan "One Country, One Leader, One Agenda" which was a precursor to the darkness that followed.
Before Dr Natchiappan declared Baba Rahul as the “Yuvraj” of independent India, another Congress stalwart Arjun Singh had referred to him as the next Prime Minister. But poor Arjun Singh. For telling the truth regarding the monarchy that rules his party he has been administered a public rebuke by the queen herself. The rebuke also conveys to the hoi polloi Congressmen that the royalty frowns upon commoners playing with the number one family. The question of succession and when it will be announced will be the privilege of the family alone.
But is that really so? Was Arjun Singh being prompted or did he slip up while trying to score brownie points over Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? It is difficult to believe that a seasoned leader like Arjun Singh — former chief minister, governor, party vice-president and Nehru-Gandhi loyalist — would slip up especially as he has no need to demonstrate his loyalty. Also when a Congressman is asked by the media if he would like Rahul Gandhi to lead the government after the coming elections, can he dare say anything that could be interpreted as disguised disloyalty? The political calculations lead to the only explanation for the mystery of Arjun Singh being pulled up for stating the obvious: this is all a stage-managed affair to underline the importance of the royalty that rules the Congress.
It is a matter of pride for India to assert that India is not Indira (forgive poor Debkant Barooha) or the Gandhis but India is multi-faceted, with many streams, many names, rich beyond the reach of all the words in any language. It belongs to you as well as to me and all Indians have the right to aspire to be its Prime Minister and elected to that top spot.
Last Monday, Dr E. M. Sudarsana Natchipan was participating in a discussion on the Rural Development Ministry in Rajya Sabha. In the true tradition of his party, he reduced the entire issue of rural development to singing paeans of Rahul Gandhi. Calling Rahul a “Yuvraj” a number of times in his discourse, he compared him to Lord Buddha. Dr Natchipan conveniently forgot that in a democracy, there is no “Yuvraj” or “Yuvrani”. And if there is a “Yuvraj”, logically there will be a “Rajmata” as well. And who is the “Rajmata”? No prizes for guessing.
In another development, several newspapers recently carried an advertisement from the government mouthpiece Prasar Bharati. The advertisement says that the Prasar Bharati will "soon be coming out with a comprehensive website on the great leaders of India". It has sought audio-video material on these great leaders from those who may be having such material in their possession. The public has been asked to send these to the Doordarshan archives.
The advertisement also carries the photographs of these "great leaders of India" – Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. Now, I have no quarrel that the first three contributed to the greatness of pre-independence and post-independence India. Most historians would have reservations about Rajiv Gandhi being included in this list. But even that could be ignored.
However, can we ignore the underlying insult to this great country by a government body’s decision to recognise only these four people as "great leaders"? What about Subhash Chandra Bose? Or Bhagat Singh? Or Rajaji? Dr Rajendra Prasad? Veer Savarkar? Dr. K B Hedgewar? Lal Bahadur Shastri, under whose leadership India was able to recover its prestige in 1965 after Nehru's disastrous policy allowed China to slap India across the face? Is he not among the "great leaders of India?" Or is it that this tiny man with no aristocratic blood to flaunt or Cambridge degree to distinguish him has no place among the "great" of post-independence India?
What about Jayaprakash Narayan whose tremendous power of moral force toppled a dictatorship in 1977 even though he and his followers were jailed for 19 months? Is Rajiv Gandhi who came to power on the strength of his family connection — without having to sacrifice anything — greater than JP, a hero of not only 1975-77 but also of the 1942 movement, the entire independence struggle and the Bhoodan movement? Rajiv Gandhi came to power on a sympathy wave but his massive two-thirds majority could not help him avoid an electoral defeat five years later.
This insult to India is carrying on unchecked because we have "leaders" who do not have the guts to tell the “royals” the truth. Emasculated by years of slavish underdog-ism, these leaders not only genuflect but also cower and crawl before the party's royal family. One angry look from 10 Janpath is enough to send these "leaders" to Tirupati to beg the Lord of the Seven Hills to spare them from this royal rage.
In that respect, I would any day give the thumbs up to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati. At least she has the guts to take on the “prince”.
Coming back to the advertisement, Prasar Bharti is not to be blamed in the prevailing environment of sycophancy. Enough care has been taken to stamp out all other great names that participated in the freedom struggle and afterwards lent their shoulder to shepherd the country through tough times. For instance, behind the seat of the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha there is a list of his predecessors. When Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister, it fell to the Opposition to raise a howl over Shastri's omission from this list. This could not have been a simple mistake because the Lok Sabha records cannot be trifled with and any writing therein is checked 20 times. The conclusion is obvious: no other name was to come up before the public except those belonging to the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Across the country, almost every government institution is named after members of only this family. Only in Kolkata has the local sentiment ensured that the airport is named after Netaji; the same has happened in Mumbai. But in Hyderabad, the new airport was not named after the tallest Andhra leader, N.T. Rama Rao or any other Telugu leader — one can think of many like T. Prakasam a fiery freedom fighter and a chief minister afterwards. Once again, it is Rajiv Gandhi’s name that has won out.
Such devotion to one family may please Congressmen but it is a national shame that this country of over 100 crore people with a civilization that is thousands of years old is being made to ignore its past and the string of great leaders it produced in every field. For instance, would it not have been more appropriate to name the government-funded culture and fine art centre coming up at Rajendra Prasad Road in Delhi after Rabindranath Tagore rather than Indira Gandhi? We can cite a number of other instances where Bharatiya men of eminence in arts, sciences, philosophy, etc have been ignored and the institution carries the name of one of the Congress' "royal family".
A nation whose top and middle level leaders are placed in the straitjacket of a single family loyalty is only damaging its own leadership mettle. This is like a mighty tree drawing on only one root and letting all other roots wither. Sometimes we are unhappy over Mayawati making a fetish of Dr Ambedkar and putting her own statues along with that of the architect of the Indian Constitution. But that counterweight is at least preferable to the refrain Congressmen have and are seeking to impose on the country. In 1975 we came across the slogan "One Country, One Leader, One Agenda" which was a precursor to the darkness that followed.
Before Dr Natchiappan declared Baba Rahul as the “Yuvraj” of independent India, another Congress stalwart Arjun Singh had referred to him as the next Prime Minister. But poor Arjun Singh. For telling the truth regarding the monarchy that rules his party he has been administered a public rebuke by the queen herself. The rebuke also conveys to the hoi polloi Congressmen that the royalty frowns upon commoners playing with the number one family. The question of succession and when it will be announced will be the privilege of the family alone.
But is that really so? Was Arjun Singh being prompted or did he slip up while trying to score brownie points over Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh? It is difficult to believe that a seasoned leader like Arjun Singh — former chief minister, governor, party vice-president and Nehru-Gandhi loyalist — would slip up especially as he has no need to demonstrate his loyalty. Also when a Congressman is asked by the media if he would like Rahul Gandhi to lead the government after the coming elections, can he dare say anything that could be interpreted as disguised disloyalty? The political calculations lead to the only explanation for the mystery of Arjun Singh being pulled up for stating the obvious: this is all a stage-managed affair to underline the importance of the royalty that rules the Congress.
It is a matter of pride for India to assert that India is not Indira (forgive poor Debkant Barooha) or the Gandhis but India is multi-faceted, with many streams, many names, rich beyond the reach of all the words in any language. It belongs to you as well as to me and all Indians have the right to aspire to be its Prime Minister and elected to that top spot.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Blooperon ka Baap !
These are from a book called Disorder in the American Courts, and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published by court reporters who had the torment of keeping a straight face while these exchanges were actually taking place.
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS : Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
____________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
____________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________ _________ _________ ______
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year- old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.
____________ _________ _________ _________ _
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: ?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh.... I was gettin' laid!
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Are you shitin' me? Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Guess.
___________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to our attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. Would you like to rephrase that?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
____________ _________ _________ _________ _____
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh....are you qualified to ask that question?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS : Gucci sweats and Reeboks.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?
____________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.
____________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?
____________ _________ _________ ______
ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year- old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty-one.
____________ _________ _________ _________ _
ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: ?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh.... I was gettin' laid!
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Are you shitin' me? Your Honor, I think I need a different attorney. Can I get a new attorney?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Guess.
___________ _________ _________ _______
ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice which I sent to our attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. Would you like to rephrase that?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK? What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an autopsy on him!
____________ _________ _________ _________ _____
ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh....are you qualified to ask that question?
____________ _________ _________ ________
ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Self Actualization revisited
Feeling of happiness or contentment is a vital facet of our existence. I find it to be extremely peculiar how people leave something that is so precious in the hands of those whose sole aim in life is to make others miserable.
I have heard an interesting saying –
‘Things that matter the most must never be left at the mercy of those who matter the least’.
Easier said than done. Our lives are so intricately connected to others that it is an insurmountable task to seek this level of alienation. Maybe the ups and down of life, like a rollercoaster, always travel along a pre decided path. Every journey an exhilaration that has a culmination. Then some one else gets on to experience the rush!
I have heard an interesting saying –
‘Things that matter the most must never be left at the mercy of those who matter the least’.
Easier said than done. Our lives are so intricately connected to others that it is an insurmountable task to seek this level of alienation. Maybe the ups and down of life, like a rollercoaster, always travel along a pre decided path. Every journey an exhilaration that has a culmination. Then some one else gets on to experience the rush!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Wackiest Teacher Bloopers from School Days
1) Preface:
Some 3-4 girls had paired up ms. S with a male prof. Apparently 1 of those 3-4 girls had snitched to her and this is what ms. S used as a cheap publicity stunt......
Here are the actual words of ms. S (d aunt of william shakespeare) with thoughts that crossed our minds (in brackets). Everythin is in the present tense for u to get a feel of it. ( The no. of "knows" actually used by her =(knows in d para)*10^6)
venue: Class 9-A.
The story:
The long-break bell rings. Ms. S enters.
Ms. S : (straight face)... I wanted to have a word with u girls for two mins (The countdown begins)....... I also have a brother (with an opener like that, I wonder where is she heading.....anyway....) do u girls even know how strict he is??? I am not supposed to be out of the house after 8.30 (uh..excuse me ma'm....rules and regulations followed at your place don'treally matter to us)...... He is stricter than my father..... What if he comes to know what is going - on behind my back....Its pathetic! You girls don't understand the consequences ( c'mon haan english n all)...You all are gettin "into" my nerves now....(when it came to screwing prepositions, ms. S is d "man"u want)..... Youknow.... I feel so cheated... (ok, whats going on here???).... I know u girls paired me up with M. sir. It is not a joke. Do u know how my brother will react if he ever came to know? He takes walks every evening in 5-gardens ( will sumbody plz tel me...whats going on here?!?) .... Plz stop this right now ..... its not funny... u girls hurt me .... u jus speak rubbish even without thinking .... (hah!look who's talkin!)".
The dumbstruck girls' reactions: Most of d girls gobsmacked with amazement...while the rest actually die with laughter! These were d most random 15 mins of my life........
2) There was a Mrs R in my school
I still wonder why did she pronounce "Algebra" as "ALLgebra".....
I remember this particular incident when one of my coolest frnds (n partner in crime) was sneezing continously in 1 of her algebra lecs in 9th. Assuming it to b a prank she gave my frnd a threatening look.
at this my frnd cooly stood up ..... sniffed. ... n replied "Nothing much miss ... jus a little ALLergy"
the class was in splits.........
3) Once in 8th marathi lec.
Mrs. N yelled at our out-of-control class: "How are you gurls behaving? This is how u behave in front of your boyfrainds also?
"WWHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTT??????? that was the extent of my reaction. Clean bowled.
4) Mrs R .. again
She used to love my friend.
Always waited for an opportunity to get her suspended. Once in 10th my friend was generous enough to give her thegolden chance.
Happily Mrs R came to class n she was like, "You think u can get away with all your mischief! I want to c your mother tomorrow at 12.30 sharp ". Now my friend stayed at Chembur, so her mom used to come to pick her up after skhool each day.
Considering this, my friend cooly told her, "Make it 3.00.....actually 12.30 jamega nahi....."
She looked at my friend in utter disbelief and then yelled her lungs out, "AM I CALLIN YOUR MOTHER OVER FOR KAAFEE? TEL ME? AM I? AM I?"
OMG it was riot. Mrs. R was so worked up she spent the next 20 mins of the class yelling at my friend and we had free entertainment.
5) A mrs V had a very unique solution to solve all communal tension in India
According to her in one very illuminating History class ..............
All temples, mosques n churches should be broken and made into public toilets instead....when nature calls every1 will jusssst rush in...nobody will c whose hindu n whose muslim!!!!!!
That just took the cake.
Some 3-4 girls had paired up ms. S with a male prof. Apparently 1 of those 3-4 girls had snitched to her and this is what ms. S used as a cheap publicity stunt......
Here are the actual words of ms. S (d aunt of william shakespeare) with thoughts that crossed our minds (in brackets). Everythin is in the present tense for u to get a feel of it. ( The no. of "knows" actually used by her =(knows in d para)*10^6)
venue: Class 9-A.
The story:
The long-break bell rings. Ms. S enters.
Ms. S : (straight face)... I wanted to have a word with u girls for two mins (The countdown begins)....... I also have a brother (with an opener like that, I wonder where is she heading.....anyway....) do u girls even know how strict he is??? I am not supposed to be out of the house after 8.30 (uh..excuse me ma'm....rules and regulations followed at your place don'treally matter to us)...... He is stricter than my father..... What if he comes to know what is going - on behind my back....Its pathetic! You girls don't understand the consequences ( c'mon haan english n all)...You all are gettin "into" my nerves now....(when it came to screwing prepositions, ms. S is d "man"u want)..... Youknow.... I feel so cheated... (ok, whats going on here???).... I know u girls paired me up with M. sir. It is not a joke. Do u know how my brother will react if he ever came to know? He takes walks every evening in 5-gardens ( will sumbody plz tel me...whats going on here?!?) .... Plz stop this right now ..... its not funny... u girls hurt me .... u jus speak rubbish even without thinking .... (hah!look who's talkin!)".
The dumbstruck girls' reactions: Most of d girls gobsmacked with amazement...while the rest actually die with laughter! These were d most random 15 mins of my life........
2) There was a Mrs R in my school
I still wonder why did she pronounce "Algebra" as "ALLgebra".....
I remember this particular incident when one of my coolest frnds (n partner in crime) was sneezing continously in 1 of her algebra lecs in 9th. Assuming it to b a prank she gave my frnd a threatening look.
at this my frnd cooly stood up ..... sniffed. ... n replied "Nothing much miss ... jus a little ALLergy"
the class was in splits.........
3) Once in 8th marathi lec.
Mrs. N yelled at our out-of-control class: "How are you gurls behaving? This is how u behave in front of your boyfrainds also?
"WWHHHHAAAAAAAATTTTTTT??????? that was the extent of my reaction. Clean bowled.
4) Mrs R .. again
She used to love my friend.
Always waited for an opportunity to get her suspended. Once in 10th my friend was generous enough to give her thegolden chance.
Happily Mrs R came to class n she was like, "You think u can get away with all your mischief! I want to c your mother tomorrow at 12.30 sharp ". Now my friend stayed at Chembur, so her mom used to come to pick her up after skhool each day.
Considering this, my friend cooly told her, "Make it 3.00.....actually 12.30 jamega nahi....."
She looked at my friend in utter disbelief and then yelled her lungs out, "AM I CALLIN YOUR MOTHER OVER FOR KAAFEE? TEL ME? AM I? AM I?"
OMG it was riot. Mrs. R was so worked up she spent the next 20 mins of the class yelling at my friend and we had free entertainment.
5) A mrs V had a very unique solution to solve all communal tension in India
According to her in one very illuminating History class ..............
All temples, mosques n churches should be broken and made into public toilets instead....when nature calls every1 will jusssst rush in...nobody will c whose hindu n whose muslim!!!!!!
That just took the cake.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Friday, July 28, 2006
Images !
So much is at its mercy. How we potray ourselves - the masks we wear - we wish to escape them, but buckle under the pressure and embrace them, sometimes even willingly. So many people cash in on this abstract concept - what shoes you wear, what brand clothes you own, the perfume you spray everyday, the watch you flash................................................................................
Does it even matter ?
I remember when I was 16, I bought a pair of sunglasses worth INR 800/- which would be approx. GBP 10/-. I knew it was completely unnecessary. Trivial really , something I would rarely use considering I wear prescription glasses. But all the way home from the shop, I was thinking up (making up) justifications pertaining the validity of the said purchase because I knew my mother would definitely question the worth of the purchase. Now that I think, Those sun glasses bought on a whim were not even worn by me 16 times. But at that moment in the shop, I made it a decision of life or death as if my existence was hanging on a single thread which would be strengthened if I bought those sunglasses. It seems to be such a waste now...................
A waste of money, resources and energy. To fall victim to the seduction of that moment - that temporary high that shopping luxury goods induces is more bitter than sweet - especially when the credit card bills start piling up at the end of the month................................................................
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Anti-Brahmanism should stop!
This is an article published on rediff.com on the 15th of June, 2006.
The first article published by rediff on Brahmins as an underprivileged community, brought a flurry of reactions, mostly of surprise: "What, Brahmins as toilet cleaners, coolies, rickshaw pullers, priests earning less than Rs 150 a month... How is it possible, we always thought that Brahmins were a rich, fat, arrogant community?"
Many Brahmins and other upper castes expressed online their relief that someone was speaking about their plight, that for once they were not attacked, made fun of, ridiculed. Of course there were also a few hostile e-mails, accusing the author of upper casteism, of anti-Dalits bias.
One would have thought however, that at a time when reservation was the hottest journalistic topic, the media would have seized this story and made it its own. After all, isn't impartial journalism to show both sides of the story?
Don't you think, for instance, that the discovery that all 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins -- traditionally the task of the lowest of the lowest caste -- and that this noble institution was started by a Brahmin, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, makes a wonderful story, both for the print and electronic media?
That is what I believed, at any rate. So when I discovered that the Art of Living Foundation was conducting workshops for all coolies, irrespective of their religion and caste of the Delhi railway station -- and that quite a few of them were Brahmins -- I thought I could share this story and the Sulabh Shauchalayas scoop, with a few journalistic acquaintances, who would jump on it with glee. Unfortunately I was very wrong.
Initially, some young journalists were enthusiastic and joined us in our investigation. We expected the story to hit the headlines soon and be taken up by the entire press, hungry for something different than the strike of the medicos, or Arjun Singh's adamant attitude. But nothing happened.
We called them day after day, proposed some more data, but still no story came out. Then one of the young journalists, working for one of the largest media outfits in India told us off the record that the sub-editor, backed by the editor, had killed the story in true journalistic freedom.
The second scenario we encountered was stone silence: the star anchors, bureau chiefs, editors of national English newspapers whom I personally contacted, either did not return my calls or were evasive.
Third scenario: Downright hostility: "You're a right winger, a pro-BJP-RSS journalist" etc. What does truth and investigative journalism have to do with the BJP (who by the way did no more than the Congress for the Kashmiri Brahmins, for instance, when it was in power)? I don't know.
Some journalists, initially willing to do a story, backed out after some time under the pretext that the data was not solid enough. Not solid enough? Does flimsy and unchecked data ever stop the Indian media to publish slanderous stories in the recent past?
Then, I came to the conclusion that more than fifty years later, the Nehruvian culture which directly brainwashed two generations of Indians in certain thinking patterns, has survived today. Actually, you have to go farther back than Nehru. For Jawaharlal was a true end product of Macaulay's policy of creating Indians who would be Indians by the colour of their skins, but British in their thinking. Thus, the English outlook on India survives today in India's intellectual class, particularly the journalists, who often cast a Westernised, anti-spiritual, pro-minority, anti-majority, un-Indian, anti-Brahmins and other upper castes -- look on their own country.
It is true that Nehru started from a positive volition: How to solve India's huge class and caste disparity? How to appease a Muslim minority which ruled India ruthlessly for ten centuries and was not ready to be ruled by those who were for a long time Islam's pliant subjects?
But Nehru went overboard. He made the paupers of yesteryear the saints of modern India, allowing some states to literally hound out Brahmins and other upper castes. He twisted history and thanks to docile historians, made of cruel Muslim invaders and rulers, the benefactors of medieval India.
He went to the extent of excusing the razing and sacking of thousands of exquisite temples all over India, by saying that Muslim invaders such as Babar did it because these temples were full of hidden gold and jewels, damning again indirectly the poor hapless Brahmins, who were beheaded by Muslim invaders, crucified in Goa by the Portuguese Inquisition, vilified by British missionaries, and morally crucified today by their own brothers and sisters.
It is true that Brahmins may be paying today for the excesses of yesterday. In ancient times, as Sri Aurobindo wrote: 'A Brahmin was a Brahmin only if he cultivated the spiritual temperament and acquired the spiritual training which alone would qualify him for the task.'
But once Brahmanism became hereditary, arrogance, complacency and casteism became rampant, ultimately bringing the downfall of Brahmins, a downfall which the Dalai Lama defines (for his own people) as Black Karma.
Thus, thanks to the lingering influence of Nehruvianism, 'Brahmins' remain today a dirty word, even in the face of reality: that Dalits have considerably come up since 1947 in Indian society, that no nation in the world has done so much for its underprivileged (India had a Dalit President -- did the US ever have a Black President?). But the intellectual elite of India, which never mentions these facts, continues to hide its face in the sand like an ostrich, refusing to see the reality.
And rampant anti-Brahmanism and upper castes, first used by the Muslim invaders, then by the British colonialists and missionaries, is still in vogue at the hands of Nehruvians, Marxists, Indian Christians and politicians in search of the votes of Dalits and Muslims, which combined together make and unmake prime ministers.
Yet, Brahmins and other upper castes have played an invaluable role in Indian history, as Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of the Sulabh Shauchalaya Movement remarks: 'Society sustained the Brahmins and other upper castes earlier, who upheld the Hindu scriptures and Hindu culture. Today Hinduism is on the decline day-by-day. There is a lack of ancient knowledge. No political party has objected to reservation thanks to vote-bank politics. People have a very short memory. They have forgotten the contribution made by Brahmins to our society.'
And who says that Brahmins and other upper castes are anti-Dalits. Some of India's top avatars, saints and gurus were of low caste and are still worshipped today by all upper castes. Valmiki, the composer of the Ramayana, was a fisherman; Ved Vyasa, the epic poet of the Mahabharata, which also contains the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of Future Humanity, was the son of a fisherwoman; Krishna was from the shepherd's caste. And are not today's Amritanandamayi or Satya Sai Baba of low caste birth? Don't they have millions of Indians, many of them from upper castes, bowing down to them?
Anti-Brahmanism has to be stopped!
This inter-caste war, triggered by the politicians' greed for votes, has to be defused.
FACT, my Foundation, which conducts exhibitions on persecuted minorities, whether the Kashmiri Pandits, the Christians, Buddhist Chakmas and Hindus suffering in Bangladesh at the hands of fundamentalists in Bangladesh, or the Tibetans facing a cultural and spiritual genocide in Tibet, decided to take things in hand.
We started, with the help of a few dedicated friends, a film on Brahmins and other upper castes as an underprivileged community. This film will lead to a photoexhibition and hopefully to a book. All testimonies and documents are welcome.
The future of this country lies in a unified India, where all castes will find their just place, where all will feel Indians first and belonging to this caste or that one, after.
- Francois Gautier
The first article published by rediff on Brahmins as an underprivileged community, brought a flurry of reactions, mostly of surprise: "What, Brahmins as toilet cleaners, coolies, rickshaw pullers, priests earning less than Rs 150 a month... How is it possible, we always thought that Brahmins were a rich, fat, arrogant community?"
Many Brahmins and other upper castes expressed online their relief that someone was speaking about their plight, that for once they were not attacked, made fun of, ridiculed. Of course there were also a few hostile e-mails, accusing the author of upper casteism, of anti-Dalits bias.
One would have thought however, that at a time when reservation was the hottest journalistic topic, the media would have seized this story and made it its own. After all, isn't impartial journalism to show both sides of the story?
Don't you think, for instance, that the discovery that all 50 Sulabh Shauchalayas (public toilets) in Delhi are cleaned and looked after by Brahmins -- traditionally the task of the lowest of the lowest caste -- and that this noble institution was started by a Brahmin, Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, makes a wonderful story, both for the print and electronic media?
That is what I believed, at any rate. So when I discovered that the Art of Living Foundation was conducting workshops for all coolies, irrespective of their religion and caste of the Delhi railway station -- and that quite a few of them were Brahmins -- I thought I could share this story and the Sulabh Shauchalayas scoop, with a few journalistic acquaintances, who would jump on it with glee. Unfortunately I was very wrong.
Initially, some young journalists were enthusiastic and joined us in our investigation. We expected the story to hit the headlines soon and be taken up by the entire press, hungry for something different than the strike of the medicos, or Arjun Singh's adamant attitude. But nothing happened.
We called them day after day, proposed some more data, but still no story came out. Then one of the young journalists, working for one of the largest media outfits in India told us off the record that the sub-editor, backed by the editor, had killed the story in true journalistic freedom.
The second scenario we encountered was stone silence: the star anchors, bureau chiefs, editors of national English newspapers whom I personally contacted, either did not return my calls or were evasive.
Third scenario: Downright hostility: "You're a right winger, a pro-BJP-RSS journalist" etc. What does truth and investigative journalism have to do with the BJP (who by the way did no more than the Congress for the Kashmiri Brahmins, for instance, when it was in power)? I don't know.
Some journalists, initially willing to do a story, backed out after some time under the pretext that the data was not solid enough. Not solid enough? Does flimsy and unchecked data ever stop the Indian media to publish slanderous stories in the recent past?
Then, I came to the conclusion that more than fifty years later, the Nehruvian culture which directly brainwashed two generations of Indians in certain thinking patterns, has survived today. Actually, you have to go farther back than Nehru. For Jawaharlal was a true end product of Macaulay's policy of creating Indians who would be Indians by the colour of their skins, but British in their thinking. Thus, the English outlook on India survives today in India's intellectual class, particularly the journalists, who often cast a Westernised, anti-spiritual, pro-minority, anti-majority, un-Indian, anti-Brahmins and other upper castes -- look on their own country.
It is true that Nehru started from a positive volition: How to solve India's huge class and caste disparity? How to appease a Muslim minority which ruled India ruthlessly for ten centuries and was not ready to be ruled by those who were for a long time Islam's pliant subjects?
But Nehru went overboard. He made the paupers of yesteryear the saints of modern India, allowing some states to literally hound out Brahmins and other upper castes. He twisted history and thanks to docile historians, made of cruel Muslim invaders and rulers, the benefactors of medieval India.
He went to the extent of excusing the razing and sacking of thousands of exquisite temples all over India, by saying that Muslim invaders such as Babar did it because these temples were full of hidden gold and jewels, damning again indirectly the poor hapless Brahmins, who were beheaded by Muslim invaders, crucified in Goa by the Portuguese Inquisition, vilified by British missionaries, and morally crucified today by their own brothers and sisters.
It is true that Brahmins may be paying today for the excesses of yesterday. In ancient times, as Sri Aurobindo wrote: 'A Brahmin was a Brahmin only if he cultivated the spiritual temperament and acquired the spiritual training which alone would qualify him for the task.'
But once Brahmanism became hereditary, arrogance, complacency and casteism became rampant, ultimately bringing the downfall of Brahmins, a downfall which the Dalai Lama defines (for his own people) as Black Karma.
Thus, thanks to the lingering influence of Nehruvianism, 'Brahmins' remain today a dirty word, even in the face of reality: that Dalits have considerably come up since 1947 in Indian society, that no nation in the world has done so much for its underprivileged (India had a Dalit President -- did the US ever have a Black President?). But the intellectual elite of India, which never mentions these facts, continues to hide its face in the sand like an ostrich, refusing to see the reality.
And rampant anti-Brahmanism and upper castes, first used by the Muslim invaders, then by the British colonialists and missionaries, is still in vogue at the hands of Nehruvians, Marxists, Indian Christians and politicians in search of the votes of Dalits and Muslims, which combined together make and unmake prime ministers.
Yet, Brahmins and other upper castes have played an invaluable role in Indian history, as Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of the Sulabh Shauchalaya Movement remarks: 'Society sustained the Brahmins and other upper castes earlier, who upheld the Hindu scriptures and Hindu culture. Today Hinduism is on the decline day-by-day. There is a lack of ancient knowledge. No political party has objected to reservation thanks to vote-bank politics. People have a very short memory. They have forgotten the contribution made by Brahmins to our society.'
And who says that Brahmins and other upper castes are anti-Dalits. Some of India's top avatars, saints and gurus were of low caste and are still worshipped today by all upper castes. Valmiki, the composer of the Ramayana, was a fisherman; Ved Vyasa, the epic poet of the Mahabharata, which also contains the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible of Future Humanity, was the son of a fisherwoman; Krishna was from the shepherd's caste. And are not today's Amritanandamayi or Satya Sai Baba of low caste birth? Don't they have millions of Indians, many of them from upper castes, bowing down to them?
Anti-Brahmanism has to be stopped!
This inter-caste war, triggered by the politicians' greed for votes, has to be defused.
FACT, my Foundation, which conducts exhibitions on persecuted minorities, whether the Kashmiri Pandits, the Christians, Buddhist Chakmas and Hindus suffering in Bangladesh at the hands of fundamentalists in Bangladesh, or the Tibetans facing a cultural and spiritual genocide in Tibet, decided to take things in hand.
We started, with the help of a few dedicated friends, a film on Brahmins and other upper castes as an underprivileged community. This film will lead to a photoexhibition and hopefully to a book. All testimonies and documents are welcome.
The future of this country lies in a unified India, where all castes will find their just place, where all will feel Indians first and belonging to this caste or that one, after.
- Francois Gautier
Monday, July 10, 2006
Why, Zidane Why????
STUMPED !!! is what my reaction is to the finals of the world cup. I cannot believe France lost.
In my post match misery, I was left with a bitter after taste.
Everything was ok till the extra time when Zidane, the French captain who was playing his final match at 34, opened the scoring but lost his cool in extra time and butted Marco Materazzi and was sent off with the score at 1-1 with around 10 minutes to play.
The loss of their talisman and playmaker cost the French dearly as they lost momentum and their best penalty-taker. They lost the shootout 5-3, giving Italy their fourth title.
Well my French friends were melancholic to the point of distraction.
Thanks to Pierre's depressive eloquence, I picked up quite a few juicy phrases in French. Well atleast the evening was educational.
In my post match misery, I was left with a bitter after taste.
Everything was ok till the extra time when Zidane, the French captain who was playing his final match at 34, opened the scoring but lost his cool in extra time and butted Marco Materazzi and was sent off with the score at 1-1 with around 10 minutes to play.
The loss of their talisman and playmaker cost the French dearly as they lost momentum and their best penalty-taker. They lost the shootout 5-3, giving Italy their fourth title.
Well my French friends were melancholic to the point of distraction.
Thanks to Pierre's depressive eloquence, I picked up quite a few juicy phrases in French. Well atleast the evening was educational.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
xxx
I cannot believe i havent posted in over a month. well i have a valid reason - EXAMS- well what can i say they suck big time ! xxx
Hindsight's a killer as i realised this past month. what i woudnt give to turn back time to make up lost time. but then i realised that even if i got xtra time i would just goof it away.
life's absolutey humbug at the moment. just finished economic diplomacy written exam. oh my god.......... it was excrutiating . so bad that matt, nicole, dave, wei, and I rushed to the bar right after the exam to drink our sorrows away.
so now im home and is my torcher over ......... well, of course not still have a monstrocity called politics of money in world economics come tuesday xxx
Hindsight's a killer as i realised this past month. what i woudnt give to turn back time to make up lost time. but then i realised that even if i got xtra time i would just goof it away.
life's absolutey humbug at the moment. just finished economic diplomacy written exam. oh my god.......... it was excrutiating . so bad that matt, nicole, dave, wei, and I rushed to the bar right after the exam to drink our sorrows away.
so now im home and is my torcher over ......... well, of course not still have a monstrocity called politics of money in world economics come tuesday xxx
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Monday, May 08, 2006
I coudnt have said it better myself. ha ha ha
10 misconceptions about women
By Susan Hayden
As smart and capable as men can be, it's a wonder that most have yet to figure out women. To help, we approached a variety of women with some of the more common male perceptions of them and found out what they are really thinking. Though a highly subjective survey, here are some of the more interesting truths revealed from woman to man:
10. Man: Today's woman wants to be independent.
Woman: Yes, I may want my own job and my own life, but you should be aware that I also want the security of knowing that if I decide to stop working or get fired, you will take care of me for the rest of my life.
9. Man: Women dress provocatively so men will hit on them.
Woman: No, I dress this way to look good — to everyone. I don't necessarily want you to lust after me or even talk to me. Admire me, maybe — just don't come introduce yourself and expect me to hop in bed with you.
8. Man: Women always want to know what I'm "thinking."
Woman: I don't necessarily want to know your innermost feelings — I'm just curious about what goes on in that thick skull during downtime.
7. Man: Women are high-maintenance.Woman:
No, women just have more things to maintain — face, legs, etc.
6. Man: Along those same lines, women spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
Woman: I think men think we do this for them, when in reality, we do it for ourselves. The sexiest thing in the world is confidence, and I've learned as I grow older that it's not the style of my hair or my clothes, but how I feel in them and whether or not I feel at my best and most powerful. When I'm feeling hot is when I get the most head turns.
5. Man: She's after me for my money.
Woman: Women marry for love first, money second.
4. Man: Women blame everything on PMT.
Woman: If you had piercing bolts of pain down your back and felt like a keg was strapped to your belly two weeks out of every month, you would give blame where it's due, too. At least we let you know the cause of our whining and tantrums, and if we don't, you should already have it marked in your calendar with a note to bring us chocolate ice cream.
3. Man: Once married, or even in a long-term relationship, women are not interested in physical intimacy.
Woman: I'm just tired from taking care of you and your offspring.
2. Man: Women are too emotional.
Woman: Re-read #8, and get over it.
1. Man: Women are hard to read.
Woman: Pay attention. You'll get it eventually.
By Susan Hayden
As smart and capable as men can be, it's a wonder that most have yet to figure out women. To help, we approached a variety of women with some of the more common male perceptions of them and found out what they are really thinking. Though a highly subjective survey, here are some of the more interesting truths revealed from woman to man:
10. Man: Today's woman wants to be independent.
Woman: Yes, I may want my own job and my own life, but you should be aware that I also want the security of knowing that if I decide to stop working or get fired, you will take care of me for the rest of my life.
9. Man: Women dress provocatively so men will hit on them.
Woman: No, I dress this way to look good — to everyone. I don't necessarily want you to lust after me or even talk to me. Admire me, maybe — just don't come introduce yourself and expect me to hop in bed with you.
8. Man: Women always want to know what I'm "thinking."
Woman: I don't necessarily want to know your innermost feelings — I'm just curious about what goes on in that thick skull during downtime.
7. Man: Women are high-maintenance.Woman:
No, women just have more things to maintain — face, legs, etc.
6. Man: Along those same lines, women spend a lot of time in the bathroom.
Woman: I think men think we do this for them, when in reality, we do it for ourselves. The sexiest thing in the world is confidence, and I've learned as I grow older that it's not the style of my hair or my clothes, but how I feel in them and whether or not I feel at my best and most powerful. When I'm feeling hot is when I get the most head turns.
5. Man: She's after me for my money.
Woman: Women marry for love first, money second.
4. Man: Women blame everything on PMT.
Woman: If you had piercing bolts of pain down your back and felt like a keg was strapped to your belly two weeks out of every month, you would give blame where it's due, too. At least we let you know the cause of our whining and tantrums, and if we don't, you should already have it marked in your calendar with a note to bring us chocolate ice cream.
3. Man: Once married, or even in a long-term relationship, women are not interested in physical intimacy.
Woman: I'm just tired from taking care of you and your offspring.
2. Man: Women are too emotional.
Woman: Re-read #8, and get over it.
1. Man: Women are hard to read.
Woman: Pay attention. You'll get it eventually.
For I have none to lament me,
the world no injury, for in it I have nothing;
only in the world I fill up a place,
which may be better supplied when I have made it empty.
I would like to begin with saying that these arent my words. I have no idea who uttered them but the sheer despondency in them cut through me.
The tide of forebooding depicted is the subtle cry of a pained soul trapped in the viscious cycle which does nothing to alleviate the suffering of a being who had given up hope and alienated oneself from happiness.
the world no injury, for in it I have nothing;
only in the world I fill up a place,
which may be better supplied when I have made it empty.
I would like to begin with saying that these arent my words. I have no idea who uttered them but the sheer despondency in them cut through me.
The tide of forebooding depicted is the subtle cry of a pained soul trapped in the viscious cycle which does nothing to alleviate the suffering of a being who had given up hope and alienated oneself from happiness.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
C'est l'amour !
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Perhaps it was worth a try to open up to the special woman residing secretly in his heart.
This is the 116th Sonnet written by Shakespere.
A beautiful description of what many crave for but few are blessed with. He/she who has found this love is truly blessed with the rarest of gifts. He /she who understands its value and cherishes it will attain the truest level of bliss!
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Perhaps it was worth a try to open up to the special woman residing secretly in his heart.
This is the 116th Sonnet written by Shakespere.
A beautiful description of what many crave for but few are blessed with. He/she who has found this love is truly blessed with the rarest of gifts. He /she who understands its value and cherishes it will attain the truest level of bliss!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul
You learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security
You begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises
You begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open,
with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
You learn to build all your roads on todaybecause tomorrows ground is too uncertain for plans.
And after awhile, you learn that you really are strong and you really do have worth.
- Author unknown
You learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security
You begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises
You begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open,
with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
You learn to build all your roads on todaybecause tomorrows ground is too uncertain for plans.
And after awhile, you learn that you really are strong and you really do have worth.
- Author unknown
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Perfection
‘Perfection, the state of excellence without fault or defect, the perfect embodiment of a concept'.
Perfection, as beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. To me , perfection is the ability to overlook flaws and search for the merits that are innate or emulated through the conscious act of learning. Perfection then is a consequence of well thought out actions and words. Perfection is the ability to strive for a better tomorrow. Perfection is the ability to understand the difference between real self and ideal self and accept that there is perefection in ones imperfections.
On a lighter note as Samuel McChord Crothers said " Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways"
Perfection, as beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. To me , perfection is the ability to overlook flaws and search for the merits that are innate or emulated through the conscious act of learning. Perfection then is a consequence of well thought out actions and words. Perfection is the ability to strive for a better tomorrow. Perfection is the ability to understand the difference between real self and ideal self and accept that there is perefection in ones imperfections.
On a lighter note as Samuel McChord Crothers said " Try as hard as we may for perfection, the net result of our labors is an amazing variety of imperfectness. We are surprised at our own versatility in being able to fail in so many different ways"
Monday, January 30, 2006
How do i love thee? - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
How do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
Journey of Life
We are responsible for what we are, and whatever we wish ourselves to be, we have the power to make ourselves. If what we are now has been the result of our own past actions, it certainly follows that whatever we wish to be in future can be produced by our present actions; so we have to know how to act. Swami Vivekananda
These words are profoundly deep. Being away from my own sometimes is devastatingly overwhelming. Every thought , every action can easily swerve my psyche towards any end of the continuiim where the two ends represent failure and success. but how do i measure this , what defines my failures or my success? Is it my sense of satisfaction or is it what others percieve about my actions at the end of the day? If my present has the power to determine my future then this makes me tread even more cautiously. Is life about stepping on the right steps or is it about experiencing the journey? Does the journey count or is it the end result that decides whather a life has been wasted or whether it has been fruitful?
Questions, Dilemmas, Decisions, Choices ..................................................... A recipie for success or a disaster waiting to happen.
These words are profoundly deep. Being away from my own sometimes is devastatingly overwhelming. Every thought , every action can easily swerve my psyche towards any end of the continuiim where the two ends represent failure and success. but how do i measure this , what defines my failures or my success? Is it my sense of satisfaction or is it what others percieve about my actions at the end of the day? If my present has the power to determine my future then this makes me tread even more cautiously. Is life about stepping on the right steps or is it about experiencing the journey? Does the journey count or is it the end result that decides whather a life has been wasted or whether it has been fruitful?
Questions, Dilemmas, Decisions, Choices ..................................................... A recipie for success or a disaster waiting to happen.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
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