Origins of the Fool?

While discussing insults in foreign languages with a good friend (who picks up Hindi words here and there), we came across 'ullu ka patah' which is believed to translate to 'owl's son' by some. Now, a question that has come up in my mind repeatedly over the years came up again: Why is an owl, which is associated to wisdom in other cultures, considered to be a fool in Indian culture?

There are a few interpretations floating around out there such as the perception that fools are mindless, and so Indians associate the still vacant stare of the owl to that of a mindless animal. But why would only Indians do this? Why not other cultures? So perhaps someone else out there may have a better explanation about the origins of an owl being a fool in Indian Culture? Maybe an old Panchantra fable, perhaps? Anyone want to venture a guess?

Feeling Adventurous?

Mine: Hedonistic joy at the expense of others (true story)

What's yours?

A Beautiful Rendition of Stand By Me

From the award-winning documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music," comes the first of many "songs around the world" being released independently. This cover of Stand By Me was recorded by completely unknown artists in a street virtual studio all around the world. The results were impressively well-done, not to mention beautiful and heartwarming. It is definitely something that a lot of people can relate to presently and gives a sense of inspiration.

Some info about this rendition of the song:
It all started with a base track—vocals and guitar—recorded on the streets of Santa Monica, California, by a street musician named Roger Ridley. The base track was then taken to New Orleans, Louisiana, where Grandpa Elliott—a blind singer from the French Quarter—added vocals and harmonica while listening to Ridley's base track on headphones. In the same city, Washboard Chaz's added metal percussions.

From there, it just gets better and better: The producers took the resulting mix all through Europe, Africa, and South America, adding new tracks with multiple instruments and vocals, which were assembled into this final final version -- all done with a simple laptop and some microphones.

For more information, visit links below:
Playing for a Change (Official Website)

Click here to Join the Playing for Change Online Street Team

You Thought You Had A Bad Day?

This Blows

In Honor of the New Harry Potter Movie...

<3 Teehee. Oh, and it's coming out on July 15th. Trailer below. It looks good but is it just me or is it incredibly LOTRish?

Nirvana

A compelling vampire movie, at last!

Yes. I have a inclination towards things that are fictitious, the paranormal, and things that go bump or bite at night. Specifically vampires. Unfortunately, contemporary media and literature has failed to deliver something with actual substance for the past few years. Alright, well, I take that back...there have been a few exceptions for contemporary literature about vampires from the likes of Anne Rice, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Kostova, and Christopher Pike to name a few but movies? Sadly not many of the recent ones made the cut. So it came as no surprise that a compelling vampire movie came from elsewhere: Sweden, to be precise.

The movie is based on a novel, Låt den rätte komma written by Swedish author, John Ajvide Lindqvist. There are two American titles for this movie: Let the Right One In and Let Me In. I will let interested parties read up the rest on Wiki by following this link here.

Despite it presenting many of those cliche vampire stereotypes (ie: can't enter places without having permission, running water, nocturnal creatures, combusting when in contact with sunlight, etc.), the movie told a remarkably unique story about two children: one young human boy and the other a vampire girl who is clearly far older than she appears but still has this innocence to her. The storyline in this movie actually reminded me of what you often find in many memorable Japanese Anime movies (Anime fans, you will know exactly what I'm referring to when you watch this movie).

The other neat thing was that quality of the film at first makes it seem like it's an older movie, perhaps from the 80s, but clearly it's far more recent than that. Anyway, I highly recommend it. I am not sure which theaters this will be playing on, but it happened to be conveniently available on Netflix Instant Play which is where I watched it myself.

[/Netflix spokesperson]

Enjoy :)

Safety First

A Rare Pleasant Offer for Those Recently Laid Off

So I know more than a few folks recently laid off or absolutely consumed with worry about being the next to be axed ....and reasonably so in this economic climate. So a website I frequent recently emailed an interesting getaway option offered by a luxury resort in Costa Rica, and the offer is called Layoff Layback, specifically for those who were recently laid off so I'm just passing the word along.

Mind you, I have not researched the details of this but I will leave that up to you interested parties! Oh, and pay attention to the last line in that article - you mention the website - Thrillist where this article was originally posted, and they give you a free tote of goodies. :) It's just nice to have this option for a getaway after all the trauma.

Click Here for Article Website
Click Here for Costa Rica Luxury Resort Website

---- BEGIN ARTICLE POST----
Recreo Layoff Layback

Vacations are typically taken to escape the monotony of work, but what if your job decides to take a permanent vacation from the monotony of you? Stepping up to fill the jobless void, Recreo's Layoff Layback.

Conceived after noticing that newly jobless jackholes were "counter-intuitively" deciding to blow their giant jars of quarters on getaways, Costa Rica resort Recreo's offering free nights to anyone who can prove they were recently laid off via written documentation...or pathetic phone sobbing (not really, you need the pink slip, but they will totally laugh at you). Every block of four nights booked at one of Rec's all-inclusive, pimpedly private villas (min two guests) will nab you a comped night (and five nights gets you two gratis evenings), which you can wile away gazing across the compound's 70 acres of tropical mountainside whilst floating in your private pool, imagining you rule all you survey even as the repo man pulls your neon Natty Ice sign off the wall back home. The already-reduced $149 nightly rate covers it all: food whipped up by a personal chef, booze, laundry service, a fitness center, and leisure activities like kayaking, tennis, mountain biking, private beach access, boat rides, and golf carts, which, given the lack of a golf course, are expressly for ramming into each other while hammered.

To get yourself primed for those carts, hit the Mountain Top Cantina, an on-site bar featuring 360 degree views and 100% free alcohol, because the only way to enhance the heavenly monotony of a tropical villa is by getting drunk enough to forget you have to go home and get a freaking job.

Mention Thrillist and the Layoff Layback for your free nights, and also get a free tote bag! Really! With king-sized toiletries! For more info, pics, and rental contact info, drop by RecreoCostaRica.com

---- END ARTICLE POST----

Listing obituaries cause crimes?

Alright, this has to be one of the most repulsive stories I've heard which I think has to be shared because it's not something one ever really considers and perhaps it may help prevent someone else in the future from being victimized in a similar way.

This story was related to me by a close friend/former colleague whose father recently passed away (RIP) after a period of going in and out of the hospital. My friend's parents lived alone in their own home practically next door to my friend's home - and given the fact that the mother is now coping with the fact that her other half passed away, she is also living alone for the most part (naturally, she is frequently visited by her family).

Upon the father's passing, an obituary was given in the newspaper. Shortly thereafter, while my friend was at work, he received a call from his mother who seemed rather panicked. He asked her what was wrong and if she was okay and was afraid that she was having a heart attack. He rushed over to her home immediately and noticed the front door was wide open. Nervous, he stepped inside and discovered to find his mother's residence had been robbed. Fortunately, the mother was okay.

In short, apparently the obituary listing had unsuspectingly alerted people of a lesser conscious to take advantage of someone's passing away because they realized it left an elderly woman vulnerable. Though it's needless to mention how many things are wrong here - it still amazes me at the sheer ridiculousness of it. So please - be extra mindful for those who may have suffered a similar loss and may be living alone (and though they may insist on independence) because there are some incredibly repulsive characters who would take advantage of such a loss once they become to be aware of it. Sure, perhaps one cannot be with them 24/7 and nor would they want you to anyway but even so - there must be a better alternative. Either way, I sure hope the police department takes an extra proactive action towards discouraging such events from taking place again.

There is, of course, the possibility that such a low blow is due to the recessive state of the economy but if this is true, then there is the likelihood that certain demographics will be targeted for robberies.

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Selection of Bond Songs

These songs just have a wonderful classical instrumental fused with techno thing going on. Bond is always great about those. And of course, Bond ladies are pretty easy on the eyes, too. Since some of these songs couldn't be consolidated into one playlist (due to stupid moderator settings) I will list them individually. Enjoy!

Ride - Bond

Space - Bond

Duel - Bond

Winter Sun(AKA Winter) - Bond

Speed - Bond

Bond's take on Adagio for Strings

Adagio for Strings - Bond

This inevitably had to happen. Bond's take on the Bond (007) Theme song.

Bond on Bond - Bond

Gypsy Rhapsody - Bond

And last but not least, something with a hint of Indian to it:

Shine(Dubashakra Mix) - Bond