God

Does God exist? I believe in Him/Her(if I can be so arrogant as to assign God a sex). I don't know God, however. I have neither been able to personally communicate with God, nor feel his presence(lets assume he is male for sake of convenience-not trying to be chauvinistic here). Maybe I was never supposed to establish contact. Or maybe I am not eligible yet, nor do I know a method of gaining that eligibility. And I'm definitely not sold on the fact that religion is the way(more under a future topic - Religion).
Why do I believe then, that God exists? Perhaps it stems from my inability to explain the world or the universe and everything in it. Where did everything come from? I've read theories on the Big Bang and black holes, but where did that come from? If the law of conservation of energy is true, what was the initial form of energy that landed you and me here in this world? Which is why I feel God is not a human form, but a form of energy. Lets leave it at that.
I was introduced to Yoga & Spirituality by my parents when I was in High School. And for a while there, I thought spirituality was the way. I still believe it is, but however I don't feel the need for God yet. The universal question - "Who am I? Why am I here?" has popped up in my mind many a time, but I haven't seriously started to search for an answer yet(maybe Google will be able to tell me one day ;) )
God does not play an active role in my everyday life. And I dont believe things were ever intended that way. We are responsible for our own actions, and to lead our lives the way we want. Imagine the number of coconuts wasted in India during school finals. Im pretty sure god does not intervene. You work hard/work smart and you get ahead. Luck is a factor, yes, but definitely not a function of your loyalty to God. It is more a function of your and other people's life events that are completely out of your control.
I'm not so sure about fate either. It makes life so pointless and uninteresting, to think your life's path has already been clearly charted out - which is why I detest astrologers and fortune columns. "A real man makes his own luck", Billy Zane said in the Titanic. And many a time in life, when I have fallen, or have been disappointed, I have consoled myself saying 'All that happens, happens for the good', and 'luckily' things have turned out alrite so far (Thank God! ;) )
So when I go to temples these days(pretty rarely), I do pray. I've stopped asking for material things. I thank God for everything I have(not sure why, maybe out of habit). And I ask for happiness instead for me, my family and the world. I'm not sure why I ask....maybe its just an expression of my hope, or my wish. I do feel a sense of calm, or inner peace when I'm in a temple though....maybe its the presence of God, or maybe its just nostalgia.
So thats that!

Abortion

Who the hell am I to judge - I'm a man. But I can try and reason.
A woman probably feels she has the right to decide, because it is she who is most affected, whichever way she goes. She may feel it is not the time for her, she may not have the resources to support a child, or the time even. The last thing we want is an uncared for child who strays into drugs and violence. And maybe all she wanted was a one-night stand. Frankly, if you ask me, sex and pregnancy should be different things. People want to have sex way more often than they want to have a baby, and thats the way it should be. What would you choose - hmm, lets see -
a) A 20 minute wildly exciting orgasmic experience or
b) A 20 minute wildly exciting orgasmic experience along with a 20 year responsibility gilded with perks from pregnancy and a painful child birth procedure to school, homework, rebellious adoloscence, college up until marriage
I'll take option a, thank you very much! But thats a different topic altogether, so we wont go there.

But is abortion killing? If you were not allowed to kill a born child, should you be allowed to kill an unborn child? How about all those murderers who have been convicted and serving terms for killing two people when a pregnant mother was the victim? The mother could very well come to the conclusion that she will not be able to provide well for the child after he/she is born - should she be allowed to kill a 2 hour old kid? Is a fertilized egg a life only after it is born? Whats the cut-off age below which its ok to kill? And I've also heard the argument the the fertilized egg is only capable of being a child after so many months, and you are not really killing if you abort at an early stage. Recently the US Supreme Court ruled that late abortions are illegal, i.e., a foetus that is able to survive outside the mother's womb in an emulated environment cannot be aborted.
Or is this about pain/torture(the animal activist theme)? Is the argument really - "hey, an unborn child cannot feel pain, so its ok to abort and its the mom's right, but a born child can feel the pain". In that case, should painless killing be legal - I am sure there are ways - maybe consuming cyanide is one (although you wouldn't really know if it was truly painless until you had it, and if you did, you are already dead).

So I dont know where I stand on this one yet. I'm sitting really - I see sense in both sides of the argument. So I will sit and wait for someone/something to enlighten me. I however dont subscribe to the biblical/religious reasoning behind the pro-life campaign, and dont buy it when people say 'God said abortion is wrong'. God certainly didn't say anything to me. In fact, I don't believe God ever said anything to anyone, but more on that issue under a different post.

Where do I stand?

I was never interested in politics/social issues when I was in India - mostly because it was(and still is to a great extent) rife with corruption, and partly because I was younger and interested only in friends, music and girls. But its different here in the US - things seem far more interesting to me, mostly attributed to Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, National Public Radio and Stephen Colbert(in that order). People have a voice, and it is heard - whatever the medium may be - audio, video or text. In no other country do they take 'Freedom of speech' this literally or seriously. You can pretty much say anything you want about anyone you want - yes, you can call the President a 'dumb fuck' on TV/Radio in front of millions, and wake up alive the next day....very unlikely in India.
And there are many issues out there being publicly debated. So here you go, I write about how I feel about some controversial issues with a healthy headcount on both sides of the argument, recently made popular by the mainstream and not-so-mainstream media.
Initially, I thought I was going to discuss all issues in one blog, and started off with 'Abortion' and it very quickly snowballed into a multi-paragraph argument(I had no clue I would have so much to say - I'm obviously a really bad planner). So this is going to be a 'multi-blog' series and here are some of the issues I feel like talking about:

Abortion
Gay Rights
Global Warming
Iraq
Islam
Religion and God
2008 Presidential Campaign
Vegetarianism

Stay tuned!

Bollywood - Latest Ishtyle

I watched 'Being Cyrus' today, with friends, at Chicago. Man, what a transformation for Indian cinema!! I clapped in the theatre after a long time. Although I was the only one to clap, I wasn't really embarassed. My applause was not for how well the movie was made, or for how well the story was told, or how good the acting was....it was an ode to the film-makers, for finally being bold enough to be mature and sensible, for spawning a change, for making a difference, for paving a new way. No song sequences in Europe, no sugar coated love-story or triangle or quadrilateral, no macho hero fight sequences, and no weeping mothers - the general fluff we have become ever so used to watching. Just a plot, that beatifully unfolds. Simple and straight, yet elegant and enigmatic. In English too, so all the 24/25/26 states(ive lost track) and union territories can relate to and understand. A good movie!
The sensible Indians are finally making a noise. For so many years, no film-maker seemed to really care about rational people. We are beginning to see a turn-around, what maybe the burgeoning of a new era. Im not quite sure when this started.....Im sure there have been stray cases of non-cliche masterpieces now and then in the 20th century.....but of-late, there has been a steady trickle, the harbinger-atleast from what I can remember being Nagesh Kukunoor's Hyderabad Blues. Im not really a Bollywood buff, in fact Ive eschewed Hindi movies for a while, except for some blockbusters - maybe 2-3 a year. But since the last couple of years, there have been so many good ones - Company, Monsoon Wedding, Page 3, Main Meri Patni aur Woh, Rang De Basanti, Swades, Bluffmaster, Bend it Like Beckham, Mr and Mrs Iyer and to an extent - Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, Bunty Aur Bubli, Bombay, Roja to list a few.
I used to watch only Tamil and English, but now I am beginning to become to a Bollywood fan....not the regular riff-raff, but this new wave of Indian cinema. Aarti always told me Tamil movies are very crass, and Hindi movies are much more cultured, and I refused to cede so far, but I dont think I will(or can) argue with her anymore. Bollywood has jolted ahead, and Tamil cinema has some catching up to do. But I dont see that happening in the near future, except for some biennial jewels from Mani Ratnam.
Indian cinema is seemingly diversifying(finally). This is a welcome change, and I hope this is here to stay.
For some reason, at this juncture, I wish to quote Frost. And I will because I can, and because I am both the writer and the editor of this post, and so, here goes - "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

White Magic

Apple introduced their Intel based imacs and powerbooks today at the Macworld Expo.....6 months ahead of schedule. How the hell does Steve Jobs pull it off, time and time again? We design hi-tech products at SGI too, but this chip I am working on was supposed to ship on Nov 05, then slipped to Jan 06, and has now again slipped to March 06, and Im not even sure it will tape-out in March. I might be comparing apple(s) and oranges here-pun intended, but the industry is similar. While this probably explains why SGI has been in penny stock for almost a year, and got delisted from the NYSE, whereas Apple doubled its stock price in the last 3 months(from ~$40 to ~$80), I still know how easy it is for shipping dates to slip in this industry. Steve Jobs has a plan and his folks at Cupertino are all fired up.
iPod sales tripled this holiday season, compared to the last, iTunes sales is fast reaching a billion songs, and imac and ibook/powerbook sales have never been higher. Currently, Apple is the place to be, for a tech-worker like me. And, I so should have bought Apple shares at $45 3 months ago. I still know I should buy it now at $80, since I think it has potential to go upto $150, if not more. So people, if you have the money, I suggest you go for it.
Apple and Google are going to rule the world(atleast for the next few years). They are tommorrow's Microsoft and Yahoo.
Apple stunned the world a few months ago, with the introduction of the Nano, quickly followed by the iPod video and the iMac G5 with FrontRow. 3 amazing products released one after the other, right in time for the holiday season. iPod owners, are almost angry with the pace at which Apple churns out newer versions of the product. You buy an iPod now, and in 3 months, it will be "so last year". While some are angry, I for one, am personally awestruck by the pace of development at Apple, and admire them, and applaud them for the challenge they pose to their competition.
Apple Gear to crave for:
1) Ipod Video the 60 gb one, since it boasts 20hrs of music playback-6hrs more than the 30gb version. Video playback (a meagre 2hrs) leaves something to be desired, however. I also love the fact that it has composite out, so you can watch movies on tv. But I am going to wait for a version with a radio tuner/transmitter, bluetooth, and higher playback time, and I dont think I'll have to wait for long. Hopefully my 3rd gen holds out till then.
2) Imac (G5/Intel) - have u seen a cooler desktop. Unbeleivable design, all behind the screen, with a built in isight camera, wireless, and a remote. Arguably one of Apple's best products ever. Great Price too
3) Mac Book Pro - Intel Dual Core processor, supposedly 4-5 times faster on the spec_int and spec_fp benchmarks. Also has iSight built-in. A little pricey, and I would love to know their battery time, knowing how notoriously power hungry Intel processors are, and considering Apple has suspiciously not mentioned this anywhere on their spec sheet/site. I will however wait for a smaller, lighter laptop, with Intel Inside, since I love my 12" ibooks size, mobility and battery power(4-6hrs depending on apps).