Without faith

I was reading (on Livescience.com) some interesting findings on how Americans feel about the use of Creationism, Intelligent Design and Evolution in classrooms in the US. Being Atheist, I have always been bemused by religious systems. I mean, it always amazes me that people who are otherwise intelligent and educated would continue to believe in stuff that continues to cause the three Cs around our planet: concern, consternation and carnage. On a positive note, I can understand someone using a particular belief system as a form of meditation. Hey, whatever to improve the quality of your life, right? But...I believe that religion is an effective tool only when used to attain personal well-being. It easily has the potential to become a monster when imposed on others. Because doing so seems to evoke the same emotions that come pouring out when one attempts to impose one's taste in movies, humor or music onto others.

Despite all my misgivings on this very sensitive topic, I go to extreme lengths to avoid discussing it (guess I am contradicting myself with this post). I feel that it is more important to prevent inflammation of any sort than trying to prevent my ego from getting bruised. We have enough problems on this planet related to this subject and I believe that it is our responsibility to avoid further escalation of such problems.

A while ago a close friend of mine, who is a devout Christian, asked me if he could take a few minutes and talk to me about Jesus Christ. It made me uncomfortable immediately. It is not that listening to him would have made me lose 15 lbs of hard earned muscle. I just would rather not talk about certain things. But its hard to say no to a friend for fear of upsetting him over what was essentially a subject of importance for him. But to his credit, he didn't pursue it once he realized that I wasn't being very receptive. He did, however, ask me if I did anything to take care of my soul (the same way I take care of my physique) and what I would do if I ever felt confused or lost. A valid question. People think that stress is only negative. But stress can also come from positive happenings. Anyway, I gave him an answer that I have presented as a graphic below.



I should add though that, having successfully shed the shadowy influence of any religion or my own Indian culture (it's impractical traits, at least), I have evolved a thought process that is very minimal in its implementation. I wanted to use the word "primal" instead of "minimal" but can a primal nature and rational mind go hand-in-hand in civilization?

As the years roll by, I am finding out that, given my background, it has indeed been worthwhile to have taken...the road not taken!

Transformers (A Brief Movie Review)

Dios mios! What a boring movie! The lead character was so annoying! Check out the way the hot girl ends up teaming up with him. She is casually going by on a cute scooter in a part of town that she normally wouldn't be in. Alright? It so happens the lead dude was being pursued by a monster robot at that time...in that part of town. Alright? The lead dude and hot girl run into each other and then start running away together from the monster robot. And what's with the other hot girl with the british accent who is an expert on signals (as in communication technology not as in body language) and has a fat black fella (played by a ditzy Anthony Anderson) for a buddy? I have yet to see that combo in Beantown. I thought that british youth were only good at one thing: boozing. The fact that I was spending time thinking about stuff like this while watching the movie should tell you about the quality of its screenplay.

The robots had more personality than the humans. I understand that this movie is about special effects but I have had too much of movie special effects in the last few years. After about 5 minutes the novelty of seeing beeeeg robots quickly wore off. And anyone who wants to see a huge robot (and lots of heart) should look up the Iron Giant. So...2/3rds of the way into the movie, I gave up. And I am glad I did because Namaste Yoga was on.

The Luna Poem

So I have come up with a poem for Luna, who is my friend Raina's tabby. Along with Bill and Soon-Il (both of whom I have since lost touch with), the five of us once shared a blissful home in Watertown...and, no, the house wasn't made of chocolate although it had a few memorable cracks and wedges.


Me with Luna in 2004. That was an era a long time ago when I wore my hair long and did a bunch of crazy things...

So without further ado...

Oh ye fancy fancy doggie,
Who is so into cans of tunie,
Ogie ogie ogie,
Oh how you can smell a ratty,
Hoagie hoagie hoagie,
So often full of baloney,
Boogie boogie boogie,
Stop breaking my hearty,
My loonie loonie loonie.

Now this is what I call a Loonnet because it has nine live...lines. Well, I hope that this makes me a "loonateer" and brings out my romantic (the definition of which I have not grasped in eons) side.

Good Morning!

One of Prabhu Deva's most memorable...

Song: Chikku Bukku
Album: Gentleman (1993)
Language: Tamil

And a more recent one that he choreographed...



Song: Main Aisa Kyon Hoon
Album: Lakshya (2004)
Language: Hindi

Planet Earth - A Monday morning rant

I am familiar with how the US Fish and Wildlife Service conserves habitats by controlling the population of flora and fauna. A lot of people don't realize this but hunters, for instance, are allowed only certain bag limits for certain animals in certain regions/counties in certain times of the year. A lot of the revenue from annual hunting licenses is actually used in such conservation efforts. And I know at least one family in New Hampshire that lives on meat from a whole deer during deep winter.


Apparently a redneck with a DUI conviction...according to an email that is going around.

Did you know that various states have hatchery programs using which they grow fish and then use these fish to stock local bodies of water? So next time you see a bunch of guys fishing in a pond, they likely aren't overfishing that pond.

A lot of developed countries do have such infrastructure in place to monitor habitat use. But developing countries do not have the resources (or the deep-rooted passion necessary) to regulate environmental use. Take India as an example: the Tiger population continues to dwindle owing to habitat loss, poor oversight of poaching by forestry officials and ill-equipped/ill-trained rangers. And, again owing to habitat loss, people here in the US are having more frequent run-ins with wildlife (like mountain lions).

Here are some photographs from earlier this year:

"Sea Shepherd crew in a small inflatable boat throw smoke bombs onto the Japanese whaler Kaiko Maru. February 12, 2007. (Photo courtesy Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)."


I think that they are both idiots.

"The Sea Shepherd ship Robert Hunter, left, and the Japanese whaler Kaiko Maru collide in the Southern Ocean. February 12, 2007. (Photo courtesy Sea Shepherd Conservation Society)."


See what I mean. 'twas a good thing this accident didn't lead to a fuel oil spill.

I do admire these "doers". But in a way, extreme environmentalists remind me of religious evangelists. They are both, in a word, annoying!

The following is a projection of human population all the way to the year 2050:

Year Population(in billions)
2010 6.8
2020 7.6
2030 8.3
2040 8.9
2050 9.4

The United States Census Bureau has projected that there will be around 419 million people in the US alone by the year 2050.

And this is why when conservation groups talk about restricting fishing on "overfished" seas and stopping real estate development on wilderness, I put on a sardonic smile.

9 billion people by the year 2050! No wonder I don't see any point in restricting myself as to how much fish or meat I eat today. Sure I could go vegan but how will that help feed 9 billion people in 2050? Going vegan today so that there can be enough fish for some jerk born into a royal asshold 30 years from now sounds ludicrous. It is f**king ridiculous to worry about people who are not even born. And if everyone does go vegan, wouldn't there be a higher demand for land use so that all the soy and assorted grains eaten by vegans can be cultivated? And what happens when more land is cleared for agriculture? Wouldn't more species go extinct then?

"Let me in! I gotta go save some tuna!! But first I need a shower 'cause I smell like one..."

No. I am convinced that its a simple supply and demand issue. We can either lose species or regulate human population growth more tightly (and we know that the latter is a losing proposition). We have enough people today who have evolved into something that has little resemblance to a once robust species, a direct result of the heavy reliance on the comforts of technology (and watching too many ballgames). Add a strictly vegetarian diet and you probably will end up with humans with hoofed feet. If that is how we are destined to evolve, fine.


"As you know, we are festively plump."

Anyone who wants to know the sad state of human affairs need look no further than the myriad of costly problems (from a bloated public education system to greedy unions to a huge deficit) being faced in California. That American dream state has had these problems for years and there are no solutions in sight (too much partisan politics). I am quite sure that they have time to worry about a bunch of tuna at 35° 41' N 139° 46' E.

Who knows. Maybe a meteorite will crash on Earth and put a full-stop to everything (too bad the planet does not have a reboot button like that on a computer). Then maybe, just maybe, the planet might re-generate life...perhaps without organized religion this time around.

My Speech to the Graduates, 2007 by TC

Another classic one from TC. It does reflect some of my own "findings" from my college going experience. I have posted an excerpt here. The link to the actual article appears at the end of the post.



"As I stand here on this lovely spring day looking out over this sunny vista and your bright, smiling faces filled with hope, I can't help but feel depressed as hell.

While I'm often told that your generation is so much smarter and so much more worldly and wise, I think it's a crock. Mankind obviously learns a lot more with each passing day, but I don't know who came up with the notion that you guys absorbed much of this knowledge.

Nowadays, a general college education is a mighty thin layer of sandwich spread. Sure, they covered all of the bread — tried to expose you to every subject and topic — but the mayo's so sparse you can barely taste it. Of course, there's the old platitude about how the purpose of college is to just teach you how to think.
To this — honored students, faculty, and staff — I say horse piss.

Frankly, most of you remind me of the ducks, and for that matter, the beavers, the turtles, and the frogs."

Click here to read the rest of the article :)

Drink Life Deeply

This is fantastic stuff. The initial taste felt a little bit similar to Jack Daniels (which is my favorite beverage) but it was distinctly different once I've savored it. It also seemed smoother than Jack Daniels. I thought that it felt stronger too than most other Whiskeys I have tasted. Sure enough, the label said "50% Vol.". That's it. I don't really have anything more to say.