A lot seems to be happening around the world today. Really, the people who must write sections for "Oddly enough" at Reuters must be celebrating with joy at the sheer number of events that far transcend "incredulously amazing".
Lets start with Liz Hurley's big fat Indian wedding, arguable the "wedding of the year", which couldn't get any more famous with big elephants, lots of trumpets, and other exotica like ice sculptures in the middle of (the desert Indian state) Rajasthan. No, that was a mistake. It DOES get better. Apparently, they have been sued by a group of responsible Hindu citizens who feel that the marriage rites were but a travesty to the pure and scared event that a hindu wedding ceremony is. Because? No reasons given. Oh well. Next, it turns out that the father-in-law himself disowned his son because the latter - under the auspices of his new wife of course - snubbed him at a [sic] 30,000 pound dinner organized in his honour. Duh. If someone organized a 30,000 pound dinner for me... But then, if I were getting married to someone as supremely hot as Liz Hurley - nah, I'd still go for it.. But come on people. So they didn't precisely follow hindu rituals - perhaps, there were tulips rather than marigolds. Isnt the fact that 2 people who (presumably) love each other got married count for anything? And seriously, don't you have anything better to do than waste money on frivolous lawsuits against people you are likely to have o direct connection to?
Anyway. Topping this was my serendipitous discovery of the .. World Rock, Paper, Scissors Society! Yes, that such a thing exists is a marvellous reaffirmation of the obscenely huge amounts of time some people have in order to devote it to such (trivial?) pursuits. Did you know that there are official strategies to play this game? And that the math involved in calculating probabilities of what the other persons are going to put forth based on a history of what you've put forth is rather advanced? That people who play this routinely do these calculations in their heads in a matter of seconds, before they decide what to play with?
I didn't either.
And since this post started with the easily hurt sensibilities of the hindu populace of the world, lets end it with a particularly interesting piece of news which I chanced across - that really showcases just how many good-for-nothing-too-rich-to-care people are out there. Apparently, the California school curriculum system was sued by .. yes, another hindu watchdog group in California which argues that the textbook syllabus in American schools portrays the religion in a bad light. Go figure. I'm too lazy to recount the entire scenario here.. but the links before should give you some idea of whats happening.
Yawn. more later.
Tagged by Something to say
Five unknown things about me? Thats a toughie - never imagine it would be this hard to look at myself from the perspective of someone else. Lets see now,
- I love the smell of petrol/gasoline. I just do. Some people have told me its weird, and I shouldn't - but hey, thats your problem not mine. And when I say this, it doesn't mean I go around sniffing fuel tanks, but I do take a deep whiff whenever I'm fueling my car or I'm passing by a filling station. Although, I *hate* burnt fuel smells.
- I used to love eating bits and pieces of a particular wall when I was a kid (Yeah, I *know*). Perhaps 3 or 4 years old. I have vivid memories of taking small chunks off this small hole in the wall (I think it might've been where a small bit was shorn off when hammering a nail in - and this was in the lobby of an apartment complex, overlooking the balcony.) I think I stood there (on the 7th floor) munching bits of grit and staring at the world go past. Good times.
- This is getting easier by the minute. Hrmmph. My music tastes are pretty eclectic, but sometimes, I will listen to one song that I end up liking SO MUCH that I play it on constant repeat about a zillion times, interspersed with very few other songs. I think it helps me appreciate the beauty of the melody or lyrics, or whatever it is that I really admire. Most recent such song was "Echoes", by Pink Floyd. Music also plays a really important role in how I'm feeling at that point in the day. Something nice and beaty, will cheer me up to no end - and sometimes, Enya-esque songs will relax me. And some really special songs bring about a flood of memories, smells, and images from long times past! Weird eh?
- I'm a technology person. I would feel lost without a computer - something I've been using ever since I was 4, my PDA, a phone, et al. Okay, its not as bad as I make it out to be :) But, I've realized that there's a gap in my life, especially when I've been on multiple day hikes to remote locations where there's no cell phone coverage, let alone internet access. I do a lot of stuff using the computer, and its like an extension of myself.
- I've got heightened senses. Smells and taste - I can normally figure out all the ingredients in a dish, and identify people or certain objects by passing smells. Wery Vierd? Perhaps :) As for hearing, I can figure out exactly what my housemates are doing, where they are, and even predict what they will do next based on sounds they're making. Like, I'll know when someone in the room I can't see is say, lifting a pen, writing on paper, and then pausing to think. Sometimes, its VERY irritating though. Imagine the above situation sitting in a classroom hehe.
Ok, I think I've waxed eloquently about myself! Now, to tag some more people. I choose: hobo, punkster, snake anthony, szelerem and whitelight. Not to mention iz and surly girl. Hehe, who says you only have to tag FIVE more people? :)
I saw an ad on TV today. It showed a dog chasing its tail over and over again, as dogs are wont to do, for about 45 seconds. It must've done so *atleast* 30 times in that time span.
And once it finished, the caption at the bottom was - "Comcast. Non Stop. 24/7/365". Not too bad you say? Perhaps, but commenting on the sad state of affairs that is the America Television Industry is not the topic for a short post.
Instead, it got me thinking about how such an ad would be implemented. Consider - you would need to find a dog which is known to chase its tail around. As an ad person, how would you approach this?
First thoughts include trying to find people who have talked about or perhaps written about their dogs' eccentricities. Hmm, but how often do you find people like that who live near you? Just finding a dog which doesn't look ugly as hell and is known to chase his tail for eons isn't enough. Although this by itself is a tough problem, once you DO find him - how do you make him do his thing? surely, you wouldn't be cruel enough to attach salami juice onto his tail and make him sniff it. and in case of a particularly stupid dog, even have him bite it. Its not unknown, after all.
I'm still trying to work this out. Next post is going to be a tag which STS gave me a couple of weeks ago!
Holy Crap. A MONTH without a post. Sigh, this is what happens when you get to a point where real life gets to you more than compulsions towards online avatars. Hehe, which might actually be a good thing.
But so much has happened. And thats best illustrated by the fact that in 5 days, I've travelled abouit 6000 miles, across 4 time zones, with about 8 hours of sleep, partied till 2am, chicken wings at 3, and then early morning conversations till 6. Repeat. Fun times, I have to admit.
Now couple this with some interesting tours I had to conduct, discuss possibly life changing business ideas, and a couple of other things which I can't really talk about.. I think its safe to say that the lack of updates has been *because* i've had too many :)
But more stuff coming up. For instance, the tag which "Something to Say" left me. soon, very soon.
