ಎಪಿಸೋಡ್ ೭: ಆತ್ಮಾವಲೋಕನ

ಕೈಗೊಂಡ ಒಂದು ಕಾರ್ಯವನ್ನೂ ಮುಗಿಸುವು

In defence of using "literally" when you mean "figuratively"

There seems to be a renewed wave of attack on the use of "literally" in situations where "figuratively" is more appropriate. A couple of my friends shared two articles on Google reader, including an xkcd which literally rips apart such usage (actually that should be "figuratively rips apart..." but I shall shortly prove why using literally is also not so bad).

Think of your average metaphor - "Maccha Royal Challengers got screwed like a *&^% da"
Think of how you say it if you were even more excited about this - "Maccha Royal Challengers really got screwed like a *&^% da."

In the first sentence we all know that this probably means a sub par cricketing performance by the Bangalore team (or maybe that they ended up with Rahul Dravid yet again at the auction). In the second sentence the presence of really is not to indicate that the description is not a metaphor but a report of physical occurrence but merely to add emphasis to a metaphor.

Please note how the import of the statement does not change when you say "Maccha Royal Challengers got reaaaallly screwed like a *^&%$. Like actually. Proper *&#ked"

Now, though "literally" can be used to indicate actual physical occurrence. In context it can mean mere emphasis to a figure of speech/phrase.

NLS Webcomic - Episode 4

But film buffs will never be bored of directors...


I know it's a horrible pun. I know god will punish me for it. But this blog has seen worse.

I've been publishing elsewhere too

I forgot to mention this as I was typing the previous post just an hour ago. Maybe it's just as well because that post had gone on too long anyway. Anyway, Rainmaker have been kind enough to post a couple of funny pieces of mine on their website. You can find them here and here. Go ahead check it out... These pieces haven't been posted on this blog so you're sure to find something new there. Their website is also very cool and might hold something of special interest to you if you are a law student or a lawyer. What am I saying? If you're a lawyer you probably already know about it.

Episode 3 - On life and politics

...and I shall be an eligible beneficiary.


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NLS Webcomic - episode 2: Learning Kannada. The hard way.

yaenilla dawg... Sumne tarle maadtaa idde...

A softer world, NLSIU edition - casting aspersions on mooters

Thanks to Gupta who apart from inspiring told me how to put in the alt text.

Chief Ministers are we all

Firstly I am disappointed in myself that I had heard of Goodluck Jonathan before I had heard of Friday Lyngdoh the new co-chief minister of Meghalaya. I seek to differentiate these names from the Hartal Halappas and the Mukhyamantri Chandrus. You see, Friday and Goodluck are actually their names.

Now not only are there reports that there are multiple chief ministers of the land of the clouds but there also seems to be no consensus on the number of chief ministers with Times of India saying that there are two and Indian Express saying there are four. The Hindu says it is four and I shall believe the "four" version for now. Now apart from the four chief ministers there are also two deputy chief ministers. Hon'ble Union Minister of State for Water Resources and the lovely Union Minister of State, Ministry of Rural Development must be reconsidering their choice of entering national politics though both of them seem to be doing well for themselves even there.

The satirist in me says that this is a good step for development in the North East. It is job creation at the highest level.

Thankfully they have clarified that executive power will remain with one person. This means that the A163 and 164 of the constitution will not be molested for now.

P.S. It has made the headlines this time. But it has been an old practice to accommodate political leaders and supporters as heads of cooperatives, authorities, public corporations and quangos and give them rank of cabinet minister. A friend tells me that a certain lawyer representing Sri BSY in a sensitive case has been given status of cabinet minister for protocol purposes.

What does it cost?

This isn't really a post as much as it is a sad joke that should have been a tweet. But since I'm putting it up here, I'll resolve to make it a trailer for the next post which will be bigger and better.

My target today is again from the front page of the Times of India. The article claims that Rs 42 Lakhs are wasted every time the legislature doesn't function. The article feels sad about this. I would say that it's good. 42 Lakhs is very economical. Just think about the money that would have been wasted if they actually functioned.

Long convoluted joke

So our hero, the defender of civil liberties and anti war crusader decides to have a road show where he will be shown to demolish, at least symbolically, all divisive structures.

He first goes to Panmunjom, a village divided by a brick and mortar compound in the Korean DMZ.(I'll hit anyone who asks me North Korean or South Korean) A huge crowd of fans from all over the world has gathered to watch him in action with his sledge hammer. He takes one mighty swing and knocks 15 grams of debris on to the ground. International media lauds him but notes that he didn't do anything to acknowledge his fans and went about the task nonchalantly which isn't quite his style.

He then goes to the border at Gaza strip where the Israelis have constructed a separator to keep out Palestinians. He doesn't turn to smile at the hearty cheers of "Allah-ho-Akbar" from the local Fatah party workers and mechanically swings his hammer.

Next stop - Berlin. Now there isn't any wall anymore obviously but this is all symbolic so it doesn't matter. So he goes to a small erection that has come up specially for this event. No glance towards audience, his face emotionless he gives it a whack with his hammer. People are beginning to worry if he's getting carried away with the show.

He goes then to Western Sahara's compound of shame, dividing Moroccan controlled areas and Polisario controlled areas. His faithful audience has followed him to the desert. He looks at his fans, says "check this out" and breaks the fourth wall.

Intellectual honesty among frogs

I'm sorry, I've started my projects early and this happened. I'm sure the hudgi frogs will be attracted to this guys footnotes.


No, I know it's a bad one.

Southpaw friendly doors

First of all Happy Ugadi to one and all and wish you a prosperous new year. The above photo is a random Google image of a disabled friendly sidewalk and I probably am violating a million copyrights by putting it up. If there was one thing that I really appreciated in the city of angels (Los Angeles, I was there last week. Awesome fun, a little disappointment, Great learning experience. I shall also claim that as the excuse for not posting for well over two weeks) it was the sidewalks. In a city full of big cars zooming around the care with which the city treats the pedestrians is amazing. Make no mistake it is a terrible inconvenience to not have a vehicle of some sort. However, should you choose to walk, you will notice that the footpaths everywhere are absolutely flat and smooth and where they meet the zebra crossings or street corners, they are gently sloped so as to let wheelchairs or baby strollers get around without any hassle. Though of course this also meant that there were a lot of people on roller skates and skateboards taking advantage of this, it definitely is a necessary improvement that the powers who maintain our cities need to keep in mind.

All the other people who abroad for a short while keep whining about things here and how they compare unfavorably with their equivalents in whatever developed country they went to. However even with relation to the one aspect I respected most about LA, I cannot but mark my hostel higher. My hostel isn't disabled friendly at all (not just the infrastructure, the insensitive denizens of this place laugh shamelessly and heartily when I crack inappropriate jokes about differently abled people). Why I rate it higher though is better explained with a photo of the door in one of the bathrooms.


This door, ladies and gentlemen is a left handed friendly. Normally all doors have the latch to the right and you open it by pulling the latch to the left. Never noticed, you're probably right handed then. Ask your southpaw friends and they will tell you of the trials and tribulations of their everyday activities (not necessary, they're used to it mostly) Though there are a lot of businesses that make a killing selling things customized for lefties (here, here and here for example) almost all public places are designed for right handed people. The builders of my hostel were careful not to disregard the needs of 8-15 % of the population (Statistics from wiki).

One small problem though. What is good for the left handers is a pain for the more prevalent right handers. Especially in the rainy season when the door jams and we people grunt and sweat quite a bit trying to latch door and then settle for the fragile privacy offered by a bucket which keeps the door shut (almost) by the weight of the water it is filled with. Apart from one incident in my first year, I don't recollect anyone walking in on someone who had taken the refuge of such an arrangement.

Engrish

My first submission to Engrish Funny while not as good as the ultimate strong engrish they have on display still evokes a chuckle from some.
Fancy Booties it says. I like fancy booties.

The Bailout Game

Eco games are not new to this blog and I have already confessed to being addicted. Here goes another one of those.

The Bailout Game

Will put up walkthrough tomorrow. No this is not like the other promises I make on this blog only to never fulfill them later. I'm quite close to cracking it and am giving it up now only due to parental pressure.

Interesting and Hilarious

And I haven't been getting greenspan's help either. Though I don't know if it helps any.

OMG :)

Found in the Hindu

"Rookie all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja said he is excited at the prospect of sharing the dressing room with senior players"

Chee... Thoo... against Indian culture. If these guys were in Mangalore they would've been beaten up...