"Britania... oops! Germania!!"

Read a very interesting short-article on BBC. It refers to a research suggesting apartheid in Britain during the Anglo-Saxon era. It explain the dominance of German gene and linguistic elements in Britain. Intersting. Click here.

Fourth of July Fireworks

My second viewing of the Fourth of July Fireworks here in Baton Rouge. We got a lot closer to the river this time around. The early-morning rain took care of the mosquitos that vamped us last year. My brother was eager to try out his new digital camera (Nikon L4). And we all were in desperate need for some 'distraction'.

Everything worked out for the best. Here are some of the snaps from tonight's fireworks. It was said in CNN that 91.1% Americans watch the fireworks *live*. Isn't it totally worth it?

My She!

Here she is. My Goddess. My dearest. My She!!

In Favor of Ban on Flag Burning

Freedom of speech, the "First Ammendment", a staple part of western socities. A person is granted his or her right to respect at all costs. Every citizen is free to express any and every intent in any and every manner.

Sounds great. My experience leads to believe that it is one of the few things that make life blissful. Yet, I'm strongly against flag-burning. My reasons are two-fold.

a. What kind of "speech" requires torching? Today, burning a flag is "speech". How far is it a day when we move to accept and legalize arson as "speech", too? I've seen too many cars and shops smashed and torched in the name of "protest". Every person is allowed a safe passage to thought, speech, etc; not a passage to arson or torching. A stuffed idol might represent a person or the thoughts he or she adheres to. Burning that might get marginal support, but definitely not flags. Flags stand for something too wide and vast.

b. Whose flag is it that we're burning? What have we actually done to earn the flag? Who gives us the right to burn it, then? We are not the martyrs who lay dead in search of a free land and a proud flag! Flags belong to those freedom-fighter. They are the only ones who can burn it if they like. You wanna burn a flag? Go get one of your own!

On Wisdom

[Wrote the following in a GRE sample test.]

"Wisdom is rightfully attributed not to people who know what to look for in life but to people who know what to overlook."

Wisdom is a concept that borders with Intuition. It is the subtle difference between the two that proves the correctness of the statement above.

Wisdom is accumulative and retrospective in nature. It is about borrowing some knowledge from the vast bank of experience accumulated over the ages. It is about looking back at the past to gain insight about what is ahead of us. Intuition is more about the heart than the brain. Knowledge or reasoning are irrelevant when it comes to taking intuitive decisions.

In my opinion, knowing what to look for is associated with intuitive thinking while knowing what to overlook is associated with wisdom.

A simple narrative example should serve well to explain the statements. Every country faces a vast array of options. Choices between conflicting ideas compel us to exclude various options as we go through. Intuition leads citizens to envision a certain kind of future that they wish to realize. A short list of possibilities and measures associated with them can be prepared by dint of such 'look-for' attitudes, i.e., intuitive thinking. However, when it comes to implementing the goals and giving life to dreams, we need to arrive at a certain, exclusive answer. At that point, it is more important to know what to overlook than what to look for.

The final stage of every such decision-making process requires knowledge about possible consequences. It is easy to pick what we prefer or to demand what we like. Such thoughts are visionary, and hardly require any idea about the world as it is, as it was, or as it will be. On the contrary, knowledge of consequences comes only when one knows about the vastness of the world and the depth of the accumulated experience of the generations before us. Thus we realize that intuition is inclusive and wisdom is exclusive. Every option picked is a hundred options dismissed.

Another example might help further. Every leader knows that his/her country needs more resources. It is a gut-feeling to know that we need resources, facilities, amenities, etc. It is what leaders "look for". However, when faced with the onus of choosing between domestc rationing and invading another country, everything boils down to the knowledge of knowing what not to do. Wisdom is reflected not in the possibilities we explore, but in the decisions we arrive at by overlooking all else.

In fine, based on the retrospective nature and exclusiveness of wisdom, I believe it is rightly attributed people who know what to overlook. If life is compared to a sentence, visionaries start the sentence by looking for the correct word and wise people draw the appropriate conclusions on the basis of prior knowledge and intelligent exclusion.

'Crash'

[Personal opinion upon watching Crash (Best Picture, 78th Academy Awards)]

2005 was a horrible year for movies. 2006 more than just made up for it. I'm talking about class, not cash.

Movies that were running for Oscars in 2006 were far, far better than their 2005 counter-parts. We didn't have any cliches like Million Dollar Baby. We did not have half-crack movies like Sideways. We did not have flicks like The Aviator that wish to cash on a good cast and crew. We did not have good movies like Hotel Rwanda that were in the list only to be rejected in the name of political correctness.

This year, all five nominations were superb movie. Each different in taste and content. Each carrying a hint of the indie flavor. I doubt if there has been any better a bunch of movies in the same year.

I liked this years movies because they all moved away from the 'portreyal mode' to 'question mode'.

Munich could so easily have been a pro-Jewish bashing of Palestinians, yet it stuck to the truth and asked us some deep, righteous, and morally absorbing questions. Brokeback Mountain pushed the religion-over-humanity policy to its limits. Good Night and Good Luck made us question the recently rejuvenated act of political witch-hunting and the justifications of sacrificing humanity in the name of security. Capote followed the footsteps of Dead Man Walking and asked us again if we have the right to take away life that we cannot re-instate.

I loved these movies. All of them to my heart's content. They challenged my soul, emotionally. They asked the questions that opened the windows and let in some fresh air in my mind.

Crash was a bit different. It didn't leave me with any feeling at all. It was brute and direct. It didn't bother windows, it just took down my mind. I don't remember watching a more engaging and manipulating movie. It was a crusade against prejudice, deceit, lies, and false nobility.

Till this day, the very though of Crash fills my heart with shame, makes it impossible to face the man in the mirror, and points out my slavery of stereotypes.

I loved it most. Mostly because it made me hate myself so much.

'Conservative USA: An Unsettling Example'

I was particularly shocked to read the news in CNN. It goes on to show how crudely conservative certain pockets in the US are. (Read the original story here.)

The news read that an unmarried couple with multiple kids is going to be evicted on the basis of their 'unmarried' status. The little Missiouri town of "Black Jack" actually has a law that denies such rights! The actual law reads that more than three unmarried and unrelated people cannot live in the same house. A certain situation arose regarding an unmarried couple with three kids. They are being asked to leave the town due to their unmarried status only.

Whether extra-marital relations should be allowed or not is a complete other issue. I personally don't find anything wrong in it. I have seen too many marriages without love to know that love without marriage is a far better choice. The only formidable defense to this argument is religious restrictions.

I do believe that a certain group of people should have the right to frame their lifestyle in accordance with a way they prefer without contradicting the generally established ideals of the land. It is under this pretext that I support the idea of different states having different stances regarding issues like gay rights, euthanasia, abortion, or gambling.

It is quite clear that Black Jack's townsmen have opted on the side of inhumanity to uphold religion. I find it hypocretical to say the least. Look at the name of the town, for God's sakes. "Black Jack!!" Since when is gambling allowed in the gospels? Did the respected people of the town ever try to obtain a name different than arguably one of the most famous card games?

'The Hyped and the Hypocritical' (Iran & US)

Just read about half of the Iranian President Ahmadinejad's letter to George W. Bush. Read upto the part where he condemns the September 11th attacks.

Thus far, I agree with him word by word! A nice piece of letter (so far). Clear, direct, and brave. It is all but unexpected that the letter would be dismissed immediately. (You can read the text here). I do think that he is yet to reach any 'agenda' in the letter. Then again, any agenda other than unconditional admission to US allegations would be short of the mark to White House. The points he mentioned in the letter are burning questions inside the hearts of every human being outside of the US and Western Europe. No 'threat' or 'fissure' can be resolved unless these questions are properly answered.

I believe that the world is entitled to answers to the questions in the first part of the letter. After all, it's a tug of war between the hyped and the hypocritical. All we can do is sit back and watch...