Book Review

In the Line of Fire - Pervez Musharraf.

Just finished reading this book last night & the incidents were interesting to read given the recent treatment given by Musharraf to Nawaz Sharif and Ms Bhutto. I could review the incidents mentioned in the book, however I am not knowledgeable enough to dispute them. So I shall review the book as I would review any other fictional tome. The book is written well. It flows well and I would not be surprised if this book is easily adapted for screenplay. It gives interesting sequences of events, almost a-la-24. The story is quite sequential, though he does FFWD it sometimes. I was surprised to see references to a lot of western media. for e.g. The movie 'Black Hawk Down', some songs etc. It almost seemed written to woo the 'gora' readers. I was also surprised to read about the sheer # road trips he has undertaken. 1 was intercontinental.

Having said this, the thing that stood out the most for me was this book seemed a 337 paged SOP. Even though this is an autobiography of a Army soldier and how he rose to the position he is in, it seems to be a rosy bollywood story minus the "vidwa ma ani andhi behen". The story also hides certain aspects, almost knowingly, of the central character's meteroic rise. I guess it's the author's privilege to reveal only that he chooses to.

Fall colors

I was recently on a camping trip to Door County, WI. We selected this destination as, their neck of this woods as the locals call it, is supposedly quite beautiful during Fall season and they are proud to show their Scandinavian heritages.

We probably mistimed our trip as hundreds others, as we could not see the fall colors in full bloom (blame it on global warming). Though for people planning on visiting Door County, I would recommend other locations in WI and Upper MI, which are better. Kettle Moraine (just north of Milwaukee) has better Fall color display and Upper MI peninsula towns have a much better small town feel. Most towns in Door County seem too artificial sometimes and not to mention expensive.

While driving back, I was engaged in some intense pondering (right word?) with my better half. I am posing that same question here for discussion.

Everyone is excited about seeing Fall colors, and they very well should be. The color display is amazing and definitely a must see, at least once in a lifetime. But if my hair started turning grey next week, people are not going to be queuing up to come see my balding & greying moon. I guess that's life !

Volunteers Fixing Roads in Chennai!

Potholes are problem on most roads in India. A group of volunteers in Chennai are out to fix the situation themselves. They are planning to fill the potholes with cement concrete by working at night! The city is being divided into zones, allowing teams to work in their neighborhoods. They are looking for more volunteers and accepting donations too.

Click Here for the The "I FIX" Initiative Wiki

ice break!

Its beeen a while since I posted! Been busy travelling, joining school, orientation, settling in my new place... Jus wanted to break the ice and start blogging again...
will be posting some interesting blogs v.soon!

Painkillers

An interesting article on addiction to painkillers..

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/21/AR2007082100146.html

"You get to where you don't even want them (pills) anymore, you just do them so you can get through the day," said the 43-year-old southern West Virginia resident.

"As OxyContin came under scrutiny, doctors were more careful about how they prescribed it. Many switched to hydrocodone products, which were already popular but didn't have the same stigma."


Switching from one to another....and 4 yrs down, they see this is also addictive!!!

Gambling-- a disease???

In the latest NBA scandal, referee Tim Donaghy has been found betting on games, and sharing information available only to referees. He has been charged with offense due to to the involvement of mafia, and in the latest twist brought about by his lawyers, they are claiming he has had this condition(giving it medical terms) for a while, and being untreated, he has fallen deeper and deeper through the years.....I fee it is a pure manipulation of the system, where anything and everything is a medical condition ....Can betting be really attributed to a medical condition....???

Article on Nightclubs

Hyper link: Nightclubs are hell. What's cool or fun about a thumping, sweaty dungeon full of posing idiots?
By Charlie Brooker in The Guardian

Quotes:
"Clubs are such insufferable dungeons of misery, the inmates have to take mood-altering substances to make their ordeal seem halfway tolerable. This leads them to believe they "enjoy" clubbing."

"They were all photographing themselves. In fact, that's all they seemed to be doing. Standing around in expensive clothes, snapping away with phones and cameras... It's not enough to pretend you're having fun in the club any more - you've got to pretend you're having fun in your Flickr gallery, and your friends' Flickr galleries."