– It was bliss while it lasted!

Last updated on: November 18, 2005 at 1:29 am By Desh Kapoor

Here is a small para I once wrote (kinda liked it) to explain the "plight" and trouble with a communist society! It could have been ANYONE with an ideology! Read on and let me know what you think? He was sad 5 years ago. Today he is dead. He was introduced to an intoxicant in his darkest hour. Soon the intoxicant was the only recourse in all hours of the day. It brought bliss in sadness.. and the bliss extended. The heart was corroding; the tongue slipping; and the voice breaking. But it was blissful. The pain of pain was miffed. He did not feel it. He was not supposed to. Today the final hour came. His body could not take it any longer. It had decayed. But he did not know. He was too blissful. He is gone now. But it was good .. bliss .. while it lasted. Ask his friends. They carry the bottle of bliss on from him. The coroner is anxious. Read more

A Family's Dilemma

Last updated on: November 18, 2005 at 12:34 am By Desh Kapoor

While visiting his niece, an elderly man had what was apparently a stroke. The woman drove wildly to get him to the emergency room. After what seemed like a very long wait, the E.R. doctor appeared, wearing his scrubs and a long face. Sadly, he said, "I'm afraid that your uncle's brain is dead, but his heart is still beating." "Oh, dear," cried the woman, her hands clasped against her cheeks with shock. "We've never had a Republican in the family before!" Read more

– Google Sitemaps: Great stats for your sites

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 10:29 pm By Desh Kapoor

Here is an entry from Sitepoint.. on Google Sitemaps.. I have it installed on my site here.. and the stats I get are damn good.. actually it wasnt really working at its best until today.. but now it is! So anyone who wants to learn how to run the google sitemaps on drupal sites.. drop me a line and I will take you through it... Google is now offering a new glimpse at exactly how their spider views your Website. Try this: Read more

– The Argumentative Indian

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 6:10 pm By Desh Kapoor

This is a review by Shashi Tharoor (ex-UN Official) of "THE ARGUMENTATIVE INDIAN: Writings on Indian History, Culture and Identity" by Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen.. He does a good job of bringing out the main points of this interesting book... Sen's argument for his idea of India is constructed not just in opposition to Western stereotyping but also to the homegrown Hindutva ("Hindu-ness") movement, which in recent years has sought power on a platform asserting that India is a Hindu nation that ought to be a Hindu state, while defining Hinduism in crudely sectarian terms, both as a religion and as a badge of cultural and political identity. In several of the essays in this collection, Sen demolishes each of these "narrow and bellicose" premises of Hindutva, along with Western religious reductionism. Sen reminds us that even the sacred epic the Ramayana , much beloved of today's Hindu revivalists, features the skeptic Javali, who advises the god-king Ram that "there is no after-world, nor any religious practice for attaining that. . . . [Religious] injunctions . . . have been laid down in the [scriptures] by clever people, just to rule over [other] people." India's skeptical tradition is as old as the Rigveda , composed around 1500 B.C., when most Europeans were clad in animal skins. "Who really knows?" it asks about creation. "Who will here proclaim it? Whence was it produced?. . . perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not -- the one who looks down on it, in the highest heaven, only he knows -- or perhaps he does not know." Read more

– Talking about God

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 5:58 pm By Desh Kapoor

This is a rather interesting piece from Mark Goldblatt on concept of God, Origin, Universe, and Logic.. good read. What does it mean to say “God is just Read more

– Indian President chats away to kids!

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 5:50 pm By Desh Kapoor

This is indeed a novel idea... of chat with the Indian Prez.. and the kids in India! When President A P J Abdul Kalam consented to appear on the Rediff Chat on November 14, 2005 -- which also flagged off rediff.com’s 10th anniversary celebrations -- he was only taking forward what he had initiated when he moved into Rashtrapati Bhavan in July 2002: Meeting young Indians from all walks of life, and exchanging ideas with them. rediff thus was the perfect vehicle: given its phenomenal reach especially among Young India, the President cut across geographical barriers. The Internet as a medium reflected his passion for science and technology. Read more

– Live News from Doordarshan India in Hindi!

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 2:41 pm By Desh Kapoor

This morning I hit upon this way to get the live streaming news from Doordarshan India to my blog LIVE! Go to the LIVE DDINDIA NEWS link on the menu above for viewing the news. Please do let me know what you think and if you have some links for streaming Video or Audio News - please do let me know.. I will put it up! Read more

– Where is he?

Last updated on: November 17, 2005 at 12:06 am By Desh Kapoor

– Meditate on This: Buddhist Tradition Thickens Parts of the Brain

Last updated on: November 16, 2005 at 11:59 pm By Desh Kapoor

More evidence on the benefits of meditation! Meditation alters brain patterns in ways that are likely permanent, scientists have known. But a new study shows key parts of the brain actually get thicker through the practice. Brain imaging of regular working folks who meditate regularly revealed increased thickness in cortical regions related to sensory, auditory and visual perception, as well as internal perception -- the automatic monitoring of heart rate or breathing, for example. The study also indicates that regular meditation may slow age-related thinning of the frontal cortex. Read more

– Shoring Up Pensions

Last updated on: November 16, 2005 at 11:56 pm By Desh Kapoor

Pension shortfall is a BIG issue in the US.. with the impending Baby Boomer returements looming on the horizon.. and companies like Delphi and GM getting the heat (Delphi went bankrupt on that issue) - taking longer to fix this problem will be catastrophic on the US economy! Hoping to reverse the deterioration of pension plans covering 44 million Americans, the Senate voted Wednesday to force companies to make up underfunding estimated at $450 billion and live up to promises made to employees. The action came a day after the federal agency that insures such plans reported massive liabilities and predicted a troubled future. Read more