Another one of those days..

Scott Adams bugs me sometimes but never have I been bugged so much before..

The things that are going on in this country..

Kissing is a controversy now

Pay someone else to serve your time!

Rahul baba opens his big mouth and shoots himself in the foot

Sindhis are the new Taliban

Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother reading the news

Kufr on 'reality' check.

For those who have been following the debate on reservations, Reality Check needs no introduction. A darling of the anti-reservationists, he has served nothing but disinformation and hatred. Though it has been pointed out several times, he is still considered 'objective' by many. What nonsense! He is just a bigot hiding under a cloak of rationality.

Well, here is somebody who finally decided to put an end to all such debate..

PS. As I read this post again, I realise that I do not do justice to Kufr's post. It is not just a rant or bigot-bashing but a post that tackles the most common misconceptions and misinformation that are spread by people like reality check.

Familiarity

"Look, the days of that chutiya Gandhi are gone, OK?" he says suddenly. "I won't offer my cheek to be hit any more", and here he sticks his right cheek towards me nearly as crudely as if he had grabbed his crotch. "They trouble us so much on the border," he says. "Then Godhra happened. We had to hit back."

I have never been to Gujarat. Not before, not after. But those words are disturbingly familiar. Words that were spoken not by a pan-stained-banian-wearing individual but written as a rejoinder to a thread on a newsgroup in my institute, purpotedly having the most highly educated individuals in the country.

Best quote ever!

"I was number one on the Who's Likely To Die list for 10 years. I mean, I was really disappointed when I fell off the list."

Source.

पांच साल बाद

Five years on, there is still no justice in the thousands of cases of violence that took place in Gujarat. Five years later, the government has the temerity to accept that it killed an innocent man in a fake encounter who was purportedly involved in a conspiracy to kill Modi.
Every time you think that India is resurgent and is on the path of progress, remember Gujarat and remember how close to fascism our country is. Remember that Modi still rules over Gujarat and the party he belongs to has the second highest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. And lastly remember this poem.

A reason to love Alanis

The Supreme Court judgement

It has almost been a week since the supreme court made its judgement on the obc reservations. A lot of people have already responded to it. Here are some links -

A reluctant 'stay' on the basis of flawed reasoning.

Caste/Class-I

It's your country

SC's stay of Mandal II: A rejoinder

SC on reservations

Mandal will have the last laugh

It's time...

After over two months in the suburbs of San Francisco, it is time for me to go home. By this time tomorrow, I will be on a flight to New York where I would stay till friday night which is when I catch the long flight back to Bangalore. Though I have enjoyed visiting so many places in the States and meeting so many of my old friends, I have to say that I am glad that I am leaving. Unlike Jaya, who is homesick after just two weeks here, I am not really homesick but just tired of this part of the world where everyone has a car and it is tough to get around by public transportation or by foot. Working at the headquarters was a great experience but I really love my city and am yearning to get back to it and my beloved bike. I will be there at the start of the next month!

A bunch of movie reviews

Ok, I am bored and I tend to watch a lot of movies when that happens. Over the last two weeks, I have been to the theatres thrice and have seen as many movies. I was contemplating to go to 'The Host' sometime but haven't gotten around to doing that. So, the movies that I saw are -

300

A friend of mine recommended and since me and another friend had nothing much to do, we walked into this theatre in LA and saw this movie. Turned out to be the biggest waste of six dollars ever! The movie is entirely shot in front of a blue screen (much like the disastrous 'Sky Captain and the world of tomorrow' which gave the film a unrealistic PC game feel. But that wasn't the worst of it. I can't even begin to explain how lousy this movie was. The other day, I was watching 'Cool Hand Luke' again and I felt that they have stopped making films like those in Hollywood. The best movies of the contemporary world come from Latin America or Iran. No, not even Europe is making them anymore!
Anyway, 300 was by far the most bloated, over-hyped movie that turned out to be so goddamn lousy that someone in the crowd (in the theatre) said aloud, "that was horrible" at the end of it.

The Namesake

Based on the novel by the same name by Jhumpa Lahiri, this movie is directed by Mira Nair, a director whose works I have loved over the years. I did not like the book probably because I did not relate to its characters. Even though, I did not relate to the characters in the movie version too, I liked the film and I felt that it was probably the best Indian American movies I have seen. All the other 'Desi' movies are things I have found very shallow with caricatured parents and silly storylines but this was refreshingly different. For one, it does not ridicule the parents but portrays them with dignity and even though they do not express their love for each other in the way the Americans do, their love is hard to miss and more harder to not appreciate. Also, it does not go to the other extreme of disparaging the American culture as immoral but shows them to be different. One gets some idea of why ABCDs are called so. Caught between two different worlds and cultures, it might be hard to balance the two.
A film that is worth seeing, though there is nothing great about it, unlike Salaam Bombay.

Pan's Labyrinth

After an Indian crossover film, I saw a Mexican film (Spanish with English subtitles). I liked the film because I thought it mixed fantasy with reality (of the setting it was set in - the Spanish Civil War) quite well and is paced very well. The Americans suck at creating fantasy in their movies and they usually resort to things like princesses and queens and kings and princes, which is fairytailey and quite unoriginal. The Japanese animes have gone to whole other world of fantasy, creating the most incredible worlds and amazingly complex stories (see any Miyazaki's films and try not falling in love with them). This film is somewhere in between because even though it deals with a central character who is supposed to be a reborn princess of the underworld, we never see the kind of princess worship that we see in the American films. Also, it deals with pretty adult themes and has some scenes that are fit for children (the villain stabbing a boy in the face with a broken bottle is one).
I liked it for its emphasis on its women characters and a nice suspenseful story. Would definitely recommend as a movie to be watched in a theatre.

Hooked

A friend introduced me to this singer/composer/musician and since then, I have been hooked on to his brand of music.

Btw, he is Joao Gilberto. Perhaps a more user-friendly and a more famous song will help you appreciate him.

Google catches World cup fever!

Google launches Cricket World Cup Campaign

To include a Cricket Blogging contest

New Delhi, March 12, 2007: With World Cup fever at all-time high, Google India unveiled a Cricket World Cup Campaign today, promising cricket fans a uniquely interactive experience through the Internet.

The campaign will help users write, share, debate about and enjoy the Cricket World Cup through an integrated platform of Google products like Google Desktop, personalized homepage, Blogger and Orkut through a special landing page www.google.co.in/cricket . This would be a one-stop shop for all information related to the World Cup, allowing visitors to access regular updates, post individual comments and analysis and express their love for the game.

Sundaraman K, Head of Sales, Google India said, "Google aims to constantly improve its users experience by designing products that make things easier and deliver better results than what was available before. Cricket is one of the key passions of users in India and this campaign is designed to bring people across communities together, offering them a unique cricket experience across different Google platforms."

Google has teamed up with renowned cricketer and commentator, Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who will host an expert blog 'Cricket Zone with Krish Srikkanth' www.worldcupwithkrish.blogspot.com. This blog will allow users to interact with cricket experts as well as other bloggers on the performance of the various teams and engage in match analysis and a host of other interactive sessions. Additionally to the blog, Krish will also bring expert content to an interactive social networking experience through Orkut Krishcricket community www.orkut.com/worldcupwithkrish

As a part of this initiative, Google is also hosting a blogging cricket contest, entries for which can be submitted at www.google.co.in/cricket/contest . This will include posts on anything from on-the-ground reporting from West Indies to viewers opinions on the progress of the various teams at the World Cup. Both existing and new users will get an opportunity to participate in the contest. Google will also have a fully equipped Blogger vehicle that will visit, Bhopal, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, educating people on the use of Internet and blogging for self-expression. This educational road show will begin on March 19, 2007 from Chandigarh.

About Google Inc.

Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com .

# # #

Google is a registered trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated

International Women's Day

Picture taken in the GH, IIT Kanpur

Over at the Blank Noise Project, it is action heros time! Support the movement and make the streets a better place.

Last year, I wrote -

"I am surprised that women don't screw men over whenever they get the chance (some women do but not all) because men (again, not all men) screw them over (pun intended) all the time."

A year later, I still wonder about it all and a year later, I look at how much the Blank Noise Project has progressed. People like Jasmeen and Annie are putting in a lo to effort to spread awareness and I hope that their activism is actively making the changes that we ought to see in our society.
Some time ago, there was a call for activism in bangalore and even though I volunteered for it, I could not turn up at the last moment. I want to do my bit to the efforts of these fine women because I feel strongly about this.
"Eve teasing" is such an harmless little term, isn't it? The "It is just a bit of harmless fun"s and "don't take it seriously"s are pretty common justification for this. In a larger feminist picture, how serious is the problem of "eve teasing"? How important is it for the empowerment of women? How is it going to the contribute to the liberation of women?
I think it is very important. How many women would go to work if they could travel without fear and their fathers/husbands did not impose restrictions on their movements (of course, the fact that they impose restrictions is itself a problem)? How many women are likely to get a quality education when the centre of education - the university or the college - is away from home, perhaps, in another city? How many job opportunities would open up to women if they could travel long distances on the public transportation without harassment? How many women would be inspired to be independent and be confident of thinking for themselves if they could walk on a street alone without being bullied and thus being confident of being alone and looking after oneself, much like we men get to be? How many men would start respecting their female colleagues for being good at their jobs because they had the option of choosing the one they were most interested in and not because it was closer to their homes or the hours were normal?
I could go on and on like this but the essence of the issue is that I believe that safer and "eve teasing"-free world would make it easier for women to be empowered and thus accomplish the primary goal of the feminist movement.
This year, I hope to contribute more than my words. Let that be my International Women's day resolution.

Pix Surf

I have officially started a new blog. As you might have noticed on this blog, I sometimes go on a overdrive posting several pictures and though this was never an issue with me personally, I realise that it is time that I separated my photographic interests to a new blog and the result is Pix Surf. It would be a photoblog where I would regularly post the pictures I take. I would regularly post pictures that I have taken over my numerous trips and tours and generic pictures of abstract nature that I sometimes take when motivated. I might include travel details and stories behind the picture as time goes on and I become more and more regular at this new blog. Though I could have chosen any of the multitude of blogging softwares, I decided to remain loyal to blogspot because I have come to like it a lot and I feel that wordpress is going down the wrong road and because Google is actively working on blogger and would continue to make it better as it has always done with all its products.
My current blog, the one you are reading, would continue as it is and I would refrain from posting pictures here unless I feel that it is important for something that I have to say or if Pix Surf fails to attract regular readers.

PS. Pix Surf should really be considered my third blog, if you consider Blogbharti, where I am a contributor.

PPS. If you have some suggestions to make about the blog, please feel free to make them where ever you feel like. Or you could also email me!

A drop of life

I found a link to a sci-fi film/documentary called "A drop of life". The world's water is getting privatised and this is an alarming trend. There has been huge protests by the people against the efforts by the corrupt government of Bolivia to privatize its water supply. Back home in India, clean processed drinking water is sold to companies like Kinley for as low 60 paise per litre by the AP government (could not find the link for this), which are of course are then bottled and sold at 20 times the price.
Why is this alarming? Because it puts clean water out of the reach of the poor which in turn means that they would be forced to use polluted water and face the health problems that would entail. Maybe tomorrow, they will start selling air too. Wait, they are already doing that!

Thanks to : Priya

Jack

I finally got to meet Jack Stephens, who blogs here and here and here. He gave a little tour of the city and he showed me some of the areas that we (tourists) never get to see. It made me realise that segregation still exists, albeit in a subtler way. Much of the problems of race in the USA like discrimination, economics and class are very similar to the problems of caste in India. And much of the right wing arguments are the same too.
Later, he took me to an LFS meeting that was protesting the political killings in the Philippines in SFSU.

A hard lesson in discrimination

In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr was shot dead and a school teacher decided to teach a bunch of third graders a hard lesson in discrimination.



Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Part 5 is missing on youtube but can be found here... :(

This is the power that a teacher can have on the children that s/he mentors. It is sad that such teachers are so rare...

Can this be true?

"Name a country that begins with an 'u'"
"Umm... (Y)ugoslavia?"

"where was the berlin wall?"
* silence *

"Whatever he thinks is right.. he's from texas, he's gotta be right"

ROFL


PS. I am pretty sure that if you did a similar survey in India, you wont find anything different.

Hilarious!

Check out this video! It is hilarious!

"A girl like me"

A long time ago, I read the autobiography of Malcolm X and besides being struck by the life and times of that man and that man himself, I was also intrigued by what he had to say about Blacks trying to be White -

"This was my first really big step toward self-degredation: when I endured all of that pain [of the hairstraightening chemicals], literally burning my flesh to have it look like a white man's hair. I had joined that multitude of Negro men and women in America who are brainwashed into believing that the black people are `inferior'--and white people `superior'--that they will even violate and mutilate their God-created bodies to try to look `pretty' by white standards.... It makes you wonder if the Negro has completely lost his sense of identity, lost touch with himself." [Source]

The process is called 'conking' and is generally used to straighten the naturally curly hair. It struck me very similar to the notions of beauty prevalent in India, notions that are still commonplace and for expression of which a popular blogger got severely burnt recently. Reading Malcolm X's autobiography, I wondered whether the beauty ideal originated during the British rule when the whites were the master of the land and the Indian mandarins fought for their favours and approvals...
Carlo Montemayor from the blog Double Conciousness posted a documentary called "A girl like me" in which a bunch of black girls talk about the beauty ideal that they were exposed to and they recreate an experiment that is disturbing. The video is posted below.



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Thanks to Jack and Carlo for the links..