tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51127022011-09-03T02:25:48.960-07:00the opinions and arguments of a twenty nine year old male, indian, programmer, engineer, avid reader, romantic, writer, chess player, poet.ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.comBlogger3741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-10961622904490121972010-11-28T21:30:00.000-08:002010-11-28T21:37:24.733-08:00

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-33902947423317070482010-11-07T23:11:00.000-08:002010-11-27T23:32:52.501-08:00

Paul Theroux often refers to his oily shoes and knapsack, and his unshaven appearance which leads to some confusion in the minds of the folks he encounters, watchful as they are for a serial killer on the prowl. Published in 1982, The Kingdom by the Sea is Paul Theroux's third travel book (after The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express) and is as entertaining as every other

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-4000346425535353402010-10-02T19:52:00.000-07:002010-10-02T19:59:30.906-07:00

I'm more of a carnivore than I am an omnivore and I approached Mr.Pollan's book with a some skepticism. I did not expect to like it as much as I did. The book has its flaws but should be required reading for anyone who eats. At least it should be required reading for anyone who eats in America because many of the challenges Mr.Pollan discuses are directly related to America's unique food

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-15601803990382549952010-09-05T02:16:00.000-07:002010-09-05T11:34:42.280-07:00

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and SpringDirected by Ki-duk Kim.A meditation on life, almost completely devoid of dialogue, this is one of my all time favorites.3-IronAlso directed by Ki-duk Kim.3-Iron features the heartbreakingly beautiful song, Gafsa, by Natacha AtlasTwo murder mysteries that are not really murder mysteries..Memories of Murder, directed by Joon-ho BongMother, also directed by

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-52248567197833086942010-09-04T00:30:00.000-07:002010-09-04T00:36:06.437-07:00

Born to Run is a best seller and came highly recommended. I was excited about the book's premise, expecting to learn the secrets of those who don't crash at 26.2. The book's byline refers to the "Greatest Race the World has Never Seen" - however, by the time we reach this "greatest race", the author has already spoken about a few that seem as great.Christopher McDougall is a contributor to Men's

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-27306569626899579392010-08-22T12:10:00.000-07:002010-08-22T12:15:41.571-07:00

Prophets with visions! Folk heroes! Indifferent politicians! Thugs! Villainous dictators! The confusingly titled Watership Down has it all. Unfortunately all of its incredible characters are rabbits. Huh? Hold on a minute. Rabbits? Seriously? I'm not a hater, but I found it hard to relate to the travails of tiny fur balls. Richard Adams' fantastical tale is a classic with generally positive

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-40361072990906017512010-08-22T12:00:00.001-07:002010-08-22T12:09:36.730-07:00

An indictment of bureaucracy, local and state politics, the "24 hour" news cycle and India's failed attempts at bringing prosperity to its farmers and villages. Skillfully directed by debutante Anusha Rizvi, with excellent performances by Omkar Das, Shalini Vatsa and Raghuvir Yadav and with a great sound track, Peepli [LIVE] is the indie to watch this weekend (or next).

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-7950192712971817602010-08-04T00:13:00.000-07:002010-08-04T00:29:33.398-07:00

Onibaba is a 1964 Japanese black and white film set during the "period of the Warring States", in the fourteenth century. The movie was directed by Kaneto Shindō and released by Criterion on DVD in 2004. The Criterion DVD includes an interview with the then 91 year old director - and I recommend watching the interview in its entirety after you've seen the movie.Onibaba is a spare film with

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-7958044263345983562010-07-18T01:10:00.000-07:002010-07-24T12:13:00.489-07:00

From literary criticism to a perspective on John McEnroe, Sunrise with Seamonsters has an eclectic collection of Paul Theroux' writings spanning twenty years. Mr. Theroux writes about Richard Nixon's memoirs and of a meeting with the man. There is a fawning piece on V. S. Pritchett and an admiring essay on V. S. Naipaul. I have yet to read In Sir Vidya's Shadow, but considering the sour

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-67314758580900960182010-07-18T00:31:00.000-07:002010-07-18T00:44:33.105-07:00

I just saw Diary of a Lost Girl at the San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The screening was accompanied by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. The movie is considered a classic of the silent era. I enjoyed it immensely. The theme seems a little hackneyed, but then this is the original that was eventually made trite by over use. At times, the movie reminded me of the Indian classic, Pakeezah.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-68685910331744868112010-07-17T12:30:00.000-07:002010-07-18T00:31:02.166-07:00

I caught the full version of Metropolis at the Castro Theater yesterday. The screening had a live score by the Alloy Orchestra and was preceded by a conversation with Paula-Félix Didier and Fernando Peña, the film archivists affiliated with the Museo del Cine in Buenos Aires who made the remarkable discovery. We stood in line for two hours to get the rush tickets without any real indication as to

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-56124985916670589662010-07-08T20:39:00.000-07:002010-07-08T20:44:42.418-07:00

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-54377435841433063712010-06-07T21:16:00.000-07:002010-06-07T21:22:11.675-07:00

Will Ferguson wants to be funny and I'm unfortunately not a big fan of "wants to be funny". Mr. Ferguson hitchiked his way from Cape Sata, the southernmost tip of Japan all the way up to Rishiri Island, off the coast of Hokkaido. I find Japan and the Japanese interesting so I was looking forward to reading about Mr. Ferguson's adventures as he follows a mostly coastal path chasing sakura blossoms

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-60784846836787769062010-06-01T23:58:00.000-07:002010-06-02T00:14:10.064-07:00

Roshomon by Akira KurosawaRan by Akira Kurosawa Harakiri by Masaki KobayashiThrone of Blood by Akira Kurosawa

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-31542041365681772452010-05-19T21:04:00.000-07:002010-05-19T21:09:58.193-07:00

I'm not as much a fan of Paul Theroux' fiction as I am of his travel writings but I wanted to read The Elephanta Suite for its cover photograph. What's so special about the cover you ask? It shows a vista that has now been crudely obscured by an ugly, if necessary flyover. The photograph shows Mohammed Ali Road, a center of Muslim life in Mumbai, scene of glorious mayhem, food and people, cars

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-7758751911986970512010-05-04T19:39:00.000-07:002010-05-14T11:03:47.622-07:00

The one consistently recurring theme in The Quants is gambling. Ed Thorp, who according to Scott Patterson is the godfather of a quantitative based approach to investing is also the author of the Blackjack card counting classic, Beat the Dealer and the subsequent primer on a quantitative approach to investing - Beat the Market. Scott Patterson is a staff reporter at The Wall Street Journal and in

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-49902908157863487602010-04-29T17:49:00.000-07:002010-04-29T17:55:23.106-07:00

Ali and Nino is a grand love story in the tradition of the grandest of love stories. There is childhood romance, warring families, murder and war - all rolled up neatly in a short 270 page book. I was led to this little classic through the enthusiastic recommendation of Paul Theroux who provides a glowing afterword in the current edition. It is the story of a romance between a Muslim, Ali Khan

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-50288074252529579972010-04-24T00:24:00.000-07:002010-04-24T00:32:39.595-07:00

I just finished reading The Big Short, Michael Lewis' thrilling account of three hedge funds that managed to see the crisis in the financial markets years before others had a clue as to what was going on. At a mere 250 pages, I was skeptical. I like my books to be fat and detailed, an obviously unscientific measure that failed miserably in the case of Andrew Ross Sorkin's Too Big To Fail.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-6710806302006117102010-04-18T13:12:00.000-07:002010-04-18T13:24:57.055-07:00

Reading Mr. Theroux' travelogue of Chnia made me realize I should know more of Chinese history than I do (which is practically nothing). School history textbooks in India focus mostly on local, state and national history. In higher grades you deal with European history, India's colonial past and some American history - for example, we learned of the Boston Tea Party and the Declaration of

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-705227597191502422010-04-10T21:22:00.000-07:002010-04-10T21:30:58.374-07:00

Five Stars

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-38008645880437243042010-03-23T11:40:00.000-07:002010-03-23T11:45:29.191-07:00

More a long essay than a book, Sailing Through China is Paul Theroux' report of his time on a cruise on China's greatest waterway, the Yangtze. Mr. Theroux is characteristically dark in his prognostications and reliably vitriolic in his description of fellow American travelers. I read this book as a prelude to Riding the Iron Rooster, a description of Theroux' travels by train through China.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-68041337583853669342010-03-21T11:08:00.000-07:002010-03-21T11:16:25.193-07:00

I recently saw an Intelligence Squared Debate where the motion called for the US to step back from its special relationship with Israel. Roger Cohen of the New York Times and Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University argued for the motion and in fact won the debate. The Israel Lobby and US Foreign Policy by John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt makes a similar argument in a comprehensively

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-32693713838622565402010-03-07T12:41:00.000-08:002010-03-07T12:48:18.485-08:00

Dead Aid is a 150 page book with a 24 page bibliography - so it reads more like a long white paper than a book. Dambisa Moyo has an impressive resume, much alluded to in both the book jacket and the foreword by Niall Ferguson. The author has worked for the World Bank and Goldman Sachs and she has a PhD from Oxford University. Impressive no doubt. Even more impressive is the fact that she was born

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-12343957461005086562010-02-25T23:54:00.000-08:002010-02-26T11:59:15.677-08:00

I had mixed expectations from Too Big to Fail. Considering we are still very much in the thrall of one of the worst financial crises of the past century, it is unfair to expect a single book to provide a complete perspective. Andrew Ross Sorkin does not attempt to explain how or why we got into the events of 2008. The book's objective is very clear - to chronicle what was happening in the

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-76897523820073785922010-02-16T20:25:00.000-08:002010-02-26T11:58:25.753-08:00

I just returned from a trip to Andalusia and one of the books I should have read before I went is Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (the other is South from Granada by Gerald Brenan). I was too overwhelmed by work and planning to get hold of these but I managed to finish the Tales on my way back from Spain. A little history of the book is in order here - Washington Irving was an American

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-43172468378587930822010-02-16T19:44:00.000-08:002010-02-26T11:57:17.717-08:00

To the Ends of the Earth is a selection of Paul Theroux' writings from six of his previous books. I have been reading Mr. Theroux' books in reverse chronological order so all the material in this collection was new to me. I've often wondered about Mr. Theroux' formula. What drives him to travel through frightfully uncomfortable and bleak environments? The writer reflects on this in his

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-53647567443457085182010-01-19T16:12:00.000-08:002010-02-16T19:49:03.157-08:00

My first Theroux travelogue was Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, a journey in which the venerable travel writer retraced a trip he took thirty five years ago. In Dark Star Safari Mr. Theroux does something similar - he goes on a trip from Cairo to Cape Town, covering the landmass of that great and wondrous continent, a place that seems to cling hungrily to its moniker of the dark continent.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-84146131360642316992010-01-19T16:01:00.000-08:002010-01-19T16:11:04.935-08:00

Book Review - The Pillars of Hercules, A Grand Tour of the Mediterranean by Paul TherouxThe Pillars of Hercules is a "Grand Tour of the Mediterranean", an encounter with the most storied sea on the planet. Paul Theroux is well up to the task of bringing his unique brand of spartan travel to a journey that has been written about since Homer's Odyssey.Reading the travelogues of Paul Theroux is not

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-72454779296565541712010-01-18T12:05:00.000-08:002010-01-18T12:32:23.668-08:00

Book Review - Traffic, Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt I have been accused of being an aggressive and unsafe driver, much to my chagrin. I know I am aggressive, but unsafe? That I take exception to. It is true however that your own perception of how you drive is much out of whack with your passenger's perspective. Traffic - Why We Drive The Way We Do (and

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-49559843029226789052009-08-26T11:12:00.000-07:002010-01-19T16:09:45.455-08:00

Book Review - Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul TherouxAccording to Mr. Paul Theroux a travel writer should be able to make a decent living if he's capable of making breezy generalizations. This I inferred from a paragraph about Prince Charles, one of the many people you meet as you journey across Asia through Mr. Theroux' wonderful travelogue. The author does not refrain from sweeping

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-59617975878505042622008-12-17T23:54:00.000-08:002008-12-18T00:08:47.191-08:00

Netflix Instant Play - IE 6 CrashI use an IBM (nee Lenovo!) T60 laptop and recently replaced my entire machine with another one, except for the hard disk. The old hard disk in a new laptop created some interesting problems. For example, iTunes forced me to register my laptop as a separate machine ("This is your second registration out of a maximum 5"). Another irritating problem was that IE (I'm

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-61891332854025987832008-12-15T18:05:00.000-08:002008-12-15T18:08:41.996-08:00

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-6403827720585286102008-12-15T18:04:00.000-08:002008-12-15T18:05:03.768-08:00

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-10053559044093446442008-12-07T23:41:00.000-08:002008-12-07T23:49:54.758-08:00

Movie Review - Flashbacks of a FoolBased on the Rottentomatoes critics' consensus, I was a little reluctant renting this movie. I'm glad I wasn't dissuaded! This is an incredibly well directed movie with a superb cast, strong characters and some really good acting (Felicity Jones as the young Ruth is a delight). As another reviewer mentioned, the music by Roxy does stay with you. Ruth and Joe's

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-24725104323893452182008-07-13T22:22:00.001-07:002008-07-13T22:22:16.842-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_2161, originally uploaded by ubaidd. Moulin Rouge, in Pigalle

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-8211867883676877162008-07-13T22:21:00.001-07:002008-07-13T22:21:42.544-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_2006, originally uploaded by ubaidd. Dinner at Ladurée

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-47500935731757933072008-07-13T22:20:00.001-07:002008-07-13T22:20:24.849-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1755, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-18971190060301588722008-07-13T22:19:00.001-07:002008-07-13T22:19:41.051-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1604, originally uploaded by ubaidd. With a Sphinx at the Louvre

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-20398746642667166272008-04-29T10:58:00.003-07:002008-04-29T10:58:51.986-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Carnival!, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-65819506622716267032008-04-29T10:58:00.001-07:002008-04-29T10:58:21.358-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Signs, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-24452983151439214072008-04-29T10:57:00.001-07:002008-04-29T10:57:47.915-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_0201, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-3039045032071709892008-04-29T10:56:00.001-07:002008-04-29T10:56:48.809-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } UB Surfboard, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-21886668542406294092008-04-29T10:55:00.001-07:002008-04-29T10:55:30.313-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Cityscapes - Rio de Janeiro, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-5353258784457463652008-02-24T00:24:00.000-08:002008-02-24T15:03:30.908-08:00

A Love Poem and a CoupletAaaah! It has been several months since I last posted and today I feel like sharing one of my favorite love poems and a couplet. No reason. Enjoy!Sonnet XVII I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,in secret, between the shadow and the soul.I love you as the

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-78340535829356586292007-08-02T19:21:00.000-07:002008-12-09T10:08:52.502-08:00

The Invisible HandLabouring in ChinafricaWHILE wonks argue Sachs verus Easterly versus Collier over brie and chianti, and Angelina, Bono, Oprah, and Madonna fall over each other to raise awareness about the importance of raising awareness, the Chinese have set about actually rebuilding (or building for the first time) much of Africa's economic infrastructure.According to Akwe Amosu, an Africa

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-36723403822499068542007-04-27T22:22:00.000-07:002008-12-09T10:08:52.727-08:00

Slam DunkI fail to see why this is news. Everyone was in on this, Mr.Tenet is just trying to sell books I say.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-27595842404411232652007-04-21T09:50:00.000-07:002008-12-09T10:08:54.235-08:00

The Future of CarThe BMW Concept CS, unveiled at the Shanghi Auto Show. I think this "four door coupe" looks far more satisfying than the Mercedes-Benz CLS.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-77616470448542120902007-04-12T23:13:00.000-07:002007-04-12T23:27:09.766-07:00

ZeitgeistDon't you just love Web2.0? Ublog now sports my LibraryThing, Last.fm, Flixster and Flickr widgets!! Oh so much fun it is to share exactly what I'm reading, listening to, watching and photographing :)

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1922625909998564552007-04-06T15:35:00.000-07:002008-12-09T10:08:54.406-08:00

HappinessI've been mulling over a post on the inherent inconsistency of the concept of paradise but haven't gotten around to putting my thoughts down on paper yet. Meanwhile, Cato Unbound has an article on the futility of trying to achieve a state of continuous bliss. This is broadly my own view - I don't think it is possible for us as human beings to stay ecstatic for very long periods of time,

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-29356959912823518002007-04-04T19:48:00.000-07:002007-04-04T19:56:05.085-07:00

Book Review: Forbidden Colors by Yukio MishimaYukio Mishima was one of Japan's most prolific writers in the past century and is well known for his The Sound of Waves amongst other works. I've just finished reading Forbidden Colors in a translation by Alfred H. Marks.Forbidden Colors is the story of Yuichi Minami, a young Japanese student whose beauty overpowers everyone who sees him, irrespective

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-12959243540682299772007-04-03T23:15:00.000-07:002007-04-06T15:49:44.976-07:00

H-1B Cap For FY2008 Reached In One DayThe USCIS announced today that the H-1B cap for FY2008 was reached on the first working day that applications were accepted, Monday April 2nd 2007. From the notice posted on the USCIS site - As of late Monday afternoon (April 2), USCIS had received approximately 150,000 cap-subject H-1B petitions. USCIS must perform initial data entry for all filings received

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-26422074319088530552007-03-11T14:02:00.000-07:002008-12-09T10:08:54.511-08:00

Movie Recommendation: Stranger Than FictionWith a protagonist who seems to have stepped out of a Haruki Murakami novel, Stranger Than Fiction is supremely satisfying cinema. The movie stars Will Ferrel as Harold Crick, an IRS agent on the edge of OCD, who starts hearing what seems like a narrator telling the story of his life - and imminent death. He enlists the help of a literature professor and

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-34546067014674896302007-02-06T13:48:00.000-08:002007-02-06T16:52:05.796-08:00

His Stevenness Proposes Setting Music FreeIn an open letter posted on the Apple website, Steve Jobs explains why iTunes uses the FairPlay DRM and proposes a gradual move towards DRM free music. I've been a very satisfied user of eMusic's DRM free catalogue of Hindustani and Western classical music and I think allowing consumers to play their music on any device they wish is the only way to go. It

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-81183032643267849412007-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:002007-02-04T09:50:22.299-08:00

An Interview With the Late Chicago Economist Milton FriedmanAn interview with Milton Friedman (1912 - 2006) - Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman is widely regarded as the leader of the Chicago School of monetary economics, which stresses the importance of the quantity of money as an instrument of government policy and as a determinant of business cycles.Interview conducted 10/01/00 On

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-81216873704254086922007-01-25T09:50:00.000-08:002007-01-28T14:59:45.642-08:00

Barack Hussein ObamaLiving in the world's richest democracy after spending twenty one years in the world's largest, my dislike for politics has only deepened. This month marks the beginning of the 2008 Presidential campaign and the innuendo and name calling that would be more appropriate in a high school playground, but is so remarkably characteristic of American politics, has already begun.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-19347945373313172312007-01-22T18:01:00.000-08:002007-01-22T20:45:45.134-08:00

Go Watch.This is what a movie trailer should aspire to be.Apple has the same trailer in HD - http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/hd/

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-67005101266929450712007-01-01T23:36:00.001-08:002007-01-01T23:36:27.470-08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1790, originally uploaded by ubaidd. Times Square, the altar of materialism

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-8239180447364759732007-01-01T23:35:00.001-08:002007-01-01T23:35:11.414-08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1765, originally uploaded by ubaidd. No Standing Anytime. No kidding!

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1167579556867466372006-12-31T07:38:00.000-08:002006-12-31T07:39:16.933-08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_2099, originally uploaded by ubaidd. The Atlantic! At Brighton Beach, near the New York Aquarium in Brooklyn

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1167459203499969072006-12-29T22:12:00.000-08:002006-12-29T22:13:23.600-08:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_1847, originally uploaded by ubaidd.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1162444886003923282006-11-01T21:19:00.000-08:002006-11-02T10:41:18.156-08:00

I love flickr. I really do, but it is zooomr that's offering me a free pro account for merely sticking this pic here. How cool is that? I love web2.0!!

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1149146896733633212006-06-01T00:25:00.000-07:002006-06-01T00:28:16.736-07:00

.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } IMG_0841, originally uploaded by ubaidd. I went kayaking in San Diego this weekend. I've done it thrice now - Marina Del Rey, SF Bay and San Diego - and loved every moment of it.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1141528872149510242006-03-04T19:16:00.000-08:002006-03-04T19:21:12.160-08:00

Book QuoteWhile people are fairly young and the musical composition of their lives is still in its opening bars, they can go about writing it together and exchange motifs (the way Tomas and Sabina exchanged the motif of the bowler hat) but if they meet when they are older, like Franz and Sabina, their musical compositions are more or less complete, and every motif, every object, every word means

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1133911845621585562005-12-06T15:26:00.000-08:002005-12-06T15:30:45.633-08:00

MarkerToday is the thirteenth anniversary of one of the darkest days of India's modern secular history. I've posted earlier on this topic.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1130623289158584722005-10-29T14:55:00.000-07:002005-10-29T15:01:29.173-07:00

A Sad Saturday AfternoonMy Saturday afternoon has been completely spoiled by this tragic piece of news. This is hitting people where it hurts the most, when the everyday fabric is ripped to shreds. Earthquakes, floods, landslides, hurricanes, bomb blasts and wars, maybe the world really is coming to an end.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1129779835793341502005-10-19T20:37:00.000-07:002005-10-19T20:43:55.800-07:00

Dog Ate QuestionnaireI fell off my chair laughing when I read this. The nominee to the SCOTUS submitted answers that were considered "inadequate", "insufficient" and "insulting". Wow.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1125632126752894592005-09-01T20:29:00.000-07:002005-09-01T20:38:00.496-07:00

More or LessYou climb into bed and turn off the light, hoping she'll show up in this room. It doesn't have to be the real Miss Saeki - that fifteen-year-old girl would be fine. It doesn't matter what form she takes - a living spirit, an illusion - but you have to see her, have to have her beside you. Your brain is so full of her it's ready to burst, your body about to explode into pieces. Still,

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1120847510422287422005-07-08T11:27:00.000-07:002005-07-08T11:36:23.946-07:00

Current Mood: RottenThomas Friedman speaks today of a very particular problem I've been fretting over a lot more since I heard of the bombings in London. For one, the co-ordinated blasts brought back memories of a hot March day in 1993 when Bombay was rocked by 13 blasts, one after another, in one of the worst terrorist attacks ever carried out on a major metropolis. The locus of my discomfort is

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1120545479537770702005-07-04T23:02:00.000-07:002005-07-05T09:51:38.326-07:00

Why The Babri Masjid Needs To GoThis just in, the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya was attacked by four terrorists this morning, to what end I can't fathom, but all were killed and their attack foiled. I don't understand what foiled means here, however, for I can't imagine what they were after in the complex. Idols? I remember the day when the Babri Masjid was torn down, almost thirteen years ago, and

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1117771128184776692005-06-02T20:38:00.000-07:002005-06-02T21:01:22.990-07:00

Turn My Orientation On Said The Fruit FlyI've been away, doing nothing in particular, fretting, mostly. I wish I'd been recording all the wonderful news that's been coming from genetic research though, right from the mind bending work being done in South Korea by Dr. Woo Suk Hwang's team to today's feature in the NYT on sexual orientation in fruit flies. There was another, somewhat sobering,

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1110053160760393962005-03-05T12:06:00.000-08:002005-03-05T12:14:07.086-08:00

Around the WorldThe amazing GlobalFlyer. Pic via WaPo

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1109495382967338622005-02-27T01:07:00.000-08:002005-02-27T01:09:42.966-08:00

CommentsRain, hail and a minor earthquake, looks like all sorts of action is taking place in the SFV. A friend comments I haven't been writing anything interesting lately, heck I haven't been writing period. I think I'm suffering from blog fatigue. Or maybe just fatigue, big, boring, couldn't care less if everything goes to the dogs fatigue. Later.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1108893723395176992005-02-20T01:59:00.000-08:002005-02-20T02:02:03.396-08:00

Cool Stuff It's when I see stuff like this that I get the feeling whatever I'm doing is not all that important in the order of things. Amazing, absolutely, mind-bogglingly amazing.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1107501391966750922005-02-03T23:13:00.000-08:002005-02-03T23:41:41.780-08:00

QuoteAnd those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music. -Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, philosopher (1844-1900)via awad

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1105935075026008082005-01-16T20:11:00.000-08:002005-01-17T00:44:32.596-08:00

Ooooooo...The LA Auto Show, January 15, 2004More here.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1105747499769346222005-01-14T15:54:00.000-08:002005-01-14T16:04:59.770-08:00

I Get Off HereHuygens has landed! This is the kind of thing that sends shivers up my spine. From the WaPo, The European Space Agency's Huygens space probe smacked into the smoggy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan Friday, turned on its instruments and parachuted safely 789 miles to the ground in a near-perfect ending to one of the most dramatic missions in the history of space travel. [...] Titan

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1105685350807534862005-01-13T22:39:00.000-08:002005-01-13T22:51:17.146-08:00

Another Harebrained IdeaAziz Poonawala of City of Brass responds to this rather foolish proposal suggesting maybe it is time to close down public libraries. I've been a member of the LAPL for almost three years now, and can't imagine why anyone would want to do away with the library system. The reasons offered in the proposal by Doverspa at Redstate are superfluous, lame, for lack of a better

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1105242046011913412005-01-08T19:37:00.000-08:002005-01-08T19:41:38.233-08:00

Religion in AmericaChapati Mystery has a series of four posts on Relgion in America by a guest blogger - I, II, III and IV. Good reading.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1105034323485679942005-01-06T09:55:00.000-08:002005-01-08T19:41:58.746-08:00

QuotablesA faith that cannot survive collision with the truth is not worth many regrets. -Arthur C Clarke, science fiction writer (1917- )via awad

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104871870041364002005-01-04T13:42:00.000-08:002005-01-08T20:38:18.890-08:00

Hmm, Good QuestionEdge.org, an idea site would be the simplest, albeit incomplete, description of which, presented 118 scientists, philosophers and researchers with one question, "WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE IS TRUE EVEN THOUGH YOU CANNOT PROVE IT?", via The New York Times and Edge.org, here are my favorite responses, I believe, but I cannot prove, that all life, all intelligence, all creativity and all

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104632635989873022005-01-01T18:22:00.000-08:002005-01-01T18:29:04.966-08:00

The Sparkling Sinner, Of Course!? If you had the choice of two women to wed, (Though of course the idea is quite absurd) And the first from her heels to her dainty head Was charming in every sense of the word: And yet in the past (I grieve to state), She never had been exactly "straight". And the second -- she was beyond all cavil, A model of virtue, I must confess; And yet, alas! she was dull

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104551563345152152004-12-31T19:52:00.000-08:002004-12-31T19:53:29.860-08:00

CloserLook carefully. What do you see?Happy New Year.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104526714415358092004-12-31T13:55:00.000-08:002004-12-31T13:02:24.530-08:00

Not StingyThe United States announced today a tenfold increase in aid for tsunami relief over it's initally announced package of $35 million reports the Washington Post. Hopefully, most of the money will actually materialise and, more importantly, most of it will go toward relief work rather than line the pockets of the go-betweens.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104470368985805592004-12-30T21:19:00.000-08:002004-12-30T21:22:41.993-08:00

EdgeLife on the Edge - El Matador Beach, Malibu, December 30, 2004Pic with better resolution available here.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104394276075384792004-12-30T01:08:00.000-08:002004-12-30T21:17:54.530-08:00

Stingy?An editorial in the NYTimes points out some interesting figures, reproduced here in full, my emphasisPresident Bush finally roused himself yesterday from his vacation in Crawford, Tex., to telephone his sympathy to the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and to speak publicly about the devastation of Sunday's tsunamis in Asia. He also hurried to put as much distance as

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1104390733315847142004-12-29T23:12:00.000-08:002004-12-29T23:13:44.903-08:00

A Beautiful StoryEvery picture should be a beautiful story. Santa Monica, December 29, 2004

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1103049246174999662004-12-14T10:27:00.000-08:002004-12-14T10:35:28.870-08:00

Ubercool For all you searchaholics out there, Google now suggests. I think this feature is ubercool, and if you don't find it ubercool, you either haven't really taken Google Search out for a test drive yet or you have been working too hard and not googling enough for fun and profit. Via The Unofficial Google Weblog.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1102359443869892062004-12-06T10:53:00.000-08:002004-12-06T10:58:47.703-08:00

Foreign Policy and Science EducationThomas Friedman weighs in on the palpable erosion of interest in the engineering and mathematics fields amongst American students and its expected implications in the next twenty years, If President Bush is looking for a legacy, I have just the one for him - a national science project that would be our generation's moon shot: a crash science initiative for

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1101710832687881822004-11-28T22:41:00.000-08:002004-11-28T22:48:08.540-08:00

Laguna BeachTaken along the PCH, at Laguna Beach, 11/27/2004

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1101359041059068472004-11-24T21:04:00.000-08:002004-11-24T21:05:07.563-08:00

More PicsFall, Northridge, 11/19/2004I've posted a bunch of pictures at Webshots, all of them are high res, and most are nature stuff, check them out, if you are so inclined.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1101074294934355212004-11-21T13:54:00.000-08:002004-11-21T17:29:56.900-08:00

Dragon RumbleFor those who have been paying attention, this will prove instructive. Via Illruminations.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1100988316430158452004-11-20T14:05:00.000-08:002004-11-20T14:09:05.710-08:00

FallFall, Calabasas, 11/19/2004

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1100844941579440302004-11-18T22:08:00.000-08:002004-11-18T22:15:41.580-08:00

A Monkey in the Family TreeMore cousins.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1100672016715959932004-11-16T22:11:00.000-08:002004-11-16T22:14:17.526-08:00

10X10Via Illruminations, this cool cool "interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time".

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1100318014973554172004-11-12T19:53:00.000-08:002004-11-12T19:54:28.313-08:00

WishesShubh Deepawali, Eid Mubarak.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1099379068368435092004-11-01T23:04:00.000-08:002004-11-12T19:54:51.076-08:00

SleepNot a care in the world, Third Street Promenade, 10/9/2004

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1099378722768631652004-11-01T22:53:00.000-08:002004-11-01T22:58:42.766-08:00

VoteI've had the fortune of voting once, and I rember being extremely excited and in awe of the process, the prospect of choosing a representative, exercising my franchise, it was almost a rite of passage for me, an adult thing and I'm exaggerating only very slightly. Anyway, the point is, I'm aware this is read by around three people, including me and my alter ego at work and I'm not sure if the

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1099113798360545592004-10-29T22:18:00.000-07:002004-10-29T22:24:38.350-07:00

ExactlyI'm sick of it. Sick of Bush and Kerry. Sick of their wives. Sick of Cheney and Edwards. And their wives. Sick of the spinners, who, in plain English, are liars. I'm sick of the cable TV yellers, who try to make up in heat what they don't have in light. I'm sick of being told Jon Stewart is funny. I'm even sick of thinking about whether Jon Stewart is funny. I just want it to be over. [..

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1099030455936486662004-10-28T23:09:00.000-07:002004-10-28T23:15:33.826-07:00

NaNoWriMoBlogger reminds me, November is NaNoWriMo. They are selling it as NaNoBlogMo.

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5112702.post-1099027570944640372004-10-28T22:09:00.000-07:002004-10-28T23:34:13.780-07:00

Wrong WarBloomberg reports on a scientificstudy by reserarchers from the Johns Hopkins University and being published by The Lancet, which says, in part, About 100,000 civilians have died as a result of the war in Iraq [...] The study, based on a survey comparing mortality rates in Iraq during the 15 months before and 18 months after the March 2003 invasion, found violence was the leading cause

ubaidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03887060141703660547noreply@blogger.com0