Don't Ask. Don't Tell
Do you want to see a real, live dinosaur? Read up on the linked article - this author is probably the dino of dinos. Apparently, dude thinks “bloggery” doesn’t really help anybody so it sucks. Yep, by that awesome logic, we don’t need classic literature either since it doesn’t really help anybody now, does it?
He also says - “Given the quality of the writing in the blogs I have seen, I doubt that many of the Blog People are in the habit of sustained reading of complex texts.” - I guess I can say given the quality of this gentleman’s rants against blogging, I don’t think he is in the habit of dealing with actual people in the real world who like expressing themselves. What I really want him to explain is what exactly does he mean by complex texts? Shakespeare? Literary Classics? I can point a dozen bloggers who have read every single book he can throw at me. I can probably come up with a dozen equally complex texts he has probably never read. What is really the point of this superiority-complex? Who wins by this entire screed against people who range from law profs, to Iraqis expressing themselves to 10-year-olds expressing their crushes?
This is what baffles me about this everyday onslaught of every decent news organization against bloggers - Hello people, if Dan Rather didn’t run with the forged documents, if Eason Jordan only released the video of the Davos conference, nothing would have happened. Don’t fuck up and then get mad at those who caught you with your pants down. I am really sick of this crap. I think these idiots who write anti-blog rants probably take bloggers a lot more seriously than bloggers themselves.
I love what I am doing on my blog - does that mean I want to be studied in a literature class instead of Charles Dickens? No. I don’t make any claims to greatness and my readers and other bloggers I know of are all aware that we are simply people putting forward topics of discussion or little monologues of what interests us. By constantly attacking us, those who do are exposing nothign but their pettiness.
p.s. Apparently dude mentioned above is so technically advanced that he hates Google. Go figure!
I really don’t see how any Kings benefit from this jasminelive deal except for Peja who wants to be the man (we will find out soon if he has what it takes) and Billy King, President of the 76ers etam. AI must have peed in his pants when he learned that Webber and a talented role player like Matt Barnes are going to back him up now.
What on earth does Petrie think he can achieve with undersized scrubs like Corliss Williamson, Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner? It isn’t like he got any expiring contracts either. Oh, did I mention Peja is still a free agent next season and might not even stay with the Franchise anymore?
OT, good job Mavs, for taking care of business and putting the Jazz away last night. I hope the Queens have become a little easier to beat tonight.
Did you guys realize ESPN has trackback? The link I posted above has a trackback ID that my post will be pinging now. I think it is cool as long as they are not using it to shutdown people linking back to them.
update: Has there been a busier trade deadline in the recent years? Najera traded to Nuggets, Antoine Walker back in Boston (I wonder what Danny Ainge had to do for that!), Malik Rose to Knicks and Nazr Mohammad to Spurs, K-fricking-VH to Mavs and Booth and Alan Henderson to Bucks, Jiri Welsch to Cavs, Baron Davis to Golden State, Jamaal Mashburn to 76ers, Glenn Robinson to New Orleans, Vin Baker to Houston - Phew, what a day!
One more update: Poor Alan Henderson - to be traded right after he got married - he tied the knot on Saturday during the All-Star Game weekend :(
Life or death? (updated)
You know from my previous posts that I am on the fence about abortions. It is pretty similar to the way I feel about euthanasia. I personally would prefer dying to living like a vegetable, I always thought. Now, I am not so sure - I might want to live just so I can see how my son is growing up every day. This kind of thing makes me re-examine my thoughts towards things like quality of life and right to life or death.
I have written about Terry Schiavo before (1, 2). I am not going to sit here and judge her husband, though I find it very hard to treat him as completely objective given he has been with another women for so many years now and by her, not to mention the huge sum of money he would inherit if Terry died.
I find it extremely sad that parents are being denied all rights in this case to argue to keep their daughter alive. I really don’t understand why the husband who obviously has conflicted interests can be given any importance over parents who only want the best for their daughter. If it were a question of someone simply turning a switch off so death would occur in a minute or so, I don’t think I would have a problem. That is not the case here - Terry’s feeding tube is going to removed and she is going to starve and die of thirst in a few days. Would you do that to a dog? Why would you do that a human being who has loving family who want nothing but to take care of her?
There are plenty more jasminlive blogs who are talking about Terry - read them. Take all the information in - then think about it - assuming you were going to be wrong anyways, would you rather be wrong in saving a life or taking one?
Blog Mela - Late, Late Edition!
I am going to keep this simple and to the point (atleast that is how I will attempt to mask my total lack of creativity and extreme laziness). Let me warn you that the posts are going to be accompanied by snide comments that might or might not be related to the post (I thought they were my specialty) and multiple cheap shots at a certain libertarian organization, I call the “cartel”. Dive in and enjoy!
Gopi Sundaram thinks that this practice can be “creepy”, but proceeds to defend it anyways.
Saket has had it with the pervasiveness of this certain event in his everyday life. Please don’t mention the “t-word” to him.
Praveen had a “eureka moment” (yes, really!) when he came with the alternative to Valentine’s Day!
MadMan doesn’t want to have a Happy Valentine’s Day…oops, for got that wasn’t a nomination. Scratch that!
More Valentine’s Day hate from zigzackly - is it any wonder that all these anti-Valentine posts are by GUYS? (I am not that much of a Valentine’s person myself, so I have a hard time mustering up too much righteous indignation over these guys - I should let it go!)
Getting back to desi business, JK looks at a roll-call of Muslim achievers in India by our favorite whipping boy and wonders if there is someone missing on the list. JK also takes on language politics - who is loving and who is hating that language, English.
Avinash tries to wed Darwinism to Creationism when he claims to play God doing a science experiment.
Nirvana attempts at ethical hacking and is not too satisfied with the results on Indian sites. He also thinks he is a libertarian because he is the devil or vice versa or something. (The cartel and the wannabes are beginning to freak me out a little :0) Nirvana also needs a girlfiend on www.chaturbaterooms.com (wait, I thought that was a requirement to be libertarian…)
Patrix examines free speech issues in America, land of the First Amerndment.
Nandita has a moving ode to her Aai, her grandmother.
Venky turns his sights Westward and examines a couple of events involving Verizon, MCI and HP.
Amit Varma has a story involving a couple, a rose, a few men and lots of sticks. He also explains how Lalu keeps his power. He also reviews the movie, Amu. Are parents responsible for their ? Amit tries to find out. Yeah, and in his free time he tries to also eradicate poverty, hunger and bring world peace. (Is there anything this guy cannot do?)
Gaurav tries his hand at reading my mind when he hands out the Most Irritating People Awards. I hear you, Gaurav!
Ramanand believes Indians are incapable of mastering data structures…only certain ones…
Jabberwock reviews (comments on) Amitav Ghosh’s Hungry Tide.
Nitin Pai sees India conceding inch by inch to a certain unfriendly neighbor and wonders about precedent. I thought that conceding and pretending maganimity was the story of our 50-odd-year existence.
Ravages wants to be proud of himself damnit, and unabashedly so! I thought that was what the cartel was for - patting each other’s backs (Ok, so maybe 10 cheap shots at the cartel in one single Mela are not really called for, it might be a record though!).
Pradeep (did I mention he was in the Cartel?) argues for a meritocratic democracy…are we still talking India here?
Anand Vasu tries to understand the arbitrary thin line between chucking and not chucking.
Hurree Babu has a fun take on Shobhaa De - yeah, you remember her!
Nilu lands in the Reagan domestic airport and finds himself, um, his baggage lost in space-time discontinuity.
Neelakantan (or as I call him, not Nilu) thinks remixes are like potatoes - I personally feel they are more like Chinese food - great to look at, but not very filling.
News Roundup
This is going to keep me away from Google adwords - atleast till I make up my mind about how much I really want to invest in my online business. I don’t think it is fair for competitors to click on Google ads to run their opponent’s budget dry - that is just dirty business!
Why don’t they just put a barcode on their flippin’ foreheads already!
Karl Malone will retire now - I guess Tim Duncan didn’t want to let him ride his coattails to the Championship - Reggie Miller will retire next season - another great player retiring without a ring!
Oh, and blogging about your work can get you fired…even if you don’t name your place of employment or any such identifying information.
Making excuses
That is precisely what I am doing right now. I tend to have a single-track mind sometimes. I get obsessed with something and then I pursue it with all my being till one fine day I wake up being bored by it. That will be the end of that story. Currently, I am completely busy trying to find a permanent job (8 more weeks till this contract’s end), creating new designs for Rangoli Designs (I sold a few designs yesterday, so I am really excited! Thanks to those who bought and those who looked!), getting current work done - all while trying to take care of a rambunctious, soon-to-be-9-month-old . I am also reading some fiction on the side.
All the above combined with the NBA season and the Apprentice don’t leave much time for news or blogging - nothing seems to be happening of interest - it is still the same old. I hope to break out of this soon and have something interesting ready. In the meantime, leave comments, links - anything of interest to you and maybe other readers :)