Have another Pangea Day  

Posted by CK in , ,

Ok, so here I was sitting and racking my brain... hahaha... one sec, sorry to digress but I just did a quick google search on whether it's "racking" or "wracking" and this is what it threw up. :) Thought it was funny. Can't believe someone did a language/etymology check on it.

Anywho, so, supported by randomhouse.com, I was "racking" my brains to remember this event I'd seen on TV purely by chance on May 10th, 2008. It started out with a few short movies being played, a few world music artists doing their thing and it was so totally engrossing that I watched it and went online for it for the next 4 hours.

The event i'm talking about is Pangea Day. Let me pull up a quote on what it is about:

"In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that — to help people see themselves in others — through the power of film."



And truly, it was incredible. There were films of all sorts, shot by Phone Cams, amateur cinematographers, cartoonists, animators, from India, the West Bank, China, Cuba, the US of A, Darfur and so so many more. I thought that of all the film festivals, of all the "Days" declared and celebrated, this one was the most powerful, moving and it connected the most with me.


As I was watching through the night, I realized that literally millions of people around the world were watching, blogging and commenting on the powerful, beautiful films that were being shown on the screens in real time. Now, other than the Oscars, very few events can claim live viewership but as I was leaving comments on the website, simultaneously, hundreds of comments kept getting posted moments after mine with practically the same message: "I understand the message you're trying to convey."

There was this one film about a girl lying on her bed finger-dancing to a tune and it seemed so simple an activity until the last few seconds when the camera pans out and the girl leans back in her wheelchair. A simple act that suddenly carries so much weight just because the girl can't dance the way her fingers can. It was called "Dancing Queen".There was another film about refugees in Sierra Leone who, in the midst of such heart-wrenching devastation, formed a music group to play for the rest of their camp-mates and called themselves "Refugee All Stars". A boy who comes back to his native Cuba after going to the States to work, the movie is called "The Americana Project". A walk down memory lane to look at the beauty of the country that was Lebanon, before the conflicts and before the bombs fell. You can see all these on the website. And please do. These are just some of them that I remember. There were funny movies, sad movies, thoughtful movies and then, just movies for the heck of it.

It was the dream of a young Lebanese filmmaker, Jehane Noujaim. It was her vision that the world be united if for just one day through the magic of film. And man, did she ever make that happen. There were screenings happening simultaneously in New York, Cairo, Bombay, London, Kigali, Rio and there were speakers from all around the world who said in one voice that it was time to forget borders and politics and just move past all that.

One of the most touching moments of the night was when this lady and this man walked on to stage, hand in hand, and told us their story. The man was a Palestinian who's brother had been killed in one of the incessant conflicts that broke out on the West Bank. He had nothing but hatred in his heart for the Israelis who had taken away his family. The woman was the mother of an Israeli soldier who had been killed by one of the rocket attacks into the West Bank by the Hezbollah. They stood there, together and asked that if they, mortal enemies who from before birth were taught to hate the other, could forgive and see the sorrow of the other side, why couldn't everyone else?



I loved every moment of it and I've been waiting for another Pangea Day to happen since. But it hasn't. So, it is my genuine request to Jehane to not stop what she started because she did a wonderful thing and there are very few lights that shine that bright before going out. Keep it alive.

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You have GOT to read this :)  

Posted by CK

I was blog-jumping and I saw this article on a dude's blog:

http://www.isamansworld.com/2009/05/cruise-coast-of-somalia.html

I'm not going to give it away but I can think of a few people who'd sign up for this. Vini being first on my list. :)

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Work, Life & the Craziness in between  

Posted by CK in , ,


I keep wondering to myself sometimes if I'm a workaholic. And the truth of the matter is, I don't know. A "workaholic" is defined as: A person who feels compelled to work excessively. Do I feel compelled? I don't know. I'm not compelled but at the same time, I'm definitely not a slacker. 


I have this habit where, every birthday, I find a few moments to myself and I talk to myself. Some might call me "crazy" or "schizophrenic" to whom I say, we are not. But in this conversation with myself, I try to look back and talk to me a year ago and again with me a year in the future. To my past self, I give him a brief of what the past year was like, the highs, the lows and the in-betweens. To my future self, I ask the same questions I've just answered. How will my next year be? Will I achieve what I wanted or will everything turn completely on its head and have me heading in a completely new direction (as has happened a million times before). And I try to see if I'm happy with the direction I'm heading in. And it's a tough call.

I'm definitely not where I thought I'd be when I was 28. Due to some tomfoolery in my teens, I changed course several times in the past decade, each one more bewildering than the last. I'm not a person who has everything laid out and planned years in advance. I have found that such planning is nothing but a monumental waste of time because nothing and I do mean nothing, ever happens the way you intend it to. So, I smile and try and take it a day at a time and hope that wherever I end up, I'm content.




But that brings me back to my initial question about being a workaholic. The reason I ask is because nowadays, I find myself working insane hours. 14 hour days are commonplace and working weekends is not unusual. I do enjoy working hard because I need to make up for lost time. Due to said foolishness, I've lost a bit of time goofing around instead of being productive. And I don't regret too many things because regret, like planning, is a waste of time. I, however, do intend to reach my goals in the same time-frame that I'd set for myself. So, I work hard, cut myself very little slack and put my head down and just go for it. And I'm not doing too badly. In December 2006, I started working (really working) as an entry-level editor, got promoted within 6 months and have gotten myself a considerably higher position (Project Manager &Business Development Manager) with good pay, today. And I don't plan on stopping now, either. I'm ambitious and not ashamed of it. I do plan to drive hard and fast to reach the stars, literally. (One of my dreams was to be an astronaut. Being bespectacled, the only way I can achieve that now is if I buy my way into space)

But in the process, I've got a very dull, boring life. And I'm not a dull, boring person. I was super-adventurous and spontaneous and a million other things that I've forgotten now. And I don't want to. I want to grab life by the horns again and do the stuff that truly made me happy. Traveling, Outdoorsy-stuff, going places just for the heck of it, that kinds of stuff.

I want to be able to enjoy life while making the headway that I want to, professionally. That's a difficult balance to strike but I need to learn how to do it. The problem is, I don't want to compromise on either so I guess I'll need to figure it out.

Something I found on another blog, that I thought was super apt. :)


Top 10 Signs you're a workaholic


Ten: You don’t understand what people are saying on the phone, because you’re zoned into a screen where you have 10 windows open that you have to either, revise, proof read, or reformat into a 16 column table and email to someone in the next 3 minutes.

Nine: Lunch time gets exciting when you order a pathetic sandwich and get to eat it on the center meeting table.

Eight : You tell your husband/wife, you’ll be home in 10 minutes, for lunch but hours later, you’re still knee-deep in work and you’re no where near packing up…to go have dinner.

Seven: The guy who empties the trash cans at the end of each day, has to wheel you and your chair aside to get to it, because after seven ‘excuse me’s’ you still had no idea how he snuck up on you. He then asks you to lock up on your way out.

Six: You email your colleagues little to-do notes, reminders and annoying task-like assignments, at midnight, instead of going to sleep and telling them tomorrow--in person.

Five: You feel guilty when you’re sick, on vacation, or dying.

Four: You dream that you’re being chased by members of senior management holding papers in their hands, and questioning your loyalty to your job. You hide in a milk box.

Three: Your boss shoo’s you out of the office on his/her way out.

Two: When you go home you talk about work, your colleagues, how you have so much to do tomorrow while your spouse silently slips into a coma. You don’t notice.

And the number One reason is…

One: You don’t have time to blog, but when you do, you’re so tired that all you can come up with is this lame top-ten crap. You find the typing keyboard sounds soothing. 

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Just a post  

Posted by CK in , , ,

My recent spate of blogging comes after months (I think my last post previous to this set was February) of doing absolutely nothing constructive in the writing/blogging space. Now, is this because I've suddenly rediscovered the love of the written (or typed) word? No. Sadly, it's because my stupid office internet blocks all the fun pages or the pages where I waste the most time, namely Facebook, Gmail or... ok, fine, they blocked Facebook and Gmail and I didn't know where else to go.

It's kind of sad and now is the first time I'm thinking about what an absolutele waste of time Facebook really is. Would I stop using it after realizing that? Probably not. I feel the need to exercise, on a daily basis, the strength of my Mafia, my prowess as a farmer or my skill as a mariner in the multitude of games that FB offers as a means to kill whatever remaining braincells that TV didn't.

But in simpler days, before I had my laptop, internet or even... my cellphone.... yes, there were days before the cellphone (I think my generation are the only people who'd be able to say that. ) when I didn't have all these distractions and I would just do something silly and mundane like reading or writing or going for a walk. I think that's how the great epics were written. I think the Iliad was written thus:




TRANSLATION:

Ajax       : Hey, Homer. Why the long face, foo?
Homer   : It's that stupid Trojan kid... Hector. Keeps making fun of me. What sort of a name is Hector anyways? Keeps saying D'oh and stupid shit like that. God, I hate that kid.
Ajax       : Chill, Holmes. Let's go play naked javelin again. I promise I won't aim for your backside.


Ajax walks away laughing

Homer : *I'm going to write a story about that idiot Hector and how he gets his ass whooped by Greeks. "Troy is impregnable" he says, "We'd kick your ass in a war." I'll show him. Him and that stupid country which sounds like it should be a sperm receptacle*

Hence, was written one of the most memorable epics of all time (along with it came another great invention, the condom.) Historical sources site that similar bullying/hazing incidents were responsible for the Ramayana, the Epic of Beowulf and also, hitherto unknown books such as the Icelandic saga, The Wrath of Arinbjörk and the Ivan the Terrible biography, Ivan the Momma's Boy (written by his brother, Yuri).


I wonder how much creativity was lost to the world because of the advent of the idiot box.

There are some absolutely brilliant writers, artists and such still out there though. As a relatively newbie blogger, I'm discovering that there are some great sites out there which are absolutely hilarious, like Krish Ashok's, some with some amazing art, like Abhishek Singh's. I am, of course, neither a brilliant comedian nor am I a great artist, but I'll keep posting my two cents worth every once in a while and see where it takes me.

Now, back to work.

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A New Project  

Posted by CK




So, it’s a Monday afternoon and I have a half hour in between one important work thing and the next. I need a breather anyways.

I just spent a semi-nice weekend. The “semi” part cause I had to work on Saturday giving presentations and what not. But working one day a weekend is a step-up from the previous weekend where I spent all weekend preparing said presentation. The nice part was where I went to my SW’s place, relaxed, ate good food, played Scrabble (got my ass kicked), went for long walks and spent time with my cutie-pie, darling, sweetheart, crunchy puppu…. Ok ok wait. I’ll show you a picture. Here she is and tell me she’s not the most adorable thing on God’s earth. 



So, yes, I’m relaxed and feeling pretty good about the week ahead. I have a lot of things I need to do but I’m not going to do them just yet.

About 9 years ago, a friend of mine and I started a very ambitious project. TIME Magazine had just published its 100 Greatest Books of the 20th Century. The list I’m linking you to is the updated list as of 2005 because I can’t find the old list. But no matter, the list is mostly unchanged but for a few entries. There are a lot of lists out there but we took TIME as a reliable, reputable source and even if it weren’t the greatest books ever, it’d still be a start.

So, my friend and I, let’s call her Pillary for anonymity’s sake. ;) Pill and I decided that, as enlightened individuals, it was our duty to go through this list and read each book. Initially, we got off to a great start and we did read quite a few of them. Well, actually, I think it seemed like quite a few but now that I’m looking at the list, I’ve read only 5… which is kind of sad. Anywho, work and life and everything else got in the way and I’m afraid, for my part, have fallen back on my good reading.

So, I’ve decided that I have to reinitiate this project with just a few adjustments. I’ve now decided that I’m going to go through the list, in no particular order, and am going to publish book reviews of each of the books I read. I shall place them under the title of:
Greatest Books Review – [Book Name] - #
which will essentially give you an idea of which of the 100 I’m on. (Until I can think of a better name. Suggestions are welcome.)

I’ll get on this right away and at the rate of one book a week, should be done in 2 years. I've already read a few of the books, as mentioned earlier, but I'll have to re-read them in order to give you a good review. Although, my post on the Chronicles of Narnia  (at least the latter half of the post) will serve as a review for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. I've also read 1984, Catch-22, Catcher in the Rye, A Clockwork Orange, Lolita, Midnight's Children and of course, my favourite comic/graphic novel, Watchmen. I'll go through them all again.

I’m going to take this chance to plug one of my favorite book stores in the city, Blossom’s. It’s been around for a few years I think and you can get a load of great books there at very, very cheap. And if you’re the kind who doesn’t like to keep old books, they buy back at 50%. So, its win-win and they have an awesome collection of books. It’s on Church Street right down the road from Java City and I love that place.

So, wish me luck and happy reading.


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I am Legend  

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I know I’m always slightly late in my movie reviews but unlike regular movie critics who in their boring “prompt” way review and critique a movie right after its release, I tend to take my time and do it at liesure when I happen to see a movie on TV. :) 

For instance, last night, after coming home from a hard day’s work, I turned on HBO and there was I am Legend. The fact that the movie boasts a cast of 2 for almost 80% of its running time is something that I love. If you’ve read my previous post on Benjamin Button, then you’d know that I’m a fan of movies with quiet, yet strong performances. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’d watch a Megan Fox-filled-Autobot-beat-Decepticon-stopping the end of the world movie in a heartbeat. But these types of movies (Legend and Benjamin Button) are the movies that move you. I don’t feel the hairs on my arm raise watching Shia yell at Optimus.


To give you a little bit of history about the concept behind I am Legend, we need to go back to the book that spawned the movies. To quote Wiki, “I Am Legend is a 1954 science fiction/horror novel by American writer Richard Matheson. It was influential in the development of the vampire genre as well as the zombie genre, in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease, and in exploring the notion of vampirism as a disease. The novel was a success and was adapted to film as The Last Man on Earth in 1964, as The Omega Man in 1971, and as I Am Legend in 2007…”




At first, before I’d known this, I’d loved the movie but wondered what the title was about. To know this, you have to understand the book. The Robert Neville of the novel isn’t a scientist; he’s just a normal man who happened to survive. And the survivors in the book are vampires, instead of zombies. In the novel, he sets about hunting and killing as many of these vampires as he can find, considering it his human right to try and destroy this new scourge that took mankind. But unlike the movie, the vampires of the novel aren’t soulless, bloodthirsty creatures who kill for the hell of it. They are still essentially human inside and come to terms with their new vampirism and consider it a part of life. They then go about rebuilding society as a vampire society. And Neville, in his crusade against all things vampiric, is the monster. He’s the odd one out in the world where the new “normal” is to be a vampire. The hunters then go after the “monster” to kill the thing that is hunting them. The irony is not lost on Neville and before he dies, he laughs and says, “[I am] a new superstition entering the unassailable fortress of forever. I am legend." 



Now, the movie tried to incorporate its own interpretation of “Legend” and they did this in an alternate ending that was shot for the 2007 movie. In this ending, the movie deviates during the last few minutes where the Darkseeker leader doesn’t keep running mindlessly into the glass wall. When Robert Neville keeps yelling that he can cure them all because the Darkseeker woman is now visibly human again, the leader walks up to the glass and with his hands, smudges the figure of a butterfly. At this, Neville looks at the now cured Darkseeker lady and sees a butterfly tattoo on her shoulder (or arm, I forget). He then realizes that the leader and this woman are a couple and that he’s being hunted for their version of love. He then wheels the table out where the woman is lying and the leader and the other seekers take her and leave them alone. The leader looks at the wall of pictures where Neville’s failed experiments are and then Neville realizes that to them, he is the monster and not vice-versa. He then takes Anna and Ethan and escapes to Vermont with the cure. He then realizes that he is a legend, for discovering the cure that can save humanity and a legend amongst the Darkseekers for being a monster.



While this was not the chosen ending, which would have been the happier one (which is why I’m guessing it didn’t get picked for the movie, for seeming too optimistic), this ending is, however, the one that resonated most with the title. Here, Neville realizes the nature of the beast that is now him.

I must say though, that Will Smith was excellent (yet again) in this movie. His expressions and sorrow made you feel the weight of grief that’s on his shoulders. Also, being a die-hard dog lover, I absolutely adored Sam and his role in the film and shed a tear (yes, yes, I cry during some movies) when he died.



Also, I thought having New York, rather than Los Angeles (as was in the book) was a great move. Not because everything happens ONLY to New York (Godzilla, Asteroids, Alien landings, etc) but because the sight of the “City that never sleeps” completely deserted and overrun by the wild sets an amazing contrast for the film’s tone.



It makes you kind of wonder what you would do if you were ever in the same situation. Would you find the will to live on knowing that you are the last human on the face of the planet? I don’t know if I would. I thought that if the world was empty, I’d travel till I found my perfect place and live out my days there in whatever fashion I could.


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Writer’s Block  

Posted by CK in , , , ,



I was recently going through Wikipedia (the best thing to happen to the internet since Tim Berners-Lee… all the geeks in the house, can I get a WOOT WOOT!) and reading up on one of my favorite authors, Isaac Asimov. And he has written this massive body of work most of which is awesome. Some of his best work is, of course, the world famous Foundation Series. But all his short stories are where my interest really lies. He has been called, and I quote “…one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited about 500 books and over 9,000 letters and postcards. His works have been published in nine of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System (the sole exception being the 100s: philosophy and psychology).”





Now I don’t know what the Dewey Decimal System is and I’m too lazy to click on the link to find out but either way, it’s impressive. As a kid, I was always a voracious reader and it used to be my favorite hobby and pastime barring everything else. I used to devour books by the dozen and never get tired and my favorite thing to read was always science-fiction. And in science-fiction (called sci-fi for short), Asimov had the ability to transport me from my home or school in Saudi to distant star-systems where humans had conquered the galaxy, robots strive to save humanity from themselves and galactic empires fall and rise.

The beauty of Asimov’s heroes (and some have criticized him for this) is that they face insurmountable odds and come out on top through a last minute ruse or a well-laid out plan that the reader is not privy to until the absolute last moment. As a kid, nothing could be greater and I thought it was magic.

I was reading one of the last books published by Asimov before his death in 1992 called Gold. In this, there are letters from him to readers or editorials from when he was Editorial Director of Asimov’s Science Fiction. He explains to his fans and detractors how the concept of story-telling is such a natural, simple and exhaustively complicated thing all at the same time. The story flows naturally from within and you always tend to think that what came that naturally and creatively must of course be published if it’s any good at all. The editorial pen is a writer’s worst enemy, he said and he was, as is every other writer, no exception. At one point, he had re-written a particular story 29 times over 9 years before it got published. And this was after he was the world famous Isaac Asimov.

I’ve always wanted to write a book and I thought that it would either be science-fiction or history or something fictional that had both elements. At times, I think to myself that it can’t be THAT hard and at other times I think it’s an exercise in futility. The thing is, I’m capable of writing spontaneously and directly from my head or heart (whatever’s dominating my thoughts at that moment) and really don’t feel I can lay down complex plot lines and interweave character development in to it. I’m the guy, who while watching a movie, constantly tries to figure out the twist in the story while it’s running and when I get it right (which is 50% of the time) I give myself a pat on the back and tell myself that hey, I could’ve written this. But in true fact, guessing other people’s stories out isn’t rocket science.

Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code was a good book. It wasn’t great, it wasn’t mind-boggling, it was good. While reading it during the hype it had created, I was being overly critical of the book poking holes at the weak twist at the end, and stuff but to be honest, I loved the way he married history, mystery and intrigue in his story. His brand of Faction is something that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Another friend of mine recently turned writer though his story is somewhat different. He lost a loved one not too long ago and as a sort of release; he used to blog about his day to day life and how he was coping with it all. This blog was a way to tell his loved ones and friends that he was ok and life was moving on. But it had the inadvertent side-effect of becoming almost an online support forum for people who’d been through similar experiences. The blog grew till it had almost a few hundred thousand clicks a month and it caught the attention of some publishing houses who asked him if he’d like to put his experience into a book. He took it and he’s in India right now writing and he was telling me how easily writing came to him because everything he had to say was in his head and it was all experiences he’d gone through so there were no plots, story devices, nothing. It was just what happened to him on a day to day basis. Before he submitted the first part of the book to his editor, he told me he was worried that it would come back with a note saying, “Thanks but we’ve thought about it and the book deal is off” But of course, they didn’t and he is now writing on, hoping to be done in the very near future. Once his book hits the stands, I’ll let you know what I’m talking about.



But his type of writing and this blog type of writing is something that comes as naturally as breathing. The question is who wants to read it. I guess, one of these days I’ll have to sit down, make an outline and figure out what genre I’m going to write and a basic premise. Let’s hope that happens. Because once all that’s done, that’s not even the hard part. Finding people to print what you have to say and finally, finding people who want to read it, that's the clincher.

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Bully in a China Shop  

Posted by CK in , ,



It is a historical fact that Empires never last. The Egyptian Empire, the Hellenists, the Romans, the Incas and the Mayans, the Mongols, Napoleon, the British, the National-Socialists of Germany and well, that’s just the major ones that everyone knows about. Every country has their own history of countless smaller kingdoms and feudal chiefs who strove to conquer as much land as possible in order to make a name for themselves and expand the borders of their countries to span vast distances. Examples include Indian empires like the Maurya, the Kalinga, Carthage and Troy of antiquity, the Persians, the Zulu kingdom in the 1800s amongst others. History is rife with examples of the same.




The thing is even though some of these people, the Generals who head these campaigns are students of history and military tactics of old, for instance, Napoleon studied Alexander the Great and the Carthaginian general Hannibal in great detail and used some of their tactics on the battlefield, everyone seems to overlook the teeny fact that none of these empires exist anymore or many of them didn’t last much past the conqueror’s lifetime. The strong exceptions are, of course, the Greeks, Romans, Mongols and the British. They had Empires that lasted centuries. However, they all came crashing gloriously down taken down by a variety of things, like barbaric hordes, disease, dissension, popular revolts, etc.






Let’s just look at two modern day empires. The Americans and the Soviets. We, of course, don’t refer to them as empires anymore. We call them “Superpowers”. The Soviets, despite being a technologically advanced nation, lasted from 1917 and the Russian revolution to the fall of the BerlinthChina, IndiaBrazil come into their own and are becoming more influential in the world stage. wall and the collapse of communism, a mere 20 years ago. (The day before yesterday was the 20 anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall). The power of the Americans is quickly waning as well. The economic stranglehold that the West had over the world is loosening as countries like and

Despite all these facts, people still try to conquer (militarily or economically) other nations and people in the misguided attempt to impose their will on others. Take China, for example. They have become a force to reckon with in this day and age. Here’s just some data, courtesy of Wikipedia (Long live WIKI!)



GDP US$4.32 trillion (nominal; ranked 3rd; 2008)
$7.8 trillion (ranked 2nd)
GDP growth 9.1% (2008; official data)
Inflation -1.2% (Jan-Aug 2009 average)
Population below poverty line 10% (2004)
Labour force 807.7 million (2008)



That just pure numbers but let’s translate that into facts. They have over 80% of their population working and only 1 in 10 people are below the poverty line. Their inflation is negative and also, they are one of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world. What about their military. Well, this is where Wiki puts them:



Active personnel approximately 3,440,000 (ranked 1st)
Reserve personnel 1,200,000


Its regular forces consist of 2.3 million personnel, with an additional 800,000 personnel in reserve, making it the largest active standing army in the world, and second largest in terms of army personnel. Currently 40% of the ground force divisions and brigades are either armoured or mechanized to deal with potential threats. The PLA Ground Forces has and continues to undergo rapid major upgrades and re-structuring to deal with future land warfare, with front line troops, special forces, and marines given priority in receiving newer modern weapon systems






PLA Navy

Size 250,000 personnel
58 submarines
77 principal surface combatants
84 amphibious warfare ships
~387 coastal warfare vessels
~31 mine warfare vessels
~370-480 landing craft
~150 auxiliary/support vessels



This is a “developing nation”. I wouldn’t want to look at it when it’s developed.




And the beauty is they’ve done it under the rule of communism which the west said was a decadent, completely corrupt and impractical system of governance. According to most people, about a decade ago, China’s runaway population would be it’s biggest concern as they’d have to figure out what they’d have to do with, meaning, feeding them, clothing them, training them, etc.



And what did China do, it arrested growth and then turned practically its entire population towards one goal, making the country a power house economically. Every company in the world wants to do business in China because of the huge potential market that’s sitting there, ripe for the picking.

Now, when a country gets that big and that powerful, that fast, it kind of goes to their head. And when it goes to their head, they do stuff like Tienanmen Square with absolutely no fear of repercussions. Not that other countries don’t do the same. India has its Godhra, Cambodia has the Khmer Rouge, etc. But China is so capable of turning tyrant with no checks and balances, so easily that it’s scary.




When a massacre or some such tragedy occurs in any country, the people rise in revolt or outrage and hopefully bring the guilty to trial. But what do you when the government is a supposed democracy with a one-party system and no opposition. The military is the agent of the single party and applies their decrees with swift and brutal precision.




Recently, China’s been making a nuisance of itself to India and its neighbours. There have been border skirmishes. Now, do I mean, they stealthily and under cover of darkness, crept into India and left? Oh, no, no… Chinese troops and trucks rolled over the border in bright daylight, some 5 kilometers into Indian territory, scribbled their names on some rocks, took pictures and left.





India and China bristle over politics, purr over trade
Globe and Mail - ‎Oct 21, 2009‎



But then, can India anger this behemoth to its left while having to deal a terrorist haven on its western border? That’s honestly asking to be between a rock and battering ram. But India should be decisive and bold in its actions; otherwise, it becomes a door mat for the Ajmal Amirs of Pakistan and Chinese cross-border soirees.






The reason I bring this up is that China is at the cusp of becoming the next superpower (read Empire) that will truly be one the likes of which the world hasn’t seen since Alexander. They have a massive economy to the tune of a few trillion dollars with which to wage war (metaphorically, of course). And if they actually do wage war, it would be World War III, and it would be a sight to behold.




Only a strong, tempered yet bold position in the face of China’s little indiscretions will halt the Dragon from assuming that it can do anything and get away with it. Now, India’s no slouch in the world economy at this time. As the headline above indicates, India and China while growling at each other over Tibet and the Dalai Lama or over disputed border territories would ever make the mistake of angering the other side so much so as to affect trade. There’s just way too much of the other that each country wants, be it business, exports or expertise.




So, India, you have the chance to make a stand here and now against the rumblings of the Chinese. They do not take well to subtlety. If they don’t see a measured response, trust me, they will push all your buttons until you have no choice but to act.


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Sick as a...  

Posted by CK


I honestly feel like I’ve got a combination of the pneumonic, bubonic, baboonic and a couple of other variants of the plague. My nose and throat have taken turns the past few days making me feel like shit. No sooner do I spend a couple of hundred bucks buying medicines for one type of irritation with either of them, they switch and then change the root of the issue. For instance, I started with an itchy nose with the sniffles. The logical buy would be an anti-allergic antihistamine with an inhaler. A few minutes after said purchase, my throat decides to turn into sandpaper making every breath and swallow seem like nails on a chalkboard. I buy a throat irritant soother and I’m gulping it like it’s going out of style. Then my nose tries to see if my tissue can compete with the Lady of the Mist and does a Niagra. I, of course, am no “wet behind the ears” run of the mill pill-popper. I respond immediately with decongestants. What’s the next course of action? I get ready to audition for the part of the third Tuberculosis patient from the left in some B-grade Middle Ages movie or of course, one of my favorite movies, Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail.  


The Dead Collector: Bring out yer dead. 
[a man puts a body on the cart] 
Large Man with Dead Body: Here's one. 
The Dead Collector: That'll be ninepence. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead. 
The Dead Collector: What? Large Man with Dead Body: Nothing. There's your ninepence. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not dead. 
The Dead Collector: 'Ere, he says he's not dead. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Yes he is. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm not. 
The Dead Collector: He isn't. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, he will be soon, he's very ill. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I'm getting better. 
Large Man with Dead Body: No you're not, you'll be stone dead in a moment. 
The Dead Collector: Well, I can't take him like that. It's against regulations. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I don't want to go on the cart. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, don't be such a baby. 
The Dead Collector: I can't take him. The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel fine. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Oh, do me a favor. 
The Dead Collector: I can't. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, can you hang around for a couple of minutes? He won't be long. 
The Dead Collector: I promised I'd be at the Robinsons'. They've lost nine today. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Well, when's your next round? 
The Dead Collector: Thursday. 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I think I'll go for a walk. 
Large Man with Dead Body: You're not fooling anyone, you know. Isn't there anything you could do? 
The Dead Body That Claims It Isn't: I feel happy. I feel happy. [the Dead Collector glances up and down the street furtively, then silences the Body with his a whack of his club] 
Large Man with Dead Body: Ah, thank you very much. 
The Dead Collector: Not at all. See you on Thursday. 
Large Man with Dead Body: Right. 

 

It doesn't help that i'm like a friggin' baby when I'm sick. I am now on Antibiotics, Antihistamines, Decongestants, AuntiPetunia, Lozenges, Cough Syrups, Antipyretics, Analgesics and an entire experimental drug line from Pfizer.

By the way, this is a picture of me taken 5 minutes ago...



I need TLC. 


"You can buy your hair if it won't grow

You can fix your nose if he says so

You can buy all the make-up that mac can make

But if you can't look inside you

Find out who am i, too

Be in a position to make me feel so damn unpretty"


Oh, yeah, some tender lovin care wouldn't go astray either. :| I'm rambling. I'm off for my enema. Too much info? I think so. 

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The Wonderful Case of Benjamin Button – Redux  

Posted by CK


I’ve had a lot of people ask me why I thought the movie was great. Most people told me that they thought the movie was boring. Too long, too slow, so, why did I hype it up to be so good? I just thought I should give them a little explanation.

 

Brad Pitt is a great actor. Whether it be comedy (Burn After Reading), drama (Meet Joe Black), thriller (Se7en) or action (Fight Club). He is versatile and doesn’t get half the credit he deserves. I’m not talking about the sexiest man alive or the man who adopts the most children but for his skills as a thespian. Opposite him is one of the most graceful, elegant and powerful actresses since Grace Kelly, Cate Blanchett. She’s breath-taking either as an Elven queen in Lord of the Rings or as the immortal Katherine Hepburn in Aviator. 


When you put these two together in Benjamin Button, you get a performance that will leave you yearning for more. The strength and hopelessness of their short-lived love teaches you a very important lesson. “It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.”


It might sound a little cliché but it’s true. Benjamin knows he has to journey through life alone and that no one can share his unique view of the world but the strength of their love keeps drawing him back to her again and again and again. And as I’ve said before, they share a brief liaison, but that keeps him going. And well, he trusts no one but her to take care of him as he is unable to care for himself as a toddler.  

 

And the best part of the entire thing is, how understated the acting is. I love movies where there are no grand emotional scenes or hysterical, tear-jerking climaxes. I love movies where the mood and tone of the actors say all there is to say about their feelings. Legends of the Fall and Meet Joe Black were two such movies. In both, he said so little but then again, he didn’t have to. Anthony Hopkins (another legend who I can’t say enough about) and him just spoke to each other or didn’t but we always understood exactly what was going through their minds. Pitt conveyed both the sense of power as well as the vulnerabilities of being Death in Joe Black while Hopkins was the man who knew he had so little time but had to make his life and legacy count. 










And this is the type of movie that Benjamin Button is. You believe he’s a child in an 80 year-old body or that he is an old man in a teenager’s. 


For those of you who like action and screaming and CGI, this isn’t your cup of tea. This is just a very unique, very strange love story of a very curious man. 

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I'm a Dork  

Posted by CK


I just found a picture of myself online that I didn't even know existed. I can't remember when this was taken or what the context was. 

Can you tell which one's me? ;) 

0 comments »

The Wonderful Case of Benjamin Button  

Posted by CK in ,


If there ever was a wish that most people make, it is that they stay young forever. Or even have the chance to grow young again. And if there ever was a story that make you think twice about that, that’s the story of a man who had no choice in the matter. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is the tale of a man whose life is inexplicably linked to a clock. A clock made by a father who is so heartbroken by the death of his young son, that he makes it tick backwards. It was almost as if the man, by simple act of making this clock, was willing time to reverse itself and give him his son back.

 

This is a wonderful story, so eternally tragic and sad. The loneliness and the heartache of a person who’s destined (some might say, doomed) to grow younger while everyone around him ages normally. Benjamin Button is born with the body of an 80-year-old. He is abandoned by his father at the steps of an old age home and is taken in by a caring, sweet woman who looks at him like God’s gift. It is thought he wouldn’t live very long but then, he starts aging. Backwards. Every year that passes sees Benjamin grow just a little bit stronger, a little younger. And then, of course, as there is in every story worth telling, he falls in love. He meets a young girl, Daisy, who comes to visit her grandmother at the same home he is in. And he lives his life by one very simple tenet, “You never know what’s coming.”

 

This movie was the first one in a very long time that made me stop and think. It’s every person’s role in life to live a certain way, experience all that life has to offer and grow old, hopefully with someone else that you’d love to grow old with. And if you’re lucky, you die with them. Maybe to go on to a better place and maybe not. This is the way that things are meant to be. But then again, men are never ones to accept their fate and make their peace with it. It is in every fiber of our being that we don’t like to lie down and accept anything. This is a fight that’s been going on through the course of our existence. The search for the Tree of Life, the Fountain of Youth, some elixir that would magically let us live forever. The quest to be immortal is as old as our species itself. And whether it will be achieved is something that only time will tell. After watching this movie, I’m not sure I want to find the Fountain or any elixir, for that matter.

 

Benjamin’s life is tied to that of just one other person, Daisy. She is the only constant and he keeps meeting her at different junctions in their lives, her growing up and him heading in the other direction. The only time they can truly be together is when they meet in the middle. They’re both around 40 when they decide they can be together and share a life, even if it is for short period of time before the unfortunate fate that is his sends them in different directions. Because, while growing young is all well, you must understand that the same thing that people try to avoid in growing old happens again. You forget to walk, you forget how to take care of yourself and finally, you can hold yourself up. Age is a fickle thing in any direction. It’s actually true when they say that you leave this world exactly how you come in to it. Vulnerable, helpless and dependant on the care of others.  

 

This movie is a definite must see. Brad Pitt as Benjamin Button and Cate Blanchett as Daisy portray the pain of living such a life with so much grace and understated brilliance. The narrative takes you to all the important junctures in his life, most of them involving Daisy. And his attempts to live a normal life, fully knowing that there’s nothing normal about it, is heart-wrenching. I hope Pitt does win the Academy Award for this film because it is truly deserved.  

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If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all…  

Posted by CK in , , ,


It’s been a while since I’ve heard this line. The last time I heard it said, a cute little animated bunny was saying it in a movie that I didn’t watch because I was shocked that Walt’s animators thought it was cool to kill a doe.

But it’s apt for the mood I’m in right now. I just read a friend’s blog and I realized something. I have a big mouth. I mean, it’s a normal sized mouth with a tendency to say stupid, insensitive things at times. Not that I intentionally was mean to someone but sometimes you don’t need to be purposefully jack-assy in order to get on someone’s nerves. Saying the wrong things at the wrong times can do it as well. And this is a realization that comes to me once in a while. And I try to be good about it.

I’m a decent judge of character and I’m normally very tactful. “Wait!” you might say. “Didn’t you just make up a word (“jack-assy”) to describe yourself not one paragraph ago, you crazy, self-contradicting son of a bitch??” To which I say, “Patience and all shall be explained. Oh, and for all those who swore at me, a virus is downloading on to your computer as you read this and the lights will go out… now.”

…

…

Did it work? Are all the cussers gone?

Anywho, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m pretty good with being polite/diplomatic when I have to tell someone I don’t know too well, something harsh or even mildly difficult. But the flip side is that I’m also very sarcastic. Most of the time, the sarcasm is funny but then sometimes, it’s incessant. I try to control myself but it’s hard.

The thing that most people aren’t good with, and I know this from experience, is knowing when to shut up. How many times have people put their foot in their mouth and swallowed up to the knee? Well, the logical answer would be one (since said person would then choke to death as something the size of a leg would definitely press the trachea until… well, you get the picture.) but people do it a LOT. And it drives me nuts. But the more difficult thing is to realize when you’re doing it yourself. You’ve got to kind of realize that sometimes, sarcasm is just annoying. Not funny, not entertaining, it’s just plain irritating.

So, resolution... strike that... decision #1 for the New Year is know when to shut up. 


Also, to my friend who I might have annoyed, I’m sorry and you know I love ya. PS: In case all you OTHER friends think it’s you, her name starts with a P and ends with an A and rhymes with Hissy. Now, the retards reading this are going, “Wait, so the name is Pissya?” Shut up. She’ll know. That’s all that matters.

On to happier topics.

I just finished reading The Chronicles of Narnia the other day. All seven of them. And they are awesome. I mean, they were written purely as kids’ books but honestly, they rock. And don’t worry; my description will go a little beyond sounding like a pre-pubescent boy from the ‘90s.

C.S.Lewis was actually a good friend of another favorite author of mine, J.R.R. Tolkien. They actually had a little literary group called The Inklings. First off, love the name, even if I have no clue what it mea… WAIT A SECOND! INKLINGS! Like - 
 
“Do you have an inkling of what’s going on, old chap?” 
“No, and stop talking like that…” 

Inklings! I swear to god, I just figured it out. Like just this second when I was writing it out. 

Right, moving on. 

Imagine being part of a group like that. Your best friend will go on to be one of the most beloved Fantasy writers of all time and he goes on to create a language in his books. You yourself don’t do so bad with books that will later spawn movies with some British children you’ve never heard of. But imagine the ideas that must’ve been thrown about in that forum.

CSL - 
“Hey Tolkie*, I’m going to have Talking Trees as characters in my books and just to be obvious, I’ll just call them “Talking Trees”.”

JRRT – 
(to himself) “Trees that talk? Not bad… but jeez, come up with a better name than that. Anything’s better than that… which reminds me, call my E.N.T. My throat’s really… wait a minute… ENTS! Haha. I’ll show him.”

(to CSL) “Sure thing, Lew*. That’s a great idea! Jolly good show and all that. Tea?”

(* These nicknames are not verified by historical sources)

But I’d love to be a part of something so… creative. I think it would be refreshing to sit in a circle with like-minded people and create something that’ll endure.

The Chronicles are exactly as the name suggests. Sweeping tales of bravery, loyalty, and good takes a beating and come back to smack bad right up the ass. And in seven books, Lewis has managed to tell a story from Creation to Judgment Day. And they’re not heavy books with complex characters and back-stories that read like War and Peace. They are simple children’s books that have children as their central characters and adventures that any child would love to dream of.

Now, the only part of the books that I had a little trouble with was the fact that it read like the Disney version of Christianity. Every action is steeped in religious overtones. See, Lewis turned atheist at a very young age and then rediscovered his faith around the time he started writing. And this reflects very strongly in his writing. His allusion to Aslan as Christ is none too subtle.


Nonetheless, the books are a pleasure to read. For anyone who has watched the movies first, you’ll find the books so much simpler but that’s the beauty of it. Whist Lord of the Rings was a masterpiece of writing that can have no equal, they are not children’s books. The Hobbit was but not the rest. LOTR could never be translated in all its glory to the big screen because of the sheer scale of such an endeavor. Peter Jackson ran the risk of making a 12 hour movie if he were to include every aspect of the original book and even then, be left wanting. But the simplicity of The Chronicles gives us the liberty to dream even bigger and make the enchanted world of Narnia our own. You could never do that with Middle-Earth because the history and the story of it is complete and even thinking of reinventing it is unthinkable. Tolkien's world is sacrosanct. But in Narnia, you can create your own adventures with characters from your own imagination and take it where you may. The Chronicles only ever claim to tell a very small part of this story.

For those of you who haven’t read them, please do. You’ll be taken back to a time when you were a child and your imagination was limitless. Oh, and please read them in the order they were meant to be read in and not the order of when they were written.

Chronological/Reading order:

  1. The Magician's Nephew
  2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  3. The Horse and His Boy
  4. Prince Caspian
  5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
  6. The Silver Chair
  7. The Last Battle

You will not be disappointed.

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A Little Security Goes a Long Way  

Posted by CK


Well, it's a new year. Again. I can't believe it. Again. 


I know I keep saying this every new year that the past year went by in the blink of an eye, etc, etc. But that reminds me of something someone once said. Apparently, when you're a child, say, 5 years old, a year is essentially a fifth of your life and hence seems like forever. The older you grow, the smaller the fraction becomes and when you're 20, or in my case, 28, the percentage is miniscule. So, going forward, every year is going to seem shorter and shorter... 


There, I think I've actually gone and depressed myself some more.


You must be wondering what the title has anything to do with anything and in true form, for the most part, it has nothing to do with most of the post. But I found out today that I've got my position (at work) quite secure for at least a while longer. I've been reconfirmed as a Supervisor and have been given an additional team to handle. Which means that in these dire times when there's nary a job to be had, I've got some sense of permanence with respect to work. 


That actually makes me feel a lot better about a lot of things. The downside is, of course, that there will be no pay hikes, bonuses, etc, but the upside is that I have a job from which I can even expect pay hikes. :) So, I shan't complain anymore about that. 


As I type this out, The Perfect Storm is playing on TV. The part where he's squat in the middle of the damn storm and actually trying to push through a wave that looks like it belongs in Deep Impact. Which of course, is adding to my happy mood. This makes me wonder if, in that situation, I'd keep going or just say, "Hell with this shite." and just settle down to die. I mean, what about hopeless situations makes us fight through clinging on to just the slightest chance of hope. And thar she goes... I'm sorry. For those of you who can't see my TV at this point in time, the Andrea Gail just sank like a rock after fighting through what was apparently the worst storm in history. The funny thing is, when I was in Newfoundland, I had a few friends who were sailors (the fishermen kind, not the catamaran kinds) who knew the crew of the Andrea Gail. Many other ships were lost that night and they still speak about it in awe. Men who went up against the earth-shattering might of nature and lost. But they were men who were just trying to feed their families. I guess in these cases, self-preservation just goes out the window when you're trying to do what's best for the ones you love.


 


OKAY. That's enough on that happy topic. I've realized that the way I'm going, this blog will be a big hit with anyone who's supremely high and hence think they need to discuss the finer nuances of human nature or those who're contemplating suicide. No more. 


Happy thoughts, happy, cheery thoughts...

...

...


Jesus. This is tougher than I imagined. It's not exactly easy to switch moods, eh.


Right. Why do I even bother.


And do you know what movie is on now? Just guess... Okay, I know you're reading this and are probably not going to guess. The Omen. The original, in case you were wondering. Anti-Christ and all. :) I should honestly turn the bleeding TV off when I write. 


This kid is waaay scarier than the new Omen child. Where do they get these freaky looking kids anyway? Don't their parents get a little freaked out? Imagine having your child (potentially the Anti-Christ) standing at your bedroom door, in the dark, with the light behind him, looking at you in the middle of the night...  




Reason Number 284 for not having kids. One day I might be bothered to tell you the other 283 reasons but not tonight. Now, red-assed baboons are attacking the car with the kid. 


Today is not the day for happy posts so I’m just going to give up trying and get to bed. And of course, watch the kid murder everyone.


Cheerio.

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Alone at home with time on my hands  

Posted by CK

If you didn't guess, the title gives you a pretty good idea of where I stand, and subsequently, why I'm writing. This is the most I've updated a single blog, EVER! Since I'm so excited by this new development, you can also take a wild guess as to how thrilling my life must be.

I've got a good job, good friends, a nice place, and absolutely nothing to do. Which drives me up the friggin' wall. I'm seriously considering getting myself a hobby or 10 to keep my time occupied. Which brings me to another problem. Bangalore is a nice city in India. Actually, you know what, let me retract that. It's got nice weather and the people are more open-minded than I'd get out in the villages and that's what makes it nice. Otherwise, the streets are over-crowded, traffic is a nightmare and life in general is just dull. There's absolutely NOTHING to do in this place. Wait, I lie. If you're a raging alcoholic, this place is gold. At last count, it had 2347982374928347 bars or some such and pretty much nothing else. Since, I, being the great guy that I am, have given up my sinful alcoholic ways, I stand before you, a very bored and uninteresting individual.

There are actually a few things that I can do, if I have the patience to drive an hour and a half to cover 6 kilometers. I think I'll take up archery, wall climbing and German. I think Archery is damn cool. I always think of Rambo (yes, I know, not William Tell or Robin Hood) blowing up some poor sop with a pound of C4 at the tip of his very cool arrows. And while such a situation might not present itself in your everyday life, I still think it'd be pretty damn cool. Wall climbing... well, let's just say it gives me a rush, and also, I like to pretend I'm Spiderman. German just sounds so damn sexy. Okay, not when you have Hitler foaming at the mouth, but when you listen to an educated German person talk, it sounds like poetry. Actually, that applies more to Gaelic, but I seriously doubt my chances are very good of finding a Gaelic language center in this city. Maybe when I'm in Scotland or Ireland.

I should take these things up. I should take them and go back to updating my blog once a year like I used to when I did have a life.

Not that writing here is not therapeutic. It is. But once I'm done, I have no idea what I'll do next.

To piss me off even more, I just found out some moron stole my very cool beach shorts and superman t-shirt. So help me God, if I see anyone walking around in this neighborhood wearing anything similar to that, they'll have a very angry Indian man on their ass. I don't know why I say "Indian" man, considering I'm in India, and that's not exactly a rarity. I don't care.

I think I shall have a beer while I do this. Just to calm my nerves. Hold up.

Aah sweet nectar. There. Feeling better already. A nice Kingfisher Draught will always hit the spot.... No? Nothing? How the hell do all these people make a bomb advertising on the net? I need to get myself some sponsors. I think I'll use Yahoo! Search Marketing for that....


No, still nothing. Fuck it.

So, anyway, I'm sitting here, sipping my beer and I'm wondering if I should put something down actually worth reading. Now, I seriously doubt anybody who's stuck around for long enough to read this far is actually going to care but I'm feeling generous.

I was watching Schindler's List the other night and I went online after to look him up and he was a real hero. He saved 1100 odd Jews during the Holocaust. He was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations, an award given to non-Jews who helped save Jewish lives during World War 2. The man spent every penny of his fortune to keep these people safe from the SS and bribed the Germans to turn a blind eye to his Jews while they massacred hundreds of thousands right next door in the Krakow Ghetto. He was actually penniless after the war because he'd spent all his money saving them. And he died pretty much penniless.

The thing is, he wasn't a great man, a noble man (though you think he must be). He was just a good person who started out thinking that saving people meant business wouldn't suffer (most of the Jews he saved were workers in his factory). But he held on to the decency of the act while all around him, normal Germans signed up with the Nazis and continued butchering people as if they were cutting bread.

And I think to myself, is that a satisfying life? Did he die a happy man, despite his almost penniless existence for the next two decades, in the knowledge that he'd helped save so many people? I don't know.

An excerpt:

The writer Herbert Steinhouse, who interviewed Schindler in 1948 at the behest of some of the surviving Schindlerjuden (Schindler's Jews), said

“ Oskar Schindler's exceptional deeds stemmed from just that elementary sense of decency and humanity that our sophisticated age seldom sincerely believes in. A repentant opportunist saw the light and rebelled against the sadism and vile criminality all around him. The inference may be disappointingly simple, especially for all amateur psychoanalysts who would prefer the deeper and more mysterious motive that may, it is true, still lie unprobed and unappreciated. But an hour with Oskar Schindler encourages belief in the simple answer. ”


Just that simple. But did he feel fulfilled. I don't know. Would I have done the same thing in his position? The simple, un-thought of answer would be, "Yes, of course I would. What kind of person would I be?" But think about it, really. Would you have the courage, the will to do things completely contrary to every behavior shown by every person around you. I'd like to think I would. I'd like to think I would, not for nobility, not for greatness, not for a place in history but for the simple reason that I'd want someone to save my life if I was helpless. I'd like to afforded that respect. To be given a chance to live out my life had the world not gone completely insane.

I hope that such a day would never come, but you never know.

I am a complete believer in the fact that, goodness or human decency comes in the form of simple acts. Feeding a hungry dog, not ignoring the old, homeless people who sit on the side of the road, in picking up a piece of garbage instead of complaining about it. It might not make a big difference, but they all add up. They add up and if you have one person in a thousand (and I'm being realistic) do something like that, that's 6 million good deeds. And that makes a ripple. I know that when there's a catastrophe or a disaster, people come together to help each other, but if there's that innate human goodness, that decency in all people, we shouldn't just exercise it at the worst possible moment.

Don't give up your life, give away all your money, move to the mountains to live the life of an ascetic. Just do your one good deed once in a while and you'll make a difference. You're causing a ripple.

I like movies that move me. Not very many do, but the ones that do, I like them. I'll probably not watch Schindler's List again for a while, but this is one thing that I'll take away from it. Hopefully, that means something to someone.

Sigh... I got a little more carried away than I'd expected. But it makes sense. And that's the most I can hope for at the end of the day.

Will keep drinking my beer.

Cheers.

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One of those days...  

Posted by CK

Okay, so I suck at giving very apt and cool titles to blogs. I see some people who just naturally know how to title or label something and it's perfect! You think, "Hell, I wouldn't call that anything else in a million years and I wouldn't have thought of it, either." Well, I'm not that creative. I'll probably name it Blog for March 27th. Which brings me to people to whom famous quotes are credited. Does anyone honestly believe that Neil Armstrong got off the Eagle and thought of saying, "One small step for man..." I can just imagine his first words must've been, "HA! Up yours, Buzz!" or "Holy Heck! This is just dandy!" If you think about it, there must've been a whole team of people working on it for months. I can just imagine the rejects, "US 1, Russia ZERO!" Either way, it'd be cool to spontaneously come up with crazy quotes, but it's highly unlikely.

Today actually has been just one of those days. I went to work, did stuff, played foosball, did some more stuff and came back. I was chatting with a friend earlier but now, I'm just writing. And writing's a good release for me. When I can think of nothing else to do, I should start penning the crap that pops into my head. To no end and not as a means to get anything done. I love that feeling, actually. Doing something with absolutely no reason but to do it.

I'm badly in need of a shave. I have laundry to do that I just can't get myself to finish. I should probably make myself some dinner. But I don't think I'm going to do any of those things. I'm watching The Office and I must say, Steve Carrell is priceless. Going to go do that. Ciao.

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CK says, "What do I want? Well, it's quite simple really..."  

Posted by CK


I think my sole purpose in life right now is to bring Sexy Back. It's true. Well, okay, fine. Not bring it back. It's to get sexy in the first place. It's the most annoying thing in the world to NOT be sexy. Not that I'm obsessed or anything. In fact, to be quite honest, I've never given a damn about being sexy. Nor have I cared if anyone thought I was or not. But lately, it's been bugging me. So, I've decided to bring it.

I've always been called names. Those names mostly being "cute", "dweeb", and of late, "tubby." The first is not so bad, unless it sounds almost like a consolation prize. "He's hot!! I'd do him... err, you're cute. Don't worry about it." So, I've decided to become the do-able guy.

"But CK!" you might say, "How do you plan to achieve this quite ridiculous goal?" And I'll tell you... Well, it has to do with a LOT of exercise, getting fit, getting a makeover (and not what you see on T&L with those two weird English chicks. I'm talking about Queer Eye for the Straight Guy kind of makeover.), and of course, parading around so that people KNOW I've had a makeover. No point getting one and just sitting at home. I'm going to walk up to people I normally don't hang out with and ask for paper clips or something equally inane and wait for them to give it to me and if they still don't notice it, I'll ask for pencils and all forms of stationery till I get the reaction I want.

So, THAT ladies and gents, is the plan. I'm on Day 2 or "Operation Bringing Sexy" (Back has been omitted for aforementioned reasons). I'll tell you how it goes when I'm on Day 30.

Wish me luck! And of course, if you see me doing an exaggerated/awkward swagger and asking for office supplies, PAY ME A FRIGGIN' COMPLIMENT!

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