Playing Footsie

I’m always up for a good old revolution but what’s happening back home is a sitcom like Curb Your Enthusiasm. Everyday I keep getting these emails, some from Tawakley, some from others with subjects like: Rang De Basanti in Delhi and I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Che Guevara had the internet… Call me cynical, but isn’t everyone just playing footsie?

I read some of the comments on the articles about the strike. I quote one here. I do not understand what it means.

“Hi, SC Judges,
R U afraid of reserved category doctors? They are also working and ask patients to go to them. Perhaps they will treat the patients Oops i...hope. I Feel SC Judges R very much afraid of reseved category doctors as they would have passed out with 35% marks. Why do u need only the merit students for treating the patients. What a shame?” [sic.]

I thought the Supreme Court gave the striking doctors and students an ultimatum to end the strike, so what is this dude (fireworks was his call sign) complaining about?

But enough of that what else is happening? George Bush plans to kick out the illegal immigrants for singing the Star Spangled Banner in Spanish. Saddam defense claims that the prosecutions arguments are built on bribes and that the many accused are still alive. Pranab and Wen hit it off at the India-China Friendship Year celebrations. EU contemplates listing the LTTE as a terrorist organization.

Hollywood is making a remake of Munnabhai MBBS with Chris Tucker. Fine. Cannes awards Best Actress to the entire cast of Volver. Good. Then Monica Belluci is cast to play Sonia Gandhi in a movie! WTF?

Mac, Windows and Intel – The Devil’s marriage. Google buys Facebook for $2.1bn now Microsoft wants to buy eBay. Bacchan buys a pair of shades for $6000 in NYC. All this money in the air makes me feel rich, and then I find out oil prices have reached $70 a barrel…

On another note, I watched X-Men 3: The Last Stand this weekend and I’m not surprised that I came out of the theatre disappointed.

“If we’re such a blessed country, why did god put all our oil under the people who hate us the most?” Jon Stewart, The Daily Show.

Snakes On A Plane

I am ashamed to say that I am looking forward to Samuel L. Jackson's new movie called, you guessed it, "Snakes On A Plane." (Must be the American side of me.) The concept/plot is so stupid and so inane that it's SO AWESOME. Only Samuel L. Jackson could carry such a retardedly great movie. I don't really know why I decided to write this post. I just felt like expressing my odd attraction to "Snakes On A Plane."

I think this Samuel L. Jackson quote says it all:
"I want these motherfucking snakes off this motherfucking plane."

Genius.

August 18.

Here's the trailer:

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down

Whoever invented automatically flushing toilets should be punched in the face. They're costly, inconvenient, and can be such a pain in the ass. (Pun intended.) They're supposed to make things easier but I would say I've had bad experiences with them 4 out of 5 times. There are the times I try to lay those paper seat covers onto the toilet and before I can even begin to unbutton my pants, the damn thing flushes. Then there are the times when it flushes when I've just begun. And then when I'm in the midst. Or nearing the end. They flush at the most random times. Or what's worse, they don't flush at all and I end up having to push that little button above the damn sensor!! So really, what's the point?!?! Is it really so hard to flush the toilet manually? We have become a society so dependent on stupid, needless little "conveniences" that we don't even realize how much more inconvenienced we have actually become.

What happened to USEFUL conveniences? Asks the girl who lives in the only state in the entire U.S. where its residents do not have to pump their own gas. Damn right. How's that for the armpit of the U.S.?

Hello, I come in peace.

Thanks for the introduction, Maity! Though I'm not a spy nor a maverick hairdresser. I am related to Jackie Chan, though! No, seriously. And the mention of me being a senior was quite jarring. Despite the picture below that shows I turned two, I feel old. Haha...actually, I was turning 20 (pic was from last January).

Anyways, I'm proud to be part of this new project we've got going on here. Hopefully, I will be able to keep up with Maity's incredibly entertaining and thoughtful blogging level.

Until next time!

EDIT: I'm really not related to Jackie Chan. I actually don't really even like him/his movies. Jet Li and his movies are SO much better (English movies excluded).

Spring Cleaning

Today marks the death of “Dial M for Mighty” and the birth of “Listening to the Weather”, a new collaborative effort with fellow Hamiltonian Fong-Wai “Maggie” Chan. Together we are like the 3-Six-Mafia but not quite. Now, I hope the blog will be more active than it has been in the past semester.

For those of who do not know Maggie, she is a former spy, maverick hairdresser, and a Senior public policy major.

The past few weeks of inactivity has cluttered up my closet and I need to throw some things out. This is not so much as my usual posts, but rather a required wrap-up of the week's events. The semester is finally over and the summer residents have relocated to the summer dorms. Moving was a pain. In fact, I am still not completely unpacked. I am now working full-time (and overtime) as a researcher for Professor James Bradfield in the Economics department. We are working on a new textbook on the Economics of Financial Markets. At the same time, I am interning at Strategic Investments LLC., Utica, NY in their portfolio research department. Should be a busy summer…

I thank everyone for the kind birthday wishes. Turning 21 is a big deal here. Did not particularly do much – it was still finals week! My friends rented a limo and we went to a restaurant, popped some champagne, consumed considerable alcohol, and smoked “Bye-Bye Twenty” at 5 am in the Graveyard watching the sunrise on May 13.

Here is a shout out to Anusha Pai, celebrating her 21^st on the 24^th day of May. Wishes from HamTech; hope you had a great lunch and dinner.

Shout out to Amod Prabhu recently engaged to Aditi Tendulkar (no relation)! Congratulations. I will be in India for the wedding in January.

Graduation or Commencement, as they call it at Hamilton, was on the 21^st. Hats, gowns, Scottish bagpipes, regalia, diplomas in Latin, the whole-shebang. Several close friends graduated this year and this is to wish them all the best. Here is to the Class of 2006.

Hann Yang: My fellow cynical modern algebra lover, I shall miss you.

Mark Lutenski: We never did finish “Big Trouble in Little China”.

Renny Usbay: I forgive you for not speaking to me a whole semester at ITS.

Minkyu Lee: Fellow social/cultural chair = colleagues at GoldmanSachs?

Kosta Popovic: QED.

Renita Moniaga: Stahnkenomics and Kokernomics left with you.

Andrew Fulton: Mar haba! Insh Allah, akhsub ghani. America, fuck yeah!

Andrew Kay: Forever the “shorts and t-shirt guy”.

Katie Cameron: That bad grade on our DE homework will haunt me forever.

John Champagne: Tune in to the Champagne Report?

Greg Gencarello: Naruto vs. Bleach.

Shin Okuzono: Ja ne. Gaam-baate.

Deenea Shepherd: Where’s the microwave?

David Chen: Asian Glo.

Andrew Lyons: I have to call you boss now?

Sushrut Acharya: Tabla in LA!

Qi Ge: Econometrics at Princeton!

Arezoo Taef: They left so much loot in Griffin Road.

Paul Torres: What is EAT SMA QQZ?

Daniele Roper: Comic relief in Peru.

Shraddha Shah: “Lurking Rrrr Proverb Man Future Plane Priya”.

In the words of Dean Paris: “Na, na, na, good-bye!” You must admit, the guy has a pretty good sense of humor.

There is still much to say. Initially we had plans to drive down to Syracuse for the weekend, but if that does not work out, expect a new post soon. Getting all set to bugger off to London... I think I'll back-pack around Europe for a while in August/September. I have way too much time to kill between leaving Ham and starting at LSE. Any suggestions on what I could do between the 10th of August and 24th of September is welcome. Keep in mind I'm a poor international from a third world country. In the meantime, I bid you adieu.