History and Geography

This year was no different in many respects in that it introduced me to whole host of new events and places along with interactions with people from various ethnic and cultural and financial backgrounds. It is indeed amazing to witness all this diversity and feel lucky to live without facing severe hardship as I once did. Here is a quick summary of things I remember and people I met.. A chance encounter with a native of Kurdistan one day in San Francisco was interesting as it told of the human spirit and ingenuity in face of decades of war. This person happened to trade in heavy earth moving equipment sales from San Diego to his native region in war torn Iraq. He explained that his culture strongly believed that they have their own place although it's viewed as Iraq by the rest of the world. Then there was the hour long chat with the descendant of Royalty that ruled the islands of Hawaii a century ago. This on public transit that I was riding with a grandmother heading home to the north shore of Oahu. Although not originally of the King's lineage but warriors that protected him, she explained how at some point there had been marriage between their family and a descendant of the King's. Also a causally informal chat with the sitting Mayor of Honolulu as he hurried to (clearly not sitting then) grab a sandwich at lunch. I was roaming the grounds of the city offices being something of an architecture buff. This harried gent steps out with aloha attire and starts out. I decide to inquire of the history with someone that looks like he belonged there. He explained what I was asking about and then introduced himself as the outgoing (in a few days since the election results had just come in) Mayor of Honolulu. Warm and engaging this former attorney also was explaining that he had been to Goa, considered as sister city to understand how they had laid their railway. You see Honolulu is looking to put down its first ever commercial rail operation if all goes to plan. Then there were numerous encounters with the mild and friendly peoples of Malaysia and Singapore. We vacationed this summer in the isles and were impressed with all they have achieved while maintaining a quiet calm and sing song language to go with it. I also had the opportunity to reconnect with some long lost (not literally) cousins from decades past and relive some fond memories as they visited the USA. Some adventures also included watching how fortune cookies got made - in a dingy and old house on a hill in San Francisco by septuagenarian folks of Chinese descent. Made some new friends / acquaintances at a house warming party hosted by one of my blogger friends. Amazed and awed to witness large scale entrepreneurial zest amongst the silicon ex pats. Many have started and sold what they began for tidy sums and continued on with even more starts. Of course during all this I committed myself to continue blogging and not faze against the headwinds of daily routines that at times can be draining. The family was lucky to enjoy good health and continues to plan the next encounter/ adventure to a land not seen before.

But What If We're Wrong?

I attempted to read this book by author Chuck Klosterman backward to forward but it started hurting my brain so I decided to stop and do it like any other publication in the English language. Start from page 1 and move to the right. Witty, caustic and thought provoking this is a book you want to read if you believe that the status quo might, just might be wrong. At times bordering on being contrarian about most things around us it tries to zero in on the notion of what makes anything believable and certain in our minds. The fact that there is a fact itself is ironic. Something analogous to the idea that you can never predict the future because there is no future. Many books and movies have tried to play on this concept - best that I recollect (I think I am) was 'The Truman Show'. This book by Klosterman attempts to provoke the reader to at least contemplate that what they think they know may be wrong. He uses examples like concept of gravity, and how it ...

You are important to us

Followed by piano music. Followed by 'we are experiencing heavier than usual call volume'. Sounds macabre like bleeding during menstruation or after a ghastly attack with a weapon on a hemophiliac. Sorry Mrs. Johnson but it appears little Gertrude here has been bleeding heavier than usual what with her night time activities competing with the woodchucks in your neighborhood. Some services even go as far as to pick a random day to say - 'if you were to call us during the Chinese lunar month when the moon is axiomatically hugging the polar star with Jupiter intravenous when call volume is light'. Well I will be damned. I thought I had checked with my astrologer before I placed this well focused call but I guess this is what you get for listening to a quack. Umph! I am not sure which marketing genius came up with this personal touch concept of informing the caller that you are really a jackass for actually calling the customer serv...

Of Jims and Johns

Here is another essay on the subject of first names. As in birth names. Or names provided to an offspring at birth. While the developed world tends to shy away from the exotic like Refrigerator or Coca Cola for their new production there is a plethora of Jims and Johns and Bobs or Robs. Speaking of which I do not think there is a categoric decision point at the time of birth if a child will be hereafter called as Bob. I mean have not yet met a toddler called Bob or Rob for that matter. At some point though the parental instinct to mouth out multiple syllables runs out and they switch from calling the crawler Robert to simply Robbie to Rob. Now speaking of - it is strange that the name sounds like something you would not want Rob to do - i.e. Rob anyone. Then why call someone that? After all Rob Peter to Pay Paul is not exactly a maxim to live a young life? Is it? Perhaps Peter or Paul might want to have a say in it? Then there is this matter of going to the John. Why degrad...

Brown Motion

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