Seen at an Enfield garage in New Delhi
Friday, August 21, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Rant 38: One Hundred and One Animals
give or take about 20....
This Animal Care Trust (Shelter) is located in a place called Shakthinagar, not very far from where I live.
Vinod, who resembles a wise-old grandfather in the number of stories he has on Mangalore, had the contact for this place. A lawyer and 4-5 helpers, charged with the most enviable task; taking care of close to a 100 dogs and cats, plus cows, turtles etc. and mani interresting furri animals (to quote a lovely monty python movie...typos intended)
Upon reaching..we found
Vinod, who resembles a wise-old grandfather in the number of stories he has on Mangalore, had the contact for this place. A lawyer and 4-5 helpers, charged with the most enviable task; taking care of close to a 100 dogs and cats, plus cows, turtles etc. and mani interresting furri animals (to quote a lovely monty python movie...typos intended)
Upon reaching..we found
Dogs........and Cats
Some were curious themselves...while others were just plain shy
The helpers
and their leader
Some got a bit naughty towards the end
and they also do...
***
and their leader
Some got a bit naughty towards the end
and they also do...
***
Monday, August 10, 2009
Rant 36: The best corporation in the world
Okay, so after hours of contemplation, I have reached the conclusion that
a) Never start with 20 kilo weights after a month long break from working out
and...
b) the best corporation in the world is...Religion Inc.
Taking in astronomical sums of money each year as capital and registering super-normal rises in year-on-year profits, the corp has literally grown from scratch to one of the biggest oligarchs in the history of human habitation on the Earth.
Right from its humble beginnings in the stone age, it started with initial fixed assets (capital) of goats, sheep, cows and other animals (otherwise called sacrifices). As time progressed, some of its public shareholders decided that they wanted more control over the enterprise and thus began formulating company policies.
At all points, these policies were dictated to a single public shareholder by the company executives. Those execs with many hands (and many lives as well) preferred to remain above the cloud levels and communicate through various avatars in their earthly escapades, most avatars being animal forms.
Execs who actually dared to show their true faces on the Earth, quickly learnt to avoid that approach, as reports were reaching the boardroom that the public shareholders loved playing Crucifixion.
The company policies were written into various forms for easier understanding amongst the masses. Some execs added a bit of sado-masochist porn in, while others preferred a good dose of good-old blood and gore. All in all, it was a good book...or so it seems.
In time, the public shareholders became even more demanding. So the execs decided to sell off their majority shares and head off on a long vacation. The public shareholders decided to branch out the company and formed different sub-divisions. The strange thing was (as is with companies owned by Rupert Murdoch) that even though the sub-divisions were meant to pour "profits" into the same parent company, the publicly seen methods of obtaining those incomes violated various ethical norms, not least in the corporate battles between the sub-divisions themselves.
However, the company knew that no matter how many mass killings, suicides, pollution, they would always emerge victorious in the eyes of their shareholders because of their one TRUMP card...
The simple phrase : "It's my religious belief"
Working even more effectively than a full blown cruciatus curse, this single phrase has guaranteed that critics of any kind, will tip-toe respectfully away from any debate on the company's policies.
Thus, the wisest investment in these dark times is perhaps Religion Inc.
S.O.T.O. Rants is in no way affiliated with and does not endorse the beliefs and policies of Religon Inc. Purchase of mutual funds, shares and debentures are subject to market risks (Earthquakes, tsunamis, global warming, famines). Please read the offer document carefully before investing.
a) Never start with 20 kilo weights after a month long break from working out
and...
b) the best corporation in the world is...Religion Inc.
Taking in astronomical sums of money each year as capital and registering super-normal rises in year-on-year profits, the corp has literally grown from scratch to one of the biggest oligarchs in the history of human habitation on the Earth.
Right from its humble beginnings in the stone age, it started with initial fixed assets (capital) of goats, sheep, cows and other animals (otherwise called sacrifices). As time progressed, some of its public shareholders decided that they wanted more control over the enterprise and thus began formulating company policies.
At all points, these policies were dictated to a single public shareholder by the company executives. Those execs with many hands (and many lives as well) preferred to remain above the cloud levels and communicate through various avatars in their earthly escapades, most avatars being animal forms.
Execs who actually dared to show their true faces on the Earth, quickly learnt to avoid that approach, as reports were reaching the boardroom that the public shareholders loved playing Crucifixion.
The company policies were written into various forms for easier understanding amongst the masses. Some execs added a bit of sado-masochist porn in, while others preferred a good dose of good-old blood and gore. All in all, it was a good book...or so it seems.
In time, the public shareholders became even more demanding. So the execs decided to sell off their majority shares and head off on a long vacation. The public shareholders decided to branch out the company and formed different sub-divisions. The strange thing was (as is with companies owned by Rupert Murdoch) that even though the sub-divisions were meant to pour "profits" into the same parent company, the publicly seen methods of obtaining those incomes violated various ethical norms, not least in the corporate battles between the sub-divisions themselves.
However, the company knew that no matter how many mass killings, suicides, pollution, they would always emerge victorious in the eyes of their shareholders because of their one TRUMP card...
The simple phrase : "It's my religious belief"
Working even more effectively than a full blown cruciatus curse, this single phrase has guaranteed that critics of any kind, will tip-toe respectfully away from any debate on the company's policies.
Thus, the wisest investment in these dark times is perhaps Religion Inc.
S.O.T.O. Rants is in no way affiliated with and does not endorse the beliefs and policies of Religon Inc. Purchase of mutual funds, shares and debentures are subject to market risks (Earthquakes, tsunamis, global warming, famines). Please read the offer document carefully before investing.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Rant 35 : A call to arms
During college, what began as mere curiosity during high school, emerged as a continual rant against 'THE MAN' …the government or let’s say civil rule in general. (hell you can call it Life in general...but time constraints prevent such an exhaustive post)
Enter the documentary phase (currently ongoing). Various movies, comprising earth-shattering revelations (not to mention the bible’s own "happy ending" to life), drove metaphorical rods through my skull.
"The Bush administration was behind 9/11? Saddam was a kindly gentleman? Hitler was a CIA agent? McDonald’s is the world’s next superpower? Jenna from those porn flicks is a dude?"
(Ok, I made up that last one…but you get the idea right?)
Then of course I met others in college who had well reasoned arguments (and who were definitely much better read than I) about how our own government was brutally oppressing sections of the populations who had no other choice but to take up arms. This relatively new aspect has kind of troubled me for a while now.
A few months since leaving college, I’ve been having discussions with a friend. Both of us have our qualms against THE MAN, yet in the true spirit of Free Thinking, we find ourselves opposed on certain counts.
I happened to mention that as a patriotic Indian (for the land, maybe not the government) I would probably answer a call to arms if war broke out (I might add, only if my country is NOT the aggressor). Her reply began a discussion on borders and an attack on the concept of state etc. How they were western ideals and that India had just been a massive piece of land with no real borders till the British colonized us.
I just put forth, "But we have borders now. It’s the present I’m concerned about. You want to tell all the countries to get rid of borders? Who is going to listen?"
She continued, "Governments go to war…not nations. Why do you want to take up arms, kill or get killed for a government?"
Yes, why would I…or why should I? My answer is no, I will not kill and try my best not to BE killed in a war of aggression. BUT, if my country is being attacked, which effectively means some assholes in a different country decided, all humans were not equal or that my countrymen deserved to die for governmental faults (otherwise called Failing Diplomatic tactics), then YES, I will answer the people’s call to resist.
In this context I am referring to a democratic (people) government’s call to a war of defense.
(the friend again) "If you run away from a war zone in order to survive, you’re not being a coward, you’re being clever."
OK…so if my area (my town, city, country whatever) is being attacked and Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters are being killed, I should act "clever" and get the hell out of there? No, I’m sorry. Maybe you can try telling that to the guy from the Tiannamen-Square Tank incident.
I know I can’t do much for the thousands dying due to poverty everyday, but I fight my own war of defense in this regard as well. How is it any different for war time? people die during war as they die during peace...
The uprising against the NAZIs in the Warsaw ghetto is CHOSEN to be remembered, while the NAZI crimes are chosen to be pushed to the very back of our minds.
There is a reason for this...I'm sure someday me and that friend of mine will figure it out.
I sincerely hope, however, that we never see eye to eye...
Enter the documentary phase (currently ongoing). Various movies, comprising earth-shattering revelations (not to mention the bible’s own "happy ending" to life), drove metaphorical rods through my skull.
"The Bush administration was behind 9/11? Saddam was a kindly gentleman? Hitler was a CIA agent? McDonald’s is the world’s next superpower? Jenna from those porn flicks is a dude?"
(Ok, I made up that last one…but you get the idea right?)
Then of course I met others in college who had well reasoned arguments (and who were definitely much better read than I) about how our own government was brutally oppressing sections of the populations who had no other choice but to take up arms. This relatively new aspect has kind of troubled me for a while now.
A few months since leaving college, I’ve been having discussions with a friend. Both of us have our qualms against THE MAN, yet in the true spirit of Free Thinking, we find ourselves opposed on certain counts.
I happened to mention that as a patriotic Indian (for the land, maybe not the government) I would probably answer a call to arms if war broke out (I might add, only if my country is NOT the aggressor). Her reply began a discussion on borders and an attack on the concept of state etc. How they were western ideals and that India had just been a massive piece of land with no real borders till the British colonized us.
I just put forth, "But we have borders now. It’s the present I’m concerned about. You want to tell all the countries to get rid of borders? Who is going to listen?"
She continued, "Governments go to war…not nations. Why do you want to take up arms, kill or get killed for a government?"
Yes, why would I…or why should I? My answer is no, I will not kill and try my best not to BE killed in a war of aggression. BUT, if my country is being attacked, which effectively means some assholes in a different country decided, all humans were not equal or that my countrymen deserved to die for governmental faults (otherwise called Failing Diplomatic tactics), then YES, I will answer the people’s call to resist.
In this context I am referring to a democratic (people) government’s call to a war of defense.
(the friend again) "If you run away from a war zone in order to survive, you’re not being a coward, you’re being clever."
OK…so if my area (my town, city, country whatever) is being attacked and Mothers, Fathers, Brothers and Sisters are being killed, I should act "clever" and get the hell out of there? No, I’m sorry. Maybe you can try telling that to the guy from the Tiannamen-Square Tank incident.
I know I can’t do much for the thousands dying due to poverty everyday, but I fight my own war of defense in this regard as well. How is it any different for war time? people die during war as they die during peace...
The uprising against the NAZIs in the Warsaw ghetto is CHOSEN to be remembered, while the NAZI crimes are chosen to be pushed to the very back of our minds.
There is a reason for this...I'm sure someday me and that friend of mine will figure it out.
I sincerely hope, however, that we never see eye to eye...
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Rant 34: Checking out Chikmagalur
So after weeks of mind-boggling work (minus one saturday @ the beach) I finally got a chance to unwind fully...that means absolutely NO work at all. Dont talk about work, dont think about work, dont come near me with work...
2 colleagues from the office plus a mutual friend of theirs and of course yours truly headed out on a one day getaway to chikmagalur (the name basically implies small = chik mangalore)
to start off...
an almost brand new Innova, courtesy Bobby (the mutual friend)...his life philosophy being Work hard, Relax harder...
the rest i say is in the pics...
Let the road trip begin I say
2 colleagues from the office plus a mutual friend of theirs and of course yours truly headed out on a one day getaway to chikmagalur (the name basically implies small = chik mangalore)
to start off...
the rest i say is in the pics...
We four...our one trip was a sight to behold
(R2L- Yashpal, Vinod, Bobby and Me)
Let the road trip begin I say
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Rant 33: Ullalla - la -la ole oh
I had not been on a photography expedition on my own for quite a while, ever since I took up my job in Mangalore here. Hence, the first Saturday that I got free, I headed off to a nice and quiet beach about 8 kms from the main city, called Ullalla (apologies if I got the spelling wrong).
It was raining a fair bit. The usual kind of irritating drizzle that is perhaps characteristic of this place. However, upon reaching this beach, the power of the sea literally took my breath away. And I must say, the sea was pretty rough. Brown-coloured, huge waves; tempting you to challenge them (either with a surfboard or in a pair of swimming trunks).
sadly, I was not in the mood to have my camera etc stolen while I took on this awesome force of nature....
regardless, My camera and I managed to enjoy ourselves
Enjoy the pics!
Ullalla beach
Solitude
This person was a huge help for me. He pointed out some nice locations for taking shots, and even advised me not venture into certain areas which were either slippery or generally dangerous. His smile was particularly infectious, which was what I tried capturing.
No comments....
like a candle in the wind eh?
Not much of a comparison there
It was raining a fair bit. The usual kind of irritating drizzle that is perhaps characteristic of this place. However, upon reaching this beach, the power of the sea literally took my breath away. And I must say, the sea was pretty rough. Brown-coloured, huge waves; tempting you to challenge them (either with a surfboard or in a pair of swimming trunks).
sadly, I was not in the mood to have my camera etc stolen while I took on this awesome force of nature....
regardless, My camera and I managed to enjoy ourselves
Enjoy the pics!
Ullalla beach
Solitude
This person was a huge help for me. He pointed out some nice locations for taking shots, and even advised me not venture into certain areas which were either slippery or generally dangerous. His smile was particularly infectious, which was what I tried capturing.Oh and btw...he lacked the ability to speak.
CROWS...ATTENTION!!
CROWS...ATTENTION!!
Youth Power in politics...never mess with them, seriously!
dry one moment......................................drenched the next
(and that includes the photographer as well!!)
No comments....
like a candle in the wind eh?
Not much of a comparison there
Human power.............................................Nature's Power
Whose side are you on???
Whose side are you on???
Monday, July 27, 2009
Rant 31: The best news channel/paper in the world
Based on the propaganda model developed by a bespectacled "young" man, who once got arrested for opposing the vietnam war, here is my conclusion.
Humans are probably born with the realisation that every piece of news or information we get from another source, has essentially passed through one or more of the filters of that model. I don't know why we tend to cling to one kind of source (leading to biased views). However, how the hell is one supposed to get the most un-biased, independant version of events. Either by researching every single piece of information published, from every single type of source in the world (and that includes online articles btw...so good luck on THAT) or by actually being in the place where the event took place. And for close to infinite number of events happening every day, the latter is obviously an impossible task. The former would likely drive the researcher nuts, which is my guess for why the people Mr. C opposes, choose to ignore him.
So
To bring you a very cliched saying...
Humans are probably born with the realisation that every piece of news or information we get from another source, has essentially passed through one or more of the filters of that model. I don't know why we tend to cling to one kind of source (leading to biased views). However, how the hell is one supposed to get the most un-biased, independant version of events. Either by researching every single piece of information published, from every single type of source in the world (and that includes online articles btw...so good luck on THAT) or by actually being in the place where the event took place. And for close to infinite number of events happening every day, the latter is obviously an impossible task. The former would likely drive the researcher nuts, which is my guess for why the people Mr. C opposes, choose to ignore him.
So
To bring you a very cliched saying...
God could not be everywhere, so he created Mothers...
and...my own modification to that
Humans could not be everywhere, so they created God
Think about it. You would actually have to be an omniscient power, able to hear and see everything in order to have the most unbiased view of what happened and why.
so the best News-Source in the world would be God...and since I know there isn't one in the first place, I'm guessing I can safely say, that there is no perfect source.
We are all being lied to in some form or the other...
Deal with it!
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