tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196481962024-03-07T20:15:00.251-08:00Non-conformist"Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist" - EmersonManoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1166334598561616732006-12-16T21:45:00.000-08:002006-12-16T21:49:58.573-08:00A dirty poem" There once was a lesbian from Cancun<br /> Who took a young man up to her room<br /> where they argued all night as to <br /> who had the right to do what and how much to whom"<br /><br />Credits: Life of David Gale<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1166333344918057392006-12-16T21:23:00.000-08:002006-12-16T21:29:04.920-08:00Life of David GaleI watched the movie " The Life of David Gale" starring Kevin Spacey and Kate Winslet last week. I thought the movie was very entertaining with good suspense and kept me guessing until the end. I liked this quote by Kevin Spacey about Lacans philosophy<br /><br />" <span style="font-style: italic;">Lacan’s point is that fantasies have to be unrealistic because the moment, the second – that you get what you seek, you don’t you cant want it any more.In order to continue to exist, desire must have its objects perpetually absent. Its not the “it” that you want, It’s the fantasy of “it” So desire supports crazy fantasie.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is what pascal means when he says that we are only truly happy when daydreaming about future happiness or why we say the hunt is sweeter than the kill.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Or be careful what you wish for, not because you will get it but because, you are doomed to not to want it once you do. So the lesson of lacan is living by your wants will never make you happy. What it means to be fully human is to strive to live by ideas and ideals and not to measure your life by what you have attained in terms of your desires, but those small moments of integrity, compassion, rationality, even self-sacrifice. Because in the end, the only way we can measure the significance of our own lives is by valuing the lives of others.</span> "<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1165865914348543812006-12-11T11:38:00.000-08:002007-03-08T08:49:00.272-08:00Meet Robert Fisk this weekThe Middle East Children's Alliance presents <br />ROBERT FISK <br /><br />Iraq and Lebanon: Pointing the Finger of Guilt <br /><br />Thursday, December 14, 2006, 7pm <br />First Presbyterian Church, 2619 Broadway in Oakland <br />Tickets: $20, no one turned away for lack of funds <br /><br />Journalist and author Robert Fisk has lived in and written about the Middle East for more than thirty years. He is the Middle East Correspondent for The Independent of London and the winner of numerous journalism and human rights awards, including the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Prize from the Lannan Foundation. <br /><br />SPECIAL RECEPTION with Robert Fisk <br />Thursday, December 14, 2006, 9pm <br />Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street in Oakland (across from the lecture) <br />$50, includes priority seating at lecture <br /><br />Buy tickets online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/8705, call 1-800-838-3006 or send a check to MECA, 901 Parker Street, Berkeley, CA 94710 <br /><br />This event will be wheelchair accessible and ASL interpreted. <br /><br />Co-sponsored by the Armenian National Committee <br /><br />For info: 510-548-0542 or events@mecaforpeace.org<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1165627509790339362006-12-08T17:18:00.000-08:002006-12-16T21:34:44.043-08:00God in the words of an athiestRichard Dawkins, is a celebrated biologist and is well know for his war against fundamentalism in religions. Here is a small video of him describing God in the old testament.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Warning : The following might be offensive for some. So read at your own risk</span><br /><br /><br />Richard Dawkins: The God of the old testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction. Jealous and proud of it, apathy, unjust, unforgiving, control freak, a vindictive blood thirsty ethnic cleanser, a masogenistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, philicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasachistic, capriciously melovalent bully.<br /><br />Here is the video<br /><br /><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/EisMhWf6Ioo"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/EisMhWf6Ioo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="350" width="425"></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1165174361339342122006-12-03T11:28:00.000-08:002006-12-03T11:32:41.353-08:00The pleasure of finding things outThis video is an excellent 40 min interview with Nobel laurete and physicist Richard Feynman. I liked his answer to the question whether he considered his work worthy enough to win a nobel prize. Here is the text transcript of his answer. <br /><br />Richard Feynman:<br /><br />I don’t know . I don’t know anything about the nobel prize and whats worth what. If the people in the Swedish academy decide that x y or z wins a nobel prize, then so be it<br /><br />I don’t have anything to do with the Nobel prize, It’s a pain in the neck. I don’t like honours. I am appreciated for the work I did and the people who appreciated and I noted other physicists who used my work, I don’t need anything else. I don’t think there is any sense to anything else. I don’t see that it makes a point that some one in the Swedish academy decides that this work is noble enough to receive a prize. I already got the prize, the prize is the pleasure of finding the thing out. The kick in a discovery. The observation of other people use it. Those are the real things. The honors are unreal to me. I don’t believe in honors. That bothers me . Honors bothers me. Honors are epaulets, honors are uniforms, My Pop brought me up this way. I cant stand it. It hurts me. <br /><br />When I was in High school, one of the first honors I got was to be a member of the arista, which is a group of kids, who got good grades. And everybody wanted to be a member of the Arista. When I got into the arista I discovered is that what they did in their meetings was to sit around to discuss who else was worthy to join the wonderful group we are. This kind of thing bothers me psychologically for one or another reason, I don’t understand myself. Honors from that date to now always bothered me. <br /><br /><br />Here is the video<br /><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=6586235597476141009&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1164858490561138912006-11-29T19:41:00.000-08:002006-11-29T19:54:48.206-08:00Why socialism fails ?4 Ways to spend money. These are the most insightful thougts on I have ever heard on spending money. Clearly explains why socialism has been a failure in the history of man kind. Milton Friedman is a genius.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-MQp-5lZToE"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-MQp-5lZToE" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1162513489603835582006-11-02T16:10:00.000-08:002007-03-08T08:49:37.702-08:00Globalization of InequalityP. Sainath, an award winning photo journalist spoke on the issue of globalization of inequality last year. His speech gives insights into some facts about the so called "Tiger economy" of India, that will never make to main stream media. The best part of his speech was the ending, when he speaks of the analogy between us and the guests of Nero's grand party. Nero, a roman emperor, in an attemptto avert the public's attention from the fire that burnt down the roman capital, decided to host the grandest party in the history of Roman Empire. He used wretched prisoners as fuel to generate light during the party. Sainath says, we are like Nero's guests who could not stand up against such an inhuman act, when we ignore hundereds of farmers suicides in India with an idle yawn. The speech has many interesting facts about how the tsunami affected the economy of the countries that it struck. It is definetely worth watching. Here is the video<br /><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=9078987899127917834&hl=en" flashvars=""> </embed><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1162271857938064782006-10-30T21:06:00.000-08:002006-10-30T21:24:44.723-08:00Grace PersonifiedI watched Michael J Fox's intervew on CBS in response to Rush Limbaugh mocking him on his talk show. I was amazed at the grace with which he responded to the inhuman criticism by Rush<br />Limbaugh. He never resorted to mudslinging or any kind of inflammatory language. I was impressed with the amazing clarity of his thought and he did not seem to be annoyed at all. He deserves a great applause for the way he handled the controversy. His civilized attitude is what that is so badly needed in this world.<br /><br />Here is the video<br /><br /><object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/o8lsjfjgAA8"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/o8lsjfjgAA8" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1162267448677146192006-10-30T19:45:00.000-08:002006-10-30T21:06:11.880-08:00My attempt at book readingI am a poor reader and there are hardly a few books, I can claim to have read completely. Most of the books did not make it past the first 25 pages. My attempts to read non technical books started about a couple of years ago . I started with some popular fiction titles. Most of the attempts failed to last longer than 15 min. After buying about 10 books and having failed to read any of them completely, I figured fiction was not something I loved to read. I felt I had a liking for philosophy and tried to my hand at a few books on philosophy. The same disturbing pattern of loosing interest within 15 pages into the book continued. Still, what ever little I understood from the writings of Emerson and Betrand Russell, opened up a new way of perceving my life.<br /><br /> My first claim to reading a book completely came shortly afterwards when I read and reread the "The conquest of happiness " by Bertrand Russell. The book definitely enabled me be more happier than I was, prior to reading the book. My thirst for understanding this human emotion was not satisfied yet. Then I had the fortune of watching Prof Tal's course on Positive Psychology. I think this was one of the best moments in my academic development. This course mentioned Nathaniel Branden and his literature, quite a few times. This prompted me to read Brandens " Psychology of self esteem". I think this book can be the best gift you can give to anyone you care about. Branden's understanding and presentation of the concept of self esteem and the way it is interlinked to our personality demystified a number of false notions and beliefs I carried all my life. I believe, a majority of humanity carry these false beliefs and sabotaging practises and this book is an excellent tool to discover and overcome them.<br /><br />Since I read this book, I am trying to implement 2 practises, which according to Branden is essential to improve out self esteem.<br /><br />1) Be Self assertive: For the first time in my life, I am trying to be consciously aware of my desires and feelings. I am trying to spend most of time, being myself instead of trying to be someonelse . I dont feel scared or embarassed no more to say 'I dont know' If didnot know something. I am not scared to say ' I donot agree' if i did not agree with some one's point of view.<br /><br />2) Be Self Consious : I am trying more than ever to be self conscious of my actions and the events happening as a result of my actions. I am more willing to consciously analyze the reasons of some unfortunate events in my life. I had been avoiding the reality so far and was repressing the rational evaluation of my effort so that I would not feel guilty for the inadequacy in my effort to set things right. Little did I know that, this behavior was a definite recipe for disaster.<br /><br />I have benifited immensely by reading this book and would recommend to any one who wants to better understand why things happen to him, the way they happen and how he or she can make things happen rather than wait for them to happen.<br /><br />Thank you Branden for this amazing work<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1157947067561769992006-09-10T20:50:00.000-07:002007-03-08T08:50:21.510-08:00Federer, the Invincible<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/1600/full.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/320/full.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I had the fortune to watch the US open finals today between, Roger Federer and Andy Roddick. It was amazing to watch Federer play with such ease and finesse. Undoubtedly he must be the best player the game has ever produced. He had some anxious moments in the second and third sets of the game, but he managed to raise his game everytime Roddick seemed to pull off a surprise.<br /><br /> He seemed very calm on the court and rarely vented his emotions. The best part of the game 2 succesive games in the third set when Federer saved 4 break points and Andy followed it up by saving 5 break points. These two great players rivalry is a treat to watch.<br /><br /> Andy had a great serve and good forehand. Roger seemed to be best in every facet of a game. If there is one part that had a considerable amount of improvement, it was his backhand.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1152640879709827832006-07-11T10:58:00.000-07:002006-07-11T11:01:19.726-07:00Who am II am a confused soul, who is lost in one of the following worlds<br />1) World of Literature filled with love , beauty, romance, passion and truth<br />2) World of Juniper , finding bugs in other people's designs with a sadistic fervour<br />3) World of Philosophy, trying to comprehend and insinuate the truth of being the supreme.<br />4) World of Music, as diverse as classical Indian, catchy bollywood and adult alternative<br />5) World of Sports, dominated by cricket, and lately by soccer<br />6) World of Psychology, uncovering the mysterious ways, human mind works<br />And<br />7) My very own world of fantastic but fascinating dreams<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1150656751412665112006-06-18T11:39:00.000-07:002006-06-18T12:09:47.136-07:00EGO = "Edge God out"I had the fortune to attend two lectures this week by Swami Sukhabodhananda, on the topic of , Bhagvadh Gita's relavence in our lives. I was rather sceptical in my expectations of enjoying the lecture, but to my surprise, I enjoyed the first one so much that, I didnt want to miss the second.<br /><br />Swamiji has the ability to add right doses of humour in his talk that make his lecture entertaining in addition to being enlightening. His speaking skills are excellent and he connects with the audience and grabs their attention very quickly. He puts in a lot of effort to make the audience understand the difference between knowledge and wisdom. In his own style, he says, undigested knowledge is the obesity of mind. Though this talk was meant to give the aroma of Gita (in swamiji's words), he uses apt references from Buddhism, poems of Kabir das, to drive home the point of living consciously while being calm and alert.<br /><br />He says, if we make an effort to understand the answer to the question, "Who am I", most of the miseries we go through in day to day life seem to be the result of fallacies created by our mind. He goes on to answer this question saying, we are not the body that represents us physically, neither are we our emotions , nor the intellect, but we are the conscious sense of being. One punch line if I want to remember from this lecture is the definition of ego being "Edge God out".<br /><br />Heres the url for his website<br /><a href="http://www.swamisukhabodhananda.net/">http://www.swamisukhabodhananda.net/</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1147135373437772412006-05-08T17:41:00.000-07:002006-05-08T17:42:53.453-07:00A beautiful Poem by EE Cummings<strong>I carry your heart with me</strong><br /><br />i carry your heart with me<br />i carry it in my heart<br /><br />i am never without it<br />anywhere i go you go,my dear;<br />and whatever is done<br />by only me is your doing,my darling<br /> <br />i fear no fate for you are my fate,my sweet<br />i want no world for beautiful you are my world,my true<br />and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant<br />and whatever a sun will always sing is you<br /><br />here is the deepest secret nobody knows<br />here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud<br />and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;<br />which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide<br />and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart<br /><br />i carry your heart<br />i carry it in my heart<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1146979990176361062006-05-06T22:32:00.000-07:002006-05-06T22:33:10.186-07:00That must be me driving the car<embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DswAAAG7ggqAHSiJjpW0D3w4aYTWlPEnOHxVJw8MGcQw92ixtcuHFC9CK2s6bmSc2q-aJAGMJCSfBGBc_qBQdmRIFWzcq5ll8Cg1VNaqVjyJTTYGY5Qi839IC7H4dm3i7eaT6d8YwGopYO0wdIu_-q8GWr35Wy0xMWw2V5lYddrMElmWJqEzbwdX4XM1qywcSrR-5cvQCNciUcfo2QF6Aznoig2ecMH7iyNVOEraGGzX93Me_ToLX1JTTdDavzS2mc0mTrQ%26sigh%3DrkJMfg3lRnuBAIpIV8ot04bar8I%26begin%3D0%26len%3D25720%26docid%3D5383161934943787409&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3Db62c7555f2f3a7b0%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1146979840%26sigh%3DNXgu5h_kIOiYtSO9osCkjvpzXVg&playerId=5383161934943787409" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="best" bgcolor="#ffffff" scale="noScale" wmode="window" salign="TL" FlashVars="playerMode=embedded"> </embed><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1146806893098485262006-05-04T22:20:00.000-07:002006-05-04T22:28:13.110-07:00Are you a man yet ?If by <a href="http://www.everypoet.com/archive/poetry/Rudyard_Kipling/kipling_contents.htm">Rudyard Kipling</a><br /><br /><br />"If you can keep your head<br />when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;<br />If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,<br />But make allowance for their doubting too;<br />If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,<br />Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,<br />Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,<br /> And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;<br /><br />If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;<br /> If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;<br />If you can meet with triumph and disaster<br />And treat those two imposters just the same;<br />If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken<br />Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,<br />Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,<br />And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;<br /><br />If you can make one heap of all your winnings<br />And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,<br />And lose, and start again at your beginnings<br />And never breath a word about your loss;<br />If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew<br />To serve your turn long after they are gone,<br />And so hold on when there is nothing in you<br />Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";<br /><br />If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,<br />Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;<br />If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;<br />If all men count with you, but none too much;<br />If you can fill the unforgiving minute<br /> With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -<br />Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,<br />And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son! "<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1146104195763561952006-04-26T19:04:00.000-07:002006-04-26T21:11:44.530-07:00When will the tyranny end ??<a href="http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=179785">http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=179785</a><br /><br /><br />A 17 year girl commited suicide by jumping off the third floor of her school. The family claims that the school authorities were putting her through stress, that resulted in her taking the fatal decision while the school authorities are blaming the girls personal life was the driving force for her death.<br /><br />Most of the kids spend their childhood, wraught with tensions, fear and stress. They get lost in the rat race that is created by schools and actively supported by parents. Both the schools and families should be blamed for this tragic situation of the children that has become a norm in our society. I can hardly remember the days when I enjoyed my time at school and there was hardly any time, I looked forward for a working day at school. Even the games class in the school, which is supposed to be a fun class, was not enjoyable to me as most of the PT teachers treated us like weaklings, on whom they can take out some of the frustrations off their personal lives. As a kid, I was tremondously afraid to speak up to a teacher and there is not a single teacher I can think of, who encouraged this with his or her students. Sadly the same apathy towards free thinking and free speech continues through our adoloscence and adulthood. The teachers seem to enjoy the fear that the students harbour in them and I suspect this gave them a false sense of being important that they missed so badly in their personal lives.<br /><br />We have had enough of this tyranny and it is high time we bring out a revolution in the way the kids are treated in our society. Its time we treat our kids as kids, literally or else stories like this will become a common occurance.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1145670812471123922006-04-21T18:53:00.000-07:002006-04-21T18:53:32.473-07:00Some Humour<a><br /><embed style="width:400px; height:326px;" id="VideoPlayback" align="middle" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvp.video.google.com%2Fvideodownload%3Fversion%3D0%26secureurl%3DmAAAAP052oPlgiMKwai97DcG2snFAW62LTSsFLdWpxFH6LkqacizNAfylbAOridLIsh53quz2J3NUALipEHG2iXzTBit4qE0eGAOF4RR8RfErE1i0mB9BlZ5y4YLi8_inFxdqIAtxFLBYodnPYUo8eKw4X_UNNFNmPRIVDKJf75O9bDr5ML_1M_mpLgkdauLZj4fnCpeyEZxQM5Ueq0ZN1-Ll_g%26sigh%3DboaPX653WEt6PoPTk6N-gl1SsGY%26begin%3D0%26len%3D30966%26docid%3D-7288925869883693602&thumbnailUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.google.com%2FThumbnailServer%3Fapp%3Dvss%26contentid%3D3765fad3d4516159%26second%3D5%26itag%3Dw320%26urlcreated%3D1145670400%26sigh%3DbhKajfbzmsl6nK29dnIrWwejlFE&playerId=-7288925869883693602" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" quality="best" bgcolor="#ffffff" scale="noScale" wmode="window" salign="TL" FlashVars="playerMode=embedded"> </embed> </a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1145668694227289982006-04-21T18:15:00.000-07:002006-04-21T18:32:24.226-07:00Carpe DiemA poem by Robert Herrick in 1600's that talks about the importance of present and exhorts the women (people in general), to make most of the present instead of waiting for the future.<br /><br />Robin Williams playing the role of John Keating in the movie "Dead poets society", reads this poem to inspire his students to become extraordinary and to make most of their youth (present). He teaches them the latin term<em> Carpe diem</em> which means Seize the day, for the sentiment "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Captivating words of wisdom these....<br /><br /><strong><em>To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time</em></strong><br />---------------------------------------------<br /><br /><strong><em>Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,<br />Old Time is still a-flying:<br />And this same flower that smiles to-day<br />To-morrow will be dying.<br /><br />The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,<br />The higher he's a-getting,<br />The sooner will his race be run,<br />And nearer he's to setting.<br /><br />That age is best which is the first,<br />When youth and blood are warmer;<br />But being spent, the worse, and worst<br />Times still succeed the former.<br /><br />Then be not coy, but use your time,<br />And while ye may, go marry:<br />For having lost but once your prime,<br />You may for ever tarry.</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>Robert Herrick </em></strong><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1145493801520297792006-04-19T17:39:00.000-07:002006-04-21T18:32:38.196-07:00The Prologue to Bertrand Russell's Autobiography<strong>What I Have Lived For</strong><br /><br /><em>" Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind. These passions, like great winds, have blown me hither and thither, in a wayward course, over a great ocean of anguish, reaching to the very verge of despair.<br /><br />I have sought love, first, because it brings ecstasy - ecstasy so great that I would often have sacrificed all the rest of life for a few hours of this joy. I have sought it, next, because it relieves loneliness--that terrible loneliness in which one shivering consciousness looks over the rim of the world into the cold unfathomable lifeless abyss. I have sought it finally, because in the union of love I have seen, in a mystic miniature, the prefiguring vision of the heaven that saints and poets have imagined. This is what I sought, and though it might seem too good for human life, this is what--at last--I have found.<br /><br />With equal passion I have sought knowledge. I have wished to understand the hearts of men. I have wished to know why the stars shine. And I have tried to apprehend the Pythagorean power by which number holds sway above the flux. A little of this, but not much, I have achieved.<br /><br />Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to earth. Echoes of cries of pain reverberate in my heart. Children in famine, victims tortured by oppressors, helpless old people a burden to their sons, and the whole world of loneliness, poverty, and pain make a mockery of what human life should be. I long to alleviate this evil, but I cannot, and I too suffer.<br /><br />This has been my life. I have found it worth living, and would gladly live it again if the chance were offered me. "</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><em></em></p><p>For starters, Bertrand Russell (1872-1970) won the Nobel prize for literature for his History of Western Philosophy and was the co-author of Principia Mathematica. </p><p>Sir Betrand Russell has had a great influence on me. The same three passions he mentioned in his prologue seem to hold sway on my life at this moment. To be able to articulate his emotions and understanding of life so beautifully is an amazing skill. I have read his book "The conquest of happiness" and this book has influenced a lot, my perception of happyness and life. I am looking forward to read his autobiography</p><p><em></p></em><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1144870792704192832006-04-12T12:36:00.000-07:002006-04-12T12:42:09.646-07:00How abnormal am I ?<table width=350 align=center border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2><tr><td bgcolor="#D3CDDA" align=center><br /><font face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif" style='color:black; font-size: 14pt;'><br /><strong>You Are 36% Abnormal</strong><br /></font></td></tr><br /><tr><td bgcolor="#E4E1E8"><br /><center><img src="http://images.blogthings.com/howabnormalareyouquiz/weird.jpg" height="100" width="100"></center><br /><font color="#000000"><br />You are at low risk for being a psychopath. It is unlikely that you have no soul. <br /><br /><br /><br />You are at high risk for having a borderline personality. It is very likely that you are a chaotic mess.<br /><br /><br /><br />You are at low risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is unlikely that you are in love with your own reflection.<br /><br /><br /><br />You are at medium risk for having a social phobia. It is somewhat likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement.<br /><br /><br /><br />You are at low risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is unlikely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.<br /></font></td></tr></table><br /><div align="center"><a href="http://www.blogthings.com/howabnormalareyouquiz/">How Abnormal Are You?</a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1144556741909036972006-04-08T21:17:00.000-07:002006-04-09T18:40:27.370-07:00My nephew Chintu<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/1600/chintu_006_(2).jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/320/chintu_006_%282%29.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Does nature's creation get any cuter than him?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1144553880432026572006-04-08T20:35:00.000-07:002006-04-08T22:38:40.736-07:00The king of melody - IlayarajaIn my opinion Ilayaraja is the best music director India has ever produced. Some of the songs he had composed are so melodious that you dont get tired even after listening to them a million times. Some people might argue that Rahman is the best of the lot. I am a big admirer of Rahman's work as well. But I dont find the same longevity and melody in Rahmans compositions as I find in Ilayaraja's work. I listened to most of Raja's songs composed for Telugu film industry and a few composed for Bollywood. But this might be only a minor share of his work, since a majority of his work was in tamil, a language that I do not understand. Thanks to my friends of tamil origin, especially Venkat, I have had the oppurtunity to listen to some of Raja's great hits and I have been all admiration and awe for his music. I wish I could understand Tamil, as I am told, the lyrics of some of the songs make them much more beautiful. A few songs of Raja, I greatly adore<br /><br />1) Aei Zindagi gale laga le from SADMA : The highlight of this song is that many number of instruments are used to compose it and never do you feel the transition of their effect on your ears. The instrument usage is very coherent and the lyrics of this song is simply out of this world.<br /><br />2) Kanne kalaimane from MoonramPirai: This movie is the Tamil version of Sadma. Melody oozes from every node of the music and add to it the voice of Jesudas...this song is a cracker. And this song is picturised on possibly the best Indian actor and actress in last two decades, Kamal Hassan and Sridevi.<br />..... to be continued<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1144542000679069822006-04-08T15:44:00.000-07:002006-04-12T12:43:08.480-07:00A song full of emotions by INXS<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/1600/inxs.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/7542/1948/320/inxs.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />I surmise that every one of us experiences heartbreak at some point of their life. This song "Afterglow" by INXS (pronounced as In excess) beautifully summerizes the raging emotions experienced during one of those life threatening moments.<br /><br />You may watch the video here <a href="http://music.yahoo.com/video/default.asp?vid=29604319">http://music.yahoo.com/video/default.asp?vid=29604319</a><br /><br /><em><strong>" Here I am, lost in the light of the moon that comes through my window. </strong></em><em><strong>Bathed in blue, the walls of my memory divide the thorns from the roses. </strong></em><em><strong>It's you and the roses </strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Touch me and I will follow in your afterglow. Heal me from all this sorrow As I let you go I will find my way when I see your eyes. Now I'm living in your afterglow</strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Here I am, lost in the ashes of time, but who owns tomorrow?</strong></em><br /><em><strong>In between the longing to hold you again I'm caught in your shadow, I'm losing control. </strong></em><em><strong>My mind drifts away, we only have today </strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Touch me and I will follow in your afterglow Heal me from all this sorrow. </strong></em><em><strong>As I let you go I will find my wayI will sacrifice 'til the blinding day when I see your eyes. </strong></em><em><strong>Now I'm living in your afterglow</strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>When the vails are gone, as I let you go, as I let you go</strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Touch me and I will follow in your afterglowHeal me from all this sorrowAs I let you go I will find my way, I will sacrifice. Now I'm living in your afterglow Bathed in blue, the walls of my memory divide the thorns from the roses. </strong></em><em><strong>It's you who is closest"</strong></em><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1144007456881567862006-04-02T12:35:00.000-07:002006-04-08T22:41:06.910-07:00Happy Course at Harvard UniversityI watched a video at CNN that talked about a class on positive psychology taught by Prof Tal Ben Scharar at Harvard University. This class teaches on how to be happier (Note that I did not say How to be happy). I wish that this kind of class is made mandatory in Indian students academic curriculum aswell.<br /><br /> Right from the day we join schools, we get so lost in the competitive madness of outscoring our class mates, neighbours or any peer you are aware of, that we never give a thought to what exactly makes us happy. In this video, a graduate student says that 3 questions that were raised in this class made her to rethink her career choice.<br /><br />1. What do you find pleasure in?<br />2. What is that you are good at ?<br />3. What is that you find meaningful to do?<br /><br />3 questions any one must ask oneself before making his or her career decisions. I hope these are taught in Indian schools one day...<br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/education/2006/03/31/lothian.harvard.happiness.cnn">http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/education/2006/03/31/lothian.harvard.happiness.cnn</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19648196.post-1143310571649985302006-03-25T10:12:00.000-08:002006-03-25T21:50:45.150-08:00An Indian girl does a Charlize TheronAn Indian girl, Neelima has filed a lawsuit against her employer Caremark RX Inc, claiming that she was racially abused. To read more<br /><br /><a href="http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?SESSIONID=&aId=6275">http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?SESSIONID=&aId=6275</a><br /><br /><br /><br />Go Neelima Go.... Be a rebel<div class="blogger-post-footer">Site Feed</div>Manoj Jagataphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14770062206507622878noreply@blogger.com1