Prejudice.

The meaning of "Prejudice" in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary.

"Pronunciation: \ˈpre-jə-dəs\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praejudicium previous judgment, damage, from prae- + judicium judgment

Date: 13th century

2 a (1) :preconceived judgment or opinion (2) : an adverse opinion or leaning formed without just grounds or before sufficient knowledge b : an instance of such judgment or opinion c : an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics"

The first time I encountered the word was, with great enthusiasm, in the Jane Austen classic.
And it is a word I don't like associated with my general outlook on life. Purely because it categories my beliefs and interests, and stunts my already-challenged growth. Ian Smith is prejudiced, Theodore G. Bilbo is prejudiced. Not me. Calling me that automatically makes me narrow minded, short-sighted, ignorant, hypocritical, cynical and someone with an illiberal world view.

So I don't enjoy science fiction. Or action flicks. Or Bollywood comedies. Or game zones in shopping malls. Or tomatoes.
These aren't my predujices. These are my conscious choices. I understand how some people love all of the above, and will fight till they die on how it all makes perfect sense in their world.
I'm happy for them. More than happy. Not too many things in the world entertain, or make sense, anyway.
That doesn't mean the same things have to hold my attention span for that much time.

I'm not condescending by nature. Hardly even sarcastic.
And I am not too 'busy' with my prejudices to understand the brilliance of science fiction.
So, dont say that next time.

The Four Letter word.

Be honest, and stop being so uptight.
We all use it, don't we? Maybe not everyday, but maybe once in a week. If you're a little shy, once in a month probably! You say it to a friend, girlfriend/boyfriend, sister/brother, colleague, domestic help, even your plumber sometimes.
So c'mon, admit that you say it. Or at least think of it in your mind, coz saying it out loud may lead to somewhat awkward social situations occasionally. You might offend the person you say it to in some way. You might just ruin the friendship you had.

I just found out that the word goes back to the very roots of the English language. In fact. it's been recorded in writings as early as 8th century B.C. The meaning of the word changes not only from person to person, but from century to century. The word is now part of our daily dictionary, when earlier saying it out loud, would be like a game of hide-and-go-seek!
So, no one can really fault you for its having found its way into your vocabulary.

**** you, my 12 followers!
Insulted?
Why? I was talking of the word LOVE all along!
What were you thinking? :P

Now let me go enjoy my butter chicken!
Have a great weekend. :)

The Way to my heart.

No, it's not food. Or apple juice. Or music. Or a glass of chilled Coke. Or even dark chocolate.
The way to my heart is books.

Someone I know did this a while ago, and it worked really well for her, so I will shamelessly do the same.
I will scream from rooftops, through my blogposts, status updates etc., that my birthday is on 6th January.
Yes, yes. My 18th birthday.
And, I will make a big huge enormous mammoth gigantic deal about it, just because I want a lot of books!!!

1.Beyond Good and Evil- Friedrich Nietzsche
2.Enduring Love-Ian Mcewan
3.The Comfort of Strangers-Ian Mcewan
4.Black Dogs-Ian Mcewan
5.Vanishing Point- David Markson
6.Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
7.The Wind-up bird Chronicle- Haruki Murakami
8.Summertime-J.M.Coetzee
9.Youth-J.M.Coetzee
10.Leviathan-Paul Auster
11.The Metamorphosis and Other Stories-Franz Kafka  (Got it!)
12.Life of Pi-Yann Martel
13.The Reader – Bernhard Schlink
14.The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams.
15. The World According to Garp – John Irving
16. Life: A User’s Manual – Georges Perec
17.The Silence of the Lambs-Thomas Harris.
18.Wall and Piece- Bansky.
19.Death is not an option:Stories-Suzanne Rivecca
20. Invisible-Paul Aster
21.The New York Trilogy-Paul Aster
22.Jonathon Livingston Seagull-Richard Bach
23.On Beauty-Zadie Smith
24.The End of Innocence-Moni Mohsin
25. Disgrace- J.M.Coetzee

These are the ones off the top of my head.
So, if anyone's listening, please buy at least one of these for me!! :) :)

Quote-Hanger

 I never seem to tire of quotes, well written passages, notes, comments, wordplay and the like. Certain times, these words expose the vulnerability of humanity, their power, their love and their faith.And these are the words that I love the most.

Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think. Horace(Ancient Roman poet :65 BC-8BC)

Don't tell me God works in mysterious ways. There's nothing so mysterious about it. He's not working at all. He's playing. That's the kind of god you people talk about - a country bumpkin, a clumsy, bungling, brainless, conceited, uncouth hayseed. How much reverence can you have for a Supreme Being who finds it necessary to include such phenomena such as phlegm and tooth decay is His divine system of creation? What in the world was running through that warped, evil, scatalogical mind of his when he robbed old people of the power to control their bowel movements?
- Yossarian, in Catch 22.

We thought that we had the answers, it was the questions we had wrong.
Bono
I write to understand as much as to be understood.
Elie Wiesel

Open your eyes, Clevinger. It doesn't make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who's dead.
Yossarian, in Catch 22.




We're the middle children of history. No purpose or place. We have no great war, no great depression. Our great war is a spiritual war, our great depression is our lives.
- Brad Pitt as 'Tyler Durden', Fight Club



If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? - The Narrator, Fight Club
                        (^^Damn, I love that movie!)

Stupid as a man, say the women: cowardly as a woman, say the men. Stupidity in a woman is unwomanly.
Friedrich Nietzsche  
 

Duty is the sublimest word in our language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less.
- Robert E. Lee

All truth is simple... is that not doubly a lie?
Friedrich Nietzsche


Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.
- William Butler Yeats, 1899
Everybody wants to be somebody; nobody wants to grow.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.
Maya Angelou

6 things WAY more interesting than Indian television.

Some days are different. Some days are not.
Today, falls squarely into the second category.
You know the drill. Waking up at 9.30 a.m. and cribbing about being woken up too early, being a little late for a haircut appointment, sleeping, reading, SMS-ing, blog-surfing and then for lack of anything else left on the planet to do(except toilet-cleaning, of course), turning on the television.

Be it K-serials with villainous mothers-in-law plotting against their lamb-like daughters-in-law OR one of the ten million reality shows OR the music channels playing the same songs at periodic 30 minute intervals OR the sensationalist news channels, Indian television shows remind me instantly of that Roald Dahl poem (not-so-subtly) titled Television,
"IT ROTS THE SENSE IN THE HEAD!
IT KILLS IMAGINATION DEAD!
IT CLOGS AND CLUTTERS UP THE MIND!"



So here are 6 things I've found waaaaaaaaaay better than daring to watch TV here.
Why *only* 6, you ask? My lucky number? My birthdate? One-third the number of the devil?
All of the above, if you ask me.

Soooo, here goes.

1.Print this on a t-shirt and wear it all the time.

2.Read the book Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, one of the wittiest serious novels I've read on one of the most perverse subjects EVER. Wait, does that make me a pervert or an unbiased reader? Please please please, the latter.

3. Buy an acre of land on the Moon. Or Mars, for men, Venus, for women, if you want to stick to gender stereotypes created by an over-rated book Yes, you can really have property in The Sea of Tranquility! Completely useless, but so awesome, right? :)

4.See if what's written in your daily horoscope actually matches what's happening in your life today. Here's what mine says.

"June 30, 2010

Someone this morning may take up more of your time than you had hoped. The needs of someone special are strongly focused in your chart. It will be a very social evening."

Yeah, moving on. :/

5. Figure out all by yourself who REALLY has the "poker face". Lady Gaga, the world-famous pop singer or Annie Duke, the best female poker player in the world. See for yourself.

 6.  Try figuring out what to get your best friend for his 18th birthday. 

Buy an electric guitar? Too broke.

Buy a rare band t-shirt? Still as broke.

Buy the band itself? Just too broke for that.

Right now, I have just enough money to buy this.

Aaaaah, pathetic.

Guess I'll just go back to watching C.I.D Classics now, "12 years of Glory" not to miss.

Later. :)

Eh, what's up, doc?

I turned on my television today and Cartoon Network was showing some ooooooooold Bugs Bunny rerun! Damn, I miss cartoons! And now all I see on that channel are silly Japanese anime characters jumping around with voices dubbed in Hindi. :O

 Here's a throwback to the good old days! A few quotes from my favourite and not-so-favourite-but-of-course-I-still-used-to-watch it (read Spongebob Squarepants) cartoons!
These just never get old, and some actually do talk sense!

-My, I'll bet you monsters lead innnnteresting lives. - Bugs Bunny

-Isn't this great Squidward? Its just the 3 of us. You, me, and this brick wall you built between us. - Spongebob Squarepants

-I bet you say that to all the wabbits. - Bugs Bunny



-Jinkies! - Velma from Scooby Doo

-I'm so cold, I can use my nose drippings as chopsticks. - Spongebob Squarepants

-This city needs to be destroyed!!! Or at least painted another color. - Squidward


-Don't take life too seriously. You'll never get out alive. - Bugs Bunny

-Excuse me, sir, but you're sitting on my body, which is also my face. - Spongebob Squarepants

-If my friend Rocky was in this oven, do you think I would throw a lighted match in there?"

"Ahhhhh you might Rabbit, ya might."-Bugs Bunny

-I just thought of something even funnier than 24... 25! - Spongebob Squarepants

-Run Mr. Krabs! Run like you're not in a coma! - Spongebob Squarepants

         Aaaah, I wish I could add some more, but this looks so long already!

                             Sad face.

I'll settle for writing many more posts like this one! :)

And remember, 'mud' spelled backwards is 'dum'. - Bugs Bunny
:D

Unpigeonholed.

While I cry over increased auto-fares here in Mumbai that will burn a huge hole through my pocket, and you cry over England losing the match yesterday, this is what we really should be crying about.

Look what I read today on this site, global issues.org.

"24,000 children die around the world everyday.
 
That is equivalent to:

• 1 child dying every 3.6 seconds
• 16-17 children dying every minute
• A 2010 Haiti earthquake occurring almost every 9-10 days
• A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost every 10 days
• An Iraq-scale death toll every 16–40 days
• Just under 9 million children dying every year
• Some 79 million children dying between 2000 and 2007"

I wrote this here to remind myself that my terrible migraine is not the most unsmiling problem in the world. The world's biggest problems do not fall on my tiny shoulders. Actually, no problems fall on my tiny shoulders at all. So, I need to shut the hell up. And just smile and sneeze and read and take Vasograine at periodic intervals.
Soooo yes, this definitely served as a grim reminder. Mission accomplished.

Moving on. To happier things, of course. :)

Argentinaaaaaaaaa beat Mexico 3-1, fair and square. Now anyone following my blog knows what a huge Argentina buff I am, so you can understand how absolutely delighted I was when I saw this in the morning paper.
Obviously, I'm not such a big fan that I would stay up and watch till 2 a.m. :P

But Yaaaaaay, Argentina now moves to the quearter finals of FIFA 2010!!

And also, it's Pride Week in many parts of the world today.
 And I'm proud to say that India is actually waking up to the "Against Section 377" community. The very fact that Azaad Bazaar exists in this city, (a LGBT-aimed store in Bandra somewhere) is not a baby step, it's a giant leap for an extremely orthodox country like India.
My country is turning liberal. 10 years into the 2nd millennium.
Unbelievable, but true. :)

Also, for some reason the Hall and Oates classic "You make my dreams come true" is stuck in my head now.
I don't know one person who doesn't love that song!

P.S. I had left this blog Saturday afternoon with 8 followers and was greeted by 11 today.
I love you all. :)

Bye bye now. *Aachoo!*
(Yes, I have a cold too. Aaaachoooo!)

By a 17 year old...

Warning by a 17 year old-
^^A moment of joy on the lips, an eternity of fat on the hips.
Who cares? I would kill to hog on some right now!

 Love from a 17 year old to R.E.M, who came up with these lyrics,
"Humming
All the way to Reno,
You've written your own directions
And whistled the rules of change."
This song has been in my head all morning! :)

Raised eyebrows of a 17 year old, on "feet shoes" that really made me cringe this morning!

A startled laugh by a 17 year old on seeing these Chow chow dogs painted to look like pandas!

 Thank you by a 17 year old, to the eight very cool people following my blog.
Have a great weekend! :)

Memory Chaser.

It's strange, what memory keeps and ruefully discards.
For example, I don't remember the time the top of my head didn't even reach the desk, or the time when I was on my toes craning to reach the doorbell and falling short.
And a lot of childhood memories that I do have, are derived from snapshots taken back then. Moments frozen beautifully in an innocent time, when if I fell down I could cry and scream, without looking around to see if anyone noticed.When I could apply shoe-polish on my face like cold cream. When chocolate could sinfully drip down my chin and people would say "How cute!" instead of "What a slob!" When "Eenie meenie miney mo" was the way to go when asked if the reasons for the economic slowdown were excessive liquidity, cheap credit or institutional deficiencies.

My episodic memory, is primarily made up of photographs, or certain startling moments, be it happy or sad, of certain words spoken, looks and tones. However, entire years have been blocked out of memory, almost as if they never happened.
For example- The school where I studied in IIIrd grade, St.Mary's School,Pune. Now, I remember just one school-life incident there. The day after tiny little me shook hands and took the autograph of Mr.Amitabh Bachchan, my headmistress(a super-duper Big B fan) asked me to give her that autographed sheet and I flatly refused! And I faintly remember studying about Helen of Troy and having to make as many words as I could from "Constantinople"! But strangely, I don't remember a single teacher, or friend I made while I was there.
I write this because a few months ago a girl from my IIIrd grade classroom reconnected with me saying she was my best friend there, and I didn't have the slightest memory of her! :O

I first felt guilty, and of course, it was an extremely awkward situation to be in, for all parties involved. But after I passed that nascent stage of "denial", I was very fascinated by the entire episode. ("Acceptance" :P)
I realised that a moment can mean a thousand different things. Indelible impressions can be left on people and places(graffiti!). And I suddenly understood the innate depth of a memory.

Footfalls echo in the memory
Down the passage which we did not take
Towards the door we never opened
~T.S. Eliot
I know I can't stop time. I can't capture light.
But I know I would love to delve deeper into my treasure chest of memories. In search of answers, however profound or silly.
Yes, I am staring at an abyss. Now will the abyss please stare back at me, Nietzsche?

Out of the Lexicon!

I've been thinking about this for the past few weeks now, and have FINALLY compiled a list of some of the most overused, and irritating words and phrases in the contemporary world of the oh-so-great English language. Move over cliches and redundancy. THIS is what gets on my nerves.

1. Just sayin'.
People think saying this at the end of a sentence cushions the blow. Like, "Your wife really has put on a lot of weight, and she is so rude to me whenever we meet. I hate her. Just sayin' "
Here's some news. It cushions no blows and punches.

2.My bad
That is supposedly a cool way of saying "my mistake". There are 2 ways you can go about this. Apologize like you mean it, or just keep quiet. Don't spill hot coffee on me and then say "My bad".

3.Uuuuuum\Hmmmm
 Right. Ummm, do I really need to explain this one? Hmmm?


4.Totally!
 We should "totally" meet up? Nah, I don't think so. And I read this online somewhere a few days ago. The impossible has happened. Totally has now been abbreviated to the much more annoying "totes"!!
Want to kill yourself? *totally* :(


5.LOL
Who're you kidding? You aren't laughing out loud! Hell, you aren't even smiling. Or thinking of smiling. In fact you might want to poke a pencil in the eyes of the person who said that joke, while you type LOL. Or Lolzzz. Or LOLCats. A simple "Haha" or "Now that made me laugh" will suffice. Take my word for it.

6.No offense..
You can bet that something very offensive is going to follow. There's also, "Don't take this the wrong way.." which is almost always followed by something insulting, but of course you aren't allowed to take it personally ;  you had been warned.

7. Oh no, YOU DIDN'T/ Talk to the hand
 Very very very few people can carry off "Talk to the hand" and even then, barely. There's this sassy head movement that always accompanies it, like in the movies. And no, you can't do it.
 No, no, you only think you can. But you can't.

8.Chillax 
 I cringe as I even write this word. I think now, I need to chillax.

9.Whatever
  This can mean a one of two things. It can show indifference, "I just won the lottery" "Yeah,whatever", or that you've lost an argument and can now feign indifference, "You just lost thirty bucks. You're so stupid!." "Whatever, man." Whatever is probably one of the most overused/downright stupid words/phrases I've heard. Yeah, whatever.

10.FTW
"Coffee" "Tea,dude!" "Coffee, FTW (for the win)"
Not so much, really.


Despite what you see above, I am no wordgriper or phrase disparager! I have made the above list by noting my somewhat irrational dislike to how often these words are repeated, often unnecessarily. There's nothing so much wrong with these condemned items ; they're just worn out from over-use.
 

P.S. Also on the list- Kthxbai, "like" when used instead of a comma, don't go there, it's my life.

P.P.S. I'm guilty of using "No offense", "Just sayin;" and "My bad". :P