Disclaimer: All characters including the author, situations and locations appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, fake persons, living, dead or undead, is purely coincidental and unintentional.
The traveler picked up his boarding pass, glad to be rid of the heavy suitcase. The carry bag was heavy but manageable. Still to declare a few things at the customs, he dragged his feet to the emigration counter to wrap up formalities. He was traveling for the umpteenth time and hoping he would have a break for a while after the trip. Filling up the form required while standing in the line, he realized he still didn't remember the date of issue. Swearing softly under his breath he balanced the form, his passport and the pen before he managed to scrawl it illegibly. The line was not too long but standing when you would rather be sleeping does make a person review the virtues of patience.
He would have rather been listening to music but headphones in this area might just cause unnecessary headaches. His turn came soon enough. Giving up his passport and the form, he surveyed the people around. He had been doing that until then but that was to look for the an empty counter. The current survey was just to look at fellow travelers and kill those last moments before he could have some Hindustani classical blaring into his ears. The officer in front of him would every now and then look at him, check a few names on the computer, search all immediate relatives' names on the passport and cross verify, confirm the purpose of travel. That is what the officer was paid for, to make sure all was well.
This was when the conversation at the next counter really pulled his interests. For some reason the traveller had started listening to it before it had gotten interesting. The other counters were far and silent but things would not have changed even if they had been noisy and cramped.
Man in front of the counter: Main business ke liye jaa raha hoon.
Officer: kaisa business?
Man..: Wahaan par company hai meri.
O: Teri company hai ya tu usme kaam karta hai?
M: Meri company hai.
O: Accha toh tu wahaan ek baar gaya aur tune wahaan company khadi kar di.
M: Jee sir.
O: Kitne din tha wahaan?
M: 7 din sirjee.
O: Maane 7 din mein tune puri company banaa di woh bhi foreign mein.
M: Haanjee
O: Apne aap ko Dirubhai Ambani samajhta hai kya. 7 din mein company banaayega.
M: ...
O: Umar kitni hai be teri?
M: 25
Note: Guru - a movie with a plot-line similar to the life of Dirubhai Ambani had released in the not so distant past.
At this point our traveler was amused. Well people do travel for business at the age of 25 but well this guy for some reason didn't look the part. He of course didn't know English at all, his Hindi was broken with an unfamiliar and unpleasant accent. He was not really disheveled but was one sneeze away from being called that. Of course all this still does not prove anything related to the man's competence so our traveler strained to hear some more.
O: 25 saal aur baahar main 7 din ke andar company chalaa di. Tu toh Dirubahi Ambani se bhi mahaan hai. Tere jaise 10-12 launde aur aa jaaye toh desh toh bahut aage nikal jaayega.
M: Nahi sirjee, sach bataa rahe hai...
O: Mujhe bevakoof samjha hai kya. Yeh sab document leke aa. Kahani suna raha hai kya?
Dejectedly the man walked away from the counter digging into his shiny folder of papers. He disappeared from the view of the traveler for a few seconds as he looked for non-existent papers in an invisible corner. He was back soon enough though.
M (very softly): Sir main aapko gift dena chaahta hoon.
O: Kya? Kya bol raha hai?
M: Sir aapke liye gift hai. Please le lijiye.
O (looking at it): ...
At this point the officer at the traveler's counter stamped the traveler's passport and asked him to move on. Well the traveler too decided it was time. Sometimes you do not want to listen to the end of the story. When Old Yeller gets rabies, you know the ending is tragic no matter what happens. He carried on towards customs. He heard no more and he had certainly wanted to hear no more. He already knew how that story ended.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
I hate luv storys, a review
This movie is bad enough to be unwatchable yet not so bad that it is good. In that sense, it achieves the perfect balance to be truly horrible. Some jokes are funny, the rest are not taken from any English sitcom. The movie tries to make fun of sickeningly sweet love movies and becomes one in the process akin to a headmaster confiscating a playboy from a student and then ogling at it later.
Ample dream sequence songs for you to go to the restroom, puke, get more pop corn, rinse and repeat. The songs themselves have all the makings of all the wrong things there are: bad music, worse singing and exotic locations to make you not look at the previous all while pretending to be making fun of the same. Acting of course is as good as the zombies in a Ramsay bros movie. Everyone manages to be at their B-grade best with expressions taken right out of an office meeting throughout, despite the location and situation. Characters are stereotypical with about as much depth as a puddle.
The director is as decisive as a kid in a toy store who can pick just one toy. It rambles on randomly being a spoof at one moment, melodramatic the next and as sweet as an overripe mango the very next. Recommended for anyone who needs a lobotomy and cannot afford one. Ran away from it the moment the pop corn ran out. Would not be able to survive the climatic monologue which I am sure will be coming up.
Ample dream sequence songs for you to go to the restroom, puke, get more pop corn, rinse and repeat. The songs themselves have all the makings of all the wrong things there are: bad music, worse singing and exotic locations to make you not look at the previous all while pretending to be making fun of the same. Acting of course is as good as the zombies in a Ramsay bros movie. Everyone manages to be at their B-grade best with expressions taken right out of an office meeting throughout, despite the location and situation. Characters are stereotypical with about as much depth as a puddle.
The director is as decisive as a kid in a toy store who can pick just one toy. It rambles on randomly being a spoof at one moment, melodramatic the next and as sweet as an overripe mango the very next. Recommended for anyone who needs a lobotomy and cannot afford one. Ran away from it the moment the pop corn ran out. Would not be able to survive the climatic monologue which I am sure will be coming up.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Belief
Pay heed to the news,
A house of mirrors that reflects all.
Listen to gossip,
There be no smoke sans fire.
Trust thine kin, the bonds of blood,
Water but quenches innocent thirst.
Bow to the five senses,
The doors and windows of a haunted mansion.
Humor the kith,
Reflections of choice.
Ponder on words of reason, a wise man's ramblings,
Advice, is seldom offered at a price.
Look out to the heavens,
The holiest of all jests.
Believe in peace,
In the truth of the void.
A house of mirrors that reflects all.
Listen to gossip,
There be no smoke sans fire.
Trust thine kin, the bonds of blood,
Water but quenches innocent thirst.
Bow to the five senses,
The doors and windows of a haunted mansion.
Humor the kith,
Reflections of choice.
Ponder on words of reason, a wise man's ramblings,
Advice, is seldom offered at a price.
Look out to the heavens,
The holiest of all jests.
Believe in peace,
In the truth of the void.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Application
Its been a rainy day in Jerusalem. Was stuck in a very nice combination of heavy duty wind and and some unreliable rain on my way back from the office. Looking out of the cab window I noticed how beautiful the diffraction patterns on the foggy windshield made for some spectacular viewing. Optics of course is a more interesting physics piece in photography. And here I was remembering my classes from school and college.
Onwards to the point now. There's been a lot of flak directed at the education system especially at the college levels of knowledge transfer. More so in the recent times especially after a few ground-breaking reforms from the education ministry side and in no small measure from the movie "3 idiots". Heard quite a few complaints from people around me as prior murmurs turned to dissents of a louder kind.
The first thing that comes up is usually the fact that so much emphasis is put on rote learning that it kills creativity. Performance is quantized (pardon my lack of a more apt synonym due to my limited lexicon) on the basis of a standardized grading which is unfair and inadequate. The reason given as the incompetence, lack of dedication, unimaginative attitude of those imparting knowledge. Ironically as a professor of mine once said "Those who can do it, the rest teach". The fact with the industry doing its best to suck talent and the system and alumni unwilling to innovate for their oft unheralded alma mater, this is not going to change. It is probably the best the system can churn out and it may not be stupendous but it is much better than as it is being framed. Most of these teachers give as they received changing very little.
I saw a blog by a journalist which slams the movie in question for raising a finger against the system and although I agree with her on the fact that our education system does the best or maybe better with what it has, I do not agree that the movie truly shunned the system. Maybe a few individuals who impose but not really the system. What it really does raise a point about is the fact that the learners in fact never utilize it. Each one receives the same but only a few read between the lines and a fewer still read beyond the lines. If the system was wrong, the anomaly would not exist. It is in human nature to blame and change others rather than adapt which is pretty much the story of human evolution.
To touch upon the statistics on suicides in schools and colleges as a rational thought and analysis would desensitize the loss of life. Somewhere changes need to take place to work with the system rather than against it. Few have gone against it and come out on top. So few that their names are used as examples when they should be exceptions. To use the system is a sign of growth and innovation. It should not, nay, cannot be taught. You either teach yourself that or learn it on your own. The system is a platform to leap off not an elevator to get to the top. To expect it to spoon feed free thought is like asking a computer to have fun on your behalf. The practical application of theory must be observed, pursued and understood, not served on a platter.
Closing thoughts (Warning: I believe you may not like or agree with my following point of view): The same bricks build a mansion and a crude shelter. If all bricks were only used to make mansions, then a mansion wouldn't be worth much. We need the crowd for the deserving to stand above it. The system needs to churn out ordinaries so that the extraordinary may climb above it. Not everyone can follow their heart and find excellence, life does not permit it, somewhere a balance needs to be reached. Some can have it all and that they must. Equality is only good for ideals.
Onwards to the point now. There's been a lot of flak directed at the education system especially at the college levels of knowledge transfer. More so in the recent times especially after a few ground-breaking reforms from the education ministry side and in no small measure from the movie "3 idiots". Heard quite a few complaints from people around me as prior murmurs turned to dissents of a louder kind.
The first thing that comes up is usually the fact that so much emphasis is put on rote learning that it kills creativity. Performance is quantized (pardon my lack of a more apt synonym due to my limited lexicon) on the basis of a standardized grading which is unfair and inadequate. The reason given as the incompetence, lack of dedication, unimaginative attitude of those imparting knowledge. Ironically as a professor of mine once said "Those who can do it, the rest teach". The fact with the industry doing its best to suck talent and the system and alumni unwilling to innovate for their oft unheralded alma mater, this is not going to change. It is probably the best the system can churn out and it may not be stupendous but it is much better than as it is being framed. Most of these teachers give as they received changing very little.
I saw a blog by a journalist which slams the movie in question for raising a finger against the system and although I agree with her on the fact that our education system does the best or maybe better with what it has, I do not agree that the movie truly shunned the system. Maybe a few individuals who impose but not really the system. What it really does raise a point about is the fact that the learners in fact never utilize it. Each one receives the same but only a few read between the lines and a fewer still read beyond the lines. If the system was wrong, the anomaly would not exist. It is in human nature to blame and change others rather than adapt which is pretty much the story of human evolution.
To touch upon the statistics on suicides in schools and colleges as a rational thought and analysis would desensitize the loss of life. Somewhere changes need to take place to work with the system rather than against it. Few have gone against it and come out on top. So few that their names are used as examples when they should be exceptions. To use the system is a sign of growth and innovation. It should not, nay, cannot be taught. You either teach yourself that or learn it on your own. The system is a platform to leap off not an elevator to get to the top. To expect it to spoon feed free thought is like asking a computer to have fun on your behalf. The practical application of theory must be observed, pursued and understood, not served on a platter.
Closing thoughts (Warning: I believe you may not like or agree with my following point of view): The same bricks build a mansion and a crude shelter. If all bricks were only used to make mansions, then a mansion wouldn't be worth much. We need the crowd for the deserving to stand above it. The system needs to churn out ordinaries so that the extraordinary may climb above it. Not everyone can follow their heart and find excellence, life does not permit it, somewhere a balance needs to be reached. Some can have it all and that they must. Equality is only good for ideals.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Choosing my Galactic guidance
The Fermi paradox caught my eye a few days back. A little Calvin and Hobbes quote seemed created with Fermi's feelings precisely - "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." A little more digging into the Drake equation and, a load of conspiracy theories and a couple of alien movies (district 9 and Avatar in 3D) later I was still like a puppy in London with a road-map of New York. The patterns are similar but something felt totally out of place. Ok the movies were just for fun.
I dusted off my hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy and although it provided lots of entertainment and another entry on my impossible list of things that I must have, it did not provide much insight into what I was actually looking for. Just to clarify what I wanted was a feasible and probable solution to the paradox which seemed a little less far fetched as compared to the others. Wiki does give a lot of options in that regard, from the ones that make you go "They're heeeerrrreeee!!!!" in a freaky little girl's voice to a gruff "Welcome to Earth" as in Will Smith (Independence day).
Drake's equation provides a lot of possibilities but the variation in the assumption of the parameters is just too huge to even attempt a valid assumption of the answer. The one definite result from it all is the criticism of it looks very valid. A random stumble to the Schrödinger's cat problem messed my mind up a little but then I decided using that in these equations was certainly way off target.
Anyhow, my final thoughts on these are pretty much summarized by my limited knowledge of the universe. It is infinite is my supposition and my fanatic belief. Hence as per simple probability theorems, if there is a finite (even infinitesimal) probability of an occurrence then it certainly occurs due to the infinite repetition. Restated as since the universe is infinite, if it is possible, it is probable and so it is happening. Either somewhere in time or somewhere in space or both. In my opinion in both as I consider time meaningless and space as infinite (fanatic belief, no questions permitted on this statement). Which probably means we haven't seen any action as this part of the universe has no visible action for us.
Digging deeper into the above conclusion, I came to see some extremely disturbing causality patterns. A set of dominoes set up were falling into a pattern which is a little discernible but does not take into consideration present choice. Or as the Oracle in the matrix would say "Because you didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made it". Life itself does seem like that at best or way worse. Where certain choices that may seem unique to every individual maybe the rational consequence of a series of environmental, biological(genetic and natural) and other miscellaneous background experiences brought upon the biological entity (who has the so called "choice") through random probability. So then this writing was the result of a continuous falling of dominoes. Hope the aliens are reading. But then again maybe the Flying Spaghetti Monster is going to erase it all with its mysterious invisible tentacles.
I dusted off my hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy and although it provided lots of entertainment and another entry on my impossible list of things that I must have, it did not provide much insight into what I was actually looking for. Just to clarify what I wanted was a feasible and probable solution to the paradox which seemed a little less far fetched as compared to the others. Wiki does give a lot of options in that regard, from the ones that make you go "They're heeeerrrreeee!!!!" in a freaky little girl's voice to a gruff "Welcome to Earth" as in Will Smith (Independence day).
Drake's equation provides a lot of possibilities but the variation in the assumption of the parameters is just too huge to even attempt a valid assumption of the answer. The one definite result from it all is the criticism of it looks very valid. A random stumble to the Schrödinger's cat problem messed my mind up a little but then I decided using that in these equations was certainly way off target.
Anyhow, my final thoughts on these are pretty much summarized by my limited knowledge of the universe. It is infinite is my supposition and my fanatic belief. Hence as per simple probability theorems, if there is a finite (even infinitesimal) probability of an occurrence then it certainly occurs due to the infinite repetition. Restated as since the universe is infinite, if it is possible, it is probable and so it is happening. Either somewhere in time or somewhere in space or both. In my opinion in both as I consider time meaningless and space as infinite (fanatic belief, no questions permitted on this statement). Which probably means we haven't seen any action as this part of the universe has no visible action for us.
Digging deeper into the above conclusion, I came to see some extremely disturbing causality patterns. A set of dominoes set up were falling into a pattern which is a little discernible but does not take into consideration present choice. Or as the Oracle in the matrix would say "Because you didn't come here to make the choice, you've already made it". Life itself does seem like that at best or way worse. Where certain choices that may seem unique to every individual maybe the rational consequence of a series of environmental, biological(genetic and natural) and other miscellaneous background experiences brought upon the biological entity (who has the so called "choice") through random probability. So then this writing was the result of a continuous falling of dominoes. Hope the aliens are reading. But then again maybe the Flying Spaghetti Monster is going to erase it all with its mysterious invisible tentacles.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Bewafai-- My first and hopefully last movie summary/review
Every once in a while there comes along a movie that is so bad that you are gonna die laughing. Never thought aap ka suroor could be beaten but after watching Bewafai I can safely say there never could be a worse one. I have a nasty stomach ache after that but here's the story in a nutshell. Trust me if you can watch it you would wanna. There are few movies that can make you laugh as bad as this one.
I started watching it somewhere in the middle where Padmini Kolhapuri has just come back to sanity. Rajesh Khanna and Tina Munim are in the middle of a love story. Tina's dad Pran who is also Rajesh Khanna's boss obviously doesn't like this so he does the obvious: send 3 lackeys to kill him. But then 3 lackeys with a machine gun are of course no match for the superstar with 2 heroines. So what does our good old villain do: hire the biggest badass killer there is bigger than even Sunny Deol, the one and only "Rajnikant"(sound effect: taddaaan!!!).
Rajni's of course got the super killer style. He won't use the conventional guns, knives, tigers or poison, so what does he use: a remote controlled automatic gun which is fired using a time bomb. He certainly cannot miss but the hero too cannot die, so Rajesh Khanna ends up with a bullet in the head and occasional headaches and blindness and impending death as marked in the calender after exactly 12 months(after effects of "Anand"). His clues to the murderer, Rajni's calling card, a toy gramophone which sings some "eyes" song. Padmini Kolhapuri runs back to Rajesh's parents so that they can come to a different city and sign a few documents for the hospital but by then our awesome killer has decapitated the dad and given a gentle push off the top floor to the mom. The same mom who predicts the future way better than any economist predicts the stock market(even better than my barber predicting the weather) but well guess she wasn't paid enough to put up more of a fight.
Now you would think watching a loved one shot in the head and his parents dead would send an ex-nutcase back over the brink but no... She goes insane only when Rajesh Khanna shouts at her. Tina is conveniently away with Pran somewhere. Meanwhile another lady enters in(Meenakshi somefink) to romance the lead guy so he can dump his lady love(he's not got much time left between the long monologues) who also wants revenge on the main villain and also hires our big killer. He promptly demonstrates how to send her pet dog into complete paralysis except the eyes with a needle. Padmini gets back from a boating trip after watching Rajni and Tina romancing. Which doc takes a mad patient for a boat-ride is beyond me. So she runs back to report.
So finally everyone there is meets up at a party, Padmini realizes Pran raped her (I am still to find a movie of hers where she did not get raped). Rajesh and pran fight, Rajni secretly does his Kung-fu panda style needle nerve technique(should be called Rajni's techniqe(TM) but then it is super secret and people know only the more mortal panda) and Pran's mostly toast. Rajesh proves Rajni's the killer(how?? fingerprints on the gramophone of course) and a chase sequence where Rajesh due to his occasional blindness or terrible driving killing half the public on the road, destroying all the property there is follows Rajni on a bike.
They take the free for all fencing match back to Rajni's uber cool, world famous, secret hideout which has attack birds and state of the art laboratories among other things. Just as Rajesh gets distracted by Padmini and stabbed, she reveals she is Rajni's sister. Guess the shocks in between cured her. So now these 3 sit down and talk about their lives until then for half an hour when the superstar realizes Rajesh is dying. So after some more casual informal verbal exchanges, he reveals he is also a surgeon with a special offer: A bullet removal free with every sword cut treated. The cops come along at their leisurely pace and shoot Padmini(one for each of her corny one-liners) and Rajni who is done with the surgery, one stitch per bullet that hits him. Rajesh is just glad he doesn't have to pay the bill.
Finally the movie ends with Tina and Rajesh getting together singing songs on a helicopter and a boat and life's good again as the 3rd heroine is pretty bored of Rajesh after the few dates or multiple night stands that she had with him. Finally about the music; The songs in this movie are positively priceless, I wouldn't listen to the album no matter how much you paid me.
I started watching it somewhere in the middle where Padmini Kolhapuri has just come back to sanity. Rajesh Khanna and Tina Munim are in the middle of a love story. Tina's dad Pran who is also Rajesh Khanna's boss obviously doesn't like this so he does the obvious: send 3 lackeys to kill him. But then 3 lackeys with a machine gun are of course no match for the superstar with 2 heroines. So what does our good old villain do: hire the biggest badass killer there is bigger than even Sunny Deol, the one and only "Rajnikant"(sound effect: taddaaan!!!).
Rajni's of course got the super killer style. He won't use the conventional guns, knives, tigers or poison, so what does he use: a remote controlled automatic gun which is fired using a time bomb. He certainly cannot miss but the hero too cannot die, so Rajesh Khanna ends up with a bullet in the head and occasional headaches and blindness and impending death as marked in the calender after exactly 12 months(after effects of "Anand"). His clues to the murderer, Rajni's calling card, a toy gramophone which sings some "eyes" song. Padmini Kolhapuri runs back to Rajesh's parents so that they can come to a different city and sign a few documents for the hospital but by then our awesome killer has decapitated the dad and given a gentle push off the top floor to the mom. The same mom who predicts the future way better than any economist predicts the stock market(even better than my barber predicting the weather) but well guess she wasn't paid enough to put up more of a fight.
Now you would think watching a loved one shot in the head and his parents dead would send an ex-nutcase back over the brink but no... She goes insane only when Rajesh Khanna shouts at her. Tina is conveniently away with Pran somewhere. Meanwhile another lady enters in(Meenakshi somefink) to romance the lead guy so he can dump his lady love(he's not got much time left between the long monologues) who also wants revenge on the main villain and also hires our big killer. He promptly demonstrates how to send her pet dog into complete paralysis except the eyes with a needle. Padmini gets back from a boating trip after watching Rajni and Tina romancing. Which doc takes a mad patient for a boat-ride is beyond me. So she runs back to report.
So finally everyone there is meets up at a party, Padmini realizes Pran raped her (I am still to find a movie of hers where she did not get raped). Rajesh and pran fight, Rajni secretly does his Kung-fu panda style needle nerve technique(should be called Rajni's techniqe(TM) but then it is super secret and people know only the more mortal panda) and Pran's mostly toast. Rajesh proves Rajni's the killer(how?? fingerprints on the gramophone of course) and a chase sequence where Rajesh due to his occasional blindness or terrible driving killing half the public on the road, destroying all the property there is follows Rajni on a bike.
They take the free for all fencing match back to Rajni's uber cool, world famous, secret hideout which has attack birds and state of the art laboratories among other things. Just as Rajesh gets distracted by Padmini and stabbed, she reveals she is Rajni's sister. Guess the shocks in between cured her. So now these 3 sit down and talk about their lives until then for half an hour when the superstar realizes Rajesh is dying. So after some more casual informal verbal exchanges, he reveals he is also a surgeon with a special offer: A bullet removal free with every sword cut treated. The cops come along at their leisurely pace and shoot Padmini(one for each of her corny one-liners) and Rajni who is done with the surgery, one stitch per bullet that hits him. Rajesh is just glad he doesn't have to pay the bill.
Finally the movie ends with Tina and Rajesh getting together singing songs on a helicopter and a boat and life's good again as the 3rd heroine is pretty bored of Rajesh after the few dates or multiple night stands that she had with him. Finally about the music; The songs in this movie are positively priceless, I wouldn't listen to the album no matter how much you paid me.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Evergreen pastures
Excerpts from the chats of Winston and Bernard:
Bernard: u gotta check out the latest touch screen i got.. Its got web anywhere.. useful to keep checks on the stocks on my way to the office..
Winston: I got that one last year.
Bernard: ya?? thought it hadn't released there..
Winston: oh no. Been having it since the first day it came out, works wonders on my election campaign.
Bernard:don't really care 'bout those here..
Winston:well we need to make sure no dumbbell accidentally screws up. Don't have your luxury of peace.
Bernard:'course.. but then u guys do have other luxuries.. equality does deflate your ego all round.. and u guys do have way cheaper manpower..
Winston:Don't tell me you cant afford it. I hear people higher up have to use all the loopholes every year or they get demoted.
Bernard:We ain't that obvious.. besides we snatch power for the same reason as u guys.. marginally better life than the others.. tho yours is way better..
Winston: Way better than the bulk I agree. But we do have a level for the more "gifted".
Bernard:I still don't get your idea.. inequality among people will piss them off..
Winston:All humans are equal. But you know some are more equal. You must reward talent. That keeps the better ones subdued. The not so talented are like the water that flows in rivers.
Bernard:clean??
Winston:Of no consequence without direction and force.
Bernard:i still say telling people equality rocks.. gives u full right to use philanthropy to cut down any misfit..
Winston:I would still call them revolutionaries not misfits. I was one too.
Bernard:besides i get to always make the rules for everyone..
Winston:We choose when to break them.
Bernard:that's true.. :(
Winston:But you of course have a lesser chance of a "misfit".
Bernard:neither do u.. u always have a few perpetual villains.. known evil is better than the guerrillas.
Winston:But that is at the risk of being one every once in a while.
Bernard:even better.. u have a shape-shifting enemy.. we are still at risk.. invisibility is not invulnerability..
Winston:The media certainly helps us out on the "support the leader front".
Bernard:How ironic. We actually lay out all our cards in the media while you keep the ace in the hidden pocket.
Winston:Not everything should be let out. As for the media, we dust their back, they dust ours.
Bernard:Yes the right information in the right manner would be devastating for both of us. We drown it in a sea of irrelevance, you keep it hidden.
Winston:We also keep the proles busy. When you have to battle each day, you are not going to be searching for holes which are not supposed to be there.
Bernard:We keep everyone busy with enough distractions. There is always something cool to buy, and something cool to watch or do.
Winston:None of them realize there are things way better off than what we show them.
Bernard:Maybe they are not. Everyone's ideal world is not the same.We do have people coming from your land and living here for "the better life"
Winston:We have people coming back and others who settle down here as well.
Bernard:My point exactly. Things may actually be at their best now. We do offer 2 versions of the promised heaven. It may not be perfect but it is the best compromise.
Winston:Or maybe we market hell as heaven and we are just really much better salesmen than statesmen.
Bernard:Oh you want to talk about hell, we at least provide some sort of quality in life. There is Galt's land which oppresses, harvests and and shows us all there is a heaven there.
Winston:I think they are better statesmen than salesmen.
Bernard:Because the rest of us all know that living conditions suck there while they project the opposite?
Winston:Because they keep their people from breaking the shackles despite them being able to see our lives, despite us being able to influence them, despite the people knowing they may not be happy.
Bernard:So they are on earth while we've created the heavens on earth.
Winston:You could say that. now I feel good about what I am doing.
Bernard:OK signing off here. I got a few things to do.
Winston:Ya reminds me, I still have my election to work for. See you later.
Bernard: u gotta check out the latest touch screen i got.. Its got web anywhere.. useful to keep checks on the stocks on my way to the office..
Winston: I got that one last year.
Bernard: ya?? thought it hadn't released there..
Winston: oh no. Been having it since the first day it came out, works wonders on my election campaign.
Bernard:don't really care 'bout those here..
Winston:well we need to make sure no dumbbell accidentally screws up. Don't have your luxury of peace.
Bernard:'course.. but then u guys do have other luxuries.. equality does deflate your ego all round.. and u guys do have way cheaper manpower..
Winston:Don't tell me you cant afford it. I hear people higher up have to use all the loopholes every year or they get demoted.
Bernard:We ain't that obvious.. besides we snatch power for the same reason as u guys.. marginally better life than the others.. tho yours is way better..
Winston: Way better than the bulk I agree. But we do have a level for the more "gifted".
Bernard:I still don't get your idea.. inequality among people will piss them off..
Winston:All humans are equal. But you know some are more equal. You must reward talent. That keeps the better ones subdued. The not so talented are like the water that flows in rivers.
Bernard:clean??
Winston:Of no consequence without direction and force.
Bernard:i still say telling people equality rocks.. gives u full right to use philanthropy to cut down any misfit..
Winston:I would still call them revolutionaries not misfits. I was one too.
Bernard:besides i get to always make the rules for everyone..
Winston:We choose when to break them.
Bernard:that's true.. :(
Winston:But you of course have a lesser chance of a "misfit".
Bernard:neither do u.. u always have a few perpetual villains.. known evil is better than the guerrillas.
Winston:But that is at the risk of being one every once in a while.
Bernard:even better.. u have a shape-shifting enemy.. we are still at risk.. invisibility is not invulnerability..
Winston:The media certainly helps us out on the "support the leader front".
Bernard:How ironic. We actually lay out all our cards in the media while you keep the ace in the hidden pocket.
Winston:Not everything should be let out. As for the media, we dust their back, they dust ours.
Bernard:Yes the right information in the right manner would be devastating for both of us. We drown it in a sea of irrelevance, you keep it hidden.
Winston:We also keep the proles busy. When you have to battle each day, you are not going to be searching for holes which are not supposed to be there.
Bernard:We keep everyone busy with enough distractions. There is always something cool to buy, and something cool to watch or do.
Winston:None of them realize there are things way better off than what we show them.
Bernard:Maybe they are not. Everyone's ideal world is not the same.We do have people coming from your land and living here for "the better life"
Winston:We have people coming back and others who settle down here as well.
Bernard:My point exactly. Things may actually be at their best now. We do offer 2 versions of the promised heaven. It may not be perfect but it is the best compromise.
Winston:Or maybe we market hell as heaven and we are just really much better salesmen than statesmen.
Bernard:Oh you want to talk about hell, we at least provide some sort of quality in life. There is Galt's land which oppresses, harvests and and shows us all there is a heaven there.
Winston:I think they are better statesmen than salesmen.
Bernard:Because the rest of us all know that living conditions suck there while they project the opposite?
Winston:Because they keep their people from breaking the shackles despite them being able to see our lives, despite us being able to influence them, despite the people knowing they may not be happy.
Bernard:So they are on earth while we've created the heavens on earth.
Winston:You could say that. now I feel good about what I am doing.
Bernard:OK signing off here. I got a few things to do.
Winston:Ya reminds me, I still have my election to work for. See you later.
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