Flop show

On Republic day,I had been to the 8th edition of the 'Odyssey Quiz' here in Chennai.This was the third time i have been to it and it turned out to be the worst ever Open Quiz i have ever been to.Almost all of the 35 questions in the prelims were related to things of the past and not even one was from sports or current events and there was no Harry Potter!Apart from the fact that the questions were damn tough (when compared to those in the previous editions) they weren't interesting either.It looked like a quiz meant only for the pro's.4 out of the 8 teams that made it to the finals were the same that went to stage the last time around.Popular quizmaster V.V.Ramanan's team 'QED'(defending champs) finished second.A team from Chennai won.(A team apiece from Mumbai,Hyberabad made it to the final).

The registration to the quiz was earlier done only by submitting the filled up forms in any of the Odyssey outlets.But this year it had to be done only through the net.The turnout of the people was terribly low as a result of the move.Only around 600 teams would have been there.As there wasn't much ad's or ado's...only the regulars would have come to the event.The finals was also not much exciting.Perhaps,the only interesting fact that i drove home was that :
When a female frog is injected with the urine of a pregnant woman,it lays eggs!!
I don't even remember the question for this answer.Overall,the quiz was a flop.Even student organised open quizzes i have been to earlier have been better.I left home dissappointed and so did my friends.We learnt not to carry too much expectations for anything.Expectations only make a defeat/dissappointment bitter but doesn't make a victory more sweeter.
Delete the word 'Expectation'!

War or Genocide?

One of the most interesting things happening now (apart from 'India down under',Indian stock markets,etc.)is the Senate elections in the US.The fight between the 2 democrats(Hillary clinton and Barack obama) has kept me interested in it.The fact that American election policy is much more organised and disciplined than in India is clearly notable.Even the way they carry out their campaigning is remarkable.Their speeches instills the pride of being American..where as down here the focus is on the tax exemptions and promises that look good for you and me but turn out to be another one of those money minting ideas.Ok..let me cut out my opinions...lets get down to facts.

The most pressing issue in the US,ahead of the elections,is undoubtedly the Iraq war.The democrats have promised immediate withdrawal of the troops.Infact,Ms.Clinton has promised that she would take this step on her first day at office and has laid out a 3 step plan for restoring peace in Iraq.Assuming that the war ends once the new government is elected(it is no good to expect it to happen before that)...still lets take a look at the impact it has had right from the day it started way back in 2003.The rationale for the invasion offered by President George Bush were many:
1.Allegation that Iraq possessed and was actively developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in violation of a 1991 agreement.
2.Concerns about Iraq's financial support for the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
3.Iraqi government human rights abuses.
4.Concerns on Iraq's oil reserves.

Mr.Bush has hence been afraid of Iraq and waged the war.Bullshit!Moreover,there has absolutely zero evidence that Iraq had violated the agreement.Nothing was found that suggested Iraq possessed WMD.So,obviously the war becomes meaningless to our eyes.But...look at the fourth point i have stated more carefully...ah..now you know it!
But,the war has been so lopsided...that there have only been those rare days when US soldiers were killed(when compared to Iraqi deaths) in 'protests' rather than calling it by any other term.Hence,this doesn't deserve to be called a 'War'.It is just a mass killing move...Genocide! Violence against coalition forces and among various sectarian groups led to asymmetric warfare with the Iraqi insurgency, civil war between many Sunni and Shia Iraqis.This is only where the term 'War' comes into play.Hence,US is not PART of the war!!:P.A clever ploy indeed.All it wanted was to see as much as Iraqis to die as possible.Estimates of the number of people killed is more than 1.2 million.The money spent has been more than $474 billion to the US.
Imagine,$474 billion from the taxpayers purse.

All i can offer you is an abrupt end...and lots to think about.

Classroom rantings

I was again idle today at class and i was singing LP's "What i've done".As usual,i thought of writing up some shit.As i was singing that particular song..i thought of our world just minutes away from destruction...our world all set to be destroyed by its creator itself.

There are a few lines which need explanation...and they are starred and explained later.
I came up with this write up..

We are living a dream,
that we haven't realised
our end is at hand
and crawling up our necks.

We forgot to count days,
yet we are freaking happily,
like this is our last day
and yet it is so!

War is at hand,
and dusk has fallen.
Still there's no sign of a resistance
but only the sound of music.*

For the species to come,
this will be remembered as the final battle,
the one between submissive humans
and the indestructible fate.

The time has grown dark,
as if Tolkien's Orcs are near.*
The blade has turned blue*
but we turn blind.

There's no smell of a fight,
no sight suggesting a dramatic end,
no sign of belief
for there's nothing to beleive.

The sun beats down
for one last time.
There's no hint of rain
for the world has dried up.

As the trees wither out,
the grass turns brown.
The shadows swallowed the ground
and Sauron's lightning strikes.*

The birds flee their last flight
even as the dogs bark to death.
There's chaos all around,
but the music keeps playing.

The ground burps and dances
as the cement begins to crack.
The music dies out,
and at last there's realisation.

Its panic and grief all over
followed by stampedes and sorrow.
There are cries of help,
which fall on deaf ears of none.

The world shrieks aloud,
and cries in pain.
The Earth beneath collapses
and we know not yet how deep our fall will be!


*but only the sound of music - there's so much happening all around..but we humans fail to take notice and go on with our daily activities.The music is bought in to point out that humans are enjoying their life.
*as if Tolkien's Orcs are near - Orcs are the soldiers of the Enemy Sauron in 'The lord of the rings' written by JRR.Tolkien.
*The blade has turned blue - The hero in 'The lord of the rings' carries a sword which glows blue when Orcs are near.
*and Sauron's lightning strikes - Sauron,as mentioned earlier,is the Enemy...and his lightning is artificial made of fire.A signal that he is powerful and at work.

The beginning of the End

As another year approached its end,it was time for people to party,to welcome a new year in style,to make senseless resolutions,to try to forget forgetful events of the past year,and as always..hope for a better year.January 1 is a day assumed to be the first day of a year.Mankind has intelligently designed his calendar in such a way that a new year knocks our door often,though not too often,for that may turn monotonous.Yes,our Earth finishes its one revolution in a year,and so a year came into existence.But,little do we realise how much our Earth suffers to complete that one round.It cannot be denied,that our planet is ageing and is nearing its last days.The situation has arisen that it is no more in our hands or in that of superman's or the power puff girls' to save our Earth.Such is fate.All we can do best,is maybe prolong our planet's lifetime a bit.Statistics and facts are always mentioned when it comes to the discussion of any threats to our planet.Facts like a so-so nation would be under the sea by 2050 or there is so-so% of pollutant emission by a so-so country is never forgotten to be mentioned.But what purpose does it entertain?It just remains a fact/statistic.Thoughts are converted to words.Words are not converted into actions.
I don't deny that certain organisations or individuals or governments come out with recommendations to help reduce Global warming.Things like use of incandescent lamps,planting greenery..blah blah..are always being said.We just read it..but does it enter our goddamn brains?A Kyoto protocol was put into agreement in 2002(or so i think) and no country has even come close to the target(concerning pollution levels) that was set to be achieved by 2010.Where does all this lead to?
We are just capable of talking facts.We are too lazy to even put our thoughts into action.Another target would be setup in the future and again would not be achieved.The show goes on.But how long?It has to end sometime.A few decades back,our common man wouldn't have known what the fuck is global warming.But now,he knows.And that is it!No more!Its goddamn enough if we know what it is.Such is the nature of mankind.We will talk whatever we think we know about saving Earth till it at last perishes.But there is hope.
What if a superman or a power puff girls do succeed?Yeah,there is hope in imagination.
I am sorry that i had to begin a new year on such a note.But,you aren't sad are you?You are just tired after the New year bash right?Lets keep partying!