Busy Blues

Another rant by moondust.

How often have you heard the word “I’m busy” said to you? Off late, that is all I seem to be hearing! I myself not being an exception!

Friends. All my friends now are buried under a huge pile of work, either at office or at college with their assignments. Last year, the word “busy” made me cringe and tune out of the conversations. How much work can a person have? If people want to, they can always make time for things they want to do. Well, I guess it is true that you will never understand one’s problems to the full extent until you yourself are faced with the issue. Case in point- ME. Nowadays (i.e. after starting to work), the mere fact of coming home at 8 P.M. makes me a lethargic time-waster when I’m at home. When the weekends do turn up, I am in the bliss of having to do nothing, and in need of an ever extended break that stretches for the whole weekend, without doing anything that is remotely beneficial to my current situation. The thought of having my whole week sucked into a black hole that spits me out every Friday evening, makes me an idle potato. I wonder, are we structured to behave this way? Or is it a challenge posed to us by the universe and its ‘superpowers’ that is another race to prove our worth, our existence?

This just may be me ranting as I have never had this many things to do and to keep up with at any point in my life before work. College years, the most useless years of my life, has spoilt me to no end. On the positive side, there is always a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment that is there now that was never there while doing engineering. I would say, that is reason enough to let go of my past lazy days but the thought that there NEVER will be any in the future is quite scary. No more of those study holidays, when all I used to do was lounge around without reading the umpteen number of chapters that I had to.

Coming back to my point about making time for things you should do, it is definitely not an inviting option. My weekends have become the time during which I try and re-live my lazy days. This I have come to realise is definitely not healthy! The hangover I get on Monday, from all the lounging around I do is part of it. There is also the part about my eluding all the work I should be doing, which does nothing to make my life easier to live. It would be great if we were all part-droid, we could switch off that part when we want to be more human and we could make full use of our robotic self when we approach our procrastination threshold ;) That should be all The-Big-bang-theory-watching that is inspiring me to emulate Sheldon (a character from the above mentioned TV series).

Recently, a constant annoyance to me has been elusive recommenders.

“I’m sorry ma... I have been very busy these days”

“Could you call me back on ---day?”

This is what inspired me to write this blog. How busy can a person get that they do not have a moment to hit reply, to my email and type a single line?! Well, I guess thinking on those lines would make me a hypocrite. THAT is another flaw of humans. As I have noticed, most of my flaws are centred on the fact that I’m human, get me some Artificial Intelligence I say!!

A psychological perspective on life!

posted by moondust

This post and my previous post on our education system are blogs I posted on the cognizant blog server. I thought it made sense for me to post some of them here, and more to come :)

I got the idea to post on this topic from an essay writing contest at a friend's college.
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October 10th is World Mental Health day. In lieu of this, I thought it would be apt to post my take on the issue. Mental health affects one’s attitude, one’s relationship with one’s family, friends and superiors; our whole outlook towards life is an indication of our mental health.


I can say with some certainty that a cynic has definitely gone through quite a few upsetting incidents in his/her life to have such a negative outlook on life. An optimist could either have been shielded from all the downsides in life or he/she had the capability look past the lows of life and had enough faith in the future being good to him/her. A sadist is twisted enough to wish relish others’ ill will. Looking past all the definitions, our mental state affects EVERYTHING that we do. I feel that being mentally healthy is the first step towards reaching your goal. From the simplest thing such as procrastination that hinders one’s progress to sensitive issues such as ego that affects our relationships with our superiors/sub-ordinates who would play key roles in advancement our career s, our mental health matters to a great extent!

What kind of incidents scar people so much that their whole perception of life changes? Most of these incidents occur during our childhood. Small things such as bullying in school can result in the bully becoming a sadist and the person being bullied becoming a cynic or an introvert. Things that happen at a young age scar you for life! The attitude of kids’ parents towards the kids, towards each other, towards the kids’ grandparents, towards the parents’ sub-ordinates ET. Al reflects on the kids’ actions when they grow up.

Aside from all these, many movies such as The Truman show, Inception, Shutter Island and books like, tell me your dreams (Sidney Sheldon), have explored the psychological aspects of people etc. Psychology of a person is a wonderful puzzle. But getting into it may skew your whole thought process. People who play mind games are well versed at manipulating others by clearly comprehending their thought process. We should be wary of that sort.

Ultimately, what we need in life is happiness. I strongly feel that if we channel positive thoughts, good things would certainly happen to us. So to be successful, believing in oneself would be the first step :)

Are we getting REAL education?

posted by moondust


Our education system according to me is flawed in many ways. Education is something that is supposed to make us better persons, it should help cultivate our thirst for knowledge, not make us hate the sight of our books. It should help us find something we like to do and develop our aptitude enough to make our career in that line. Instead, our education system conforms people into a fixed mind-set. Not many deviate from the cliché of becoming a doctor/engineer/lawyer/teacher; our system is in need of a huge revamp.


Pandu is a 12th standard student, Here’s a discussion between Pandu and his mother:


Pandu: Amma, I’m really interested in psychology. I think I will apply for Bsc. Psychology.


Pandu’s Mum: Are you mad? BSc. is not a professional course. If you do Bsc. Psychology where will you go for a job? You will end up with a job that pays horribly. What is the point in having studied so much then?


Pandu: No ma.. I could always open a counseling centre.


Pandu’s mum: Adhu ellam namma oorula work out agaadhu! You do engineering.


The conversation ends over there with a BIG full stop. But parents do have a point, it is very difficult for a person to have a successful career if it is in not in any of the conventional fields, at least that is how it is in our country. Most schools here do not have enough infrastructure to support more than the usual set of subjects. The science stream/commerce stream options after tenth standard restricts the students from wanting to do anything new.

Our government should focus more on making it possible for people to have a good environment, right from school, to study whatever they want to. Parents should come out of their fixed mentality that professional courses are the only ways for having successful careers.

Another aspect of our education system that I can’t stand is, how getting marks has become the main aim of studying and not the learning itself. Over the years, marks and grades have psyched students into studying only for the purpose of getting marks or just passing in many cases; this happens to even those who initially start out aiming to learn the subjects rather than “mug” it. I took up Computer science engineering because I was really interested, but the atmosphere I was in, morphed me into someone who hated the thought of studying or having anything to do with those subjects. Incidentally, I came across a video of a lecture on one of my subjects; the lecture was delivered by a professor from U. of California, Berkeley. The lecture was so interesting that it piqued my interest in the subject. I feel that our engineering colleges too, should emulate such methods to make sure the students stay interested in their courses. Studying for the sake of passing and mugging without learning does not accomplish anything. Education makes a better tomorrow; hence we should definitely invest our resources on making it better starting TODAY.

Truly, unbelievable!

posted by moondust

I’ve just been brought to notice about something completely unbelievable that happened today, something that is threatening to shake the foundations of my beliefs and ideals. When people ask me if I believe in god, I always give them this ambiguous answer due to my uncertain feelings about the whole issue, which is a part of my nature as an agnostic. An agnostic individual is not someone who believes in god and nor do they say that god does not exist because; they haven’t obtained enough proof for either case. I think it is highly possible that I as an agnostic may possibly shift to being a theist from what happened today.


Today, my father had a few clients come over to his workplace. One of the clients had brought his friend/acquaintance along with him whom my father has never met before. While my father was conversing with his clients, this individual suddenly asked my dad to stop for a while and requested him to get a stone from the outside. My father, as confused as he was, got a small black rock lying outside the building and showed it to this mysterious person. This person then prayed while keeping the stone in his hands and then placed the stone upon my dad’s right palm and asked him to make a fist. He then asked my dad to go and open in at the swami room (where they keep pictures and idols of god). When my dad opened his hand, he was absolutely stunned; for, where there was a stone there was now a small shiny idol of an amman. PAUSE. I know what is going on through everyone’s heads. A million questions as to how in the world can something like this happen! There surely should be some logical explanation to this. OR if you’re a sceptic, you obviously wouldn’t believe it at first glance. I went and observed the idol, and yes it was the real deal.

Then, I asked my dad questions on the lines of whether or not the mysterious fellow was wearing a long sleeved shirt (easy to hide the idol in his sleeve and slip it in! :P) and my dad was quite clear when he told me that when that person placed the stone on my dad’s palm and he closed it, it was still a stone. Also, that person was nowhere near my father when he opened his hand to find the vigraham. Apparently this person is someone called a siththar. I tried very hard not to believe this as there is absolutely no explanation for what had happened. I perused my dad’s facial expressions to see if he was just joking, which he unfortunately wasn’t! I had to put this on paper(i.e. on my blog :P) because of how absurd this whole incident sounded to me and yet there is no doubt that it happened. There was something that happened that made the stone in my dad’s palm change into an idol of a god. What could that be? Supernatural powers in action, really??!!! I don’t know if I’ll ever find out.

I have heard previously about such incidents happening to others but obviously, me being as sceptic as I usually am, never gave thought to any of that being true. I still don’t say that I suddenly believe all those stories because of this one incident. Just the possibility of all that being true unsettles me. As I am trying to come to terms with all that has just happened, I thought of sharing it with those who are open minded enough to digest this. Let me know what you think :)

Ignorance is freaking hilarious.

No view Re-viewed By Dark Defender.

If there is one thing most of us would agree on, it would be that school was fun. Over time I am sure each one of us would have come across certain blogs, mails etc in which they showcase pages out of some kids test (fictional or otherwise; hard to say, nevertheless funny)

This post is a dedication for school and the stupidness that made it fun.

I really wish I did this once.

This one is very popular. Over the years I have seen it quiet often.

This one is hands down the funniest school related page I've seen over the net. I just keep telling myself it is real. And I don't think it is that much of a stretch to believe it, hailing from a country where big time politicians think its smart to be presented with  money garlands.

The Matador

Re-viewed By Dark Defender.

 What would happen when a down-on-his-luck businessman becomes friends with a hitman on the verge of a burnout? This question is answered in Richard Shepard’s ‘The Matador’, and to surprising results. Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) is a hitman who has lost his touch and is on the verge of a major burnout and has just one last chance to prove his worth. Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) is a businessman who has to land the upcoming deal in order to financial stay afloat and in a much more complicated way, to save his marriage. When the two meet in Mexico city, a simple yet compelling bond forms between them and the rest of the story deals with the repercussions of this unusual friendship.

All of us are used to Pierce Brosnan as the ultra suave Bond with super gadgets, hot girls and a knack of always getting out of trouble, but the Julian we have here is very much human and has nothing going for him; and Brosnan nailed the role to perfection. Apart from the tight storyline, quite humour and neat direction by Shepard, what makes this a stand out movie is the unusual chemistry between Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. Where this movie comes on top among the many buddy movies we had in the past is that, Richard Shepard has been able to pull off the most unusual friendship among to distinct personalities with relative ease.

The underlying concept of the movie is the one that in the end makes this a beautiful movie. It is not how we are, what we do or what are background is; it is what we are really made up of and what the other person is, at heart. This movie is a story of friendship and what it means to stand for it.

KungFu Panda

Re-viewed By Dark Defender.
In February 2008, when Steven Spielberg decided to withdraw as the artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics, he wouldn't have thought of the repercussions on his then forthcoming release, KungFu Panda. Ironically, Spielberg had managed to upset the very founders of the martial art which his movie was going to be based on. China called for a boycott of the film and it looked as if the movie was heading for a slow start.

KungFu Panda, though, has surprised one and all with it's humour and universal appeal to people of all ages.

Po (Jack Black) is a clumsy panda who always dreamed of meeting the furious five-the masters at Po’s favorite pastime - KungFu. In a twist of events he gets chosen as the dragon warrior, the only person who can defeat the terrifying Tai Lung (Ian McShane) who escapes from the highest secured prison. The rest of the story is about how Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) goes about training Po in order to become a master in KungFu and help him fulfill his destiny.

Other than the obvious positives like amazing animation by DreamWorks, superb storyline, mind blowing screenplay and superb background music, the reason why the movie is such a huge hit could well become "a classic" is its appeal for people of all ages. Some parts make an 8-year old and 60-year old laugh, thereby clearly bridging the divide of age.

The slow motion animation in this particular movie was put to superb use, making sure that every time it was used we break into splits of laughter. Even though the protagonist is a panda, the emotions are depicted so beautifully in the movie that one might feel an immediate connection with him.

In my opinion, it’s a must watch for anyone who is ready to let go of logic, wants to watch some awesome animation or just to have fun.

EYE CATCHER:
The scene involving Po’s training where he fights his master for a piece of chow with chopsticks.

WATCH OUT FOR:
Try as I may, am drawing a blank for this section. You guys feel anything is wrong with this movie do let me know.

IMDB RATING: 8 ON 10