When is the next post?
Recently busy with a kind of winding up schedule. So no new posts until September end. But I hope I will find time catching up with others blog!
.......................................... random jottings ..........................................
Recently busy with a kind of winding up schedule. So no new posts until September end. But I hope I will find time catching up with others blog!
Recently I watched a video clip of Boogie Woogie dance by Sayaani Saumya, 11 years old from Ranchi (thanks to blogger, Sowmya of ennaparimaanangal ). Its simply awesome. She has so eloquently fused the western style with Bharathanattiyam in her dance which is a real treat to watch. I believe one of the highlights of the dance is her dance moves wherein she fuses bharathanattiya abinayam with Michael Jackson fame moonwalk (note when only 1.57 min left).
Surprisingly the music is a Tamil remix song, seems to be made by dj Venthan, which is also interesting to watch (you can view it below!).
I came across a post expressing an unusual perspective on doping issue in Sports, wherein it is perceived that nothing essentially wrong with taking performance-enhancing drugs. Hmm... this unusually different perspective motivated me to write a post on this! I believe most of the individual level sports in a sense is an unfair competition. Let me express why it is? Assuming all the competitors from different parts of the world have equal opportunity to have high quality nourishment and best training facilities for a particular sport, then the only denominator/edge left with to compete is one's genetic potential. This is becoming more obvious from gradual predominance of African Americans/Africans, who seem to have better genetic advantages in many of the sports. Reminds me of the sheer physical power used by Williams sisters to dominate in Tennis arena and the height advantage (genetic) in basket ball, etc. I do appreciate for the efforts of the players in sharpening their skills where mental strategy is involved, say like tennis, but I don't see much of any mental role involved in athletic competitions.
Now talking of the possibility to permit performance enhancing drugs (presuming it works), do we want to allow all participants to use those drugs at either equal or unequal doses and see how best they can outperform each other and award the winner? which I believe as a testing and trying out to pick up the best interaction effect between the drug and individuals with unique body physiology (as expressed by their genes, assuming that nourishment and training were equal at its best). It also leads me to think, assume if I own a billion dollar company and using a single sportsman to promote my products with a deal worth of millions of dollars with him. I can throw some more bucks to carry out exclusive research to develop new drugs for performance enhancement and use it to my advantage. I can even manipulate which sportsman I want to be the winner. I might choose a sportsman with Tom Cruise like appearance over a naturally good sportsman with less appealing face for my purpose. And one can come up with many more possibilities of even to the level of genetic engineering the person to tailor him to the needs of the sport.
Let us wait and watch how things evolve in sports world to work around human limits!
If you take picture of sun in the sky at the same time of the day, from same place in regular intervals over one earth year and combine the position of the sun in the sky you will get this figure 8 curve (pic credits: Anthony Ayiomamitis). This is called Analemma, caused by two totally independent factors.
1. Earth is tilted on its axis by 23.5° in relation to the plane of its orbit around the sun.
2. Earth does not orbit the sun in a circle, but in an ellipse.
You can try working out how Analemma would look like in Mars sky!
(an imaginary dialogue in Tamil language between earth and sun...)
Earth : Hey Soorya edhuku vaanathula 8 podra?
Sun : Tamilnatula motorbike ottanumnu aasai adhaan license vaangarathuku RTO office edhirla 8 podraen...
Earth : license vaangrathuku ettu potta mattum pathaathu konjam thuttayum podanum oi... adhuku pesama... ikkada ra... ra ra raamaya... ettukula ulagam iruku raamayanu... rajini styla paaditu pora vazhiya paru.
(Space shuttle Atlantis landed in California gets back to Florida for its next launch, with a ride offered by a customized NASA's Boeing 747)
(a piece of conversation between them... in Tamil language)
Atlantis shuttle : uyara uyara paranthalum oor kuruvi parunthagathu, likewise Boeing 747 can't become space shuttle! purinjutha?
Boeing 747 : nee enna thaan uyara uyara paranthalum maganey marupadiyum uyara parakrathuku California to Florida poganumna ennanda thaan savaariku vanthaganum theriumla?
Atlantis : sari sari na amuki vasikaraen, pathirama Floridala erakividu ba.
Boeing 747 : cockpit meter mela pottu tharaleyna chennai auto standla eraki vituttu poyiduvaen aama.
Atlantis : Ayyoda... athuku nee intha Atlantisa Atlantic kadalla thallivitutu poiyidalaam...
Jupiter and Dakshinamurti in Hindu religion!
What I have proposed here doesn't have any references or sources. I believe that I may be proposing this for the first time, from what I wondered long back while moving around, inside a Shiva temple (if someone else has proposed this earlier please do let me know about it).
In most of the typical Shiva temple one can come across the statue of Lord Dakshinamurti which is lord Shiva portrayed as Jupiter,, one of the Navagraha. Careful observation around the foot of Lord Dakshnamoorthy will reveal four rishis, two on either sides. I used to wonder why these four rishis are portrayed only with Jupiter, that is Dakshnamoorthy and not with other planetary god forms?! One story which I came across to explain this portrayal goes like this...
Hmm... I try to keep myself away from this issue, the God stuff, but then Sri has drawn me to it. Godmen - ungodly business, a blog post from Ankur is followed by discussion in its comment section, which is marching in the direction of whether all tomatoes (godmen) are rotten or whether some good juicy tomato exist (again godmen only... please don't pickup your vegetable bag, to shop!). I am not sure of whether those who commented are atheist or theist or agnostic, assuming its a mixture of all three, let me express my thoughts on it over here.
Only a small minority are either atheist or agnostic, while the vast majority are theist, who believe in god in one form or other via a religion passed on from their parents. To my knowledge religion is used practically and predominantly on two occasions, one is to celebrate happy occasions, and second, to live through the undesirable moments in life, and one can come up with 'n' number of other reasons for the need of a God and let it be. Of course the happy occasions can still be celebrated even without a religion or god with it. But to handle and live through the struggling part of the life, majority of people in the world are still in need of that belief in so called almighty who is considered to monitor and take care of their well being. And everyone is not equally strong enough to holding onto that belief on their own to face their life positively and here comes the role of godmen, who can layout guidelines and strengthen your belief so that one may cope up with the life situations.
Now the question is whether these people (so called godmen) who are playing the above mentioned role in the society are performing their chosen (either self or by a group) duty genuinely or are they manipulating and cheating those followers, who put their faith on their leading godmen. Here I talk only about the new age gurus (and not on religious heads like popes and sankracharya, but still it holds true for them as well) and I don't wish to point fingers, but I would like to talk on two sets of godmen. One set of godmen start with the wrong foot, right from the beginning, with cheating and manipulation and eventually at some point of time they were revealed, while some others could sustain and run the business by covering up with some good social activities and political power. A second set of godmen start with the genuine aim to assist people, but overtime get corrupted with the accumulation of wealth and power. By then it becomes like running a business serving the consumers with franchises. One can identify any godmen in one of this two sets in various stages of their career(!!)
I see the role played by a godmen is similar to the service rendered by a counselor/psychiatrist/psychologist/psychotherapist. These experts can help people by dealing individually, but can't create a cult in the society. But whereas godmen do start with a cult and end up in where they are right now...... as you can see for yourself!
Just wish to end up with one thirukkural in tamil.
Epporul Yar Yar Vai Ketpinum Apporul
Meiporul Kanpathu Arivu
translation:
Whatever said, whomsoever says, pursue the ultimate truth in it (or pursuit of truth is intelligence).
(this is my translation and so it may have some variation from others!)