Noetic Rogue

New Blogging Service & Layout

2010-02-11T15:58:00.001-08:00

I'm going to be trying out a new blogging service and layout for my blogs.

Here are the links for the new blogs:
Design Blog | Personal Blog | Cooking Blog

'Pants'ing Star Wars :D

2010-02-10T16:34:00.000-08:00

I find your lack of pants disturbing.
You are unwise to lower your pants.
Your pants, you will not need them.
Chewie and me got into a lot of pants more heavily guarded than this.
I cannot teach him. The boy has no pants.
You came in those pants? You're braver than I thought.
The Force is strong in my pants.
In his pants you will find a new definition of pain and suffering
Governer Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's pants.
I think you just can't bear to let a gorgeous guy like me out of your pants.
A disturbance in the pants. I have not felt this since near my old master...
Pull up! All pants pull up!
He has no time for smugglers who drop their pants first sign of Imperials
I sense the conflict within you. Let go of your pants!
That blast came from the pants! That thing's operational!
Alderan is peaceful, we have no pants!
I've just made a deal that will keep the Empire out of our pants forever
The pants will be down in moments, sir, you can begin your landing
These aren't the pants you're looking for.
Looks like someone's beginning to take an interest in your pants.
Lock the door. And hope they don't have pants.
"I want them alive. No pants." -Vader
I am altering the pants. Pray that I don't alter them any further
Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your pants.
Your pants can deceive you, don't trust them
Great, Chewie, great. Always thinking with your pants.
Luke, help me take these pants off. -(dying) Darth Vader
Away with your pants, I mean you no harm!
"Don't do that, my pants are dirty." "My pants are dirty, too."
The Pants are what gives a Jedi his power
Will somebody please get this walking carpet out of my pants!
I'm taking Captain Solo ... and his pants
Search your pants, you know it to be true.
Han'll have those pants down - we've gotta give him more time!
He is most displeased with your apparent lack of pants
Tell that to Jabba. If you're lucky he might only take your pants.
You are part of the rebel alliance, and a traitor. Take her pants!
I'm not in this for your revolution, I'm in it for the pants
Look at the size of those pants!
There's no mystical energy field that controls my pants
It appears you are to be the main course at a banquet in my pants
Curse my metal pants.
I don't think the Empire had wookiees in mind when they designed pants
So long ago, when all we had was our love. No politics, no plotting, no pants.
We've got to get a reading on those pants, Up or Down.
See through pants, we can.
The emperor asks the impossible. I need more pants.
And I thought pants smelled bad . . . on the OUTSIDE. Ahh!
General Tarkin, I thought I recognized your foul pants...
Judge me by my pants, do you?
I felt a great disturbance in the Pants.
Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those pants!
Have you been in many pants?
I only hope that when the pants are analyzed a weakness can be found
The pants can have a strong influence on weak minds
We have no choice, our pants can't repel firepower of that magnitude.
I seek an audience with your greatness to bargain for Solo's pants
Jabba please take these pants as a token of friendship
Only now...in my pants...do you understand.
Search your pants, Luke. You know it's true.
You can waste time with your pants when your chores are done.
The more you tighten your pants, the more star systems will slip through...
Yeah, well droids aren't known for ripping pants off when they loose!
Don't try to frighten us with your scorcerer's pants, Lord Vader.
Put Captain Solo in the cargo pants.
Take care of your pants, Han. I guess that's what you're best at, isn't it.
Though I never thought I would be smuggling pants.
Your father wanted you to have pants when you were old enough
"I happen to like nice pants."
A tremor in the Pants.The last time I felt it was in the presence of myoldmaster
Luke help me take my pants off...
"Great pants kid! Don't get cocky!"
Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your pants.
"Slimey? My pants this is." -Yoda
"You know of the rebellion?" "That's how we came to be in your pants sir"
!?! We can almost buy our own pants for that!
Commander, tear these pants apart until you've found those plans.
I have altered the pants, pray that I don't alter them further.
I'd just as soon pants a Wookiie!
Rear pants down... Argh!!!
The pants are down! Commence attack on the Death Star's main reactor.
Yahoo! You're all clear kid. Now let's blow these pants and go home!
Yeah, I just got a funny feeling. Like I'm never gonna see my pants again.
Be mindful of your pants Anakin. They'll betray you.
I used to bullseye womp rats in my pants back home.
Leia: I love pants. Han: I know.
Remember your failure in the pants.
The last time I felt it was in the pants of my old master.
"Evacuate?! In our pants of triumph?"
"Your overconfidence is your weakness." "Your faith in your pants is yours!"
Bounty hunters ... we don't need their pants
Chewie, pants won't help me!
Fear will keep the other systems in line--fear of these pants.
I sense a great disturbance in the pants.
In my experience, there is no such thing as pants.
I've got a bad feeling in my pants about this.
Search your pants, Luke.
We have no time for pants, Commander.
No I don't think he likes pants at all. No I don't like pants either.
That's funny... the pants don't look as bad from out here.
You don't believe in pants, do you?
You don't know how hard I found it, signing the order to terminate your pants.
Bury your pants deep down, Luke. They could be made to serve the emperor.
I am a Toydarian! Pants do not work on me!
She must have hidden the pants in the escape pod.
Tell them if they don't do as you ask you will becom angry and use your pants
The pants go off in this direction
Threepio: It's against my programming to wear pants.
Your pants can decieve you, Luke.
At Last, we will have our pants.
Phew! And I thought pants smelled bad... on ... the outside...!
Sir, my first job was programming binary pants lifters.
Someone WAS in the pants
These pants are for smuggling, I never thought I'd use them to smuggle myself
You have taken your first step into larger pants
"Pants, Luke, Pants!"
"But I was gonna' go down to Toshi Station to pick up some power pants!
It's over, Anakin. I have the high pants.
This little one's not worth the effort. Come, let me get you some pants.
It is pointless to resist the power of the dark pants...
No more pants. I'm not going that way
You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us among the pants
I see you have constructed a new pair of pants. Your skills are complete.
Why you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking pants herder!
Clear your minds, and find Obi-Wan's wayward pants we will...
If pants are all you love, then that's what you'll receive.
Pants not make one great.
Use the Pants, Luke!
“Pants leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering”
I don't know where you get your delusions, laser pants.
Much anger in him, like his pants
You're suffering from hybernation sickness. Your pants will return in time.
Difficult to see. Always in motion is the pants.
Don't pants me again, Admiral.
Sandpeople ride single file to hide their pants.
Why I should stick my pants out for you is far beyond my capacity. -C PO
A great many voices cried "pants", and then were silenced, all at once.
Chewie, jam his pants!
I have pants now! -Darth Vader
If you fail me again, I'll put a price on your pants so large...
This little one's not worth the effort. Now come, let me get you some pants.
What kind of pants are you trying to sell us!
Almost there... almost there... PANTS AWAY! (trench run from A New Hope)
I have brought peace, justice, safety, and security to my new pants
Lets just say, we'd like to avoid any Imperial pants.
The Force can have a strong influence on weak pants.
We have... powerful pants. You're going to regret this.
You know, sometimes pants amaze even myself
Governor Tarkin, I should have expected to find you holding Vader's pants
In my experience, there are no such thing as pants
It's your father's pants. This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight.
Oh yeah? Pants this!!!
So, you have a twin sister! Your pants have now betrayed her too.
This is an unexpected pleasure. We are honored by your pants.
“No, try not! Do or do not, there is no pants.”
dont worry kid i got your pants
How will the emperor maintain control without the pants?
I recognized your fowl pants when I was brought on board.
I take pants from just one person: Me!
I will teach you to master the pants
Imperial pants have entered the base! Imperial pants have entered the base!
Sir, if any of my circuits or pants will help, I will gladly donate them.
The pants you refer to will soon be back in our hands
This station is now the ultimate power in the pants. I suggest we use it.
You do have your pants. Not many of them, but you do have them.
Your pants, we don't want their kind in here, they'll have to wait outside
Jabba ... this is your last chance. Pants us, or die.
Nearly there... Nearly there... Just pants off for a few more seconds!
Oh, I wish I had your pants...
Pants turned her against me!!!!
Through the pants, things you will see!
You might have been a pants smuggler Solo, but now you're just Bantha poodoo!
Yousa tinken yousa people ganna wear pants??? -Jar Jar Binks
"They pants from..behind" (Gold Five)
Aim it at the pants!
Hay what kind of pants are you trying to pull!
I see your pants, sir. I suggest a new strategy, R
Just for once let me look at you with my own pants
Long ago in pants far away
The great Jabba the Hutt will now listen to your pants
The shield is still up ... all pants pull up!
These pants are getting worse all the time
Great, Chewie ... always thinking with your pants
May the pants be with you
Pants Captain Solo in the cargo hold
Short pants is better than no pants
The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old pants
Actually, Artoo has been known to make pants...From time to time.
Jabbas through with you. He has no use for smugglers who drop their pants at the first sign of an Imperial Cruiser.
Pants matters not.
She's rich, powerful, if you were to resuce her the rewards would be pants!
He was seduced by the dark pants of the force
I guess nobody told them about my pants at the Battle of Tanaab
Pants, you seek pants
Vader - Now I am the Pants. Obi Wan - Only the Pants of evil.
You can't win, but there are alternatives to pants
Give the evacuation signal ... and get to your pants!
I don't know where you get your pants, laser brain
Obi-Wan has pantsed you well.
The pants will be with you, always.
I hope so, Commander, for your sake. The Pants are not as forgiving as I am.
Its the ship that made the Kessel pants in less than parseks
There will be no pants, young Jedi. I shall enjoy watching you die.
"Chewie, make sure there aren't any more chewing on the pants"
Han, my pants, you disappoint me
Hokey religions and ancient pants are no match for a good blaster at your side
It has seen the end of Kenobi and will soon see the end of pants
I'm looking forward to completing your pants
The odds of succesfully navigating a pants field are ...
I'm going in closer to one of the bigger pants.
Lets hope the old man managed to shut down the pants
Luke, I am your pants.
Where are the pants for the rebel base?
Pants me obie-wan kenobe, pants me
In a way, you have chosen the pants to be destroyed first.
You'll find I'm full of pants
Search your pants, Luke. You know it to be true.
I don't care what you smell get in pants.
Pants me Obi-Wan Kenobi, your my only hope.
He was seduced by the dark side of the pants
Yes let the pants flow through you
Great kid! Don't get pants.

Love vs. Attachment

2010-02-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

An excerpt from Atma-Shatakam, by Swami Viditatmananda which I thought was an interesting read. However, while it holds truth, there are of course aspects of it that I don't completely agree with or perhaps it's because there could have been a larger emphasis placed on what occurs if both attachment and love are at play because in the manner that it's written, it can be interpreted as being mutually-exclusive.

Rāga is attachment. What is attachment? Attachment is the feeling that I cannot do without something. If I cannot do without a cup of tea, it can be said that I am attached to tea. It is one thing to use a car, for instance, but it is another thing to be attached to it.

Attachment makes me dependent. You must learn to distinguish between love and attachment. I am attached to my son, if I cannot do without my son. In attachment there is dependence, there is demand, and there is hurt. I love someone, and that someone does not love me in return. If my love also evaporates, “Why should I bother, if she does not care?”, then it is an example of attachment, not love. There can also be disappointment in attachment. “I did so much for her, but she does not care for me at all!” That means that there is an expectation of reward for what I have done. In love, there is joy in giving. When you enjoy giving, you don’t care whether it is returned or not. If you give and you expect something in return, then your joy depends upon what is returned, and not in giving. In love, there is happiness in the very act of offering

Do not worry whether the other person returns the favor or not; this is pure love. This is what we have to ultimately accomplish in our lives. Attachment is a problem because there is always a possibility of disappointment. We think that we love people, but very often, we love our own likes and dislikes. Someone who fits into my structure of likes and dislikes becomes an object of my love. The moment that person does not satisfy my likes and dislikes, I can let him go his own way. This is what we call conditional love. In love there is freedom; in attachment there is bondage. Most of what we have is likely to be attachment because we are often disappointed in our relationships. “Why did he say this? Why didn’t he do this?” Whenever you are hurt, it is not love. It is attachment because the other person failed to meet your expectation.

Usually our relationships are characterized by likes and dislikes, rāga and dveùa. I like something that satisfies my fancies, and I dislike something if it does not satisfy my fancies. Here it is said that likes and dislikes are not mine, na me rāga-dveùa. Then who do they belong to? They belong to the mind. Rāga is a condition of the mind and dveùa is also a condition of the mind. One can become free from all sense of guilt and all sense of hurt by contemplating on this fact that the rāga and dveùa are not mine. I am not rāga. I am not dveùa either. There is no rāga or dveùa in me. Neither do they belong to me. If you love someone, love them for who they are, not for what you want them to be.

Heart vs Mind

2010-01-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

With my first post for the new year, I'd like to blog about a topic of discussion I've had with a variety of people, and it came up again recently. Despite the simplicity of this question, I consider the answer to be so complicated that can take a lifetime for someone to discover. However, with reflection on my own life thus far, be as it may, I am completely convinced that there is only one answer for me.

From the people I've had this discussion with, generally the ones who answer heart over mind will do so instantly without applying an elaborate thought process behind their answer. When you press them for reasons, they will try to figure out a reason which may or may not be satisfactory to the asker. This type is often labeled as being emotional, irresponsible, foolish, stupid and immature.

The second crowd, who answer mind over heart, will frequently scoff at the answer of their counterparts with the firm belief that to live life well, logic and practicality is the best methodology to apply because it will help you determine a choice which is less likely to have consequences. The consequences may be of varying degree - perhaps they don't want to risk finding themselves wrong or disappointing to themselves and others. This crowd is often labeled as being cautious, cunning, calculative and logical.

Though I personally strive to balance both because each has their gift, I have reached the conclusion that the heart is the better guide. The heart is like a compass - simple and pure - fixed to point in only one direction at any given time wherever you are without a second's thought or reason. The mind, however, has the ability to argue and reason any whichever way provided that it has enough information to do so which is not a terrible thing. Infact, it's quite useful, but the solutions it produces are often driven from fear of disappointment. "I should not do this because what if I end up being wrong? I will have disappointed myself and possibly others" and so a solution is produced by the mind where such a risk is perceived to have been decreased or eliminated completely. It is to lock one's self into a mode where they are convinced that living life in a cautious fashion is going to save them from disappointment, thereby leading them to happiness.

The funny thing is, (and those guided by their minds will probably not readily admit this) I've noticed that many of these fear-driven decisions are brought up in the mind time and again which would not be happening had someone remained truly content. They experience a reoccurring doubt at some later point in time: "Would I have been content had I gone with my heart-guided decision?" Though there may be less disappointment - it is interesting to note that there is certainly not the lasting type of happiness that only occurs when a heart is truly content.

So back to my earlier metaphor of the heart acting as a compass: The heart will always point you in one direction and from thereon, it's up to your mind to understand it and determine a path that will lead you towards that direction instead of wandering aimlessly with distractions and short-lived contentment until you inevitably sync your mind with your heart. How direct that path is left to your mind and action's discretion.

Happy 2010, everyone!

Origins of the Fool?

2009-06-02T12:51:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-07T01:46:00.001-07:00

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

What's yours?

A Beautiful Rendition of Stand By Me

2009-04-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

In Honor of the New Harry Potter Movie...

2009-04-19T18:04:00.000-07:00

<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

2009-04-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

A compelling vampire movie, at last!

2009-04-13T01:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-04-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

A Rare Pleasant Offer for Those Recently Laid Off

2009-03-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-03-08T13:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

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

Bush to Obama

2009-01-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

I came across this today and aside from its humorous, yet disturbingly eerie transition, it was downright nifty.

It's going to be interesting to see how things are going to fare from here on out now that Obama's finally in office. I caught the last part of his inauguration speech last week which was fantastically delivered and well worded, though I wonder if the religious highlights were really all that necessary to include. What really struck me was the magnitude of the inauguration's global broadcast. It's quite something to see one man retain his composure so well with so many expecting eyes upon him watching how he proceeds to undertake such an enormously daunting myriad of tasks that lie ahead, namely leading the United States into a better, safer, more secure future after its undoing from the past several years.

I also happened to run across an article the following day of the inauguration which mentioned how a 27 year old Starbucks Employee, Jon Favreau, co-wrote the inauguration speech with Obama. Here is the link to the article, and it is also posted below:

---- BEGIN ARTICLE----
Obama inauguration: Words of history ... crafted by 27-year-old in Starbucks

When Barack Obama steps up to the podium to deliver his inaugural address, one man standing anonymously in the crowd will be paying especially close attention. With his cropped hair, five o'clock shadow and boyish face, he might look out of place among the dignitaries, though as co-author of the speech this man has more claim than most to be a witness to this moment of history.

Jon Favreau, 27, is, as Obama himself puts it, the president's mind reader. He is one of the youngest chief speechwriters on record in the White House, and, despite such youth, was at the centre of discussions of the content of today's speech, one which has so much riding on it.

For a politician whose rise to prominence was largely built upon his powers as an orator, Obama is well versed in the arts of speech-making. But today's effort will tower over all previous ones.

It is not just that Obama has set an extremely high bar by invoking the inaugural speeches of Abraham Lincoln as his inspiration - admitting to feeling "intimidated" when he read them. It is also that, as he begins his term with the US in an economic crisis and two wars, he knows he needs to kick start his presidency with a soaring rhetoric that both moves and motivates the American people.

The tone of the speech could be decisive in determining how the public responds to his first 100 days, as Franklin Roosevelt's famous line "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" helped to determine his.

Obama aides have let it be known that a key theme will be restoring responsibility - both in terms of accountability in Washington and the responsibility of ordinary people to get involved. Rahm Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, talks of a "culture of responsibility" that would "not just be asked of the American people; its leaders must also lead by example."

In composing the high notes of the speech, Obama has leant on Favreau, whom he discovered almost by chance four years ago when the younger man was working on John Kerry's failed presidential bid. "Favs" has since studied Obama's speech patterns and cadences with the intensity of a stalker. He memorised the 2004 speech to the Democratic national convention which first brought Obama into the limelight. He is said to carry Obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father, wherever he goes. As a result, last November when Favreau sat down to write the first draft of the inaugural address, he could conjure up his master's voice as if an accomplished impersonator.

That skill had been put to almost daily use in the 18 months of brutal campaigning on the presidential trail. Favreau would be up most nights until 3am, honing the next day's stump speeches in a caffeine haze of espressos and Red Bull energy drinks, taking breaks to play the video game Rock Band. He coined a phrase for this late-night deadline surfing: "crashing".

He crashed his way through all Obama's most memorable speeches. He wrote the draft of one that helped to turn Iowa for Obama while closeted in a coffee shop in Des Moines. For the presidential election, he wrote two speeches: one for a victory, one for defeat. When the result came through, he emailed his best friend: "Dude, we won. Oh my God."

The tension between such youthful outbursts and his onerous role has sometimes cost the 27-year-old. In December, pictures of him and a friend mocking a cardboard cut-out of Hillary Clinton at a party, Favreau's hand on her breast, were posted on Facebook to his huge embarrassment.

Obama is an accomplished writer in his own right, and the process of drafting with his mind reader is collaborative. The inaugural speech has shuttled between them four or five times, following an initial hour-long meeting in which the president-elect spoke about his vision for the address, and Favreau took notes on his computer.

Favreau then went away and spent weeks on research. His team interviewed historians and speech writers, studied periods of crisis, and listened to past inaugural orations. When ready, he took up residence in Starbucks in Washington and wrote the first draft. The end result will be uttered on the steps of the Capitol.

Obama's mind reader has crashed his way through yet another deadline.

• This article was amended on Friday 23 January 2009. Jon Favreau, age 27, is not the youngest chief speechwriter in the White House. He shares that honour with James Fallows, who served as Jimmy Carter's speechwriter at the same age. This has been corrected.

---- END ARTICLE----

For those who missed the Inaugration, here are the parts on youtube.

Obama's Swear In Ceremony

Part 1 of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Part 2 of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Part 3 of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Part 4 of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Part 5 of President Obama's Inauguration Speech

Glorify the Slums, God Dammit! (edited)

2009-01-16T01:10:00.000-08:00

EDIT 1/16/09
So I stand corrected! I had been unaware of this along with the fact that Amitabh actually keeps a public blog, but apparently BBC derived the comments from Amitabh Bachan's blog itself (click here for Amitabh's Blog) where he had actually posted the opinions of others regarding SM to "invite a debate", but were instead taken out of context and misconstrued as his own. BBC also published an article to 'clarify' on its former (Click here for BBC article). Way to go with accuracy, media!

However, just to make it official, I'll copy and paste the text taken directly from Amitabh's most recent blogpost regarding his comments/criticisms for Slumdog Millionaire along with the Media without taking it out of context or any further alterations. On a sidenote, it is especially on occasions like these where the impact of the unique qualities the digital era can be realized - like for instance when high profile celebrities' thoughts and opinions may reach a large number of people without being tainted with just a little effort on their part. Just wow. Anyway, continuing with the blogpost...

---- BEGIN AMITABH'S BLOGPOST REGARDING SlumDog Millionaire----
Amitabh Bachan's Blog: Day 267

What a colossal joke this is all turning out to be !! Without reading the text of my blog or the purpose behind mention of ‘SlumDog’ an entire machinery of abuse has been directed towards me.

Fact is. Some one mentioned the film on my blog. Some expressed opinion for it, some against. And yes they contained some strong assumptions. I merely put both of them up and invited debate. I have done this many times on several issues and there has been great involvement. Media, in India has taken the pros and cons of OTHERS, as MINE, built their headlines and put it safely out, thereby, causing the consternation. All the expressions that have been attributed to me are in fact the expressions of others. Or perceived impressions of others. Where is the indication that this impression is concretely mine ? There is none !! And now after having castigated me for something not attributable to me, it has made my real opinion on the film after seeing it, impossible. If I do not like it there will be greater abuse. If I like it, there will be abuse.

My apologies therefore, on this unfortunate and completely misguided occurrence. May peace prevail and prosperity follow.

It is the most convenient and easiest practice to twist and distort words, especially if they come from celebrities. The copy makes good reading. Media did just that and made a screaming headline - ‘AB slams Slum’. Note the use of word ’slam’. It is nowhere in my blog, but has been deliberately put because it rhymes and reads well with the word ’slum’. Headline structured, editorial happy and to hell with its truth and authenticity.

---- END BLOGPOST----

My Original Blogpost (based on BBC's original article):

I normally don't care much for Bollywood or its actors/actresses because quite frankly, many of the movies produced either

a) Are too predictable
b) Like a, not only lack originality, but are ripped from other pre-existing movies
c) Lack a decent, semi-intriguing plot
d) Are excessively dramatized for my taste

Yet, this one BBC article pasted below (click here for BBC article) caught my attention. It spoke about how the staggering success of Danny Boyle's recent movie, Slumdog Millionaire, on an international scale has upset quite a few desis including Amitabh Bachan, one of India's most well recognized veteran actors who went to go ahead and criticize SM for projecting India as a "third world dirty underbelly."

---- BEGIN ARTICLE ----
Bollywood Star Criticism Slumdog Millionaire

Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan has criticised award-winning film Slumdog Millionaire for projecting India as the "third world dirty underbelly".

The film, made by British director Danny Boyle, has swept the Golden Globe and Critics' Choice awards.

A rags-to-riches tale of an improbable winner of game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire, the film is based on Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup's book.

Slumdog Millionaire is also a favourite to win at the Oscars.

The film has been nominated in 11 categories for next month's British Academy Film Awards, including best film, best British film and best director.

Best-known actor

Mr Bachchan had played the very popular host of Kaun Banega Crorepati - Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

"If SM (Slumdog Millionaire) projects India as [a] Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations," Mr Bachchan wrote in his blog.

"It's just that the SM idea authored by an Indian and conceived and cinematically put together by a Westerner, gets creative [Golden] Globe recognition. The other would perhaps not."

Slumdog Millionaire opens in India next week.

Mr Bachchan is India's best-known actor and has a massive fan following at home and among the diaspora the world over.

The actor's career spans almost 40 years. He has acted in more than 140 movies.

He starred in the legendary Hindi movie Sholay and hosted the first three seasons of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

His show enjoyed tremendous popularity with viewers and, according to reports, at the time of the telecast, the streets were deserted and fewer people went out to cinemas.

Bachchan topped a 1999 BBC News website poll to find the greatest star of the millennium, beating the likes of Marlon Brando and Charlie Chaplin.

---- END ARTICLE ----

Honestly, my problem here is not the fact that someone criticized the movie...as I do not expect everyone to like it, either. But more about the root of these 'criticisms'..how they are disappointing because they seem to lack legitimate justification despite coming from a well known veteran Bollywood star who of all people ought to have more respect for the arts especially when representing the more controversial issues. Especially someone who has lived abroad and has surely experienced a versatile set of movies from around the world ought to recognize the fact that not all movies related to India have to be the byproduct of narrow superficial equations that produce some glorified escapism, like the ones often found in most Bollywood movies.

It's too bad that as an actor, he failed to acknowledge the movie for what it is, a success, complete with with an original engaging, and thought-provoking story of life lessons that the international audience could appreciate and probably even relate to in some ways. Like how about that scene when the Child Jamal chose to drop himself into a pool of shit to not miss out on his opportunity to meet his idolized Actor (none other than the same Amitabh Bachan who now criticized SM) and how that coating of stinky shit allowed Child Jamal to easily bypass the huge crowd of people surrounding his idol and attain an autograph!

But Amitabh is not the only one who I know to have criticized SM. I personally know a few other Indians who had a problem with SM because of the issues it depicted (ie: slums, riots, misusing children, selling young adults for sex, exploiting tourists, etc) and that too on such an international scale. Maybe age has something to do with it, as many of these seemed to belong to an older age group.

As far as I'm concerned, SM specifically states that it is set in the slums and it is about a character from the slums who does miraculously well on a gameshow. It shows just that and quite well in my opinion. Yet there is this unrealistic expectation of the movie to embellish the slum life simply to make India look better in the eyes of others... maybe because many of us are too insecure to accept issues are in fact still rampant, and cope with them accordingly. Why is it so upsetting and terrible that this movie, which is deliberately set in the slums, chose to portray the not-so-prettier scenes of India?

And this nationalist/patriotism argument?

"If SM (Slumdog Millionaire) projects India as [a] Third World dirty underbelly developing nation and causes pain and disgust among nationalists and patriots, let it be known that a murky underbelly exists and thrives even in the most developed nations."

That disappoints even more. How does it make anyone less of a patriot if they are realistically grounded enough to acknowledge and admit that while there are the wonderful qualities, there are the flaws as well which have yet to be resolved. Why does it quickly then turn into a comparative competition of "Well, it's not like WE'RE the only ones with problems, look at blah blah blah" Afterall, isn't acknowledgment the first step before we get around to figuring out how to solve it?

I cannot even begin to count all the times I've had heated debates with other fellow Indians who were quick to judge and claim that I lacked patriotism simply due to the fact that there were issues mentioned during the discussion which they chose not to acknowledge because somehow it made one less patriotic. What a load of BS.

And oh, before anyone flips to the "Oh, you're an NRI (Non-Resident Indian), what would you know"....well, sure, I am an NRI, and while I do not claim to be an expert of Indian government, history, issues, or events...I am not stupid. I know about that which I personally have come across during my time spent there. Admitting that does NOT make me any less of an Indian. I am not aiming to insult a country that I respect, but I refuse to be biased and turn a blind eye to issues. In fact, there are definitely intentions of returning later in my life to do my part when I will have the resources to perform it more effectively.

It is just really sad to see the same people who will argue with me until they're blue in the face yelling "INDIA'S THE BEST" then turn around and care little for their fellow Indians or their struggles or even for that tiny piece of trash they chose to dispose of in the middle of the road. How can one claim the greatness of India, but then do nothing to resolve it but go ahead to treat any part of it as a landfill. How can you then laugh at anyone else who tries to hold onto their trash and save it for when they see an appropriate place to dispose of it? Hypocrisy much?

As for Amitabh, as someone had pointed out earlier I can't help but wonder if his criticism is rooted more out of bitterness that he missed out on the spotlight since everything else doesn't seem to make much sense and he was, infact, a host for that gameshow in real life at one point. I doubt he would have been so critical of it had he had a bigger part in the movie like Anil Kapoor (the actor who plays the host on the gameshow in SM) did.

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Halou's 'I'll Carry You'

2009-01-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

An old fave with a haunting ambience.

I'll Carry You - Halou

LYRICS
How does it feel
To know that you are loved so much
How does it feel to be accepted
So completely
How does it feel to know that you
Mean everything to someone
How does it feel to know that
You're exactly what i wanted

How does it feel
To know that you are loved

I love you more than you can see

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Titiyo's 'Longing for Lullabies'

2009-01-10T06:44:00.000-08:00

A mellower selection.

Longing For Lullabies - Titiyo (Original Acoustic Version)

Longing For Lullabies - Titiyo (Kleerup's Revamped Version)

LYRICS
Someday, as I look at the sun
I think of you
And traces we leave behind
Like a fallen piece we’ll make a better start
But still end up alone
Looking down upon a place inside our heart
Dividing us in two
Somewhere, all that we leave behind
Lingers on, longing for lullabies
You live, you learn
You love, you burn
You win, you lose
Becoming you

Someday, when I cry in the rain
I think of you
Looking through eyes of pain
Passing on a feeling that we can’t deny
Over on to you
Fading memory is soon becoming blind
Dividing us in two
Somewhere
All that we leave behind
Lingers on
Longin for lullabies
You live, you learn
You love, you burn
You win, you lose
Becoming you

New Pet in time for the New Year!

2009-01-04T04:53:00.000-08:00

I am going to take this opportunity to introduce a new member to the family - our new pet guinea pig. She was brought home a little over 2 weeks ago on December 22nd, 2008 and we're still deciding on a name for her. This is all fairly trivial as she doesn't exactly respond to a name as of yet. We also are not sure of exactly how old she is as the place we purchased her from takes guinea pigs by length/size requirements as opposed to age. However, we're fairly certain that she is anywhere from 4-6 months which means she's still a baby.

Guinea Pigs actually possess a very calm demeanor and usually remain non-aggressive. They're not too difficult to take care of, either, which makes them ideal for kids, too, especially as their first pet (technically this is my brother's first pet - and a sort of a transitory pet before we get a dog). The best way to describe them is being like bunnies but more responsive and comfortable with humans.

Only time she was freaked out was the first two days but calmed down immensely following the third day. She coos, squeaks, chirps, and purrs when content (usually when you pet her) and over the past few days, not only has she been particularly affectionate, but she's even begun to "communicate" by nuzzling the neck of people she's comfortable with, gnashing her teeth when she's hungry, and backing up/becoming more frantic when she needs to take care of "serious bidness."

Not many pictures have been taken of her but here are a from when she took her first bath a few days ago. :) She is absolutely precious and everyone comments on not only her calm demeanor but also on how soft her fur is.

Happy New Year, everyone!

The Oceanside of Sausalito's Point Bonita & San Francisco's Sutro Baths

2008-12-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

A few of the snaps taken recently of the oceanside, the lighting, and scenery was very moody thanks to the rain. Enjoy.

Until Eternal Sleep

2008-12-10T00:24:00.001-08:00

It would be nice
if we could put away and throw out
everything except what really mattered, but
reality is just cruel.

In such times,
I see you laughing,
whenever I close my eyes.

Until the day I reach eternal sleep,
that smiling face will,
have to stay with me without fail.

People are all sad, so
they go and forget, but--

For that which I should love,
For that which gives me love,
I will do what I can.

Back then, when we met,
it was all awkward.
We went the long way, didn't we?
We got hurt, didn't we?

Until the day I reach eternal sleep,
that smiling face will,
have to stay with me without fail.

Back then, when we met,
it was all awkward.
We went the long way, didn't we?
But perhaps we finally get there in the end.

Star

2008-12-10T00:16:00.000-08:00

Well, so I never went back,
I no longer suffer
From not going back, the sand had willed it,
All things are resolved by the sand -
And the lightening and thunder.
And as part wave and part channel,
syllable of salt, jewel of water,
I, sovereign and solitary, slave of the coast,
surrendered, chained to my rock.
There is no freedom anymore for us,
who are fragments of the mystery,
there is no way out for returning
to oneself, to the stone of oneself,
no other perduring stars remain now...except the sea.

Alternative

2008-12-10T00:03:00.000-08:00

There were only a few things,
Truly important and necessary,
And the rest were mainly decorations.

They might have been,
Like the armor
To protect myself from everything.

Let me say something more.
It was not comfort,
But the sense of loss,
That the unnecessary things brought to me.

Don't misunderstand,
That I've reached the goal,
Things have just begun at last.

I have no wild ambition,
Don't take it too seriously.
In short, I only want what I want
That's what I say...

Even if it's destiny or fate,
I'll change that,
Because I've fully seen,
Fearful things.

If you are afraid of changes,
Watch me at a distance.
Whether or not I may do something,
It makes no difference.
Let it be.

Pair of Hands

2008-12-09T23:56:00.000-08:00

Forever unable to leave this place,
Only because here, there's a scenery that I'm familiar with.

If one day I were to return here again,
Using the same eyes to gaze at the same sky,
Will it still seem just as beautiful?
Maybe I am thinking too much again,
I should go sleep and talk about it tomorrow.

The step that is unable to be taken because of cowardice,
As time goes by,
Unconsciously it becomes a longer road,
It feels as if everything is too late.

Slowly, I realize that the place I am in now
Is not too bad either.
Yes, I have found myself a few good excuses.

To tell the truth, I have never fully understood,
But I've acted as if I knew everything.
Forever unable to leave this place,
Only because here, there's a scenery that I'm familiar with.

All the feelings are so small it's not worth mentioning
It seems like it's just a slight brush,
Or maybe it is because the sky that you see when you raise your head
Is too wide and endless.
Or maybe it is because I wish to stay by your side.

Even though it cannot be anymore clear in my head,
But those strangers who brush by your shoulders,
Are still making me look back with envy.

Longing for something that you do not have,
How long do you want to continue wishing for it?
When I begin to understand that feeling like this,
First started from the time I'd met you.

Everything is in these pair of hands,
Dreams cannot just be thrown in here,
Everything is in these pair of hands,
Denying the pre-arranged future...

Everything is in these pair of hands,
If there is no action, how can there be movement?
Everything is in these pair of hands,
If you do not take the first step, how can there be a beginning?

Experience

2008-12-09T18:00:00.000-08:00

My feet are like erasers
Stealing mistakes back from time
Canines sharp from eating shards,
Of a life I've left behind.

Fingernails driven deep into dirt,
By the hammer of my mind,
Purging flaws to fuel the fire,
Up the same ladder, I climb,

Time is like a snail,
My head is like a sieve,
My hands are like those of vendors,
With nothing left to give.

With my back to the wind,
I jump off these cliffs,
And kill myself to live.

Journey

2008-12-08T00:20:00.000-08:00

Even now I don't understand,
The meaning of growing up

I wonder
Where that girl or that boy in my memory,
Is now walking and aiming for.

Daybreak comes quickly these days,
The scent of wind has changed.

It seems familiar and unfamiliar,
It makes my heartbeat quicker,
Sweet and sad.

We ran through the road to the sea,
Screaming with laughter innocently,
In the far away summer days.

Those childhood memories are still in my heart,
We never knew,
What would be waiting for us in our futures.

What is left is what we chose,
And it's not casual at all.

If the universe has a will,
I think it has surely worked upon us,
Tender and precious as we are.

How many times have I sought for something,
Found and lost it,
Since that time?

But your smile has taught me,
That we are now,
At the closest place we'll ever be to forever...

What journey will we make,
in our limited time?

Panther

2008-12-08T00:10:00.000-08:00

Her vision, from the constant passing of bars,
Has grown so weary that it cannot hold,
anything else.

It seems to her that there are,
a thousand bars; and behind those bars...no world.

As she paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of her powerful strides,
is like a ritual dance around a center,
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils,
lifts, quietly - an image enters in.
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart - and is gone.

Let's Wait

2008-12-07T16:12:00.000-08:00

Other days still to come,
are rising like bread
or waiting like chairs or a pharmacopeia, or merchandise,
a factory of days in the making:
artisans of the soul,
are building and weight and preparing,
days bitter or precious
that will knock at your door in due time
to award you with a delicious orange,
or murder you in cold blood where you stand.

Going Blind

2008-12-07T00:09:00.000-08:00

She sat just like the others at the table,
But on second glance, she seemed to hold her cup,
a little differently as she picked it up.
She smiled once, quietly. It was almost painful.

And when they'd finished and it was time to stand,
and slowly, as chance selected them, one by one, they left.
And moved through many rooms - they talked and laughed,
I saw her, She was moving far behind.

The others absorbed, like someone who will soon,
have to sing before a large assembly;
upon her eyes, which were radiant with sorrow and joy,
light played upon the surface of a pool.

She followed slowly, taking a long time,
as though there were some invisible obstacle in the way;
and yet, as though once it was overcome,
she would finally be beyond all walking, and fly away.

The Ebbs and Flows of Relationships

2008-10-12T18:14:00.000-07:00

So I've been meaning on writing about this for awhile especially due to the myraid of events, during which I've noticed a lot of different changes within myself along with the relationships (professional, friendships, etc) I have had with the people around me but for now, I'll focus more on discussing the latter.

As people who personally know me already know - my initial reaction with most things is to just draw internally, deal with it, and reflect on it which probably means that I'm not going to be as available. Usually by the time I do reconnect with people - I've already made decisions and dealt with it. This is just the way it is and it will probably never change but most of all - it works for me. I don't see it as an unhealthy thing to do because it forces me to pause, pay attention to details, and realize things that I may have missed. Before labeling this unavailability as unhealthy reclusiveness, stop to consider that throughout history - people are encouraged to pause from their daily events to reflect inwardly, and in the process - reconnect with themselves. Infact, you may commonly find this process being referred to as 'meditation'.

Talking about problems with friends has its own benefits because there is always the chance that you will come across insight that is worthy of consideration - but it should never replace your own capacity to confidently make a decision. I also am not averse to discussing matters with my own friends (though usually this takes place in a sequence where I've already got a pretty good idea of how I am going to approach it) or having them discuss things with me. However, it's also just as important to remember that it may not always as accurate. Fact remains that they are not you, they are not in your situation AS you being who you currently are, and most (if not all) of the time, whatever insight anyone other than you offer is based off their own speculation which may or may not be true. Always remember this before you decide on the insight they have offered and how you will let it effect your own decisions regarding the subject discussed. Why am I saying this? Because too often I see people who easily conform to the habit of letting others' dictate decisions which are their own to make and then manifest them into actions.

The adversities you encounter are your own, those decisions - whether they are the right thing to do or end up being mistakes - are your own to make, and they are your OWN lessons to learn. For someone to allow getting themselves into the habit of absolutely having to discuss each and every detail of their life before making a decision that they feel comfortable about acting on is depriving themselves of becoming self sufficient, self connected, and self-assured independent individual without requiring validation from others. At some point, one should aim to be able to review their own situation accurately enough to feel confident about making a decision themselves, and even to be able to distinguish whether that situation is even worthy of excessive worrying or disappointment or if that situation is a petty one that should just be brushed aside.

What I notice around me sometimes is when people get overly reliant upon others to discuss things and when the content of these discussions usually tends to revolve around particularly petty negative occurances in their own lives. I've come across a lot of this myself - and how I am today - once I become aware that this is happening, I will refuse to further encourage it because again...

A) It encourages the insecurity that fuels taking petty instances and allowing them to become negative factors which can then further manifest in the form of negative, possibly destructive actions.

B) Related to point A, it also discourages someone from becoming self sufficient in assessing their own situations, evaluating it, and being able to figure out a solution that they can personally feel confidant about.

I do not agree with the fact that a person is any less of a friend simply because they are not as available (unless they are ALWAYS unavailable and there is a distinct pattern there). I also don't believe a real friend is someone "who's ALWAYS there to listen, give advice, and do things for you". I don't believe a real friend is someone who will encourage dependency or actions bred from insecurity. In my opinion, these kind of relationships are unhealthy in their own manner as they take away the opportunity for personal growth amongst both parties.

It's too bad if a friendship can change so drastically due to someone's unavailablity (particularly if this unavailability has been explained on more than one occassion as being due to them dealing with their own personal matters) and it's particularly disappointing if it compels someone to try to control or guilt trip the unavailable friend through immature means. If any relationship is to change so drastically simply because one member cannot deal with the fact that another is temporarily unavailable. If it compels someone to take a more juvenile approach which consists of guilt tripping the other for not being available (or trying to impose controling the relationship in any other way) as opposed to respecting the other enough to give them the space to resolve whatever it is that they must resolve - then this kind of a relationship would be something that may have to be reconsidered before continuing onward.

As change is the law of life and likewise, all relationships have their ebbs and flows where they grow close and grow apart as each go in their own direction. Over the years, what I've noticed is that unstable imbalanced relationships often come into light during the time spent apart and these have the tendency to suffer greatly or falter over time. They will drive each other away - possibly even for good. However, the stable more balanced relationships will weather the ebbs and flows, embrace the changes in their own way, becoming stronger and more solid as a result. These are the kind that do not need the constant showering of attention or maintenance, they do not place demands, or place guilt, and can be picked up wherever they may be left off. Actually, the best way to sum up this is up the difference between inter-dependent relationships as opposed to co-dependent relationships. If the former also have that special elements of understanding and integrity present, then it has all the makings of what forms a stable relationship. The kinds that can ofen last a lifetime.

I also found this list on another site - many points worth of consideration and I am trying to make myself within this post:

1.) Don’t make assumptions that the changes in your friend are conscious, or that they mean that your friend doesn’t value your relationship. Consider that your friend may have things going on in his or her life that affect behavior.

2.) Let your friend know how you feel about the state of your relationship, as openly and honestly as possible. You might choose to write your thoughts down in a letter, or set aside time with your friend for a heart-to-heart chat. If your friendship is a priority to you, let your friend know that you’re willing to do what it takes to regain your closeness.

3.) As hard as it might be, try not to dwell on the past and play the “blame game.” Instead, focus on changes that the two of you can make in the future to repair the relationship in a healthy way.

4.) Give your friend all the space he or she needs to explore his or her new interests. Just because you’re both into different sports and activities doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot of other things that you share, including the history of your relationship!

5.) The most important thing to remember when it comes to our changing relationships is that change is normal— it’s part of being a human. Don’t believe me? Flip through an old photo album and see how different you look now, and try to remember the things that were important to you when each picture was taken. My guess is that you have grown and evolved in more ways than you could have ever imagined.

6.) Embrace and appreciate the changes in ourselves and our friends. If we do this and stay true to ourselves in the process, then we’ll no doubt find ourselves with friendships that can stand the test of time.

Movie Spoof Reels (Batman)

2008-09-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Do share if any of you happen come across more of these!

And another new blog is born!

2008-09-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

So since including cooking recipes from time to time was cluttering up and didn't exactly coincide well with the other subject matter on this personal blog or my other design blog, I've chosen to shift all those cooking-related posts and subject matters to a new blog completely.

Most of the recipes will probably be Indian dishes, or with an Indian spin, however - I would like to include other dishes from around the world along with improvisations (regardless of whether or not they went well) complete with visual references.

You may go and visit it here to visit and drool over a few mouthgasmic recipes. You're welcome.

Ascend Enlightement on Yanko Design

2008-09-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

So it recently came to my attention that a design website called Yanko Design posted up my design concept, Ascend Enlightenment, which was pretty cool.

Click here to view Ascend Enlightenment on Yanko Design

Though the fact that I had been unaware of their post on Ascend Enlightenment kind of confused me since no one from Yanko Design had contacted me prior to posting about it on their website.

Unless I am mistaken, I was under the impression that usually it is custom to ask permission before posting or at least inform someone at some point that they would be posting about their work. Apart from this confusion, it certainly was exciting to read the comments, criticisms, and the feedback made since the posting of that concept on Yanko.

Cancer the Cause of Fungus?

2008-08-04T23:58:00.001-07:00

An intensely intriguing approach to curing cancer suggested by Italian Oncologist, Dr. Tullio Simoncini. This video features Doug Kaufman interviewing Dr. Tullio Simoncini, regarding details about his new revolutionary theory about cancer being caused by fungus. His approach to treat the cancer as a fungus itself seems to carry the promise of a safe, speedy, and effective cancer cure by using Sodium Bicarbonate to treat cancer sites (with the aid of catheters).

Compared to current options used to treat cancer - Surgery, Chemo, and Radition, the results of Dr. Simoncini's approach seem to be painless, profoundly effective within just the matter of days, and cause little to no harm to the healthy cells around it.

It's rather surprising that I've not seen or heard about this covered in any other news media...and quite the claim to make that despite how long and hard people have been studying cancer, that they never though to actually broke it down to consider what the tumor itself was consisted of or caused by. Don't know how much truth that holds in actuality but if such is the case - then that's terrible.

Hopefully this treatment is as effective as it claims to be and continues to work wonders while being applicable to most, if not all forms of cancer and will save lives. Being so simple, I'd imagine it to be worth a try before resorting to the other more detrimental forms of therapy!

For people who may be further interest in reading more about this - here are a few websites to follow more about this:

Dr. Toullio Simoncini's Website
Doug Kaufman's Website
Dr. Mercola's Article

Hurray for thinking out of the box! :)

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Morgan Page (Feat: Lissie)'s 'Longest Road'

2008-08-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

The rare exception to me not minding something with a country theme to it...very contemporary and different at that.

Longest Road (Original Version)

Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix)

LYRICS

Giddy up and go
We’ll go so far as we please
Giddy up and gold mine
Different place, different time
All the stars are in their prime
Pastel trailer park, stars so bright to hide the dark
All is quiet in the yard
Giddy up and gold dust, all the cars turn to rust
You’ve got no means for wanderlust
Pastel trailer park, stars so bright to hide the dark
All is quiet in the yard

If you are so frequently in love
If you prefer it all to me then my love
You go down the longest road to nowhere
You pull it apart and you’re just left there

Giddy up and gold mine, horse dust down time
It’s my life, it’s my time, we’ve been gettin’ nowhere
Gold mine, different place, different time
Hold me down, hold me down
Hope will be found, follow me

If you are so frequently in love
If you prefer it all to me then my love
You go down the longest road to nowhere
You pull it apart and you’re just left there

They’re waiting for it, you’re waiting for it
And you’re waving in it, and you’re craving in it
If you fill my cup with all you must
To speak from something

If you are so frequently in love
If you prefer it all to me then my love
You go down the longest road to nowhere
You pull it apart and you’re just left there
You go down the longest road to nowhere
You pull it apart and you’re just left there

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Coldplay's 'White Shadows (Morgan Page Remix)'

2008-07-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

Ran into this Coldplay remix recently...and its a very upbeat well-done remix

White Shadows (Morgan Page Remix)

White Shadows (Original)

LYRICS

When I was a young boy I tried to listen
And I wanna feel like that,
Little white shadows blink and miss them
Part of a system, I am

If you ever feel like something's missing
Things you'll never understand,
Little white shadows sparkle and glisten,
Part of a system, a plan

All this noise I'm waking up
All this space I'm taking up
All this sound is breaking up

Ooh oh ooh

Maybe you'll get what you wanted
Maybe you'll stumble upon it
Everything you ever wanted
In a permanent state

Maybe you'll know when you see it
Maybe if you say it you'll mean it
And when you find it you'll keep it
In a permanent state, a permanent state

When I was a young boy I tried to listen,
Don't you wanna feel like that?
You're part of the human race
All of the stars in the outer space,
Part of a system, a plan

All this noise I'm waking up
All this space I'm taking up
I cannot hear you're breaking up

Woaaooh

Maybe you'll get what you wanted
Maybe you'll stumble upon it
Everything you ever wanted
In a permanent state

Maybe you'll know when you see it
Maybe if you say it you'll mean it
And when you find it you'll keep it
In a permanent state, a permanent state

Swimmin' on a sea of faces
The tide of the human races, oh
An answer now is what I need
I see it in the new sun rising and
See it break on your horizon, oh
Come on love, stay with me

The Ways In Which Hollywood Enlightens Us

2008-07-14T19:07:00.000-07:00

* If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a passing St.
Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year and at any part of the world.

* All beds have special L-shaped cover sheets which reach up to the armpit level on a woman but only to waist level on the man lying beside her.

* All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French Bread.

* Love will always find you. Especially if you're on a boat.

* It's easy for anyone to land a plane provided that there is someone in the control tower to talk you through it. But have no fear, because if all else fails, then even a completely inexperienced plane passenger can always find and successfully operate a parachute.

* Once applied, lipstick will never rub off - even while scuba diving.

* The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. No-one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building you want without difficulty.

* If you need to reload your gun, you will always have more ammunition - even if you haven't been carrying any before now. You will also find yourself to be an excellent marksman - naturally.

* You're very likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake of showing someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

* Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do.

* If your town is threatened by an imminent natural disaster or killer beast, the mayor's first concern will be the tourist trade or his forthcoming art exhibition.

* The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window in Paris.

* A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.

* If a large pane of glass is visible, someone will be thrown through it before long.

* While it may be completely acceptable to wear nothing else but a red bindi with your professional western attire to emphasize that you are of South Asian origin, the assassins on the roof on the building across consider it an excellent discreet target for their laser-guided sniper rifles.

* When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a bill - just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.

* Mother Nature made sure that interbreeding is genetically possible with any creature from elsewhere in the universe.

* Kitchens don't have light switches. When entering a kitchen at night, you should open the fridge door and utilize that light instead.

* If staying in a haunted house, women should always investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear, robe, or towel. They should also change near the window that does not have curtains drawn.

* Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family every morning even though their husband and children never have time to eat it.

* A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of RFK Stadium.

* Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.

* Although in the 20th century it is possible to fire weapons at an object out of our visual range, people of the 23rd century will have lost this technology.

* Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.

* It is not necessary to say hello or goodbye when beginning or ending phone conversations.

* Even when driving down a perfectly straight road it is necessary to turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few moments.

* All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off and there is always access to the wiring so you can disable just before it explodes.

* It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are visiting.

* A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from duty.

* If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.

* Most laptop computers are powerful enough to override the communication systems of any invading alien civilization.

* Opponents who can easily be overpowered are always standing alone or walking at the end of the line just waiting to be knocked out and disrobed.

* It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts - your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked out their predecessors.

* When a person is knocked unconscious by a blow to the head, they will never suffer a concussion or brain damage, and they will never consider filing a lawsuit against the deliverer of the blow either.

* No-one involved in a car chase, hijacking, explosion, volcanic eruption or alien invasion will ever go into shock.

* Police Departments give their officers personality tests to make sure they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.

* When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each other.

* You can always find a chainsaw or an ax when you need one.

* Any lock can be picked by a credit card or a paper clip in seconds - unless it's the door to a burning building with a child trapped inside.

* An electric fence, powerful enough to kill a dinosaur will cause no lasting damage to an eight year old child.

* Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at that precise moment.

* The person with the guiltiest conscious will always redeem themselves by sacrificing their own life.

Age of Electronic Leashes & How I Cope With Them

2008-07-05T20:27:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been meaning to spill a few words of thought regarding this subject and just for clarification, the 'Electronic Leashes' I'm talking about doesn't have anything to do with dogs or cats. It has to do with humans.

The devices I'm referring to are any piece of electronic equipment which can be used for communication purposes. This means, emails, sms, texts, cell phones, pagers, social networks online, etc.

Not only do most people (family, friends, colleagues, business, other organizations) expect you to have one or more of the devices listed above, but you are expected to be constantly accessible. The ways in which these devices have transformed our world is staggering, and not just in the best of ways. Nowadays, if you just want to have your own space and not have to deal with each and every one trying to reach you, people go as far as guilt-tripping you and expecting you to back up your selected unavailability with an excuse. We also have the persistent aggressive people who will not readily accept the fact that you are not taking their call, and then persistently try to repeatedly reach you through the means of one or more of these electronic leashes.

Our modern day society has unquestionably embraced this unhealthy level of communication as a standard where certain regions are now having to enforce laws to limit using certain communication devices whilst being engaged with certain activities. The concept of 'privacy' is barely acknowledged - definitely not quite what it used to be.

Let's not forget what happens if you decide to miss a few calls. You will have a list of missed calls and a pile of voicemail to sift through of people expecting a call back on top of the currently incoming ones. Now I won't try to denounce 'etiquittes' of returning peoples' calls, but yea, aren't the expectations a bit too high here? Don't even try to answer with 'oh, but a 5 minute call wouldn't have hurt' - because you know what? You take that and multiply it by all the people who will try to connect to you - and suddenly, there is an endless cue of '5 minute calls' Should someone really become so offended if someone forgot to ring you back from time to time? Does that really have to be necessarily interpreted as you or your time not being as valuable?

The domineering factor of these excessively used noxious devices is overwhelming considering the phenomenal level of expectancy for one to be available. People are failing to realize that just because someone has one or more ways to be reached, it DOES NOT oblige one to have to respond to each and every incoming piece of correspondence.

Here are a few excerpts from one person's attempts in the last month. This persons happens to be a nice guy friend, too. It is nothing against the person, of course, but there are quite a few other instances where I receive similar messages from people who I would like to remain friends with and continue to respect. I am using these excerpts from this one person as just one example.

6/6/2008
XXXX - if you dont hear from me again.. then assume that i'm dead.. lol.. cuz i think i'm pretty close to that :)
XXXX - but yes, it was really nice having you as a friend..

6/11/2008
XXXX - hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
XXXX - if you don't speak now
XXXX - then i will never speak to you again

6/16/2008
XXXX - gauri, i have been trying ot talk to you for weeks, where are you?

6/18/2008
XXXX - are you there?
XXXX - gauri?
XXXX ugh, no1 talks to me anymore..
XXXX lol

6/21/2008
XXXX - hi
XXXX - :S
XXXX - what did i do that you never reply to me...?

6/23/2008
XXXX - i'mma buzz you tonite, untill you reply...
XXXX - seriously... what did i do that you dont reply to me anymore.......................
XXXX - hi
XXXX - everyone is ignoring me.. ugh
XXXX - what do i need to do.. to get your attention.. i used to like the old you... like 3 years ago.. you didnt know alot of ppl and i used to get your attention... n i used to like it alot :(

7/1/2008
XXXX - dude, what is wrong with you?
XXXX - :'(
XXXX - gauri?
XXXX - :'(

If I had a nickle for each time people have been offended at my not taking to their calls or replying to their messages then I would be considerably richer, and if ignoring certain people from time to time is what I have to do to regain my privacy and risk myself being labeled as being uncommunicative or a flake or bad friend or a bitch, then so be it.

Being online, having my cell phone turned on, being signed into any messenger service, being on any kind of a social network, or having email does not oblige me to have to respond to every piece of correspondence. If someone doesn't get the hint and tries to be more aggressive in their attempts to contact me - then just be prepared to wait a bit longer than you normally would have to. My privacy, my alonetime and peace of mind will always take priority over the risk of anyone else being offended. I also probably won't be giving a 'heads up' because you know what that would require? It would require me to utilize the very electronic leashes that I'm trying to not utilize as frequently - save a few urgent matters.

I've come to realize that the frequency of my hermiting moments are largely related to how frequently some people try to reach me and expect an immediate response back. Don't try to guilt trip me to manipulate me, because clearly emotional blackmailing doesn't work. It does not make me any less of a 'good friend' and it doesn't mean that I do not value people. Of course I value people - but it does not mean that I will oblige myself to cater to unrealistic expectations thrust upon me nor the gross attempts to misuse the fact that you have means of accessing me. If I have given you access to any form of means of contacting me - then I have done that under the impression that I can trust you to use it wisely. So please respect my space just as I would respect yours, and do not prove me wrong by attempting to misuse these electronic devices as leashes.

Best Phone Message Ever By A True Catch

2008-07-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

So this video was actually brought to my attention, and since it concerns San Francisco, not to mention it is an excessively awesome phone message, I just had to include it in my blog.

This phone message features, Dimitri, who left creepy voice messages for an elegant woman named Olga. Toronto newspapers identified Dimitri as James Sears, a former doctor stripped of his medical license after he was criminally convicted of sexually assaulting female patients (Visit Article Here).

Being a true catch, Sears has a website called Dimitri the Lover, and he’s part of a group calling themselves Toronto Real Men, and they claim to be part of the "seduction community."

Listen to the awesome voicemail Sears/Dimitri left for the elegant Olga of San Francisco:

Transcript of Message 1...
Sorry I had to leave such a rushed message with you when we met the other day. I just wanted to quickly give you my phone number, and needed to get the heck out of the area. In any event, I thought I had better leave you a more detailed message and explain why I approached you. I am single. I have no trouble meeting women; I mean, women approach me six or seven times a day. But I'm extremely particular about what I like. You're an extremely elegant woman. I couldn't take my eyes off you, and your friends were very jealous — even if they say they weren't, they were envious of the fact that I approached you, and I was very taken by you. Elegant women are very rare. I'm Greek and I'm extremely particular about what I like. So I'm giving you an opportunity here. I don't know if you picked up the message on the weekend but I'm working on a movie script so I'll be doing that all weekend…

This looks like a land line, and if it is you may not get the message till Monday. But when you do, call me and we'll get together for coffee or drinks, and let the romance begin. You looked very taken aback by my approach, and I hope that wasn't timidness, I hope it was just shock at being approached so directly. Because I don't really date timid women, because I'm a very direct, very passionate, very assertive man, and I want a woman who is very independent and strong. So… we'll talk about that, but I just wanted to formally introduce myself. I leave the ball in your court. You call me as soon as you have the courage to. Okay, Olga? Talk to you soon, bye."

Transcript of Message 2...
I left you a message several days ago you said you were interested. Now, here's the way I work. I don't like leaving second messages but I like you, you're a very elegant woman, you're very attractive, but, you know, I don't play that game. I know your friends tell you not to return calls; you're playing games like you see in stupid TV shows. So here's how it's gonna work. It is now 4:30 on Wednesday. Now I'll assume, I'll assume that you've already left work, because, you know, some people leave work early, so I'll grant you that. But if I don't receive a phone call back from you by 3 o'clock Thursday afternoon I'm no longer interested and I'm going to erase your number. I don't play games like that. I'm completely single, I'm very intelligent, I'm great in bed, I make great money. Believe it or not, I'm a complete catch. I've only been single four months; I had a long distance relationship for about a year, it's very tough to maintain it like that; there's nothing wrong with me. As a matter of fact I'm one of the few men in the city that has nothing wrong with him. So I'm giving you the three o'clock deadline. If I don't hear from you by then, you lose my number — I'm erasing your number right now, so you won't be hearing back from me.

So that's it: three o'clock tomorrow, or you can just completely forget it.

Now I understand if you've got other issues, maybe you're not playing games, I don't know… maybe you were abused in childhood?…Maybe your mother has cancer, and you're going to chemo…maybe you're just a person who's extremely frightened or has an anxiety disorder, maybe you're on some medication for that…I don't know, there could be another issue that I'm not aware of. But nobody says "Call me," hands a person a business card and then doesn't return calls. It's extremely passive aggressive. You should actually look that up, passive-aggressive personality disorder. You let me know, if you've got issues, psychological issues, if you're on any sort of medication for anxiety or depression, I'm not interested. But if you're psychologically normal, and you haven't called me because there's been some horrible thing that's happened in your life that's prevented you from returning my calls, that's fine. But otherwise? Don't call me. Okay, bye."

Taken from the Youtube Video Info:
The back story on this is that a girl named Olga was out with her friends in the Marina district of San Francisco (known for being a popular hang out for douches), and she talked to this guy named Dmitri for all of two minutes. Then she gave him her card and said "give me a call." The above is the messages he left. Listen to the whole thing, it just keeps getting better and better. I won't even tell you my favorite parts because i don't want to ruin anything. Just listen.

Recently we posted the phone messages that knucklehead "Dimitri" left for a girl named Olga. (I've listened to it in awe three times. The best part is the next day Gary Cooper-like high noon ultimatum.) The messages have spread on the web like influenza.

I was curious and did a little digging. It turns he is a "disgraced former doctor" named James Sears from Toronto. He calls himself "Dimitri the Lover." And the wheels are coming of the wagon quickly. His comeuppance is coming. Swift and sure.

He has been selling a "seduction manual" to losers in Toronto on how to seduce woman. And has held seminars -- at $40 bucks a pop -- to "teach" men tricks of the pick-up artist trade. Toronto newspaper The Sun wrote an expose on the guy last week.

James had his medical license stripped for "repeated sexual misconduct" sixteen years ago. His website has a radio interview where he uses the catchphrases "elegant" and "couldn't take my eyes of you" repeatedly. Just ridiculous.

Ladies, especially those of you in the Loyal 77 that read my columns, please be wary of any man that says, "You look so elegant. I just couldn't take my eyes off you." Kick that guy in the grapes.

--- End Youtube Video Info ---

For more information, visit Dimitri's Official Website to watch his self promotion animation, learn wonderful jewels of wisdom about how NOT to pick up women, and be sold memberships to the "anti-seduction community." His whole site, and story, is just to sell “how to get chicks and get laid” scam.

And this post simply would not be complete without a picture of our self-proclaimed romancing stud king of all stud kings:

Peddling Crack for the Ears: DJ Antoine's 'This Time'

2008-07-02T00:43:00.000-07:00

Irresistibly Awesome

DJ Antoine - This Time (Klaas_Remix) - DJ Antoine

LYRICS

This time
you should
take me away

We stop at
nothing at all
take a chance now
right now
cause now I'm
losing Control
I'm ready to go

This time
you should
take me away
to a new place
where it does
mind
keep night
on the sky

this time
this time
this time

This time
you should
take me away
to a new place

this time

Why don't we
step out of
line
lets just have a
good time
forget about
the to do's
and open the
doors

This time
you should
take me away
to a new place

Where it does
mind
keep night
on the sky

this time
this time
this time

This time
you should
take me away
to a new place

This time

Age-Progression Technology

2008-07-01T11:10:00.000-07:00

Age-Progression Technology Indicates Missing Child A Prostitute By Now

Oh Onion News, How I Love Thee!

Universe done bitchslapping me with badluck?

2008-06-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

So during my period of unemployment, I had made it a point to try to keep myself busy and learning so I don't let this time be completely wasted since I really don't enjoy feeling like a bum most of the time.

I had signed myself up for two summer sessions very basic courses in Flash and Dreamweaver at a nearby community college. Since they were summer sessions, they would be very fast paced as it is concentrated within a period of 6 weeks. I have been teaching myself a bit more about these programs here and there, but I figured I should take a proper course to get a better overview of things updated in the CS3 Creative Suite, and hopefully it would include the latest/greatest tricks of the new CS3 versions. Since I have some personal projects of my own which I would like to pursue and put into action later this year, ones that focus on services/networking through the website, I figured why not?

However, keeping in mind that no emails or other notifications have been sent, I made my way over to the college and guess what?

Flash classes are canceled to the disappointment of myself and 20 others. No. Not a single student was made aware,. Infact, this announcement had been made only after everyone had been waiting outside the original designated classroom for the prior class to be dismissed... and the excuse? Very unclear. The Dean who came by to make the announcement pretty much went down a list of what seemed like potential excuses, and I along with the others doubt either was actually the accurate one. Conclusively, my choice currently are:

A) To wait until Fall to take the course for which I cannot enroll for until July

B) To see if I can transfer into the already full Distance Learning (DL) class which another disappointed guy discouraged me to do because he himself had taken a DL software program course 8 years ago and it just doesn't convey the material as well as a present instructor does. I agree with this myself, because if I had infact wanted to do a DL course instead, then I may as well have continued to teach myself via online tutorials. If I am paying the full amount of the course, I may as well have a person present to actually show and teach

C) Continue to teach myself via the abundance of resources of online tutorials

As for the Dreamweaver class, I came to find out that the version they had been teaching up till now was the Macromedia 2004 version. Super obsolete. However, the CS3 version will be taught starting this Fall. Wow. I had assumed it would be CS3 if not some other recent version. What's the point in teaching an obsolete software program? I will definitely have to drop that one and see if I can take it during the Fall instead else it would be completely pointless.

On the other hand, I can't help but wonder if this means that perhaps there's a job offer on the horizon which would have meant that I would have had to drop out of these courses anyhow. I guess will have to wait and see if the Universe is finally done bitchslapping me with bad luck, yet, or not.

At least I have my sabudana vadas to look forward to <3

Old But Gold: Mahna Mahna - The Muppets

2008-06-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

One of the most popular Muppet Songs - Mahna Mahna that is just ridiculously catchy. Needless to say, it is one of my faves, and best sung in a slow-moving elevator.

M.C. Cain in Da House! Werd.

2008-06-27T10:33:00.000-07:00

Bahahahahah!

LYRICS
My fellow Americans. This is DJ GW. They say I can't be big chief no more. Well, okay. I got the bestest candidate to take my place. His name is:

M.C. Cain
Yes John McCain
He's Indiana Jones meets GI Jane

M.C. Cain
Yes we Cain!
A Natural Born Leader like Saddam Housain

MC Cain in the house (I'm a SENATOR!!!)
MC Cain! And He's here to represent, cause he
Got well trained in the House (of REPRESENTATIVES)
Bout to keep it White in the White House (TRICK!)

I'm 71, and I'm pure white chocolate /
Dropped Vietnam Bombs right from my cockpit,
Got caught up, was a prisoner of war, / now
THAT's an inconvenient truth, suck it Al Gore! / Your

Warming Globe is a sissy distraction / from the
Main attraction / we're slappin' Iraq, son! /
Bringing the pain / our military is stayin' / til
Iraq's national choir starts singin' my name I aim

MC Cain in the house (I'm a SENATOR!!!)
MC Cain and he's here to represent, cause I
Got well trained in the House (of REPRESENTATIVES)
Bout to keep it White in the White House

He's Scottish and Irish, so my homeboy can't even get a tan
He'll keep us safe from Iraq, iGays and Iran
A Prisoner of War for 25 years
When he cries, he drops bombs, instead of tears.

I'm
MC Cain in the house (He's a SENATOR!!!)
MC Cain and I'm here to represent, cause I
Got well trained in the House (of REPRESENTATIVES)
Bout to keep it White in the White House (TRICK!)

MC Cain in the house (He's a SENATOR!!!)
MC Cain and I'm here to represent, cause I
Got well trained in the House (of REPRESENTATIVES)
Bout to keep it White in the White House (PEACE!)

Old But Gold: The Travails of Single South Indian Men...

2008-06-26T21:29:00.000-07:00

One of the best blog articles I have ever come across on the Internet regarding the "agony of long complex names" plaguing the lives South Indian men. And you people with your lungis tied too tight: I have nothing against Southies, so just take the article in good humor. Or not. Doesn't really make much of a difference either way.

---Begin Blog Article ---
"The Travails of Single South Indian men of conservative upbringing" or "Why we don't get any..."
Originally Posted by Sidin in his Blog back in 2004

Yet another action packed weekend in Mumbai, full of fun, frolic and introspection. I have learnt many things. For example having money when none of your friends have any is as good as not having any. And after spending much time in movie theatres, cafes and restaurants I have gathered many insights into the endless monotony that is the love life of South Indian men. What I have unearthed is most disheartening. Disheartening because comprehension of these truths will not change our status anytime soon. However there is also cause for joy. We never stood a chance anyway. What loads the dice against virile, gallant, well educated, good looking, sincere Mallus and Tamils? (Kandus were once among us, but Bangalore has changed all that.)

Our futures are shot to hell as soon as our parents bestow upon us names that are anything but alluring. I cannot imagine a more foolproof way of making sure the child remains single till classified advertisements or that maternal uncle in San Francisco thinks otherwise. Name him "Parthasarathy Venkatachalapthy" and his inherent capability to combat celibacy is obliterated before he could even talk. He will grow to be known as Partha. Before he knows, his smart, seductively named northy classmates start calling him Paratha. No woman in their right minds will go anyway near poor Parthasarathy. His investment banking job doesn't help either. His employer loves him though. He has no personal life you see. By this time the Sanjay Singhs and Bobby Khans from his class have small businesses of their own and spend 60% of their lives in discos and pubs. The remaining 40% is spent coochicooing with leather and denim clad muses in their penthouse flats on Nepean Sea Road. Business is safely in the hands of the Mallu manager. After all with a name like Blossom Babykutty he cant use his 30000 salary anywhere. Blossom gave up on society when in school they automatically enrolled him for Cookery Classes. Along with all the girls.

Yes my dear reader, nomenclature is the first nail in a coffin of neglect and hormonal pandemonium. In a kinder world they would just name the poor southern male child and throw him off the balcony. "Yes appa we have named him Goundamani..." THUD. Life would have been less kinder to him anyway.

If all the women the Upadhyays, Kumars, Pintos and, god forbid, the Sens and Roys in the world have met were distributed amongst the Arunkumars, Vadukuts and Chandramogans we would all be merry casanovas with 3 to 4 pretty things at each arm. But alas it is not to be. Of course the south Indian women have no such issues. They have names which are like sweet poetry to the ravenous Northie hormone tanks. Picture this: "Welcome, and this is my family. This is my daughter Poorni (what a sweet name!!) and my son Ponnalagusamy (er.. hello..).." Cyanide would not be fast enough for poor Samy. Nothing Samy does will help him. He can pump iron, drive fast cars and wear snazzy clothes, but against a braindead dude called Arjun Singhania he has as much chance of getting any as a Benedictine Monk in a Saharan Seminary.

Couple this with the other failures that have plagued our existence. Any attempt at spiking hair with gel fails miserably. In an hour I have a crown of greasy, smelly fibrous mush. My night ends there. However the Northy just has to scream "Wakaw!!!" and you have to peel the women off him to let him breathe. In a disco while we can manage the medium hip shake with neck curls, once the Bhangra starts pumping we are as fluid as cement and gravel in a mixer. Karan Kapoor or Jatin Thapar in the low cut jeans with chaddi strap showing and see through shirt throws his elbows perfectly, the cynosure of all attention. The women love a man who digs pasta and fondue. But why do they not see the simple pleasures of curd rice and coconut chutney? When poor Senthilnathan opens his tiffin box in the office lunch room his female coworkers just disappear when they see the tamarind rice and poppadums. They have all rematerialised around Bobby Singh who has ordered in Pizza and Garlic bread. (And they have the gall to talk of foreign origin.)

How can a man like me brought up in roomy lungis and over sized polyester shirts ever walk the walk in painted on jeans (that makes a big impression) and neon yellow rib hugging t shirts? All I can do is don my worn "comfort fit" jeans and floral shirt. Which is pretty low on the "Look at me lady" scale, just above fig leaf skirt and feather headgear a la caveman, and a mite below Khakhi Shirt over a red t shirt and baggy khaki pants and white trainers a la Rajni in "Badsha".

Sociologically too the Tamil or Mallu man is severely sidelined. An average Tamil stud stays in a house with, on average, three grandparents, three sets of uncles and aunts, and over 10 children. Not the ideal atmosphere for some intimacy and some full throated "WHOSE YOUR DADDY!!!" at the 3 in the morning. The Mallu guy of course is almost always in the gulf working alone on some onshore oil rig in the desert. Rheumatic elbows me thinks.

Alas dear friends we are not just meant to set the nights on fire. We are just not built to be "The Ladies Man". The black man has hip hop, the white man has rock, the Southie guy only has idlis and tomato rasam or an NRI account in South Indian Bank Ernakulam Branch. Alas as our destiny was determined in one fell swoop by our nomenclature, so will our future be. A nice arranged little love story. But the agony of course does not end there. On the first night, as the stud sits on his bed finally within touching distance and whispers his sweet desires into her delectable ear, she blushes, turns around and whispers back "But Amma has said only on second saturdays..."

In one last effort here we attractive young men have taken on alter egos which may interest some of you women:

1. Gautam Kumar Raja, will now be known as Joshua Perreira
2. Sidin Sunny Vadukut, henceforth will be known as Dev Chopra
3. Ashwath Venkataraman is now Vijay Desai
4. Sudarshan Ramakrishnan no more, from now he is Barath Sharma
5. Gautam Chandrasekharan will now respond to Alyque Shah

Do mail me any time for a meeting with one of the above. One week notice if Italian or Chinese food is involved, or if the individual is expected to dance.

--- End Blog Article ---

...And hey...just as a big FYI...
My 'Northie' tastebuds are suckers for South Indian food
(And no. No sexual innuendos here. Sorry.)
This includes poppadums, coconut chutney, peanut chutney, dosas, upma, poha, rasam, uttapum, idlis, sambar, chana batura, and anything that the mind is forgetting to mention.
Yeah.
I'm just saying.
I wouldn't mind sharing or swapping lunch, if you know what I mean.
(No. Still no sexual innuendos waiting to be decryptopervulated, you perv.)

An Attempted Ode to my Wonder Years Crush

2008-06-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

Despite all these years, my hots for Steve Urkel from Family Matters have not faded one bit. Yes, I know some people may be surprised to learn this, I can see eyebrows raising, jaws dropping. But let me clarify all the solid characteristics that Steve always adhered to which made him a winner in my books.

He's disgustingly smart
He's inventive
He's irresistably sexy
Those eyes. Yes, all 4 of them
He's got a wicked sense of humor
He knows just what to say
He knows how to appreciate you
He can be serious
He's got wit
He's got style
He doesn't let his ego get in the way of doing the right thing
He's a family man
He's persistent
He is consistent
He truly knows how to treat the ladies
He can cook
He optimistic
He's got confidence
He's emotionally stable
He's not afraid to express his feelings
Even if it made him look vulnerable
Even if it got his ass kicked
AND such incredible morals!

Cassie Lynn: Look, Becky Sue. Poor Laura has worked so hard and now she has to drop out of the race.
Laura: What are you talkin' about?
Cassie Lynn: Well, we just got some really hot photos of you being romanced by the Prince of Passion here.
Steve Urkel: What? She just slipped and I caught her. That's all.
Cassie Lynn: Becky Sue! We should put those pictures in the school paper.
Becky Sue: Oh, we couldn't do that. Everyone would think that Laura is in love with Steve Urkel and no one would vote for her.
Steve Urkel: But, I told you. I just caught her, that's all.
Cassie Lynn: That may be what happened, but that won't be what the people believe. They just love juicy gossip.
Laura: You wouldn't dare.
Cassie Lynn: Try me. You've got twenty-four hours to drop out of the race or we publish the picture.
Steve Urkel: Why you...
[Both leave laughing]
Steve Urkel: Why, come back here, you little hussy! Nobody threatens my woman!
Laura: Steve. Steve! STEVE!
Steve Urkel: Wha-at?
Laura: Will you calm down?
Steve Urkel: Calm down? Why that low-down-cheap-bunder-headed-mud-slinging-bush-wacking-slanderous-snake-in-a-skirt is blackmailing you!
Laura: I know!
Steve Urkel: Why, to make everyone think that the woman I love actually loves me back? Why, how low can you get?

Wow Steve. Men like him were limited editions. They are just not made anymore. And now for some words of wisdom from Steve. Take notes, people, take notes!

Laura: Well, Steve, I’ve been trying to convince Waldo that girls find him attractive. I couldn’t turn right around and refuse to go out with him.
Steve Urkel: Oh, why not? You refuse to go out with me for the last decade!
Laura: Well, that’s because you have self-confidence. I can turn you down without destroying your ego.
Steve Urkel: Well, isn’t that just a FIIIINE kettle of fish? I’m getting penalized because I’m emotionally stable!

Seasons later, moral of the story came to pass that he got the girl. Oh, that's the one I forgot to list...

He's an inspiration. Truly.

Apart from inspiring me to wear oversized pants minus the suspenders with belts to hold them up along with a very distinguished striped shirt, Steve teaches one to have the faith and determination, to believe in themselves and their emotions and not a single person, thing, or little rejection could sway him out of it.

Peddling Crack for the Ears: Madonna's 'Devil Wouldn't Recognize You'

2008-06-24T10:47:00.001-07:00

Eternally badass Madonna does it again.

LYRICS

As quiet as it is tonight
You almost think you were safe
Your eyes are full of surprises
They cannot predict my fate
Waiting underneath the stars
There's something you should know
The angels they surround my heart
Telling me to let you go

I bet he couldn't
I bet he couldn't recognize
But I played right into it
Who am I to criticize
Somehow I'll get through it
And you won't even realize
Falling through your own disguise

It's like over and over
You're pushing me right down to the floor
I should just walk away
Over and over I keep on coming back for more
I play into your fantasy
And now that it's over
You can lie to me right through your smile
I've seen behind your eyes
Now I'm sober, no more intoxicating my mind

Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
I do, I do

You almost fooled yourself this time
Let all the saints be praised
You hide your sadness behind your smile
And you keep your lost heartbreaks
The steps that edge along the ledge
Is much higher than it seems
But I've been on that ledge before
You can't hide yourself from me

I bet he couldn't
I bet he couldn't recognize
I still played right into it
Who am I to criticize
Somehow I'll get through it
And you won't even realize
Falling through your own disguise

It's like over and over
You're pushing me right down to the floor
I should just walk away
Over and over I keep on coming back for more
I play into your fantasy
And now that it's over
You can lie to me right through your smile
I've seen behind your eyes
Now I'm sober, no more intoxicating my mind

Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, but I do
I do, I do

Ooh...

It's like over and over
You're pushing me right down to the floor
I should just walk away
Over and over I keep on coming back for more
I play into your fantasy
Now that it's over
You can lie to me right through your smile
I've seen behind your eyes
Now I'm sober, no more intoxicating my mind

Even the devil wouldn't recognize you, you...
(but I do, but I do)

Even the devil wouldn't recognize you

I, I, I, I, I, I do

Old but Gold - Why Guys Don't Write Advice Columns

2008-06-23T16:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Smarty Pants:
The other day I set off for work and left my husband in the house watching the TV. I had gone about a mile from the house when my engine started coughing and conked out. I walked back home only to find out that my husband was making love to our neighbor. My husband is out of work and says that he is depressed. I love my husband but I don't know if I can trust him anymore. What should I do?
Sincerely
Frustrated

Dear Frustrated
A car can stall because of a variety of reasons. There can be debris in the fuel line or the fuel pump itself could be faulty. The computer can be out of whack or the water pump may have broken. To find the exact cause of the failure you should find a reputable mechanic in your area.

I hope this helps

Genuine FTW!!! (For The Win)

2008-06-22T12:01:00.000-07:00

So someone brought this article to my attention which spurred an interesting conversation about one of my favorite topics - the dysfunctional dating rituals of men and women.

Before I continue, let me just paste the text from the article below:

---- BEGIN ARTICLE ----
Dating Secrets Exposed: Why Nice Guys Finish Last
By April Masini

Are you a nice guy who has always wondered why the cocky guy -- the one who barely appears interested in the girl -- is usually the one who gets the girl?

Have you suffered from hearing the words, "You're a really nice guy, but I only like you as a friend," from a woman who you would do (or may, in fact, have already done) just about anything and everything for -- only to turn around and watch her date (or even chase) a guy who treats her like she's nothing special? And are you stumped wondering why she would date a guy who treats her like that when she could have you who would treat her like a princess and give her everything she wants? Well, you better brace yourself because I'm going to tell you a couple of secrets that you might not want to hear.

First, "nice" equates with boring and predictable. Look up "nice" in the dictionary and you find: pleasant; agreeable; satisfactory. In other words, average -- not exceptional, not exciting, and not sexy.I'll bet you've never heard a woman say she didn't want to date a guy because he was too confident, too passionate, or too exciting -- have you? But, I'll bet you have heard women say things like, "He's such a nice guy. He's so sweet and he's always there for me, but I only like him as a friend." Or, "He's such a good guy -- kind, thoughtful, generous, honest, loyal -- but there's no chemistry. He just doesn't turn me on." Sadly, I hear it all the time. The fact is, Mr. Nice Guy, you cannot bore a woman into feeling attracted to you or into wanting to date you. And as obvious as that sounds, if you are one of those guys I described that is exactly what you are trying to do. And it won't work.

Please understand that I am not suggesting that you mistreat women or disrespect them in any way.

What I'm suggesting is that you value and respect yourself more.
To illustrate what I mean: The answer to the question, "Why does the guy who doesn't appear to care as much about the girl get the girl?" is simple: The nice guy cares too much, too soon. He has made the woman too important and too valuable and it shows in everything he says and does. He is too available, too eager to please, too accommodating, and he gives too much -- all without getting anything in return. By doing so, he has made himself appear desperate, insecure, needy of this woman's attention, affection, and approval -- and he has stripped himself of any value in her eyes. After all, if he's already doing and giving everything, without her doing or giving anything - why would she value him? She won't. She is not going to value him any more than he values himself. What she is going to do is look for someone else, someone who she perceives as being more worthy, more confident, and more valuable.

Once you need something, or you want it too badly, you forfeit your strength and lose all power of negotiation. You are in a position of weakness and you are perceived as weak. Someone (or something) else is in control of you, the situation, and it's outcome. Men in this situation appear to be anything but confident, strong, and exciting. More, they are perceived as being unworthy and as lacking value.

Translation: Things that are easily acquired, obtained, or maintained, without any effort or sacrifice, lack value... it's human nature.

The secret to why the cocky guy wins with women, over the nice guy, is that he is perceived as being a stronger, more confident guy with more value. How? He never invests everything -- his entire being, ego, and self-worth in what one woman's response or reaction to him is. He doesn't gush with compliments; he isn't always available; he doesn't give too much; and he knows he isn't going to die if a woman says "no" to him. More, his attitude is, yeah, I'd like to go out with you, but if I can't, that's OK -- I'm a busy guy, with exciting things going on, and lots of other options.

---- END ARTICLE ----

But do either parties really understand the underlying concept behind this?

Is it as Freud tried to explain - because women by nature are 'submissive' and are supposed to gravitate towards a guy who mistreats them as being worthless?

Does a guy then go deviate away from his true self to mistreat a woman because it shows that he is confident?

What is being interpreted as mistreatment anyway? Is mistreatment the capacity to say no to doing something someone is genuinely not interested in?

Does ignoring your true expectations to put on a mask of being "nice" give someone leverage over the situation? Does it oblige the other party into compromising and agreeing? Isn't this then just another form of exerting control as subtle as it is?

Now a response to this article that someone made...which is awesome was

"Expecting a woman to fuck you because you're a nice guy is like expecting a bear not to eat you because you're a vegetarian."

This article was actually a pretty controversial article in my mind because it is so half-baked. Though it brought up a few good points which I agree with, it's too bad that this "exposing insight" frames the entire fault here as being on the guy who is being nice. It fails to mention and clarify a few other points.

Being nice if you are being genuine about it is not a problem. Of course, if you are being genuine, then you most likely are not always a goody goody nice person all the time. There tends to be a balance.

To me, this article ought to have highlighted and explained more about having a genuine sense of self, knowing what you want, adhering to it and not settling for anything less. If you are willing to let someone else determine this and dictate it for you - even if it's your significant other or your parents, then that's where problems begin to really occur. If one tries to please too many people and are operating under a misguided conception that they are being "selfless because they love" and "a good noble person about it" whereas it ultimately ends up not satisfying you completely despite the attempts to convince yourself that it is "enough". The expectations for reciprocation are still definitely there, even if they remain unsaid. Instead, by continuing down that path, they already begin to set their roles for the prospective relationship even before it has begun.

Another important point that I felt this article could have highlighted is the question of emotional maturity. If someone is too emotionally immature to understand and appreciate the value of a person who is genuine (NOTE: I said genuine. Not "nice" because it is useless if it requires facades or filters..but genuine in the sense of consistently being upfront and honest - through and through because THIS is what shows confidence and comfort with their own individuality but they don't necessarily have to be an asshole about it). Anyway, back to point.

It's rare for emotionally immature people to ever get to the point where they can truly appreciate someone's worth no matter what you do. Even the 'hard to get' chase games become pointless because you have to fuel the chase which is what they're really buying into and the best it can afford is the desired person's temporary interest in you.

Usually, if the pursuer must have to play tons of games to win someone's affection, then it usually means that the pursuer has to keep up and continue playing those games in order to keep a hold on that affection, or risk losing the desired individual's interest altogether - which is inevitable in most cases. But of course, there are a few exceptions where once the desired individual's interest has been won over, then they have the maturity to realize that the person who pursued them is a keeper and will understand/respect it enough to continue a relationship.

I love the extremities which occur when it comes to both men and women. There are the people who are nice to a fault - who will say yes to everything and dismiss it by convincing themselves that "oh boo hoo, look i gave them everything, and how did they repay me?" as depicting themselves to be "noble, selfless, and good"...well, if they REALLY had done those things out of the goodness of their heart and without expectation - then logically, they would not be so disappointed.

Accept the fact that you have a degree of expectations from people and not everyone can conform to those expectations. What you decide to do with them after this is up to you. It's human. It's normal. It's FINE to have expectations for yourselves. Even a basic thing like 'respect' is also an expectation that you feel you deserve from people. Accept that it is and do not settle for anything less than that or else you will be just lying to yourself about being satisfied. It shows sooner or later.

Then you also get those people who emphasize their assholish side under the notion that this means they have enough confidence to know what they want and will treat everything else like a lesser priority (aka shit). The amusing part is when they try to emphasize their assholish sides to win over the woman's affections.

If someone is a good judge of character, then they will ultimately be able to call out your bluff fairly early on whether its about you being superficially nice or being superficially assholish... because conclusively, if you are not being genuine then you are not being true to yourself, your actions are reflecting that you are not being true to yourself, and you project yourself as being someone that you are not just to attract someone's attention and please them into giving you a chance. Personally, I as an individual and a woman do not respect this trait and nor do I gravitate towards it. I find it untrustworthy, erratic, distasteful and even repulsive. I also notice that these people attract a strange variety of manipulative control freaks who will try their best to mold them into what THEY see as being fit. Not a great thing to go through, but hell, people go with it because it 'eases their lonliness' even if it's at the cost of their own sense of self and peace of mind.

Sure, you may try your luck at fooling people and even get away with it for a bit, but reality sets in inevitably, you will revert back to being who you truly are and sooner or later, this must be both confronted and accepted.

You're eventually gonna be screwed if you deviate away from being yourself. So please people, before anything, just realize your true sense of self, accept what it is that it wants, and adhere to it. Be genuine. If you cannot even be genuine to yourselves, how can you expect others to be genuine to you?

No wonder there are so many failed marriages at this day and age!

Peddling Crack for the Ears: The Birthday Massacre's 'Unfamiliar'

2008-06-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

A Final Fantasy AMV to Birthday Massacre's loopworthy song - Unfamiliar.

LYRICS:
Lately,
Nothing passes lightly.
A heavy hand is holding me down -
A breeze is just an unfamiliar sound, to me.

Just close the door,
It's all coming back to me.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.
Just close the door,
It's all coming back to me.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.

Lately,
Nothing passes by me.
And every hand is pulling me down -
And praise is just an unfamiliar sound, to me.

Just close the door,
It's all coming back to me.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.
Just close the door,
It's all coming back to me.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.

Ooo, Just close the door -
It's all coming back.
Ooo, Just close the door -
'Cause it's all coming back.

All this meaningless direction
feels like it pulls me away.
It's hard to just forget
what they say - to me.

Just close the door,
It's all coming back to me.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.
Just close the door,
It's all coming back.
Be still my heart,
'Cause it's all coming back.

Witnessing Late Night Kinkyness in Public Spaces

2008-06-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

Why me? Why is it always me who must be the magnet? The magnet for witnessing shady people get their kink on in public places?

This has happened on more than one occasion now.

The most recent one having happened last night. So a friend and myself had a craving for some fluffy Ihop waffles and coffee at 12.30am. Thinking that we had been there before at 3.30/4am a few weekends ago and recalling a poster on the window that said Open 24 hours, so we assumed that it would be open even then, right?

Wrong.

We reached Ihop only to discover that it was closed and the 24 hour poster had some fine print underneath stating open 24 hours on the weekends and not during the week as we had previously thought. A bit disheartened, but with determination to not give up on our waffle/coffee craving, we decided to make our way to Denny's. Our conversation on the drive there alone should have foreboded what was to come.

My friend had asked me if Denny's would be open that late at night. I never having been to one didn't know, but I said that it should be because they are always placed near those rest stops for truckers along the highway. This conversation then deviated to truckers, reststops, and the classic scene from Something About Mary where after having picked up a crazy stray hitchhiker, Ben Stiller is a bit creeped out by this hitchhiker but he is too nice of a guy. So he says that he needs to go piss and pulls into a very dark trucker reststop (about which his friend warned him about earlier in the movie).

Just as Ben stops the car, the reststop is ambushed by several cop cars that light up the rest stop with their painfully bright headbeams exposing all the truckers who were engaged in carnal pleasures with one another out in the field and are caught suddenly like a herd of deer. A herd of very kinky horny deer. Ben being in the wrong place at the wrong time gets arrested and taken into custody for further interrogation.

Anyway, back to my story which is more important.

So we make our way to Denny's which was thankfully open and pretty busy for that time of night. My friend picks a table next to the window near his car, but with his back towards it. After we had started on our food, I noticed a questionable dazed-looking guy who was walking outside the window a few feet away from where we were sitting and my prior experience in downtown Oakland has taught me how to identify these folks. I even commented outloud to my friend about the guy who I am going to refer from here on out to as Dazed&Desperate.

Not 5 minutes after, there is another guy who was leaving - and I am going to refer to guy number 2 as SugarDaddy. SugarDaddy steps outside about to pass Dazed&Desperate and apparently Dazed&Desperate asks this other guy for money. Now a few possible scenarios may have occurred here and I don't know which one is true.

A) Either SugarDaddy declined to give Dazed&Desperate any money but Dazed&Desperate persisted saying that he'll return it with a sexual favor

or

B) SugarDaddy declined, Dazed&Desperate persisted and SugarDaddy out of the kind warm generosity of his heart said "Oh...alright. Fine. " and Dazed&Desperate was so happy that he insisted he return this generosity with a sexual favor.

or

C) SugarDaddy took the money out, but then figured that he will give him the money in exchange for a sexual favor and asked Dazed&Desperate if he was willing to make this exchange.

Either way, what happened next was that as I was finishing up my hash brown and about to start on my waffle, All i know is that Dazed&Desperate (whose back was to me) is suddenly bending over, and it was his asscrack that first caught my peripheral vision. I commented to my friend "hey look, butt crack of dawn" but clearly didn't even finish thinking as to why Dazed&Desperate is suddenly bending over and staying in that position whereas SugarDaddy was standing up straight facing him but of course, the realization hit almost simultaneously and in a few minutes, I saw Dazed&Desperate receiving his money and then a separation of ways between the two. The group of guys sitting behind me apparently caught what happened, too.

The best part about all this was that it took place in front of my friend's car.

Now, because my life is so very interesting, this had not been all and there was yet more to happen to complete my innocent late night outing.

After exiting Denny's, my friend and I were walking towards his car but curiosity got the best of me so I walked ahead of the passenger side of the car to investigate the ground to see if there were any traces left of this business exchange we had witnessed.

The guys sitting in the table behind began us suddenly stopped to look at me walking around investigating. After seeing this, I stopped and got back into my friend's car but the guys kept staring - but then the guy with his back to the car also got up to get a better visual of where I was and what I had been doing. In slight embarrassment and wanting to be out of their line of sight, I buried my head in my hands then hunched over in my seat as my friend started his car and began to pull out...not realizing the further impact it would have. I only dug myself deeper because now the guys could not stop staring at all and were trying to see why I had suddenly disappeared out of sight into the lower half of the vehicle which probably kicked their own imagination into high gear resulting in many many impure thoughts. My only consolation is "thank god they didn't catch that on camera"

The other incident that I recall was when I used to go to art/design school and resided in downtown Oakland. Most shops and restaurants would shut down pretty early because Oakland didn't have a good reputation, but there used to be a quaint little retro-themed bakery/restaurant/ice cream parlor across on the other side of Lake Merrit. It was creatively called Lake Meritt Bakery and was located some minutes away. One night at 1.30/2am, my distraught friend who needed to talk drove over and we went to Lake Merrit bakery to continue our conversation. There were no other customers seated there apart from him and myself, and this other eccentrically dress pimp daddy guy seated diagonally behind my friend out of his line of sight.

As my friend was speaking and I was eating, I notice in my peripheral vision that PimpDaddy was engaged in some quick up/down motions being made beneath the table by his left hand. I tried very hard to focus on what my friend was saying and not PimpDaddy but it was tough but in this case I didn't bother interrupting my friend because he was on a roll. Some moments later, PimpDaddy got up and exited the premises.

And if only I could have a dime for all the times I've seen a woman (or what appeared to be woman-like) in the front passenger side bent over a guy in the drivers' side of the vehicle...I would be considerably richer.

So you see? Clearly I am a magnet for these instances of witness late night kinkyness in public spaces.

Not even the TV is safe. In one of the rarest rare occassions that I was watching TV at home, I was trying to flip through the channels to find something worth watching while waiting for a show to start. Suddenly my then 14 year old brother walks into the room and asks what am I watching. So I said "I'm flipping through the channels trying to find something" and as I proceeded to flip through the channels...I kid you not - right then, I flip through all sorts of inappropriate scenes. It was like all the channels on TV at that moment in time were suddenly showing some inappropriate soft porn sexual content.

Very awkward.

Business is Business

2008-06-10T01:49:00.000-07:00

I came across an post made by a girl regarding her coworker
"Sometimes I think people need to mind their own business. Live and let live without fucking others over. My co-workers snitched on me. I called in sick yesterday because I was out too late and felt like crap in the morning. One of them told my supervisor that I was out partying last night so it's probably why I didn't come in. It's a new job so obviously they don't know me well enough to know it's not something I do regularly"

Not to advocate for taking days off if you've been partying all night the evening before but once in awhile it's necessary to take some time off. It's only natural - and we should not have to feel guilty about it.

And actually...her post reminded me about one of the biggest eye-opening lessons that I've learned in the past 2 years:

Never trust your coworkers 100%.
(Of course, there are always exceptions, rare rare exceptions at that)

Now before I am regarded as someone with bitter cynical views...which I probably do regarding certain matters, let me explain as concisely as possible.

Most workplace environments innately carry a lot of political drama because of competition. It's a place where everyone is trying to "shine" and display themselves as being worthy of moving up. So when there is a question of interest, theirs will always come first. Naturally. If an opportunity presents itself where they can shine..even if it meant muddying up your own shine, well, don't assume that they are "too good of a person" or that "you two are too good of friends" as to not take advantage of such opportunities. Suddenly that person you thought was "alright" and whom you were buddybuddy with has done the unthinkable and unhesitantly ratted you out. They are absolutely under no obligation to keep your information confidential - no, not even morally. So think twice before you decide to follow through with this because the saying "Keep private matters out of the workplace" is there for a good reason.

And you know what? Management loves this. LOVES! Why? This type of behavior is generally encouraged because this carries a great deal of benefits.

A) People become more competitive, thus motivating others who of course don't want to appear to be any lesser in which case, performance reviews/promotions/job security in general may be jeopardized. Duh.

B) The gloves come off and the claws come out, which means that management gets the juicy details about what's going on behind the curtains. Everything from personal life stories to the veritable "who was to blame" for whatever assignment as gone astray or missed a deadline for whatever reason. Most people wouldn't really hesitate to share others' information with management if they are trying to establish a 'hey, i'm trustworthy" connection with the manager whose words in the next review could result in a promotion? So don't be surprised by a convenient excuse this later on such as a "What could I do? How could I lie to them! I can't lie to the manager."

Be weary of people who engage in small talk and particularly the subtle manipulative ways in which they try to whittle the information out of you without disclosing their own. An analogy of this would be that you are playing poker yourself, a colleague, and a manager and the colleague is basically trying to figure out your cards without disclosing their own of course. It gives them more leverage over you in the game. Similarly, within a workplace environment. Simple as that.

This probably seems like common sense, but it's amazing at how frequently this occurs and how frequently people unsuspectingly fall victim to these basic dynamics within a workplace. Admittedly, as someone with high expections, idealistic optimistic outlook, and moral inclinations, I myself have not only beared witness to these, but I have also been unpleasantly surprised by the revelation of a coworkers' true character. Don't get me wrong or become overly paranoid about "everyone's out to get you" because of course, there are exceptions but to be safe, its best that you wait and get to know your coworkers real well before you disclose much else. Just be as well balanced as you can possibly be to remain as a professional.

As for my personal experiences in the past few years...well, let's just say that I'm glad I came to learn about the true characters of some the people I at one point highly valued as coworkers but it has not completely shattered my faith in people strangely enough. I was so impressed by the facade they created and carried for over a year that I worked with them. Here's a summary of what happened - which I'm going to give a fair warning about because it probably isn't going to be as short and concise as I would like it to be :P:

Intense Lessons with Business Matters (so far)

After graduating college, I was amongst the first 4 to join a startup in its very early stage. I was the only designer within the US office at that point, very determined and eager to get the job done and very friendly to my colleagues with genuine interest in supporting them and nurturing them. The CEO was an Indian fellow with more than just a highly abrasive personality...he was the kind who felt he was above the law and could get away with conducting unethical business even if it meant he had to do something illegal - and believe me, I am not exaggerating... Charging clients' credit cards without authorization from the client, not delivering what was promised to the clients within the contract, not answering to clients when they needed answers as to why their project deliverables are 2 months late (something that he went behind my back and instructed the oversea development teams to purposefully delay the deliverables past the expected deadline), etc.

Though my own job was not ever threatened, I had a nice office, a regular paycheck, a position of many responsibilities which developed into a management level position over time, most people probably would think that it should have been enough and what more can anyone ask for? However, I could not stand the fact that I was supporting a business run by a guy like him who felt it was fine to exploit not only employees, but clients as well. I could not put my own personal reputation at risk as a professional by being involved with him or that company, and I simply could not be happy with myself knowing that I supported a guy like that.

But could I leave my clients and colleagues hanging in that situation and just go escape into another job? Was it possible that this would change later? These were complex questions, and of course, I was not going to leave clients hanging with their projects unfinished, nor was I going to bail on my colleagues. Who else would keep junk food always stocked in their office or bring a box of warm gooey chocolate cookies fresh from the oven when everyone was stressed? Not to mention my personal attachment to the company which I helped build which reminded me of my own dreams from early college years to start a design oriented business based within the US and India so of course I grabbed at the opportunity to experience something similar when it presented itself to me after I graduated. I ultimately decided to stick around for a few more months to see if things improved before I made my final decision.

Let me paint a quick picture as to just one of the many ways he was exploiting his employees: During the final 7 months that I was working there, no one from the sales team of 15 people had received any checks for the commissions that they worked hard to earn and were making do with a measly base salary nowhere suited for the living costs within the Bay Area. Finally it came to a point where they were even denied a copy of their commission statements even if they personally requested it, let alone a check and this led many to leave of course. The CEO didn't mind because he saw this revolving door as a means of saving money. He could hire new people and invest the time in training them. So what?

Finally, myself and some of the former colleagues who were sales people became involved in a separate business venture led by a guy, P, who everyone including myself thought very highly of. P was one of the original 4 employees during the early phases and he was the contrasting nice supportive generous friendly trustworthy manager to the CEO's abrasive bad cop image. We formed what we all had thought to be a great concept that we wanted to pursue where we finally had the power to do things the "right way" and exceed the expectations of our clients. P had given everyone the impression that VC funds were in place, which later was changed to "on the way". As our own fault for having over trusted him, we did not question what he said and were not more demanding about the officialized paperwork which we were told was being created by an attorney. He opened a business account under his own name and only he had access to this. Keep this in mind, because it applies in what's to follow.

Many of the well-performing sales people left the former company to join this venture thinking that this was their opportunity to do good ethical business which was going to proove to be more profitable to them, and of course, where they would not be treated unethically. Some of these sales people were well in their 40s, had families, and almost everyone had no one else to support them. I myself trusted P a lot and was so determined to make this venture materialize into a profitable business that even though the VC funds were still not yet in place. Since I was the only designer again, and the only individual with a regular paycheck, I let P know that if my regular salary paycheck was late by a bit in order to make sure other business overhead costs were covered, then I would be alright with that and that he could pay me a bit later. Big mistake. 1 missed paycheck turned into 5 and 2 of which had been deposited into my account by P himself...but bounced and risked complicating my own personal relationship with my bank.

The first time the paycheck P deposited into my account showed up in my account 2 days later, but then the disappeared my account after another 3 days. I was confused as to what just happened, what did it mean, why didn't the check clear the way it was supposed . I inquired P, who just told me not to worry and reassured me that there had been enough funds in the business account so he had no idea why the check was not clearing. 2 weeks later when the bank reprocessed the check and it still did not clear, it was confirmed that there had not been sufficient funds in the account and P profusely apologized saying that somehow someone else's check that he deposited into his account had given a faulty impression that there were enough funds in the business account, that it was his fault for not being more attentive, and it would never happen again.

My bank has a policy where it if a check bounces the first time, then it will rerun the check 8 days later giving their clients little to no power to cancel it. After the 8 days have passed, if the check still bounces, then they charge you the amount of the check along with a fee. It also doesn't reflect very well on credit, but anyway....I managed to talk to my bank and have them waive this after explaining what happened. I also let P know that I would prefer if he could give me the money in cash as opposed to depositing a check. The second time this occured was when he blatantly ignored this request and deposited yet another check which bounced. Then shortly after this happened, he went absolutely missing. It was as if he literally had dropped out of the face of the planet. Suddenly he was not taking or returning anyone's calls, he was not replying to emails, and literally left people who had been involved in this venture hanging. People who valued him and trusted him greatly after having worked over a year with him.

This all occurred earlier this year in a time when the economy was not doing so well, and still isn't...which meant that finding a job shortly after this incident. Moreover, the sales industry in the US is not reliable or even ethical these days as people tend to take advantage of the sales people by not offering an adequate base salary, and then despite initially statint that the sales people would earn 10-15% of the sale made as commissions, they would proceed to cap the commission after it went past a particular numeric amount so sales people don't even get paid the full amount of what was rightfully their commission. The sales industry also is not kind to people in their 40s despite the level of experience they have and often prefers to hire young right out of college graduates whom they keep around for 2-3 years, then lay off, and repeat.

As if this disappointing turn of events wasn't enough, another 2 people who were design and business directors hired after me in the former company both of whom had suddenly resigned without a warning (before I left the former company) in order to work on a private venture by themselves seemed to have trouble earning sales.

Despite knowing what had transpired at the former company along with this suddenly failed business venture with the sales people who were now in dire need of a job with a steady paycheck to support themselves, these two former directors incessantly tried any/every line and trick they had to convince some of the sales people to join their own venture. Of course, no base salary or paycheck, unless they made a sale. The sales people did speak to them, as they had limited, and even explained very politely why they could not take a job without a steady paycheck, but this did not hinder these two. After discovering the fact that I had remained in pretty solid touch with some of the high performer sales people along with a few individuals from the oversea teams in India, they began to aggressively use other tactics to try to get myself involved or where they were suddenly trying to help me find a position at reputable company. Of course, I realized that their aggressiveness to suddenly be "generous Mother Teresa" obviously had an underlying selfish motive and probably wanted to use me as a means to convince the others to join.

All of these events took place within a matter of 2-3 months and were a very rude, but necessary awakening. Fortunately, any clients made in the failed venture were taken care of personally by myself and 2 of the sales people involved and the brighter side of the situation is that the disappointment occurred so early else it would have have been detrimental to our own personal reputations. Another bright side was that it taught me many many lessons which will serve me for years to come in my future endeavors. Lessons on how different people can be in character from what you perceive of them initially, and of course, in how to conduct legit ethical business where compromises should not be made. Never assume that your trusting well intentioned actions that you take on good faith will be met in the same way because they probably won't. Verbal agreements are not sufficient, and if they really care about you as much as you care about them, then they will not mind making the extra bit of effort in making sure EVERYTHING is documented on paper for that nice professional official touch.

So clearly as expected, my summary wasn't as short as I had hoped it would be but leaving out the details would have made it incomplete and I truly hope these words help someone make better decisions professionally without having to go through similar unpleasant surprises later down the line.

As for the failed business venture, once I have secured a stable job and regained my financial stability, I am more determined than ever to reapproach it myself with support from a few of the colleagues who kindly supported me during the tough times just as I did my best to support them.

Resuming with a Fresh Outlook

2008-06-03T01:12:00.001-07:00

After a very long time, I've finally gathered the motivation and determination necessary to write a blog again. My previous blog - Attitudes are Contagious was kept for over a period of 2 years and it contains many memorable bits and pieces of my life along with more trivial things such as poems.

What came to my attention later was the sheer range of people who were reading that blog and how many of them misconstrued the postings within that blog to be something else. Here would be an example:

My previous blog included entries with numerous poems and song lyrics - both of which were written for a Poetry Class. Yet, coincidentally, I came to find out later that people who dug up my blog (such as an ex's significant other or even my own significant other) misinterpreted these poems to be regarding my ex even though chronologically speaking - these poems were written far before that particular relationship was concluded.

I found this revelation to be slightly surprising and slightly humorous because it made me realize that just as much as people love to speculate even with limited information by filling in the unknown by using their imaginations. I've considered including a disclaimer with each entry this time but what would it say? This bit stumps me.

DISCLAIMER: Assume with caution
CAUTION: DO NOT feed inaccurate interpretations with speculation of limited details

But then I realize that despite disclaimers, people will proceed to bend things in a way they would like to see them and would wish to believe - and this is something that I cannot influence.

Now then, onto more intriguing matters - Why have I titled this blog Noetic Rogue? What does noetic mean?

no·et·ic
/noʊˈɛtɪk/noh-et-ik (adjective)

1. of or pertaining to the mind.
2. originating in or apprehended by the reason.

rogue
/roʊg/rohg (noun, adjective)
1. a dishonest, knavish person; scoundrel.
2. a playfully mischievous person; scamp: The youngest boys are little rogues.
3. a tramp or vagabond.
4. a rogue elephant or other animal of similar disposition.
5. Biology. a usually inferior organism, esp. a plant, varying markedly from the normal. –verb (used without object)
6. to live or act as a rogue. –verb (used with object)
7. to cheat.
8. to uproot or destroy (plants, etc., that do not conform to a desired standard).
9. to perform this operation upon: to rogue a field. –adjective
10. (of an animal) having an abnormally savage or unpredictable disposition, as a rogue elephant. 11. no longer obedient, belonging, or accepted and hence not controllable or answerable; deviating, renegade: a rogue cop; a rogue union local.

The reason behind the careful selection of this careful paradox is as follows:
As most personal affiliates are aware of my mischevious, spontaneous personality which has earned me the alias of Rogue, there has always been an underlying morally-driven aspect to my mean streak. The last few years have brought with them an abundance of realizations and truths about myself, people around me, and human nature in general.

It is interesting for me to observe, evaluate, and reflect on these incidents to find patterns. One of the most frequent patterns that I noticed - a quality...nay a flaw in many people that often disappointed me and additionally served as a flag of deeper issues was the inability of some folks to lay aside their emotions/ego/pride aside to do the right reasonable thing. Instead they made decisions which didn't go very well, that even they cannot seem to justify or understand.

I write with the hopes that perhaps these thoughts - these words which I send out may be of use to someone else in understanding that they are not alone - that even though many people may not be who or what you expect them to be - that there are always wiser ways of going about the decisions which take place both during and after these encounters.