Tis a song by Colbie Caillat that I thought my sister liked, and therefore heard more than once. Its what I call a pink song and so I really had to sort of steel the stomach to hear it four times, and then I started liking it, a LOT and then I came back home and played it..
And my sister puked.
Sigh.
So I just heard it again.. and its too pink for me man.
NOT the point of the post.
So things haven't been peaches and cream (nicesong by the John Butler Trio btw)and lets just say happy happy Aqseer has been pretty much dead. Funnily enough, I felt happy happy today in the shower because I liked the smell of the shower gel my supahsistah uses (some palmolive shite. Palm Olive. Oo) and because Gilmore Girls is showing tomorrow at ten on Zee Cafe (I sound like an ad agency) and I've been wanting to watch it for a while.
Oh and cause I drank out of the coffee cup thing the Gilmore Girls are always drinking out of, so FULL happiness happened :P
The little things, indeed.
I remember a time that Samar stopped by while I was standing with my palm outstretched for a bit of dew that was dripping of the OAT's drapery, and grinning stupidly to myself cause it felt so nice in the middle of my palm
He said- 'cheap thrills eh?'.
They're the best, cheap thrills are, most times.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Old and New
Hi
I'm Aqseer. I used to be an outspoken, opinionated, unafraid girl. And then I lost myself in law school diplomacy and the idea of making balanced, fair arguments. You could argue it was a gain rather than a loss, and I might agree. In fact, to an extent, I do. Except I lost that girl to some other things as well, and that, I regret.
I lost it to people who thought it's wrong to be so opinionated so early in life, and to people that think feminism is a load of crap. Also that idealism is a load of crap, and that one person can't do shit to change anything. In fact, I think I let em change the way I think, a little bit.
Old Aqseer's back.
And thank... me.
A lot of malice
Just for show :)
Or maybe not.
Aqseer
I'm Aqseer. I used to be an outspoken, opinionated, unafraid girl. And then I lost myself in law school diplomacy and the idea of making balanced, fair arguments. You could argue it was a gain rather than a loss, and I might agree. In fact, to an extent, I do. Except I lost that girl to some other things as well, and that, I regret.
I lost it to people who thought it's wrong to be so opinionated so early in life, and to people that think feminism is a load of crap. Also that idealism is a load of crap, and that one person can't do shit to change anything. In fact, I think I let em change the way I think, a little bit.
Old Aqseer's back.
And thank... me.
A lot of malice
Just for show :)
Or maybe not.
Aqseer
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Quotes from the "Fair" Side
"I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn't itch." -- Gilda Radner
"If high heels were so wonderful, men would be wearing them. -- Sue Grafton
"Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths." -- Baroness Edith Summerskill
"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties?
How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around
your neck?" -- Linda Ellerbee
"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."
—Janis Joplin
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." —Margaret Mead
"I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome."
—Golda Meir
"I think the key is for women not to set any limits."
— Martina Navratilova
"People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me."
—Princess Diana
"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
—Eleanor Roosevelt
"I think it's very important for everyone in America to realize right now the state of our country, not just on this issue but on a lot of issues, that it is time to get active again. People have just sat back and just sort of said, oh, let somebody else do it for a long time, and we're seeing what's happening to the country, even freedom of speech. It's not going well. So I think this is a real opportunity for people to see, yes, if you do get out and you do get active, there are other people there. You just have to seek them out."
—Mary Steenburgen
"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist."
—Gloria Steinem
"You can tell how high a society is by how much of its garbage is recycled."
—Dhyani Ywahoo
(Native American)
"It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower is to bloom."
—Alice Walker
"If high heels were so wonderful, men would be wearing them. -- Sue Grafton
"Nagging is the repetition of unpalatable truths." -- Baroness Edith Summerskill
"If men can run the world, why can't they stop wearing neckties?
How intelligent is it to start the day by tying a little noose around
your neck?" -- Linda Ellerbee
"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got."
—Janis Joplin
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." —Margaret Mead
"I can honestly say that I was never affected by the question of the success of an undertaking. If I felt it was the right thing to do, I was for it regardless of the possible outcome."
—Golda Meir
"I think the key is for women not to set any limits."
— Martina Navratilova
"People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me."
—Princess Diana
"Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
—Eleanor Roosevelt
"I think it's very important for everyone in America to realize right now the state of our country, not just on this issue but on a lot of issues, that it is time to get active again. People have just sat back and just sort of said, oh, let somebody else do it for a long time, and we're seeing what's happening to the country, even freedom of speech. It's not going well. So I think this is a real opportunity for people to see, yes, if you do get out and you do get active, there are other people there. You just have to seek them out."
—Mary Steenburgen
"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist."
—Gloria Steinem
"You can tell how high a society is by how much of its garbage is recycled."
—Dhyani Ywahoo
(Native American)
"It's so clear that you have to cherish everyone. I think that's what I get from these older black women, that every soul is to be cherished, that every flower is to bloom."
—Alice Walker
Random (atlast)
Its a new day and I just feel like typing. Maybe cause there's nothing better to do. A mark of this blog's evolution into a real blog perhaps.
They're airing a lot of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on television.. back to back episodes and all. Must be cause people still watch. Epic, that show. Forced humour sometimes, as I realised this morning.
I might have to read bare acts in Hindi, translate to English and collate. Not looking forward to it so much.
Are lawyers liars? We're people who argue one side and try not to highlight stuff that doesn't go in our favour. That makes us biased, and hey, that's the job.
But yeah sure, I guess some of us do lie through our teeth.
I like the idea of doing law. I'm glad I'm studying law, even if I'm not getting the bestest legal education on Planet Earth.
I NEED to watch stupid movies! Even corny stuff'll do.
Bleahry
Aqseer
They're airing a lot of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. on television.. back to back episodes and all. Must be cause people still watch. Epic, that show. Forced humour sometimes, as I realised this morning.
I might have to read bare acts in Hindi, translate to English and collate. Not looking forward to it so much.
Are lawyers liars? We're people who argue one side and try not to highlight stuff that doesn't go in our favour. That makes us biased, and hey, that's the job.
But yeah sure, I guess some of us do lie through our teeth.
I like the idea of doing law. I'm glad I'm studying law, even if I'm not getting the bestest legal education on Planet Earth.
I NEED to watch stupid movies! Even corny stuff'll do.
Bleahry
Aqseer
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
What would you rather have? The picture or the Kid?
Remember the Pulitzer winning picture of the dying baby girl crawling towards a UN camp and a plump vulture waiting for her to die?
I used to think he was x number of horrible things for not having helped the kid. But before writing this, decided to google him and well..
First off, he wasn't an unaffected, cold man who would use the girl and her situation and cut cause it was convenient to. He hated apartheid and was part of a group called the Bang Bang club that was committed to exposing the brutality of the practice. All the stuff I've read on the events of the day says that he was disturbed about the picture and was very depressed after he took it. Also, most websites say that that wasn't the only picture he took that day, that he was overwhelmed by all the death around him and walked away, chanced upon this girl, saw a vulture settle down nearby, waited for 20 minutes for the vulture to fly away, took a shot, shooed the vulture away and left.
In circumstances like those, how many dying kids could he be expected to help? And how can people say with certainty that he was a cold, heartless man?
Visit- http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html for the whole story, and http://blogs.spokenword.ac.uk/mediaethics/2008/11/14/30/ for not so well informed people debating about whether his actions could've been justified as properly utilitarian or are inexcusable from a "basic human virtue" point of view.
Their arguments, in my opinion, are slightly irrelevant given the facts of this particular incident.
But in life in general- I think its an important debate- the 'classic dilemma' a journalist would face- the picture or the kid? Save the drowning people or report the incident so I can retain my job and expose the government?
Its true that images are more powerful than words, its true that photojournalists have got mouths to feed and that they can't go around saving every person they're taking pictures of and therefore its okay for them to click ten powerful pictures rather than take one and save a life.
But is it okay for them to shove kids in the line of fire to get a good picture, even if it does generate a lot of public outrage that might then stop the conflict thats killing people? I think not.
If thats the logic, some people need to get their priorities right.
I remember watching a video of a chap burning himself because Sonia G refused PMship and wondering why the hell the chap taking the video couldn't just pour a gallon of water over his head.
I get it now. Its his job, its important.
But what about the people standing around? They weren't creating awareness by standing around and watching. They were saving themselves a little inconvenience and a little time, thats all. But the degree of passivity Indians display in situations like this is another subject altogether.
More aware than ever, of the need to know the whole story afore judging,
Aqseer
I used to think he was x number of horrible things for not having helped the kid. But before writing this, decided to google him and well..
First off, he wasn't an unaffected, cold man who would use the girl and her situation and cut cause it was convenient to. He hated apartheid and was part of a group called the Bang Bang club that was committed to exposing the brutality of the practice. All the stuff I've read on the events of the day says that he was disturbed about the picture and was very depressed after he took it. Also, most websites say that that wasn't the only picture he took that day, that he was overwhelmed by all the death around him and walked away, chanced upon this girl, saw a vulture settle down nearby, waited for 20 minutes for the vulture to fly away, took a shot, shooed the vulture away and left.
In circumstances like those, how many dying kids could he be expected to help? And how can people say with certainty that he was a cold, heartless man?
Visit- http://www.thisisyesterday.com/ints/KCarter.html for the whole story, and http://blogs.spokenword.ac.uk/mediaethics/2008/11/14/30/ for not so well informed people debating about whether his actions could've been justified as properly utilitarian or are inexcusable from a "basic human virtue" point of view.
Their arguments, in my opinion, are slightly irrelevant given the facts of this particular incident.
But in life in general- I think its an important debate- the 'classic dilemma' a journalist would face- the picture or the kid? Save the drowning people or report the incident so I can retain my job and expose the government?
Its true that images are more powerful than words, its true that photojournalists have got mouths to feed and that they can't go around saving every person they're taking pictures of and therefore its okay for them to click ten powerful pictures rather than take one and save a life.
But is it okay for them to shove kids in the line of fire to get a good picture, even if it does generate a lot of public outrage that might then stop the conflict thats killing people? I think not.
If thats the logic, some people need to get their priorities right.
I remember watching a video of a chap burning himself because Sonia G refused PMship and wondering why the hell the chap taking the video couldn't just pour a gallon of water over his head.
I get it now. Its his job, its important.
But what about the people standing around? They weren't creating awareness by standing around and watching. They were saving themselves a little inconvenience and a little time, thats all. But the degree of passivity Indians display in situations like this is another subject altogether.
More aware than ever, of the need to know the whole story afore judging,
Aqseer
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Masseuse thumbs
So Jagriti's got spondilitis or some less scary variant of it. Guess whose the new masseuse on the block.
I've done this twice so far, massaging her back i mean, and I don't last more than ten minutes. The thumbs just can't take it after that.
I wonder how masseuses? take it.
And I intend on closely examining their thumbs for signs of mutant development the next time I find one.
In peace,
Rare bird as it is,
Aqseer
I've done this twice so far, massaging her back i mean, and I don't last more than ten minutes. The thumbs just can't take it after that.
I wonder how masseuses? take it.
And I intend on closely examining their thumbs for signs of mutant development the next time I find one.
In peace,
Rare bird as it is,
Aqseer
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Anger and Indignation
Also old, 2007.
I am sitting, squatting, wind blowing, on the tank of my ancestral home, overlooking a mosque, 5 houses, a well and a mental hospital. It has been a while, a long while since I last wrote. Actually I'm scribbling more than writing. Across from me is this tree that bears this fruit that this boy, 17 hopefully, sells on the main road. He can write, or so i gather, and maybe he goes to school. But while I have the luxury of squatting on a tank in my ancestral home, he's inhaling exhaust fumes on the main road.
Some things I will never understand. They hurt to think about.
How are rich people, or even decently well off people, that drive across/over poor people on the streets, still able to look at themselves in the mirror without flinching? Doesn't some part of them scream? What that coconut boy does is not easy. He works hard. Why do i get to live here and he on the street? WHy do boys with shaved heads and awful infections, dribbling noses and pot bellies crawl upto people and ask them for money?
yeah i know, because they havent any. a rhetorical question dear reader.
These are questions oft asked and seldom anwered. They'd break my heart if I let them and then NLS would have one student less.
Really. What humans have done to this planet, no one can equal. You dont need me to tell u that. Everybody already knows. But everybody thinks "what if I switch off lights and fans? What difference can one person make?"
I dont @$#%^&* know. What if you did that and so did 10 of your friends and so did ten of theirs eh? what then?? maybe if you just took SUM TIME to look BEYOND YOURSELF and looked across the street and were kind to someone or spat in a bin instead of at someones feet or something... maybe then the "world" would be a better place and maybe then we'd have a better chance of survival, CAUSE THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW, I DONT SEE US GOING TOO FAR.
And thats the crux of it btw. Save not the World you have to. the "world" is YOUR world. the people around you. you dont have to be a hero and do a medha phatkar. i'l do that for you. just be a little more aware and a little less cynical and a little kinder.
thats all
I am sitting, squatting, wind blowing, on the tank of my ancestral home, overlooking a mosque, 5 houses, a well and a mental hospital. It has been a while, a long while since I last wrote. Actually I'm scribbling more than writing. Across from me is this tree that bears this fruit that this boy, 17 hopefully, sells on the main road. He can write, or so i gather, and maybe he goes to school. But while I have the luxury of squatting on a tank in my ancestral home, he's inhaling exhaust fumes on the main road.
Some things I will never understand. They hurt to think about.
How are rich people, or even decently well off people, that drive across/over poor people on the streets, still able to look at themselves in the mirror without flinching? Doesn't some part of them scream? What that coconut boy does is not easy. He works hard. Why do i get to live here and he on the street? WHy do boys with shaved heads and awful infections, dribbling noses and pot bellies crawl upto people and ask them for money?
yeah i know, because they havent any. a rhetorical question dear reader.
These are questions oft asked and seldom anwered. They'd break my heart if I let them and then NLS would have one student less.
Really. What humans have done to this planet, no one can equal. You dont need me to tell u that. Everybody already knows. But everybody thinks "what if I switch off lights and fans? What difference can one person make?"
I dont @$#%^&* know. What if you did that and so did 10 of your friends and so did ten of theirs eh? what then?? maybe if you just took SUM TIME to look BEYOND YOURSELF and looked across the street and were kind to someone or spat in a bin instead of at someones feet or something... maybe then the "world" would be a better place and maybe then we'd have a better chance of survival, CAUSE THE WAY IT IS RIGHT NOW, I DONT SEE US GOING TOO FAR.
And thats the crux of it btw. Save not the World you have to. the "world" is YOUR world. the people around you. you dont have to be a hero and do a medha phatkar. i'l do that for you. just be a little more aware and a little less cynical and a little kinder.
thats all
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