Cranberry Sauce

The following is a letter addressed to the Zeitgeist Movement, pointing out some of its conceptual flaws and practical shortcomings this is not a challenge nor a debate, but a discussion. i am, in essence, in support of your ideals and your vision. but i find several practical difficulties in implementing your proposed system As a primer, i would like to state the two basic needs of man (animal): survival and procreation an advantage of the monetary system is, it empowers a person, in the sense it, largely, makes an individual responsible for his own survival. the need to earn money partly stems from the need to stay alive and "earn" his next meal or shelter, food, health, education. Also, it provides a competitive environment which helps people push their limits of competence and hence (largely) ensures personal growth. The monetary system is responsible for a reward/punishment form of positive/negative reinforcement to participants of the system, which eventually helps dire...

Caution: The f ollowing discussion is wrought for football (soccer?) fans, especially those in favor of a club by the name Manchester United. Viewer discretion recommended. A long ball was launched up to Rooney and he took it down with a great touch, turned, and with the Arsenal defense backing off, hit an unbeatable curling shot into the top corner to send Goodison wild. Everton had won, Arsenal’s unbeaten run was over, and Rooney had arrived. Always searching for the sound bite, commentator Clive Tyldesley exclaimed “ Remember the name: Wayne R ooney ! ” That was October2002 – he was only 16 then. Wayne Rooney signed for the Reds two seasons later after a staggering £27m tra nsfer. In September 2004 , he scored a hat trick on his United debut. He was only 18 then. Since then, he has scored some truly memorable goals for united including the scorcher volley against Newcastle , the chip against Portsmouth , the late, late winner against Milan . Besides, he has gone through thr...

Individuality is no less than a definitive feature of Independence , ensuing growth and prosperity; and identity is the basis of individuality. Without an identity, there can be no Individuality, no Independence and no progress. The identity of our beloved campus has been seeded, nurtured and cocooned by our mother campus BITS Pilani, to whom we shall be forever indebted hence grateful. We have been bosomed with bountiful love and patronizing care. The dutiful, condescending restriction, in the name of brand preservation has inevitably taken its toll on our freedom of expression. More than one of us feels stifled under this throttling protection called the “ BITS Pilani brand name.” We feel the need to establish ourselves as an individual, self sufficient and robust institute, a sovereign vital entity, not an ailing, dwarfed sidekick of an antecedently established University. Bottom-line: We need to be proud of our campus, for what it is. Stunted, slipshod, maligned or vulner...

The following is the unedited version of the article published for the international youth magazine " Voices ". For the published article, follow the link here The next time you crave for your favorite cheeseburger, imagine this: Nearly half the people in the world live on less than $2 per day, and one billion people live on $1 a day, according to reports by UN-Habitat and the World Bank. Slumdog Millionaire has shown audiences around the world a snapshot of what life is like for one in every six people on this planet. A slum is an area where people live without one or more of life's necessities, characterized by inadequate income, shortage of sufficient food and safe water; and often problems of inadequate housing, even indebtedness. Inadequate public services like piped water, sanitation, drainage, roads, inadequate basic services such schools, health-care, emergency services and public transport. Inadequate protection including laws regarding civil and political righ...

Like it or not, you have surely asked yourself this question some time or the other. I would like to make my stance on this. I find this an extremely daunting task, as I find the weight of a billion odd United supporters on my shoulders; I need to do justice to each one of them – to their love and devotion. Most importantly, I need to do justice to my own love – if I define it, the definition must be perfect. I support Manchester United. No wait, I LOVE Manchester United; And it is not for not for sale. Over the course of the next 500 words or so, I will try and convince you why. Just for the record, it is extremely difficult to define just why you love what you love, it will be a shame if you have to justify to yourself someday why exactly you love your mother or girlfriend. First, let me introduce you to my idea of love. According to me, beauty = love = pain = pleasure. What you find beautiful you love and vice versa. Love burns a hole in your heart, it gives you pain, it makes you f...

Millions of people die everyday, hungry of affection, attention or even recognition. The comfortably numb society is on a world take-over spree. The gravitational pull decreases everyday, every second. “blind” is the latest fashion trend- that people can’t see anyway. Entropy is a form of currency. Freedom is taboo, slavery’s pop. It’s a loss to both, the devil and angel. Exception and acceptance have parted ways. Hitler and Teresa are in disbelief and dismay. Peter keating is our new superhero. The earth is firm on its foundations, how I wish it would crumble. The chaos generates a low grade silence, that deafens beyond repair. Life is a chess game with the outcome same for both, if only it went to a penalty shootout. So have a good drown, as you go down……… All alone… dragged down by the stone.

What are we here for again? Moreover, where did that vision of whatever we are supposed to do go that we started updating and watching Google Talk messages? The society today is becoming weaker by the day. Weaker in the sense that we depend on each other more with every passing moment, and the depravation from human contact even for a couple of minutes is beginning to become a dark, scary prospect that nobody seems to want to explore. Whether its going together for classes, or to eat or to play a game or sport or finish an assignment, the world is being pulled, literally, to doing it with each other. Even in their most alone moments, people today are chatting on Gtalk or abusing each other on DC. I admit that my life and observations are limited to BITS-Pilani, Goa ONLY as of now, but isn’t the same applicable elsewhere too? We are getting more and more used to being in the comfort of other people (when a bit of introspection would reveal it is not a comfortable state of being at all)....

Hello, ladies! I'm Soumyadeep aka 7even. I'm a straight-forward guy with a terrific sense of humour and a working pair of feet. I'm interested in attending the Salsa Workshop, but only if I have the company of a sweet charming lady - someone just like you. So, if you are interested, do PM me! An extremely abominable but true situation for some 1000 guys in campus (200 are going out with the 200 girls in campus, 500 dont care and 200 like each other). The lonelines and insecurity among the single (and fast getting desperate) guys just escalates every day, every sem, with seemingly no hope for gratification in the near future. Its on days like valentine's day, Salsa workshops and DJ nights when this hopelessness really goes overboard, and climaxes into depression, cynicism, envy or even pure hatred. They (we) are constantly eyeing the fifty odd girls (i wouldn't call them chicks/babes) in campus that are still single, having fancied EACH one of them. The expectations...

Have you ever considered it embarrassing, even shameful, to walk to the garbage can and dump your glass of Coke when you're "chillin" out' with friends. It just doesn't fit with the definition of cool, does it? Its just so much more hep to just fling it on the pathway; and if it's an empty bottle, its sooo cool to kick it far, show off some football skills. Ever taken a smoke just 'cause everyone around's doing it too. You wouldn't wanna be an outcast, would you. Who cares about parents, they can't see you here now can they. Besides, its the coolest thing to do on earth... just look at all the Hollywood celebs smokin' away to glory; hell its a style statement, it might even serve as the perfect stimulus for that exxxtra effort or that groundbreaking brainwave that you're about to have, that will set you apart from the rest. Ever made up with a guy/gal just because everyone around has one too? Ah you don't care how much time or money...

Is it a landmark achievement, or is it something we should have won a long time back. Are we supposed to feel patriotic for a movie that was not even made for Indian audiences? Is this the right time to make more movies 'tailormade' for Hollywood, or is it time when we show the finger to our auto-plagiarists Mr. Akshay Kumar, Mr. Shahrukh I-Am-The-Most-Charming-Man-In-The-World Khan and Miss Cute-And-Bubbly Katrina Kaif. Isnt this the time that we finally get over our obsession of producing and watching unrealistic and intellectually retarding comedy/romance and get down to making some real movies. And God, can we please get rid of Mr Reshammiya, Mr Anu Malik and Miss hot and spicy Rakhi Sawant. You're only fooling yourselves people- get out of the loop for once. Hell yes, Academys/Oscars are one of the most sane award ceremonies, but don't you still have Stacy Ferguson and Yoyoyo 50 cent performing for those, not to forget the 'men' - Enrique Iglesias, Justin T...