Having read The Witch of Portobello in December 2010, I was extremely disappointed with Paulo Coelho. Why would anyone ready any of his books I wondered. While The Alchmeist definitely changed my perception of the author, and I do believe it can be life changing, I don’t consider the book my best read ever. Either I lack the understanding of its depth and unable to believe the concept as to good to be true, or I’ve experienced at this point in lifetime, other random things that affect real lives.

The magical realism (my understanding of which is very limited) is however fascinating, and so is the irony in the first story about Narcissus. It did make a compelling read, and I wanted to finish the book.Maybe I need to re-attempt to understand and follow my heart, as Santiago did in the book. Maybe that will make life a little more exciting.

Weekends, and life in general has been less challenging, and nothing more than the ordinary seems to be important to accomplish. Work is there as always, friends and family, and squash and internet addiction. Everything is in place, including certain personal pressures, inability to finish travel plans, and a small sense of guilt of using six weeks of vacation before the end of the year. Vacation for what? Weekdays and weekend activities have certain release points for stress busters, sometimes weekend business makes it actually wanting to look forward to a Monday, when the day is more organized and a schedule exists, until 6 PM at least. I would like a vacation, after probably 5-6weeks of packed work and workout schedules, where I really start feeling like I need a vacation.

I also happened to meet about 5 couples, all acquaintances from grad school, 5-6 years ago. Time has moved by fast and it’s strange that all of them are in Boston and around. Earlier plans to meet them haven’t been successful but a baby shower made it possible.

The Alchemist

HOWDY?

It’s funny how the world works sometimes – and funny how it doesn’t (at a personal level). There was a time, when blogging was fun and interesting and motivating. When social networking came by – the mode of communication changed, small tidbits that went on a blog came by as ‘status messages’ or wall posts, but on a blog, I could somewhat control the publicity of the posts or opinions.  So I was more truthful or opinionated or open, but facebook posts took away that liberty, everybody saw it – I could make it private, but privacy became complicated, friends, acquaintances and family members, and colleagues. Unfiltered language and posts, with strong opinions generated immature or unwanted responses and I became conscious of the image I may be projecting, but the opinions also gave away personal details to facebook friends, most of them friends in the network by choice, some of them by courtesy.

Life has gone on, offline from the network – things that would have been considered extremely interesting have happened, only – I have grown out of it. Some things don’t carry the same charm anymore – unfortunately. But life is as interesting as ever, new friends, old friends, back in touch friends. An extremely pleasurable road trip along the pacific coast with siblings, and only siblings. No spouses or kids, and driving randomly to a pizza place off the scenic highway and encountering the most delicious pizza in a long long time, extremely lucky to have such a time out with siblings after growing up into adults. This will be one worthy memory for a long long time.

Work has been great, very motivating and very addictive – so much so that there’s anxiety over using vacation that I will lose if I don’t use. Makes me wonder if this is good or bad. Good I think, for a few more years.

The quest for learning is still there – so all is good. Technology has been immensely magical, ipads, Kinects (hacked kinects), wiki leaks, movies, apps, plugins and Katy Perry. [Gosh, she is B.E.A.U.T.I.F.U.L. and such a lovely, personally uninteresting, tattoo - 'Anugachcati pravaha' (apparently, means go with the flow). Why do celebrities get tattoos in a language that 99% of their fan's don't understand? Is it a marketing ploy?]

Ok, coming back to technology – makes me want to be born 200 years later, just to see how we would use technology in normal days then. And then again after a few hundred years later, and again and again. Well, I guess technically...it is possible for me.

Skiing season coming up, and hopefully this year will be better than last year (still learning), cricket league in summer was fun (lost all matches except one), softball league was fun and getting my ass kicked in squash leagues this month and the next few. Physically fit, but need to urgently change wardrobe after losing about 2-3 waist sizes, I wish rest of the body didn’t lose any fat – but alas. That’s not how it works.

So hopefully this will be a comeback post, and there will be weekly updates. So drop in a line, OK?

PARIS: Prominent Muslim scholars have recast a famous medieval fatwa on jihad, arguing that the religious edict radical Islamists often cite to justify killing cannot be used in a globalized world that respects faith and civil rights.

Link

Isn’t this too little too late?

Novel Na’vi protest – is Israel listening?

Hollywood!

A Chinese woman is seeking extensive plastic surgery to look like Jessica Alba, mainly because she hopes to win back her boyfriend who she said always wished she looked more like the Hollywood star.

Link

And assuming her boyfriend changed his mind and took a liking for Avatar’s Neytiri. What is she going to do? Attach a tail?

Regional television channels, going after the much sought after ‘shock value’, have plunged into new depths of a stinking cess pool. How does it matter, when they have already bathed  and partied while being submerged in filth – and the audience have lapped up whatever is being offered.

No action has been or will be taken, when media covers live interview with potentially prized targets of a terrorist attack while the attack is going on, a celebrity politician’s daughter runs away from home to get married to her boyfriend, and the visuals run for the next 24 hrs with film music playing in the background as if there’s no other news to cover. You want shock value? Look at your channel’s stupidity in the items that are featured, that should provide you enough shock value. Do the news channels ever cover hundreds of NGOs working tirelessly for improving the lives of the impoverished, other than a 20 sec news brief – why aren’t they given enough publicity that they are truly worthy of? Beats me.

What people need to be made aware of, by the news media, and their accompanying shock & awe skills, is the problems of common man. How nothing can be done without a bribe, how a common middle-class woman traveling in bus is stared at, and groped at. How common it  is, for us to ignore all these things. While we offer condolences for the actor or stop in our tracks to see visuals of a twisted dead body shown in the television. A few months back, lower depths were achieved(?) , when two women (Andhra Pradesh, politics) – both in the political field, accused each other of sleeping around for favors and for successes in personal life. You don’t need idiotic men to insult and objectify you, something that will lead to more atrocities and violence, you do a good job of that groundwork yourself. And probably, if you win an election, you can be the woman’s welfare minister, where you spout nonsense about what you can do for the upliftment of  the women (no, pun not intended).

I don’t have a research degree on how this will affect general population, people get desensitized easily, the shock value of today is PG/PG-13 for tomorrow, the higher the shock value is now, the more dangerous it is for the society. The media is on the path towards blocking any collective corrective action by people, and that encourages crime. With the complexity of the population and a far too long history of government’s limited ability to impact the society, this could encourage crime in many ways. The criminal is saturated with the violence he/she is seen around, nothing that the criminal is about to do now, will surprise himself (or herself).

Here is an excerpt from NDTV.com:

The cameras would not allow her dignity even in death. Even before she could be covered with a white cloth, the lensmen were in a hurry. They had to get the ‘first’ shots and put it out on air before anyone else. The more raw, the more shocking, the better the visuals. The minister concerned was quite willing to pose around the room, so all the channels could get adequate footage and no one would be left complaining.

Those who had managed the ‘first’ shots were directing those who arrived later in loud tones. ‘Body upar hai, jaldi se shot le lo, nahin to cover kar denge aur mortuary le jayenge’. This within earshot of family members. I don’t know if it has to do with the frequency of being faced with situations that makes us in the media sound so insensitive, or should I say terrible. This is not to point fingers but more for us to introspect as a clan. Link

…

Amaravathi was a headline for a day. The death of media ethics doesn’t ever make it to the headlines. Because what the media does not acknowledge, does not exist. Or so we like to think. It’s like the cat who closes its eyes while drinking the milk, so no one will see. How long will we refuse to see? Link.

“Everyone has a secret. Frank Warren will share the ones he has collected from people around the world through his PostSecret Project”….(link via UAB)

Assumptions/facts -

• Everyone who can eat can cook (something).
• Everyone who can cook must eat what they’ve cooked (without complaining).

Top 13 sins…

1. NO vegetable is a bad vegetable (unless you have a medical reason to support your claim).
2. Bitter gourd is tasty, anyone who refutes it has a special place in hell.
3. To cook fish; you must know how to clean fish (or meat products in general).
4. No curry or Indian item will need more than 1 masala  or 2 if you are a noob, if you think a combination of more than 2 store-bought masalas will make something tasty, either you are incredibly lucky- or you will never be allowed in my kitchen again.
5. Guys can cook, usually better than most females. Post-marriage we just grow more lazy and learn to act better. Blame our moms.
6. You NEVER burn spatulas in my kitchen, what were you cooking – the kitchenware or food?
7. Store bought rotis, chapatis or other flat bread items are for EMERGENCY only (too tired to cook, to late at night after work). Don’t stack up the refrigerator with that cr*p.
8. Don’t ask me, if you should cook rice. Don’t ask any south Indian if you should cook rice. Unless you want to go to hell. Remember what Nike says? Just do it.
9. The closest you can get to canned food is ginger-garlic  paste, using frozen vegetables or tomato puree in place of fresh veggies will incur wrath.
10. Dudes -  I know how much we all love gym, and you don’t need to flaunt your abs around the kitchen, wear a shirt or a tee when you are in the kitchen and cooking. Single young ladies – with my room mates around, YOU WANT to be covered
11. If you are standing at the stove for more than 45 min, either you are expecting guests for dinner or something is terribly wrong. Get ready to go to the restaurant and get your wallet.
12. Don’t ask me if chutneys can be made without a food blender/”mixie”.
13. The worst sin of all – when you cook chick peas, and you don’t rinse out the preservative fluid and I catch you doing it. I’ll personally write a recommendation to a special place in hell (special IS NOT the same as good).

Tragedy strikes. YSR killed in a helicopter crash. While most probably the finance minister, K Rosaiah or another congress leader of similar seniority will take charge, it would be good, if the central government can ensure the safety of the common man in the city while ‘congress workers’ and other followers are prone to the common rampage emotions in moments of distress like this. We have lost a leader, no meaning in losing our peace – I hope we mourn in peace.

—-

Multiple reports since the past several hours, about the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, going missing and remaining out of contact.

A short list of the most possible theories in my view -

1. Technical Snag in the chopper – Quite likely that there may have been a technical snag that led to landing in some remote area.  Sukhoi jets, and ISRO satellite imagery have not helped yet in locating any chopper or chopper debris (the unthinkable). Some reports about the airworthiness of the chopper have been put forward but immediately argued against.
2. Factionism  – A term used only for that specific regions of Andhra, where people of the same community ( despite being same region, religion), fight for superiority or for land and resource domination of that region. YSR, before entering into politics was a known faction leader. Typical faction leaders are known for violent clashes along with a band of private armies. The groups are known for retaining long lost violent memories of violence and bounce back after generations have passed. Factionism is one of the largely glorified subjects of Telugu Cinema.
3. Naxalism – Another ill that bogs down some regions of South India, armed communist oriented people in the tribal areas, with ideologies of revolution and struggle against governments. They have often attacked high profile targets including the ex-CM on a religious trip to Tirupati 8-10 years ago. The target was missed, though there were a couple of bodyguard deaths and some serious injuries to the ex-CM, NCB Naidu. This was followed by a violent suppression of naxal leaders who were hunted down and killed by security forces. Naxalism is one evil, that is just short of terrorism but has not been taken care of for several decades now. Certain areas in AP, including some residential colleges are prone to public preaching by the red army that the government tends to ignore.
4. Terrorism – Most terrorist activities are usually in and around Hyderabad, the main city. This does make it highly improbable, but is on the list because of the precise reason that security forces may have never considered a terrorist threat in the sub-urban / rural areas of AP.
5. It’s all one big communication mistake – the last theory with the least probability is that, the CM made a safe landing somewhere but could not get back in contact because of a minor injury/communication issues. However because of the time that has lapsed since he was first missing reported, this is also a very unlikely theory. Whatever the case may be, or a combination of more than one theories above, especially the first one, makes it really hard to accept that a CM of the state of AP has been missing for nearly an entire day and is still safe out there. The weather, from what I understand, isn’t helping much and the search and rescue operations are not entirely affective in such weather. But keeping fingers crossed and hoping that YSR returns safe and sound. Every passing hour is bringing a bad news closer to his party workers and constituents. Hoping things turn out OK for him…

Sakshi TV is sporadically online with the latest news in Telugu, the news channel is owned by Rajashekar Reddy’s son – Jagan and will probably have reliable news updates as soon as they confirm it.