The loss of one's mobile phone irks the very existence of a human being. Why is this so? I was reading a friend's blog which ranted about the impersonal communication levels between beings of the same species aka humans. We would rather connect using technology like telephones, internet chat rooms and email. Personal contact with the tactile sense of touch is sorely missing in our static lives. I meet people and most men indulge their insecurity by shaking hands with that 'bone crushing' grip. Another form of territorial pissing i guess. Women shy away from a hug and either react with a "Do you have to touch me pervert?" look or just try to get away as soon as possible. Communication grows colder as you read this. As more and more couples work longer hours to earn more so they can pay off mortgages on the house, loans on the car or admissions for the kids; the most basic of communication medium suffers. Yes im talking about sex in terms of the ol' in-out routine but the various nuances of the dying art. Indians rank amongst the lowest in terms of duration in global lovemaking scorecards. Are we heading towards bleak futures where pecentage of males affected by ED is on the rise due to high stress jobs, lack of physical exercise, sedentary lifestyles and inadequate diets? Its strange that a man actually starts earning money so he is more attractive to the opposite sex and prove himself as capable of protecting and caring for her. But as time flies he is caught up in his drive for more and loses sight of his primary purpose. If you are reading this with a view to conclusion its right here in your face "Get out there and make love!"
Disclaimer: Author is in no way responsible for sore cheeks, love bites, unwanted pregnancies and worse marriage proposals that are bound to occur. He however takes full responsilbility for glowing skin, heightened sense of wellbeing, sparkling smiling eyes, blissful existence and bouncing walk cycles.
Saturday 29 September 2007
Friday 28 September 2007
Back 2 Basics - MotoFone F3
Design
What does twelve hundred bucks buy you? Well, in mobile terms, any number of capped plans for a month, or about one-tenth of a decent phone. What you wouldn't normally expect it to get you is a half-decent phone -- or at least a phone that looks like it was designed in the last five years. That's where Motorola's low-cost MOTOFONE is deceptive; it's a thin, stylish phone with enough features liberally cribbed from Motorola's bag of design tricks to appeal to most users -- but it's also only one dollar short of seventy bucks. For some mobile phone users, that's practically throwaway money.
The other notable thing about the MOTOFONE, from a design perspective, is that it's remarkably thin for a candybar form factor phone. It measures in at 114 by 47 by 9 millimetres with a carrying weight of 70 grams. The keypad is large and easy to use, with simple dial, hang up, contacts and menu buttons surrounding a five-way keypad.
Features
The crux of whether or not the MOTOFONE will appeal to you lies in its feature set -- or lack thereof. It's a GSM-capable mobile phone. It'll do SMS, and you've got a choice of some very standard monophonic ring tones. That's it, however -- there's no Bluetooth, GPRS, camera, GPS, 3G, HSDPA or even simple phone games. If you're incurably addicted to features like this you'll find the MOTOFONE vexatious in the extreme. Then again, it's a phone, and it works. Why pay for stuff you don't need or use?
The MOTOFONE features a rather unusual display, for two primary reasons. It uses a black and white electrophoretic display that Motorola brands as ClearVision. The intention with ClearVision is that the display should appear as paper-like as possible, but also with an eye to being viewable in all sorts of lighting conditions, including direct sunlight. The other display oddity is in the font used, which is massive. That's undoubtedly a plus for those with visual difficulties, but the horizontal orientation of the text, which only ever scrolls like a ticker along one line, means that most SMS messages -- and even missed calls and contact details -- scroll along multiple screens, which can make comprehension difficult. If anything, it's a strong incentive to use SMS-speak, if only to enable easily scanned messages.
Performance
In case it hasn't sunk in yet, the MOTOFONE is just a basic phone, and as a basic phone it works quite well. Call clarity was good in tests - those of a paranoid bent might like to note that the default call volume is quite loud - and battery life was fairly solid. Motorola rates it for up to 450 minutes talk time and up to 270 hours standby time - largely because when not in use the screen powers down to a simple digital clock display. In our testing, it lasted around three days heavy usage before needing recharging. This brought up one of our lesser concerns about the MOTOFONE, and that's in the fact that it takes quite a while to recharge. This isn't a concern if you're an overnight recharger, but it's not possible to do a quick recharge and get anything but a perfunctory charge into the MOTOFONE.
In order to make sense of the MOTOFONE's icon-based and rather simple menu system, the phone comes with voice prompting for each and every feature in a variety of languages. It's a good way to get to grips with how the phone works -- and how its menu designers think -- but can be quite embarrassing in public situations to have your phone patiently explaining how to send an SMS. It's basically a training tool; once you've worked out the menu structures you'll undoubtedly want to switch the voice prompting off as soon as possible.
SMS was acceptable, but the phone is lacking in one feature we'd say was essential for SMS devotees -- there's no predictive text facility. Admittedly, the huge size of the screen font could make some automatically completed words indiscernible, but it's still something we missed having.
There's no doubting that there's a whole market out there that would hate the MOTOFONE for its lack of high-end features, but that's not the market that Motorola's after with the impressively simple MOTOFONE. For what it is, and what it sets out to be, it succeeds admirably, and comes highly recommended.
Wednesday 26 September 2007
Two Amour
Two amorous cats howling on the roof;
howling in an indescribable tone of hatred
their voices rising and falling, threateningly
wickedly scrambling wild on the roof,
tearing one another to pieces.
Intoxicated by the light of the moon
feet barely touching the ground,
eyes sparkling like twinkling stars
they craned their necks and nuzzled
hair standing on end as they gazed
without fear into the dark night.
Ardent aspirations of the heart;
brutish, uncouth and raw..
laden with love and a cry of distress.
Under the necromantic power of the skies
they invoke ancient rhythms, cast spells
and murmur incantations in their purring drone.
Purged and exhausted they cradle in a huddle
and glow invitingly like a pair of fireflies in heat;
savouring the bitter-sweet aftertase of love.
howling in an indescribable tone of hatred
their voices rising and falling, threateningly
wickedly scrambling wild on the roof,
tearing one another to pieces.
Intoxicated by the light of the moon
feet barely touching the ground,
eyes sparkling like twinkling stars
they craned their necks and nuzzled
hair standing on end as they gazed
without fear into the dark night.
Ardent aspirations of the heart;
brutish, uncouth and raw..
laden with love and a cry of distress.
Under the necromantic power of the skies
they invoke ancient rhythms, cast spells
and murmur incantations in their purring drone.
Purged and exhausted they cradle in a huddle
and glow invitingly like a pair of fireflies in heat;
savouring the bitter-sweet aftertase of love.
Wednesday 19 September 2007
Red Tape
A country which in the hands of terrorists witnessed over 70,000 deaths, where nearly 11,000 security personnel - more than in all the wars fought by it - have been killed by terrorists, where half a million people continue to remain as refugees in their own country for over decade-and-a-half, and where over 24,500 foreign mercenaries have come to bleed India from its neighbouring countries should have chjanged its security systems and apparatus unrecognizably.
What is tragic is the fact that, barring some cosmetic changes, we continue to be governed by the same laws, same change-resisting bureaucratic procedures, same misplcaed priorities where internal security is a low priority item in the budget, same selection procedures laced by corruption and caste politics, and same training which was designed to keep control masters in power. We take the losses in our stride - nobody's blood boils and nothing changes. The US face done lethal strike and everything changed overnight - their laws, instrumentality to fight terrorism - brand new Department of Homeland Security surfacing from nowhere, their foreign policy, immigration processes and access control, intelligence transformation just to name a few. Not that their system is perfect but it shows their cpacity to change fast and take the changes to the operating levels. No wonder September 11 was not repeated. The secret of success lies in lowering our tolerance threshold for all that which fails to deliver, changing fast and cinstantly, and taking the changes to the last beat constable on the road.
The worst is yet to come. What is happening all around us in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal and more imprtantly within have securityt implications and is indicative of testing times. Taking changes to micro levelsis time consuming and painstaking effort, pariticularly diverse internal security apparatus like India's, involving nearly 20 million people. The time to act is here and now. Let the doctrine of time-tested methods be relegated to the dustbin of history - it is only supported by those who have either a vested interest in status quo or insecurity due to incompetence. An attempt was made in 2001, first time after Independance, to bring about an integrated transformation in national security apparatus and systems encompassing internal secuity, intelligence, border management and defence. The first three of them had direct relevance to the fight against terrorism. With passage of time, much of the enthusiasm for change has withered away. The Prevention Of Terrorism Act (POTA) stands repealed and the recommendations of Malimath Commission suggesting overhaul of judicial administrative system shelved. The entire legal and judicial framework under which terrorism should be tackled needs to be revisited and a national consensus built to make it compatible with the level of threat, existing and potential. Politicizing the matter is against national interest.A multipurpose national identity card scheme, after amendments in Citizenship Act 1955 in December, 2003 was pressed into action and a pilot project launched. It envisaged providing national identity cards to all above 16 and link it o birth details, school records, passport details, driving license, foreign travels besides bio-metric recognitions, etc. Its opposition by some sections for reasons other than national interest is understandable though not acceptable, but the government wilting undertheir pressure and practically showing no progress in three years is unforgivable. It could have provided a data bank to fight terrorism.
Fight against terrorism is essentially a foot soldier's battle and not the general's battle. It requires training, equipping, empowering, motivating and coordinating people at the cutting edge levels. A counter-terrorist operation rarely requires planning, resource mobilisation and tactics involving large bodies of men and material. Real improvement in training requires a state-of-the-art R&D backup involving research in tactics, communications, control and command systems, target zeroing, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, procurement, storage and distribution of weapons, operation of financial channels etc., just to name a few. Unless a R&D team constantly works on analysing each event, examining the seized documents, interrogating the terroists, case studying failed and successful operations training is an eyewash. It's a pity that nearly 90% of those who are deployed on counter terrorist tasks have not even undergone this ritual - non-availability of funds and training facilities cited as the primary cause. The infirmity must be cured under a time bound programme, whatever the costs. It is a fallacious presumption that in an asymmetric warfare the stronger nation has no option other than to respond in a defensive mode. Defensive offence is necessary to increase the costs for the adversaries. A message to those who would like to pursue the strategy of thousand cuts to bleed India, for furthering their objectives, has got to be given.
The complex network that webs global Islamic radicalism, proponents of Salafi ideology, terrorist outfits, gun runners, hawal racketeers, underworld mafias, currency counterfeiters, drug syndicates etc. should be seen as an organic whole and dealt under an integrated action plan. Degradation of one reduces the efficacy of others and vice versa. Empowerment of center to take cognizance of these crime, which impact national security, is an absolute necessity.
The magic word is change - positive, fast and reaching out to the lowest on the ladder. This, however, will require a political will. Do we have it?
Excerpts from Ajit Doval's TOI article
What is tragic is the fact that, barring some cosmetic changes, we continue to be governed by the same laws, same change-resisting bureaucratic procedures, same misplcaed priorities where internal security is a low priority item in the budget, same selection procedures laced by corruption and caste politics, and same training which was designed to keep control masters in power. We take the losses in our stride - nobody's blood boils and nothing changes. The US face done lethal strike and everything changed overnight - their laws, instrumentality to fight terrorism - brand new Department of Homeland Security surfacing from nowhere, their foreign policy, immigration processes and access control, intelligence transformation just to name a few. Not that their system is perfect but it shows their cpacity to change fast and take the changes to the operating levels. No wonder September 11 was not repeated. The secret of success lies in lowering our tolerance threshold for all that which fails to deliver, changing fast and cinstantly, and taking the changes to the last beat constable on the road.
The worst is yet to come. What is happening all around us in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal and more imprtantly within have securityt implications and is indicative of testing times. Taking changes to micro levelsis time consuming and painstaking effort, pariticularly diverse internal security apparatus like India's, involving nearly 20 million people. The time to act is here and now. Let the doctrine of time-tested methods be relegated to the dustbin of history - it is only supported by those who have either a vested interest in status quo or insecurity due to incompetence. An attempt was made in 2001, first time after Independance, to bring about an integrated transformation in national security apparatus and systems encompassing internal secuity, intelligence, border management and defence. The first three of them had direct relevance to the fight against terrorism. With passage of time, much of the enthusiasm for change has withered away. The Prevention Of Terrorism Act (POTA) stands repealed and the recommendations of Malimath Commission suggesting overhaul of judicial administrative system shelved. The entire legal and judicial framework under which terrorism should be tackled needs to be revisited and a national consensus built to make it compatible with the level of threat, existing and potential. Politicizing the matter is against national interest.A multipurpose national identity card scheme, after amendments in Citizenship Act 1955 in December, 2003 was pressed into action and a pilot project launched. It envisaged providing national identity cards to all above 16 and link it o birth details, school records, passport details, driving license, foreign travels besides bio-metric recognitions, etc. Its opposition by some sections for reasons other than national interest is understandable though not acceptable, but the government wilting undertheir pressure and practically showing no progress in three years is unforgivable. It could have provided a data bank to fight terrorism.
Fight against terrorism is essentially a foot soldier's battle and not the general's battle. It requires training, equipping, empowering, motivating and coordinating people at the cutting edge levels. A counter-terrorist operation rarely requires planning, resource mobilisation and tactics involving large bodies of men and material. Real improvement in training requires a state-of-the-art R&D backup involving research in tactics, communications, control and command systems, target zeroing, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, procurement, storage and distribution of weapons, operation of financial channels etc., just to name a few. Unless a R&D team constantly works on analysing each event, examining the seized documents, interrogating the terroists, case studying failed and successful operations training is an eyewash. It's a pity that nearly 90% of those who are deployed on counter terrorist tasks have not even undergone this ritual - non-availability of funds and training facilities cited as the primary cause. The infirmity must be cured under a time bound programme, whatever the costs. It is a fallacious presumption that in an asymmetric warfare the stronger nation has no option other than to respond in a defensive mode. Defensive offence is necessary to increase the costs for the adversaries. A message to those who would like to pursue the strategy of thousand cuts to bleed India, for furthering their objectives, has got to be given.
The complex network that webs global Islamic radicalism, proponents of Salafi ideology, terrorist outfits, gun runners, hawal racketeers, underworld mafias, currency counterfeiters, drug syndicates etc. should be seen as an organic whole and dealt under an integrated action plan. Degradation of one reduces the efficacy of others and vice versa. Empowerment of center to take cognizance of these crime, which impact national security, is an absolute necessity.
The magic word is change - positive, fast and reaching out to the lowest on the ladder. This, however, will require a political will. Do we have it?
Tuesday 18 September 2007
Looking For Something?
"I've looked under chairs
I've looked under tables
I've tired to find the key
To 50 million people
They called me The Seeker
I've been searchin'
Low and high.
I've asked Bobby Dylan
I've asked The Beatles
I've asked The Osho
But he couldn't help me even
They call me The Seeker
I've been searchin'
Low and high."
The Seeker, Pete Townsend (The Who)
Pete Townsend's poignant poetry reflects the restless questioning spirit of our times. I've spent all my waking life searching.. I'm not really sure what it is. I kinda believed I was Superman (TM) at one time and i was searching for my spaceship (which was lying somewhere in the ground) so i could get my super powers and my suit back and show these ridiculous homosapiens (my family and friends) that I was the cat's whiskers. The fact that I'm still writing this article instead of exploring the infinite multiiverse should tell you that my search was never fulfilled. I did however find more fuel to power my search. The kind that made me feel like a god. Strange that I would say this as im an atheist. I could now chemically control how I felt and could travel the dark and hitherto hidden dimensions of my mind. That search ended in more despair and pain than I had ever imagined possible. My wanderlust then whispered to me; Indulge me and i shall satisfy thine search. I travelled the subcontinent with a pack on my back till I was just a sack of bones. I then endeavored to pursue the more mundane treasures of social security; profession and property. To the latter I would attach a house, car and a wife seeing as to how they are percieved as things to be possessed. Thankfully that search bears nothing I treasure. Yet my search seemed unfulfilled. I turned my sights on the masses. Social service and supporting a cause held alight a promise of fulfillment. Yet what I was really seeking was an end
to my own search for satisfaction. Such a motive was contrary to my venture. The time has now come as i've decided (whew!) to drop my search and just live!? For eg. After seeking pleasure in the its various forms and patterns I've just discovered that taking an early morning dump is second to none ;)
A probing thought.. or is it a question?
"We are always seeking some form of mystery because we are so dissatisfied with the life we lead, with the shallowness of our activities, which have very little meaning and to which we try to give significance, a meaning; but this is an intellectual act which therefore remains superficial, tricky and in the end meaningless. And yet knowing all this - knowing our pleasure are very soon over, our everyday activities are routine; knowing also that our problems, so many of them, can perhaps never be solved; not believing in anything, not having faith in traditional values, in teachers, in the gurus, in the sanctions of the Church or society - knowing all this, most of us are always probing or
seeking, trying to find out something really worthwhile, something that is not touched by thought, something that really has an extraordinary sense of beauty and ecstacy. Most of us, I think, are trying to seek out something that is enduring, that is not easily made corrupt. We put aside the obvious and there is deep longing - not emotional or sentimental - a deep inquiry which might open the door to something that is not measured by thought, something that cannot be put into any category of faith or belief. But is there any meaning to searching, to seeking?"
Excerpt from 'The Flight Of The Eagle' by J. Krishnamurti
I've looked under tables
I've tired to find the key
To 50 million people
They called me The Seeker
I've been searchin'
Low and high.
I've asked Bobby Dylan
I've asked The Beatles
I've asked The Osho
But he couldn't help me even
They call me The Seeker
I've been searchin'
Low and high."
The Seeker, Pete Townsend (The Who)
Pete Townsend's poignant poetry reflects the restless questioning spirit of our times. I've spent all my waking life searching.. I'm not really sure what it is. I kinda believed I was Superman (TM) at one time and i was searching for my spaceship (which was lying somewhere in the ground) so i could get my super powers and my suit back and show these ridiculous homosapiens (my family and friends) that I was the cat's whiskers. The fact that I'm still writing this article instead of exploring the infinite multiiverse should tell you that my search was never fulfilled. I did however find more fuel to power my search. The kind that made me feel like a god. Strange that I would say this as im an atheist. I could now chemically control how I felt and could travel the dark and hitherto hidden dimensions of my mind. That search ended in more despair and pain than I had ever imagined possible. My wanderlust then whispered to me; Indulge me and i shall satisfy thine search. I travelled the subcontinent with a pack on my back till I was just a sack of bones. I then endeavored to pursue the more mundane treasures of social security; profession and property. To the latter I would attach a house, car and a wife seeing as to how they are percieved as things to be possessed. Thankfully that search bears nothing I treasure. Yet my search seemed unfulfilled. I turned my sights on the masses. Social service and supporting a cause held alight a promise of fulfillment. Yet what I was really seeking was an end
to my own search for satisfaction. Such a motive was contrary to my venture. The time has now come as i've decided (whew!) to drop my search and just live!? For eg. After seeking pleasure in the its various forms and patterns I've just discovered that taking an early morning dump is second to none ;)
A probing thought.. or is it a question?
"We are always seeking some form of mystery because we are so dissatisfied with the life we lead, with the shallowness of our activities, which have very little meaning and to which we try to give significance, a meaning; but this is an intellectual act which therefore remains superficial, tricky and in the end meaningless. And yet knowing all this - knowing our pleasure are very soon over, our everyday activities are routine; knowing also that our problems, so many of them, can perhaps never be solved; not believing in anything, not having faith in traditional values, in teachers, in the gurus, in the sanctions of the Church or society - knowing all this, most of us are always probing or
seeking, trying to find out something really worthwhile, something that is not touched by thought, something that really has an extraordinary sense of beauty and ecstacy. Most of us, I think, are trying to seek out something that is enduring, that is not easily made corrupt. We put aside the obvious and there is deep longing - not emotional or sentimental - a deep inquiry which might open the door to something that is not measured by thought, something that cannot be put into any category of faith or belief. But is there any meaning to searching, to seeking?"
Excerpt from 'The Flight Of The Eagle' by J. Krishnamurti
Friday 14 September 2007
alley cat
the streets are quiet. the world around acrid.
searching in a hurry. a fight without victory.
sweat trickles down along the lines of his frown.
the taste of blood brings back memories in a flood.
helter skelter he runs.. veins filled with acid.
a creature of the night walks towards the light..
searching in a hurry. a fight without victory.
sweat trickles down along the lines of his frown.
the taste of blood brings back memories in a flood.
helter skelter he runs.. veins filled with acid.
a creature of the night walks towards the light..
Auguries of Innocence
- Blake
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house filled with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell through all its regions.
A dog starved at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipped and armed for fight
Does the rising sun affright.
Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.
The wild deer wandering here and there
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misused breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.
The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.
He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be beloved by men.
He who the ox to wrath has moved
Shall never be by woman loved.
The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.
The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the Last Judgment draweth nigh.
He who shall train the horse to war
Shall never pass the polar bar.
The beggar's dog and widow's cat,
Feed them, and thou wilt grow fat.
The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from Slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of Envy's foot.
The poison of the honey-bee
Is the artist's jealousy.
The prince's robes and beggar's rags
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so:
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
The babe is more than swaddling bands,
Throughout all these human lands;
Tools were made and born were hands,
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;
This is caught by females bright
And returned to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.
The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes Revenge! in realms of death.
The beggar's rags fluttering in air
Does to rags the heavens tear.
The soldier armed with sword and gun
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.
One mite wrung from the labourer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands,
Or if protected from on high
Does that whole nation sell and buy.
He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mocked in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.
He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner who sits so sly
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plough
To peaceful arts shall Envy bow.
A riddle or the cricket's cry
Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
The whore and gambler, by the state
Licensed, build that nation's fate.
The harlot's cry from street to street
Shall weave old England's winding sheet.
The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lie
When we see not through the eye
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.
God appears, and God is light
To those poor souls who dwell in night,
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.
To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house filled with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell through all its regions.
A dog starved at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipped and armed for fight
Does the rising sun affright.
Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.
The wild deer wandering here and there
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misused breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.
The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.
He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be beloved by men.
He who the ox to wrath has moved
Shall never be by woman loved.
The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.
The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the Last Judgment draweth nigh.
He who shall train the horse to war
Shall never pass the polar bar.
The beggar's dog and widow's cat,
Feed them, and thou wilt grow fat.
The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from Slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of Envy's foot.
The poison of the honey-bee
Is the artist's jealousy.
The prince's robes and beggar's rags
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so:
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know
Through the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
The babe is more than swaddling bands,
Throughout all these human lands;
Tools were made and born were hands,
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;
This is caught by females bright
And returned to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.
The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes Revenge! in realms of death.
The beggar's rags fluttering in air
Does to rags the heavens tear.
The soldier armed with sword and gun
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.
One mite wrung from the labourer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands,
Or if protected from on high
Does that whole nation sell and buy.
He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mocked in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.
He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner who sits so sly
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plough
To peaceful arts shall Envy bow.
A riddle or the cricket's cry
Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
The whore and gambler, by the state
Licensed, build that nation's fate.
The harlot's cry from street to street
Shall weave old England's winding sheet.
The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born.
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lie
When we see not through the eye
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.
God appears, and God is light
To those poor souls who dwell in night,
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.
Monday 10 September 2007
The Science & Philosophy of Jeet Kune Do
As explained by
Prof. Dr. Rao
DSc (Military Sc, USA), PhD (UN), MD, MBBS (Med), CLET (USA)
Chief Instructor JKD Ideology India
JKD is a Way of Life.
It helps you to find that “Nothing” which man seeks when the search for everything ends.
(As one passes thru life, there comes a stage where material gains cease to matter, and man becomes concerned solely with finding peace within himself)
A Physical, Mental, Spiritual & Martial journey.
JKD is aimed at Physical fitness & Health, Mental resources, Spiritual growth and Fighting prowess. JKD is an art of Life.
Self enquiry, a step towards knowing yourself. JKD teaches the spiritual via the physical.
(JKD teaches you to understand your body movements in relation to another body, your opponents. It makes you comfortable with yourself and with others. At a later stage you begin to understand your mind. It helps you to question yourself and betters understanding of one’s self and the world)
Taking control of your life.
It is about developing discipline, will power & determination. JKD is a re-contemplation about your Life.
(JKD is about learning to find time & priority for Fitness, Health & Happiness)
JKD teaches you to fight.
It teaches you to react to force with gentleness and overcome it.
(JKD builds a fighting philosophy in you. It brings out the warrior in you. When you fight opponents big & aggressive, you realize that in life, it is your reaction to obstacles that count, not the magnitude of the obstacle)
Beyond System.
In its analysis, JKD compares traditional martial arts with Street fighting. In fighting, it teaches freedom from style, pattern or technique. In Life, JKD helps you to free yourself.
(At a later stage you realize that man is a slave to the system, the very system that was designed for man. The Individual is more important than any system. JKD teaches you to harness the system rather than play slave to it)
Beyond time.
Past is History- Learn from it. Present is full of Opportunities – Seize it. Future is Unpredictable- Prepare for it. JKD prepares you for Life.
JKD teaches you your own attitude.
It helps you to find your own way. And in the process, it helps you to find yourself. JKD is just as you are – nothing else.
Prof. Dr. Rao
DSc (Military Sc, USA), PhD (UN), MD, MBBS (Med), CLET (USA)
Chief Instructor JKD Ideology India
JKD is a Way of Life.
It helps you to find that “Nothing” which man seeks when the search for everything ends.
(As one passes thru life, there comes a stage where material gains cease to matter, and man becomes concerned solely with finding peace within himself)
A Physical, Mental, Spiritual & Martial journey.
JKD is aimed at Physical fitness & Health, Mental resources, Spiritual growth and Fighting prowess. JKD is an art of Life.
Self enquiry, a step towards knowing yourself. JKD teaches the spiritual via the physical.
(JKD teaches you to understand your body movements in relation to another body, your opponents. It makes you comfortable with yourself and with others. At a later stage you begin to understand your mind. It helps you to question yourself and betters understanding of one’s self and the world)
Taking control of your life.
It is about developing discipline, will power & determination. JKD is a re-contemplation about your Life.
(JKD is about learning to find time & priority for Fitness, Health & Happiness)
JKD teaches you to fight.
It teaches you to react to force with gentleness and overcome it.
(JKD builds a fighting philosophy in you. It brings out the warrior in you. When you fight opponents big & aggressive, you realize that in life, it is your reaction to obstacles that count, not the magnitude of the obstacle)
Beyond System.
In its analysis, JKD compares traditional martial arts with Street fighting. In fighting, it teaches freedom from style, pattern or technique. In Life, JKD helps you to free yourself.
(At a later stage you realize that man is a slave to the system, the very system that was designed for man. The Individual is more important than any system. JKD teaches you to harness the system rather than play slave to it)
Beyond time.
Past is History- Learn from it. Present is full of Opportunities – Seize it. Future is Unpredictable- Prepare for it. JKD prepares you for Life.
JKD teaches you your own attitude.
It helps you to find your own way. And in the process, it helps you to find yourself. JKD is just as you are – nothing else.
Cheerleader for Moderation by David Apatoff
By David Apatoff
You will be tempted to skip over this post because it has the word "moderation" in the title, and instead search for a blog with "wild extremism" in the title. Moderation just ain't as much fun. One should resist that temptation, at least for a few paragraphs.
We tend to bristle at anything smelling like censorship or restraint. Moderation is contrary to the freedom that all artists crave, even when they have no important use for it.
In a recent post about the Future Manifesto which ushered in the art of the 20th century:
We must break down the gates of life to test the bolts and the padlocks....Courage, audacity, and revolt will be essential elements of our poetry...To admire an old picture is to pour our sensibility into a funeral urn instead of casting it forward with violent spurts of creation and action.... We want to demolish museums and libraries [and] fight morality...
Much of 20th century art celebrates novelty, racing through one extreme style after another:
Futurism
Fauvism
Dadaism
Surrealism
Orphism
Abstract Expressionism
Op
Pop
Minimalism
Neo-expressionism
Conceptualism
Magic Realism
Patternism
Graffiti
Color field
Performance
Post modernism
Installation
Deconstructionism
Each of these (and many other) "schools" of art flashed and cooled after only a few years. Many of them were intellectually invigorating and fun. Very few of them were interested in moderation or the patient search for lasting value.
People who focus on what is new and hot often develop short attention spans. They lose patience for moderation, nuance and context. But the old masters recognized that moderation is all there is. As Shakespeare exclaimed, everything is a matter of degree:
Yet, both colors seize your attention because Vermeer has placed the light earring against a dark shadow and the dark eye against light skin. That's the way to achieve real highs and lows. In art and in life, context is everything.
The metaphors of extremism in art and sex are are lovely and alluring; imagine a painting made up of nothing but highlights, or a state of perpetual ecstasy without all those boring parts in between! But as George Eliot warned, "all of us get our thoughts entangled in metaphors and act fatally on the strength of them." Pornographers and artists who need to chase novel forms of licentiousness inevitably become colossal bores.
Those who say "I'll try anything once"
Seldom try anything twice
Or three times
Arriving late at the Gate of Dreams Worth Dying For..
- Carl Sandburg
You will be tempted to skip over this post because it has the word "moderation" in the title, and instead search for a blog with "wild extremism" in the title. Moderation just ain't as much fun. One should resist that temptation, at least for a few paragraphs.
We tend to bristle at anything smelling like censorship or restraint. Moderation is contrary to the freedom that all artists crave, even when they have no important use for it.
In a recent post about the Future Manifesto which ushered in the art of the 20th century:
We must break down the gates of life to test the bolts and the padlocks....Courage, audacity, and revolt will be essential elements of our poetry...To admire an old picture is to pour our sensibility into a funeral urn instead of casting it forward with violent spurts of creation and action.... We want to demolish museums and libraries [and] fight morality...
Much of 20th century art celebrates novelty, racing through one extreme style after another:
Futurism
Fauvism
Dadaism
Surrealism
Orphism
Abstract Expressionism
Op
Pop
Minimalism
Neo-expressionism
Conceptualism
Magic Realism
Patternism
Graffiti
Color field
Performance
Post modernism
Installation
Deconstructionism
Each of these (and many other) "schools" of art flashed and cooled after only a few years. Many of them were intellectually invigorating and fun. Very few of them were interested in moderation or the patient search for lasting value.
People who focus on what is new and hot often develop short attention spans. They lose patience for moderation, nuance and context. But the old masters recognized that moderation is all there is. As Shakespeare exclaimed, everything is a matter of degree:
Take but degree away, untune that string, and hark, what dischord follows! Each thing meets in mere oppugnancy. The bounded waters Should lift their bosoms higher than the shores And make a sop of all this solid globeIn this painting by Vermeer, the girl's earring is not extremely white nor is her eye extremely dark. Viewed in isolation, both colors are quite moderate.
Yet, both colors seize your attention because Vermeer has placed the light earring against a dark shadow and the dark eye against light skin. That's the way to achieve real highs and lows. In art and in life, context is everything.
The metaphors of extremism in art and sex are are lovely and alluring; imagine a painting made up of nothing but highlights, or a state of perpetual ecstasy without all those boring parts in between! But as George Eliot warned, "all of us get our thoughts entangled in metaphors and act fatally on the strength of them." Pornographers and artists who need to chase novel forms of licentiousness inevitably become colossal bores.
Those who say "I'll try anything once"
Seldom try anything twice
Or three times
Arriving late at the Gate of Dreams Worth Dying For..
- Carl Sandburg
Cycle of life
as ephemereal as the dew
born red-faced in the morning
bleached white bones in the evening that is man
blown away like flower petals on the heartless wind...
our two eyes close in an instant
if a single breath stops too long
even the newborn babe may perish, unfulfilled...
born red-faced in the morning
bleached white bones in the evening that is man
blown away like flower petals on the heartless wind...
our two eyes close in an instant
if a single breath stops too long
even the newborn babe may perish, unfulfilled...
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