My 2 Cents & I am ....

Bush and Kerry traded punched today at University of Miami, Coral Gables. I guess this could be termed as the lastest hurricane to hit florida. Kerry had Bush on the mat for most part of the debate. Bush kept repeating the the sophisticated version of the cliched "flip flopper" title, the republicans have associated with Kerry. Although, I would say Kerry won the first bout, I thought he should have been a little bit more aggressive and knocked the President over. But it was the same feeling I had about Kerry when he debated at the Democratic convention. I thought Dean would win as he is more aggressive but Kerry thumped him with his calm calculated approach. Kerry might rebound in the poll ratings after today's debate beating the President in his strong areas of foreig policy and homeland security. The domestic policy debate on Oct 13 at my alma mater, Arizona State University would be really interesting. Looks like Kerry has some gas left in his tank, so lets wait and watch

Wah Taj Wah

A Hubby's Erection for his wife is 350 years old. No, this is not an advertisement for Viagra. This is the Taj Mahal. Erected by Shah Jahan for the love of his wife, the monument has survived time. Uff, it has really survived time considering the threat a few other places in Uttar Pradesh have faced.

A lot has been said about the beauty of the Taj. I was there in 1999 and it is definitelt more beautiful than whatever you have read and seen. I remember one interesting incident that happend during that trip. A few friends of mine and me asked a passer by in Agra the directions to the Taj. To our astonishment, the gentleman started mouthing obscenities and wanted us to change the plans of visiting tha Taj. He wanted us to visit Mathura, the birthplace of xxxx. That That man, That That problem!

Also, you are not allowed to wear footwear in the Taj... So, please don't visit in summer as you might return home with foot blisters.

So Shahjahan built Taj mahal, what did the Americans do?They built one as well in Atlantic City.

Can you hear Trump saying "Shahjahan, You are duped"

America's Sweetheart
America and Americans are known for springing a surprise and its the country where normal is boring. Weight conscious people monitor the diet with a diet coke but if you roll your eyelids, you can find a big fat cheeseburger right next to the diet coke. They drink coffee without milk and eat chocolate with lots of milk. But this one beats it all. Anybody But Bush said one campaign, somebody misunderstood it as "ANY BODY ,BUTT, BUSH". Coming back to the Presidential election, the first debate is a few hours away. I am sure Bush is going target Kerry's flip floppping ways. I hope Kerry sticks to the issues and tries to portray himself as an leader rather than a critic. If he doesn't do so, he can kiss the oval office a goodbye and kiss the porn site from his office.

India launches world's first education satellite was a headline that I wanted to blog and brag about. It slipped my notice and here I am writing about old wine. Anyways, as my friend who wants to get laid on every saturday night but fails to do so, would say "Better Late Than Never". ISRO is a great organization as it often delivers irrepective of the budgetary constraints. If we don't have a constant standoff with Pakistan , the defense budget can be spent on constructive elements rather than arms and ammunition. I hope the Governments take stock of the situation and divert defense resources into human resources.

First it was Kennedy, then Diana, then Clinton guess who is next??? Mahatma Gandhiji !!! says Times of India. I will not lose the respect for the man by any stretch of imagination but I would love to read the book which proclaims to portray the other side of Gandhiji. I am sure the politcos in the country are gearing up to launch their protestsover the book and gain political mileage through it.

Apples with Apples

I haven't wrritten in a while. So what would make rush back to the laptop for this post? I got to say the Colts Vs. Packers football game. Peyton Manning against Brett Favre in a regular season game. You have to be kidding.. It is a marquee matchup not even matched up by the usual much hyped Warne Vs. Tendulkar contests. This contest lived up to the expectations. Manning threw 5 TD's and Favre 4 TD's. COlts won but I hope Favre makes it one more Super Bowl. For folks who don't know who Favre is, he makes a brief apparance in the famous Cameron Diaz move "There is Something about Mary".

Whats happening in Arizona State ? I spent four football seasons there hoping everyday that they would make it to one of the major bowls. But I leave the place, they are 4-0 to begin the season. "Maybe this is the year" says the ever optimist mini-me. Andrew Walter would be a God in Tempe if we beat USC and keep the streak alive. USC was nearly dethroned by Stanford. Maybe they live another day for the Sun Devils to do the finishing act on them... Lets go Devils!!

Mountain out of a molehill is my only reaction to this story from India. Indian Media has always been famous for making heroes out of zeroes but Hindu has always been an exception. Hindu has glorified the negative sides of an appalling and boring form of entertainment- mega serials. Mega serials in India have proliferated far and wide, their reach can only be matched by the other nusiance of India- mosquitoes. All of them run the same thread of story where the protoganists tend to cry at the drop off the hat. I am not sure how folks back home can relate to these histronics.

A sense of Deja Vu
Last Monday, one of the baseball players from Texas Rangers attacked a fan in Oakland as the fan started verbally abusing him. My mind almost goes back to an incident that happend a few years back in Toronto, Canada. Inzamam, the pesent day Pakistan cricket captain, went into the stands with a cricket bat to attack a fan. So are players justified? Everybody has a breaking point. Most of the comments can be brushed aside but sometimes profanities exceede the line of tolerance. I hope sports fans enjoy and watch the games without heckling the players.

POLITICS 001

Thanks to my friend JK, here is politics for dummies.

A little boy asks his father, "What is politics ?".

Dad says, "Well son. Let me see if I can try and put things into
perspective for you. I'm the breadwinner of the family, so call me CAPITALISM.
Your Mom more or less takes care of the administration of the house, so lets
call her the GOVERNMENT. We're both here to take care of YOUR needs, so lets
you THE PEOPLE. The maid works really hard for the small money that she earns,
so lets call her the WORKING CLASS. And as for your baby brother, lets call him
the FUTURE. Think about this, and let me know what you understand."

The little boy goes to sleep thinking about this. In the middle of the night,
he hears his baby brother crying. He goes to investigate, and finds that the
baby has badly soiled its diapers. So he goes to his parents' bedroom and finds
his mom sleeping. He then goes to his maid's room, and finds the door locked.
Through the keyhole, he sees his dad with the maid. He then goes back to
sleep.

The next morning, he goes to his father. "Dad, I think I now completely
understand what politics is all about." His father is curious, and says
"Go on son, I'd love to hear it."

The response - "Well, while CAPITALISM is screwing the WORKING CLASS, the
GOVERNMENT is sleeping. The PEOPLE are being ignored, and the FUTURE is in deep
shit !!!"

How apt !!

Bushims are the most outrageous comments from the President. Some of them make Sidhuisms look like a poor cousin. With the Grand Old Party's convention going very well, Bush's acceptance ratings have received a bounce and he is holding a 11% lead over Senator Kerry according to Newsweek polls. With less than 2 months for the Nov 2 elections, the chances are bleak for the Democrats and Kerry might have failed in his bid to capture the Oval office. That means America can relish these Bushisms for four more years. Some of his quotes remind me of my college Chairman Jappiar who had his listeners in splits with his own quotes which often bordered on insane.

I have had traffic tickets for speeding but never for driving under influence. I have had friends who had DUI offences. Folks read this -How to drink and drive and get away with it . Maybe you would get away with your next drive after a few pegs. I am not encouraging the act but knowledge would definitely come in handy.

The Hindu ran a feature on Pandit Shivkumar Sharma in yesterday's Metro Plus. I have had the privilege of hosting this great man while I was in Tempe. A man of extraordinary credentials and accomplishment was so down to earth and affalable. I have to admit he was pateint despite my horrendous Hindi. I was trying to excel in the Rastriya Basha but he was happy to converse with me in her majesty's language. He regaled the audience with the mastery of the Santoor and it was indeed a pleasure to have acquainted with the great man.

Pandit Sharma, the gang and me 

India Currents News: Austin on my Mind writes Dilip D'Souza. I atteneded the media workshop presented by him in this conference and I returned wiser. A compter scientist by profession, Dilip D Souza turned to journalism a few years back. He writes regularly in rediff and he is particularly vocal in his protest against the Sardar Sarovar Dam. I have always nursed this ambition to become a journo and Dilip D Souza is someone I would love to emulate as he made crossover from engineer to a journalist.

Bush, Kerry and the Sun devils
I was there for four years and enjoyed some great moments at Arizona State University. Diamondbacks World Series win, Andrew Walter's record breaking passing against Oregon Ducks, those unbeleivably true Halowwen parties, yearly fiesta bowls and larger than life New Year parties but nothing would have come close to being at the Presidential Debate 2004 at Arizona State University. On October 13, 2004 John Kerry and George W. Bush will carry their presidential dog fight to Arizona's finest Grady Gammage Auditorium. What an event it is going to be!!!! The political who is who will be in college campus and it is the case of missed opportunity for a political enthusiast and a growing psephologist in me. Anyways I am happy where I am and I hope Arizona State Sundevils make it to Califronia for the Rose Bowl by the year end. Maybe I will make a trip to Pasadena to bid a winning adieu to Andrew Walter.

AIR WARS

Southwest Airlines, a pioneer is low cost airline tcikets due to its no frills approach, flew its first flight in 1971 between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Almost 33 years later, AIR DECCAN brings the concept to India. Maybe it will spark a war on the air between competing companies. Air India which has owned the Indian skies till now better watch out as Sahara, Jet and Air Deccan are staking for a peice in the pie.

It is a mad world

The last two movies I have watched have had linkages to my pet hates - capitalism and capital punishment. Risky Business, is a telling commentary on the capitalistic agenda- making money counts, never care how you make it. A highschooler decides to run a local brothel for his affulent virgin friends who cash out their bonds and get money. Our smart businessman laughs his way to the bank.

The Green Mile- Tom Hanks plays an executioner. What a grave job. I have nothing more to write about this heinous rule of putting a man to sword.