Read Me

A lot of books and graphic novels have been read ever since I left Bangalore. Some were books I should have read a long long time ago, while others were just stuff I wanted to re-read. Quite a few of them were e-books unfortunately.

1. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
2. Themes and Variations - Aldous Huxley
3. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
4. 1984 - George Orwell
5. Island - Aldous Huxley
6. The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
8. Transmetropolitan - Warren Ellis
9. Stupid White Men - Michael Moore
10. The Discovery of India - Jawaharlal Nehru
11. Ex Machina - Brian Vaughan
12. Fables - Bill Willingham
13. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
14. "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman - Harlan Ellison
15. A Scanner Darkly - Philip K. Dick

A lot more books lying around unread.

Spider Jerusalem is what Warren Ellis would have turned into, if it weren't for society and its many constraints. Every malicious act and every venomous utterance spewed out by the bald gonzo journalist is what Ellis would have loved to actually say and do to people if he wasn't liable to be arrested and imprisoned for doing so.

Moral of the story: Read "Transmetropolitan" by Warren Ellis.

A match made in California

So I was reading about Prop 8 and the controversy it generated in California. What this ballot proposition did was redefine the meaning of the term "marriage" as a union between a man and a woman, thus eliminating the rights of homosexual men and women to marry in the state of California. Surprisingly, despite the supposed "open mindedness" of Californians, most of them voted in favor of this proposition.

What I fail to understand is this; how does it affect heterosexuals? Why would they vote for something which explicitly takes away an essential right from thousands of men and women? Allowing gay people to marry doesn't take away anyone else's right to wed. They just want what we have enjoyed and taken for granted for centuries. Enough has been said about such practices eroding family values and destroying the American way of life. How in the hell would family values be compromised if a man and another man decided to wed? Its not like they'd sneak into one of those "All American homes" (husband, wife, two kids and a dog) and then spring out and start sodomizing each other. I'll talk about the "American way" later.

What is marriage? Isn't it just a way of displaying the love and commitment that one person has for another. In a world filled with so much hate and meaningless violence, they would want to prevent people from expressing love?

The biggest culprit here is the church. Well, the people who run the church actually. According to them, the Bible states that engaging in homosexual relations is a sin. Well then the Bible also states that eating shell fish is a sin, and that one can stone his wife, sell off his daughter and keep slaves. Why don't they follow those aspects as well? Maybe they should use a bit of that brain God so graciously gave everyone. Doesn't the holy book state that it is not in the power of religious leaders to deny sacraments to people, who were made in God's image? And how can their act of preventing the spread of love and happiness be in tune with their God who is supposed to a representation of that very love?

Oh, and as for the "American way", the country came into existence as a form of rebellion because of a group's inability to accept the fact that Church and State were not separate entities in England at the time. So to revert back to this inane system, which their fore-fathers had so vehemently protested, is clearly a step in the wrong direction and is in fact contrary to everything their predecessors had fought for.

Its a sad state of affairs when someone's personal opinion becomes the law.

Christmas is here. The one day in the year when its okay for fat men in strange clothes to break into homes throughout the world. And little children provide them with milk and cookies for their trouble. Truly a magical time of the year, isn't it?

Sights to see on the information highway

Army Cpl. Andrew Powell, on the laptop monitor at left, and his wife, Kristin, welcomed a baby daughter Bailey Mae Powell, on Jan. 16, in Danville, Ky., and Andrew watched -- even though he's overseas, serving his country in Iraq.

And just like that, I have a new-found appreciation for webcams.

Christianity 101

Religion is a tool for the propagation of the ideas of the ruling elite. No good ever comes from the institutionalization of thought processes, as is the case with every notable religion in the world today. In the end, it becomes a slug fest between various conflicting beliefs which eventually results in the corruption of religion as a whole. Religion, which had started as something pure, as a way for man to come to terms with a higher power which he clearly didn't understand. I feel religion can be a good thing, a source of joy and comfort for millions, but for this to happen, the growth process and the propagation has to be essentially organic in nature. People should adopt a religion because of their own beliefs, no other reason. I feel imposing your beliefs and practices on others is the wrong way to go and no good can ever come of it. I know I may sound like a hypocrite for saying this, but all I can say in defense is that time has indeed changed the way I look at the world around me.

Despite my many problems with Christianity, I still believe in it. When I say I believe, I mean I agree with quite a bit of what is written in the Bible. But the most important thing which still links me to the religion is the idea that I'm loved and accepted for what I am. That sense of reassurance is what still keeps me going. The problems I have with the religion are numerous however. Churches sometimes tend to lose track of whats important I feel. Money making seems to be the order of the day. And the unquestioning herd mentality is another concern. People tend to accept complete bull shit just because someone says its God's word. Just because someone said it in the pulpit does not make it the cardinal truth. Analyze, criticize, do something. I remember sometime back in youth fellowship, when someone said smoking was a sin. Why? Because it says in the Bible that its a sin to harm your body. Well, then isn't eating junk food a sin? Isn't over-eating a sin? Who decided what to include and what not to include in this list? Did they decide this in a meeting of some sort, cause I sure as hell wasn't invited.

What I'm trying to say is its good to follow a religion, but don't just blindly follow everything the preacher-man says.

Kick ass!!! Bah...humbug

Not a day goes by that I don't think about Law School and the people in it. Being "senti", nostalgic, call it what you will, but I do have certain fond memories of that place, and quite a few unpleasant ones as well. One thing that struck me as odd about the place was the way the people used words and phrases like "kick ass" or "sexy" in an absolutely indiscriminate manner. They didn't give a damn what the person was doing. If they thought that the act was performed even in a remotely satisfactory manner, they'd blurt out the classic, "Kick ass dude!", or if you did it particularly well, "Kick f**king ass dude!". Now its fine if they said this if I had scored a ridiculously difficult basket or something.

But, and I'm not making this up, you don't say it to someone who's checking his mail! Now, I was sitting in the library checking my mail, and this senior walks past me. He asks, "What you upto dude?". And I go, "Nothing much man, just checking my mail." To this, and I kid you not, he says, "Kick f**king ass dude!!", and flashes me a thumbs up sign. I WAS CHECKING MY FUCKING MAIL!!!! WHAT?!? WERE YOU PARTICULARLY IMPRESSED BY THE WAY I RAN MY FINGER ACROSS THE TOUCH-PAD IN A SMOOTH AND AFFIRMATIVE MANNER?!? OR MAYBE IT WAS THE FACT THAT I HAD A G-MAIL ACCOUNT?!? What else could have elicited such a response from said person?

I think they should have a cap of three "kick asses" a week. That should put a stop to this foolishness.

Football

I love football.
I love the aesthetics of football.
I love the athleticism of football.
I love the movement of the players.
I love the antics of the coaches.
I love the dynamism of the fans.
I love their passion for their badge and the colour of their team and their country.
I love the noise, and the buzz and the electricity of the stadium.
I love their songs.
I love the way the ball moves.
I love the ebbs and flows, and the way the fortunes of a team rise and fall through a game and through a season.
I love football for bringing people together, across religious divides, geographic divides and political divides.
I love the fact that for 90 minutes in a rectangular patch of grass, people can forget, hopefully, whatever might be going on in their lives and rejoice in this communal celebration of humanity.

A different kind of crisis at the Emirates

I feel for Emmanuel Eboue. I really do. If I were him, I'd leave Arsenal as soon as possible. Honestly. The level of abuse he receives at the hands of Gooners, never mind opposing team supporters, is unbelievable. No player, no matter how badly he performs, deserves this kind of treatment. The past week's match against Wigan was the proverbial cherry on the cake. He comes back after an injury which sidelines him for a month, and is then played out of his position, AND in the wrong flank. Obviously, mistakes will be made when such decisions are made.

But the behavior of the fans when he got subbed out was something else. Booing your own player for making mistakes, despite giving it his best? Thats just not on.

And whats it going to do for the morale of the other star players in the squad. What would Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott etc. be thinking when they saw this? "Oh yes!! These are the kind of fans I want to play for!!" Fuck that.

And keep in mind, most of the squad is in their early twenties. If fans keep behaving this way, they'll end up destroying a few careers in the process. Look at Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal fans have had a go at him every time he steps on the pitch, despite the fact that he's saved Arsenal the blushes on many occasions (Dino Kiyv?). Watch him play for his country, Denmark, where he is supported by fans who still have class. I still remember a friendly against Spain where he single-handedly ripped apart the Spanish backline on numerous occasions (scored twice) and kept both Puyol and Marchena under his control throughout the ninety minutes. But I fear his career may not reach the peaks that it deserves to, mainly due to the confidence sapping environment at the Emirates.

Supporting your team at their home stadium is a privilege. For all those who think their $60 ticket entitles them to taunt their own team, I really have nothing to say because they've forgotten what football is all about. I just hope that this disgraceful incident is enough to wake everyone up to this utter lack of respect for the game.

God of the Azteca

I saw God today.

He was fat and surprisingly short. I saw him only for a few seconds before he entered his air conditioned Mercedes CLK.

Best 20 odd seconds of my life.