Adios Two-Thousand-Nine - Updated

A portion of the year was


BUT Counting my blessings... *blink-blink*
Yup.


But I could use a hug!

A Christmasy Set

Now, you see it.


Now, you don't!


Some details


Nativity Scene (although she usually puts up some sand and grass)


The Attack of the Santa Heads


The Star(s)

Avatar!

I don't talk/blog too much about movies, because there is an overdose of it in cyberspace and our lives.
But movies like Crash, The Matrix series need special mention, and so does Avatar!

S. opined that the graphics/visualization was the winner, the story was number two. I felt the story is the real winner and the graphics number two.

Actually, James Cameroon used an amazing medium to tell an amazing story that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. He is a class apart, no doubt about that! And it gladdens my heart that he has such a profound story to tell.

In short, this movie is an opposite of Independence Day. In ID, aliens invade earth to take over. We fight for our land. In Avatar, we have our humans (greedy as always), who want to displace the Navi tribe from their home and mine some crap. Navi say no, they fight back to protect their land.

This movie has already happened on this planet. Unfortunately, the ending was not the same as the movie.

The Navis always talk about connection with Eywa(their God, nature, diety) as well as the connection with all living things on their planet. That, my friends, is the truth- not a belief system.

Like the Navi tribe, there is was this tribe who are very close to nature, almost intuitive, they too value their warriors and their tribe. They thank the land, the river, the animals for providing for them. Their existence too was threatened in the same way by certain other people who invaded them with guns. This has happened throughout history in three different continents. The Navi's on this planet are no more or barely exist in the same way as before.

The one real infuriating part is when an antoganist proclaims "We shall fight terror with terror"! Who is terrorizing who? Bloody Nonsense!

James Cameroon on the movie:

Really what this film ultimately does is hold a mirror to our own blighted history, where we have a culturally advanced civilization supplanting more “primitive” civilizations. Some of these civilizations and cultures have a lot more wisdom than we’ve shown. We just have bigger guns. We have ships that can cross oceans, we have horses and armor. And this country we’re in now was taken from its indigenous owners. And it’s kind of owning up to our own human history.

This person hits the nail on the head though he calls the movie "slack".

There are heavy-handed attempts to implant contemporary references (at one point, the marines are told to fight "terror with terror"), but there's no mistaking what Avatar is taking aim at: the founding myth of America, and the incursions of European colonists into indigenous civilisations.
To his credit, Cameron is a skilful narrative organiser, and fairly soon he has you rooting for the aliens, not those pesky human invaders. (This may not be the most tasteful approach though, to use on an American audience that still doesn't appear to feel especially guilty about what happened to the indigenous people on their own continent.)

Please include Australia. and South America (the continent)

To be fair, some Avatar bashing too:

Avatar- the most expensive piece of anti-american propoganda ever made: Avatar is more than just a 160 minute-long cinematic thrill-ride. It is an intensely political vehicle with a distinct agenda. In fact I would describe it as one of the most left-wing films in the history of modern American cinema, and perhaps the most commercially successful political movie of our time. While the vast majority of cinemagoers will simply see it as popcorn entertainment, Avatar is at its heart a cynical and deeply unpatriotic propaganda piece, aimed squarely against American global power and the projection of US economic and military might across the world.

Or you can google for "avatar anti-" prompts to read more.

Moments on Images

This is NOT a resolution. But every week, I want to post pictures of the photos taken that week. And for that, I have to first start clicking. I just hope it doesn't become "i have to blog this" picture and just "capture the moment" kind of clicking.

I realised things around us can be as interesting. I have been immensely enjoying the guardian.co.uk Day in Pictures. Most of them are not related, the variation is so pleasing.

Don't expect any great photos or anything creative (oh you didn't!) because I have a simble and humble 3.2mp camera (hangs head).
And sometimes old pictures will make guest appearances.
And yes, I filched the title from here.

A simple chapathi roll presented in a nice manner by Sujit's mother who is a wonderful cook, and human being.


The entrance to the Kabalesswarar Temple in Mylapore. Grand eh?


Just before an impromptu dinner at Vikram's house (prepared by his mother). I like the extensive use of stainless steel that not so common nowadays.


I wanted an elaborate Karthigai, but this was all I could manage in 5 mins on Dec 2nd.

TED Sunitha Krishnan

Warning: Graphic and disturbing Images.

The first time I saw this video (as I see any other news related to child abuse), I feel so pained, and so dead within me. How can they? Little children. The monsters, the monsters! Death is too good for them.
There is no forgiveness for sexually abusing a small child or anyone for that matter, the abusers are NOT humans and DO NOT deserve any rights.

Only the second time I watched this did I realise she was not talking just about the abusers or the victims, but also the victimization of the victims. By who? "Educated", "cultured" people.

I am so ashamed to live in this society that has firmly labelled them as defiled women and shunned them.

Acceptance, thats what she wants from us. And I give it to them (always have) with all my heart and head and hands.
And to every question Sunitha asks at the end -"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Right now, I am SO angry with society that if I even hear a comment in a discriminatory manner, I'm afraid I will explode on them.

Now, SHE is a brave woman. A wonderful presentation at TED and what a strong voice! Her passion and anger just came through to hit us in the face.

More:
Q&A on the TED blog: http://blog.ted.com/2009/12/qa_with_sunitha.php
Her personal blog: http://sunithakrishnan.blogspot.com/

The Beach

I am a beach person. I am sure Nature meant us all to be naturally spiritual. In the midst of greenery, forest or national park, in a vast desert or in the hills, mountains... speechless.

Nature offers everyone so many opportunities - Every single time I go to the beach, inspite of the crowd, the rubbish and the sellers and tourists who carelessly litter the beloved place, I love being there.
The sound of the waves crashing against the beach. I could sit for hours on the shore and loose sense of time watching the waves go in and out, in and out.

No comtemplation or feel the burdens go away. Its just being there.
I don't even associate the beach with hammock and coconut, resorts or bonfires.

One of my friends had a fisherman friend and he said that this simple person used to do breath-watching naturally! He is a person with a heightened sense of awareness and mental strength. He was such a gracious and intuitive person that people in the community loved him. He would just sit for hours at night or while at the sea waiting for the fish.

Beautiful!

Sunrise at the beach is a treat beyond all treats. I am already singing and dancing (inside) as my park my vehicle in the semi-darkness and walk towards the sunrise. And a big thanks to Isha classes for dragging me to the beach in some way or the other so early in the morning.

PLaying in the water! Everybody becomes a child when there is SO much water just waiting there inviting you - and the sea does all the splashing work, we only have to do the screaming in glee part.

It would be a shame if I don't go to the beach atleast once a week living in a seaside city like Madras. (beach->Madras, not Chennai)

A & B

A and his family has occupied a piece of land for n centuries. B wants to come there as well. There is some acrimony, but B is there nevertheless. Now, B and his family antagonises A, wants more of A's land.
A in turn retaliates. So much life is lost and quality of life is eroded for both A and B, A more than B. But the world supports B. Why?
I have friends, some are A, some are B. I am not going to take sides because I have friends in A or B. Just look at the situation as it is.

Vikram Seth has written out in his book "Two Lives"
Jewish control of the nation is central to the idea of Isreal. Its demographic policy had it been perpetrated by anyone else would have been condemned as ethnic cleansing- both the permanent exclusion of Palestines (some of whose families had lived there for centuries) who fled the terror unleashed on them when the state was founded, and the vigorous encouragement of all those who are Jewish to settle there.
Various justifications for the foundation and maintainance of Isreal as a specifically Jewish state have been adduced, none of them takes into account the concomitant injustice to the Palestinians. Historical yearning for certain religious sites or landscapes or a belief that one is divinely ordained to possess a particular part of the earth is hardly an excuse for creating one's own living space at the expense of others.

The eviction over the decades since 1948 of yet more Palestinians from their land, the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank and elsewhere, the massacres in the refugee camps under Isreali military control during the Lebanon operations of 1982, the construction of the wall incorporating still more Palestinian land, the assasination of Palestinian leaders, the repeated seige of cities, the razing of entire streets and colonies of houses and the regular humiliation of Palestinian civilians by Isreali troops paint a picture of terror, injustice either sanctioned or not greatly opposed by the state.
Many of the dispossesed Palestinians support their own terrorists, who strike with equal injustice. In the fearful calculus of terror, where impulse and response are difficult to distinguish, many more Palestinians have been killed than Israelis.

Judaism teaches
1. unity of mankind.
It commands us therefore to
2. love thy neighbour
3. to protect our neighbour and his rights
4. be aware of his honor
5. to honor his beliefs
6. to assuage his sorrows.

I don't support mindless violence on the part of A either, but that does not justify B in anyway. They refuse to listen to the United Nations and answer their war crimes. A's civilians- innocent bystanders and children are killed and maimed and quality of life eroded! A and his neighbours refuse to budge on their stand.

Ok, whatever has happened is done. Now, it is time for cooperation and coexistence. And as silly and childish as it sounds APOLOGISE. I am sure they can use each other's strengths and become one of the most prosperous areas in the world.

The Guardian newspaper(based in UK) as I know it has the most unbiased reporting.
The world should look at A's situation too and BE FAIR.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gaza
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/17/gaza-israel-invasion-children-traumatised
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/dec/09/gaza-children-palestinian-babies
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/dec/17/tzipi-livni-miliband-gaza-law

Oh my children!
I have them as A and B, to show I have no inclination towards any religion/region.

TED Mark Bittman

Listen to him people! Listen to him. He traces the change in diet in USA. I am shaking my head in oh-my-god - this is SO going to happen over here.
How food habits - consumption of more animal food and canned & processed food is bringing on a massive destruction environmentally. They occupy more land for farming, the food they eat, sorry forced to eat(that is changed from greens) to corn/soy that occupies more land, destroying the soil, making it infertile and use more fertilizer and chemicals. The food is transported adding to their overall destruction value. South America (the continent) has more animals than people!

He doesn't advocate being vegan, but semi-vegetarian. Most people in India are right now semi-vegetarian but its changing. Gulp.

Damn, I am breaking my Junk food is revenge rule.

Electronically Jinxed!

After we buy home consumer electronics, one of these things almost immediately or within 3-6 months.
(All this was done 3-4 years ago, you will know why we stopped)

1- The item is outdated. An advanced version with many cool features is available for half the price.
2- The item is a bad purchasing decision because we don't have any use for it.
3-  Any repairs cost half the price we actually paid to buy it.

I present to you, the Case studies...

The heavy 2kg laptop we are stuck with was a bad bad decision. Very low GB memory and ram speed. Almost immediately, better versions at cheaper rates (almost half the price) were available. Now, the CD burner is not working and not yet fixed. Have given up.

A better and bigger television set was available for the same price after we bought ours. And it was flat screen LCD too.
The audio system we bought was a hefty amount- almost Rs18000 and we were proud of its megawatt capacity. But, its 3 CD changer was of no use, it worked for sometime and just refused to work anymore. We don't have audio cassettes to play in it either. 3 speakers are not working at all. An advanced one (with USB drive and superb speakers, less bulky) for a mere Rs10000 was available in the market six months later. Taking it for repair is going to cost a pocket, so I have bought a Rs30 cord that can be connected to an external device. I play songs in my cellphone and it comes out of the speakers. The entire bulky audio system is merely a gateway to the speaker. BAH!

WorldSpace- bad bad purchasing decision and I did the same mistake twice. No use of 40 radio stations unless you can take it around. We hardly listened to it as we weren't at home. Have disconnected it. Want one?

The camera (oh the camera!) was the worst thing ever! It so painful to even talk about it. Spent Rs12000 on it and about Rs7000 on repairs because we were so reluctant to let go. When we bought it, 7.2MP was a big deal, it was the type where the lens rolls out. Lens was stuck, screen blanked out, its trashed now! Now 12MP is available for Rs5000.
Mind you, it was branded!

Sniff. The trial Electronic piano I bought was stepped on and is now broken. It was high on my list of things to do for this year.

Now, I have this Nokia ExpressMusic phone bought at Diwali "Sale" for Rs5500 and was proud of the memory card et all. Forget the fact that just about everyone esp college kids have it. My mother got a slimmer version for Rs4400 minus the side buttons in the next one week. Aargh-o-ramus!

DishTV's run in the house is soon going to come to an end. I think SCV has better options and we have to pay just half the rate. SRK, tsk tsk.

Now you know whom to come for Electronics Purchase Decisions!!

Oh yea, Refrigerator and Washing Machine are working good... so far.

Welfare of Stray Dogs

So, I was running/waddling in the Shenoy Nagar neighborhood the other day. (I must put up pictures of the same) and this dog came bounding to me obviously to play. My "animal-aura" aka Ace Ventura. He launched himself on me two times i.e jump up and put the paws on the thighs and me pushing him off got him more hyper and wanting to play. So, I had to make big hand gestures and "Shoo" in a big voice. Run ahead and not turn back.

These stray dogs hate hats or caps. I have to respectfully take if off and hold it in my hand, walk away in a trot without making eye contact, they are ok with that. Good thing I don't sprint (as if!!), they hate that too.

My happy place is sitting on a sofa petting a cat or a dog. All sad and down moments, this is the image in my mind. the soft fur and pulling its ears gently.

But all that has changed...

Two days ago, I saw a half-dead animal on the road. Half dead is worse than dead. One part (its hindlegs) was jumping and front portion was half-smashed I think. So painful for me. I don't even know what animal (small one) it was, I couldn't bear to watch again. Closing my eyes brings me that image, its terrible. I would probably swoon and die in an animal farm and even those videos haunt me like in Silence of the Lambs.

Damn, We have to do something about stray dog/cat population. A certain highway near Chennai has so many smashed dogs on the road, it is sheer torture for anyone travelling there.

There should be an operation in place that can handle this in a humane manner. Similar to the group Welfare of Stray Dogs that operates in Mumbai.

My idea is a medical van with veterinary doctors should travel from town to village along the highway. They can take help from the local population to neuter and treat the dogs. The people who bring capture and bring a dog in a proper manner will be given some money for that. Once the dog is treated for skin diseases, it can be tagged and released back. The stray dog population won't multiply that way. This should be done with government approval so that there are no roadblocks. The best way to start before getting the approval is to work with a local collector in a small level.
Some vehicles can travel across the length and breadth once and do it a few times.

However in some places especially villages, these dogs are their outside pets. Some of them like treat the dogs like their own, but many are shooed and are pretty much in a sad condition. Just watch the last scene in Welcome to Sajjanpur where the dog is bundled up to say farewell at the train station, so cute.

Now, don't say we don't have any right to neuter them or make them infertile, we have no right to take away their habitat and reduce them to flea-ridden and skin-peeling animals eating in garbage bins, rabies infected ones biting children and passer-bys. When your child is not bitten by one (unlike an incident in a nearby locality), you will thank this neutering plan.

Now, only thing to do is to find a rich dog lover to implement a trail run.