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a reasonable thought... One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, speak a few reasonable words.
the month of ramzan There is something wonderful about this month of fasting. In my experience it has served to bring me closer to family and friends, there is a warm fuzzy feeling getting up at five in the morning, with all the family, mom trying to keep you from dozing off, sitting on the dastarkhan* with sleepy groggy heads and drooping eyes, and trying to cram in enough to last the day, especially when you are young, skinny and very insecure about yourself. I remember trying to drink six or seven glasses of water before the announcement came booming over the loudspeaker signalling the start of the fast, and of course that still wouldn't quite work, you always feel thirsty. This time however, I'm lonely in San Jose, pulling myself out of the bed in the morning, eating something without really caring and going back to sleep, Ramzan is so much better when you are home. * dastarkhan akin to a tablecloth, but used for serving food on the floor as opposed to on a table
breaking news The Al-Rasheed Hotel in Iraq's capital was subject to some rocket attacks early Sunday morning, Paul Wolfowitz may have been the intended target. CNN reports, BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Numerous rockets have slammed into the Baghdad hotel where U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was staying, injuring several people, coalition officials have told CNN. Someone's really pissed out there.
fighting for peace Once during Mood I, IIT Bombay's* famed college festival (famed in India that is) I remember reading a graffiti that said 'Fighting for peace is like f*ing for virginity' and smiled. In true Orwellian fashion the Bush administration has repeatedly exhibited this twisted logic, and this latest one is simply astounding in its imbecility. In this October 4 article, the Tri-Valley Herald reports, (via Illruminations) The Bush administration is proposing far-reaching changes to conservation policies that would allow hunters, circuses and the pet industry to kill, capture and import animals on the brink of extinction in other countries.Richly in the tradition of unnecessary wars, this also brings back to mind an article on logging and forest fires. By the administration of a President who wrote this (yes, I just can't let go, will you just read it?) we have these justifications, from here, Responding to the rash of wildfires that have swept the West this summer, President Bush wants to ease restrictions on logging in national forests.Amazingly enough, they have the gall to name it the 'Healthy Forests Initiative'. This is also the administration that modified the Clean Air Act into something dirty and called it the 'Clear Skies Initiative'. George Orwell may not have imagined Newspeak would ever so completely apply to an American administration. * Mood I(ndigo) is the annual college festival of IIT Bombay, one of the world's finest engineering schools, and a shining star of India's otherwise very broken education system
blogthought They have .info, .biz, and .name, is it a little late to ask for .blog? http://u.blog/ hmm, like the sound of that ;)
a bunch of morons Israel is going ahead with its incomprehensible decision to 'take out' Arafat. About Sharon, and quoting him, the New York Times says, Mr. Sharon's pattern, first as a general and then as a politician, has been to set seemingly audacious goals, or to employ seemingly audacious tactics like the use of warplanes against Palestinian targets, and then, over time, to accustom even his sharpest critics to them. If exiling and killing are both out of question then what will they end up doing? Putting him under house arrest? Isn't that practically the situation right now anyway? Meanwhile, Malaysia's premier makes a spectacularly stupid statement, and gets chided, but of course.
funny noises Have you heard of this yet? via Simon. Will someone please tell dear Dubya that a weblog is not really meant to be 'official' and if it is his, he's supposed to be writing it? After Bush's attempts at poetry though, I'm not too keen on reading anything else he barfs out. This is is a good idea but the execution is terrible, when you think about it, a weblog, if handled with some expertise, could be an excellent platform of informal discussion for a President. From first impressions however, the BushBlog (shblogmmmfffff) is just another calendar of events from the Bush camp. On a side note, is Howard Dean headed toward being the first 'Bloggers' President'? Considering the leverage his campaign's gained through weblogs, he's definitely contributed a new chapter to essential strategy on running a presidential campaign.
bad joke Something i've been meaning to crack forever now, Q: What movie is least likely to be Gray Davis' favorite?
how not to write a poem When I read this over at shock and awe, I thought it was a joke, until I came across this article on CNN. Bush actually studied at Yale, he must have learned something there right? Who tries to rhyme 'barrier' with 'carrier' and calls his wife 'lump in the bed'? He even uses 'Roses are red, Violets are blue' which brings the image of little girls in pink frocks playing and singing in squeaky voices on a Sunday afternoon. Sigh!
gang wars Mark Anderson of the American Sentimentalist is back with another great essay, this time on the obvious disparity between what the US preaches and practices as far as weapons (of mass destruction or otherwise) are concerned. He begins with this analogy, Imagine, if you will, that you lived in a neighborhood that was controlled by an organized gang. Pretend this gang, in an effort to make sure that its territory was secure, had banned all non-sanctioned Of course it could be argued that the US is merely engaging in commerce, wealth creation for its people, and is not responsible for what countries do when they buy arms from American companies, or it could be argued that these weapons purchases are necessary for deterrence, to maintain peace The fact of the matter, however, is that these are dishonest justifications that ignore the real consequences of such arms sales, these very weapons have time and again been trained against Americans themselves, in one way or another, throughout most of the past half century. If, for the sake of argument, we accept that the onus of how these weapons are used lies on the countries buying them then it becomes very easy to justify the legalization of, say drugs, for we are the government is then ignoring its duty to do what is in the interests of the populace.
the beach bum diaries I've changed my life ambition to beach bum, yeah, I would like to spend the rest of my life combing the beaches of San Diego -- what a fantastic city! Two days, five beaches, breathtaking vistas, white sand and total bliss, I'm shifting to SD at the first available opportunity. Meanwhile, you've probably already heard of this, Billmon's been discussing it for three days now, sounds like trouble. If you haven't noticed already, in response to Von's comment, ublog will now sport caps! |
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