Presidential Debate-I

The 2008 Presidential Debates kicked off last night at the University of Mississippi. To say the least, everyone was watching. Viet and I weren't exceptions to the everyone clause either, cause what better else can bored economics graduate students do on a Friday night.

Background: Viet and I have known each other for a very long time now, considering we both did our undergrad from UH and from economics. While I am still at UH, Viet ran away to MSU. But we still chat- a lot! And I mean A LOT!!!! So we decided to chat about the debate live, cause both of us are quite iffy when it comes to the memory issue. Midway through the chat we decide to put it on my blog, because we are that bored and want to be amused by god knows what. So here it is: You can be offended, you can laugh at it, you can laugh at our chats, but do not question are views, cause trust me both of us were LIVE BLOGGING and we were bored. [I figure I won't be able to use the BORED excuse for quite some time]. Have fun!

8:01 PM me: ok debate time

:D

yay! debate!!!

8:02 PM Viet: oh lord

question, what's the point of suspending campagine activities???

8:03 PM me: hahahaha

8:04 PM Viet: i mean, the RNC was scaled way back due to hurricane, i can somewhat see the point

me: :D

8:05 PM Viet: what???

me: http://www.youtube.com/experiencewii

:D

8:08 PM hez not answering the queston???!?!?!

Viet: that's a total sonic the hedgehog rip-off

me: yea

true that

8:09 PM Viet: he didn't answer a question???

me: no

as in

he kept saying bt how he went to Washington and stuff

the guy asked him where dyu stand about the gloabl fina issue

and thats what he said

8:10 PM Viet: wtf???

8:11 PM wth does normandy has to do w/ anything??

me: PRECISELY

obama's kicking his butt

he needs to realize that

8:12 PM Viet: hahaha mccain isn't patriot enough

me: BRILLIANT

Viet: he aint got an american flag pin on

me: hehehhehehehe

8:13 PM Viet: hey do u know how i can get an absentee ballot??

8:14 PM me: hmm good question

donno though

lets research this

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/voter/reqabbm.shtml

there u go

research done

Viet: huh???

8:15 PM what does gov spending and the financial crisis has to do w each other??

me: lessee

because the govt doesnt spend enuff we have a fin crisis

or because they spend we have a fin crisis

8:16 PM i dont think mccain noes what hez talking about

Viet: mccain is going w the second

me: ok

:D

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/26/america/26campaign.php

brilliant

:D

8:18 PM REALLY??????

oh lord

he doesnt know what hez talking

8:19 PM Viet: obama's geting pissed

me: yea.....

brb

dinner time

8:20 PM lets hope obama isnt pissed too much

hez being more assertive though

Viet: k

me: mccain's taking it lightly

17 minutes

8:37 PM Viet: let's count how many time mccain says he can cut spending

8:38 PM or miss congeniality

me: i was just about to type that

8:39 PM Viet: hahhaa

me: hahahah amy mom says

why is he saying eeraq instead of eyeraw

Viet: lessons of iraq, i can cut spending

me: eyeraq*

my*

Viet: what strategy??

me: :D

8:40 PM some strategy

i am gonna post our chat on this on the blog

:D

Viet: it's the no strategy that is our strategy

me: precisely

Viet: do it

me: oh there we have patraeus again

we aren't winning in Iraq

8:41 PM Viet: mission accomplished

b/c mission is accomplished

me: ok ew are gonna count "fundamental difference" as well

htere you go

ok seems like i am biased

but seriosuly when mccain said that we shud cut govt spedning and blah blah

8:42 PM i wanted to scream out- ur party's the one that spent on 2 wars in 8 years

i mean seriously

$10 BILLION a MONTH!!!

waaaattT????!?!?!?!?

Viet: wow

i wish i got 10 billion a month

me: or for the rest of my life

Viet: i dont think i could spend all of it fast enough

8:43 PM me: that decision hez already made

100 year war :D

8:44 PM uh oh

obama's in trouble

no wonder obama was harvard law review president

he knows how to talk

8:45 PM Viet: burn!!!!!!

me: I KNOW!!!!!

Viet: wrong wrong wrong

hahahahaa

me: wrong what?

8:46 PM Viet: whatever, there was stop loss orders

me: so how come patraeus only invited him and that other dude?!?!

Viet: ^ on soldiers re-enlisting for iraq

me: and no democrats

err wad does that mean

ok this chat is awesome ;)

8:47 PM Viet: stop loss order = active military cannot leave military

me: :O

really!!!

damn!

Viet: mean, if ur time was up, u had to stay

me: uh huh

Viet: yea

really :O

8:48 PM me: precisely- afghanistan is so screwed because of us

Viet: why is he smiling??

me: mccain?

Viet: yea

me: i think your transmission is faster than mine

wtf!

8:49 PM Viet: no he's been grinning for the last 5 minutes

me: hahahahahah

ok

that way

damn

obama is a debater

oh fuck!!!!!!!

Viet: yea

me: hahahahahahahahahahahah

Viet: he's a lawyer, right??

oh fuck what??

me: osama and patraeus have one thing in common

SERIOSULY???!?!??!

Viet: oh i missed that

me: iraq is a battleground is a common thing

hehehehehe

8:50 PM military questions are tricky

you could fal into a trap

and yes obama is a lawyer

primarily

8:51 PM Viet: burn!!!!!

double burn!!!!

me: i know

damn hez gainin strength

8:52 PM he actually worked this

out

ooo poppy trade

bush is working towards shutting/cutting down that trade in inida

Viet: i wonder if intrade has anything for the debate

me: i think it does, because of that whole tie up with global financial crisis thing

:O :O :O :O :O

did he just say that

8:53 PM the whole russia and afghan thing

we've always instated the people we go back and fight against

8:54 PM Viet: didn't we just fire into pakistan a few days ago??

8:55 PM me: YES :D

precisely

8:56 PM the new guy in pak is going to be back stabber

a*

Viet: who/??

me: zardari

8:57 PM awesome

musharraf

failed state?

really?

really?

Viet: what happened to musharraf??

me: he resigned before he was impeached

Viet: oh

hahaha

8:58 PM me: :D

Viet: is he the one that was on the dailyshow a few years ago, promoting his book or something??

me: errr dont think so

8:59 PM Viet: ok, wrong guy then

me: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200708/r166954_621046.jpg

this dude

Viet: yea, he was on the daily show

me: oh ok

i missed it then

hez so making up these stories

its evident

9:00 PM Viet: hahahaha

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=114685&title=pervez-musharraf-pt.-1

9:01 PM me: not now

its debate time ;)

with chat though :P

9:02 PM did we have to say that about subcommittee?

9:03 PM YAY!!! TIME!!!!

HOLOCAUST????

9:04 PM really?????????

Viet: oh we let it happened, think of africa

me: ok so now we go to Russia- preventing work at the UN

no no

i am saying how loosely that word is used now

hahahahaah

McCain- Iranians have a lousy govt

I am sure they are saying the same thing about us

:D

Viet: yea

9:05 PM lousy government = lousy economy

right

9:06 PM me: its so difficult to say whoz a terrorist org and whoz not

Viet: yea

i heart centerfuges

9:07 PM me: heheeheehe

rotfl!!!

oooo obama is cunning

he wants russia and china to be accountable when sanctions come

Viet: hahaha

i remember the stink it cause a few years ago, when iran got a few centerfuges

9:08 PM me: so that the blame's just not on the US when things fuck up again

ok we were in Iraq

now we are in Latin America

awesome

i love traveling

Viet: what kind of negogiation is it when u have preconditions???

me: think prenup viet

Viet: hey we espoused the extermindation of iraq

me: prenup ;)

9:09 PM there

i was waiting for Kissinger;s name to come up

there preconditions again

Viet: yea, but isn't negogiation a prelude to setting conditions??

me: what sort of preconditions

prolly

9:10 PM that unless you have women and JD i wont be there at tthe negotiation

Viet: one precondition that occured is with n korea, stating that the US will only negogiate nuclear treaty only if u stop all nuclear refinement

9:11 PM like wtf is that??, who in their right mind would agree to anything??

me: thas what obama said- low level diplomatic talks before something big happens

:D

there u go

obama is up with N Korea

Viet: exactly

ty obama

me: thas why when Rice went there in Summer of 06

she fell flat on the face

cos she dint know wht to do

9:12 PM Viet: yea, with precondition that they stop all nuclear testing

me: plus lebanon and israel started their stupid fight

Viet: what kind of bullshit is that

me: some bull shit that made sense to them

Viet: bad attempt at humor

me: SERIOUSLY???!!! did he just think that was a joke

hahahahaah

Viet: hey kissinger was brought up!!!

9:13 PM me: second time

;)

"Sen Obama doesn't seem to understnad"= prolly the 6th time

:O :O naive dangerous

hez talking video game talk

Viet: it's more like he doesn't understand

me: whaaat???

9:14 PM why the height between South Koreans and North Koreans

Viet: if it's the most oppressive regime on earth, why the hell are we not fighting them??

me: There Reagan in the debate

cos they have sooper nuke powers

Viet: exactly

me: and they cud wipe us out if they got bored and angered by us

Viet: that's why iran wants nuke power

me: uh huh

9:15 PM ok wipe out is an exaggeration

Viet: nuke power = US not the monkey on ur back

me: but u get the point

kissinger- 3rd time

u;ve known him 35 years becase you are OLD now!!!

Viet: his friend

or 35 years

9:16 PM me: :D

9:17 PM hez so much better than Kerry and the whole I have a plan thing

Viet: hahahaha

me: uh oh

nuclear proliferation

9:18 PM CTBT and all that

obama wants India and Pak to sign that

goddddd!!!

so since russia committed that serious crime

9:19 PM Viet: hahahaha

wtf??

me: we start prepping for war against them ?

right?

McCain- I saw into Putin's eyes and saw three letter KGB

mccain is not helping his case

9:20 PM Viet: ooo, he went there once

me: ooooo

9:21 PM Ukraine???

err ok

lets see where this goes

9:23 PM i guess thats why we have so many ukranians in the dept ;)

oops

that wasn't meant to be there

:P

Viet: hahaahaha

9:24 PM me: obama said plan

i am scared

hez not originally from AZ right?

9:25 PM uh oh

the host is a little lenient towards Obama

9:26 PM oh snap!!!!!!

good question

what is the likelihood of another 9/11

Viet: loaded question

me: and the answer is unloaded

and he said liebermann

ok i spelled that wrong

9:27 PM no onez asking what the refroms are

we want to know wil anohter 9.11 happen

no more torturing another prisonner

Viet: nobody will answer that

me: is anyone screaming Gitmo bay?

9:28 PM Viet: security is only an illusion

9:29 PM me: damn al-qaeda in 60 countries :O

9:30 PM Viet: yea

me: hahahah obama understands that america's lost respect in the world

Viet: pretty much any muslim dominated country

me: hmmm

Viet: SE asia is a hot spot for al qaeda

9:31 PM me: hmmm

oooooo emotional outreach

american blood

patraeus

jeeeeezzzzzz

Viet: hahaha

is that his lover??

me: well if hez not the general

then he is that i presume

9:32 PM check status ;)

9:33 PM Viet: haha

9:35 PM me: hahahahahahah

obama-my father came from kenya, thats where i get my name

:D

9:37 PM Viet: oooo i have to see that one

me: hahahah

ok

so we are done with debate chat

;)

9:38 PM stephanapolous is right

ok i am biased towards stephanapolous

9:39 PM hahahahahahahahahah

he said about the doesn't understand thing as well :D

damn i shud go work with him

hez saying what i am saying

Viet: yea stephanapolous is more awesome

9:40 PM me: we shud do this for a living

:D

Viet: hahaha

me: and send it to stephanapolous

:D

9:41 PM whad say?

9:42 PM Viet: ok, i'm beat,

me: heheheh

9:43 PM dyu realize we typed insanely

Viet: hahahaa

i did it with one hand eating cheetoes

hahaha, just kidding

me: :D

9:44 PM hehehe

true that.....obama was awesome when it came to foreign policy

yaya!

i shud be a journalist/political analyst

sscrew economics

9:45 PM Viet: no

me: oh

ok

:D

hahahahhhahahaha

Viet: be journalist/econ poly analyst

me: hez talking about mccain;s travel things

9:46 PM Viet: ok

i'm off to bed

me: awrite

i am gonna post this soon

:D

9:47 PM if u r ok with it that is

Viet: hahaha

yea sure

me: hhehehehe

awesome

fun friday :D

Viet: add some random muses in there and i'll be cool with it

me: :D

ok

good night

Viet: later

me: later

A trip down to the ancestral land, modern style

I think I qualify to write about Stone-Age. Fine, if that's a little far-fetched, I qualify to write about a Modern Stone- Age. Who would have thought that living in the US would bring forth a powerless existence (no pun intended) for over 72 hours, and in some cases indefinitely ( as I write this, a multitude of citizens in the Houston, Galveston area are still without power, hence the indefinite part).

Hurricane Ike hit Houston on September 13th, at around 4 a.m. What would end up an excruciating, yet adventurous, experience began at 10 pm the night before. I lost power at the stroke of midnight. Thank whoever (read a lot of people) for having screamed at me to charge every possible electronic device I possessed, just in case the power went off. And go it did. Only to return at my apartment on Monday night, three and a half days later. Though it seems like it would have been an unpleasant journey, frankly speaking it wasn't. Yes, the lack of power got us frantic about phones, laptops, most of all INTERNET, every third thought would be - how many emails have I missed out on, but nothing that hampered survival. What about food you might ask- Bar-be-que to the rescue! A couple of my friends made omelette, Ramen noodles, tandoori chicken, stuffed veggies, and the best of all TEA! For the tea fanatic Indians, they had a working supply of tea.

The point I am trying to make, without further beating around the bush, is we had fun without power. Innovative and creative minds were beyond control, seemed like laptops and internet had put the thinking minds to a hiatus, except of course when we are required to do homework. One might argue that it was easy since we knew how to build fire, amen to the smokers, we didn't have to sharpen arrows to hunt animals, we weren't half clad with leaves, we didn't have to reinvent the wheel, though we did have to worry about fuel shortage, nonetheless it wasn't quite the silver plate we were accustomed to. Of course, not to mention the temper tantrums that some of us witnessed/threw.

Now that power's back, we, at least I, miss those precious three days. Very few people live to experience something like this. I do realize my post projects insensitivity towards people who have lost a lot. However, this post was an experience of someone who survived with a scratch. So let me be granted the permission of being insensitive. Cliched this post might seem, but I beseech you to look at it from my stand point.

Best of all, the cancelation of classes, homeworks and the lack of motivation to return to normalcy. One of those things that every acamedician, students especially, is going to appreciate.

I guess good things don't last too long, so is the case with this. Here's a slideshow of the hurricane through my camera. I wish I could upload more photos, but spare me that effort. I haven't quite gotten back to appreciating power yet (all pun intended ;) )






P.S. To those who are still suffering from the hurricane, I really have nothing to say, not because I don't understand what you are going through, but because I don't know what to say. Things will go back to what you knew before the hurricane, just hang in there I guess.

Err...

Granted! I haven't written in the longest time. For some reason it feels like I have nothing to write about, no motivation whatsoever, and I wonder if it is really me or my surroundings. I really can't find something to write about, I don't want to force it, it won't be to my satisfaction; considering it is the primary reason I want to write. Like a friend says, "Either nothing's happening or too many things are happening for us to keep up with."

Hmm weird post, I don't think I can come up with a valid excuse for not having updated this place.

Television- Roald Dahl

I remember reading this poem in 10th grade, and stumbled upon
this being posted on Atanu Dey's blog. Television by Roald Dahl, deals with the indecent world of Television and the repercussions it has had on children. I have to admit that I am one of those crazy people, that cannot live without the television . I need it during dinner time, I need it during homework; however much I am completely ignoring what's going on. I am a TV Buff. The poem is so beautifully written, I am going to post it here again

Television
by Roald Dahl

The most important thing we’ve learned,
So far as children are concerned,
Is never, NEVER, NEVER let
Them near your television set –
Or better still, just don’t install
The idiotic thing at all.
In almost every house we’ve been,
We’ve watched them gaping at the screen.
They loll and slop and lounge about,
And stare until their eyes pop out.
(Last week in someone’s place we saw
A dozen eyeballs on the floor.)
They sit and stare and stare and sit
Until they’re hypnotised by it,
Until they’re absolutely drunk
With all that shocking ghastly junk.
Oh yes, we know it keeps them still,
They don’t climb out the window sill,
They never fight or kick or punch,
They leave you free to cook the lunch
And wash the dishes in the sink –
But did you ever stop to think,
To wonder just exactly what
This does to your beloved tot?
IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!
IT MAKES A CHILD SO DULL AND BLIND
HE CAN NO LONGER UNDERSTAND
A FANTASY, A FAIRYLAND!
HIS BRAIN BECOMES AS SOFT AS CHEESE!
HIS POWERS OF THINKING RUST AND FREEZE!
HE CANNOT THINK — HE ONLY SEES!
‘All right!’ you’ll cry. ‘All right!’ you’ll say,
‘But if we take the set away,
What shall we do to entertain
Our darling children? Please explain!’
We’ll answer this by asking you,
‘What used the darling ones to do?
‘How used they keep themselves contented
Before this monster was invented?’
Have you forgotten? Don’t you know?
We’ll say it very loud and slow:
THEY … USED … TO … READ! They’d READ and READ,
AND READ and READ, and then proceed
To READ some more. Great Scott! Gadzooks!
One half their lives was reading books!
The nursery shelves held books galore!
Books cluttered up the nursery floor!
And in the bedroom, by the bed,
More books were waiting to be read!
Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales
And treasure isles, and distant shores
Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars,
And pirates wearing purple pants,
And sailing ships and elephants,
And cannibals crouching ’round the pot,
Stirring away at something hot.
(It smells so good, what can it be?
Good gracious, it’s Penelope.)
The younger ones had Beatrix Potter
With Mr. Tod, the dirty rotter,
And Squirrel Nutkin, Pigling Bland,
And Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and-
Just How The Camel Got His Hump,
And How the Monkey Lost His Rump,
And Mr. Toad, and bless my soul,
There’s Mr. Rate and Mr. Mole-
Oh, books, what books they used to know,
Those children living long ago!
So please, oh please, we beg, we pray,
Go throw your TV set away,
And in its place you can install
A lovely bookshelf on the wall.
Then fill the shelves with lots of books,
Ignoring all the dirty looks,
The screams and yells, the bites and kicks,
And children hitting you with sticks-
Fear not, because we promise you
That, in about a week or two
Of having nothing else to do,
They’ll now begin to feel the need
Of having something to read.
And once they start — oh boy, oh boy!
You watch the slowly growing joy
That fills their hearts. They’ll grow so keen
They’ll wonder what they’d ever seen
In that ridiculous machine,
That nauseating, foul, unclean,
Repulsive television screen!
And later, each and every kid
Will love you more for what you did.

Roald Dahl

I wonder what Mr. Dahl would have to say about the world of internet. In a way, I am glad he hasn't.

If only life could be highlighted...

Colour coding one's notes is a study method a lot of us use. "Here's what's important for the test"- you have so many different colours of highlighters; you forget what colour represented what. Imagine if it were possible to do so with life. Colour code the merrier times and leave out the sad ones. Highlight those that seem important, those that seem meaningful and most of all those that represent you and forget the rest. Wouldn't it have been that much easier? Life is a notebook, would then cease to be a cliche and be a reality. Red for family, green from friends, yellow for this, blue for that....Life would be all the more colourful than it is today....

But then would it seriously be colourful, if we chopped off the down turns? Wouldn't we be ignorant and naive in a way; thus diminishing our learning experience? Do we learn from everything or do we learn from certain things?

Add colour to your life, don't colour code it. I wish I could live by that....

Say Cheese...

One of the best things we (most of us) do today is putting up a false front. What happens inside our homes, rarely comes out. We have educated ourselves to be so closed, that it scares us to open up. What if the other person thinks we are a coward for opening up? Faking a smile has become an art. If someone can't do it, then they are being insensitive to the people around them. Finding a person to talk to and pouring out everything you need to, might just end up disturbing their peace of mind, that is if they do have one!

So what happens now? Since we have it all caged up in this big organ system of ours, where do we go from here? Do we just let life consume us or do we consume life? Sometimes the world is just an individual and sometimes its a maddening crowd, which one you want to be a part of is not the question, the question is which one will you let take over you.

There are some things that are inexplicable in life, one of them is existence itself. I am not set out to decipher it, I think the existentialists did their job. The other is courage [or a lack of it]. A lot of us rebel from the inside, but are hard core conformists on the outside. What happens to people like us?

Do we ever reach the other side? Is light really at the end of the tunnel, or is it just the end...?

And so it is..

I'd forgotten how much I loved this song. I remember not able to control tears the first time I heard this song. There's something about it. Sure its depressing, but even then...it's out of the ordinary

The Blower's Daugher- Damien Rice
(the girl is Lisa Hannigan)

All the Lost Souls

All of us have been living the monotonous life, day in and day out. The purpose of life is to understand where the monotone emerges from. Blindly following what has been prescribed to us. Sometimes we look back and all we see is blank space. We are all so lost. Someone who has focus is lost too, cause all (s)he can think about is that end of the tunnel, nothing else to distract that mind.

And of course, it monotonous to think about this all the time.


Frustrating....

EP5K

Took part in my first 5k run today!!! It was awesome. I don't know if the time was conducive though(7 am); it was freezing cold! But I ran and more importantly, finished it! With an hour and a half sleep the night before, I took over that 3 miles like it was nothing. Ok enough bragging, because now I feel the pain, and so I am off to sleep.

(L-R) Manvi, Shveta and MOI!!!!
(Go AID)
(Go Women's Empowerment)

The Point

You walk down a crowded road, contemplating how different everyone is from each other, when in fact, nine out of ten times, everyone is sailing the same thought-boat- what is the point? Conversations, off late, always take that gradual turn- what is the point? There is no point in all of this... Pointless.

All of us are so bogged down in finding the point in life, that we forget to live life the way we think it should be led. We try so hard to find that point, to prove to oneself and to others that we are doing something substantial in life, that we forget how to have fun. Competition is so deep down in our veins; we cannot stand competition from others.

We look back at conscious decisions, only to regret having made them because now there isn't any point to it. Self-satisfaction has reached the other level- it is no more in the moment, everything is long run. There's always that annoying naivety in us, screaming at us to find the point in a decision, a justification behind a job done. Why can't something be the infamous- just because I wanted to do it then. I do it all the time, the questioning part I mean. But it seems so counter- productive and time consuming. You are paying for that decision twice, in effect.


Which brings me to the point of this post (oops)- why is the status quo the status quo? Why is it hard to move away from it?

The Reality of Reality TV

Call it cynicism, call it pessimism , but one of the biggest curses to modern day television undoubtedly has to be Reality TV. Big Brother, Beauty and the Geek, The Bachelor(ette), Wife Swap, Nanny 911, Who wants to marry a US citizen? No, the last one is not something I conjured up during this write-up, but it is a new show that will be airing soon. I hate to admit it, but I am in awe of these shows; it is mesmerizing how producers come up with these ideas. And what is even more interesting; is the plethora of time the average person has to participate in these shows. Needless to say, is the unmitigated media attention winners of these shows are awarded. News is not news until gossip comes up. Shocking huh? I mock with a lot of intention.

Reality TV is by far, a sick safe haven viewers are granted after hard day at work. Or so I think. Or so some of us think. If reality TV was meant to be family time, run away from it as far as you can. Sex on camera, swearing on camera, you name it, you've got it. Sex is very obvious, and the whole bleep thing is mundane, because their lips are focused and we know what they are saying. If I were to watch it, just as a dinner table show, with my mom around, you know what the consequence would be. And what do they call it- Entertainment. That's what the people want. I guess it's true, cause they do have wonderful... drum roll please....Ratings. Everything is ratings motivated.

Which brings me to the burning question, have we surpassed all levels of decency; especially when it comes to TV? Subtle things are fine, but when you make it too obvious, it is plain nauseating.

Now game shows, I have a sincere fascination for them.

Run Lola Run!

Red haired, skinny chic running close to a million times (I exaggerate with good intent) just to save her boyfriend from getting beaten up by a don- for 100,000 Deutsche Mark.

That is probably the shortest synopsis anyone will give you for Run Lola Run starring Franka Potente. For those who have seen the movie, you know what I am talking about. For the unaware souls, watch the movie. I assure you, disappointment will not be part of the baggage. And watch it in German (with English subtitles, if you will), don't watch the dubbed version.

Brilliantly filmed, simple movie.

The blasted male 'ego'

"If he or she wants to...., we don't want to anger the women in the class now, do we?" An oft repeated statement, followed by sneers from guys in the class with a pinch of sarcastic comments. Pretty hard for the XY clan to see the XXs in there. "Dude, there is no way she could have gotten to that position. Slut! Damn straight there were things happening behind close doors." " Man, she got a better grade than me, how is it possible? Plus she's married. Doesn't she take care of the kids or something?" Its sheer pleasure to see how the male ego is hurt when a female compatriot crosses their horizon. Oh that ego. Fire spitting, rock solid, easily hurt- ego. Somehow they cannot stand that women can be their equals. Equal wage sounds blasphemous to them. After all, why shouldn't it- the better race that they are , aren't they?

Millions of Americans today are insecure with the idea of a female President. Why? For fear of being a nation that could be possibly run over. Gender bias, and not policy bias is what will determine their voting inclination. How apt! She might not be able to handle the pressure, she will do a bad job at being President! Yea great job the guys are doing, aren't they? Wonderful job! Keep up the good work, please? What would we do without you, o wise one?

How many girls have often found themselves in the if-can-you-cook,- you-will-get-married situation ? How many? Can I get a count please? Inquire the same thing from a guy- boy are you going to go down Inferno. The girl's insolence would be called upon with umpteen scrutiny, she might even be accused of being sexist. Thank you very much. I prefer it that way. Deal with it or keep walking. Last night, I found myself in a situation where the guys asked a girl to make tea at 1:30 am. When the girls rebelled for her, pop came the answer- "We are prepping her for family life." Excuse you!!?!!! Family life? Serving male chauvinists like you? See, we have no problem being stay-at-home husbands but we need to get paid for it. Classic foot in the mouth situation, cause two of us were about to ask them to shed out money for the late night tea. All they did was have a smirk on their faces. Insensitive .....!

Ask a guy to change their last name after marriage- BLASPHEMY! But reverse the gender and they justify by the eternal just-because-it-should-be! Who bloody hell said so, might I ask?
There have been instances where highly educated males have made their wives change their last name on their already existing passport too! Rude, callous, chauvinistic coward. Can't stand the fact that the wife has an identity of her own. Why should her identity be tied with an incessantly insecure human being? Just- because?

Just because what? It will hurt that ego that she is independent? It will hurt that ego that she can be someone too? Or because you will lose strong hold? You will lose that control over her life? Do not even dare give me the its-traditional line, cause I promise you, you are asking for trouble. Its sickening to see how strong of a hold a male dominated society continues to have even today. They feel tremors in their fort the minute a girl approaches them. Guards up! She cannot pass through these gates, or else we will crumble.

But what's gagging is girls who let it happen.

We need to poke that male-ego more often cause that's the only way they will realise our worth. That blasted male ego!!!

A sin?- its nothing.. its plain fun

A Slut. A whore. A bitch! Really? So what if a girl wants to date an older man? Sin, they say. "Why can't she find someone of her own age?"

Well obviously, if she had found someone, she wouldn't be looking at the older guy. And its a guy right? (Not that I am against gay rights). So why the screams and the yells? She's having fun! Some plain old fun! Why the hell do people start judging the girl and praying for her relationship to crumble along the way? So that she comes to her senses? Yea right! SENSES!

Social norms, my ass. Can we not look at the other side? The guy is dating a younger chic! Or is the grass really greener on the other side? Now just to make things clear, age difference here is more than ten years. Give the girl a freaking break, will you? She's probably helping some lost soul boost his self-esteem, who would have died in loneliness wondering why no one was with him.

Its alright, its no sin- if they think they are in love, then so be it. If they think that its plain fun, then so be IT. And oh, all those people who date someone after calculating the age difference, boy are you in trouble if I find you. Biased love <==> true love? Whatever!!!

So all those girls who want to go date an older guy- go! Do it! Kick some serious ass while you are at it.

Dumb traditions. Why are we femmes the ones answering all the time?

Its all the same!!!!

When you wake up and find yourself in the US, things seem odd and different; things seem ridiculously difficult. But as time goes on, you find yourself constantly explaining your culture, your traditions, and sometimes even your language, quite often to people who claim to know things . An innocent economics grad student at the University of Houston found herself in one of these ridiculous, yet hilarious situations on a cold Monday afternoon. While she waited with her friend for a cup of hot chocolate, she happened to hear the conversation between two undergrad girls discussing what they wanted to drink. One of them suggested that they drink chai and upon the inquisition why, went on to explain that it was very healthy because it had a lot of spices and herbs in them. She also suggested that she could drink tea too. Put in crude terms, the grad student cracked up ending it with a smirk on her face, subtly making sure that the girls saw it. Unable to restrain her obsession to explain things, to friends and strangers alike, proceeded to tell them that it was the SAME- TEA and CHAI were the same things. Let me enlighten you as to why the grad student made it a point to set it straight. In the US, chai is sold at coffee places as flavored tea- orange, raspberry, chinese herbs (god knows what that means), spicy masala chai- basically ruining the taste of tea, aka chai. When are these people going to learn??? I guess until they realize that Shreya and Shreyasee aren't the same thing, that semai is actually semi, that antai is anti and of-ten is often, we are still going to have chai as chai and tea as tea.

weirdos!

The Isolated Globalized World

"Because the line between,
Wrong and right,
Is the width of a thread,
From a spider's web.
The piano keys are black and white,
But they sound like a million colours in your mind"
Spider's Web- Katie Melua"

You go back home to your loved ones after a hard day of work. Things seem normal, until you turn on the television. The war, the crimes, the blasts...the death, the doubts, the horror...the life...Today, in a seemingly globalized world, things could not have been more isolated. Globalization, is nothing, but an illusion; one that was created consciously by human beings with the advent of technology and most of all, the internet. Don't believe me, just ponder for a moment as to how many of us go out now like we used to do five years ago. Even when you are with friends, you wonder about the work that is awaiting you back at home. And here's how we have become more isolated- that iota of doubt that fills our minds, only to become a volcano waiting to erupt, ruining things for us. You are afraid to smile for one might misconstrue it, you are afraid to cry for one might think you are weak. How many friendships have been ruined because of doubt, how many relationships have been torn apart because of doubt...lack of trust. Most of us have lost track of what right and wrong is. Every action has a justification behind it, rational or irrational. The blind belief some of us have on media reports, has added nothing but fear amongst mankind..towards mankind. Fear has taken over the multitude of our thinking power to the extent that some of us sit back, only to be a silent spectator to the torture, the abuse that the world faces today. Voices that could have been heard, are lost in a lonely corner, adding more fuel to the fire (or lack of ) in their existence. Racism is more today than ever before, they aren't shown because it might strike a debate. You believe what you are shown, you don't believe in what's wrong or right, what you believed in. The sponge of a mind has absorbed all it can, nonetheless it will take in more of the lies it is presented just to rot. The mind has a spider's web within itself, with insects that gradually entangle it reaching a point of no return. We don't know what to believe.

And then there are those, who constantly fight to eradicate this galore of fear, this galore of doubt; to make the globe globalized. If only they had more support.....

Marriage, Kids...and Economics

I am intrigued by how increasingly hilarious and weird what I am interested in economics is beginning to get. One of the few things in macroeconomics (tada, you have figured out that I like macroeconomics) is different models that explain the growth of an economy (if you are already bored, then your loss :D ). I hate to make this post a lecture about the two models I am currently smiling about, but you will see the irony in those models. Needless to say, the models take into consideration a lot of assumptions. Duh- economics, as I define it, is the science of assumptions.

The RAMSEY MODEL is a highly dynamic model that explains the growth in the economy with phase plots; how consumption and capital increases/decreases . A little bit of a background- Ramsey came up with this model when he was in his 20s and died 2 years after he proposed the model. What were his assumptions- people live infinitely and are alive at the same time; as in your kids, their kids and successive generations will never move out and you end up being the ruler of the family for eternity . Irony- the model was proposed by someone who didn't believe in the infinite life himself. Wow! The OVERLAPPING GENERATIONS MODEL also models consumption and capital growth but its assumptions are different- that you will die (oops) and that your kids will move out. Even better, is that you will live for two periods, hence never living to see your grandkids. If you haven't noticed yet, death is an assumption. Aa the metaphysical connotations are immense, and I don't think I have the strength to point them out.

Here is where its the pinnacle of weirdness (and thanks to Dr.Vollrath for having pointed it out)- what do you choose?

1. The Ramsey model- where you live infinitely, but your kids never move out, heck their kids never move out either?
   

OR

2. The OLG model- where you die, but your kids move out?

Tough choice! If only I had one... Which brings me to my observation- how having kids, and ahem getting married, are actually influenced by these two models :D, especially for economists :D

The hoped end

"....separate the fiction from the fact...", a voice ran in the background. Had her life been a fiction, a figment of someone else's imagination. She had lost all she had, all she had hoped to have. Never ceasing to self-deprecate her existence until that bright and sunny April morning, when the daffodils had fully blossomed. The view from her little cottage was beautiful. However, that did not remove the constant depression she was under- the constant fear she lived in...until now. Were the seemingly carefree daffodils giving her a fresh ounce of hope? She smiled to herself and lay her head against her chair and thought. Her life flashing in front of her eyes- the banal promises she had made and was forced to keep them, the unrequited love, the tear she had forgotten to drop, the smile she never stopped to fake, the life she had led for others, the life she always day dreamed about....

" Kathy!!! Time to pack up. We are gonna leave in 15 mins", her brother called out.

Her head on the armrest of the chair and legs curled up- it was the end; the hoped end to the life she hadn't hoped for.