The Chocolate Challenge

So, I was challenged by someone...she will remain nameless, so let's call her uhdaM. There is a famous "e-mail forward" that goes around, propounding the mathematical "prowess" of Chocolate. The challenge was to figure out why it works.

Below is the actual forward. I'm challenging you to figure out how/why it works. I will post the answer in the comments section in a day or two (or after I realize noone reads this blog...whichever comes first). :)

Step 1. Choose a number from 1-10, how often you would like to eat chocolate in a week.
Step 2. Multiply the number by 2 (just to be bold).
Step 3. Add 5.
Step 4. Multiply it by 50 -I'll wait while you search for a calculator.
Step 5. If you have already had your birthday this year, add 1756. If not, than add 1755 instead.
Step 6. Now subtract the 4-digit year you were born.
Step 7. You should have a 3-digit number.

The 1st number (the "leftist" one) should be the original number you pick in Step 1 (how often you would like to eat chocolate).

The next two numbers are....Your Age!

*the forward than pretends that this is the only year that it works (well I guess in a way that's true), so we should all spread it around. I would also like to add, that it is the forward that adds the "calculator" statement in Step 4. I found that rude!).

SO, I will pose the same question to you, that I was asked by uhdaM...how and why does it work?! :)

Regretting Shadows

The moonlight
shimmers off the rain drops
onto the hard pavement.

The sound of matted feet
colliding against padded street
fills the air over and over again.

A soft sigh floats away
from quivering lips
it swims through the air
searching for a place
not known.

Slowly the head drops down
as it is want to do
as if staring at ones' feet
will give clarity to where
one is going.

The rain is not all that is dropping
as saline thoughts of sailing
run through his mind
and moments in Maine mainly
overshadow the shadows across
his landscape.

I want to scream out: don't fear
I want to reach out, and bring him near
I want to talk about all that we find dear

In the end, sometimes we need to stare
at our feet, amongst the shadows
to finally realize:
shadows can't exist without
a source.

You can either look down and
live in the realm of shadows
or
reach out and end the source
or
turn around,
and in facing the light
leave it all behind you.

Rooting for the Twins!

So, the American League playoffs situation is looking very interesting. With the weekend collapse (Boston Massacre II as some are calling it) of the Red Sox, it looks like the hated Yankees will take the American League East. The Detroit Tigers are firmly atop of the American League Central, and have the best record in the League. The West is looking less certain, but what seems to be certain is that the winner of that division will have the worst record of the three division winners.

Assuming those things do not change, the Detroit Tigers will face the American League West champs; currently the Oakland A's, and the Yankees would have to face the Wild Card team (unless it is somehow the Boston Red Sox, in which case the Tigers will face the Red Sox, and the Yankees will face the Oakland A's).

With all these things in mind, I am rooting for the Minnesota Twins. I am rooting for them with these basic reasons in mind:

1. The Minnesota Twins come from a "small-market", the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan region. This is the epitome of "small-market", which means that it is a small city with not a lot of money. There have been some successful "small-market" teams the last few years, but all-in-all, the 1990s changed the face of the game, and squeezed out many of the smaller markets like Pittsburgh, Kansas City and certainly Minneapolis-St. Paul. The Twins are a great example of a franchise, that though it has a payroll of less than 1/3rd of the Yankees, they have been run well, and competitive the last few years. Still, they haven't made a major playoff push (getting there, but getting eliminated the first round a couple of times), and I'd love to see this year be their year (so long as they lose to the New York Mets in the World Series that is!!!).

2. As a Mets fan, for that matter, as a normal, understanding, logical human being, I am a Yankees-hater. It is engrained in our psyche to detest the largesse and general "malaise of riches" the Yankees represent. The New York Mets represent the "common man" of New York, while the New York Yankees represent the "elitist, and rich man" of New York. The Yanks may play in the Bronx, but it is really Manhattan vs. Long Island in many ways. So with that in mind...

3. The Yankees have a very left-handed lineup. The only two right-handed starters in the lineup are Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. So, in theory, the Yankees should be vulnerable to left-handed pitching. Especially VERY GOOD left-handed pitching.

4. The Minnesota Twins have the best pitcher in Baseball in Johan Santana. If you want to argue he's not the best, you can NOT argue that he is not the best left-handed pitcher in Baseball. The Twins also have rookie phenom Francisco Liriano. Liriano is nasty, and also a lefty.

5. The first round is only a best of 5 game series, instead of the longer best of 7 game series' in the LCS and World Series. THUS...

If the Twins make the playoffs as a Wild Card team, they will face the Yankees in a best of 5 game series! They have the two nastiest lefties in Baseball and will send them out to start at least 4 games in a 5 game series!! The Yankees are vulnerable to lefties, and the Twins are the one team that have the "firepower" to absolutely handcuff and humilate the Yankees!!!

I would love to see the small-market Twins march out Santana and Liriano for 4 starts in a 5 game series, and take down the "mighty" Yankees lineup. Like David vs. Goliath, except the stones are Baseballs, and the sling-shots are the amazing left arms of Baseballs two best left-handed pitchers. ;)

I'm rooting for the Minnesota Twins. If you are a logical, caring, compassionate, romantic human being, you will be rooting for the Minnesota Twins too! :)

"The Post 9/11 Blues" by MC Riz

So, there is a new "Desi Beats" song out there that is getting big. It is called "The Post 9/11 Blues". The rapper is a wannabe-Eminem, and the beat is, to put it nicely, cheezy, but the lyrics are brilliant. Click on the white bar (sorry, I can't get the picture to come up) and check it out! :)

The Korea-India connection

It has long been noted that India and Korea have a rich historical relationship. The connections are countless, be they the direct and/or indirect variety. The indirect connections of course being Martial Arts, and Buddhism, both reached the Korean peninsula via China from India (it should be added that both were also directly given to Koreans via Korean pilgrimages to Buddhist sites. The famous "Record of a Journey to the Five Indian Kingdoms" is a great example of this). Moreover, India and Korea both share the same Independence Day: August 15th.

Then there is, what was until recently thought to be a bit more "mythical", connection. If one goes to Seoul, the capital of South Korea, one will realize that there is a famous statue of two fish kissing. The old statue is a tribute to an ancient Korean legend. The legend of Queen Huh.

It is said that in the 1st century AD, a young princess from the holy Indian town of Ayodhya traveled to Korea and married the prince. It is this union that the statue is supposed to commemorate. Why fishes? Well, the symbol of ancient Ayodhya's kindom was two kissing fish.

The union between the Indian princess and the Korean prince is considered very important to Koreans, first as a historical importance, and second, because many of the most important families of Korea are descendents from Queen Huh. There is a surprisingly large percentage of Koreans who supposedly are of this lineage. This includes a recent President and Prime Minister of South Korea. In 2000, Korea decided to make Ayodhya a "sister city" to Kimhae, Korea.

That being said, I find a couple of things quite ironic. First and foremost, that the two most recent American immigrants have been Indians and Koreans. They are forever connected by the insanely-great movie "Harold and Kumar...", as well as many other factors including economics (both are fairly affluent, which is counter to the usual "historical trend-line" of immigrants in America).

But what I find the most ironic is that both Korea and India share their Independence Day today, August 15th. Both people are fractured, in that there is a North and South Korea, just like there is an India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The difference of course is that Koreans want their nation to be unified someday, and I believe it will be. Whereas, multi-cultured, multi-sub-ethnic, noisy, argumentative Indians seem hell-bent to forever be a fractured family. The fact that Pakistan would not share August 15th with India (and with Koreans for that matter) is one of the most telling examples of what I mean.

On this Independence Day, I would beg my Indian brothers, whereever they are, and whatever "nationality" they claim to be, PLEASE understand that it is our differences that make us great, and that if we were to unify, we would be 1.5 BILLION PEOPLE STRONG. United, the rest of the World would no longer be able to keep us subjugated, and History would have to remind itself, that just like in ancient times, the greatest nation on earth was Maha-Bharat.

And if that day ever comes again, let us not forget our great Korean friends, who have shown that they too long for a time when it was Peace, and Love that united, instead of divided.

Tara's Raga

The red lava slowly spills down the slippery slope
it begins to charge,
fueled by the constant crackling whip of gravity.
Look how still the lotus blossom sits
her soft-petal limbs are silent in their place.

The on-coming red army continues its frantic pace
ever-widening its gruesome grin
watching as its prey continues to ignore
the spectacle that draws near it from above.

A loud bellow emerges from behind
coaxing the army to move faster
like the hard drums of a Roman legion

She will not move,
nor will she break from her tranquil state.

The rocks themselves line up for her,
they protect her as a last garrison would
protect their queen.
The sweat running from their brows as
the Red Army crashes against them.
Every last man ready to accept a brief
moment of agony.
Better to burn in the name of love, than
to burn eternally in the pits of Hell.

For that is the decision we make every day,
sometimes for better, and sometimes for worse.
What defines a person
is not those moments of tranquility
but in the reaction to those moments
of grief, of turmoil, of righteous indignation.
In those moments when silence is apt,
and a little patience will give you the strength
to overcome the red menace we all face.

Prediction or mere coincidence?

So a few months ago I made a prognostication to my friend Mike. I had predicted that 7/08/06 and 8/07/06 would be days there would be terrorist strikes. My logic was quite simple: 786 is the Holy number of Islam (more specifically, 786 is often used as a representation of the first lines of the Koran, and therefore has gained "holy" value). July 8th, and August 7th of this year both can be written as 786 depending on if you are in America or elsewhere.

I than started to seriously look into my prediction, as if there was real value to it. I than realized that every attack that had occurred (at the time this meant 9/11, 12/13, 3/11, 7/7) happened either on a Tuesday or a Thursday. I must add that the two Bali attacks both happened on a Saturday instead.

The attacks in America and India were on a Tuesday, while the European attacks were Thursdays. Coincidences perhaps.

July 7th, 2006 was a Friday, so I actually rescinded my expectation, since I did not expect it to happen on the Muslim world's sabbath.

So there was an attack 3 days after 7/08/06 on July 11th. This coincides with the running theme of 9/11 and 3/11. It also was a Tuesday! As I mentioned earlier, it appeared to me the attacks in India would line up as Tuesdays.

So than I started focusing on 8/07/06 (which would be written 7/08/06 everywhere else). It was a Monday, so I either expected an attack in the US or India on 8/08/06, or in Europe on 8/10/06 (or on 8/12/06 one in Bali). Lo and behold, we have reports out of London of a massive terrorist plan today....on 8/10/06 a Thursday.

Perhaps these are just coincidences, truth is I myself have trouble believing that I have "caught onto some master mathematical design". Still, if I am correct, than the pattern should continue. Next time there is an attack in Europe, let us see if it happens on a Thursday. If it happens in the US or India, let's see if its on a Tuesday. If it happens in East Asia, let's see if it's on a Saturday.

Maybe there is nothing to it...but it's food for thought. :p

Ms. Smarty Pants

There is a girl I know
she lives off different shores
where the beaches have disappeared
but the salty water is evident
in everything she says or hears.

When I try to help her cook by offering her a knife,
it turns into a 9-1-1 call for help.
Clearly I was trying to take her life.
If I offer her water, she begins to whine
how devilish of me to try to be so kind.

I do not know why she is so wounded
or why she wounds me so.
Sometimes people are just too senstive
for their own good.
Sometimes people just need to be angry at another.
A sort of trial-by-fire,
courtesy of someone else's ire.

They say there is a cause and effect to everything, Karma.
They say the smallest things can trigger worldwide calamities.
Well, all my life I have avoided stepping on ants
but now I'm ready to rip off the wings of a butterfly
and see what transpires.

There is only so much a person can take.
Only so much animosity, hostility, double-talk and innuendos
before patience gets drilled over
like an unfit bouncer to a 'Stones concert.

So now here I sit, bereft of knowing why
but ready to deal with the ants
that have infiltrated the mind
of Ms. Smarty Pants.

The Lost Tribes of India

A couple of years ago I had decided it was time I made my first exposition into the world of "socio-cultural influence". I met a few people, including a guy who owned a website, and we all decided to use his site to create a whole new site. The site would tailor to Indians, specifically with regards to Indian cultural things.

We had so many good ideas, and it went well in the beginning. We hired a production company to create animated short cartoons based on Ancient Indian stories (Panchatantra for example). We started to interview some famous dignitaries (including the much hated Dr. Wendy Doniger).

It was a valuable experience, as I created the marketing plan of the company, created the financial plan, as well as the budget of the company. It was also valuable because I was allowed to publish an article on a subject I hold dear: The Gypsies. They are a persecuted lot, and I wrote a paper on them in 10th grade. I took this paper, cleaned up a bit, added some stuff and got the subsequent article published.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out, as the group became too "political" and I abhor positions that are too "political" (by which I mean, if they are too "rightist" or too "leftist")

Anyways, here is the link of the article that I was able to get published:

The Lost Tribes of India

Star-gazing with friends

So I had a truly great time this weekend, spending time with friends who I've all known for varying degrees of time, and from different locations. Saying it was a great time would be an understatement, so perhaps it's best to leave that aside.

What I'd like to highlight though is the Friday night we spent staring up at the sky. Living in the cement-laden streets of the suburbs we often forget how gorgeous the world really is. Sharing the experience of seeing the expansive sky was truly awe-inspiring. I mean, watching the sky without being hindered by street lights, cars, phone lines, etc. alone is amazing, but what inspires awe in me is that 10 people could sit there, and enjoy such a tranquil moment.

In the end, no matter how hard we question what this life is about, is it more important to enjoy seeing "the answers" alone, or to be able to share in the glimpse together?

Essentially my point is, I'm glad I was able to see the gorgeous stars, but I'm even more glad that I was able to share such an experience with those I have chosen to care about. :)