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J.D. Salinger

I hope to hell that when I do die somebody has the sense to just dump me in the river or something. Anything except sticking me in a goddam cemetary. People coming and putting a bunch of flowers on your stomach on Sunday, and all that crap. Who wants flowers when you’re dead? Nobody.

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
Dies at 91.

Eureka!

Remember that Aphthous I mentioned once? Yes, that has been my friend all my life. When I was in school I used to get that so goddam much that I would be unable to speak or eat anything without unbearable pain. Every doctor, hakeem, neighbor, aunt, uncle, shopkeeper, distant cousin, dad's colleague etc gave their own nuskhaa's. And I tried every single one of them but to no avail. Once, my father took me to a famous hakeem (as it goes for every hakeem) and that old fart kept giving me treatment for tonsils infection, which I discovered after 3 months when I accidently read the label of bottle he used to keep those tablets in. Then I understood why he never showed the "source" of tablets.

Now it does not happen that much but still most of the days I am suffering from it. Lately it was so severe that it rekindled the school memories. Just then I accidently stumbled upon (as it happens in most of the medicine discoveries) an instant treatment for it. And that treatment is Murree Brewery's Lemon Malt. Seriously. Just a week before when I drank a pint of it I felt pain going away next morning. Now same thing is happening right now. Imagine my ecstasy.

P.S: I was too lazy to try this on rats. Beware!

Lamp

Doubt

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.

Bertrand Russell

I Was on Radio

One of weird things about me is that being a Punjabi I *love* punjabi songs that employ traditional lyrics but modern music. So to quench this eternal thirst, I sometimes listen to BBC Asian Network radio. The only show that I am able to listen to most of the times is The Adil Ray Show. It's not that Adil Ray plays Punjabi music all the time, it's just that he is a fun loving guy.

So, today when I tuned in (after many days) I found presenters confused about a part of lyrics from a song they had played earlier. It was that why would a shoe make noise as the singer sang "jooti choon choon kerdi aa". Instantly, I sent in an email describing the reason. Adil Ray read it online. Can you freaking believe it? Doesn't happen often.

Listen to the recording of the show at following link. If you can't wait for 2 hours, 28 minutes and 56 seconds, just move the play bar to 2:27:57 to listen when he reads my email.

The Adil Ray Show 11/01/2010

Constructing a Social System

Constructing a social system that tends to those who agree with it is a piece of cake compared to constructing one that makes those who disagree with it want to obey its principles.

Erik Naggum on Atlas Shrugged

Symphony No. 5

I was looking for an inspiration while I stumbled upon this musical score by Beethoven. It is the most famous Beethoven work. What awed me most was that at the time of creating this symphony, Beethoven was deaf. How shocking and, at the same time, marvelous is that? It's like a blind painter who makes the world's best paintings which generations after centuries find inspiring.
Listen to this and look at this graphical animation representing different instruments. You will see a pattern of genius.

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