For Frodo !!!

For many months now we've seen the unemployment rate at an all-time high. For more than 2 years now the rate of home foreclosures has been hitting the ceiling. These are tough times for America. Made tougher by a Congress which is broken. At least that's what a majority of the Americans feel.

Most feel that 'politics' is winning over 'policy' when it comes to any issue in Washington. Both political parties seem to be suffering from an acute case of myopia and seem incapable of thinking beyond the 2012 election. What they don't seem to understand is that if they don't work together at this time, if they don't display bipartisanship in solving the plethora of problems facing the country at this time, no matter which party wins in 2012 it would find itself in a much deeper abyss and under tremendous pressure.

To say that the situation is complex would be a big understatement. Some congressmen are fixated on cutting the spending as they don't like the idea of America living beyond its means and owing large amounts of debt to foreign countries. Well it makes sense if you think about it! But others feel that this is not the time for austerity. The economy is in recession, the businesses are not spending and they are not going to as the domestic consumption has fallen. If the govt also tightens its purse strings at this time then the economy would go into a downward spiral in no time. A stalemate ensues.

Its common sense to extend the unemployment benefits to the almost 10% unemployed. When some argue against this by saying that this adds to the govt's spending, that's when you start to lose it. This is one spending the govt must do IMHO!!

Extending the 'Bush Tax Cuts' for the richest 2% Americans is yet another debate raging on in the Congress. Add to all this the numerous problems on the foreign policy front.

Now lets face it. We know that the Republicans and the Democrats have fundamentally different ideologies. That's why they are labelled 'conservatives' and 'liberals'. They cannot completely come together since they follow essentially 2 disparate doctrines about governance. But coming together and reaching some middle ground shouldn't be that hard. After all they've done it in the past right?! They surely can do it again. The country needs it more than ever now!!

Millions of Americans would hope they do come together for the sake of the country's future. So would I !!

For some inspiration the folks in Washington could read the following lines and act with valor. Take some tough decisions even though they may not be the best decisions politically. We need an Aragorn! And a Gandalf. And a Frodo and a Sam!!!

"A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! " - Aragorn

Lets fight !!

Half a Billion Friends but How Many Really LIKE you ?!

I'm gonna write this post, tiny the url and post it on my Facebook wall. I might tweet it as well. Linked-In perhaps not but I'm certain the link would be my gtalk status for a few days. And what would I be doing when I do all or any of the above. I'd be 'Social Networking'. Well actually..I'd be 'promoting myself' using social networking !! Not that I need any promotion :D

Now one thing we HAVE to mention when we mention social networking is Facebook. Its the only behemoth when it comes to social networking websites.

We've heard & read countless stories about Facebook over the years. Some credible, some incredible. Some inspiring & some downright silly. 'The Social Network' brings us the story behind all these stories. That of Facebook. It's inception and it's combative aftermath. It describes the stunner of an invention that Facebook is.

A little about the movie now. It comes from one of my favorite directors David Fincher. In the past he's given us Se7en, Fight Club and the like. The movie is fast and engaging and in a dimly lit theater it captivates the audience like a deft ballet dancer. It doesn't pull any punches. As a matter of fact it gets the maximum effect for it's jabs through some intelligent & unapologetic dialogs. It's hard to separate fact from fiction in this telling tale but you'd find yourself not caring so much about what is fact and what is not. You can call it a story of pure inspiration or of a jilted lover or of a socially awkward genius or of the pernicious effects of money. It doesn't matter. You'd end up loving it any which way. And yes you'd love the soundtrack too.

Here's my favorite quote from the movie:

Attorney: Okay - no. You don't think I deserve your (full) attention.

Mark Zuckerberg: I think if your clients want to sit on my shoulders and call themselves tall, they have the right to give it a try - but there's no requirement that I enjoy sitting here listening to people lie. You have part of my attention - you have the minimum amount. The rest of my attention is back at the offices of Facebook, where my colleagues and I are doing things that no one in this room, including and especially your clients, are intellectually or creatively capable of doing. [pauses] Did I adequately answer your condescending question?

And then there's the last scene. I'm not gonna spoil it for you. See it and love it!!

A movie like this comes along once in many years. Great drama, great acting and unremitting pace. It's got it all..Don't miss it !!!

And yes needless to say..you don't LIKE this post till you LIKE it on Facebook...LOL

Duniya GOAL Hai !!!

"Some people think that football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much more important than that." - Bill Shankly

Football encompasses life, death and all that is in between. Its not merely a game. Its a lot more. A whole lot more. At the time it brings unbridled joy to a few it leaves another few misty eyed.


It teaches you how to lose and still not be a loser. Just look at the Ghanaian team. Even after losing the quarter-finals to Uruguay they were the brightest stars of this World Cup. Had their talismanic player Essien been in the fray who knows how far they would have gone!!


120+minute of the match. No time left for another roll of the dice. That penalty kick was IT !! Had Gyan converted that penalty it would have been curtains for Uruguay. But he didn’t. And breathed new life into the crestfallen Uruguayan players & fans. Uruguay went on to win the match in the penalty shoot-out. Shows that life always gives you a second chance. And I’m sure that Gyan more than anyone else would agree with this. He’d be back in 4 years to take his second chance.

Germans beating the Argentinians showed how important team work is. The world was raving about Messi and how he'd run amok this WC. But a bunch of boys (who had collectively not scored as many goals as Messi alone did last season) had other ideas! A great player and his even greater mentor were humbled by a group of boys as well-knit as my mom's sweaters !!

Ask Cardozo of Paraguay and he’d talk about a different lesson. One to the transient nature of life and everything in it. From being on the top of the world one day he went to hiding his face on another. He scored the winning penalty to eliminate Japan but then missed one against Spain. I’m sure his coach would have told him ‘Don't sweat it boy !! This too shall pass’. The good times don't last forever and neither do the bad times.

Ask Brazil and they'd have something else to tell you. 'Your anger is your worst own enemy'. A match they had in their pockets against the Dutch went all awry just because the 'Samba Boys' lost their rhythm and their cool.

And then Puyol showed us in the semi-finals that nothing is impossible (in life) if you put your 'head' to it ;) You see what I did there :D

What a game this football is!! What passion! What emotion!! Someone has rightly said "Ignorance of football is ignorance of life itself " !!

India Burning !!

I sit in a far-off place, look at the plight of my country and shake my head in disbelief.

Another 100 people died in an incident last week. Some say that it was the work of the Maoists. Some say otherwise. The needle of suspicion has still not settled. Unsurprisingly politics is acting as the spring.

I read about the twin sisters, Shirin and Sharmin, who died in the accident. They were going to visit Mumbai for the first time and were mighty excited. Sadly they took the journey of no return. Anyone who outcries for the human rights of the Maoists or tries to romanticize their rebellion should have had one look at the girls' cherubic faces. Smashed by metal and smeared with blood they lay there in the wreckage.

What is this? What's wrong with these people ?!

Be it the "fake democracy" that Ms. Roy has been carping about. Or be it the excesses committed by the govt in the past. No reason is reason enough to do this. No cause is good enough for expiation.

Now we have to understand that we are a relatively 'young' nation. We are bound to have some problems. Every nation does. The US even after 150 years of its independence had problems of segregation and racial discrimination. I mention this since their situation then was quite akin to our situation now. The blacks were left to struggle in the dungeons of poverty & segregation while the whites enjoyed the fruits of the nation's progress. Similar reasons have been cited by the Maoists for their struggle.

What we need to see though is how they came out of it. Not by killing policemen & sabotaging trains. Not by burning bridges either. But through acts of non-violent protests and civil disobedience. Their acts engendered crisis situations which highlighted the inequities between the two races and entailed immediate action by the govt.

There were protests like the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Greensboro sit-ins. The whole movement was largely non-violent. And they did it in the face of severe oppression and violence from the whites.

Call me naive but I think that Gandhi guy had the idea right. So did King Jr.

An eye for an eye would leave the whole world blind !!

But who's gonna tell the Maoists ?! Ms. Roy ?!

Hazaaron Khwaahishein Aisi..

"Hazaaron khwahishen aisi ki har khwahish pe dum nikle...

bahut nikle mere armaan lekin fir bhi kam nikle"....

"A thousand desires/ambitions I have and each could consume my entire life,

A single lifetime would not suffice for the desires I have in my heart"...

I hope Mirza Ghalib is not turning in his grave after reading my translation/interpretation of his most famous couplet. I'm merely trying to help those who don't know his language very well !

No. I am not re-assessing or re-setting the goals of my life. That phase of life hasn't come yet. I think its still a few months away :p

But every time I read/hear these lines I think of all the things I want to do/be in life.

It's not that I've been all over hell's half acre and haven't figured out what I want to do. It's just that I want to do a myriad of things. I want to continue doing what I'm doing but I want do a lot more. Time or rather the lack of it would be the only dampener on my plans.

I am not one to brag but I am pretty well read now. I have completed two degrees but I think there is place to hang one more on my wall. An MBA from a reputed b-school might fit the bill.

I also want to go for the Indian Civil Services. I want to be a part of the solution and not the problem. I want to be the change that I want to see. I want to cut the red long tape of bureaucracy. "I want to be the idealistic civil servant" is what I'm getting at.

But here's the tricky part. If I do any of the above would I be able to put to good use my polemical skills which I can do if I go for a Juris Doctor. Not sure.

Anyways. Enough about professions I want to be a crackerjack at :D

There are other non-professional things on my wish list too.

First is to start a kick-ass 'Fight Club' with Tyler. Another is to get captured as a POW, escape to Tibet and meet the Dalai Lama.

Get my hands on a time machine and hurtle away to the Wild West at 88 miles/hr. Rechristen myself as 'Mr. Eastwood' once there and settle the unfinished business I have with 'Mad Dog' Tannen :O

I'd also want to meet Kate Winslet on a ship somewhere along the way. Oh yeah..and I wish to run the length and breadth of the US ala Mr. Gump as and when time permits.

Too much too ask for ?! I sure think so..

But we've got only one life. This is the only chance. Got to do it ALL in this one itself !!

The Homecoming !!

"It's a funny thing about comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realize what's changed is you" - Benjamin Button, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Home indeed has not changed. I've come back after almost 2 years but it's just as warm as before. My bed seems to have shrunk though. Or perhaps I have grown a little.

Parents as well are very much the same. Mom is as nostalgic as ever and Dad is as equable as ever.

Mom's food is as flavorful as before if not more. I don't miss all the meat I had grown fond of. Starbucks 'Chai Latte' has nothing on her Chai. I've gone from 1 cup a day to 4 cups a day. Surely she has a secret ingredient that has me hooked. The 'Chole Bhathore' at the local shop are just as greasy and I enjoy them just as much :D

The city too seems very much the same. The weather's way more hospitable than the frigid cold of NY. The roads are a little more dusty than before but I'm told they would get better by October. October is when the city holds the Commonwealth Games.

The malls and markets are just as packed. Just as colorful. The movie ticket prices have surely gone up. Refreshingly so has the level of cinema.

My buddies are as delightful as ever. Though some have now become the lesser half from being the only half :D

Sachin's game is as sublime as ever. He packs a punch just like before :D

Everything seems so much the same. This is my comfort zone. Still only in a single week I'm ready to go back.

Do I miss NY? I guess I do.

Would I miss home as soon as I'm back there? I guess I would.

Letter To The Prime Minister

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Hope you are having a pleasant 2010.

It’s that time of the year again. IPL is coming and seems like the only thing our country (its people, its celebrities, its bloggers, its media-men) can talk about is that. Feels just like yesterday when all we could talk of was whether to provide security for the IPL matches or for the country’s general elections. We decided to go for the latter. I think that was a good choice.

Now the tomfoolery returns. This time it transcends the border. Pak players were invited for the bidding @IPL. Then snubbed. You know the deal.

It has caused a lot of umbrage across the border. Our nation is in a frenzy too. It's all we can talk about. Some of us are expiatory. Some are not. SRK comes out and claims that it was shameful that no Pak player was bid for. Mind you that he himself c0-owns one of the teams and could have bid for them if he so wanted to. The Home Minister says that he wants to see some Pak players play in IPL3. That guy Modi says that it was the teams’ decision and there was no pressure from the government. Now that's what gets my goat. Why was there no pressure from the Indian government?!

Why can't we present a united front on this issue to Pak and the ICC. Why can’t we (the government, the people, any private franchise like the IPL) stand together and say that its just not done. We are not going to play Pak in any sport or host their players unless the terror stops and stern actions are taken against the culprits. Any sporting ties with Pakistan should be severed for some time. Have we forgotten the pain of 26/11? When they killed those 200 odd people they didn't just kill them. They killed their families too. Their dreams, their aspirations too. Just ask someone who lost a loved one.

Just to be clear I have no hatred whatsoever against the people/players of Pakistan. Contrarily I have always believed that any Indian who hates anyone across the border should realize that these are the people closest to us in terms of their race, color, culture and so many other things. We both are very much the same. They do not hate us. Neither should we. Just because some loony terror groups cause us pain doesn't mean we condemn their whole nation.

But we can’t have their people kill our people and then have their players come in and make money hand over fist by playing in our country (esp the cricketers). We have to push their government (if there is one) every which way possible to act against the terror groups. Hitting them financially is one way. Any thing they utter about the IPL episode hindering the peace talks is a load of bull crap. The government establishment in Pak (if there is one) wants no peace. They've never wanted peace. All they want and have ever wanted is a diversion that takes the focus off their incompetence and ineptitude to do anything for their people.

The same goes for Australia. Till the time the Australian govt doesn't take action against the perpetrators of violence against Indians we should not play them or have their sportsmen play in India. They cant keep denying that the attacks are not racist. They have to redress the rogue nature of their people.

We should issue a strong statement to both the countries. For once BCCI's clout can be put to some good use.

Anyways I was a little busy over the last month or so. But work is better now. Give me a call if you feel like. Btw who are you rooting for this time?

Regards

Vk Singh