Brown Motion

Hackneyed, trite, banal, are all expressions that come to mind when I hear this expression in media or in a book. Come to think of it what is all this business with mom and pop anyway? Perhaps harkening to old tales when the social units actually consisted of this arrangement some stories made sense. But to use in the context of Facebook and like investing it reeks of stale incongruous ideas. For starters there is over 50% divorce rate in the US with more and more people going the way of the singularity. There is no preponderence of mom and pop and if there was its dwindling. What about the mom and mom or pop and pop arrangements? What about the mom and test tubes? What about the steps (mom and pop)? What about the more than one of each? I tell you there is just no truth in reporting these days. What about those with criminal intents or a skewed bent? Some have hit the low road and abandoned the offsprings of the mom and pop? I think 'pop goes the weasel' makes mo...

I admit I am old fashioned. I still have a pile of DVDs that I own and on occasion find time to dig out what I got and pop one in to revisit. This one is a decade old movie called 'Finding Forrester' starring Sean Connery as a cranky, reclusive Pulitzer prize winning author that lives in the Bronx. He discovers raw talent (played by Rob Brown - in real life is also talent that was literally discovered by accident) in the form of a black basketball playing kid on the street corner who he secretly observes from his study every day. The kid can write. He has an unusual ability to put words together that convey immense emotion through compelling writing. Connery's character finds this when he happens on some drafts that Jamal (Brown) has written in his notebooks. Its a story of a teacher and student, about friendship and integrity, about not giving up even in the winter of your life (this phrase is plagiarized from the movie) and discovering what all life has to offer. ...

Strange or unexplained phenomena are more common than you woulda thunk.. 1. Why does the hearse (as in carrying a dead person) get priority in traffic? At least in some states...in death ahead in traffic, after all aren't they at a permanent red light? 2. What is with the term 'Red light area'? Who would actually want to visit that kind of aurora pornealis? From what I understand its more like no lights area. 3. Why do I have to tip the guy that drives a van from the parking lot to the airport but not the pilot after he flies me to a different continent? 4. What do you do with a pocket kerchief? Who the heck came up with kerchief anyway? To top it off they are made from expensive fabric and stick out like a sandwich from a coat. I mean it seems rather unbecoming if you want to unload a bunch of mucus in an emergency and you reach out to a guy with one of these cloths sticking out from his jacket and proceed to use it.

Proliferation of cellular technology has made one thing very clear. Now you can actually count all the people who are bored witless. Think about it. Carriers and device sellers now boast of their circulation and subscriptions to garner an even larger share of the consuming public. Large portion of the conversations or email exchange or game play or video watching that happens now is (although a function of improvement of technology), of no drastic new value add. Moreover the people observed with device attachment syndrome seem to now share their boredom with others in a similar mindset. It has simply added to the chatter on the airwaves with meaningless advertisements and coupons and promotions to zombies that have nothing better to do than stare at the latest version of rectangular glass. More customers get to win grass seeds by planting a cyber bush or raking e-leaves with no clue on what actual raking entails. In fact one could argue that quality of life has deteriorated to ...

Pun intended. Humans love to procreate. They exist apparently for a singular purpose like any living organism. Just ask the Duchess of Cambridge. Be that as it may we certainly do not like to think of the consequenes. As in how many more people do we need to call it game over? Every city and county and state and country is faced with balancing issues - those involving their budgets and its no surprise that demand has exceeded supply or at least the rate of supply. There is no forever. So while anyone can be selfish in their approach to living large I do not quite get the idea to manufacture more than one in the family. One and done on a global scale (for those that somehow feel compelled to have that one) could bring about a new lease on life so to speak. Such experiments have been attempted on a large scale before (China being a recent example) yet it might be too little too late. Especially in light of increased life spans for the cretins still left on the planet. Clearly ...

I guess if the singular purpose of language is to successfully communicate intent then perhaps its no reason to worry that people use it in varied ways. English which is a difficult language to master has its own versions based on what is spoken on a large and contiguous land mass i.e. there are American, Indian and Australian versions aside from the Queen's version. Then there is of course the evolution of the language itself from Old English and its Ye and Yonders to contemporary version that we comprehend to the modern day incarnation in the form of LMAO. Outside of the actual words, the grammar which constitutes the rule book on usage or arrangement of words gets butchered from country to country. Spellings do too. Dialects are also another nuance of the same language but spoken with distinct accents and undertones. What may be formally prescribed as a way to construct sentences may be completely decimated when in use by a less erudite person. However, take it from the C...

No my house did get painted a year ago so its not that. I just watched a documentary with this title. It portrays the history and aftermath of the great financial system collapse of 2008 in the US. What it showcases among the usual 'greed is rampant' and 'absolute power corrupts' themes is that the very acclaimed private educational institutions in the US are also contributing to the ongoing financial divide between the hugely powerful and the destitute. Many scholars have gotten paid assignments to present their capitalism centric views and proposals and also secure positions on the board of directors of the very large financial institutions that benefit from these views, while not having to disclose these affiliations to the university that they teach in. Also if you are confused between morality and profit it clarifies that the same right wing conservatives that would preach about the former are actually morally bankrupt and financially well off. So while that i...

Driving is amazin in the USofA especially if you pay not particular attention to all the signage meant to distract you from the joy of driving. Here are my observations - 1. Right Lane Ends - I am not sure how the Wrong Lane Ends look like so what do I care how the Right ones do? Keep on tooling down the road and pay not attention to these.. 2. Through Traffic Merge Left - Well this one is obvious - if there is lot of merging going on on the left then I want to stay as far to the right as possible..drivers these days have no clue where they are going.. 3. Slow Children - Thank you for advising me of the IQ of the average kid on the street - I will quickly speed the heck out of here. 4. Bump - could it be bumper cars are what I will see down the road? What the heck is that - I have heard of it go in the middle of the night somewhere.. 5. Caution Workers - I have seen a lot of workers like gardners, chefs, room service attendants, flight attendants but never a caution worker...

Well apart from the obvious stuff like lots of sex and idling time (between lots of sex) a person can always have a few things that they do not get. In my case here is a short list. 1. Something called 'Euro Sham' being sold at the local bedding retailer. Any sham and European at that should be banned let alone be sold for exorbitant sums. Yet they continue to be offered in a dizzying array of colors and textures. 2. Opportunity to choose between Republican and Democrat at the US election cycle. There are couple of problems here. Simply having two ideologies (I call them retarded points of view) to represent the will of 330M people is a blunder. To top it off you cannot even throw the guy out (its costly and useless) once you prematurely tire of their shenanigans - you have to wait the whole four years. I am going with 'No Vote for Me' camp. 3. I never see beautiful homeless or jobless people (actually I do see the latter in the form of the ones hanging off o...

As alliterations go I thought it would be interesting to waste the last day of summer thinking of sentences with the letters 'Bar' as the first syllable of the words making the allietrating. So imagine a scene where Barack Obama and Ehud Barak (former Israeli PM) met for some tete a tete (not an alliterative use of tet) in a military barrack outside Jerusalem. Imagine the media had some restricted access to report on their conversations from inside the barrack. Imagine a bar in the barrack where a bartender was barfing because of food poisoning from a night on the town. The summary reporting from the barracks about this event would read - Barack and Barak denied any barriers to progress during their talks as a result of the barfing bartender in the barracks. They made sure that the barfing bartender was barricaded to be looked at by a medical professional. Barak praised Barack for 'passing the bar' and not passing out at the bar. Barack complimented Barak by sayi...

I smell government conspiracies like people smell Folgers first thing in the morning. Some may also smell of BO (their own or their bedside companion of unknown species). But getting back to the thesis at hand - 1. What if nudity and sex was legal in public places? It would put the entire porn industry out of work including the paparazzi and the lawyers and a whole big supply chain - hence such activities are illegal. 2. What if we legalized all forms of narcotics for self use and sold them at Kmart? It would put the cartels and the police force and many more institutions out of business - so we cannot do that. Job security. 3. What if we legalized suicide? Again it will put all the counselors and service staff out of business. Cannot do that. Here the law is hilarious since it is the intent of committing that the law frowns upon; since after successful completion there is nothing that we know of that the law can do to the accomplished. 4. What if we legalized driving at ...

These two words are all the rage lately. It could mean different things to people. For one you may wonder if it is about a new suit with no top? Or a lawsuit about being topless? Or a lawsuit against being topless? Or it could simply mean its about finding suitable people that are topless. Well it turns out its this off and on story again. As in females posing nude or semi nude to make money (i.e. without the top on) and then once that fizzles out (aka top decay or aging) then sue people that take pictures of their top without the suit on. That tops it all off. From duchesses to film stars to advertising glitterati to porn stars, I think a lot of females have found themselves a model role. That of the plaintiff although there is nothing plain about that. They certainly have a tiff though. With the alleged photographers who is also referred to as the paparazzi - not sure whose papa but they apparently do harazz. Question becomes what were the females doing with out their su...

Saw an offbeat movie that typified British humor by this title. A 2006 release from an indie studio its a bit slow but the humor is spot on. Starring Rowan Atkinson and Kirstin Scott Thomas (the wife), the former playing the role of a vicar in some English hamlet is shown gullible and lost. Their raunchy teenage daughter is source of concern and the wife too is slipping into the arms of an American golf instructor (Patrick Swayze) until this housekeeper (Maggie Smith) shows up and things start going to normal. To start she knocks out the neighborhood mongrel that is yapping all night long - nice use of sound to imply the gruesome act. Turns out she is not just any housekeeper (spoiler alert) but the wife's mother who has been in jail for murdering her errant husband and his mistress some 40 years ago. Some jokes that the mother turns the reverend on to include "a vicar, a minister, a pole, an irishman, and a rabbi all walk into a bar, and the bartender says - is this so...

I live in California and today I felt saddened by what the media reported..this is not what I live for. 1. Rice contains arsenic and consuming it daily is going to kill me soon - now I have to go back to downing more alcohol by skipping all the fermentation that I was doing naturally by eating rice daily; 2. Zuckerberg is now the 36th richest (not paying attention or taxes) dude amongst all dudes and dudettes that live - see I hate to see my state lose the top 10 ranking in anything including the number of richest dudes in the state - cramps my style; 3. Neither contender for the top job as Pres has what it takes to fix this mess we are in..we are not even sure what we need.. for that matter we are stuck trying to define what a need is. Indeed. 4. There will be no shuttle - not the cock - the one that flies further than the cock variety - to the Intl Space Station and back. Last one is coming to roost in Los Angeles - interested parties can watch it fly piggy back on a Boeing ...

Once upon a time there lived a king. He was a loved king. Loved by his subjects and his followers. He lived when calendaring was not in vogue so its hard to say when this conversation took place. It is debatable if he had a queen. But if we pretend that he at least had a girl friend then here is what some of his dialog with her might have looked like - K: Hey honey I am home. GF: What have you been up to today? K: Well you know this and that and looking to see how I can help the poor souls out there. GF: You are such a nice dude, don't you get tired of helping? K: Well you know I am happiest when I do these things. GF: Oh that reminds me - there was this fella that stopped by asking if you were avaiable later to sit down for discussing rights to your autobiography. K: Hmm..really - that sounds flattering..what's to tell? GF: What do you mean - lots - people will always remember you by all the good you have been doing - doubt if there is going to be anyone that c...

Sounds like a Ludlum novel. It could be but is not. Not yet. Perhaps I better call his estate and book my rights to the title and the plot. Once I saw the news about the toilet paper evolution in how people have started printing it with news, coupons, ads, even mysteries and stories in Japan I took it upon myself to expand on the ideas - now I am on a 'roll'. How about a toilet paper library? Especially in impoverished countries that do not have reliable source of sanitation to extract yourself after attending to the emergency. Use a toilet roll that you carry on your person all the time. But it does not have to be boring. Far from it. You could inscribe reams of stories on a roll. You may have left a stall with a story half read. You could pop into a local library and finish it by paying cents for the other half of the roll which can be produced on demand. Now Apple is shaking in its boots. They thought they could corner the third world market with its newest lon...

Had enough of pesky commercials and emails and bill boards and texts? Hold on to your pants (literally) because the toilet paper revolution is just beginning. Soy ink based advertising right on the sheets that wipe you off is coming to a stall near you. From laser eye correction to discount on sandwiches at the store next door to a haircut salon overhead (to the location of the stall) are all seeking your undivided attention and this is the way to go. What are you doing in there anyway? Praying to not see an ad again? Nah not a chance. So why not entertain yourself with the knowledege of the surrounds in the comfort of the john and perhaps catch up on some local gossip? Hey its biodegradable piece of news so think how green its going to be? Trashy news just found a new calling. Caveat emptor - in your excitement to read all you can make sure you have some left to do the needful. Ok if that creeps you out then watch for the premium stalls that might contain the deluxe white sh...

People are social animals. So it has been said. The socialization of the species has taken many forms over the eons. Religion has been the oldest guard where people flock to for variety of reasons but more for affiliation with like minded individuals. It is beneficial to the extent that the herd has a larger sway than a single person or even a handful of people. To change public opinion or to make regulation or demand change to status quo. Political affiliation is another popular cult. In today's day and age the polarity of thought is even more pronounced world over with financial security defining the views of the left vs. right and all the spaces in between. In modern times there have been variants of the above in the form of special interest groups, yoga retreats, Amway advances, ponzi schemers, artists of living, et al. Then there are the not so obvious but immensely popular versions (of the cult) like those created by the ultimate yogi - the Apple fans. Lining up outs...

To get excited these days it would seem. We had two very senseless (make that three) events capture headlines this past week. One was of course the production and apparent broadcast of a disturbing (inciteful not insightful) video that enraged the Muslims. Then there was the fallout in the form of violent protest from a minority group that was itching to pull the trigger and this video definitely took them over the edge. What followed is tragic - more so than the thoughtless act that produced the film. People who were going about their daily routines were faced with certain disruptions of varying degrees - some lost lives. What for? Then there was the third event although not literally fatal showed another side of our condition. Obsession with celebrity photos. Three adjectives further drove the frenzy. Naked, Princely and Bosom. In this day and age where architecturally wonderful images of the mammaries can be had for next to nothing for those that desire it I am appalled a...

First for me with or without family. This one was with. The Race involved horses. It was at a local course in the bay area on a wonderful late summer Sunday. The setting is idyllic..you sit in the grand stand and watch this beautiful green oval with the Berkeley hills in the background set against an azure morning sky. Every 20 minutes or so well groomed and stately beasts appear and show off and get lined up to race. Cheap beer was available cheap - it was a buck cup Sunday. I passed (without consuming) and settled to just enjoy the moments with family. It is quite a spectacle to see how people are betting on not just the live event but on a horse race in Argentina at the same time. The latter is being beamed live via satellite to the indoor TV screens where you can perch if you are not into the outdoors and serious about making a few (or a lot) quid. It does get quite excited once the race begins and people starting hitting their thighs in gusto ... our daughter was having ...

Defined in some of the English language dictionaries, a fanatic means a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal, as in religion or politics. The latter characterization is a slice of what aspect of life one can be fanatical about. To me a fanatic has been a distinction between the middle of the bell curve populace where I would fall and the outliers that have the power to shape the trend lines. But I wonder what makes someone truly fanatical about their job or profession? Is it a deep and uncompromising love of what that job entails? Is it pride? Is it trust in something that is core to their constitution? Or is it this other intangible called Faith? Is this fanaticism driven by the reward at the end (could be monetary or power enhancing or fame inducing) or the journey itself feeding into the drive. I am sure its all of the above and its very personal for every one of us. The levels of dedication we provide to a task or service are fluid but for those that ar...

Hmm.. almost reminds me of The Gold Rush by Charles Chaplin. Must see if not already. But I refer to the changes the boot sequence of the personal computer has undergone over time. The term booting a computer actually bears its origins I believe to the art of strapping up them boots before heading out to do what was needed to be done. When I first encountered the fancy calculator it had a switch called AC or ON. That's it. You press it and the 7 element LCD started glowing bright. You could proceed to add or multiply or subtract if you chose and get an answer - lightning quick. Then came the need to do more than just algebra. We wanted to process words and work on elaborating the non elaboratable along with spreading the numbers to cover sheets requiring the invention of a personal computing device. This could not merely be a matter of hitting the ON button. OH NO. You now had to coax the sleeping brain out of its stupor by kicking it with an operating system or the OS....

I know not about this Californian band but I refer to the toungue tingling food we ate this afternoon. Its a place that serves Sichuan Food and it was clearly something to be experienced. Under the pseudonym of Schezuan or Schezwan we have tried various incarnations in the states before but not having been to the province I am not sure what to believe when it comes to matters of taste. Kung Pao chicken was our most famous encounter with this central Chinese province over the last couple of decades. Cooked from coast to coast it has stood its test of time and I almost equate that to comfort food.. land at an unusual airport late one night and go out to seek some nourishment chances are you will find a burger joint and someone selling Kung Pao. This place we ate today was amazingly different. So the common thread between Kung Pao and the dishes we enjoyed was the preponderence of Red Chillis and Chilli or Sesame oil.. we had a fish soup that was essentially covered with a bed of th...

Its interesting to see how riding the coattails has taken on a life of its own in the current vernacular in Silicon Valley. Prominent brands that develop hardware or software often show case their wares by hosting large parties called Developer Conferences or Media Events or some such. Hey if you have dollars to spend on marketing why not? The trickle effect of this effort though is clearly defined by how popular the commodity already is in the market. Take a very popular communication device that markets its latest incarnation or redesign at a press conference and the hoopla surrounding it starts days or months before the event and concludes much after. So what the brand gets its incidental exposure at no additional cost. Media giants in turn benefit from this sometimes GDP altering event and also boost their own ratings and revenues riding the proverbial coattails (I am still looking for someone who actually has said garment extension). Such devotion is not seen for example wh...

Mass Movement - this could literally apply to anything from the stuff that gets flushed down the toilet to people on a train station or the train itself..typically used to signify protests and rallies and such.. Religious Movement - something that a preacher might experience if accidentally or knowingly consumes castor oil - typically refers to another form of group activity involving religious types Protein Shake - this one is interesting having found a cult like following in recent times and oft refers to a beverage that certain health minded individuals tend to consume. But to me it might also be an instance of tossing eggs in the air (practice juggling with a bit of excitement for the Yokels)

To many an unaware individual of the readership the title might appear to be rather bizzare. It is. I for one had to do some quality research on the subject (the Langot) in this case. See the whole effort stemmed from a news article in a reputable financial newspaper formerly owned by a dubious person of Australian origin (dubious applicable to the person's conduct and not so much his origins). Well so much for clues on what paper this was. The (news) article in this case was about a brand called Lululemon suing another competitor in the retail clothing space for a patent on a Yoga Pant. The whole thing sounded so hilarious that I had to read it with much anticipation over tea. The tea was good, the anticipation was about what exactly somebody called Lululemon could possibly sue for? Turns out that this is about how a pant waist band should look and feel and fold and that it was patentable per the US PTO. Another competitor had the nerve or whatever it takes these days, t...

America has reached fever pitch (another blog to describe where this term came from - personally not sure if it has to do with sickness or an angle of tilt) on how best to spend $500. To buy an Apple or buy a lot of Apples. To feed the family in the latter case. Apple the world's largest company by market cap is set to release information on a new mobile phone to the world tomorrow at an invitee event in San Francisco. This has generated lot of reaction from the devotees and the sundry (such as myself who find a new topic to blog on) as to what to do once the phone is available in stores or online. Well - I for one am going to watch the circus. Cost zero dollars. For those inclined to dip their proverbial toes in the water it could mean a lifelong commitment (At least two year commitment) to own the best in mobile technology that money can buy (or so it would appear from the hype). Also by earlier reference to fever pitch I also mean that some financial pundits have argued ...

It seems these days the buzz is about larger screens. On the one hand people already have drive in movie like screens installed in their homes (see wonderful blog elsewhere on site) but now want more glass to carry on their person. Hence the larger phones that are approaching dinner menu size proportions jutting out of people's pockets. There has come a time to address the garment market in light of the changing phone size. Traditional pants or jeans supported a 5" screen comfortably plus a wallet and other essentials for survival in the urban jungle. Now with the advent of larger screens there is going to be a need to have a kangaroo pouch instead of one pocket on either side of the pants. This will allow user or owner operator to stow large amounts of inventory including makeup and communication devices along with the needed accessories whilst traipsing down the zip line or enjoying a burger at the beach or getting that appendix removed. What is going to get smaller i...

QE can mean many things to many people. Mostly in today's context it has nothing to do with the Queen or the mighty ship that sailed the Atlantic. It is an economic term to qualify mumbo jumbo that large governments use to manipulate money supply. However, the QuEasy factor can be introduced both on the ship as with the monetary waves. That right there is more mumbo than the largest jumbo can handle. When faced with sluggish economies that are over their head in debt and people are not spending (because they are in debt) the central bank uses what it calls levers at its disposal (wonder why anyone will use something that is disposed) to put the nitrous in the engine. Sort of a turbo boost. It starts buying long term securities and bonds by printing money. Artifically creating a large money supply drives cost of borrowing down and is assumed to juice growth. Still not clear what the Easing is and how Quantitative it gets. Especially when other broke nations are talking ab...

Europe is changing. That is the understatement of the decade. Not in terms of glacial melts or altered bird species. Something much more dramatic. The people are going broke. Their governments already are. Now in this new decade they view the spectre of large scale joblessness and high debt coupled with rage and unrest in the masses vis a vis larger debtor nations like the US dictating belt tightening for the unruly members. This creates dilemmas for those that are full of economic theory like Mario Monti (hence the title) who dreads his country facing the challenge faced by those in the Full Monty. He might be too full to tighten the belt so he looks to the Spaniards and the Portuguese to see what else to do. While lazing on the beaches of the Med they all look aghast at the prospect of someone called Dragy to tell them the rules of the game. Perhaps letting the clothes go might be easy? Hey we at least got ourselves the largest combined coastline!

Oh the problems of the first world. When you get to thinking about it more regulations are created by those that envy the ones wanting to live it up. Take for example the predicament of the dude that buys a Ferrari. Where is he going to drive it? To really kick it he has to take to the highways. That does no good. In reality where is he going? To work on surface streets (I mean not to work on the street unless he is a road maintenance type) to pay for that Ferrari or Porsche. Well guess what - he cannot really drive it any different than a Hyundai behind him. Then to the matter of hitting the high road (or free way) its not that free. If he takes off over the posted speed limit to really gun the cylinders he risks getting caught in the eyes of the patrol. Said patrol on petrol use is a sad excuse for useless regulation on a civilization that is considered unable to regulate themselves. I say if we design freeways with dedicated no limit lanes these people might feel rewarded...

Nobody votes during the upcoming elections? Nobody turns on their televisions for 1 year? Nobody takes a flight for six months? Nobody makes a phone call for 2 days? Nobody eats for 1 day? Nobody speaks (therefore argues) for 12 hours? Nobody uses the internet for six hours? Nobody goes to the loo for three hours? Everybody sleeps for one hour? Anybody?

To screen the intellect left on the planet. No really what I meant was the furor, the gaga, the excitement - palpable and omnipresent - about Apple launching a new range of screens on Sep 12. The techno glitterati and not so glitterati are all buzzin with Apple fever. What will Apple do or WWAD should be new tiebands or wrist bracelets or whatever. Since Jesus does not seem to have done much this might be a good product idea for Apple. Cook are you listening? Essentially it boils down to a new screen dimension for the same concept - that of allowing its users to spend increasingly long times on their device disconnected from reality. Could it be more real estate for the iphone says one site while the other pitches in with a forecast for more smaller (good oxymoron) handy screens for the ipad. All these cranked out from minions in Asia at attractive cost so as to let Apple make gobs of profit - nothing wrong with that. What the public wants they get and Apple eats the cake. Th...

It is true that complete health includes mind and body nourishment. To that extent staying active is a positive contributor to mental agility. That said the US education model of tagging excellence in marketable sports as a qualification criteria to the elite centers of learning aka universities has been a source of mystery to me. I guess saying source of mystery is rather nebulous when I know exactly why its done. To boost ratings and in turn drive more people (non atheltic kind) to spend more money at these institutions. The players in turn have a shot at going pro after college thereby earning unheard of monies. But it takes away the focus of imparting world class education and then securing a professional career - to building better bridges, better medicine, better foods. Instead you get a country that has the most Olympic medals ever. Is that a benchmark to pursue? For someone with an academic bent but lacking in the physical attributes then becomes a handicap since playi...

If you were to believe eveything you read in the economic times of the world - any pub that yaks about how a sovereign is doing with its money matters you would conclude that there are a lot of spare wheels lying around. Take for example the headlines - Wheels coming off the CHinese economy; The US employment picture is much worse than you think - the wheels have come off the train; Indian economy grinds to a halt etc.. With all this braking and wheel coming off activity I suspect that there is going to be a lot of walking around going on? Could that perhaps reduce the pollution and lead to healthier citizenry that is less obese? Perhaps there is a silver lining to this dark cloud after all? But then the word MALAISE puts a damper on things. There is a lot of that too going on. Greek economic malaise spreads to Spain and Italy - this one seems to be happening faster than the previously mentioned Hanta epidemic. The entire Euro Zone seems to be on the brink of a serious corre...

I have a proposal to get more efficiency out of two semi retarded operations that are being funded by tax payer dollars. Subsidized hospitals and city airports. How about we just combine the two? Call it Hospiports. That way we know to expect less hospitality and maybe a port to get the heck out of Dodge. There already are flight kitchens...now add a hospital. I say get that pace maker checked before you fly. The reason for this is simple. Off late the TSA (the ones that watch you strip and go through X-rays) much like the doc at the office, or hospital is taking on more of a clinical role in your fellow passanger's well being. They have been known to collect saliva swabs or samples at random from guests minding their own business at the airport and may soon be asking you to pee in a cup. I say why not bundle all your chores at the hospiport? Annual physical and a round trip to St. Louis brought to you by your local stew-nurses. Just arrive early and make sure you do no...

Not right in front of him but as in in the pre-historic period before he arrived to take stock (not entirely sure about that as I think about it - what is pre - historic - before any history was made - that would be at the point of big bang wouldn't it?). Any rate what I am dwelling over today is how the ancients in India (or what was India) travelled. Take for example the need to fill out a foreign visa application. What would Lord Yudhisthir do? Or take King Dhrutarashtra. I mean for one they do not seem to advertise their last names. Which would throw everything off. They cannot even apply can they? Last name is a mandatory field. To top that off where would they say they were going? To check out new territories to attack? Hmm.. homeland security at any airport was not going to stand that nonsense? Then comes the question of spelling it. The first name that is. Any immigration officer worth his salt is going to get testy as the dude starts reciting it. Certainly a ...

I have been known to be wrong on occasion. But all of those times I have been alive. Point is although many an alive person uses the phrase 'dead wrong' to describe an event it is with exterme prejudice. They may wish that someone was dead and wrong but usually the latter holds true if that. So I am not sure why this term continues to be in existence. Besides is it relevant that someone was wrong if he was dead? Dead is the ultimate. Finito. Kaput. So what matters is there is no more right or wrong. Just dead. Consequently there is also no recorded reference to someone being DEAD RIGHT. What's with that? Young man Charlie was always right - but he is dead. Dead Right. Or could it be that it describes the act of dying itself? Right way vs. wrong way to die? He died in his sleep - dead right. He died trying to blow up a building - dead wrong? I am not sure I have the answers but in the same vein I will leave you to ponder what Breathtaking really means? To ...

When you thought that we are moving rapidly away from paper products and paper in all its incarnations including the papier mache dolls (whatever that is - but seem to be in all ethnic stores in some shape and form) we are harshly reminded about much work still being done or wanting to be done with paper. Take for example the subject of Obama's birth. Republicans are up in arms (another blog on what that exactly means especially since normally arms are 'up' and legs are down - not sure what the heck someone is trying to say - whose arms are we talking? wives, cousins never mind) in trying to verify over and over that he indeed is he and confirm he was a citizen by birth and not naturalized (like say yours truly) or pasteurized. To prove said postulate there was a need for the original (you guessed it) paper certificate showing the place of Obama's birth. This document was tantamount to proving that there was a declaration of independence because without it there wou...

That's what killed the cat. But since satisfaction brought it back I decidely have continued to be curious. On further investigating some inane news (mind you this is dangerous territory in itself) I discovered that the world has been stuck with a title song from the album CURIOSITY by Carly Rae Jepsen as top of the charts at number 1. Of course I refer to 'Call Me Maybe'. I also then on an unrelated encounter found that NASA had named their MARS rover with the same name - Curiosity. That peaked mine. Why would that be? Curious coincidence? So I decided to let the cat out of the bag (to see if it gets killed). I suspect that NASA actually bought the rights to play that song to the aliens out there to indicate what we as a species have achieved and are up to these days. So as Curiosity sits and samples mud from MARS its also playing 'Call Me Maybe' to unsuspecting alien ships that troll the deep darkness of space.

In some Hindi film of a bygone era I remember a cheesy line that went - English is a very phunny language. Could not be further from the truth - the whole kind. Take for example the juxtaposition of two simple words - Passing and Out. When used as a verb and said in a sentence it can imply a lot of things to people. Commonly if I hear it I run away. Clearly something is not alright with the atmosphere where I am at and human condition being referred to with that verb should be cause for concern. Could it be an ammonia leak from that bathroom over there? Could it be that hydrogen tank gone awry over at the factory or simply an excess of flatulence from that awkward dude on the fence.. if he passed out (some form of toxin) then the neighbor passed out. Simple. I want 'out' from the scene. Then there is the Queen's English or its Indian incarnation anyway. People as they graduate from their schooling careers are said to 'pass out' left and right. As in they...