Reem and the Shower Head

Reem sat on her burger shaped bed in a funny yoga pose. Well, atleast it looked like an asana. She was reading one of those slow and deliberate histories of a lost explorer and wanted to finish it.

She knew she had talent. She could roam the local malls in yellow polka dotted pajamas and she could talk to shower hoses. That, in the world of superpowers was a Stephenian feat. Who is Stephen? Oh well, he is a guy you all know. The one who knows all the answers in class? Yes, he is the same guy who will gloat over his grades. He will eventually excel in all spheres at school. Its just that Reem had coined a word out of him.

The bathroom door opened and her brother created the sign language equivalent of a shower. She smiled and hurried to take a bath. She wanted to complete her converstion with that loquacious shower head.
Once she entered, she played with the geyser buttons and sat down to wait till it noticed she was here. It looked unusually silent.
"umm..hello ...nearly rusted metal throwing attitude?"
"Snarky comments to the water provider? I know how to clog myself. Speaking of clogged, what's with your nose! Your brother stinks! That's why the silence. That hearing aid is affecting your earlier senses huh? "
"Snarky comments to your human friend! If metal could be tried in human courts..."
"Anyways, how is your future love interest? "
"Stephen is a...ummm friend..he just getting to the superpower level."
"There is a word in the Urban dictionary for an 'umfriend'. If you weren't 10, I would have had my doubts!"
"In any case, I need to take a bath. And speaking of senses, I am glad you don't have eyes. Hmph!"

Reem ended her bath with the customary bathroom song in a random language known to her. She hadn't named it yet, but in one of the bathroom sessions, she might discuss it with the shower hose. Or maybe with Stephen. Hopefully, after their sign language class.

She went back to singing her funny tune and reading about a lost explorer waiting to be 'found' in a notebook.

Twigs

They crack
the road is easier without them
they add music to stealth
cleaners pick them
kids can chew them
these dried twigs
nature's way
of memorizing winter.

Quote of the Week

The Arranged Marriage Principle: Given enough time, any two people can develop affection. Also see: Stockholm syndrome ~ NeoIndian

Notes from 'East is East'

I love directors who condense many points of view into one scene. Have you seen how some directors shoot a wedding sequence and focus on each item of flamboyance, to show the money spent? A single ten second shot.Yes.A one minute shot with exclaiming guests and a host that talks about the zeroes in the cheque he signed as a measure of expense? No.

There is a scene in 'East is East' where Ella, a British mother who has her hands full with six kids is shown to be frazzled and tired with all the work she has had to do. The scene could have been done in so many ways to show her commitment to motherhood and how she has handles the wishes of her six children and her stubborn husband.
The scene is at the breakfast table. After an argument with her husband, Ella lights up and empties a packet of biscuits on a plate. She calls out six names and adds 'Breakfast's ready'.
This mother has lived a life of submission to an eccentric husband and with kids as diverse as a devout Muslim and an erotica sculptor, the breakfast seems like a chore than a duty.To me the fact that she empties a packet of biscuits and calls for breakfast, is testimony to her life of hard work and her current boredom. There can be many interpretations to that scene. But,the entire sequence screams 'fatigue'.

The Unschooling Manifesto

I know that schools and classrooms are a mish-mash of psyches, backgrounds, cultures, upbringing, IQ (if we assume for a moment that intelligence is quantifiable) and behaviors. Which is why it has always intrigued me as to how a person turns out the way they do, if all of us have the same level of exposure.
I know that there is sufficient scientific evidence to justify personality and behavior, but can there be a solution to the factory like atmosphere that schools tend to follow?
In this article Dave Pollard explains the Unschooling Manifesto. How does a child that works with a mentor group that encourages student to think, make mistakes and go beyond a fixed curriculum develop in life?

I remember sitting in classrooms of educational institutions wondering where we are going wrong. We all know the problems and have a generic idea of the solutions.However, we stop when we look at the numbers. We still believe that due to the large number of uneducated people, the factory method will work.
I remember discussing and talking to people who became my informal mentors--both online and offline. I am happy to say the system doesn't kill you. Lack of mentorship or peer groups do.
You might say that inspiration is everywhere. I agree but meaningful conversation is a scarce resource.
My favourite paragraph from the article is reproduced below. (Thanks to Jinal Shah, I came across an article that is probably the best thing I have/will have read this year)

" And in the factory environment of the school, where teachers need to 'manage' thirty students or more, ethics and the politics of power is left up, from our earliest and most vulnerable years, to the bullies and other young damaged psychopaths among our peers, to teach us in their grotesquely warped way. As PS explains, it is in every way a prison system.

Unschooling, by contrast, starts with the realization that you 'own' your time, and have the opportunity and responsibility to use it in ways that are meaningful and stimulating for you. When you have this opportunity, you just naturally learn a great deal, about things you care about, things that will inevitably be useful to you in making a life and a living. Your learning environment is the whole world, and you learn what and when you want, undirected by curricula, textbooks, alarm clocks and school bells. You develop deep peer relationships around areas of common interest, once you're allowed to explore and discover what those areas of interest are. And the Internet and online gaming allow you to make those relationships anywhere in the world, to draw on the brightest experts on the planet, and to communicate powerfully with like-minded, curious people of every age, culture and ideology."

For further reading : Seth Godin raises the biggest questions about the education system in USA( applicable the world over). 

A story about Gender and Toys

During a discussion about cartoons on television and the collective consensus about how the Hannah Montana Series is an endless pit full of hogwash ( yes, we do this granny chat type activity once in a while), I remembered a wonderful anecdote I read in Reader's Digest.
It was about a very progressive father who tried to remove all distinction of gender from his daughter's toy set. He went out and bought cars, rail tracks, bats, balls and a pink doll. When he arranged the toys in the playroom, he kept the doll in an obscure position. The rail tracks, a formidable car with flashy lights,a motorbike was right in the center. He left his daughter near the door and waited for her reaction to this new bunch of toys. After a few minutes of observation, the child found the doll and refused to play with the other toys. The story ended on a light note, by saying that there are some things that you can try to achieve or instill, but human psychology( esp. that of a child) is difficult road map.
It just brings forth the real point-- you may have choices that are gender specific, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have the option of the other choices at all. The entire story was interesting because the father never forced her away from the doll--always keeping the different set of toys around her and letting her choose her favourite.
While on cartoons, Aishwarya has written this brilliant post on Chhota Bheem and I agree with her observations.

Why don't you cover up a bit?

Why don't you cover up a bit?
How about a little from the side? Maybe from the top too.
Maybe some hair also.
Why don't you cover up your chest? When I look at other women I get excited so to prevent that in other men, why don't you cover up?
Actually let us go through scriptures for length measurements? A hat would be a good way to cover your hair, but the wind might blow some strands on your face.
Your hair is valuable, so make sure you have a tight cloth around it. Then a large frock will do. Shapes of figures result in rapes. There is a worldwide census for this argument, that had never been referenced or updated. But we must believe it. A rape is too much to handle. A cloth isn't.
Actually don't wear that goth purple cloth. Its too conspicuous. Skip embroidery altogether. Why should we be creative? It attracts attention. All this talk about aesthetics is hogwash.
Who cares about climate change and heat waves? Wear the darkest colors and cover everything. We may live in tropical regions, but we must not forget our dignity. Suffocation on earth is but a way to repent for our sins. Cover hands too. They also result in excitement.
Even legs would be better. Space suit? You think this is a joke? We are concerned about you. Don't you get it?
Actually we may seem like the orthodox types. So why don't you uncover a bit.
See? People in this land like us a lot better now. Actually a skirt won't be a problem. Its too hot anyways.
Don't worry about religion. We need to be accepted in this society.
Its ok. All girls her age dress like that. Stop being so conservative. You make me suspicious.
I feel bad for those women who are covered. Such desperate existence no? I like you in your new shorts.
Let's buy this bikini for you today. Its a beach. That's what people wear.
Of course you must participate in a beauty pageant. We are liberals. We don't have a problem with our daughter doing anything.


Women and their creative desires are collateral damage in a war to control visual pleasure. Its all about what is pleasing to the male eye. Frankly, I am tired of high end intellectual debates and conversations that center around what women must, should, should not do. I just hope women realize its a double edged sword. You are damned if you cover and damned if you don't.

Notes in Ebooks

When you share a book through a library or through a book group, you can rarely add notes on the side margins. Some book owners like to keep margins clear of notes. It is impossible to accommodate notes of all the people in the book club or library.
In this scenario, I am excited about the possibilities of ebooks. When devices become readily affordable, libraries can get people to read books on them, mark or highlight passages, write notes and read notes by other people. Sometimes there is an interesting quote, or a reference or a line that can be used somewhere. It is also possible that ebook-readers will come with functionality that can hide these notes.
How will we share the ebook? Will we share the device? How can I share the ebook with notes? Will there be limits on sharing an ebook? These are the questions that require different answers. I am sure there are answers to all these questions, but with so many devices and publishers, there is bound to be a legal war.
What about websites that offer, stories and books for free reading? I am yet to come across some website that has a comments or a referencing page. So that discussions can be a part of reading. If we are reducing distance via the Internet, how about increasing the amount of group reading through websites?

Why do you want people to skip your Intros?

Why do you create a site and use a skip intro button? Why not lead to a site directly and let people check out the 'Intro that you may have skipped' page? When you know that your Intro is long or may take considerable time to load, why build it as a part of the website?

Why would you get a bunch of people to speak in parrot format, pay them for that and not equip them with information? Why would you create employment that is a barrier to the 'Where's your supervisor?' question?

Who are we electing? People or their personas?

What are you buying? An expensive reading device that depreciates in value? Or an Apple share that increases in value?  Which is the greater investment?

A President in Colorful Clothes

Do we expect our world leaders to dress in simple colors? Would we be ok with a President who has a girlfriend? Or wears classy designers for state dinners?

Can we expect design and color to be a part of the diplomatic world? I like seeing some of the African nations wear their traditional dress in varied prints to diplomatic meetings. I'd like to see someone adopt and bring about that change. It may be too much to ask, but a bohemian with a new age dress sense is good for the eyes. Maybe for the reporting junta too!

That said, the corporate world gives a lot of importance to suiting up. I still haven't been able to understand the need for formal wear. I would do business with a CEO who wears jeans as well as someone in formal wear. The argument that formal wear indicates seriousness or responsibility is a jar full of baloney. Some arguments say, that sales is an area that requires people to dress well. Dressing neatly is different from dressing well.
So would you like to be served by a bank executive who is dressed in large prints and heels or someone in formal wear? How about if we differentiate between the polite, well researched one and the pushy, rude one?