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Al Gore and “A Convenient Hypocrisy”
“The true hypocrite is the one who ceases to perceive his deception, the one who lies with sincerity.” ~André Gide Gide’s observation came to mind in the context of Al Gore’s latest hypocrisy. The man who pontificated endlessly about the hazards of global warming and the need for the world to act responsibly in terms of the environmental impact of fossil fuels is now just another hypocrite! Gore was a visionary when it came to his early warnings about global warming and climate change. He was way ahead of the times. Sadly, like many other public figures there is a huge chasm between his convictions and sermonizing and what he…
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The times are a changin’ ………..
I grew up at a time when men were not supposed to cry …… and certainly not to do so in a public setting. It really was somewhat absurd because the expectation was that it was not “manly” to show such emotions and the thing to do was to repress them. Perhaps it was British influence …… what with the “stiff upper lip” and all! Even as recently as the 70s’ a man displaying such emotion was viewed negatively. The Democratic candidate for president in the 1972 election, Edward Muskie, was leading in the race against the incumbent Richard Nixon whose popularity was impacted by the war in Vietnam and…
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Pranks, humor and jokes
My family knows that I have a proclivity for pranks. In fact, there is a sense of puzzlement among some within the family as to why a man in his mid-sixties is amused by such frivolity. I don’t have an explanation for this. I have loved shows like “Candid Camera” and more modern equivalents that have taken the place of that show. Anyone who lives in the US knows that one of the irritations that one has to put up with is telemarketers who call, often at the most inconvenient times. In days gone by, this used to happen frequently but after legislation which allowed the registration of one’s phone…
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Born in the USA!
Tony Blair in an address to British ambassadors who had congregated in London said: “A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in.. And how many want out.” Blair was not the first person to make such a remark about the attraction that the US holds for millions of people all over the world. George Will, the political commentator, in 1992 said something similar regarding how the US is a magnet for people all over the world. Blair who clearly had an admiration for the US and Americans when he addressed Congress in 2003 said: “But, members of Congress, don’t ever apologize…
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The ultimate in outsourcing
I just love this story! “Bob” – his full/real name is not known – worked for Verizon as a software developer/programmer drawing a six figure salary and came up with a creative idea. We all know of companies who outsource their work to India and China to save money. Bob decided to take things one step further: he outsourced his own job to China without the knowledge of his employer! The software developer, who is in his 40s’ paid a Chinese firm about a fifth of his six-figure compensation to do his job for him while he spent his working days surfing the internet. Bob’s creative use of personal outsourcing…
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“You are going to die” – more on aging, death and longevity
I have been down with a prolonged bout of the flu and so I have not kept up with the blog. I hope to make up for this over the next few days given that there is a plethora of subjects I have wanted to comment about. But this post has little to do with my recent illness except in a very peripheral way – despite the post prior to this one also focusing on aspects of the same subject by Khushwant Singh. Over the past several years I have been involved in discussions with peers and family about aging and the ramifications of doing so ranging from medical care,…
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Khushwant Singh: About faith and aging
I am within spitting distance of reaching 67 years and although I don’t by any means obsess about aging, there are articles and discussions about aging that catch my attention in a way it would not have done a decade ago. It is in this context that a recent excerpt from Khushwant Singh’s latest book made for interesting reading and those of us who are seniors can relate to some or all of what he writes. I have always enjoyed reading Khushwant Singh’s writing – a combination of the thoughtful, the irreverent, the insightful and, occasionally, the vulgar. He has been a controversial figure over the years but even his…
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Thoughts about the 2012 Presidential election
Some thoughts regarding the recent presidential election: The saying “If you’re not a liberal when you’re 20, you have no heart. If you’re not a conservative when you’re 40, you have no head” is widely and wrongly ascribed to Winston Churchill. In actual fact, the phrase originated with Francois Guisot, a French statesman who was born in the 18th century, who said: “Not to be a republican at twenty is proof of want of heart; to be one at thirty is proof of want of head.” It was later revived by French Premier Georges Clemenceau who said: “Not to be a socialist at twenty is proof of want of heart;…
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Images pertaining to the crash of Pan Am 217
Robert Contreras, who first commented on my blog entry regarding the crash of Pan Am 217 sent me a number of images ….. some of them quite graphic …… which were published in the Venezuela newspapers at the time of the crash. I am including all of the images ….. the script is in Spanish but barely readable except for the headlines. They can be viewed below. Thanks to Roger for taking the time to send me these images.
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Photographer Kevin Carter: An image that took its toll
The pastor at the church I attend said in the context of this Sunday’s lesson from the gospels that some times one sees some thing that is so disturbing or traumatic that it is impossible to “unsee” it. Within this category is one of the iconic photographs of human suffering and cruelty by human beings to their fellow humans. In March 1993, photographer Kevin Carter made a trip to southern Sudan, where he took now iconic photo of a vulture preying upon an emaciated Sudanese toddler near the village of Ayod. Carter said he waited about 20 minutes, hoping that the vulture would spread its wings. It didn’t. Carter snapped…
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A teacher’s remarkable story
I have never met Kersi Rustomji and first came to know of him through a Yahoo group consisting of mainly Asians who are or were residents in East Africa. We both lived in Kenya until the sixties. Through our common membership in the Yahoo group we occasionally exchanged private messages. We have not always agreed on various issues but Kersi has always come across to me through his communications within the group and privately as an idealist and humanitarian. His opinions are very much founded on these underlying themes. He was a teacher in Kenya and then in Australia where he currently lives. Recently after the death of Neil Armstrong,…
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Random thoughts and facts about the Indian diaspora
Those of us who live outside of India occasionally express amazement because one can go to relatively remote locations around the world and one still finds Indians who reside in those countries. In fact – and I don’t know for sure if this is accurate – I read that Indians are to be found residing, either permanently or temporarily, in just about every country in the world with the exception of North Korea! But although Indians have emigrated and have settled in so many diverse countries what is surprising is that as a percentage of India’s population the Indian diaspora is actually relatively small. It is estimated that there are…
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“The Eagle has landed”
These were among the first words uttered by Neil Armstrong after the Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon in 1969. He actually said: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.” The recent death of Neil Armstrong brought to mind memories of that extra-ordinary year when humans first landed on the moon. It was a remarkable technological achievement and a testament to American ingenuity and determination. Just about everyone around the world followed the event closely and with bated breath. With all the news surrounding Armstrong’s death, I became aware for the first time about some facts which I suspect most people would not be familiar with. When the…
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Honoring America’s veterans and fallen
The US, like many other countries, has had a long tradition of honoring its veterans and those who have died in the line of duty. There are specific days in the US – Veterans Day and Memorial Day that are dedicated for that purpose. There are also hospitals dedicated to veterans and favorable financing available to veterans to purchase homes. After World War II, the GI Bill was introduced to offer those who served in the war to go to college – many who availed of the GI Bill were able to attain the educational qualifications to obtain gainful employment. My son-in-law’s father, Richard Stahl Snr, died in April 2012.…
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Much ado about nothing …….. or about very little
I was made aware about a huge controversy regarding some comments that Oprah Winfrey made during the airing of a documentary about India called “India: The Next Chapter”. Most of the criticism centered around a remark that Oprah Winfrey made while dining with an Indian family when she asked quite casually: “I heard some Indian people eat with their hands still?” It was this comment that caused umbrage leading to a tirade of criticism by columnists, opinion writers and many (mostly) Indian commenters. The criticism ranged from disappointment to being offended to outright racist comments about Oprah. Perhaps it was the use of the word “still” that caused offense but…
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An iconic moment in the history of the Olympics
For the most part, I have only a passing interest in sports. During my years in Kenya and later in the UK, I was interested in cricket but that faded over the years after I moved to the US. However, I have maintained a sustained interest in the Olympics – an interest that commenced with the Melbourne games in 1956 when I lived in Kenya. It was my mother who got me interested – she, too had only a passing interest in most sports except when it came to the Olympics. I recall talking to her about Roger Bannister breaking the four minute barrier in the mile for the first…
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Coincidence or can dogs detect cancer?
I had read some months ago that dogs were being trained to detect cancer ……. with some success. But nothing could have been more remarkable than what happened with our very own dog, Max …… a German Shepherd who is just over five years old. Max is an intelligent dog and seems to have a strong sense of smell as evident in the way he goes about finding items as he sniffs around and locates them. German Shepherds are often viewed as “one owner” dogs, in that they develop their greatest affinity to one person in the house. In the case of Max that affinity was towards me. He would…
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“The Arrow of Time”
I am not sure what it is that fascinates me about a website a South American, Diego Goldberg, started some years ago. Goldberg started to take pictures of his family from 1976 to the current year with following explanation: “On June 17th, every year, the family goes through a private ritual: we photograph ourselves to stop, for a fleeting moment, the arrow of time passing by.” Diego’s first pictures are of him and his wife in 1976 and over the years we see pictures of his children – three sons. There is a picture of the family every year right up to 2012 …… fascinating to watch how time has…
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Origin of some sayings we take for granted
It has been while since I posted …….. lots going on in my life and worthy of a separate post down the line. But this post is about common usage of some expressions and sayings we take for granted without knowing their origin. It came up when I was curious about the very American expression: “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings” …. an expression commonly used today in the context of sports. It essentially means that until the game is over don’t take anything for granted. I wondered about the origin of the expression and there are several views though the most accepted one is a reference to…
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It takes a village: the inspiring story of Dawn Loggins
Attending an Ivy League school is an aspiration of many students. Competition is intense especially in recent years and the acceptance rate is usually below 10% in the most selective of the Ivies like Harvard University. During a recent Science Fair that my grandson, DJ, was a Grand Prize nominee, there was a young Asian high school senior who won the Grand Prize for research he did on the effect of zinc on certain types of cancer. He was waiting to hear from a couple of the Ivies and mentioned how difficult it was to get accepted at Harvard. A perfect score in the SAT, an excellent GPA and multiple…
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Blimey! Is this really what we want in the US?
The relationship between Americans and the British and how they view each other is complicated and interesting. For obvious reasons Americans feel they share a common heritage with the British more so than people from other countries. But I know from my days as a student in the UK, there is a mildly contemptuous attitude by many Brits to Americans and all things American. Americans are viewed as brash, materialistic and superficial. Americans, on the other hand, despite their common heritage and fascination with the royal family, British pomp and ceremony and some movies and television programs, view the British like they view much of the world – they are…
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To go or not to go to college ….. that is the question
One of the cultural divides that confronts immigrants to the US and possibly other Western nations is the perspective on career choices when it comes to their children. When I was growing up in Kenya and what happens to this day in India is that children are inculcated with a mind-set that one’s choice of college and educational pursuits is a blend of innate ability, spheres of interest and most importantly, the potential the course of study offers to find a job upon completion of college. This came to mind because of two news events: first, there is mounting concern about the huge student loan debt, in some instances guaranteed…
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Mother’s Day ….. past and present
I must confess that I am not overly enamored by some of the holidays celebrated in the US mainly because of the extent of commercialization that occurs. My biggest gripe is about Christmas which has lost all of its real meaning because of rampant commercialization – and I commented on this in in a prior posting on this blog. The one exception is Mother’s Day which – although also commercialized heavily – is an occasion that I quite enjoy celebrating because it celebrates mothers. Of course, both in India and in Kenya, there was no such thing as Mother’s Day, though I understand that this is changing in the major…
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Those were the days………..when women were encouraged to gain weight!
Concepts of beauty have varied among cultures and even within the same culture over a span of time. A few decades ago an attractive woman was a more full-bodied and rounded individual than would be the case today. During the 50s’ the actress in India renowned for her beauty was Nargis who appears on the right. Today, it is Aishwarya Rai (shown on the left) who is considered to be one of the most beautiful women not just in India but in the world; the contrast is fairly obvious. The same holds true in the West, where Marilyn Monroe was the epitome of sexiness and beauty with her quite full…
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Is your Dell Inspiron laptop having a problem with a jumping cursor?
If you have ever, while typing on your laptop, found that the cursor jumps around for no apparent reason resulting in whatever you are typing not appearing where it should be, you have gotten, what I call the “jumping cursor syndrome”. This is a problem that affected my Dell Inspiron 1764 laptop and after googling to find a solution, it turns out to be be a problem that obviously affects not only Dell laptops but those by other manufacturers including HP, Lenova, Compaq, Asus, etc. The indications are that it started with the Vista operating system but those who have Windows 7 are also affected by the problem. There is…
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What’s in a name ……..well, a Mallu name?
I don’t know if Malayalees are unique in their choice of names for adults and children. When I lived in Kenya in the fifties and early sixties, there were relatively few families from Kerala and everyone knew each other within the community. But even within the relatively small community, there were some interesting variations on names. For example, my father was referred to as Allidina Joseph to differentiate him from another individual with the same name who was called Agakhan Joseph – my father worked at Allidina Visram High School and the other Joseph worked at the Agakhan School. There were two people called Thomas – and to differentiate between…
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Voyages between Mombasa and Bombay – SS Khandalla and SS Amra
We love cruising and have been on fourteen cruises since I arrived in the US. These have included several cruises in the Caribbean as well as ones to Alaska, the Mediterranean, the Mexican Riviera and the Yangtze river in China. Our last cruise was with my brother Peter and his family and it was on one of the largest cruise ships in the world…….the Carnival Dream which was 1000 feet in length, over 128,000 tons and accommodated more than 5000 passengers and crew! Cruising is for me the ultimate relaxation and one can be as active or not as one chooses. There are multiple activities on board ranging from trivia…
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Pan Am Flight 217 Redux
A few months ago, I posted about the crash of Pan Am Flight 217 in 1968 while en route to Caracas, Venezuela and more specifically about a friend, Franciska Buyers, who was an air stewardess on that flight. More about Franciska and my relationship to her and her family appears on this link. When I first posted about that flight and the tragedy that befell Pan Am 217, it was intended more as a personal tribute to Franciska than anything else. There was nothing on the net that was readily available about her and many of the others on that flight. It was a pleasant surprise when several people commented…
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The big fat Indian breakfast
I am partial to most Indian foods …… no great surprise given my Indian heritage. During our recent stay in Kerala one of the pluses was being able to eat home cooked meals using the freshest ingredients, vegetables and fish/meat. We would buy king fish from a government approved vendor who brought a variety of fish, prawns and other shell fish each evening displayed on a cart. The vendor had someone who would clean and slice the fish based on specific requirements. The fish was so fresh that when it was cut for cleaning, it would frequently still ooze blood! We ate very limited amounts of meat and chicken while…
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Can non-Christians attain salvation?
During our recent winter sojourn in Kerala, my sister and brother-in-law who live in Australia visited with us for a couple of days. We had an interesting discussion whether salvation is possible for non-Christians ………. and, in fact, whether any one who is not “born again” can achieve salvation. I told them – much to their shock – that even Pope Benedict had issued a proclamation in 2005 specifically stating that biblical belief was not necessary to attain salvation. This was quite a revelation to them since it went against conventional Christian doctrine. Upon reflection, it is remarkable that Benedict – a conservative Pope – would have publicly adopted such…