Mourning Mahatma

The school bell rang at 10:00 am. All the students in school stopped their chatter, quarrel, day-dreaming, games, and lectures. They stood up in unison, bowed their heads down, and maintained silence. At 10:02 am, the bell rang again. This signaled the end of their silence period. The students went back to their regular schedule of chatter. They never talked about it later. But, it was rooted in their minds and hearts that on this day in 1948 their nation’s great leader, Mahatma Gandhi, was murdered. This was how young minds were made to remember the man who sacrificed his life for a free India.

I wonder if the school administration still carries on the custom.

Winners

The Tennis champions win in straight sets.
Roger Federer of Switzerland winning Australian Open 2007

Serena Williams of USA winning Australian Open 2007

Jamal Crawford starring in Knicks' win over Heat with 52 points

That's funny

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny... '"
— Isaac Asimov

The Last Messages

Writing systems have evolved from pencil, pen, typewriter, computer, and now in the form of SMS messages.
“The Last Messages” is a novel written with SMS text messages about a person “who communicates only through text messages”.

Ford and its endless woes

Ford has been hobbling for sometime now. Last week Ford Motor Company posted the biggest loss in its 103-year history.

Here are some unanswered questions.
Will 2009 be really a heyday for Ford as Alan Mulally foresees? Will Ford be the next turnaround story? How long are the customers willing to wait for an exciting American design?

The stakes are high and the company has mortgaged all its assets. We have to remain and see if the turnaround plan, The Way Forward, is working. Chief executive Alan Mulally is the pioneer in auto industry by using the “smaller is better” thinking.
Let us wish that Ford comes out of this hornets' nest pretty soon.

Perils of Sectarian Violence

Looks like Sectarianism has seeped into educational institutions.

No! I am not talking about Iraq. This happened in Beirut, capital city of Lebanon.

A minor tussle in Beirut University cafeteria escalated into a sectarian violence and people took over to the streets. It is high time that people should realize that they should not discuss politics in educational institutions. It is such a shame that the violence extended to such heights and they ended up firing M-16s.

Laughter

"Laughter is an interior convulsion, producing a distortion of the features and accompanied by inarticulate noises. It is infectious and, though intermittent, incurable." — Ambrose Bierce

Outsider - Law & Order: SVU

I am eager to watch today’s episode of Law & Order: SVU because Kal Penn, of Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle fame, is making a special guest appearance.

Martin Luther King Day

I have a dream that one day little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Google has a beautiful, yet simple, picture of playing children.

Think Good

A man is what he thinks about all day long.
— Ralph Waldo Emerson