Sigh.

I saw you. Riding by on a white unicorn. Two stories high.(Where DO you get one of those?)

You looked happy.

And I wondered. What I would do to that smile if I so much as looked in its direction.

And me. Would I get a bullet between the eyes? Would you call for help, simply because I am here?

Sigh. Strange malaise. Such vivid dreams. I do hope one day that I seem less monstrous to you. It feels awful to remember what was and acknowledge what is.

Thou shalt not criticise religion

And with that in mind...

Here.

Ayatollah Mohammed Asif Mohseni defended a clause requiring a woman to wear make-up if her husband wished, saying it was designed to encourage men to take an interest in their spouses.
But since the Shia personal status law was signed last month, it has drawn condemnation in Afghanistan and internationally.

A clause stating that a wife must submit to her husband's advances, unless ill, has been interpreted as sanctioning rape.
A group of 300 Afghan women were stoned and subjected to verbal abuse from conservative opponents when they protested against the law outside Ayatollah Mohseni's Kabul mosque on Wednesday.
Ayatollah Mohseni, who leads Afghanistan's Shias, said the law had been misinterpreted by politically-motivated critics.
"Why should a man and woman get married if there is no need for a sexual relationship? Then they are like brother and sister," he said.
Men and women should negotiate the frequency of conjugal relations, and a woman should not be forced to say yes all the time, he said.
However he added that women do have a duty to meet their husband's needs.
"If a woman says no, the man has the right not to feed her," he said.
The make-up clause would protect relationships he added.
"When men venture outside, they see lots of other women with makeup, but he comes home and finds his own wife with a dirty face," Mohseni said.
"This is mentioned to encourage men to have more interest in a social and personal life with his wife."
The new law governs marital and family relations for Afghanistan's Shia minority, who under the Afghan constitution can settle family disputes under their own jurisprudence.

Little boy: But uncle, what if the women outside have better make up?

Uncle: Strewth! You're right. Now if only women's faces were hidden...

Poof.

Following the dramatic success of Afghanistan's latest family law, evidenced by the dramatic drop in divorce rates and female obesity across the country, a new law to promote equality among women has been proposed...

Can you believe...

That this and this were written by a professor at one of India's top business schools.



God, what a nut.



These IIMs should be burnt down. Just for this. It is simply not conceivable that you could be a financial/managing genius and be such a chump at the same time. They're a waste of space, time money and effort. We're better off as a species without the IIMs.

Now, I hear you say that I shouldn't judge an entire brand by the ramblings of one misguided imbecile, but hey, I feel like it. Besides isn't that what he's done with a whole friggin country?

Cast your stones elsewhere, if ye be of the stone casting variety.

Made me a believer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hPBQyJjYJE

I've started watching American Idol. Never paid it much attention before now.

And just in case it gets hit by copyright at some point, the original...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1Nq086QB1Q&feature=related

is it just me thinking the Idol dude's performance is better?

Heck.

Nair's appeared in the high court on a boycott day.

Nair braved the thugs and the gundas to ask for a piddling little adjournment.

There are few feelings more strange than sitting in court like a big black target wondering why today of all days the judge decide to show up half an hour late.

Sigh.

Nair's ok. Luck, but Nair's ok. Got in and got out before they who must not be angered saw him.
That's one little box ticked off anyway.

Sigh

Cut off the boy

Cut off completely

Oh dear. So may echoes. How gut wrenching it was to give this advice. I remember loathing the people who gave this advice when I was on the other side.

There's no way back. Once you're categorized, there just is no way back.

And in other news...

I felt like writing about this but I don't anymore.

I'll just put it down anyhow in idea bytes.

Rahul Gandhi is the great white hope of this country. The Barack Obama of India. Believe it. Right down to the hypocrisies involved. There are worse things than his hypocrisies, though.

Like the beloved N. Modi. And the Ishallbeamartyrrememberthename(its all I've got)VarunGandhi. I'd watch his case with interest...I mean really even if the tapes were doctored, he does look as if he's saying those things, doesn't he? Best of luck proving they were doctored. Who cares though. By the time the authenticity of the tapes are established people would have forgotten about it anyway. Bleh.

I'm not very politically aware, given I read the Guardian more than the Hindu. (Better writing, sorry). But, I do remember Rahul Gandhi saying very clearly that his brief in these elections was to get the "youth" involved. Which is nice. Only, I must mention that the BJP appears to have a far better grasp of the "youth" of the country. I see Advani's face atleast once a day on the web. Internet adverts. Mr. Ihavebiggerb****thanyou Advani, vote for him! He's also all over Tata Sky. I've got the jingle in my head even now. Bombarding me with flashes of the successful nuclear tests and those ohmygodthey'resexy Sukhois.

Sigh. The Congress appears clueless. Is an always useful soundbyte. I just say it as a man in a living room. Who flicks through news channels now and again. Hoping to catch the Big Fight without actually bothering to see what day and time of week its on.

But, it does appear to me as if we're in for five years under the religious right. The thought is mildly frightening. Especially with Pakistan increasingly under Taliban control. Which will also expose Obama as no more than a slick political actor. Af-Pak. Bah!

I also spent some time trawling the internet for information on the political parties closer home. The DMK website is all in tamil. So...clearly they don't care or need people like me. The AIA DMK website is so sycophantic it reminds me of administrative law. But, what is disconcerting is that the people up for election appear to have no real intrinsic value apart from being numbers allowing Amma to get to where she wants.

Now I'm not talking about democracy within the party. I'm not even sure if democracy outside the party is all its cracked up to be. But, oh... I don't know. There may be a culture argument here. As a people we look to individuals rather than ideas. It is an argument is it not? Which came first? The party or the worship?

Anyhoo. Lettuce see. Atleast the AIA DMK website can be read by the likes of me. Which is something. I wonder if I could be a party worker. Its an interesting thought. They look like they could use someone with my experience at drafting verbal assaults.

To you

I thought I should tell you.

I was quite convinced that I would live life alone. I mean really, who'd come near me? I'm quite normal, I don't look half bad and I've a decent if unspectacular personality. But I do have a rather spectacular flaw. Its littered all over this blog. I admit it every now and then, revel in it at other times.

Who in their right mind would come near me?

You.

You did. The hows and whys of it puzzle me, but you did. The patience and understanding you've given me is not something I ever thought possible. It must break your heart to listen to me. You really do deserve better.

I want to tell you that I'm grateful. If things don't work for us I will probably go back to living the indefinitely single life. And I'll be alright. Not expecting much from the world. There is enough it gives me anyway. But I've met you and I feel privileged to have known you as I have.

I've loved you for some time now. You remember the moment? Of pure unadulterated silliness. I fell in love with you then. I've just kept adding reasons to love you since. This is one more.

And I miss you. You're very special. Come say hello, angel.

Oh and, set aside Tuesday evening. ITV. It happens to be another vital step in your football watching initiation rituals. There, you've been adequately warned.