Fourth Circle Of Hell

We are doomed to fruitless labor. Cooking and cleaning is a partial definition of home. At work, bureaucracy promises us enough paperwork to sober up the most passionate workaholic. And the car that takes me back and forth is comparable to high maintenance relationships. Hmmm... if this is a taste of the fourth circle of Hell, I guess it's not scary enough. The religious fanatics need to come up with a scarier model to keep us in check.

Pursuit Of Happiness

Aristotle had it figured out. Happiness is a drug and the pursuit of happiness is an addiction. This is partly why people are miserable when they are unhappy. They are going through a chemical withdrawal. And this withdrawal based misery or depression depends on the original level of addiction.

Level 1: As kids, happiness is achieved easily. Candy, cartoons ... yup, doesn't take much. Even as adults we try to enjoy the little things. Chocolate - The simplest kind of happiness. But very temporary. After a certain point it stops satisfying. What to do? Eat more candy or ...

Level 2: Competition. Winning in sports or any other platform that proves one better than another. I hated sports but I was shamelessly happy when I beat the idiots in class at Math. Some would say this is an evil kind of happiness. It works. Don't break the rules and it's ok. Unfortunately the killer instinct doesn't last. What to do? Find a new discipline and train or ...

Level 3: Help others. Give. Make your family happy, be there for your friends, provide for the needy and world peace. It's a serious endeavor and this is what most people ought to pursue. This is enough. This level of happiness is satisfying enough. But then there are people screwed up enough that need more.

Level 4: Perfection. Addicts who seek this level of the happy drug aren't satisfied until they experience the elusive and rare - love, god, truth, destiny. Those unfortunate enough to not get their fix become severely depressed or kill themselves. Idiots with high standards. They should've quit while they were still ahead.

I guess the pitfalls of experiencing a more meaningful life is an addiction to happiness. The problem isn't that it is self-destructive during withdrawal, the motive to pursue itself seems futile if a possible end result is the exact opposite of happiness.

God influencing US Foreign Policy

For Evangelicals, Supporting Israel Is ‘God’s Foreign Policy’ - New York Times

People will rationalize anything. According to this NYTimes article, conservative Christians think that it is justifiable per the Bible for US to take the side of Israel and continue waging the war. So much for the separation of the Church and State. In response to the meeting between President Bush and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, administration officials claim that it was just a courtesy meeting with a political ally and that evangelical theology has no effect on foreign policy making. Yeah Right! Read the article for more insight.

As long as religion plays a role in politics and wars, which will probably continue for a while, there will be no end to radical terrorism.

Ladder Theory

Came across this on Chick Pea's blog and thought it was totally hilarious and right on the mark.

Ladder Theory

Can't stop laughing.

Emotional Dependence

Too Close for Comfort - New York Times

By STEPHANIE COONTZ

I loved this article by Stephanie Coontz. In fact, I'm going to get her book Marriage, a History: From Obedience to Intimacy, or How Love Conquered Marriage right away to read her opinions on Marriage.

"EVER since the Census Bureau released figures last month showing that married-couple households are now a minority, my phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from people asking: “How can we save marriage? How can we make Americans understand that marriage is the most significant emotional connection they will ever make, the one place to find social support and personal fulfillment?”

I think these are the wrong questions — indeed, such questions would have been almost unimaginable through most of history."

As any desi from a conservative family, I get a ton of pressure about getting married soon or else ... Life will be a drab, lonely journey that I will regret to no end. Not that there is anything wrong with that (hehehe, Seinfeld reference), but there is so much else to life besides marriage. Of course, we need emotional attachments, but a big mistake people tend to make is save all their emotional energy for this "right person", and that puts a tremendous amount of stress on a new relationship and a lot of expectation to meet. Expecting emotional attachment from one person can become pathologically dependedent. It wasn't always that way for us.

"It has only been in the last century that Americans have put all their emotional eggs in the basket of coupled love. Because of this change, many of us have found joys in marriage our great-great-grandparents never did. But we have also neglected our other relationships, placing too many burdens on a fragile institution and making social life poorer in the process."

I have known so many desi friends that disappeared overnight the moment they got married. I may sound bitter or jealous, but I would still argue that despite the new found joy in a person's life in the form of a spouse, diverting all your social energy into personal life is not healthy in the long term. What happens when there is any kind of rupture, however small, in this supposedly ideal and perfect relationship? You've just become emotionally stranded because you have alienated all other relationships.

"The solution to this isolation is not to ramp up our emotional dependence on marriage. Until 100 years ago, most societies agreed that it was dangerously antisocial, even pathologically self-absorbed, to elevate marital affection and nuclear-family ties above commitments to neighbors, extended kin, civic duty and religion."

There is more to life besides marriage.

Micro Fiction: Cheater

"Hey, I just made it. My cab should be here any minute. You okay?"
"You got another call... I talked to him... He says he's sorry. He wanted me to tell you that. May be I should've seen it. I knew it was something. When I'd offer to meet you on the road before Sam was born, you always had some excuse. Fewer and fewer visits every year, always some reason. You distracted yourself with friends even when we had only a day or two together. You could never wait to leave. Anything not be here, not to be with me. It's amazing how we fill in the blanks, the way we want to see them. And I kept filling them in. I'm not pretty today. I'm not funny or smart or interesting enough. Next visit, I'll do better, I'll work harder, I'll figure it out. I felt so unattractive sometimes, so unwanted, you have no idea how hard it was always trying to find some reason, some way that I failed. Somewhere deep down, I knew something was wrong, I'm sure I did. Guess I must've been afraid to ask somehow. But I wonder if I had, if you would have told me the truth. Even in my arms, you were always out of reach. And may be you didn't love me the way I did you, but you didn't even care enough to be honest with me. You didn't choose someone else, Carl. You are someone else."

(Blatantly adapted from a TV show)

CO Awareness

Carbon monoxide exposure: silent killer

As winter sets in, most people should become aware that turning up the heat from whatever source, and sealing all doors and windows to keep warm, may as well become a death trap from a faulty heating / burning device that emits Carbon Monoxide. Invest in a decent CO alarm and save lives.

Plutocracy

"Party of the Rich"
Limousine liberals are upgrading to Lear jets.

By Peter Schweizer

Although obviously right-biased, this article shows an interesting trend about how Democrats have joined the party of the rich politicians that used to be Republicans mostly because they were allegedly in the pockets of oil companies. Now anti-Bush Democrats and others with silver spoons have themselves amassed a party that may not be in touch with middle class America either. Even if Democrats use Iraq to kick Republicans out, is there much that they can do?

Nicaragua Bans Abortion

Nicaragua Passes Total Ban on Abortion

- NYTimes

It's sad to see another country go in the opposite direction of progression along with Chile and El Salvador in the name of Catholic Church. Total ban on Abortion without exceptions for rape or life threatening emergency. The vote was 52 to 0. Zero - not a single representative to take the side of the 32,000 illegal abortions that happen every year in Nicaragua. What is wrong with these people? Do they think they are being good by banning sin? To quote Dr. Gregory House:

I have a theory on what makes good boys “good”. It’s not because of some moral imperative. Good boys have the fear of God put into them. Catholic Church specializes in that kind of training, to make good boys afraid of divine retribution so they will do what their daddies tell them.

55 Friday: Fidelity

"She knows you're always there for her."
"Yeah... If this is true, it means she wasn't always there for me."
"It means she made a mistake."
"Can't help it. Part of me, a big part of me, can't handle that. It doesn't want her to get better... Does that make me a terrible person?"
"...Yes."

(Blatantly adapted from a TV Show)

Free Health Care

Hospitals Try Free Basic Care for Uninsured - New York Times

Finally someone is trying to do something about rising healthcare costs. Instead of throwing money at the problem, institutions like the Seton Family of Hospitals are managing it in corporate style with the intent of minimizing financial losses from treating uninsured emergency patients. Ulterior motives aside, if this works out for the better for both the healthcare providers and the needy, may be my insurance will go down a bit.

Never Meant To Be

You won't get anything unless you ask for it. Then if you ask for it and you don't get it, maybe it wasn't worth having in the first place. Some things are just never meant to be, no matter how much we wish they were.

-- Dimestore Psychology from Gilmore Girls.

Occam's Razor

"The simplest explanation is almost always that somebody screwed up." - House M.D.

Micro Fiction: Devotion Under Suspicion II

"Do you wanna talk about it?"
"Talk about what?"
"Them. It's been bugging you. I can tell that it is."
"Why would it be bothering me? I'm the one who told him to ask her out, remember?"
"Look, I know something happened between you guys when I was gone. So just tell me."
"How did you know? Did he ... ?"
"I figured it out. Why don't you just tell me what happened?"
"Cause it doesn't matter."
"Well, it matters to me."
"I missed you and no one really understood. Then he came along, and he just got it somehow. And so we spent a lot of time together because he was the only one that I could bear to talk to. But I mean ... I know this is gonna sound lame, it was always about you."
"In the beginning, you mean."
"One night we went on this field trip and we got stuck in the mine. And ... he kissed me. I don't know how I let it happen or why. I was crazy that day thinking about your surgery. And ... I don't know what I was doing."
"Did it happen again?"
"Once."
"Did you know what you were doing then?"
...
"What happened between him and I amounts to about 10 seconds. Before you judge me for it I want you to think about the hours of bus trips that I took to go see you, the thousands of pages of books that I read to you, the hours of music that I played for you because they said that you might be able to hear it. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't focus in school, I lost most of my friends. When you finally did wake up, you didn't even remember who I was and your own mother wouldn't let me go see you. What was I supposed to do because I don't know anymore."
"I don't know. I wish you had been this honest with me a month ago. See, when I got out of the hospital I didn't know who you were. But I do now. And I really like you. The only problem is you haven't been able to take your eyes off him all night."

(from a TV show)

Ashwin Sood

I just found out that Sarah McLachlan (my favorite singer) is married to brown drummer Ashwin Sood. How cool is that!

Being good

"So you're treating her for African sleeping sickness... because you don't think it's possible for someone to be faithful in a relationship?"
"And you do?"
"Yes."
"And you need to tell me that."
"Look. I am not having an affair. I had lunch with someone I work with - at work. Once."
"I believe you. What I don't believe is it'll be just once."
"I love my wife."
"You certainly love saying it... I'm sorry. I know you love your wife. You loved all your wives. Probably still do. In fact, you probably love all the women you loved who weren't your wife."
"You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that?"
"Yeah. And you're the good guy."
"At least I try. As long as you're trying to be good, you can do whatever you want."
"And as long as you're not trying, you can say whatever you want."
"So, between us, we can do anything. We can rule the world."

(from a TV show)

Micro Fiction: Devotion Under Suspicion

"Maybe someone cheated."
"That's impossible."
"Because?"
"They're completely devoted to each other."
"Because?"
"They love each other."
"Or?... They're overcompensating for guilt."
"You're that convinced that infidelity is the cause of their problems."
"No, you're the one convinced that they are a perfect couple. I think that is at least one of the causes."
"Which? Infidelity or me?

(Blatantly adapted from a TV Show)

Pet Shop Boys

Went to the Pet Shop Boys concert last Thursday with a friend. I thought I should catch them before they get too old to tour. Boy, was I in for an interesting show!

It was very flamboyant. Very. I now know how to say "How are you doing?" to a Pet Shop Boys fan, - "Are you fabulous?". There were pink spot lights, and backup singers that doubled as backup dancers! And of all the concerts that I've ever been to, this was the first that had an intermission. I guess the boys had to retouch their makeup.

The audience was having a really good time throughout. After the intermission I had a gay couple that were all over each other and little over me. It was that crowded. And smoking second hand pot just added to the whole experience.

All in all, it was a night I can't easily forget. Loved their classic hits "It's a Sin" and "Go West". Not really familiar with their other hits or their newer releases, but I enjoyed what I went to see the concert for.

55 Friday: Cynic's Birthday

"It's a birthday. It's an excuse to be happy. You think that's lame?"
"Why are you here? Did you buy me something?"
"Come on, I'm taking you out. You are not going to spend today sitting here."
"Do I need an excuse to be happy? More likely you need an excuse to drink with someone."

55 Friday: The Callipygian Edition

Ref: 55Friday: The Callipygian Edition

“It doesn’t matter. Anything you want babe.”
“Don’t you have a preference? Pick something. We can go to the Brick Store Pub, we haven’t been there in a while,” she said.
I noticed this desi kudi walk in front of us to her car in her gym shorts.
“Let’s go to Bhojanic instead,” I said.

The Light In The Piazza

I never thought I would be an opera kind of guy, but The Light in the Piazza was awesome. Went to see this off-broadway winner of six 2005 Tony Awards on Tuesday, because somebody offered free tickets. Loved it.

Boy, do they know how to sing. The live music and the impressive sets were brilliant. Nicely done!

Dengue Fever

Dengue Fever has generated quite a few headlines recently. Several hundreds of cases have been reported in India. Some facts about the disease ...

• There are two kinds - Dengue Fever and more deadly Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever.
• Caused by four antigenically distinct virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, DEN-4).
  
• Spread by infected domestic mosquito (of genus Aedes and specifically only species Aedes aegypti and sometimes species Aedes albopictus). This type of mosquito occurs in most tropical urban areas of the world, including India, and breeds in stagnant water. Cannot be spread from person to person.
  
• Symptoms of Dengue include high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains, nausea and vomiting, eye pain and rash. Dengue hemorrhagic fever is characterized by a fever that lasts from 2 to 7 days and does not have any differential symptoms which makes it harder to diagnose by a physician. This stage is followed by hemorrhagic manifestations and finally circulatory failure and shock resulting in death.
  
• No vaccine or cure is available at this time, but infection from one of these serotypes provides immunity to that serotype for life.
• Effective treatment of early diagnosed Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever can be done through fluid replacement therapy and hospitalization to manage it.
• CDC describes some of the reasons why this epidemic has recurred more frequently in recent years:
  

• Uncontrollable urbanization in these countries and corresponding urban population growth along with inadequate sewage systems.
• Since the disease has been endemic for centuries, health officials don't react adequately until situations reach a crisis stage, which is insufficient for dengue control.
• Lack of sufficient differential symptoms prevent physicians from adequately detecting it and alerting health officials in advance before an epidemic ensues.
  

References:

• Dengue Fever
  
• Dengue Fever Fact Sheet
• Dengue & DHF: FAQ
  
• Chikungunya ...Dengue....What?
• CDC World Dengue Map 2005
• HEALTHmap
  

Lonelygirl15

The Lonelygirl That Really Wasn’t: "After months of intrigue, the identities of Web video star lonelygirl15 and her producers have been revealed."



Times have changed.

In yet another 'Blair Witch Project' strategy, a YouTube user called loneygirl15 started posting what seemed to be personal video diary postings. She gathered thousands of fans and millions of hits.

Gone are the days when users were gullible enough to believe every word they read (or video they see) on the Internet. When they started suspecting this beautiful yet geeky girl was too good to be true, they dug around, traced the IP address of the source email address and found out that it was all an elaborate marketing stunt of some LA filmmakers. She was revealed to be an actress hired to break the hearts of geeks, all in the name of marketing an upcoming movie.

Another elaborate prank dismantled. Phew!

Feist

Open Season, Feist (2006)

Open Season is the remix album of the 2004 release Let It Die. I haven't heard the previous one, but this is one of the lighter alternative rock. Perhaps a little too mellow to be exciting, but does make for relaxing music. :)

Inside + Out was the only song that I turned the volume up to take notice on this album. The rest were background music.

Muse

Black Holes and Revelations, Muse (2006)

The British Rock band Muse released their fourth album. Usually a lot of sound effects and remixes are a sign of telltale over-hyped singer / band. But this time it works for them. Their fast, snappy music has been compared to Radiohead gloom by Rollingstone. Although mostly original, I did find a certain similarity in a few of their songs. Knights of Cydonia sounds vaguely familiar. Have I heard it on the radio recently? Whatever be the case, I like that song best on this album.

Dirty Pretty Things

Waterloo To Anywhere, Dirty Pretty Things (2006)

Good bands break up and form new ones all the time. The Libertines, despite being regarded as one of Britain's best new bands, broke up due to differences between the band's founders Carl Barât and Pete Doherty. Doherty's drug abuse was mainly to blame for Barât to kick him out of the band. After the band dismantled they went to form their own bands. Pete Doherty has Babyshambles and Pete Doherty formed his new band Dirty Pretty Things.

Although paling in comparision with Libertines, Dirty Pretty Things debut album Waterloo To Anywhere is doing pretty good. Most people agree that they are doing better than Babyshambles. Their songs are fast, upbeat and become 'nodding' pretty fast. Bang Bang You're Dead is a notable number that I liked from this album.

Pill

Have I Ever? ...

It's probably silly to do this, but I found this list here, and I wanted to see how much of life I haven't lived.

Instructions:
Bold the ones you did.
* the ones you want to do.
the more stars the more desperately you wanna do it

Have I Ever?
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink (was never that happy to be so generous)
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain*
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive** (only touched one)
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped (never going to happen, not sky-diving either)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea* (Would love to have a camera if it ever happens)
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa*
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg* (I hope you mean at one of the poles on this earth)
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon *
22. Watched a meteor shower *
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (who hasn't)
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run / a six
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (all the time)
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces (of what?)
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (hopefully, never again)
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country (U.S. is a foreign country right?)
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe ************************** (desperate to, but when? when will I?)
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing*
49. Midnight walk on the beach (Stayed up all night and walked on Miami Beach once)
50. Gone sky diving (never going to happen)
51. Visited Ireland *
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan*
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day (anyone that hasn't is a liar)
60. Posed nude in front of strangers (what the heck?)
61. Gone scuba diving (can't swim, afraid to learn)
62. Kissed in the rain :D
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater (can't believe I haven't done this)
66. Visited the Great Wall of China*
67. Started a business (someday I might want to open a magazine. hmmmm...)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight (no, but played other games for a lot longer *nerd*)
72. Gotten married (Seriously?)
73. Been in a movie* (But will be producing one, a love triangle with Kate Beckinsale, Maura Tierney and I ...)
74. Crashed a party (All the time, hehehe)
75. Gotten divorced (Seriously? Am I missing much?)
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch (Like supermarket cookies just fine)
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo* (Will. As soon as I can figure out what to get. Any suggestions?)
81. Rafted the Snake River * (Where is that?)
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"* (Wait, but what would be an expert in?)
83. Got flowers for no reason (Guys don't get flowers. Can we keep these gender neutral please?)
84. Performed on stage (Unfortunately there was a time I thought I was talented on stage. hehehe)
85. Been to Las Vegas (Been there, done that, lost a lot of money)
86. Recorded music (Even my CDs I buy suck or so I've been told. So, no thanks)
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand* (Yeah right!)
89. Gone to Thailand *
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents (Huh?!)
93. Been on a cruise ship*
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children* (Someday.)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour* (Need a group to become a groupie though.)
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country*
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over*
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge* (Walked the Brooklyn Bridge though)
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking* (All the time)
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote article for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback (Huh? Who needs holding when they are having a flashback?)
108. Piloted an airplane* (Someday I'll get my license)
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart (Nothing to be proud of :( ...)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show* (Still hoping to make it on Who Want To Be A Millionaire. The show is still on right?)
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari***
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol*
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse*
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon* (Went half-way and came back. It is way too exhausting probably to go all the way.)
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (Who hasn't?)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states***********************************************
124. Visited all 7 continents***********************************************
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days *
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper*
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about (i don't know, but i probably have given plenty of bad advice. hehehe)
130. Gone back to school (To visit, yes. Not actually go back to school.)
131. Parasailed*
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey*
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read (I never read anything in school. I only prepared for exams. hehe)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Wow, who's done that?)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (Never got an invitation so far.)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language*
139. Been elected to public office (Do non-profit organizations count as public office?)
140. Written your own computer language (Not that nerdy)
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair (A late teenage phase in my 20s. Blonde streaks. hehehe.)
147. Been a DJ (Like I said, my CD collection sucks. No thanks.)
148. Shaved your head (As a kid I think)
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone's life*

43/150. Hmmm... 28%. Hey I'm 28 (almost). I guess I'm on track. Living my life. :)

Sex Blog

'I don't write to titillate. I censor like crazy to make my blogs less erotic'

Some people have more success with their blogs than others. The sex diary of a London post-modern feminist blogger gets her a six figure book deal but loses her privacy.

So this sex liberal decides to write her sexual experiences explicitly and anonymously on her blog. Her intent was never to write erotica apparently, but I guess a need to pour out her psychoanalytic thought process about her sexual appetite, technique and men in general.

Despite the ultra-conservative background I come from, where nobody talks about sex, ever, (except in crude humor), I have been able to learn that the average woman I have known supposedly does not think about sex all that much. It's not as important to women. It is men that are dirty and last about 7 seconds. We've heard all this before. But now, in this 'Sex and the City' Samantha Jones generation, having a healthy (or obsessive) sexual appetite, satisfying it and telling the whole world (at least anonymously) is considered 'third wave feministic' (*)? Really?

*(I know the "women entering work force, women's education, abortion, sexual freedom is considered the first wave of feminism. No idea what the second wave of feminism was, just quoting from the Guardian article.)

Feminism on the front-page again. I guess the feminist movement in London has reached a new milestone when this sex blogger is not being vilified more than the attention she receives in media. She has an ardent reader base that does not only consist of perverted men. Plus a publishing company is willing to put money (six figures I repeat) on it.

Here in the U.S., I was a little surprised that the conservative Christian pro-lifers actually lost their campaign against making Plan-B over the counter. At least they were able to push it behind the counter, but I still consider it a loss. (This is after the same conservative base vehemently being able to ban gay marriage not so long ago.) I guess that is a success for feminists / pro-choicers in a big way.

At least in this aspect, I was further surprised to hear about India staying ahead of the game. Forget about India being uncomfortable with sex in the open, the Hindu radicals won't let Deepa Mehta shoot a movie, Water, that depicts them in a harsh light (she had to shoot it in Sri Lanka I think), but there is a Plan B already. I guess the Ministry of Health was able to sell the idea based on practicality or perhaps even this is serving the male-dominated society in some twisted way. Nevertheless, women have more choice in India already and that's something.

Feminism on the front-page again, and changing the world.

Love in Mathematics

Found the Mathematics equation to Love on Flickr today. :p

Corinne Bailey Rae

Went to Corinne Bailey Rae's concert last night at The Loft. She is awesome. Her voice and her smile is so mesmerizing. And she has an English accent. She looked like a goddess up there. Wow! She wasn't too much like Norah Jones, she had a little bit more rock to her music. Apart from the songs from her self-titled debut released album, she did a Led Zeppelin song as well.

The opening act Gran Bel Fisher was pretty decent. The duo's songs almost tempted me to buy their cd.

The second act was some guy from Brooklyn called himself Kevin Devine. He sucked. People were just short of booing him off stage.

Toys

This is how boys with cool camera toys spend their Saturday mornings - by watching tv. :)

What defines us?

Somebody probably already said it, "The battles we choose to fight is what defines us". I see it to be true more and more everyday.

• People around us break the rules all the time and get away with it. When we do find out about it, whether we choose to side with the person (and support her) or the principle (and confront her) is what defines us.
• People will betray you in their own pursuits of life. When we do find out about it, whether we choose to be tragic (and forgive them) or sinful (and seek vengeance) is what defines us.
• Life will throw a curve ball at you from time to time. When we are in that situation, whether we choose to be patient (and accept it) or respond (and take a shot) is what defines us.
• Life will tempt you from time to time. When we are faced with it, whether we choose to resist (and wonder about it) or give in (and regret it) is what defines us.

As with most battles, there usually is no right or wrong. But whether we fight to be fair (and be prepared to lose) or to survive (and be prepared to cheat) is what defines us.

I Wore Shorts to Work, and They All Laughed

I Wore Shorts to Work, and They All Laughed: "Women dress for the weather, but men still don't dare."

"It was partly a show of civic-mindedness, but also a way of redressing the disparity between men, who wear a stifling suit and tie to the office in summer, and women, who breeze by in ventilated cotton eyelet skirts with loose silk camisoles or the bubble silhouette dress of the season that barely seems to graze the body."

NYTimes writer Eric Wilson defies convention and tries wearing shorts to work in response to the sweltering summer heat, and reflects about how impractical men's fashion has become on par with women.

We always ridiculed women about how uncomfortable a fashionable woman would rather be, than give up her shoes or cover up her cold numb body in winter, but it is also true that men refuse to cross a certain line even in this summer heat.

"I wore a dressy pair of low-waisted, narrow knee-length navy twill shorts from Joseph, a white dress shirt, brown loafers (no socks) and a tightly tailored gray jacket from Thom Browne, another designer who put shorts suits in his fall collection. I found myself cooler, strangely confident and, because of that, walking more gaily than usual.

But on the street, people stared. Some took pictures."

We are all aware of this double standard, but we never question it.

“It is unfair,” he said. “Women wear flip-flops and miniskirts, and some of them even have their stomachs out. But if I wore shorts, they’d make a big deal of it in the office.”

The only difference in men's summer dress code is to remove the tie and an extra button near the collar. That is supposed to make up for all the heat. Most men even feel uncomfortable wearing short sleeves to work and instead prefer to wear full sleeves with a single or double roll. What is that? How conformist are we?

"The philosopher J C Flügel explained a similar reaction to dress reformers in the 1930’s as rooted in “man’s intense fear of appearing different from his fellows” and also fear of association with tendencies of narcissism and homosexuality."

I guess fashion is just as important for men as it is for women. We just prefer to dress more alike than the opposite gender and therefore prefer to be more boring.

Ethics in Photography

I was browsing some photographs on Flickr when I learnt about Jill Greenberg's controversial photo exhibits of crying children.

Jill Greenberg is a Sick Woman Who Should Be Arrested and Charged With Child Abuse
Think In Pictures: Adventures in Visual Education: The Case Against Jill Greenberg's "End Times"

I guess there are plenty of grey areas even in the work of a photographer ...

• Shooting Strangers: Where do we draw the line of invading someone's privacy in a public place?
  
• Shooting Strangers' Kids: How can a parent not be paranoid about potential kidnappers (or worse) and their M.O. as casual photographers?
  
• Permissions to shoot: Do we always have to respect the "No Pictures Please" signs posted?
  
• Security: If enough of us take enough pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge, are we helping terrorists?
• Dignity: Can we call ourselves journalists just because we happened to have the opportunity to witness someone's vulnerable / embarassing / unfortunate situation while carrying a camera?
• Skin: How much skin is too much?
  
• Taboo: Photographers love taking pictures in avenues that challenge society's norms and conventional thinking. But is Jill Greenberg's work ethical?
  

Chihuly Exhibit

Went to see the Chihuly Exhibit at Lowe Gallery last Saturday. It was the most awesome glass art I've ever seen. Spent hours taking pictures.

Blue Man Group

Ever since I saw the Blue Man Group show at Las Vegas, I have been a fan of their music. It's mostly just percussion with no vocals, but it still sounds amazing. I recently saw their video of a song Sing Along featuring Dave Matthews. I guess they were trying their music with vocals by parterning with some cool big names. Don't know about the others cause I haven't yet checked out the album, but this one song is great. Check out the video online.

Sing Along, Blue Man Group featuring Dave Matthews (The Complex, 2003)
http://www.blueman.com/videoimages/video/singalong_h.shtml

The song itself goes very well with BMG cause it's about being alone and different from others.

Atlanta Concerts

Some good concerts coming up in Atlanta ...

• Corinne Bailey Rae, Aug 16 (Got tickets already. Mellow Brit Rock. Saw her showcased on VH1 along with her video Put Your Records On)
• Flaming Lips, Sep 13 (Fight Test is the song that got a lot of airplay.)
  
• Matisyahu, Sep 19 (Not big on Reggae, but this is pretty decent.)
  
• REO Speedwagon, Sep 22, 23 (They have a lot of cheesy pop hits. I wanna check them out to see how they sound live.)
  
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Sep 22 (Classic Mainstream Rock band. I wanna go to this one just to hear Mary Jane's Last Dance)
  
• Keane, Sep 25 (This is really good Brit Rock. Am definitely going to this one.)
  

Dilemma of Pursuit

Obviously it is great to have goals. A sense of purpose always adds more meaning to our life. But how often do we actually consider the pitfalls of pursuing these goals? Even if we realize it, is stopping really an option?

I discovered Solea (Carmen Gonzalez) on Flickr through less than six degrees of separation of my contacts. I've seen less than four pictures of her before I decided that she was a great photographer and especially good at her specialty - Self Portraits. Then I came across her post about how she was dealing with an article that was printed about her. Last week The Sunday Times in London covered her in an article about the thin line between artistic nudes and blatant self-promotion using explicit self-portraits, especially by women. Of course, it's a man's world and if nudity is a ticket for some women to get recognition, it's up to them.

But what about Solea? She is unquestionably successful. She is popular all over Holland's radio and news media. She has fans and haters all over the world. Fans who either truly appreciate her artwork or fans who just love to see her skin. Haters who are trying to preserve the integrity of art and haters who think she is a disgrace to feminism. It's a controversy, we get it.

What is her attitude? Her post within a week of the article shows she is trying to stay positive. Ignore the haters and listen to her friends. Quote -

A friend of mine who plays in a band once said: "i love it if i have haters...makes me feel superiour...makes me feel like a gladiator"... i thought it was such a fantastic remark :) i will have that in the back of my head ..

Good for her. She has her priorities figured out. She wants to pursue her artistic abilities and use this publicity as an opportunity to expand her exposure. For her, Pursuit is still the right choice. Her success has probably already affected her personal life, but she probably already dealt with it without any serious setbacks. Too bad Tamara Hoover wasn't as lucky.

What about the rest of us mere mortals? What if the pursuit of one good thing competes with the pursuit of other good things? Not all of us have our priorities figured out so simply. It's easy, say, if we were truly successful at one pursuit, I guess the rest can go to hell. I have known people who have found their calling, and love their work so much that everything else is a far lesser priority. We have all heard stories of the successful cliché men and women who ignore their families and are therefore evil. And on the flip side, we also have pitied the brilliant women (and sometimes men too) who have thrown their successful careers away to save their marriage or start a family. These are the lucky people, evil or pitiful. They have straightened their priorities and made decisions about what they want out of a meaningful life.

Coming back to the remainder of people (including me) who remain stuck. I have a good job and I am good at it. I wouldn't consider it my calling, nor do I have head hunters banging on my door because I am so successful. So just average. Depending on the relationship I am in, I would tend to give priority to spend more time with the one I want to be with, rather than meet every deadline at work. But when faced with the question of relocating and finding another job to accommodate a relationship, I chose to stay with my comfortable job without having to think hard. No relationship has ever been worth changing jobs for and I have been dumped for the same reason too.

Clearly, at no point have I found one pursuit to be more or less important than another. Serves me for trying not to be evil or pitiful and have it all. But then in the average person's life this is a dilemma we must face. And if we remain stuck the longer, the longer we remain.

The vicious cycle has begun again. I'm trying to figure what it is that I truly want to pursue, at least one thing however small, without ever looking back. Predictably, I have the fear of potential regret over missing out on other pursuits that I might find worthwhile. Therefore, the dilemma. Is there one thing that would make me go - "to hell with everything else"? This is what I keep hearing from people...

"Go to India and get married."
"Marriage is over-rated, I don't recommend it."
"You need to stop thinking so much. Stop being such a woman."
"You need a hobby."
"May be you should change careers. Have you thought about exploring your sketching or photography skills more?"
"Get on Match.com. Start dating some white women."
"Do you want to become an entrepreneur? Have your own business and generate stable income while sitting at home? (hint: pyramid scheme or illegal scam)"

Solea, help.

Sunday

It's probably never a good idea to blog after you have drunk five Heinekens on an empty stomach, but what the hell ...

Am listening to "Sunday" by Sia. Am totally depressed. It's the perfect song for right now. She advises about doing nothing today. It's probably the most sound and scariest thing to do right now. Have been keeping busy with work, hobbies, friends and helping out those who asked for help. Doing nothing means that I will keep thinking about what's wrong with my life. About how I thought I had it good for sometime, but things changed. It's Sunday tomorrow. I hope it will be a start to finding a way to moving on ...

Laughing Yoga

Rules

I keep coming up with these rules that either I think suit my life or just sound right to me. Have had a problem subscribing to them so far. But after a major breakup today, I came up with a few more and I feel the need to write them, publish them and start sticking to them. Note to self: Ask a doctor if this is how compulsive people deal with breakups - by making lists.

Chaitan's Rules For Self-Preservation:

• Don't wait. It's never going to happen on its own.
• Don't stop. Progress is usually slow.
• Don't think. It's never going to resolve anything to your satisfaction. Possibilities will always remain limitless.
• Don't hope. Stick to the law of averages. If it is unlikely to happen, don't root for it. (Actually based on a self-help book that I read recently.)
• Don't compromise. It only undermines its value.
• Don't care. Guilt trip is a vicious cycle.
• Don't rehearse. Why bother waste time? The element of surprise is always going to ruin it.

Women About Men

What Shamu Taught Me About a Happy Marriage - New York Times

It's official. The only way the female of the human species can understand the male is to reduce us to dumb animals and use the same techniques to train us if they want us in their lives. Seriously? Seriously? It's bad enough that relationships have a hard time surviving all the thoughtlessness, sarcasm and passive aggression. Throw in a little condescension, that will do the trick.

Anger

Excerpts from ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Episode: 17 Seconds

Meredith: In life we are taught that there are seven deadly sins. We all know the big ones... Gluttony, Pride, Lust. But the thing you don't hear much about is Anger. Maybe it's because we think Anger is not that dangerous, that you can control it. My point is, maybe we don't give Anger enough credit. Maybe it can be a lot more dangerous than we think. After all when it comes to destructive behavior, it did make the top seven.

Meredith: So what makes Anger different from the six other deadly sins? It's pretty simple really. You give into a sin like Envy or Pride and you only hurt yourself. Try Lust or Coveting and you'll only hurt yourself and one or two others. But Anger, Anger is the worst... the mother of all sins... Not only can Anger drive you over the edge, when it does, you can take an awful lot of people with you.

Books to Read

Came upon some authors while reading a book. I feel this compulsion to read books that are referred to in other books. I guess it makes sense you get the references better if you had read them.

Currently reading Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner (2003). She talks about

• Henry Miller
  
• Carson McCullers
• Sylvia Plath of the Sylvia Plath Effect fame.
  

We aren't all the same

We aren't all the same: "Some of you may consider it good news that the top three finalists in the the Geography Bee, hosted by the great Alex Trebek himself, were Indian American. I do not. Some of you may also think fondly on the fact that the last four contestants in last year's Spelling Bee were also Indian American. I do not. "

This is a hilarious post but does have some truth to it. The stereotype of Indian has always been vastly misrepresented in the United States over the decades. Perhaps gone are the days when we were all thought to be riding elephants and had inborn talents of snake charming. But now we are thought of as too intelligent than the rest of the crowd and only interested in the smart jobs (IT, Doctors, etc). For the most part, it's probably a good thing if you are actually interested in these fields when you are picking a career. These prejudices can work for you. But it's a huge disadvantage for those interested in the arts or any other faculty. I agree that we have to do anything and everything we can to educate the masses. We are a diverse group as any other ethnic group.

You already know of the vast majority of us who are in IT or are Doctors. We also ...

• write prize winning fiction.
• write prize winning non-fiction.
• cheat when writing.
• host morning TV shows.
• make blockbuster movies.
• solicit minors for sex (Marvin Lakhan).

And the rest of the one and half million who aren't in the news are really just average. Nothing special about us at all.

Why Blog?

Someone was asking me yesterday about why I have a blog? I thought of a few reasons ...

• (Noel Crane:) Why does anyone have a blog? Too much time, not enough friends and the need to justify owning a computer.
• Because I have an opinion about plenty of things and I want people to hear about it.
• Because nobody wants to discuss Sexual Harassment in Mumbai's Public Transportation at dinner with friends.
• Because I am affected by others' opinions in their blogs and I feel the needs to give back to the community.
  

'Slumming' Takes on a Whole New Meaning

'Slumming' Takes on a Whole New Meaning:

I guess the Salaam Baalak (founded by Mira Nair from the proceeds of her movie 'Salaam Bombay') charity organization means well in trying to generate revenue in inventive ways to help the street kids, but I wonder what the price of dignity is for the poor.

Congo's tragedy: the war the world forgot

Congo's tragedy: the war the world forgot: "This is the story of the deadliest war since Adolf Hitler's armies marched across Europe - a war that has not ended. But is also the story of a trail of blood that leads directly to you: to your remote control, to your mobile phone, to your laptop and to your diamond necklace. In the TV series Lost, a group of plane crash survivors believe they are stranded alone on a desert island, until one day they discover a dense metal cable leading out into the ocean and the world beyond. The Democratic Republic of Congo is full of those cables, mysterious connections that show how a seemingly isolated tribal war is in reality something very different. "

I have learnt of the Congo tragedy in some detail from this article. It portrays how governments refuse to listen to UN's warnings that the only way to end the decade old war (that killed over 4 million people and reduced the state of women and children to far worse than destitutes) is to stop buying the country natural resources which is what the various militias fight over. I keep seeing everyday in the news about how 2 Australian miners are in the process of being rescued or the count of US soldiers dying in Iraq has crossed 2000, but I wonder when the world stopped paying attention to the deaths of as many people in the World Trade Center every two days (according to the author).

Darfur Tragedy

It is sad to hear the ongoing Darfur Tragedy get less than 10 minutes of media coverage over the entire year. (Source: Yahoo! News) Atleast TV shows like ER are doing what little they can to bring attention to the issues.

Music Trivia

Went to Music Trivia Night at The Angel last night in downtown Decatur. It was a fun night. The service was a bit slow and virtually no vegetarian options, but the trivia night was so much fun with friends that I don't mind going back again and again.

Discovered some lovely hits from yesteryears that I forgot about ...

• Unbelievable, EMF (Schubert Dip, 1991)
• I Love Your Smile, Shanice (Inner Child, 1991)
• Missing, Everything But The Girl (Amplified Heart, 1994)
  

Amazon.com says Shanice's Inner Child was released on my birthday in '91. :) Fun fact.

Mira Nair

I attended a talk by Mira Nair last Sunday at Emory University. The hall was packed with desis (as usual). She gave an autobiographical lecture about how she traveled the path down her film career. I was so very impressed. She was one great lady. Born in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, she traveled to Calcutta for her initial inspiration and then onwards to Delhi University and then to Harvard. She rejected an admission to Cambridge University because she admits she has a chip on her shoulder against the British. And even today, she turned down the next project for Harry Potter series because the idea of spending 3 years in Britain did not appeal to her. Apparently, she chooses movies by asking herself a simple question. "Can someone else do this movie?". If there is, then she wouldn't do it. She wants to take on projects where only she can contribute a unique perspective.

During the question and answer session, a finance student asked about her financial model for her projects. Usually she says that she likes to fund her own money and rather not deal with a single source of funds, since in that case she might have to compromise or even lose "the final cut" of her movie. She usually approaches multiple distributors to fund part of her project, so that she still retain most of the creative control over it. Very intelligent.

The ordeal that she went through during her first major movie 'Salaam Bombay' was impressive.

I haven't seen many of her films. Should try to. The ones I've seen are

• Vanity Fair, 2004
• 11'09"01 - September 11 (segment India), 2002
• Monsoon Wedding, 2001
• Salaam Bombay!, 1988

Sexual Harassment

I've come across several posts today on the topic of Sexual Harassment. One of the them, very well written, and made me really aware of what a woman can suffer through in a crowded public place, is Known Turf: Streets, stories, strategies. Annie, while writing about how a Mumbai woman has to be on constant alert from being sexually molested on the streets and in public places, in broad daylight, also discusses about how every woman has probably gone through this humiliation and how one's expectations have been artificially trained to expect the worst in these situations.

Some other articles I've read ...
- A Time To Reflect: On being a female body
- This is Mangs: Train to Chennai


From a male perspective, I was really not aware of how bad this has been in India or elsewhere. Nor would I separate myself from it as if I were not part of the problem. Let me ask myself the tough question...

Have I ever sexually harassed anyone?

To answer it without explanations, I would say probably I did. Since this is my post, I guess I will at least explain it for my own benefit. On the defensive first, I don't think I've ever done anything that is blatantly and obviously objectionable. Never in a crowded public place or on the streets. I've always been hanging on the door step of a crowded bus carelessly endangering my own life, while my other brethren have been deep inside (and I guess that was a way of separating myself). On the streets, I was always anxious to get to my destination or get back home. Hey, I have two older sisters and learnt a lot from them about how not to behave like the scoundrels that have harassed them. Movies and TV helped too. So I guess I steered clear of the worst of it. But then most women complain of going through something terrible with someone they knew or were related to. And this is where I am not so innocent.

Obvously I or most decent men would not enter a situation with malice for intent in order to gain personal pleasure (popularly coined term - "cheap thrill") of the wicked kind. (I'm being so defensive aren't I? Just makes it sound like I'm building up to confess something really horrible or justify my actions. Well, at least I'm typing this as I'm thinking, so I'm not censoring myself too much) But then all forms of sexual harassment considered, however "mild" they may be, an innocent interaction can easily turn into a sexual one in the flash of a second. I was probably very curious about certain things and couldn't be objective about the girl's space. Or in some situations, I could have been so blindsided, I didn't even realize that it was uncomfortable for her. (I know, confessing defensively. I'm such a coward.)

But then there are situations where I was in the dark about how the girl was feeling and I chose to exploit the situation for my benefit. An embarassing accidental brush on her part and I would have taken it as a big invitation. A dire need for transportation on her part became an unhindered close contact for me while driving and stopping suddenly on my 2-wheeler. When I got paired off with someone in a group of friends on an outing, I don't think I would have considered the peer pressure involved or that she didn't have a choice in it at all. An innocent appreciative hug that I enjoyed more than I should have or lasted longer than what she intended to allow. These situations are innumerable. I may have crossed my limits, and none of them chose to object and instead let it pass. So the only reason I'm not guilty is that those who objected to my advances did not say so and I am under the impression that it was no big deal or they may have even enjoyed it. (hehehe, universal male justification for their sins)

Coffee May Reduce Risk of Diabetes

Several studies in the last years have suggested that high regular coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
A group of researchers lead by Dr. Rob M. van Dam from the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston evaluated the effect of the consumption of different types of coffee on the risk of diabetes in more than 88,000 US women.
They found that the risk was reduced 13 percent with one cup of coffee a day and 47 percent with four or more cups a day. They concluded that moderate consumption of coffee may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes in middle-age and younger women.
The researchers also believe that other substances in coffee other than caffeine may affect glucose metabolism and therefore lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, coffee may not only lower type 2 diabetes risk, make you more alert and even improve your learning abilities, but some studies report that coffee is a potent antioxidant.
However, this doesn't mean that you should increase your coffee consumption or start drinking coffee if you don't already drink it regularly. Caffeine is a mild stimulant that has effects on the cardiovascular system such as increased heart rate, higher blood pressure or irregular heartbeat that should be considered in case you have heart disease or hypertension.
If you feel that coffee has negative effects on you please talk with your doctor about it.
February 9, 2006.
Source: Van Dam, R, Willett W. Coffee, Caffeine, and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Care 29:398-403, 2006

References:
Diabetes Care: care.diabetesjournals.org
About.com: diabetes.about.com

Bird Girl Statue

This is a copy of the Savannah Bird Girl Statue featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, 1997. Was in Savannah, GA this past weekend. Lovely city. Supposed to be 'Georgia's First City'. The only city not destroyed in Georgia during the Civil War. Went on an architectural tour and learnt a lot about the different styles that influenced the houses surrounding all the different squares. Wish I remembered a bit more. :) Nevertheless I had a great time.

What have you done for me lately?

Would it be selfish if I asked you?

What have you done for me lately?

When was the last time you reached out to me?
When was the last time you caught me by surprise?
What did I get in return the last time I gave you something special?
What was your response when I did something to prove myself to you?
When was the last time you appreciated me?
When was the last time you admitted something to me?
How did you treat me when I was in a vulnerable position with you?
How did you answer when I asked something from you?
When was the last time you thought of me?
When was the last time you thought of telling me so?
How much thought does it take to please me?
How much effort do you put in to make me smile?
When was the last time you leaned on me?
When was the last time you asked me for advice?
How do you know you are still on my good side?
How do you know you haven't taken me for granted?
When was the last time you treated me with good regard and deep respect?
When was the last time you treated me as an equal?
How hard is it to admit that you are truly sorry?
How hard is it to share something important with me?
When was the last time you asked me if I had a good day?
When was the last time you asked me if I was happy?
I don't want to know, I really don't want to know.
I don't even want to know when it was,
the last time I asked you any of these questions.
When was the last time you wondered why?

Why Men Don't Babysit?

I got this funny email about a while ago ...

SI Swimsuit 2006

SI Swimsuit 2006 edition is out. And Maria Sharapova looks great. She looks just as sexy, if not more, in a swimsuit on the beach making faces at the camera as she does when she is grunting on the tennis lawn, when she is slightly out of breath and staring at her opponent. Wow!

Miami Beach

Have been to Miami Beach this past weekend. The most heavenly of places. Had the most fun partying in a long time. And lying on the beach listening to the waves all night till morning was one of the best times I had ever.

Avra Greek Tavern

Avra Greek Tavern

Was at Avra in Midtown last night for drinks and I liked the place. Tried a choclate martini, it was gooooood!

Moving on ...

Here is a favorite quote from Insomnia (Stephen King, 1995):

How much courage does it take to fire up your tractor and plow under a crop you spent six or seven years growing? How much courage to go on and do that after you've spent all that time finding out how to prepare the soil and when to plant and how much to water and when to reap? How much to just say, "I have to quit these peas, peas are no good for me, I better try corn or beans."

It was about not being able to get past a relationship. I thought it was a wonderful analogy in the context.

Shahin Edalati's Photoblog

One of the most beautiful photoblogs I have come across.

Shahin Edalati

I especially like the one of the dancing couple.