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Stalingrad + Library

Battle of Stalingrad has been turning point for Germany and WW-II in general. It is an incredible, incredible story of blinding passion, fear, deceit, suppression, and patriotism. They way Antony Beevor has told it makes it better than fiction and unputdownable. Books are for all seasons and you can read and enjoy them whenever you want, but this book is meant to be read in winter as cruel winter was one of many reasons Germany fell to Russia. While reading turn off the heat for a "better" experience. It will freeze your spine, both literally and metaphorically.

Mac has a great app called Delicious Library. It scans barcode of stuff (not just books) that you own through Mac's camera, finds info about them and adds to your collection. I have these books in my library. Books in first row are the ones which I have yet to read or reading (i.e. Stalingrad). Others are the ones that I have read. A lot of them either couldn't be recognized (e.g. The Fountainhead), returned wrong item (e.g. Anna Karenina) or didn't have barcodes altogether (e.g. Othello).

@H: I found that book buried deep in pile. Let me know if you still want me to return that ;-)

The Candy Lovers

Being one of my acquaintances results in instant observation that how big a candy lover I am. I just love to eat sweets. You can send me to a deserted island with a promise of perpetual supply of candies and I will be just fine. This is a kind of love that is transferred through generations. Somehow, as it appears, that I am only one with this enormous responsibility to carry this love forward: None of the siblings particularly like candies so much. I had two ex-roommates who met me, at different times, after years and the first question they ask is if I still go out in middle of the night to buy candies. I just laughed and they understood.

The other day I went to a local shop to buy some sugary stuff. The shopkeeper was busy arranging some stock in back of the shop so I waited. The instant shopkeeper got free and came to the counter a cute little girl of about 3 walks in. Almost simultaneously, we both put our money on counter and demand a certain brand of candy, in unison. Two candy lovers in same shop: First one is the 27 year old tallest guy you would see in a week while the other one is the 3 year old cutest little girl. I looked at tiny little fellow almost embarrassingly. She looked at me indifferently. Both sharing same passion for candies.

The shopkeeper probably realized this and smiled a little. It would have made an impressive advert for Cadbury.

Not Top

To live only for some future goal is shallow. It's the sides of the mountain that sustain life, not the top.

Robert M. Pirsig