Sunday, December 29, 2013

~ I ~

An amazing collaboration of 4 artists from diverse backgrounds music, dance, graffiti & mask - to present the song called I. 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

~ Guy Martin & GSXR1000 ~

Respect! For what Guy Martin does. Watch the video to know what I mean. 

Monday, December 16, 2013

~ 50 years of Rock Excess ~

The documentary takes you from the birth of Rock in the 60's till the Nu Age metal of the 21st Century. Covers some of the iconic Rockstars who have reached the epitome of life where nothing was impossible to do & get away.

They truly led an excessive life & some paid with their life. The documentary not only covers the transformation of various rock forms, but also offers glimpse into the lifestyles of these rock bands. 

Hard to believe that none of the current Rock bands come close to producing music of the 60's or 70's. As David Wild puts it, "The way Rock music was toned down in the 90's for it to be more acceptable & marketable to the mainstream; It was Good for the World but Bad for Music".
Nir


Most of the British Iconic Rock bands were covered in the first episode but not all were covered. Also, the Big Four of thrash metal never got a mention. Don't know if there are future episodes that will cover the evolution of Rock into Sub Genres.

Be warned that the Rocumentary has 


Saturday, December 14, 2013

~ Super kid: Titus ~

You should watch this little kid do amazing shots. Just watch & enjoy!


Saturday, December 07, 2013

~ RIP Nelson Mandela ~


A man who led by what he believed, who eventually took the path of peace to get freedom for South Africans. A lot to learn & lookup to. 

Sunday, December 01, 2013

~ Dirty Wars ~

We all have come across the popular idiom "All's fair in Love & War". One can relate to it if they have either waged a war or has been in love. I can relate to it as I have experienced the taste of Love and at times you become uncanny to get what you want.

Well this post ain't about Love nor the side-effects of it. Rather it's about War which the United States has waged over last decade in the name of National Security. No doubt every country has it's right to protect citizens and their right to live peacefully. I believe War might not be the ultimate solution for buying security in the long term. The victory might come with a shelf life, as the same War might be creating monsters thereby a vicious cycle that doesn't have an end.

Jermey Scahill, a war journalist who has covered wars in Iraq & Afghanistan and the author of International bestseller "Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army". His investigation journalism into the deaths of many innocent civilians across countries -Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia & other countries, threw light into the operations of US President's elite armed force named JSOC. 

Jermey Scahill's latest book and the film Dirty War gives an insight into the various operations of JSOC across the world and how they operate. 


After watching the film, don't think we will see any large scale war in the future. The JSOC seems to be the likely force that will be used to derive the necessary outcome anywhere in the world. President Obama might seem very liberal unlike his predecessor George W. Bush; but has definitely given JSOC upper hand in getting things done. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing for US and other countries. 

The questions at the end of the film leave you thinking as to what would happen next. The war on terror turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. How does a war like this ever end? And what happens to us when we finally see what's hidden in plain sight?

Saturday, November 16, 2013

~ Human behaviour on Social Networks ~

Not really sure how would one interpret the behaviour of humans on the web. As most people tend to freely speak out in the virtual world via the popular Social Apps like Facebook / Twitter, many of us seem to have failed to differentiate the definition of "Like" vs "Read".

This rant originates from my observation of people's behaviour on the Social Networks. 
  1. Does a like on Facebook actually mean they liked it or an acknowledgement of having read the piece? 
  2. Or an RT (ReTweet) means they endorse the subject of the tweet vs they wish to pass on the information to their respective followers?




As of writing this post, I observed that 12 people have liked the post of "22 labourers killed in a road accident in Karnataka" from The Hindu.


I have add this debate with earlier too & failed to conclude on the subject. What your are thoughts on the same? 

Friday, November 01, 2013

~ Namma Nimma Metro ~

It will be a year next month, when the nation took to the streets to protest the rape of a girl in Delhi. From then to now, rapes haven't stopped nor the harassment towards women. The change has been that women have begun to report and file complaints. 

On Oct 12 we had an incident in Bangalore when a girl boarded the Metro. The hapless student didn't find any help from the fellow patrons, security guards or the police, except for one lady. Thanks to the CCTV on board of metro which captured the faces of the culprits and yesterday two men surrendered to police, while the other two are still at large. 




The police have slapped section 509 of the IPC on these men. 
Akhilesh and Ajay were slapped with section 509 of the IPC - which says "word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman". But police justified slapping the section, saying the "crime is not of serious nature".
"It was just for fun. They have no criminal background for us to slap more stringent sections of the criminal law," said DCP (East) PS Harsha. The DCP stated that the youths were asked to resign their jobs after the incident came to light via TOI

I feel Section 509 is good enough, if effectively applied by the law of the land. What does 509 mean:

509. Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.-- Whoever, intending to insult the modesty of any woman, utters any word, makes any sound or gesture, or exhibits any object, intending that such word or sound shall be heard, or that such gesture or object shall be seen, by such woman, or intrudes upon the privacy of such woman, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. via IndianKanoon

If they are punished for up to an year then it should set an example. I doubt our police or law will subject these men to such a long term. 

Just saw this short film by Anurag Kashyap, "That day after everyday" touches the subject of eve teasing and molestation of women in daily life. 


The movie is a depiction of what women undergo in day across any Metro in India. The problem is far more deep rooted in the society. You can't just classify that outsiders vs insiders are doing this. I think in every city women face the common problem & it doesn't matter from which part the men come from.

One just has to observe and you will notice how women are under preying eyes of men across the workplace, local food joints, public spaces, etc. 


The change begins at home and people around you. The way Boys are brought up at home definitely makes a difference to how they grow & behave as Men in their lives. If you are a parent to a young boy then please instill some values as they grow, it would make our cities a better place to live for the women.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

~ Quote on reading ~

"Reading is the work of the alert mind, is demanding, and under ideal conditions produces finally a sort of ecstasy. As in the sexual experience, there are never more than two persons present in the act of reading — the writer, who is the impregnator, and the reader, who is the respondent. This gives the experience of reading a sublimity and power unequalled by any other form of communication | E.B. White"

Via Noodle 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

~ Humans are evil ~

We humans are more barbaric than any other species on planet earth. Am disturbed watching this video. The massacre of gentle giants; 600 of them. 

Tuesday, October 08, 2013

~ River terns of Bhadra ~

Beautiful story of River Terns of Bhadra by Amoghavarsha.

~ An idealist: Ladar Levison ~

We haven't heard much about Snowden in the past few months. None of the mainstream media is reporting on his whereabouts nor what he is up to in Russia. Mr Snowden is off limelight for now.

"Levison believes that when the government was faced with the choice between getting information that might lead it to its target in a constrained manner or expanding the reach of its surveillance, it chose the latter. The documents, and Levison’s comments to us, suggest that although he is a skeptic, he was willing to work with the government: he offered to write intercept code himself to capture their target’s metadata, and acknowledged that the government might have a right to the person’s information. He was willing to turn that information over, as he did in a case involving child pornography; Lavabit’s archived site in fact explicitly states that one of the reasons its most secure services are available to paying customers only is so that if an account “is used for illegal purposes that money trail can be used to track down the account owner.” But the government refused Levison’s offer. It wanted the keys to everything, so he gave it nothing." via - How Lavabit melted down | New Yorker
However Mr Ladar Levison, Owner of Lavabit, is taking on the mighty Government to fight for his rights and the company's operation within the constitutional code. 


Not sure whether Ladar will win the case; but we need to recognise his courage to fight for what he believes in without leaving the country. I hope people support his fight for a more secure & better Internet. 

Thursday, October 03, 2013

~ Django Django ~


Have always wondered how effortlessly they do that. Obviously it takes a lot of practise to get there.

Sunday, September 29, 2013

~ Mr Wenger, 17 years at Arsenal ~

This image has been created by an Arsenal fan, Shahid Shaikh.

Mr Arséne Wenger, the Frenchman, completes 17 years at the club. I have followed the club from 1998  through its highs or lows, and I have always admired him for what he done for the club. Am one of those Gooners who thinks "WengerKnowsBest". 

Gooners have had to live without a trophy for 8 seasons now & the pressure has been on the board, players & especially the manager for his style of play and operations. After having let go of key players season after season and crawling for 4th place finish in the last 2 seasons, most fans had lost their faith in Wenger. The way this season has started off & with our explosive last day signing of Özil from Real Madrid, those fans with "WengerOut" chants have gone silent.

Mr Wenger did surprise everyone with Özil signing, at £42.5M, a new club record for a player. Historically, he has always groomed young players into fine footballers. This time he broke away from his principles and tradition. 

Today, we beat Swansea to go on top of EPL table once again { above Sp*ds :D }. I know its too early to be celebrate. Still an amazing feeling for Arséne's 17 years at the club. The best part being, Spurs drew Chelsea; both the Manchester clubs, City & United lost. Above all, MUFC is at 12th place :P


This would be one of the best weekend for Gooners across the world :)

Some quotes on Wenger:

Jamie Carragher, former Liverpool defender:
Wenger was responsible for some of the most harrowing and unnerving days of my career.
Arsenal conquered all before them from 2002-2004, culminating in them being called the Invincibles after going unbeaten for a whole season. Outstanding  footballers and also supreme  athletes — they had everything. When you stood next to them in the tunnel before a game, the panic would roll in.
They were the best I ever faced, the only team that left me feeling technically and physically inadequate. From goalkeeper to striker, they were built like tanks. If you tried to tackle them, you would bounce off them.” More here.

Stan Kroenke, Arsena's majority shareholder:
“Arsène knows how we feel, what our philosophy is, what we want to do and I feel like we are totally aligned. I think he wants to do it the exact same way as we do.”
“I really enjoy Arsène – very smart, very intelligent. He has an absolute view on how he runs that team and the club. He has earned that right. Don’t look for me to interfere with that. I have learnt over the years that sometimes owners try do that and it is not so good.” More here.

Mr Wenger talking about his 17 years at Arsenal:
“It's a long time and a short time,” said Wenger. "I don't know where the 17 years have gone.”
“Our job has a good advantage - you just look forward to the next game. You never look back. I believe that is the most important. Of course when you look backwards, there's a lot of effort and consistency in effort behind that. For me the most interesting is tomorrow's game.”
“[I've never thought] that I don't really need this anymore. I want it even more. I think the good thing about football is that it's unpredictable and the next game is always a discovery and a new adventure and so you focus on that. All the rest is decoration.” More here.
via BBC


Saturday, September 28, 2013

~ Dial out criminals ~



Times of India has started a campaign against the Ordinance which the government is proposing to pass which allows criminals to hold on to their posts as MPs and MLAs. 

All you need to do is call +918067730022. The number of missed calls received will be published to show the President of the number of people against the Ordinance. After one ring, the call automatically disconnects. You will get an SMS thanking you for the miss call. Those who live overseas can participate.

I just did my bit. Time to ring out the criminals from the political system. 


Saturday, September 21, 2013

It's your fault

In the latest episode of All India Bakchod they talk about Rape & how the victim is blamed every single time. Kalki & Juhi appear in the video satire, which covers the typical clichés that are spoken about Rape.


It's Your Fault

Saturday, September 14, 2013

~ Offline vs Online ~

Paul Miller speaks about his offline experience. There is a lot of paradox of being offline vs online. 


It doesn't matter what it is, finding the balance in everything we do in life is the key. When we overdo something, thats when we get into trouble.

This situation might not hold good to most Indians. Definitely applies to all those who use a lot of social apps & are not connected with real world.

Additional reading: Always Connected | Offline Paul

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

~ Car engine infographic ~

A year ago when my FIAT Palio gave starting trouble I did google to figure out what are the key components & how they operate. You don't need to google anymore, 'coz Jacob O'Neal has done a fantastic job of creating an animated infographic explaining how a car engine works. 

~ Click to view ~

Learning could be so much fun if information is depicted in the right manner. 

Via: Jacob O'Neal

Monday, September 02, 2013

~ Always connected ~

Off-late, have been getting into the mode of keeping my occupied w/ my smartphone when I am in a social gathering. Could be Twitter, Whatsapp, Path or Instagram. Observations regarding my behaviour from my fiancé often makes me slide the phone aside & have a conversation. 



I wasn't like that before, but over the recent months the app addiction has increased. Rather than blaming the technology or the device, its time to accept the short coming of myself. I could use the technology / device as a catalyst in making our lives simpler & better than turn me into Zombie. 

We all need to find balance that keep us sane and connected to the real world. We seem to be more interested in snapping moments on camera, sharing status messages, tweeting sporting events or music shows than ever before. Having conversations with people around is more fun than via social media apps. Definitely, the medium can't be blamed for the addiction we create for ourselves. As with every new invention, technology/device/gadget could be boon or bane based on how one adopts it!

Nick Bilton has a good piece in BITS
“Every experience is being mediated and conceived around how it can be captured and augmented by our devices,” said Mathias Crawford, a researcher in human-computer interactions and communications at Stanford University. “No place is this more apparent than our meals, where every portion leading up to, during and after a dining experience is being carved out by particular apps.”
People make dinner reservations on OpenTable; check in on Foursquare when they arrive at the restaurant; take a picture of their food to share on Instagram; post on Twitter a joke they hear during the meal; review the restaurant on Yelp; then, finally, coordinate a ride home using Uber. 


You be the judge & make the necessary changes in your lifestyle.

~ Chaplin the dictator ~

The words might be from a movie script, but they hold good even today. We haven't really evolved much over the years in our political bickering & petty nationalism.

Looks like we will only be united when nature turns its fury or when we are under attack from an external force.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

~ Steve McCurry: Photographer & Storyteller ~



A photographer is also a storyteller. The story doesn't end with a photograph, but extends beyond when they narrate it. Steve McCurry is one such photographer, who doesn't compromise on his vision. 

Here are few untold stories from his 30 years of professional career. 

Saturday, August 24, 2013

~ Woody Allen | What I've learned ~



Woody Allen has some good advice in life.

Dad's advice
My dad didn't even teach me how to shave — I learned that from a cabdriver. But the biggest lesson he imparted is that if you don't have your health, you have nothing. No matter how great things are going for you, if you have a toothache, if you have a sore throat, if you're nauseated, or, God forbid, you have some serious thing wrong with you — everything is ruined.
On marriage
It's been said about marriage "You have to know how to fight." And I think there's some wisdom to that. People who live together get into arguments. When you're younger, those arguments tend to escalate, or there's not any wisdom that overrides the argument to keep in perspective. It tends to get out of hand. When you're older, you realize, "Well, this argument will pass. We don't agree, but this is not the end of the world." Experience comes into play.
Final piece
It's just an accident that we happen to be on earth, enjoying our silly little moments, distracting ourselves as often as possible so we don't have to really face up to the fact that, you know, we're just temporary people with a very short time in a universe that will eventually be completely gone. And everything that you value, whether it's Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, or whatever, will be gone. The earth will be gone. The sun will be gone. There'll be nothing. The best you can do to get through life is distraction. Love works as a distraction. And work works as a distraction. You can distract yourself a billion different ways. But the key is to distract yourself.

We call come with shelf life, so live in the Moments & Enjoy what you do.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

~ Seal of approval ~


Last week I saw people sharing an article about an American student's experience in India across Social Media. 


Today another student has expressed her experience during her stay in India.

Am sure anyone on travelling or studying or working in India will have perspectives about the country, culture, people, food, history, et al. Each one goes through different experiences - good, bad & ugly. The perspectives about an experience could be based on various factors - family upbringing, economical status of the individual, knowledge about place, food, people, etc. It varies on many degrees. Its not WYSIWYG.

Am sure, as Indians, we ourselves are highly opinionated about people from different parts of a State. Forget about our perspectives with people / culture from various parts of India. So, our perspective about foreigners would be a very skewed. 

I don't really understand the need of such hype or stereotype the subject. I feel, we don't need Western review to highlight the lows or the highs of the country. Most of us, Indians, are already aware of the circumstances & behaviour. Be it treating women / men / elders / disabled, race, cultures, etc. We do nothing about it to bring any change in self or those around us. 

As M K Gandhi said, "Be the Change you wish to see in the World". We need to drive that change what we wish to see in the world around us. Do your bit, before stereotyping / preaching others.

Over the weekend, while at traffic signal near SadhashivNagar, observed a hoarding which says something like this - "Learn yoga from Internationally certified yoga teacher". Do you figure oxymoron in it? Yoga & International :) 
Yoga, which has its origin in this country, we Indians still look for the seal of approval from elsewhere. 

Such is our obsession with Western approval for the scheme of things in life or otherwise. We need to stop looking elsewhere for doing what is right. Just do it!

*iReport is running on Jive. Jive is a collaborative product. In my previous job, have helped build customized enterprise communities. The technologist in me makes me observe the underlying platform :)

Saturday, August 17, 2013

~ Dark is beautiful ~

If you have watched any Indian TV channel then you would have come across the plethora of fairness ads targeting women & these days men too. Even after 66 years after obtaining Independence from the British rule, Indians are fascinated & obsessed with everything white. We haven't really come out of the colonial mindset. 

Finally there has been an initiative called "Dark is beautiful" from the group Women of Worth.
Dark is Beautiful is an awareness campaign that seeks to draw attention to the unjust effects of skin colour bias as well as to celebrate the beauty and diversity of all skin tones.


Good to see Nandita Das giving her voice to the cause. 

~ "I want people to be comfortable in their own skin and realise that there is more to life than skin colour," she says, adding that an Indian paper had written "about my support for the campaign and then lightened the photo of me that went alongside it" ~
"India's obsession with fair skin is well documented: in 1978, Unilever launched Fair & Lovely cream, which has subsequently spawned numerous whitening face cleansers, shower gels and even vaginal washes that claim to lighten the surrounding skin. In 2010, India's whitening-cream market was worth $432m, according to a report by market researchers ACNielsen, and was growing at 18% per year. Last year, Indians reportedly consumed 233 tonnes of skin-whitening products, spending more money on them than on Coca-Cola."

If you are obsessed with fair-skin then you are spending too much time & energy on something which is not worthwhile. There is much to life than sporting fair skin or applying fairness cream to get there.

Stay UNfair and live your life!

~ V for variety ~

My friend Abhi tagged on a FB post today morning. It was a post about the following rules/challenge


Rules: It's harder than it looks! Copy to your own note, erase my answers, enter yours, and tag 10 or more people. Use the first letter of your name to answer each of the following questions. They have to be real . . . nothing made up! If the person before you had the same first initial, you must use different answers. You cannot use any word twice and you can't use your name for the boy/girl name question.

I thought it was pretty easy, but it took me a good 15 mins to come answer all of them. 

1. What is your name: Vivek


2. A four Letter Word: Vine

3. A boy's Name: Vinay

4. A girl's Name: Vindhya

5. An occupation: Veterinarian

6. A color: Violet

7. Something you wear: V-neck sweater

9. A food: Vada

10. Something found in the bathroom: Vicotermeric 

11. A place: Virajpet

12. A reason for being late: Very long traffic jam in Bangalore :P

13. Something you shout: Victory!

14. A movie title: V for Vendetta

15. Something you drink: Vodka

16. A musical group: Van Halen

17. An animal: Vulture

18. A street name: Vital Mallya Road, Bangalore

19. A type of car: Volkswagen

20. The title of a song: Vengeance is Mine

Friday, August 16, 2013

~ Andrew Kim | Design genius ~

I have been following Andrew Kim's blog for about 4 years now. From 2009, I have enjoyed his photographs with various cameras, starting from D90, GF1, X100 to his latest RX1. Always loved his compositions; Be it cars, people, streets, product reviews.



Then there is his design work across - technology, lifestyle, daily-use. Occasional review of consumer products which he bought. The reviews done by Andrew has always focused on the product aesthetic & design. Each time I read the review of a product, makes me wanna own one. It could be a pen, notebook, watch, etc. His recent review of non-technology products like shoes & car makes me drool.

Andrew got the limelight when his personal project of unifying the brand *Microsoft* published on his blog got picked by numerous design & technology blogs across the world. Those who follow his blog know that he has been a big Apple & Jobs fan. Despite that, he took up the job offer presented by MSFT. 

Back in April Andrew got to witness the legendary Dieter Rams, Iconic industrial designer at Braun, give graduation address.





The connection between the two did not end there, Andrew got to showcase his work & also have lunch with the Legend. You can read more about the meeting of design minds in Andrew's words - My lunch with Dieter Rams

Has been a while since I paid visit to his blog, was quite surprised to see him doing reviews on non-tech these days. The one that stood out was his new car Mercedes-Benz SLK. I have watched enough Car shows which do reviews about engine, tires, performance, design, etc. The review from Andrew might not be pure from technical aspects like your typical Top Gear show, but from a design perspective. The eye for details across various sections & User Experience (UX) gives a whole new dimension to how a car can be reviewed. Do check out the review - Mercedes-Benz SLK review





Follow Andrew on Twitter | Blog | Instagram

Note: All the photographs used here are photographed by Andrew Kim. Have sourced it from his blog.

Monday, August 12, 2013

~ Art of running a football club ~

Swiss Ramble rightly nails on all the finer points of footballing economics.  who play such fast paced game on the field also have a clever Manager who has been made the club more profitable. The biggest irony of having good bank balance is that we haven't won any Silverware.


We might be the richest club in  but have failed to land any players this summer. Signing experienced players would definitely help us stay in contention when the team needs to cope with injuries during the season.



A very insightful post, with lots of facts & graphs that doesn't make you sleep, even though it speaks about accounting, taxes, balance, et al. Now is the time for #Wenger to spend some £ and take the challenge to the next level in EPL & Europe. 

Arsenal - Money Don't Matter 2 Night   

~ One second ~

If you love stats then here is a website which highlights what happens every second on Internet -  http://onesecond.designly.com/

10 years ago Skype, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr, Dropbox, and Instagram didn't exist. 
20 years ago there were only 130 websites total, Google wasn't even around yet, and you had to pay for an email account through an ISP. 
30 years ago there was no internet.

Additional reading: What happens in 60 seconds ;)

~ Wildlife. Robots. Drones ~






Probably the only place where most of us would agree to use Drones, i.e. to monitor wildlife. National Geographic uses Robots & Drones to film African Lions at Serengeti.

The big cats are on a steady decline over the last couple of years. It is sad to note that 5000 - 6000 lions are bred in captivity till 5 years and then released for hunting. Thats shocking to hear. You can listen to it here.

Don't forget to visit the beautiful micro-site setup by NGC, The Serengeti Lion. Love the Design & UX of the site.

I wish India adopt Drones & Robots or Technology in general to save Wildlife

Via: The Verge | Note: All photographs by Michael Nichols & Bent Stirton for NGC.

Saturday, August 03, 2013

~ Winner of NGC Traveler Photo Contest 2013 ~

These two images stand out for me compared to the others.


Merit Winner: Portrait of an Eastern Screech Owl. Masters of disguise. The Eastern Screech Owl is seen here doing what they do best. You better have a sharp eye to spot these little birds of prey. Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. (© Graham McGeorge )

Third Place Winner: Say Cheese. Cheetahs jumped on the vehicle of tourists in Masai Mara national park, Kenya. (© Yanai Bonneh)

View all the winners here.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

~ Epic Mashup ~

One of most seamless movie mashups ever to be made. Watch this & let me know if there is something which is better than this.

Friday, July 26, 2013

~ Information overload ~

Ever wondered what the netizens of the world do in 60 seconds? The infographic below is the answer to that.


Am sure those reading this post, have an account in one of the above application & do contribute a substantial footprint. Off-late I have tried my best to share very less content on networks.

Not sure about others, but I have experienced distraction while I had Tweetdeck running. After 6 months of self discipline, I have kind of cut down twitter usage. Currently, check my TL while commuting to office {P.S: I do not use smartphone while driving. I take the company transport ;) } or during lunch. The below diagram is an ideal representation of how my mind was before.

Mental desktop of Distraction Junkie. Source: Componentowl

Am slowly getting to a different state. To see how the mental desktop of Zen Coder looks like, I suggest you read the post - Are you a Zen Coder vs Distraction-Junkie

I definitely need some kind of Intelligent Algo OR need to cut down on the number of people I follow in the Social Networks to filter the Noise from the Signal.

A new kind of addiction can be seen around - consuming or producing content and being hooked to a mobile device. This might lead to a different health issue if we don't know how to maintain balance b/w online & offline world. 

GoodNight! going offline :)

Sunday, July 21, 2013

~ Animals as leaders ~

An interesting name for a music band ain't it? Animals as Leaders. I discovered the band during this season's Bangalore Open Air. They are American instrumental progressive band based out of Washington.


Don't mistake this blogpost for a review on the band. I felt the title goes well with the subject, as Humans we have lost control of our inner instincts in the world of Darwinism. Through the years of evolution, mankind might have evolved from being animals to intellectual beings. We have tried our level best to create a society by defining rules & institutions in various forms to have control over people. Why? To maintain order in the system where things can run smoothly & efficiently. 

However, the human mind hasn't been able to define a rule or a law which could adapt to the Continuous Evolution {CE}. The rules & institutions which were supposed to create an environment where everyone would have equality & freedom hasn't really happened even after so many countries have gained Independence from Colonial Rulers. 

Am sure you are wondering what is that am trying to convey with a progressive metal band name, Darwinism, Institutions, etc. This rant has been over the passing of judgment, which let Zimmerman walk free over the killing of young boy, Trayvon Martin. Also, how the systems which were created haven't evolved over changing times or the reformation of the system has been very slow.


Many Americans across major cities in the US have taken to the streets protesting the judgement. There have been numerous blogs & mainstream media covering it. From the User-Generated clutter on Social Media, these 3 posts stand out.

Gary Younge writes 'Open season on black boys after a verdict like this' in The Guardian
Appeals for calm in the wake of such a verdict raise the question of what calm there can possibly be in a place where such a verdict is possible. Parents of black boys are not likely to feel calm. Partners of black men are not likely to feel calm. Children with black fathers are not likely to feel calm. Those who now fear violent social disorder must ask themselves whose interests are served by a violent social order in which young black men can be thus slain and discarded. 
But while the acquittal was shameful it was not a shock. It took more than six weeks after Martin's death for Zimmerman to be arrested and only then after massive pressure both nationally and locally. Those who dismissed this as a political trial (a peculiar accusation in the summer of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden) should bear in mind that it was politics that made this case controversial.
Amy Davidson asks 'What should Trayvon Martin have done?' on her blog in The New Yorker.
I still don’t understand what Trayvon Martin was supposed to do. I’ve asked before, and received many confident answers; since the moment George Zimmerman shot him dead, there has been no shortage of loudly stated certainty about his actions and explanations of how it all ought to have gone. Most are presented as self-evident. Many are contradictory. None are satisfying. In part, that’s because we don’t know exactly what Martin did in the very last minute of a life that ought not to have ended. More than that, too many of the prescriptions are not about what Martin was supposed to do, but who he was supposed to be.
The third one where Charles Blow writes the Op-ed column in the NYT, "The whole system failed Taryvon Martin"
This is not to dispute the jury’s finding — one can intellectually rationalize the decision — as much as it is to howl at the moon, to yearn for a brighter reality for the politics around dark bodies, to raise a voice and say, this case is a rallying call, not a death dirge.  
The system began to fail Martin long before that night.  
The system failed him when Florida’s self-defense laws were written, allowing an aggressor to claim self-defense in the middle of an altercation — and to use deadly force in that defense — with no culpability for his role in the events that led to that point.
This isn't the first time we have seen injustice taking place in the world. We have been witnessing across the world time & again. Except that there is change now, people are no longer silent. They have started protesting against Govts or Institutions - Arab Springs, Occupy WallStreet, Greek protests, Nirbhaya protest

In the recent past, Indians have taken to the streets to protest corruption in the institutions which are meant to serve. The other one which shook India was the protests in Delhi over the rape and subsequent death of the victim. 
Even though Obama has spoken about Trayvon Martin case yesterday, that he could have been the person 35 years ago. He tells there are the flaws in the system & could drive reforms for a better & safer country. 
Compare that to our Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh's speech given during the Rape protests. The speech is more like a news reading & ending up "Theek hai". Interesting, the 'Theek hai' video has removed from Youtube, probably a request from the Indian Government.
We might protests for freedom of speech, liberty, democracy, et al. As leaders Politicians might speak up from their past experiences or prepared speech. The speech could be for political gain or otherwise; in the end, the ground reality needs to improve for everyone in the system. 
Connecting the 3 - the title of American instrumental progressive metal band, Evolution and Institutions. We have a lot to learn from Animals. While they might live their lives out of instincts, there is some order in their system. Even though we Humans have evolved in many factors & attained mastery over many domains, we still are fighting over basic things in society we created. The Institutions - Democracy, Laws, Constitution, etc which were created to bring order and equality still hasn't been conducive for everyone. 
Till then I feel Animals are far better than Humans.