Perpetually Perplexed

In this highly competitive world, meritocratic world, every one wants to be special. They think if they are ordinary, they are doomed. And this mind set is more common in younger generation. But everyone can not be special. So these kids find ways of becoming unique,, not bothering whether these ways are good and beneficial to them and whether they are ethical. Then there is sense of belonging. They want to belong just like all of us. If these kids can not belong to mainstream successful kids with their IT degrees and high paying jobs, they want to belong to at least something equally cool. Do these two reasons add to forming future terrorists. Along with poverty, illiteracy or semi-literacy?

I was watching a "Sandarshana" - an interview in Chandana - DD Kannada channel. No, the interviewee was not a film star, nor a politician. He was a artist of Karnataka folk art called "Doddata". The interview was good. But we human beings have an evil side in us. What caught my eyes is the parrot green shirt worn by the interviewer who was not of fair sex. So I made fun, saying he is wearing his wife's nightie - the Indian night dress. But that made me think. (Great!). What if I were at the receiving end of such comments. I too am very bad in selection of my dresses. I would take offense and start 1 hour of continuous criticisms. So "do unto others as you would have do unto you"? But again, we mortals need some kind of humor. Else the life becomes unbearable. And humor most often is making fun of others. That is exact reason me and Charlie Hebdo make fun of God. Because he being magnanimous will not take offense so easily. Now I wrote the ti...

My parents have bought the laptop. So I was searching for some basic help video for them to use the laptop. Help video which they need. They need not know what is cpu, what is input, output etc. Nor do they need to know how to change the desktop wallpaper. I searched for kannada videos. I did find one. But not good. Then there were some video series in Hindi. One was named some thing like basic computers for parents. So appropriate title. And it is good. The video teaches what is desktop, how to search for files, open files etc and how to send gmail. Here is a link to the video youtube And there is another series from gnanyagya . This is professionally made and is useful. My mother is a writer and she wants to type in Kannada using Baraha. So I did find one tutorial for baraha - did not have the patience to go through it. Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmxNRq6PlK8 I got an impulse to prepare a video myself. Then I know me. Will some one prepare a series of vi...

Everyone loves a rags to riches story. Even people like me who look down on non-award winning authors. But most often, the good books are not about this theme. But this book is the opposite of it. It is riches to rags story. The story is really too good but too depressing. The story of teenage boy Hugo, whose father vanishes in Nazi Germany, whose shop is taken over by a non-Jew person and  both mother and son are not even able to protest, and who comes to India in search of better fortune. But we know the end. We know that he will end up the ugliest slums of Bombay with no one in the world to call his own except for some stray cats. Yes. We love to read good books. Which means we read depressing books. But even we wish that, if only the fortunes turn for Hugos of the world. If only there is justice in this world.  The books is Baumgartner's Bombay by Anita Desai. And my rating is 5/5

History of human kind has been that of oppression. And fear. Fear felt by oppressed. And that felt by oppressor.  Talking of fear, good politicians know the significance of fear and use it to their advantage. So do people who want to spread communal hatred. They tell you, you better be aware because they (people from another religion) are going to take your homes, your jobs and your wives and daughters. The ever insecure us, though initially skeptic, gradually believe them completely and start hating other religions wholeheartedly. We fail to realize that by hating, we are losing the only true religion - religion of humanity.

If you are stuck with windows 8 machine like me, you better start learning how to live with it. Start desktop after login First problem I faced was after logging in,  app screen  was displayed instead of desktop. There is a solution to that. 1) Right click on the task bar . Task bar is bottom bar on your desktop. 2) Select properties 3) Go to Navigation tab and check next to show desktop when I login or close all applications Your task is done. Next time you login, you can be happily on the desktop. Run command Windows 8 does not even have run to run your commands. Start icon on task bar just takes you to store apps. And I know how frustrating it is to go to charms bar (at right edge) and click on search and type command and wait for the result. Here is what you do. Click start button (Button with four squares)  on keyboard simultaneously with key r . You will see run dialog. Now type in your command like "cmd" for command prompt, "mspaint...

Better late than never. I have some ideas for essay competitions of tomorrow's "Sadbhavana diwas". Sorry it is not "Sadbhavana divas", but "good governance day". What do you call it in Hindi? Anyways here are some interesting topics suitable for the occasion. 1) We are better than everyone. Because... 2) Only we are legitimate.  3) If you don't agree, migrate to neighboring country 4) She should learn to dress decently 5) We are letting you stay here. So be grateful