Reading for the upcoming Tests/Interviews is the only time that I can brush up on my poor general knowledge. As I read on, I realize that there are so many interesting events going on.

1. AfPak situation: Obama is sending about 17, 000 troops to Afghanistan (in the next month, I guess.) And then about 4k later, for the elections. But what propels the Afghan crisis into a larger issue, which will be addressed at the NATO summit this weekend, is the Taliban-Pakistan relationship. The Taliban in Pakistan has already taken over the SWAT valley (NWFP region) and the tribal regions (FATA) as well.
But Pakistan has been brewing with internal conflicts as well. Its shaky government, threatening army and growing corruption have made it vulnerable to attacks.
Read more on it: http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13382077

2. Economic Recession: I know zilch about it, but I know that it is important cause It is affecting us and blah blah. What I fail to understand is that how knowing the name of the RBI chairperson or the Fed Reserve person is going to help us. (at least in interviews!)
I cant understand why nobody took notice of Roubini and Krugman. Roubini, in a recent interview, said that we should make sure that the recession is U-shaped and not L-shaped like Japan's. Japan is also facing gloom; its finance minister resigned and now it is registering huge losses, more than States.

3. Indian Elections: I cant fathom that every few years these politicians rise and fall, and have the nerves to get up again. The third front, the UPA and the NDA!..I think there should be another option as "not worth it."
These days the wrong people are making the headlines for the wrong reasons:
-Varun Gandhi, for his extremely communal speech.
-Sanjay Dutt, for being unable to stand for elections from Lucknow.
-I also noticed that George Fernandes is standing as an independent candidate from Muzzafarpur, cause he has been chucked out of JD (u)...(there are so many political parties!..its hard to remember where they began and where they have ended up.)

A little bit of Godness

Listening to: Janis Joplin/Lil Wayne (seperately)


Watching: the monitor

• Have started to believe in God. Living in a place where you like no one..u start believing in some things that you thought you never will. Will have to think a lot about that..does living alone have any effect on how you perceive God? Does being away from family make you believe in what they say strongly?
  Is God a man or woman? ....What the hell!
• Saw an episode of Fringe...and i must say that it is Not at all Lost...Joshua Jackson was a good addition. But will have to see more to say more..
• Working on a report writing assignment right now. Apparently our class wanted Bush to be killed in Chennai, but the teacher thought it might be a bit too much..
• Thinking of watching Fashion this weekend. Might do too

Random small sized posts

• I am on a Monty Python spree. Have started watching it like MAD and I think I might do my project on it. But will have to do immense research for it.


• And now for something completely different.


• Have decided that Journalism may not be the best area for a non-socializing person like me. Have started to believe, "Hell is other people." There is no escape!


• Have discovered the benefits of a torrent. After a successful download of Dark Knight, have become a Torrent fan. Might have to buy a wi-fi connection soon.


• US election is coming up and fates will be decided. Honestly, my vote doesn't count and neither does my opinion, but I would prefer Obama to be the new leader. He seems young, radical, motivated and is liberal. I admit to not knowing more about his politics, but his stance on issues like war and abortion seem to be neutral. Anything's better than extreme.


• Chennai has books and movies and loads of them. This weekend I bought - books on film theory, plays by Girish Karnad, Another Agatha Christie novel called Dumb Witness. Also purchased a few films like Iko, The Birds, and Poirot movies... cant get enough of Christie


• Have stopped watching television all together. This thought scares me a lot! I am spending a lot of time on the laptop, but television is just another screen dimension. Missed so many F1 matches this season, along with new series on english channels.


• Will see the new Potter trailer and report. Cant believe I missed that one. Shame on me!


• Have started listening to BBC podcasts. I get a very slow connection here, but the podcasts are very small. So I can easily download a few. They are very informative and interesting.


• Dilli or Delhi? Once , I go back I might decide whether I am a Dilli-ite or a Delhiite. Makes no difference either way. To live in Delhi and not be a part of it is a shame.

Recently, conversations have been turning to subjects like marriage, caste, religion, region and family and what I discover is that all of these matter more than identity. Maybe because they are a part of one's self. Apart from these traditions, there are a few hangups that never leave us and are passed down from earlier generations.

I had never given much thought to what others believe because I always think that thoughts and beliefs are mutable, changing constantly with new experiences. One can never believe that anything is fixed because nothing is. How can anyone believe that our ideas and identities are permanent, when we live in a world that forces us to scrutinize our actions and doubt our ability..

• Just saw the HP trailer.. so familiar, it reminds of comfortable Delhi days...()

Pre New Year Post

This Pre 2008 post is an attempt to list down a few things learnt from in 2007. This is a very reductive activity but it might help me at the end of the next year when I'm still complaining what I rotter that year's been.



FROM APRIL

1. Post Graduation in English is a big cake
2. Kofee with Karan sucks. (Even though Johar may share his name with my very favourite tragic hero form Mahabharata).
3. Cricket has a habit of springing up on you when you've totally lost interest in it. Especailly if its endowed by handsome guys wearing glasses most of the time.
4. I'm a sucker for Time Travel.
5. I love almost tangible human superheroes. Its their biggest shortcoming and their biggest strength.

FROM MAY
1. American poets are easier to read than their British counterparts.
2. My attempt at Haikus is strained and then when I checked, wrong!

FROM JUNE
1. I love Harry Potter ICON MAKING.
2. I love Harry Potter FANFICTION.
3. I love HARRY POTTER. No contest.

FROM JULY
1. I predicted a few deaths from HP-7, being the pessimist I am.
2. Surprisingly, J.K. Rowling is a pessimist.

FROM AUGUST
1. I experiment more with icons.
2. Entourage is a life saver, post Harry Potter.

FROM SEPTEMBER
1. I decide I may want to become a writer, but being a bigger pessimist than an artist, I think I'll end up un-appreciated.
2. There are many pending books that one has to finish reading to become versatile. And the fact that I'm more lazier than Pessimist has everything to do with it!

FROM OCTOBER
1. Death follows Life. Questions of "why are we here" are very unavoidably raised , never to be resolved.
2. A whole month immersed in movies to escape the dreary life.
3. Kimmi Raikkonen is my hero.

FROM NOVEMBER
1. I find celebrities blogging very appealing. YEAH for Aamir Khan.
2. I'm irritable, suspicious, introvert, cautious and paranoid. HOGWASH for me.

FROM DECEMBER
1. This game or quiz is for everyone who wants to sharpen their abyssmal geography. I'm in.
2. I have to study Literary Critics this month to prepare for an upcoming tutorial. As much as I want to learn what I dont know, I'm afraid they might force me to think about those issues. That never does any good. (Thanks to Mr Foucault-you might want to spell your name the way you write it, Walter B, etc. )
3. Its freezing cold. I might not survive till the next year. My resolution should be to live till the first of Jan, 2008. Then I might make more resolutions that might be more creative. But thats next post then.

A Huge Post..divided by Easy Lists.

Listening to : Jerry Seinfeld Stand Up Comedy

Watching : The Computer Screen

Took a test at Career Cruising and got the following :

Careers that suit your answers are listed below under Interest Rank.

1. Writer (A bit spot on, a possibility that has been growing on me...Get it off me!)

2. Print Journalist (Another strong possibility.)

3. Critic (Ya...I criticize everything eventually.)

4. Translator (Only if I knew more languages than two)

5. Activist (Thought a bit about this one...Seems Improbable.)

6. Communications Specialist (dunno)

7. Public Relations Specialist (dunno)

8. Market Research Analyst (dunno)

9. Anthropologist (Dont have the degree for it)

10. Special Effects Technician

11. Cartoonist/comic Illustrator (I wish)

12. Actor (I wish)

13. Costume Designer

14. Set Designer

15. Jeweler

16. Sign Maker

17. Fashion Designer

18. Craftsperson

19. Potter (Just been reading it)

20. Comedian

21. Website Designer (Wish I could)

22. Magician (Not thinking of being a Potter)

23. Desktop Publisher

24. Composer

25. Telephone Operator

26. Medical Illustrator

27. Stylist (Need one actually)

28. Casting Director

29. Graphics Designer

30. Artist (Aren't all of them Artists...?)

31. Computer Animator

32. Art Director

33. Picture Framer

34. Upholster

35. Furniture Finisher

36. Musician

37. Psychologist

38. Sport Psychology Consultant

39. Enlisted Member of the Armed Forces (Not a Gryyfindor)

40. Political Aide (HA!)

(I took another one to narrow down my results with interesting results like a Pet Groomer, Data Entry Clerk, Musician, Custodian, Special Effects Technician coming in top ten too...)

What movies I've seen this past month :

1. RGV ki Aag (At least he made a movie...)

2. Heyy Babyy (Emotional and Sappy and with Babies...~slept for few minutes~)

3. Chak de India (Good Effort. Worth a Watch)

4. Transformers (Good Effects. Cliched Robots!...that was new.)

5. The Simpsons Movie (Obviously Funny)

6. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Heaven!)

7. Freedomland (on tv. Juliane Moore cant act Crazy Mom, being crazy herself.)

8. Fantastic Four and the Rise of the Silver Surfer (Fine...except with Surfer being very cool!)

9. Adaptation (Brilliant.)

10. Memento (was very .... I forgot.... Get it???)

Books I wanna read..... (pending...)

1. Lord of the Rings (should I read Hobbit before...confused!)

2. Artemis Fowl (Worthy successor to Potter....?..will find out)

3. Shalimar (Based on the movie; have actually started reading this...pleasant)

4. Disgrace (heard its good...)

5. Chronicles of Narnia (Bought it a few months ago. Still lying, looking at me.)

6. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Read one. Loved it. Need to read the rest.)

...

More to come.

Thoughts on Turning Older :

Can't say I'm surprised. It had to happen. Eventuality, I think or fatality. Older and Younger are the same words, looked from across roads. And so is 22. Next stop 33.