2007

Sitting quietly by the window – it’s raining outside. It feels more like October. I even played basketball yesterday! Very unusual for the season.

Just a few hours before we officially enter New Year.
Quitely enjoying the last few hours of 2006 with my favorite drink. No new resolutions. Didn’t make any list – Have one from the last year! Should be good enough! ;)
There are three bottles of wine – why so much? Who knows! Obviously I am not in charge here! :)

Alright – Wish you all a wonderful New Year!
Cheers!

Ggrrrrrr......!!!

This is sick. I am so afraid to switch on the TV. Yes, he is executed and the chapter is over. Who wants to know the blow-by-blow account of the execution? Apparently people are curious and media outlets are more than happy to dish out.

One more thing – next time someone complains about how Palestinians were dancing on the streets after hearing 9/11 attack, I would remind them of dancing Americans and smiling reporters after Saddam’s execution!! Both are celebrations of death!!

And, FOX News has proved me right once again. Almost-convicted-liar Oliver North, disgraced former NY Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and other hosts with saliva dripping from their mouth over Saddam’s execution video…!!!

Ok, enough – I can’t take this anymore…Where is my CD collection on classical music?
Peace.

Hope you...

So, he is probably going to be gone within next 2 days. Perhaps even within 24 hours! Never know!

I have seen videos of executions carried out by his police. I have seen the videos of horrendous tortures given to his people. It’s sick.

The word ‘death sentence’ sends chills down my spine. What if he is innocent – I always worry. But, not in this case! He fully deserves the capital punishment.

Good bye, Saddam. Hope you burn in hell.

Confused...!!

I take global warming seriously. I am not a scientist. But I don’t need salt water in my living room to realize and appreciate the importance of saving this planet - the only home we have for now!

It doesn’t mean that I am here to sensationalize the problem either. Just a few days ago, Dec 24th to be on precise, there was a news on how the global warming claimed the very first inhabited island. Interestingly it happened to be in India. Read it here.

Then, I found another report indicating that the island was actually submerged 22 years ago. You can read it here.

Now, which one is true? I am confused!

Lunch time ramblings...

There is a rumor that Mangalore Police have claimed another one in the name of encounter! Police are denying it. Last time it was Atiq and now it’s Rafiq. This comes on the same day police killed a Naxal leader in the name of encounter!
Agreed – both Atiq and Rafiq are scumbags by any standard. Nobody feels bad for them. But the Naxals? Don’t we have better ways to handle troublemakers other than killing them?

Who gave Police the right to kill when there is a legal structure (may be broken) in place? The journalists from local media are hardly asking any questions. Well, I don’t expect them to be tough on Police either. To his credit, Dayananda, Superintendent of Police (SP), Mangalore, is using a blogsite (http://spdk.blogspot.com/ ) to share information with public. But there is no word on the rumored encounter on this site.

-------------------------------

I am very careful when I discuss my personal details on this blog for my own reasons. Privacy tops all other reasons. However, world is wide and there are folks out there who want to discuss everything under the pseudo notion that they are just having a private chat with their close friends. WRONG!! Read this story here.

-------------------------------

Talking about it, here is an interesting thing I found out a few days ago. Someone has posted my youtube videos on another site - konkan.tv! Ummmmm!! Yes – he/she has slightly changed the tag names to match the konkan crowd targeted by the site. Anyways, I have left a message on the site asking the person to identify him/herself! Waiting here patiently…Smiles.

This moron should be immediately put in solitary confinement before he does any more damage to America! Ahhhh – how disgusting!

'Food' for thought...

A day after Chrismass, as (most of) you lay lazy on the sofa staring at TV set, trying to slowly burn off those extra calories from a heavy Christmas dinner…

Well, here is something to make you giggle - a brilliant piece by Jai.

Happy Holidays

Posting two video clips of my weekend mridanga sessions!
Merry Christmas! (Ahaa - this should score me some good points with conservatives!)

Sorry folks – this one is only for kannada readers!

A great post by Jayanth. Read it here. He is just amazing.

Bush and Books

As you all probably know, there is a grand plan to build a George W Bush presidential library at the cost of $500 million. Yes, half a billion dollar.

The ambitious plan includes raising money from what they call ‘mega donations’ of $10 million to $20 million. First I ignored this story. But my ears perked up when I heard about these mega donations. Guess who is at the top of this mega donors list?..... Arab nations!!! Ahaaa…!

Now, there is a new twist. Southern Methodist University , one of the candidates chosen for establishing the library, has expressed objections about the establishment of the facility at their school. Interesting to see what happens next.

I wonder why even plan for such a great, expensive library in the name of a President who hardly liked any reading!! He admits that he is not very fond of reading. He is the kind of person who would never tarnish the pristine purity of book by opening it!! His personal book collection would have…what? A bunch of yellow pages??

I have better ideas for him: How about
- "They hate our freedom” theme museum
- “Axis of Arrogance” movie starring all three including Bush (You guess the other two!)
- Or, how about a Video game – "Quail Hunting"? Oops, that’s for Dick Cheney! :)

Alright - enough!

Fake Encounters

So a typical story of a ‘Police encounter’ from India goes like this. Police, after a long cat-and-mouse game, finally catch up with the prime suspect. Now, one of the two things will happen: Either he grabs his gun and starts firing at police. Or, he surrenders, but on the way to Police station he makes an escape attempt after snatching loaded gun from police. In either case, he will be gunned down.

OK – We all know what happens behind these fake encounters. Police first catch the suspect. Squeeze him everything he is worth for. Once there is nothing left, take him to a remote area and end his story.

First it started in Bombay. Now, it is spreading into even smaller towns like Mangalore. Notice that most of those who get killed in encounters are notorious gang members with horrendous criminal past. Nobody sheds any tears for these scumbags.

We also know what happens if these bad guys are tried in court for their criminal acts. With almost non-existing witness protection schemes and dirty hands of politics all over, nobody gets convicted. I know at least two cases in Mangalore alone, where murder took place in the broad day light in the heart of the city as hundreds of people watched! Those guys simply walked out of the court after the case fell apart. (In both cases, the accused got whacked by their rival gangs within days of their acquittal!!)

On the one hand, these Police encounters send a warning to all the criminal gangs. On the other hand, it shows how Police can take law in to their own hands and deliver justice in a weird way! I don’t know what to think of it.

Sick!

It was supposed to be a regular, weekly laundry job. It all started as I took clothes out of the dryer. First it was a regular sneeze. One followed other and there I was sneezing non-stop! It was just the beginning. One thing led to another – finally ended up with fever! After two days of rest and tons of sleep, I am feeling little better. My voice is still husky. It breaks very often making me feel absolutely frustrated. Body still feels beaten up. With little more rest, I should be back to normal!

All Animals are equal, but some animals…

If you have read George Orwell’s novel, Animal Farm, you know what I am talking about.

“All Animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” – that’s what pigs proclaim who run the farm(read 'goverment') under the disguise of egalitarian principles!! It’s amazing to see how these pigs get corrupted by the newly acquired power.

I can’t help but repeat this line every time I see or hear one of those overly sensitive special groups making accusations. It could be women’s group or gays/lesbians or CAIR or any other minority group. I find the difference in treatment they receive little unfair to say the least.

Is it so difficult to look at the border issue or the crime rate in inner cities without bringing race into discussion? Or, has ‘race’ become a convenient tool to sidestep the main question?

Look at mainstream media - It has become a PC thing to be tough on certain groups and soft on those 'sensitive' special groups! We find nothing wrong when we see a mayor of the city or a community leader getting grilled on a national TV for the racism charges his city/community faces. But, what was the last time you saw a leader from inner city being questioned or held accountable on the same lines? Does it mean there is no racism in inner cities and is perfectly safe for other races? Please....!!

Rosie had to immediately apologize for her Chinese imitations. Then, what about all those black/Asian/Hispanic comedians who openly mock other ethnic groups? So, if one group does it, we find it funny. When the other group does it, it’s racist, uh?

In some cases, it is clearly ‘reverse racism’. In other cases, what I call ‘guilt’. It could be ‘white guilt’ here or ‘brahmin guilt’ in India! In cases like CAIR, it’s clearly a Trojan horse of ‘Islam phobia’ or ‘lack of understanding of a religion’.

So, are we seeing ‘Animal Farm’ all over again? Some animals are more equal?

By the way, I belong to a minority group by my color, language, culture and nationality. I denounce any racist or discriminatory behavior from anyone, anywhere including minority groups!

Peace.

Father and Son

How simple but stunningly beautiful our life is! A good father and a cute son...one of those beautiful moments...I'm sure you know what I am talking about! There is a reason why this video clip touched me. Long time back, yes – nearly three decades back, there I was trying to play an instrument...just like this little kid! Different house, different language, different people - still the same bond, care and love!

Sean Insanity (again)!

It was Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s final visit to Iraq before leaving his office. And, he takes only one journalist (?) with him!! Guess who it was! Our Fox news talent Sean Hannity!!

Do I think Pentagon was playing any media favorites? NOOOO – not at all. Don’t you see why they selected a talented ‘journalist’ from ‘fair and balanced’ news network? Mr.Insanity is such a fine journalist with good credentials!

If I were Rupert Murdoch or Roger Ailes, I would have recommended Michelle Malkin or Oliver North for this assignment. But Rumsfeld chose Sean Insanity! Well…

DISGUSTING!!!!!!!!

Suneeta, Gita….Samosa, Genesha.

Ahaa – how rhyming...

Reports say Suneeta Williams has carried a small statue of Lord Ganesha, packet of samosas and a copy of Gita to space station. Not sure if Kalpana Chawla did the same. If she didn’t, this would be the first time in space for all four including Suneeta!! Woooohoo!! I didn’t know that samosas were good to use in space as well!

Can it get any better? Nice view of blue planet and samosas? WOW!

But, don’t you think a packet of samosas is way too less for six month’s stay? Who knows? She might get more shipments from earth in coming months. In any case, I wish her all the best and safe stay.

I need some good – I mean oily, crispy, yummy samosas tonight. This is ridiculous to drool on here thinking of those dried-up, mini samosas she carried to space! ;)

You are going to hell !!!!

Sometimes I wonder why those three desert-religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) hate each other so much! A Hindu by birth and an idiot by virtue, I am not into any gods or religions. Ok – you would have figured it out by now – I don’t know why I keep repeating myself here!

If you think Mullahs are bad, watch this video clip. Another thug in silver suit claiming to be a true Christian!




Let’s move onto second clip here. As we all know, India is home for thousands of scam artists claiming to be ‘holy men’ and trying to make a fortune out of it. We all have heard it, seen it. This is not to discredit some of the genuine religious personalities out there.
I personally know the first 'Guru' shown in this video clip. How do I know? Well, he is from the same little town where I grew up! He was a regular guy with nice personality. One could see him chitchatting at Bhandarkar’s corner store! If I recollect correctly, he smoked beedies once in a while. Slowly things started changing – he started growing his hair, stopped shaving. No sandals or shoes. Saffron colored clothes replaced his white mundu and shirt. Rest is history. And, there he is now...trying to show Australia on his palm! It only proves what I have been hearing about him lately. What a tragedy! But he is such a small fish compared to another ‘holy man’ with ‘Afro’ hair style!! You know who I am talking about!

Man, No doubt – I am going to hell!! :)

War and Peace - Two realities of a messed up world...

How do you fight a war without losing men? What if we can engage our enemy with the help of robots and predator war planes? We all wish we could fight a war with our men sitting inside large control rooms instead of battle grounds! The sad truth is we are not there yet. We still need to send our men to frontlines, where they can potentially get killed.

America has always fought wars very efficiently. Numbers make it very clear. Look at some of the casualty figures from both Allied forces and Nazi Germany. It was horrendous!! Compare those figures to American deaths. When you look at recent conflicts such as Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan - American army has managed to topple those regiments with a very few casualties. Even in Vietnam and Korea, the numbers were outrageously big for enemy soldiers as compared to US troops.

Is this the reason why Americans have very low tolerance to war casualties these days? Are we expecting military to fight wars without losing any soldier?

Well, that’s why I asked you the question - How do you fight a war without losing men? Answer: Impossible. So, what are the options then? Like it or not, war is a reality we all hate to admit.

US has definitely created a mess in Iraq. Do you walk away from the mess you created or you clean it up for your own good? Yes, cleaning up definitely will have a human cost.

Just as much as I don’t understand the administration's arrogance, I don’t understand blockheadedness of democrats either!

Wait a minute – blockheadedness – Is it a word?? Well, who cares? You got my point.

What a day!!

Apparently it shook the building. I didn’t realize it since I was in shower! The cats were so scared – nobody knew what happened. Road accident to possible terrorist attack flashed through our minds. Had to get ready for work anyway. Within minutes of explosion, local TV channels had started the live coverage of accident. I dressed up and went downstairs to grab my office bag. By then, the local authorities had already set up a command center; fire engines were fighting the monstrous flames shooting up from the site, workers were evacuated and injured were rushed to the hospital. Local channels were already projecting the delay in reaching downtown due to closed highways and bad traffic. All in probably less than 25-30 minutes.

Reports say two are dead so far! Small town is really sad today.

The same day (Dec 6th), 1992 – I was in another small town, Mysore. My parents, sister, and uncle – everybody had warned me not to go out. I still went out to meet my friends like a real fool. There was an eerie feeling in the air. Agrahara roads were awkwardly silent. And, then it happened. The government owned TV and radio channels continued to air the same old lies. People knew there was something wrong. You can only delay but never hide the truth for ever. Before we knew, one could see smoke from mohallas !! Country started burning. The curfew follwed. The violence, madness, chaos and loss that followed the Babri Mosque incident are history now. Well, at least for now.

Peace.

Pauline Hilda Crasta and a few good men (and women)

This is an amazing story!

Remember Israel bombing of Lebanon sometime back? We saw it on our TV screens. We all took sides, debated it and then almost forgot about it! Thousands died in a few days.

When Israeli jets were pounding the country with overwhelming fire power, a woman from Mangalore living in Lebanon saw a great hope! She didn’t miss the chance. She escaped from the family where she was trapped for 23 years and found shelter in another mangaloorean family living in Lebanon!!

She desperately wanted to go home and find the freedom that she never had for 23 long years!! She probably risked everything in doing so!

Hey, freedom is worth everything!

It’s the story of poverty, exploitation, hopeless governments, hope, family bond and a few good people!! Read it here.

Stupid couple!

A stupid but lucky couple....somewhere in India!

Annoyed!

Imagine a poem, short story or a novel. It’s the product of a creative mind. Language is only the tool used here to communicate the ideas, feelings and emotions.

Translating such a piece of creative work to another language is a challenge and an art by itself. It is very different from translating a technical book or a news report. It demands more than mere knowledge of words. It involves understanding, interpreting the original stuff and then expressing the same in second (target) language. You also need to know both cultures to understand the context. That’s probably why we would never ever be able to automate the translation process of creative writings.

I feel like telling all these things to this guy! I am reading a portion of novel translated by him. Every other line could have been translated better. "It’s my pleasure" in English shouldn’t be translated word-by-word to my language. Sometimes, it is better to leave it in English. It all depends on the context.

Never mind – I am not going to name him here. I know he is trying his best. But he is just a lousy translator – that’s all. He shouldn’t have done this work!

God and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)

Arrogance is by far the most repulsive thing I find in a human being. Here is an act of such arrogance! Agreed – IITs are great. It’s not easy to get into one either - competition to get into the IITs is ferocious. I understand the status of IITs for all the right reasons. However, to say that IIT-ians are God’s gift to the world….Wait a minute – Aren’t we all God’s gifts?

Ahhh – disgusting!

Me!

This was long due. Here it is...my photo!
Ummm....working from home has really been very productive so far! ;)

Crazy, Yo!

When looked outside, I went crazy! Typically I let the cats play outside for a few minutes as I get ready for work. They didn’t even dare to step out today!! The garage door wouldn’t even open! I had to get snow shovel from basement and clear the driveway! Some workout in the morning - not too bad!

Then I changed my mind and decided not to drive in this crazy weather. It’s insane! So, I am working from home. Isn’t it true that I can work from home everyday? Why should I be in office to work on all these plans, proposals and estimates?