And they're hiding

The drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding.

Around town on a sunday night

What started out as a midnight quest to get coffee and sit by the fireplace, ended up being a ride to many of the 'open late' spots in town, only to see them all closed. Nice drive though, and I'm not complaining because the Udhayam coffee in hand is not a bad substitute. Not bad at all.

The departed

One movie which blows me away every time I watch it.

Jack Nicholson. They say he was a charmer. I believe them.

I got this rat, this gnawing, cheese eating fuckin' rat and it brings up questions

Nothing more could have been said. 

"Ok."

Couldn't deny Scorsese anymore, could they? What a combination. 

Scorsese, you mad genius. 

 I  leave you with this picture. Officially in love. 

Oh my Lady Fantasy

Man Eating Seals of Antiquity

Found a link to this on slashdot today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Linux_kernel_names

Because, hats.

Found on reddit a long time back, done by a guy named Micael Renaud. Trippeh

Couplet

White snow falls
     because Winter came.

I just spent two lectures in different subjects listening to the same lecture, an interesting lecture by a really nice professor. One was 1.5 hours long for a climate change class and the other was 3 hours long for an Energy systems class and the basis for both lectures was the same - nuclear energy. He used the same presentation, but it was interesting to see how he modified his speed and delivery and the points he focussed on both times depending on the class.

The best part was he gives out suckers to everyone at the end of the class to illustrate the power of nuclear energy, and I got one for both lectures.

I applied for graduation today. Maybe, maybe, it is too soon.

I will definitely miss going to UofM. If only the fucking tuition weren't this high.

Here's something I found on reddit. Gets to you.

http://www.nazeeabbassi.com/blog/2011/04/self-study/

and after that, this.

http://www.pagef30.com/2009/04/iran-in-1970s-before-islamic-revolution.html

As of today, one square foot of land in Islay belongs to me. Such a nice feeling.

There is too much rage and angst in people of my generation and the worst part is all of it is on display on internet forums. Whatever said, one CANABSOFUCKINGLUTELYNOT call the English cricket team "Fucking bastards" and ask them to "suck indian balls" just because they beat us 5-0 in England. 

anyone lived in a pretty how town

anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn't he danced his did

Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn't they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain

children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more

when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone's any was all to her

someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then)they
said their nevers they slept their dream

stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)

one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was

all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.

Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain

-E.E.Cummings

I always loved anarchy in poetry. New favorite, this.

Corporate fun

It's the season of interviews, and I seem to have the pick of the lot, in a way.
i) Timezone mismatches postponed one
ii) One missed the signup deadline with the university.
iii) One gave wrong dates to the university and no one ended showing up.
iv) One cancelled and rescheduled a slot.

Can't wait for more!

Observations of society.

We have the privilege of living in a time which will see many, if not all, of the pioneering software greats, the idea-men, die and the aftermath of it all. I am of course referring to the founders of Google, apple, Microsoft and the likes of them. Though there are others equally big, whose losses will mean as much as to the community, they are not as famous as to evoke the kind of response that these would, out of the world's people.

Today Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. Millions all over the world mourned his death. Photos were shared and messages were posted. Old videos were re-watched and old speeches re-read. People whored news of his death for online karma using spin-off jokes. Others waited for the apple share price to crash (Guilty on this count. Forgive this poor soul.). The man had a brilliant vision and some luck as well, and even though he was given a launchpad by xerox, he did make it to where he is. He worked with Pixar and NextSTEP, though unknown to general population. His work with Next is one of the major reasons for where the macOS is today. 

He seems to matter more now, than when he was alive. Years from now, there could be people saying 'If only Steve Jobs were alive..' whenever apple does something wrong. People moved from cussing him for  the iPhone 4S release to mourning him like family. This will form the subject for an interesting study, strictly academically speaking. I would like to know how much of apple's policies, decisions and ideas were influenced by jobs in the recent past. If my guess that he had a part to play in everything, is indeed right, we will most probably see some changes in Apple's future. Will there be a slide again?

Today Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. I was never fond of the mac OS. However, I am a fan of the iPod and the hardware that the Mac-books come with. Steve jobs was a smart man, and his death is a loss to the community. I won't "miss" him though, as much as I respect him for this -

"None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do."

 Here's to you, in Helvetica.

I cannot seem to title anything nowadays. 

4 am in the morning, and tiny pulses of electricity surge through my left foot. The tingling feeling slowly subsides as I adjust my position, having finished an assignment which could have been finished long ago.

I lay awake to the numerous unfelt tiny pulses of electricity from so many things which I could have done so long ago. How much ever I twist or roll, these don't go away.

October will be an interesting month. Subway offers foot-long sandwiches at a dollar off, fall colors will be better than ever, the music/theater season will intensify, Michigan will attempt to surprise people by turning colder earlier and I will also have a niece at the end of it.

October will be incredibly fast. By the time I read this again, October will be over. 

The horror

"In 2000, mozambique was hit by the worst flood it had seen in 50 years. It was caused by 5 weeks of torrential rains. Thousands of people lost their houses and waited on trees for relief. Hundreds died. A woman have birth to a girl in a tree and she is famous throughout mozambique. Rescue helicopters spent hours carrying people out of trees and rooftops. What caused these deaths. now? Maximum destruction of course was caused by the unexpected flooding of water , but you'll never guess what claimed the second most number of victims. Go ahead, try."

"Cholera?"

"Loss of top soil and hence cultivable lands?"

"Crocodiles?"

"Hah, Mozambique does not have crocodiles. And of course the first two are good guesses. but both are wrong. I'll tell you what did it. Landmines. Thousands of landmines left behind by the civil war were washed out and children found them. 

If you know the terrain and the story of it, you can save more lives than you can do by mere relief efforts."

- A talk on the effect of climate change on human beings.

2000, Mar 8 -  In Mozambique recent flooding began to wash old civil war land mines to the surface. An estimated 400,000 to 5 million mines were still present. 

It's fall again!

It's that time of the year again. Suits and pitches and queues and stupid ties.
Last year, this time, it rained.
This year, same time, it rained.
It rained.
It rained on my parade, literally and figuratively.
That's my new favorite line - Don't rain on my parade, and I will use it all the time till I find a new one.

I had a nice walk home today with a girl in a purdah.  I never walk at the same pace side by side with strangers and neither do they, but this time, we did, silently, and shared a look of silent acknowledgement before parting ways.

Now I have to write a few assignments and follow up on online forms. It's fucking raining on my parade.

Heh. People, and the things they do..

Quarter hunt

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky 
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming


48 states done, 2 more to go. If any of you here, in Michigan, happen to read this, and have any of the 2 state quarters that I don't have, it would be awesome if you let me know!

.

The perfect sub

Yes, there exists such a thing. I found the perfect sub in my universe.

Bread - Italian herb and cheese.
Cheese - Swiss.
Toasted with the jalapenos.
Topping - A little bit of lettuce, some green peppers, Onions, Banana peppers, black olives. Tomatoes (optional).
Sauce - Sweet onion.
Seasoning - Oregano.

Even if I were a girl, this would have been the best six inches ever.

Relief

Helpful quote from "The king's speech".

Fuck. Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck and fuck! Fuck, fuck and bugger! Bugger, bugger, buggerty buggerty buggerty, fuck, fuck, arse! Balls, balls... fuckity, shit, shit, fuck and willy. Willy, shit and fuck and... tits. 

Does wonders, this one.

Edit: In my case, it helped me solve an annoying itch-in-the-middle-of-my-back-where-i-cant-fucking-reach css problem.

Plan.

Step 1 - ?
Step 2 - $$$$$
Step 3 - Travel.

One of these days, I will write something that I will read later and go, "Shit. He's got a point there". One of these days..

Chasing bugs.

Developers code.
Developers create products.
Developers unwittingly create bugs.
Developers track bugs.
Developers create finished products.

This is to all the bugs I have unleashed and I still chase. Here's to all bugs that I didn't unleash but still chase. Here's to all heisenbugs, my favorite, albeit most annoying, of all.

I don't derive as much pleasure from creating something which has 'no bugs' as I do from eliminating them.

Red lace.

Where cameras see more than people,

     and guidebooks talk more.

Fake plastic trees and fake plastic faces.

       Dogs in handbags and children on leashes.

Quests to fit in with 'society',

    paid for with money and a rough morning after

No trash on the streets.
    But so much inside, never recycled.

Amusement parks where people throng,

     History forgotten because it didn't have a guided tour.

Insurance salesman sits in a corner of the train

     Troubled eyes closed, face creased.

In the midst of metallic monstrosities

        lies weather-beaten exposed brick.

Big Bvildings and awnings,

       with elaborate faces.

When two get all the attention,

     And the others still stand patient.

Where you can walk on the road,

     and discover a walk through the woods.

Where you can hear a saxophone,

     cry out words which the city spoke in its ear.

Where old italian man and son fish on a small boat,

   surrounded by others with tanning women and drinking men.

Where the human posing as a statue,

    is more real than the ones he entertains

Where songs are still sung,

   and happy dances are danced.

Where music isn't all about her glorious booty,

       or how he would tap it.

Where you could walk out your balcony or look out your window,

       and touch the train as it passes by.

Where men sit in suits and smoke cigars

        laugh and discuss on their lawns as a maid patiently stands by.

At the heart of a city in debt, lives 

       History rich with money and power,

       

It lies silent, not to be tainted,

      By the future it never foresaw.

In the midst of madness a city lives,

       and its people survive, to silently tell the tale.

-----------

Just another person who got lost in the city.

..and some drafts will remain unpublished. 

Fictional names more awesome than mine.

Nathaniel.
Clarice.
Hatake Kakashi.
Ulquiorra Schiffer.
Yossarian.
Lisbeth Salander.
April O' Neill.
Optimus Prime.

Neliel Tu Oderschvank, takes the cake though.

The other 'Lamb of God'

Yesterday we were walking around Main Street (as the name indicates, the most important street in Ann Arbor) to get brunch. I was wearing my Lamb of God tee. There was a nun who was walking towards us. She was beautiful, no offence meant (I never thought I'd follow a "she was beautiful" with a "no offence meant"). As she got closer she nodded, smiled and said "Good morning" at me, just me, and then walked past.

The irony made me feel so bad. Either that, or she knew, and thought to herself, "There's no way back for you, son".

P.s: On the 25th of May, it rained in Ann Arbor as I was walking. I had not forgotten to take a towel. 

For relaxing times, make it suntory time.

Suspended.

Sometimes I just wear my noise cancelling earbuds, close my eyes and listen to my thumping heart breathe..

Get up and get going.

So I got a basketball a week back and it has rained 4 days out of 6. Played on the other two anyway, and realized how much stamina I've lost. I do not remember how long it's been since I've finished reading a book. It has obviously been too long. I have also decided to learn Spanish and Japanese. Apart from all this I need to put what I learnt to the test and handle web security at where I work.

I need to get a bike soon. Please help, seller-on-craigslist, because I have a summer to make memories.

Indian land

Point to self (and others) : In America, as much as possible, look out for smaller roads, rather than the highways, for they take you through much prettier lands.

Maps and backpacks.

Hopefully, 13/50 by May 8th.

Let's get this show on the road!

125 days of summer

Beginning tomorrow. 

The irony.

I stayed back at the library so that I can type out my report. Two hours later here's the progress.

i) An empty paper plate which had a slice of pizza.
ii) An empty coffee cup.
iii) Amazon web pages with Kunai and Shuriken open. (Sudden urge to buy some. Hmm.)
iv) An ebook called "The illustrated secrets of lock picking" open.
v) A document open on another workspace with a 18 pt bold Header, centered and underlined.

I stayed back because I thought I wouldn't get shit done if I went home.

Yesterday.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life so far, I witnessed a harp solo. I saw the harp being played in ways I could never have imagined. (Ok, yeah the only instance I've seen a harp before was in a church in Kochi or in Tom & Jerry before that, but still..) 

Yesterday, for the first time, I actually saw a violin being played THAT fast.

Yesterday, for the first time, we were four hoodie-clad boys in a theater full of well dressed men and women. (Actually no, not the first time :P)

Yesterday, for the first time, I saw a cello weep.

Yesterday, I witnessed Yanni live.

------

The only sad part of the whole affair was that it had to end. Oh and that I felt sad for the cellist who wasn't given the spotlight and a solo when everyone else was. (She looked really nice as well).

Political correctness

Disclaimer: I mean no harm/offence.

Political correctness is something people strive for, wherever they work. When privacy is almost extinct, one can only do that much - make sure they say whatever they want to say but say it in a way that can be considered 'right', thought it is just a hypocritical way of stating what one would have rather stated instead. I have had to think twice or thrice before talking here, sometimes, something which I needn't have to do before. Political correctness takes the fun out of everything. I mean, Baa baa african american sheep doesn't quite fit in a rhyme does it?

My children will live in a world where the pot calls the kettle African American.

P.s: The disclaimer says it all.

My body is a building..

"Now in my dream I'm a little girl again. And l’m wearingmy little powder-blue jumper, the one I wore that day Only, I'm not on my way to any birthday party. l'm on a field trip with my class from school. We’re at the zoo. Riding the monorail and laughing.The sun is shining, balloons fill thesky and we have cotton candy for lunch. we go to the reptile house and the polar bear cage and the tigers are sunning themselves. Then we go to the monkey house. But there aren’t any monkeys. There are, climbing the jungle gym, picking salt from their hair, dozens and dozens of fat men in skirts. Huge fat men, with matching jewelry sets, swinging from limb to limb, laughing in no language. And everyone laughs and points.And then they turn around. All the monkeys. All the men, turn around at once. They turn around and look at me, right at me.And they all have the same face.And it’s Bishop's face. They all have my son’s face. "

- Fat men in Skirts by Nicky Silver, performed as a Senior year student's directing thesis. Freud and more. Funny, macabre play, brilliant setting, great props, great music and amazing amazing acting. A friday night well spent.

Chan ki saaans.

After four days of crashing in my friend's couch, I finally got back home thursday evening, only to brush teeth and pack stuff for the trip later that evening. The spring-break trip which in movies, generally involves a road trip and some fun in the sun.

Ten of us set off to Frankenmuth, a small village town an hour outside Ann arbor, supposedly known as the Bavaria of Ann arbor. It was a beautiful town, with small roads, lit streets and queer buildings with shops that closed at 9 PM. There were fudge kitchens, taverns and places which boasted of 75 different types of cheese. We made a mental note to go back there when it was light.

We left early the next morning (an achievement in itself) and set course to Crystal Mountain, the ski resort where we were headed. I have never been on such a drive before. It was beautiful yes, but not the happy colorful spring green and yellow, squirrel on the bark beautiful. It was the stark white snow with red houses and dome-roofed barns beautiful. It was the occasional big country house in the middle of nowhere beautiful. It was the sound of a brook flowing through pebbles beautiful. It was perfect for some porcupine tree music. Then we reached the resort.

Push down slope. Wedge. Stop. Fall. Push down slope. Finish. Victory dance. Move to bigger slope. Trippy ski-lift to the top. Jaw-drop at view from the top. Push down slope. Fall. Getup. Push down. Fall. Push down. Finally finish. Wet sore ass but triumphant grin on the face.

What clinched it was when we went up the ski-lift to a bigger track. The skis weighed down my legs as I let them hang loose, travelling on that cable car, hundred feet over swift moving forms in the powdery white snow. The occasional shudder made it even more beautiful. After what seemed like a while, we suddenly started evening out and all I could see in front of us was the sky and the horizon expanding out.   We were standing, or trying to stand, rather, on one of the small peaks of the crystal mountain, the expanses of Michigan spread out before us and two trails leading down in an incline which I couldn't comprehend at first. It was an amazing feeling, standing there, trembling in the wind, nervous, while small kids of 5 years whizzed past us on mini skis. Finally the five of us jumped down, one by one.

Fast chilly winds brought tears to the eyes and shook my feet as I gathered speed. I saw a couple of friends crash/wipeout in front. One had a cartoon-network moment. He was going smooth till he saw a tree and feel down before he hit it. Another ventured into the tougher tracks by mistake and crashed. Yet another found novel methods of crashing which made passersby pause and commend him. I crashed, and slid on my ass for a few feet before turning sideways and stopping. I got up and held onto a tree before putting the skis back on and crashing again. I got up and this time, however, I made it to the bottom, with a grin on my face. Crashing had never been so much fun.

We returned our shoes to a pretty girl at the counter, who wasn't there when we first got them. We returned our skis to an old man who asked if any of took videos. Most of us slept on the way back. It was a feeling akin to those field trips I had had at school, when everyone is tired and a little sad that it is getting over.

Ten sore asses and twenty tired legs returned to Ann arbor with a ton of un-uploadable photos.

"Mmm, party."

Ski-trip : check.

Epic ski-trip : Double check.

P.s : Yanni concert on the 27th in Detroit. March isn't so bad after all.

Gute Nacht

There are times when you miss things you did before.

And then there are those times when you miss those things that never happened.

Hi, I'm Leah.

It was 4 PM and we hadn't had our first meal of the day. We decided to go to "La Casita", the best mexican place we'd seen so far in Ann Arbor, where the chimichangas are to die for. So, we set off at 4:30 and Anunay knew the way to the place. Three-fourths of the way "there" we realized we weren't referring to the same place. He instead, was setting course for "La fuente", his best mexican place. We went along, we just wanted good food. There we met her, Leah , easily the best waitress I've seen so far.

I don't know if it was how she was happy, or the way she leaned closer to me as she took the order, or  the way she got all of our soft drinks with the right amount of ice, or just the way how she started an impromptu dance on her way back to the kitchen as a new song started playing, but she made my day.

I'm definitely going back there on a saturday evening at 5 PM.

The weather is beautifully sad. It is the kind of beauty which would stop you from taking pictures of it. It forces me to remain indoors and makes me appreciate the warmth and my cup of tea much more than I would normally. One can keep looking at the swerving sheets of snowflakes and not get bored, as books and research papers lay strewn, neglected, on the floor.

Last sip of tea. It gets darker. I have to study.

Sometimes I feel EECS588 is reason enough to study in Michigan. I can easily say that every single research paper I read here was written by cool people, because not only do they have amazing insight but also great humor.

The course has no exams and no homeworks, just a project, a security attack demo and reading two papers every class. Some papers are as good as short stories.

When the professor welcomes you for the second class wearing a red star china hat and says "Thank you for coming back today. This is going to be the best class you'll ever take in UMich", you know you're good to go.

No MSG. No Preservatives. No regrets.

Kettle cooked potato chips with sea salt and cracked pepper.

And the letters on the wrapper read "Dirty chips".

Best chips ever.

--------------


P.s : Imagine all the advertisements one can shoot for "dirty chips"!

When the stars point and laugh.

I know I'm a Pisces/Aries cusp. I know all the 12 signs of the zodiac. I know what comes when. I don't know what my birthstone, color etc are. I don't know who I get along with or what kind of people pisceans are. I've heard people tell me I have characters that are associated with Pisces. I say OK. It isn't bad if you're not like your sign and it isn't great if you are. To an extent, Zodiac signs control people like puppets. The best parts about the zodiac are the signs associated with them and the shapes they make in the sky.

If your zodiac changes, do you change? If you say yes, then IMHO you are the biggest pile of Taurean excreta I've ever heard of. I know many people who classify people based on zodiac signs and are happy to meet other people of the same sign.

Will you see yourself any differently now that your star has changed?  And if stars do govern your character and the new system IS right, will your belief system fail? Would you still find something that feels like home with your new sign?

I see why churches used to ban science. It's a laugh riot in the heavens.

I wish I was the last note of a piano piece which lingers for a few seconds before vanishing into the silence that surrounds it or the fingers of the pianist which stay in place for the same few seconds till it vanishes.

I found out why a bell is referred to as a ding-dong today. Earlier, church bells used to the only ones in high towers and they always swayed. When they rang, when the bell swung closer to you, you hear a ding. And when it moved away from you, due to the wonder that is the doppler effect, you hear the ding, as a dong.

How I love physics.

Super apple.

"You are really good. I mean, you're like, a hundred thousand times better than like any apple I've ever had. I'm not Superman, I'm Supertramp and you're super apple. You're so tasty, you're so organic, so natural. You are the apple of my eye, ha!"


This is probably the best conversation with an inanimate object after, of course, Tom Hanks and Wilson.

Quelqu'un ma dit, que..