"What do YOU think happens when we die?" inquired the child.
"They've taught us at sunday school" he continued "that when we die, our souls depart from our body and go to heaven"..
"What do you think?" replied the older man seated next to him.
"Well" began the boy, "I'd like to think that's true. Teacher tells me heaven is a nice place filled with all the people who have been nice here on earth"
"Nice on earth?" questioned the older gentleman suddenly intrigued.
"Yes" said the boy after much thought. "If we're nice, we're sent to heaven"
"Did she tell you what heaven is like?"
"Yes" said the boy. "She said heaven was filled with wonderful things and is a place that fulfills your every want by you just thinking it"
The old man pondered over this information for a minute. "What happens if you're bad then?"
"Well, I guess you'd then be sent to hell, where you spend all eternity"
"So" replied the old man, "If I understand you correctly, If I am bad in this life, I'll spend an eternity in a torturous place"
"Yes" replied the boy with certainty.
"And who may I ask judges if Ive been good or bad? God?"
"Well teachers told me that at the gates of heaven sits Saint Peter with a log of our good and bad actions. And if the bad ones outweigh the good, we're sent to hell"
"I see" "So people who steal, kill are sent to hell?"
"Yes and so are the people who lie, do not maintain sunday as a holy day and even people who dishonor their parents, there's a set of rules in the bible, it is called the ten commandments, i just learned them a month ago" said the boy proudly.
"You're quite smart" said the old man. "If you know the rules, its easy not to break them isn't it?" "By the way" he said "have you read the new Testament of the bible?
"Not yet, teacher says we have to understand the old fully before moving onto the new"
"well" said the old man "the new testament is very interesting, it says that Jesus, who was the son of god, loves sinners"
"What? really? does it really say that?"
"yes, he loves sinners because it is them who can repent and go to heaven. He even died for the sins of mankind"
"Died for, um, our sins?"
"Yes. He died and thereby forgave the sins of all mankind"
"So people from hell were able to go to heaven?"
"well no, its not that easy. Let me just say, their sins were forgiven"
"By whom?" questioned the boy..
"well, by God" replied the man.
"What about the people who were sinned against? people who lost family because of murders and people whose things were stolen? don't they have to forgive the sinners too?"
"Well yea" said the old man thoughtfully.
"So Jesus died, to forgive the sins of people, committed against other people who haven't really forgiven them and the sinners couldn't even make it to heaven?"
"well, when you put it that way, I guess you could say that"
"Ok" replied the boy not really satisfied with all that he had learned.
"What about hell then?" questioned the boy after much thought. "If we're forgiven for all our sins and jesus loves sinners, who goes to hell?
"Its complicated" said the old man. "First off, people who do not believe in our god go to hell, but you already know that"
"Just for not believing in god?"
"Yes, well, God punishes all non believers"
"But people who sin and kill others, if they repent, I mean, teacher says, if we repent and feel sorry for our sins, we'll go to heaven"
"Yes" said the old man. "Repentance is the way to heaven"
"So" replied the boy, "I can kill a person, repent and go to heaven, but if I live as a nice person, only, don't believe in god, I go to hell?"
"That's what the Bible says" replied the man
"Ok" replied the boy again, this time unhappy with the realizations dawning on him.
To be continued....
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Look before you leap..
People are complicated..
I know very well that what I've just typed isn't ground breaking information and it isn't going to change anyone perceptions about generally anything..
It seems to be common knowledge amongst humanity as a whole..
I mean we've grown up watching tons of movies where the protagonist is a person of a deep personality.. Not easily deciphered.. Even in the case of seemingly simple straightforward characters like Forrest Gump..
Even movies targeting children (like Shrek) tell us that people have layers.. much like an onion.. Or cake.. That taking a person at face value will result in you missing out on the bigger picture.. That misjudging a character's personality in the beginning of a movie will result in shock when he is later uncovered to be the murderous butler..
Yet..
Yet we throw all that out of the window and jump to our own conclusions about people.. Is it in our DNA to do so? I don't yet know, but we do nevertheless.. We often jump to rash and mostly incorrect conclusions based on our immature first impressions of the people we meet.
but it isn't only restricted to first impressions?
Have you even confronted anyone about the reason for a particular action? An action perhaps that you didn't quite appreciate? before speaking to the person about it, you will have already formulated a supposed reason for it before you even confront the person..
let me reiterate my initial statement..
people are complicated.. and deserve a chance to defend themselves against any action if they so choose so.. and even if they do not wish to make clear their original intention, it shows a character flaw within the person that would rather speculate than give the person the benefit of doubt.
The next time you feel badly about the actions of someone, Stop and think not about why he would act that way.. instead think of how small it would make you look to feel bad about just a speculation formed in your curious mind..
I know very well that what I've just typed isn't ground breaking information and it isn't going to change anyone perceptions about generally anything..
It seems to be common knowledge amongst humanity as a whole..
I mean we've grown up watching tons of movies where the protagonist is a person of a deep personality.. Not easily deciphered.. Even in the case of seemingly simple straightforward characters like Forrest Gump..
Even movies targeting children (like Shrek) tell us that people have layers.. much like an onion.. Or cake.. That taking a person at face value will result in you missing out on the bigger picture.. That misjudging a character's personality in the beginning of a movie will result in shock when he is later uncovered to be the murderous butler..
Yet..
Yet we throw all that out of the window and jump to our own conclusions about people.. Is it in our DNA to do so? I don't yet know, but we do nevertheless.. We often jump to rash and mostly incorrect conclusions based on our immature first impressions of the people we meet.
but it isn't only restricted to first impressions?
Have you even confronted anyone about the reason for a particular action? An action perhaps that you didn't quite appreciate? before speaking to the person about it, you will have already formulated a supposed reason for it before you even confront the person..
let me reiterate my initial statement..
people are complicated.. and deserve a chance to defend themselves against any action if they so choose so.. and even if they do not wish to make clear their original intention, it shows a character flaw within the person that would rather speculate than give the person the benefit of doubt.
The next time you feel badly about the actions of someone, Stop and think not about why he would act that way.. instead think of how small it would make you look to feel bad about just a speculation formed in your curious mind..
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Sharing a part of yourself.... Should you?
Now I'm a reserved person, you don't really need to be exceptionally perceptive to know that.. I respect the life and privacy of others and never intrude.. Is it really that tough for other people to do the same? Right now it doesn't seem so bad, so far so good right?
what about later?
why do i need to share personal things with anyone? why is being a social recluse a bad thing? is it because society as a whole is scared of people that they cannot keep tabs on? people with the need for personal space are treated like bad apples..
so what if i don't want to come for your religious laced social gathering, why am i any less of a human being because of it?
in a marriage, it is considered, well, bad isn't the ideal word here, so I'll say, not desirable, to keep 'secrets' from your 'better?' half.. why is that? does being married rob you of your personality? Of late an increasing number of married (and also people generally in relationships) people have begun question their partners about seemingly trivial things.. where are you going? why are you going there? what will you do there? A sense of trust that seem to exist in relationships a couple of generations back seems to be fast vanishing into a cloud of mistrust and suspicion.
A common factor that results in a couple visiting a marriage counselor is "he/she wont share her feelings with me"
What IS this need to completely 'know' someone! you do realize that you'll never really 'know/understand' anyone.. i can attribute the shock of the failed relationship to the grieving partner once thinking they had fully understood their significant other. "he cheated on me! *sob and i thought i knew him!"
Really!! are the majority of you nervous because you don't get along with yourself? is that why loners are subjected to harsh stares at restaurants when they attempt to have a quiet peaceful meal by themselves? or why a single person in a concert/theater is given a look of pity/sympathy as if to denote that he was stood up by someone?
modern science is gradually, with all its technology creating the perfect world where everyone is slanting towards being a little dissocial.. at the same time, it is constantly categorizing us into new mental diseases that seems bent on convincing us that we're all a little less that your average societal alpha man.. we're grouped into mental illness like the one mentioned above "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder#Diagnostic_criteria_.28ICD-10.29_-_dissocial_personality_disorder.E2.80.8E" and we're told that one in five people have a mental illness of the like..
its sad that when most people don't even get along with themselves and cant even spend a day with only themselves for company, they strangely expect you to do so..
what about later?
why do i need to share personal things with anyone? why is being a social recluse a bad thing? is it because society as a whole is scared of people that they cannot keep tabs on? people with the need for personal space are treated like bad apples..
so what if i don't want to come for your religious laced social gathering, why am i any less of a human being because of it?
in a marriage, it is considered, well, bad isn't the ideal word here, so I'll say, not desirable, to keep 'secrets' from your 'better?' half.. why is that? does being married rob you of your personality? Of late an increasing number of married (and also people generally in relationships) people have begun question their partners about seemingly trivial things.. where are you going? why are you going there? what will you do there? A sense of trust that seem to exist in relationships a couple of generations back seems to be fast vanishing into a cloud of mistrust and suspicion.
A common factor that results in a couple visiting a marriage counselor is "he/she wont share her feelings with me"
What IS this need to completely 'know' someone! you do realize that you'll never really 'know/understand' anyone.. i can attribute the shock of the failed relationship to the grieving partner once thinking they had fully understood their significant other. "he cheated on me! *sob and i thought i knew him!"
Really!! are the majority of you nervous because you don't get along with yourself? is that why loners are subjected to harsh stares at restaurants when they attempt to have a quiet peaceful meal by themselves? or why a single person in a concert/theater is given a look of pity/sympathy as if to denote that he was stood up by someone?
modern science is gradually, with all its technology creating the perfect world where everyone is slanting towards being a little dissocial.. at the same time, it is constantly categorizing us into new mental diseases that seems bent on convincing us that we're all a little less that your average societal alpha man.. we're grouped into mental illness like the one mentioned above "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder#Diagnostic_criteria_.28ICD-10.29_-_dissocial_personality_disorder.E2.80.8E" and we're told that one in five people have a mental illness of the like..
its sad that when most people don't even get along with themselves and cant even spend a day with only themselves for company, they strangely expect you to do so..
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Nothing..
Wow.. Its been a while since Ive been here.. And for good reason.
Nothing new to write about..
I mean, we all know that our problems are all petty when viewed from a third persons eye..
we know that we should NOT let a relationship be any indication of us as people and of our personality..
we know that any problem can be solved by talking it out.. As long as you have the power of negotiating..
we know that our beliefs are ruining the planet.. well some of us do anyway..
yet we constantly, whether consciously or not, seek pity from others.
Pity and approval..
Why do YOU care? why DO you care?
what difference does it make if one more person out there has a negative impression of you? are you forever going to try to fit into preset moulds? that is the only surefire way to be accepted..
Why are people who drink, smoke and dope said to be doing a bad/negative/evil thing?
Boohoo you shouldn't eat this and you shouldn't be doing that..
Its like a constant attempt on our part to try and get into this huge fraternity we call 'society'.. only we all pale when compared to the absolute.. the perfect societal man... who exists only in our minds and text books..
most of our basic freedoms have been revoked by we ourselves..
yet instead of attempting to make a change, we go about indulging the very system that has a foot holding us down.
Remember, we're only as free as we realize we are..
Nothing new to write about..
I mean, we all know that our problems are all petty when viewed from a third persons eye..
we know that we should NOT let a relationship be any indication of us as people and of our personality..
we know that any problem can be solved by talking it out.. As long as you have the power of negotiating..
we know that our beliefs are ruining the planet.. well some of us do anyway..
yet we constantly, whether consciously or not, seek pity from others.
Pity and approval..
Why do YOU care? why DO you care?
what difference does it make if one more person out there has a negative impression of you? are you forever going to try to fit into preset moulds? that is the only surefire way to be accepted..
Why are people who drink, smoke and dope said to be doing a bad/negative/evil thing?
Boohoo you shouldn't eat this and you shouldn't be doing that..
Its like a constant attempt on our part to try and get into this huge fraternity we call 'society'.. only we all pale when compared to the absolute.. the perfect societal man... who exists only in our minds and text books..
most of our basic freedoms have been revoked by we ourselves..
yet instead of attempting to make a change, we go about indulging the very system that has a foot holding us down.
Remember, we're only as free as we realize we are..
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Time After Time...
Do you ever wondered what life would be like in slow motion? Do you think we'd have a sudden respect for the nitty gritty aspects of life we often take for granted? Personally, I'd like to know what life felt like slowed down, with a good soundtrack throw in for good measure.. Life imitating art, to use that old clinker..
Days move fast.. way too fast for us to realize the true practical value of them.. Time flies when you're having fun? i don't for a second doubt it..
Days gone back will never return.. many of us spend hours staring into the looking glass at images of our fruitful pasts. we just can't let it go, not even if we wanted to..
Quarter life crisis.. Greatly underestimated.. keep hearing comparisons from elders about how we're losing it.. I mean the term didn't even exist when they were still fooling around..
Having an end plan.. too over hyped.. its a pity that you have to either conform or be shunned.. bend or break they tell me.. its a little late now huh? rebellion has already been hard wired into some of our systems..
Playing the game is easy.. It all depends on how you want your prize.. cash or kind..
Manipulating people is easy too, depending or how heavy you want your emotional baggage to be.. you'll never fly with too much you know..
None of us have the right to say that their life isn't going according to plan, because we're all capable of changing our life.. your job and relationship problems aren't what you should be losing hair over.. Stick around, the big guns are about to be unveiled.
People want to make mountains of molehills.. Correction, they do not 'want' to as much as they 'have' to... exaggeration is part of life..
So spare me the gory details of your past relationships, addictions and other problems, you know that you're only as strong as you want to be..
Emotions cloud all our judgments.. urge people to fly off cliffs and try to take on trains.. yet we'd rather be fooled by them time again instead of getting the upper hand of things..
Our lives would make a pretty interesting soap opera to extraterrestrial secretly monitoring our planet..
Days move fast.. way too fast for us to realize the true practical value of them.. Time flies when you're having fun? i don't for a second doubt it..
Days gone back will never return.. many of us spend hours staring into the looking glass at images of our fruitful pasts. we just can't let it go, not even if we wanted to..
Quarter life crisis.. Greatly underestimated.. keep hearing comparisons from elders about how we're losing it.. I mean the term didn't even exist when they were still fooling around..
Having an end plan.. too over hyped.. its a pity that you have to either conform or be shunned.. bend or break they tell me.. its a little late now huh? rebellion has already been hard wired into some of our systems..
Playing the game is easy.. It all depends on how you want your prize.. cash or kind..
Manipulating people is easy too, depending or how heavy you want your emotional baggage to be.. you'll never fly with too much you know..
None of us have the right to say that their life isn't going according to plan, because we're all capable of changing our life.. your job and relationship problems aren't what you should be losing hair over.. Stick around, the big guns are about to be unveiled.
People want to make mountains of molehills.. Correction, they do not 'want' to as much as they 'have' to... exaggeration is part of life..
So spare me the gory details of your past relationships, addictions and other problems, you know that you're only as strong as you want to be..
Emotions cloud all our judgments.. urge people to fly off cliffs and try to take on trains.. yet we'd rather be fooled by them time again instead of getting the upper hand of things..
Our lives would make a pretty interesting soap opera to extraterrestrial secretly monitoring our planet..
Thursday, September 24, 2009
C'est la vie... OR is it?
Ever felt you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?
I wake up with the feeling everyday..
Its a weird deja vu involving me living the same day over and over albeit wearing different clothes..
Picture me standing me in a spot, with the days and nights whizzing past me while i go through a series of clothes and hairstyles..
Did you get what I'm talking about?
OF course not..
We have no time to analyze our own life, let alone bother with someone else.
We're all running around in a little exercise wheel, i mean they don't call it a rat race for nothing..
Wake up, work, try to make the most of your evening, sleep, do it all over again..
Wash, rinse, repeat..
some people manage to fit a drink in there somewhere and call it a life..
Is this really why we evolved? to become a slave to ourselves? to live a life of routine and monotony? To earn money to be able to spent it on items and material goods the idiot box says we need?
We work hard, um, hardly work? nope, i think its work hard,
so yea, we work hard, to save up, to go on holiday/vacation, to get away from our work related stress..
Or let me put it this way,
We work hard, to party hard/get drunk/buy the best appliances to divert our mind from the fact that we work hard!!
Some of us do enjoy our job.. You lucky lucky bastards.. Hidden inside every one of the rest of us however is our dream job..
Me? I have a list of dream jobs, none of them practical.. Don't ask, don't tell..
Anyway, since this was originally supposed to have been a rant, I'll cut it short and abruptly end here.
I wake up with the feeling everyday..
Its a weird deja vu involving me living the same day over and over albeit wearing different clothes..
Picture me standing me in a spot, with the days and nights whizzing past me while i go through a series of clothes and hairstyles..
Did you get what I'm talking about?
OF course not..
We have no time to analyze our own life, let alone bother with someone else.
We're all running around in a little exercise wheel, i mean they don't call it a rat race for nothing..
Wake up, work, try to make the most of your evening, sleep, do it all over again..
Wash, rinse, repeat..
some people manage to fit a drink in there somewhere and call it a life..
Is this really why we evolved? to become a slave to ourselves? to live a life of routine and monotony? To earn money to be able to spent it on items and material goods the idiot box says we need?
We work hard, um, hardly work? nope, i think its work hard,
so yea, we work hard, to save up, to go on holiday/vacation, to get away from our work related stress..
Or let me put it this way,
We work hard, to party hard/get drunk/buy the best appliances to divert our mind from the fact that we work hard!!
Some of us do enjoy our job.. You lucky lucky bastards.. Hidden inside every one of the rest of us however is our dream job..
Me? I have a list of dream jobs, none of them practical.. Don't ask, don't tell..
Anyway, since this was originally supposed to have been a rant, I'll cut it short and abruptly end here.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
What i play as a musician..
I've always feel suffocated in bands and i attribute a lot of it to my early years in music.. In college, due to an abundance of musicians, no one bothered to form a band. or rather, very rarely did a particular group stay the same till the next show..
Thus having played in various bands all through college, each one of us was exposed to different and diverse genres.. Me? I've played everything from Guns n roses to chuck berry to Satriani to well, Sean Paul, Hendrix, clapton, metallica,
So people will/should understand and excuse me from being difficult to work with..
I've compiled a simple list of musicians and bands that i wish to cover/play the style of..
Anyone with a list that matches mine is welcome to join forces..
OR maybe i'll just form a band a la flight of the conchordes..
The List...
Blink 182
Green Day
Rage Against the Machine
RHCp
Creed
Joe Satriani
Tommy Emmanuel
Andy Timmons
Toquinho
Van Halen
Guns n Roses
Kansas
Journey
Mr. Big / Paul Gilbert
Winger
Queen
The Who
Ac/Dc
U2
Jimi HEndrix
Metallica
Fourplay
Screaming Headless Torsos
Dave Matthews
Kings of Convience
Porcupine Tree
Jamiroquai
Police / Sting
Incubus
Eric Clapton
John Mayer
Thus having played in various bands all through college, each one of us was exposed to different and diverse genres.. Me? I've played everything from Guns n roses to chuck berry to Satriani to well, Sean Paul, Hendrix, clapton, metallica,
So people will/should understand and excuse me from being difficult to work with..
I've compiled a simple list of musicians and bands that i wish to cover/play the style of..
Anyone with a list that matches mine is welcome to join forces..
OR maybe i'll just form a band a la flight of the conchordes..
The List...
Blink 182
Green Day
Rage Against the Machine
RHCp
Creed
Joe Satriani
Tommy Emmanuel
Andy Timmons
Toquinho
Van Halen
Guns n Roses
Kansas
Journey
Mr. Big / Paul Gilbert
Winger
Queen
The Who
Ac/Dc
U2
Jimi HEndrix
Metallica
Fourplay
Screaming Headless Torsos
Dave Matthews
Kings of Convience
Porcupine Tree
Jamiroquai
Police / Sting
Incubus
Eric Clapton
John Mayer
Monday, September 14, 2009
Do you know who you really are? Are you, you? Or are you someone else?
Who am I? The most under-hyped question of mankind.
We often drift through life subduing our true personalities in order to fit into a mould created by society. We go about our short life accusing each other of pulling on masks when the truth is, we all are the same. No person, however important they may be, behaves the same with everyone. We all are different around different people.
Even the most hardcore, seemingly emotionless person will have a soft corner towards someone.
Who are we really then? How do we recognize our true personality. The lines defining our masks are definitely blurry. We all have a central character, someone we wish other people perceive us as and we try to live up that..
And when DOES the mask wearing begin? when we first open our eyes? when we learn to talk? first mix with people other than family?
My point is simple..
In our ambition to be accepted or even recognized, we all pull on masks to the best of our ability in the process of which, we forget who we really are..
The rest of our life is just changing those masks over a faceless body as the need arises. We lose our true selves as soon as we are introduced to certain objectives and ideals we're supposed to live up to.
How can we change?
We can't.. If any of you remember your mental state at your time of innocence, congrats.. That is however, tougher than it seems. For as far as we can remember, values of prejudice, malice, jealously, hate and selfishness have been instilled into us.. Unwittingly by parents, teachers and even friends.
What now?
Try to have a definitive personality that does not waver? Not possible. You can however try to recognize all the influences in your life and weed out the negative ones. One of the biggest negative influences in India being that of racial prejudice.
If someone asks you to behave a particular way, take five minutes to reason with yourself if that what is being asked of you IS indeed practical. You are not sheep.
Well not all of us are anyway.
To sum things up, I'd like to say, Being yourself isn't as simple as people make it out to be. We often have to do things to appease other people, its perfectly human and natural. Just also learn to make up your own mind about things and not take someones word as the bible truth..
We should definitely learn from the experiences and mistake made by others, but sometimes that process tends to bypass the lesson you were supposed to have learnt from it..
You don't 'know' fire's hot until you've been burnt by it..
We often drift through life subduing our true personalities in order to fit into a mould created by society. We go about our short life accusing each other of pulling on masks when the truth is, we all are the same. No person, however important they may be, behaves the same with everyone. We all are different around different people.
Even the most hardcore, seemingly emotionless person will have a soft corner towards someone.
Who are we really then? How do we recognize our true personality. The lines defining our masks are definitely blurry. We all have a central character, someone we wish other people perceive us as and we try to live up that..
And when DOES the mask wearing begin? when we first open our eyes? when we learn to talk? first mix with people other than family?
My point is simple..
In our ambition to be accepted or even recognized, we all pull on masks to the best of our ability in the process of which, we forget who we really are..
The rest of our life is just changing those masks over a faceless body as the need arises. We lose our true selves as soon as we are introduced to certain objectives and ideals we're supposed to live up to.
How can we change?
We can't.. If any of you remember your mental state at your time of innocence, congrats.. That is however, tougher than it seems. For as far as we can remember, values of prejudice, malice, jealously, hate and selfishness have been instilled into us.. Unwittingly by parents, teachers and even friends.
What now?
Try to have a definitive personality that does not waver? Not possible. You can however try to recognize all the influences in your life and weed out the negative ones. One of the biggest negative influences in India being that of racial prejudice.
If someone asks you to behave a particular way, take five minutes to reason with yourself if that what is being asked of you IS indeed practical. You are not sheep.
Well not all of us are anyway.
To sum things up, I'd like to say, Being yourself isn't as simple as people make it out to be. We often have to do things to appease other people, its perfectly human and natural. Just also learn to make up your own mind about things and not take someones word as the bible truth..
We should definitely learn from the experiences and mistake made by others, but sometimes that process tends to bypass the lesson you were supposed to have learnt from it..
You don't 'know' fire's hot until you've been burnt by it..
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Knowing ourselves as consumers.. Do we adhere to herd mentality? Read on..
People are strange.. To a certain level, most of us are by nature, not very confrontational. That is not a bad trait in the least. Except that sometimes a lazy attitude towards certain issues have very serious long term implications.
We all believe in different perceptions of the same absolute truth.. That we perceive it differently only highlights our human weakness. That we refuse to acknowledge another person's perception of what we believe in highlights our human ego.
Issues like pollution and corruption are common knowledge. Well essentially know what the outcome of our wayward polluting ways is going to be. We've all watched that documentary starring Al Gore. Yet, none of us wishes to take a definitive stand.
We know that the burning fossil fuels are the rate we currently are will lead to the earth being submerged one day. Does the fact that we're not moving towards implementing a solution bring to light our inability at a personal level or the fact that we simply believe we're not going to be around to face the ultimate consequences? I've used the term "implementing a solution" only because solutions to fossil fuels pre-exist. Organizations like Big Oil prevent them from ever reaching a wider audience and its easy to see why.
We taught (*READ: brainwashed) through various sources of media right from the time we can speak to use oil instead of seeking pollution free alternatives. Don't believe me?
What practical sense does it make to own a gas guzzler in a crowded city like Mumbai?
Males are taught to associate power with manliness. Hence the apparent popularity of vehicles like the Hummer.. Why haven't concepts like solar and electric powered cars gained popularity? Why has Mumbai seen the release of the NANO before the release of the minicat by TATA? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car) Simply because we as consumers refused to make wiser choices.
For the sake of the world, its time to shift from wanting to be "manly men" with bigger and more powerful polluting machines to being men with bigger and more powerful NON POLLUTING machines.
We all believe in different perceptions of the same absolute truth.. That we perceive it differently only highlights our human weakness. That we refuse to acknowledge another person's perception of what we believe in highlights our human ego.
Issues like pollution and corruption are common knowledge. Well essentially know what the outcome of our wayward polluting ways is going to be. We've all watched that documentary starring Al Gore. Yet, none of us wishes to take a definitive stand.
We know that the burning fossil fuels are the rate we currently are will lead to the earth being submerged one day. Does the fact that we're not moving towards implementing a solution bring to light our inability at a personal level or the fact that we simply believe we're not going to be around to face the ultimate consequences? I've used the term "implementing a solution" only because solutions to fossil fuels pre-exist. Organizations like Big Oil prevent them from ever reaching a wider audience and its easy to see why.
We taught (*READ: brainwashed) through various sources of media right from the time we can speak to use oil instead of seeking pollution free alternatives. Don't believe me?
What practical sense does it make to own a gas guzzler in a crowded city like Mumbai?
Males are taught to associate power with manliness. Hence the apparent popularity of vehicles like the Hummer.. Why haven't concepts like solar and electric powered cars gained popularity? Why has Mumbai seen the release of the NANO before the release of the minicat by TATA? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compressed_air_car) Simply because we as consumers refused to make wiser choices.
For the sake of the world, its time to shift from wanting to be "manly men" with bigger and more powerful polluting machines to being men with bigger and more powerful NON POLLUTING machines.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
A day (30 minutes) in the Train.. ..
Traveling by the local train can be a thrilling experience. If you happen to live outside India, namely, Mumbai.. Standing on the platform, surrounded by men of all shapes and sizes give you a certain feeling of brotherhood.. A feeling of belonging.. You suddenly feel like a man of the land and one with the people.. That feeling however is soon dispelled when a train arrived and people starting punching each other to get a head start getting in..
The first train gets by faster than i could say "hey get off my foot you *@$%*&"..
Ahh well.. Some fool once said never wait for a train or women, another one always comes along.. That fool should be shot.. He didn't account for the fact that missing trains causes you to reach work late..
Few more trains get by without me even moving an inch closer to getting in any of them...
Some strange physics comes into play as every train draws closer.. There are always obviously more people than there is space, but as the train stops, suddenly a vacuum appears to form at the door of the train sucking every near it inside.. Everyone except me..
I finally did manage to get it though.. And with the rain related delays, only about 30 minutes after I got onto the platform. Not bad..
Inside was a totally different experience.. Got a full body massage, got introduced to a new scent, don't think you've heard of it yet, its called Wet Dog and also managed to learn a Micheal Jackson step.. You know the one where he tilts himself at a 45degree angle to the ground?
Good stuff..
The first train gets by faster than i could say "hey get off my foot you *@$%*&"..
Ahh well.. Some fool once said never wait for a train or women, another one always comes along.. That fool should be shot.. He didn't account for the fact that missing trains causes you to reach work late..
Few more trains get by without me even moving an inch closer to getting in any of them...
Some strange physics comes into play as every train draws closer.. There are always obviously more people than there is space, but as the train stops, suddenly a vacuum appears to form at the door of the train sucking every near it inside.. Everyone except me..
I finally did manage to get it though.. And with the rain related delays, only about 30 minutes after I got onto the platform. Not bad..
Inside was a totally different experience.. Got a full body massage, got introduced to a new scent, don't think you've heard of it yet, its called Wet Dog and also managed to learn a Micheal Jackson step.. You know the one where he tilts himself at a 45degree angle to the ground?
Good stuff..
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Women in India... A classic cliche..
Now that I'm about to type this, i really wish i was better prepared.. Maybe there'll be a followup later..
L-O-V-E
Makes us all act in a way that goes against everything we believe in.. We do things we usually wouldn't be caught doing dead. Examples you ask? How about a chauvinistic male (the type who picks on 'not so chauvinistic males' for being weak) buying things like roses and candy..
Even the most manly man will subject himself to self confessed tortures like chick flicks, going shopping and waiting at the hair dressers.. And all in the name of love.. How truly wonderful.. Or is it because of the many ulterior motives men have? Hmm... Lets leave that alone for now..
Women.. act funny when they're in love.. They get obsessive and mushy. (for heavens sake women, im not generalizing! just talking about the ones who are like that) *phew.. Dodged a bullet there..
Women stand besides their men, Lie for him (no pun intended), steal for him and well, on occasion also kill for him, or at least some movies seem to imply.
Once a woman falls in love, she pretty much becomes dependent on him being there (mostly). She'll forgo her own self confidence and ego to let him be right.. He'll get away with a number of things that can sometimes even be illegal.. She'll let him cheat on her, beat her up, cheat on her again and beat her up once more.. And no I'm not talking about the rural women we see on the television. I'm talking about your average everyday lady that passes you on the road. It is estimated that about 50% of women in India have at one point physical abuse... Really? I think that number is greatly downplayed.. Only Half? I'm sure its more..
Is it really a matter of dependency? lost self confidence? the fear of being alone? All of the above? Or is it just a role women assume they have to play in traditional Indian society?
Personally, This isn't about "Oh my god how can anyone HIT a girl or woman!!!"
I mean, I'd personally slap the girl in the "How can she slap" video.. (Check my links)
I just think, when a person says he loves you, then has the audacity to subject you to physical or mental torture, You'd want to rethink your options..
All you women reading this, What are your views?
what would you do if you were ever a victim of physical abuse?
Shut up and take it? or leave the guy wondering why he's suddenly single...
L-O-V-E
Makes us all act in a way that goes against everything we believe in.. We do things we usually wouldn't be caught doing dead. Examples you ask? How about a chauvinistic male (the type who picks on 'not so chauvinistic males' for being weak) buying things like roses and candy..
Even the most manly man will subject himself to self confessed tortures like chick flicks, going shopping and waiting at the hair dressers.. And all in the name of love.. How truly wonderful.. Or is it because of the many ulterior motives men have? Hmm... Lets leave that alone for now..
Women.. act funny when they're in love.. They get obsessive and mushy. (for heavens sake women, im not generalizing! just talking about the ones who are like that) *phew.. Dodged a bullet there..
Women stand besides their men, Lie for him (no pun intended), steal for him and well, on occasion also kill for him, or at least some movies seem to imply.
Once a woman falls in love, she pretty much becomes dependent on him being there (mostly). She'll forgo her own self confidence and ego to let him be right.. He'll get away with a number of things that can sometimes even be illegal.. She'll let him cheat on her, beat her up, cheat on her again and beat her up once more.. And no I'm not talking about the rural women we see on the television. I'm talking about your average everyday lady that passes you on the road. It is estimated that about 50% of women in India have at one point physical abuse... Really? I think that number is greatly downplayed.. Only Half? I'm sure its more..
Is it really a matter of dependency? lost self confidence? the fear of being alone? All of the above? Or is it just a role women assume they have to play in traditional Indian society?
Personally, This isn't about "Oh my god how can anyone HIT a girl or woman!!!"
I mean, I'd personally slap the girl in the "How can she slap" video.. (Check my links)
I just think, when a person says he loves you, then has the audacity to subject you to physical or mental torture, You'd want to rethink your options..
All you women reading this, What are your views?
what would you do if you were ever a victim of physical abuse?
Shut up and take it? or leave the guy wondering why he's suddenly single...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Ganesh Chaturthi.. the festival of noise..
So, well. I wasn't going to do this.. Sitting bored to death in a car for about 1.5 hours for a half an hour journey made me change my mind..
Most of my posts are flavored with religion bashing, none so much as this one..
Ganesh Chaturthi.. A festival.. A nuisance..
Don't get me wrong, his holiness might be a great god, Im sure he answers everyone's prayers, well when he has the time anyway.. Its his followers i have a problem understanding. So fine, most of them are uneducated and have no inkling about the destruction they bring about to the ecosystem with every 'visarjan'. What about the inconvenience caused to motorists and other commuters?
Did you know that pre 1893, Ganesh chaturti was mostly a family affair? Tilak made it a social occasion in order to unite the lower classes of society with the higher snobs like the brahmins. Mission accomplished.. Today, in rural areas, lower classes live in harmony with upper classes.. Umm not really.. but well he tried anyway..
lets look at how this festival affects our future shall we?
Modern ganpati idols are made mostly of plaster of paris and take much longer to dissolve than the traditional clay (duh) the use of which has now been abandoned..
Colors used to paint these idols contain numerous heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, carbon and cadmium which mix with the water making it not so drinking friendly.. (I may be wrong about that, a while back people resorted to drinking water from mahim creek claiming God turned the water sweet.. Heavy metal poisoning anyone?)
Dumping heavy metals into water bodies also causes the death of life in the areas concerned. Hundreds of dead fish are washed ashore after each immersion..
As for the people indulging in the immersion for the religious aspect of it, have ANY of you gone back the next day? I have.. a walk on the beach the day after the last day of immersion turned out to be like a walk through an obstacle course.. There was a man sweeping, yes SWEEPING half dissolved (and in some cases complete) ganpati idols into small little piles everywhere.. (for pics, go here http://www.ultrabrown.com/posts/the-battle-of-kurukshetra)
The solution:
well, not polluting water bodies is simple.. Dont use an idol made of POP.. or clay. Use a metal one. Reusable every year..
Im just sorry there's no solution yet for the unnecessary sound pollution.. I mean if people think that its in their culture to dance on roads, burst crackers that cost more that most people earn in a month and just be obnoxious pricks on the roads by blocking them, far be from me to try and go and stop them..
Most of my posts are flavored with religion bashing, none so much as this one..
Ganesh Chaturthi.. A festival.. A nuisance..
Don't get me wrong, his holiness might be a great god, Im sure he answers everyone's prayers, well when he has the time anyway.. Its his followers i have a problem understanding. So fine, most of them are uneducated and have no inkling about the destruction they bring about to the ecosystem with every 'visarjan'. What about the inconvenience caused to motorists and other commuters?
Did you know that pre 1893, Ganesh chaturti was mostly a family affair? Tilak made it a social occasion in order to unite the lower classes of society with the higher snobs like the brahmins. Mission accomplished.. Today, in rural areas, lower classes live in harmony with upper classes.. Umm not really.. but well he tried anyway..
lets look at how this festival affects our future shall we?
Modern ganpati idols are made mostly of plaster of paris and take much longer to dissolve than the traditional clay (duh) the use of which has now been abandoned..
Colors used to paint these idols contain numerous heavy metals like mercury, arsenic, lead, carbon and cadmium which mix with the water making it not so drinking friendly.. (I may be wrong about that, a while back people resorted to drinking water from mahim creek claiming God turned the water sweet.. Heavy metal poisoning anyone?)
Dumping heavy metals into water bodies also causes the death of life in the areas concerned. Hundreds of dead fish are washed ashore after each immersion..
As for the people indulging in the immersion for the religious aspect of it, have ANY of you gone back the next day? I have.. a walk on the beach the day after the last day of immersion turned out to be like a walk through an obstacle course.. There was a man sweeping, yes SWEEPING half dissolved (and in some cases complete) ganpati idols into small little piles everywhere.. (for pics, go here http://www.ultrabrown.com/posts/the-battle-of-kurukshetra)
The solution:
well, not polluting water bodies is simple.. Dont use an idol made of POP.. or clay. Use a metal one. Reusable every year..
Im just sorry there's no solution yet for the unnecessary sound pollution.. I mean if people think that its in their culture to dance on roads, burst crackers that cost more that most people earn in a month and just be obnoxious pricks on the roads by blocking them, far be from me to try and go and stop them..
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Questions in my head...
This world is a scary place. Or is it just me.
Why can't i see things in color like everyone else? What event in my past changed me to think like the way i do? Why do I not believe in things like true love, religion or true feelings? Why can't i see truth instead of a world of veil clad people. Why do i question seemingly simple things like belief? Why do i doubt someone died for all of our sins? Why don't i believe that a supernatural power great enough to create the universe would care to meddle in our every day life?
Why do i not value relationships as everyone else does? Why would i willingly not want to engage myself in social gatherings? Why don't i believe in the "facts" the media propagates? why does the concept of the conspiracy attract me more than the concept of faith?
Why can't i see things in color like everyone else? What event in my past changed me to think like the way i do? Why do I not believe in things like true love, religion or true feelings? Why can't i see truth instead of a world of veil clad people. Why do i question seemingly simple things like belief? Why do i doubt someone died for all of our sins? Why don't i believe that a supernatural power great enough to create the universe would care to meddle in our every day life?
Why do i not value relationships as everyone else does? Why would i willingly not want to engage myself in social gatherings? Why don't i believe in the "facts" the media propagates? why does the concept of the conspiracy attract me more than the concept of faith?
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Redundant things.. Only read if thoroughly bored already..
Know what I find redundant?
Posts like these.. Why waste your time reading one when you could be writing one?
Know what else i find redundant?
Cops standing at a signal motioning for traffic to move when a signal is green. Ohh I'm sorry, neither the green signal nor the angry mob of honking drivers behind me yelling out death threats will attract my attention, but one person wearing subtle colors gesturing me to move should do it..
Wanna know more?
Bulimia.. I'm sorry, but food should only come out through the front if meant to leisurely chewed later! The term stupid cow comes to mind..
And what the hell is baby food! Stupid lumpy tasteless food.. anything a baby can eat without you seeing it again for a few hours should be deemed good enough..
Catching Swine flu from people! after years of me calling fat people pigs.. Oh well.. Life imitating art... here art being the words spoken by me..
What about some environmentalists throwing a fish back into the water when fishing.. Its already gone through the mental agony of its self esteem disappearing after being fooled by bait. It will probably harbor suicidal tendencies after being reunited with his society.. The least you could do is give it a decent death.. Gut it and fry it after the mourning process completes.
Whats with vegans! Eat your grass in peace, don't offer us any thanks, Don't see me asking you if you want a big bowl of death every time i eat! Same goes with religious nuts, Yes, I'll take a piece of your Jesus cake if you'll take a piece of my agnostic Pie..
Spending three months worth of my hard earned money to buy a ring.. Ahem... Don't see any stipulation that says the wife has to save up for three months to buy the guy a life time supply of games!
Gold, Diamonds, Platinum.. One more expensive then the other.. Also one more illogical than the other.. They've only got this expensive because of the early man's greed to collect shiny things.. Back then, all the glitters was indeed gold.. Their minds weren't complex like ours today, so they were pretty much captivated by shiny metals.. Whats our excuse today?
Office people playing loud music doesn't help concentrate :(
lets see what else i remember..
Inter-religious debates... Those have to be redundant! A debate to see who religion is "better"! Ludicrous is say! (Not the rapper, Allah be with him) On a side note, watching this debate is highly recommended..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v1TT_ExR2k&feature=related
Many people voting pro life.. First give up on pre-marital sex then think pro life.
I'm not going to go into detail for this one, cause mainly I want to live... Enough said..
Religious terrorists.. Killing in name of the one who has no name.. I should be going around killing people for not liking things like mushrooms.. Or snatch..
Emotions.. They're soon going to be redundant in a practical world like ours.. Sic..
Promises to be together.. they're a nice thought though... Thanks.. One day at a time sweet Jeebus...
Geez.. I was sure I had more than these...
OOh well.. Another day another rant..
Posts like these.. Why waste your time reading one when you could be writing one?
Know what else i find redundant?
Cops standing at a signal motioning for traffic to move when a signal is green. Ohh I'm sorry, neither the green signal nor the angry mob of honking drivers behind me yelling out death threats will attract my attention, but one person wearing subtle colors gesturing me to move should do it..
Wanna know more?
Bulimia.. I'm sorry, but food should only come out through the front if meant to leisurely chewed later! The term stupid cow comes to mind..
And what the hell is baby food! Stupid lumpy tasteless food.. anything a baby can eat without you seeing it again for a few hours should be deemed good enough..
Catching Swine flu from people! after years of me calling fat people pigs.. Oh well.. Life imitating art... here art being the words spoken by me..
What about some environmentalists throwing a fish back into the water when fishing.. Its already gone through the mental agony of its self esteem disappearing after being fooled by bait. It will probably harbor suicidal tendencies after being reunited with his society.. The least you could do is give it a decent death.. Gut it and fry it after the mourning process completes.
Whats with vegans! Eat your grass in peace, don't offer us any thanks, Don't see me asking you if you want a big bowl of death every time i eat! Same goes with religious nuts, Yes, I'll take a piece of your Jesus cake if you'll take a piece of my agnostic Pie..
Spending three months worth of my hard earned money to buy a ring.. Ahem... Don't see any stipulation that says the wife has to save up for three months to buy the guy a life time supply of games!
Gold, Diamonds, Platinum.. One more expensive then the other.. Also one more illogical than the other.. They've only got this expensive because of the early man's greed to collect shiny things.. Back then, all the glitters was indeed gold.. Their minds weren't complex like ours today, so they were pretty much captivated by shiny metals.. Whats our excuse today?
Office people playing loud music doesn't help concentrate :(
lets see what else i remember..
Inter-religious debates... Those have to be redundant! A debate to see who religion is "better"! Ludicrous is say! (Not the rapper, Allah be with him) On a side note, watching this debate is highly recommended..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v1TT_ExR2k&feature=related
Many people voting pro life.. First give up on pre-marital sex then think pro life.
I'm not going to go into detail for this one, cause mainly I want to live... Enough said..
Religious terrorists.. Killing in name of the one who has no name.. I should be going around killing people for not liking things like mushrooms.. Or snatch..
Emotions.. They're soon going to be redundant in a practical world like ours.. Sic..
Promises to be together.. they're a nice thought though... Thanks.. One day at a time sweet Jeebus...
Geez.. I was sure I had more than these...
OOh well.. Another day another rant..
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Friendship day? A day for friendship? what about the other 364?
Today is internationally known as friendship day. A day when friends give each other small symbols as a token of their appreciation for their fellow pals, the most modern symbol being a 'friendship band'. Isn't that smart? a band that signifies an everlasting friendship that cannot be broken. This idea might have made the premier 'friendship band' manufacturing company very rich off the money of probably millions of gullible people (me included). Why waste time talking to your friend and telling him how you really feel, hugging him/her and thanking her when you can tie a small band around her wrist! Ingenious! Imagine the time saved!
As always, before i sat down to type this, i did a little investigation into the origins of this day. All I managed to get was this.
On the first Saturday of august, 1935, the government of America put a man to death (reason unknown). The next day however his friend committed suicide in his memory. Hence the govt of America decided to observe the first Sunday of august as friendship day.
I really pray that story not be true, if it is, we're celebrating the memory of a criminal and a suicide victim, thus condoning both.
I really do not have anything against this day. Oh wait I do.. I'm expected to fall in line and play nice (thankfully not by anyone who knows me too well). This post however has a greater meaning than just resenting a day specially reserved as a 'friendship day', It goes on to also hate days like Valentines Day, Nurses Day, Mothers Day, Armed Forces Day, Army Day, Fathers Day, Parents Day, Childrens Day, Teachers Day, Students Day, are you beginning to see a pattern here? The very fact that there exists a day for everything shows how minuscule the importance of the day becomes. After we've assigned all 365 days to frivolous days like the above mentioned, what next? overlap them?
People should see these days for what they really are, money making opportunities for some people like future me who will most definitely prey on the gullibility of most common people.
I could never understand the importance of a Valentines day. Aren't you supposed to be nice to her all year around? *whistles looking around. My point is simple, we don't need a day to tell us how to act and behave. We're more intelligent than that. So go ahead, celebrate everyday as all of the above.. Or not.. But don't do so just for one day a year.
As always, before i sat down to type this, i did a little investigation into the origins of this day. All I managed to get was this.
On the first Saturday of august, 1935, the government of America put a man to death (reason unknown). The next day however his friend committed suicide in his memory. Hence the govt of America decided to observe the first Sunday of august as friendship day.
I really pray that story not be true, if it is, we're celebrating the memory of a criminal and a suicide victim, thus condoning both.
I really do not have anything against this day. Oh wait I do.. I'm expected to fall in line and play nice (thankfully not by anyone who knows me too well). This post however has a greater meaning than just resenting a day specially reserved as a 'friendship day', It goes on to also hate days like Valentines Day, Nurses Day, Mothers Day, Armed Forces Day, Army Day, Fathers Day, Parents Day, Childrens Day, Teachers Day, Students Day, are you beginning to see a pattern here? The very fact that there exists a day for everything shows how minuscule the importance of the day becomes. After we've assigned all 365 days to frivolous days like the above mentioned, what next? overlap them?
People should see these days for what they really are, money making opportunities for some people like future me who will most definitely prey on the gullibility of most common people.
I could never understand the importance of a Valentines day. Aren't you supposed to be nice to her all year around? *whistles looking around. My point is simple, we don't need a day to tell us how to act and behave. We're more intelligent than that. So go ahead, celebrate everyday as all of the above.. Or not.. But don't do so just for one day a year.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Holy land? or land holy?
This is an interesting concept I read about recently.
What makes a place holy. Why is a location on a map called a holy land. What makes 'land' holy?
A lot of explanations were given which mainly said that the land was holy because of some supernatural event that may have taken place there.. OK.. . So if a supernatural event (miracle) takes place in my backyard, it is going to be considered holy.. Thank goodness i cleared that up.
However, what if i decide i want to act like a true pain in everyone's butt and dig out a massive hole taking the exact 'holy spot' taking the center for a circle with a diameter of about a mile long and a mile deep.. Now there's no land! Is it still holy? Well? Is it?? You will probably argue about how I cannot dig a mile deep, fine.. What if i just scrape of the top layer of about a hundred meters and dump the soil elsewhere.. Still holy?
If you've said no, you probably said so because you did not want to look stupid. I mean come on! one minute holy land, next minute none? You'd probably argue that since there's no land, it cannot be holy.. Bear with me for a minute.
If you've said yes, You're even stupider. I mean really! you pray to a god who has created something as intelligent as us (citation needed). Created this entire universe (also citation needed). If there exists something at that level of intelligence, you think he'll really give a crap about a physical location? I mean he's created things like galaxies for heavens sake. You think he's gonna say "Hey you, visit my church in XXX or else" or "visit my holy land called Me**a or damnation is yours!!"
Because of our human inability to perceive anything beyond the physical realm, we give importance to nonconsequential things like a spot of land. whereas we choose to ignore the greater messages religions impart.. Which is, blow yourself up, go to heaven. You have 72 virgins waiting for you.
Peace.
What makes a place holy. Why is a location on a map called a holy land. What makes 'land' holy?
A lot of explanations were given which mainly said that the land was holy because of some supernatural event that may have taken place there.. OK.. . So if a supernatural event (miracle) takes place in my backyard, it is going to be considered holy.. Thank goodness i cleared that up.
However, what if i decide i want to act like a true pain in everyone's butt and dig out a massive hole taking the exact 'holy spot' taking the center for a circle with a diameter of about a mile long and a mile deep.. Now there's no land! Is it still holy? Well? Is it?? You will probably argue about how I cannot dig a mile deep, fine.. What if i just scrape of the top layer of about a hundred meters and dump the soil elsewhere.. Still holy?
If you've said no, you probably said so because you did not want to look stupid. I mean come on! one minute holy land, next minute none? You'd probably argue that since there's no land, it cannot be holy.. Bear with me for a minute.
If you've said yes, You're even stupider. I mean really! you pray to a god who has created something as intelligent as us (citation needed). Created this entire universe (also citation needed). If there exists something at that level of intelligence, you think he'll really give a crap about a physical location? I mean he's created things like galaxies for heavens sake. You think he's gonna say "Hey you, visit my church in XXX or else" or "visit my holy land called Me**a or damnation is yours!!"
Because of our human inability to perceive anything beyond the physical realm, we give importance to nonconsequential things like a spot of land. whereas we choose to ignore the greater messages religions impart.. Which is, blow yourself up, go to heaven. You have 72 virgins waiting for you.
Peace.
Friday, July 24, 2009
My day at a Shopping Store..
This is a hypothetical situation. Mainly because once I've said that, I am at liberty to pretty much type what i want here.
Let the store be any one you can think of. For example, an I don't mean to influence you thinking, but just for example, lets take Mango. A big brand, clearly it attracts a variety of customers and a lot of them like I found out. Standing alone waiting for the happy shoppers i went there with, to finish with their ritual of taking clothes by the dozen into tiny cubicles to try them on before discarding most of them (it was worth the wait), It gave me a chance to observe other shoppers and people accompanying those shoppers from a third person's perspective.
Many types of different people were identified and put up for dissection my my discerning eyes. Ok, well that's just a fancy way of saying i stood in one place, staring at everyone while i was alone. Almost immediately, i noticed the boyfriends who had gotten themselves caught in the web of going shopping to a store that catered only to women. Poor guys tried to look helpful even though most (READ: ALL) of their advise was gently ignored. Before they even finished with the "what about this dress here", their significant other (The term 'significant' is used more for the sheer quantity because of all the plus sized women trying on clothes meant clearly for anorexic women) suddenly turned to look at something else. Then when this significant other found what she was looking for, the guy stands outside the small matchbox sized room trying to portray his best 'cool' image. However most guys failed at that the moment they went to pick up a shoe they thought was good. Other than the 'ball and chained' guys, these three guys walk in asking for a conversion from an indian dress size to a UK one. We all had a laugh when they said there were looking for a size 4 and as a model, showed someone about 3 times that size. well. The point of this is, well, none actually. I'm just bored. And if you don't want to read something like this again, pray I don't accompany people shopping.
Let the store be any one you can think of. For example, an I don't mean to influence you thinking, but just for example, lets take Mango. A big brand, clearly it attracts a variety of customers and a lot of them like I found out. Standing alone waiting for the happy shoppers i went there with, to finish with their ritual of taking clothes by the dozen into tiny cubicles to try them on before discarding most of them (it was worth the wait), It gave me a chance to observe other shoppers and people accompanying those shoppers from a third person's perspective.
Many types of different people were identified and put up for dissection my my discerning eyes. Ok, well that's just a fancy way of saying i stood in one place, staring at everyone while i was alone. Almost immediately, i noticed the boyfriends who had gotten themselves caught in the web of going shopping to a store that catered only to women. Poor guys tried to look helpful even though most (READ: ALL) of their advise was gently ignored. Before they even finished with the "what about this dress here", their significant other (The term 'significant' is used more for the sheer quantity because of all the plus sized women trying on clothes meant clearly for anorexic women) suddenly turned to look at something else. Then when this significant other found what she was looking for, the guy stands outside the small matchbox sized room trying to portray his best 'cool' image. However most guys failed at that the moment they went to pick up a shoe they thought was good. Other than the 'ball and chained' guys, these three guys walk in asking for a conversion from an indian dress size to a UK one. We all had a laugh when they said there were looking for a size 4 and as a model, showed someone about 3 times that size. well. The point of this is, well, none actually. I'm just bored. And if you don't want to read something like this again, pray I don't accompany people shopping.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Age of Illness
As a developing civilization we are bound to come across obstacles in our progress. In our modern life we like to think these obstacles are external factors like religion, politics and economics. A little insightful thinking however will tell you that we are the biggest obstacle in our own progress. We’ve created an environment that is not conducive to our own well being. With each passing day we invent more gadgets which will in the near foreseeable future, rob us of our well being.
About a hundred years ago, an illness was usually the effect of a strain of bacteria or virus that had evolved into something our bodies disagreed with. The beginning of the 20th century saw diseases like the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, Diphtheria which had about 10% mortality rate and Small pox which was estimated to have killed about 300 million people worldwide. Today however not only do we have to worry about new-age diseases like AIDS and SARS but also global warming and pollution which are only the after effects of our negligence. Scientists have estimated that the lungs of a city dweller have a much higher risk of developing late-stage cancer than those living in rural areas. Wasn’t that already known? I mean take for example the most populated city in the world right now: Mumbai. It is estimated that 2800 premature deaths can be traced back to air pollution alone.
Let us take a look at our technology now. Most of us have jobs that require us to sit in front of our screens while out fingers perform short repetitive actions that have more long term implications than people know about. Excessive use of a keyboard causes Repetitive strain injury (RSI) and Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) while using your mobile phone or a new generation PDA devices like the Blackberry causes Blackberry Thumb which all take weeks and sometimes months to recover from. We’ve now more addicted to music then ever before, so we’ve gone about inventing devices like the Ipod which insures “music on the run”. We’re immersed in either entertainment or work the entire day and nearly all of our activities involve the use of potentially dangerous devices. We now work longer days and 8 to 9 hour sleep durations seem like a myth to most people. As a result of our reliance on these inventions, we never really do rest until we’re tired or asleep. Hold on, now we’ve got something called “Sleep Tapes”. Yes, tapes you listen to while your body is supposedly resting. There’s a reason we shut our eyes while we’re asleep, it’s called mental rest!
And as we watch the next generation being raised by the television and the X-box, we look at our present generation mentally burn out by the time they’re 30. With stress and high pressure becoming a part of everyone’s day to day life, the term mid life crisis is now outdated. Welcome quarter life crisis.
About a hundred years ago, an illness was usually the effect of a strain of bacteria or virus that had evolved into something our bodies disagreed with. The beginning of the 20th century saw diseases like the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, Diphtheria which had about 10% mortality rate and Small pox which was estimated to have killed about 300 million people worldwide. Today however not only do we have to worry about new-age diseases like AIDS and SARS but also global warming and pollution which are only the after effects of our negligence. Scientists have estimated that the lungs of a city dweller have a much higher risk of developing late-stage cancer than those living in rural areas. Wasn’t that already known? I mean take for example the most populated city in the world right now: Mumbai. It is estimated that 2800 premature deaths can be traced back to air pollution alone.
Let us take a look at our technology now. Most of us have jobs that require us to sit in front of our screens while out fingers perform short repetitive actions that have more long term implications than people know about. Excessive use of a keyboard causes Repetitive strain injury (RSI) and Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) while using your mobile phone or a new generation PDA devices like the Blackberry causes Blackberry Thumb which all take weeks and sometimes months to recover from. We’ve now more addicted to music then ever before, so we’ve gone about inventing devices like the Ipod which insures “music on the run”. We’re immersed in either entertainment or work the entire day and nearly all of our activities involve the use of potentially dangerous devices. We now work longer days and 8 to 9 hour sleep durations seem like a myth to most people. As a result of our reliance on these inventions, we never really do rest until we’re tired or asleep. Hold on, now we’ve got something called “Sleep Tapes”. Yes, tapes you listen to while your body is supposedly resting. There’s a reason we shut our eyes while we’re asleep, it’s called mental rest!
And as we watch the next generation being raised by the television and the X-box, we look at our present generation mentally burn out by the time they’re 30. With stress and high pressure becoming a part of everyone’s day to day life, the term mid life crisis is now outdated. Welcome quarter life crisis.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Cellphones.. The Amazing Wonder.. OR Not.
That blasted little invention. deviously designed to keep tabs on us by various authoritative figures. Parents, Bosses, Girlfriends, Boyfriends, or just friends.. Everyone uses this ingenious little rectangular piece of nightmare to know one thing.. "where are you?!?". . the most popular question every asked on the cell phone. Even if the person is in no way connected to where u actually physically are or rather where you were supposed to be, its what they want to know...
So what drives us to own this gadget?
well there has to be some upsides of owning a device that transforms an owner into a walking tracking device.
Firstly, people own a cellphone for the accessories that come with it.. Cameras, Music and well let's face it, Bluetooth IS kinda cool.. But with modern gadgets like PSP's offering every kind of accessory to match a cell phone, people MUST be outta their minds to actually go ahead and buy a device that's programmed to ring EVERY damn time they decide to take a shower or ever EVERY time they try to get intimate with their significant other...
My answer? we all contribute to a Massive worldwide effort to ditch our reliance on this God-Awful creation... I do my bit every time i Don't pick it up.. Resisting the temptation to know who it is on the other line when i do not recognize a number.. resisting the urge to look at it at period intervals to check for messages and miscalls.. I mean really.. What in the world can be that important?!?
People could damn well survive and also could damn well keep in touch with friends and find ways to be social before its invention.. its time we go back to the basics and not rely on a small device that relays only our voice to people who deserve SO much more.. Lets not let the romance of Actually meeting a person die out or be substituted with a simple call.
Amen..
So what drives us to own this gadget?
well there has to be some upsides of owning a device that transforms an owner into a walking tracking device.
Firstly, people own a cellphone for the accessories that come with it.. Cameras, Music and well let's face it, Bluetooth IS kinda cool.. But with modern gadgets like PSP's offering every kind of accessory to match a cell phone, people MUST be outta their minds to actually go ahead and buy a device that's programmed to ring EVERY damn time they decide to take a shower or ever EVERY time they try to get intimate with their significant other...
My answer? we all contribute to a Massive worldwide effort to ditch our reliance on this God-Awful creation... I do my bit every time i Don't pick it up.. Resisting the temptation to know who it is on the other line when i do not recognize a number.. resisting the urge to look at it at period intervals to check for messages and miscalls.. I mean really.. What in the world can be that important?!?
People could damn well survive and also could damn well keep in touch with friends and find ways to be social before its invention.. its time we go back to the basics and not rely on a small device that relays only our voice to people who deserve SO much more.. Lets not let the romance of Actually meeting a person die out or be substituted with a simple call.
Amen..
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