~ 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 

~ 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. 

~ 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. 

~ Django Django ~

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

~ 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

~ 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.