sidcarter

An excellent TEDtalk -
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Finally catching up on those long podcasts.

So, democracy has turned out to be a good way to control the citizens under the pretext of law, while the people in power rape and pillage the country. That's expected I suppose, since "we" elected them.

So, why can't they seem to do the same with drugs ? Or is it that the people in power might themselves be profiting from the illegal trade ?

"There's nothing worse in this world than bitterness and revenge. Hold your head up and stay true to yourself."

It is interesting to watch people giving advice to others, when the aforementioned don't exactly seem to have followed their own advice.

On a remotely related note, has anybody read "Being and Nothingness" ? Good read ?

When I was a kid, my parents would take me and my brother along whenever they wanted to visit a relative. We would grudgingly follow them and ever since, I've hated my relatives. The ones I liked were the ones I rarely visited.

Some of the relatives I had might have been good, but my impression of relatives is that they are more parasitic than symbiotic. They set the standard for the kind of people I didn't want to meet or make friendship with. Of course, I have come across friends of the parasitic nature. But they have been far and few between.

Which is probably why I am so careful when I meet new people. I don't want to make the same mistakes that I made in the past. Is that what experience is supposed to be ?

So, I had to go to Singapore for work. First day was beautiful, I ate all the good food that I had been missing all along. It was hot. Second day, I ate more good food and the heat was still on. Third day, the food was still good, but the heat finally got to me. And I didn't wanna stay there no more. Way too many people, way too much heat and way too much capitalism. And by heat, I mean humidity and the feeling that you are entering a sauna, the moment you leave your work or the hotel room.

I am happy, I escaped from paradise when I could. This place is like the ultimate version of Matrix. Almost everything is perfect. It is only when you look deeper, that you realise that the machines have programmed it well. Unlike the movie version, these machines are the most corrupt ruthless entities you'll ever have seen.

Unfortunately, I might have to go there again. :|

One of my favourite song/dance videos.

Would you rather let them evolve organically or try moulding them to what *you* think is right ?

I personally prefer the organic approach.

Gitmo has introduced a new torture technique, much worse than waterboarding. They make prisoners watch the movie "Saawariya".

You don't need to read a lot of articles on news.com.au to figure out who owns it.

Examples:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22344178-5007146,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22352363-401,00.html
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22344850-5007146,00.html

Here is a report from BBC and another report from Daily Mail regarding the same news item.

See any difference ?

Among the few books that I've read, the most I like are these two, that have influenced me at various times in my life - The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Fountainhead.

Today, while I was at the bookstore, I picked up the "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and read a few lines by Lord Henry:

"I never approve, or disapprove, of anything now. It is an absurd attitude to take towards life. We are not sent into the world to air our moral prejudices. I never take any notice of what common people say, and I never interfere with what charming people do. If a personality fascinates me, whatever mode of expression that personality selects is absolutely delightful to me. Dorian Gray falls in love with a beautiful girl who acts Juliet, and proposes to marry her. Why not? If he wedded Messalina, he would be none the less interesting. You know I am not a champion of marriage. The real drawback to marriage is that it makes one unselfish. And unselfish people are colourless. They lack individuality. Still, there are certain temperaments that marriage makes more complex. They retain their egotism, and add to it many other egos. They are forced to have more than one life. They become more highly organized, and to be highly organized is, I should fancy, the object of man's existence. Besides, every experience is of value, and whatever one may say against marriage, it is certainly an experience. I hope that Dorian Gray will make this girl his wife, passionately adore her for six months, and then suddenly become fascinated by some one else. He would be a wonderful study."

Isn't Lord Henry wonderful! He is my favourite character from the book.

The Picture of Dorian Gray is probably the one book that I will keep reading again and again.

So, the book is finally released and what chaos ! Aaah, this is fun.

Figures the leak was genuine. You should see the chaos here (possible spoilers).

Thank Jeebus, this is finally over.

So, BBC has this article about Anti-Americanism and apparently it is due to the French.

I don't get it.

So, how is everybody doing then ?

We went around house-hunting, only to realize that the house prices here are as obscene as they are in Bangalore.

The Spiderman movies have taken the Romeo and Juliet route, just like the Lord of the Rings. What a shame !! Spiderman was my favourite cartoon series. I hope to see Transformers this week. Has anyone seen any other good movies lately ?

I've been looking for Tamil/Telugu songs (from movies which were released between 1996 and 2001). Anyone has a collection of Tamil/Telugu songs from these times ?

YDL 5.0 runs happily on my PS3.

Spring and Autumn here are wonderful. Summer burns and Winter freezes. Despite being a cold country, houses here are not built to be warm. Only now do they seem to be getting the "technology" to do so.

It's cold here. I am snuggled up and ready to sleep. Goodnight then, folks :)

Ages since I took a survey, so you can understand how jobless and bored I am. *sigh*

I could do something about the background color ( which is ugly ), but I am lazy now.

Parts reproduced from here:

( He died for your sins, not mine :D )

"Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

- Nazi Reich Marshal Hermann Göring while in his jail cell during the Nuremberg Trials.

I can never understand how two complete strangers can decide to stay together for the rest of their lives.