If household objects were people and they could be psychoanalysed, which object would occupy the prime position as the most attention seeking, the least self-effacing, the loudest, the most narcissistic, the most colourful and preening member of the inanimate world? Continue reading Unusual ways we’re using the TV
7 Job seekers’ conundrums
You’ve worked hard. You’ve gotten a degree. And then you start looking for a job.
You skim through thousands of job ads. You encounter buzzwords and concepts that whizz through your head like bullets.
Each one is a paradox. Or a tautology.
Or whatever. Continue reading 7 Job seekers’ conundrums
So two geeks walk into a furniture store
I had the unique opportunity to go furniture shopping with two exceptionally gifted geeks the other day. Continue reading So two geeks walk into a furniture store
Observations on the writing process
Ode to failure
What does it mean to lag behind, to loiter, to delay, to be undecided, to lack a goal? To fail, to fall, to get lost, to wander? To not be perfect, to not match exactly, to not fit a plan, to not fulfil the scheme, to not be of value, in short, to not be successful? Continue reading Ode to failure
The Ex-Files: Ex Boyfriends and Girlfriends from the Twilight Zone
The Ex archives and the archiving process–the meaning of storing, filing, classifying and communicating about exes and the final, ceremonial, cathartic exorcism. That could be a good subject of contemplation today.
Why do we keep returning to the Ex-Files in life and literature over and over? Continue reading The Ex-Files: Ex Boyfriends and Girlfriends from the Twilight Zone
Dinner and a movie– alone!
Have you ever tried to tell someone that you had an engagement Friday night?
“What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“I’m going out for dinner and a movie.”
“Who’s going?”
By that, they mean who’s going with you?
Try saying “Me.””Myself.” “I.”
Look of incomprehension. Then understanding. Then pity. Then the inevitable desire to “reach out.”
“We’re going bowling. Come with us!”
Why is it so difficult to understand that it might be possible to enjoy one’s own company?
Why can’t a person go for a dinner and a movie by themselves? Continue reading Dinner and a movie– alone!
How to write blogs
I am rather new to this genre called the blog but in the past few days I’ve been able to figure out a few stylistic conventions of blogging, which, no doubt, have some roots in necessity. If anyone knows more, I’d be very interested to know what you figured out through experience.
Here’s what I found: Continue reading How to write blogs
It’s a dog’s life
It’s a beautiful day and I’ve been at my window watching dogs pass by with their owners. Now, I live in a place where there is very little dirt and the concrete, on sunny days, it glows like a clean white plate right out of the dishwasher. Not a crack, not a speck of yesterday’s dirt. The water of the river is blue and the ships, they look perfectly painted.
There are so many dogs! The dogs here, like the people, have an attitude. Continue reading It’s a dog’s life
Why blog?
Okay. So I decided to write something little, something small whenever I feel like it. Isn’t that really what writing is all about? I mean, writing doesn’t really move mountains, or solve the economic crisis. You may try to hit someone hard with words, but a baseball bat is better. A few years ago, I saw a big cow eat an entire book. Didn’t make the creature any wiser. She was still standing, tied to a pole, the last I remember.
So then, why do I bother to write these blogs? But more intriguing a question than that, why do some people read other people’s blogs? I mean don’t students just hate assigned readings and teachers hate grading essays? How many students will have their grandmothers die multiple deaths rather than admit they just didn’t do it or teachers invent departmental meetings to avoid contact with the written word in the form of student papers?
So why would you read the ramblings of someone you don’t even know leave alone stand to gain something from? Continue reading Why blog?
Facebook and Friendships
In the last few years, something has changed about my understanding of friendships. Before Facebook, I had sort of assumed what a friend was, what friendship meant, and how I myself interacted with friends.
But in a strange way, contrary to a simple idea that Facebook makes me realize the difference between “true” and “false” friends, people I actually know in “real” life vs. people I have barely met or not met at all, my notion of the idea of friendship itself has changed. Continue reading Facebook and Friendships
10 Ideas on how to write more (and better)
Writing is a very achievable goal.Â
- Have a rough estimate of the number of words you plan to write every day/ week/ month as it suits you. This will help you keep track of how much you’ve actually progressed and set realistic goals.
How to date a non-geek woman: Advice to Geek men
Since my rather sociological observation on Geek dating habits last week, I realized that a need exists in the world regarding more research on this topic. A brief review of existing literature to augment my (erstwhile) ideas to supplement my first-hand experience observing Geeks in Geekdom, from the disinterested perspective of a non-geek, revealed a misdirected focus in said critical analysis of this highly misunderstood and somewhat neglected species.
Moreover, a few brave voices from Geekdom (in the form of comments and other indicators) that were able to rise above the clamour and noise of long preserved stereotypes, on both sides, to reach the Geek researcher’s ivory tower compelled me to think about the following question:
Even if the common woman (oops, didn’t mean that kind of common woman) did reach out to the Geek, how would the Geek, the semi Geek, the uber Geek, and the ultra Geek not manage to chase her away? What pearls of wisdom can I share to bring about mutual intelligibility?
Continue reading How to date a non-geek woman: Advice to Geek men
The Bottledworder
The mountaintop
The thoughts, they just come and then slip away. They keep you awake at night. Some thoughts stay with you and go round and round in your head, like eddies of spring water falling down a cliff over smooth rocks. Some meet the ocean naturally, but some need a little help. Hence, me and my new machine. . .
the bottledworder!
Tip#1:Â There is nothing natural about the writing process.
Tip#2: Just drink!
bottledworder 