From shadows to the stars

When choosing your profession, you must keep in mind some seemingly trivial matters that might end up seriously damaging or even killing your career prospects. People say "Don't judge a book by it's cover". People rarely follow what they say. And the same applies for the above stated phrase. People do judge a book by it's cover. This when applied to some aspects of daily life, can seem very comic and ironic. For example, would you get your hair cut by a barber who is bald? This is not an image that a barber should project. Though his baldness (probably) doesn't have anything to do with his barber-ing abilities, somehow a bald barber is not a very encouraging sight. A barber with long, silky and flowing hair is the one you would want cutting your hair. This would be a good image, even if he happens to be THE worst barber of all time. Similarly, dentists with "improper" teeth, eye doctors who wear glasses, etc are also not really impressive on f...

You know, sometimes, speaking a particular phrase or sentence can be misinterpreted. It might be due to the ineptitude of one of the people communicating. Or sometimes, it's just that the language isn't clear enough and is open to different interpretations. In the newspaper i read, "The Hindu", a comic strip titled "Tiger" runs almost daily. And such language based jokes are quite common in this strip. Recently, i had a similar experience. It was a simple enough phrase, but i guess the person i was speaking to was never exposed to it or maybe i wasn't being sarcastic enough! So the conversation went like this. The person i was talking to (I dont want to mention his/ her name, as it might cause severe embarrassment for them. What, with all the millions of people reading my blog!) was talking about how they weren't able to sleep due to an old friend of mine called insomnia. This person was aware (unlike you, maybe) that once upon a time (the...

If you are wondering, the greatest scam of all time are public toilets. You are paying for your own pee, to quote an old friend of mine. And then, the second greatest scam, the subject of my post today, is Subway (the food chain). I dont know how people like those subs. I dont know what they find to be good in it. I dont know the thousand different sauces or the vegetables that are available for choice. All i know is that its one of the greatest acts that a corporate company has ever pulled off. It is the representation of what advertisement, peer pressure can do to you. The first time i ate this thing, i was with my cousin and she was something of an expert in the sub ordering business. The guy behind the table was asking me all kinds of questions "Jalapeno? Mustard?", etc. I was awkwardly and rather stupidly nodding my head to each of his question. So when i finally got my teeth into it, i expected it to be really good and tasty. But to my dismay, it tasted overwhelm...

Humans are perceived to be superior beings that other living organisms because of their ability to think and feel. But it is exactly these two qualities which have made me feel horrible in the past few days. I was thinking about the poor people all around us, living is abhorring conditions, not knowing if there is a next meal or a next day. I thought about those poor malnourished kids, weighing as little as the rice a well off family consumes each day.  It's not fair. What did we do to deserve what we have? What did they do to be punished by the world? And into a well of depression i fell. Cursing the society and our way of life. You think about doing something for them. You think of doing some good. But then you realise, there is nothing you can do. A feeling of helplessness took over me. I hated the fact that I realised the horrors of the world but could do nothing about it. Only people who can feel such things and understand them are doomed for bouts of depression and a...

Well, here I am again, talking about more idiotic observations. But I suspect Jerry Seinfeld would be proud of these. That's right. Two nihilists talking about nothing. The theme of this edition of Random Observations is going to be hair. Facial, body, head. You name it (I've got it :P). RO #1 Ever noticed how "Swamis" or "Babas" (fake Indian god men) are always having a flowing mane and beard. What is that all about? Bald men can't be (even fake) god men? The minute followers see a bald "Swami", they go "Oh wait! He cant be a real Swami! He's bald!!". Seriously? That's where the line is? He's raping foreign (and local) followers (male and female)? No problemo! It's all in good spirit. He's a drug addict? No biggie! He has hundreds of millions of illegal money? That's a pre-requisite. But if he's bald? No way Jose! He is a hoax. RO #2 I have been trying to grow a beard (yes. much like the fake ...