Amtrak baby!

I took the Amtrak for the first time today. Honestly, I was dreading it after my one and only Greyhound experience in 2006. I swore to myself that I will catch a flight the next time I need to get anywhere and Southwest Airlines have been quite helpful to that extent. I must say, a ticket that costs over $450 on other "reputed" airlines costs $120 on Southwest. Who wouldn't want to fly, given that the Greyhound costs just as much anyway?

But back on Amtrak, waiting to pull into my destination (ETA 20 minutes), I decided I wanted to blog about it. So I pull out my trusty computer and here I am, typing away. This ride has been such a pleasant experience that I am now an Amtrak fan (that is, when southwest doesn't fly there). Talking about cheap tickets, I am amazed that Southwest tickets are so cheap compared to other airlines, given gas prices.

Talking about gas prices, I found it so hilarious that the senate, once again called oil executives to answer for the high oil prices. The government actually taxes 20% off expenditure at the gas pump whereas the oil companies get only 6%. However, given the ignorance about these things, the powers that be are doing this little dance around the issue.

And talking about elections, (not really, but I had no real sedge way into the election topic), the Democratic nominee has finally been decided. Poopah for Clinton. People across the world are so excited about Obama. I think Bill O Reilly has it right when he says that everyone is so sick of Bush, they are looking for something as far away from him as possible and that far away thing happens to be Obama.

For me, this has been a very interesting election cycle. An international student studying Political Science, its turning out to be a right royal party - and we just started...

Leave a message...

I rarely came across answering machines or recordings back home. The only time that I can recall getting a recording was when I called specific businesses. Since I have been in the US however, it seems like all I do on the phone is talk to answering machines.

Initially I used to get frustrated every time I heard a recording or got an answering machine. I dread having to make a call to my bank because I know that I will have to listen to a lengthy recording about various offers before I can get any work done. I have come to accept though that it is a business and therefore a requirement.

Personal recordings on answering machines and on cell phones in my opinion are a different story. It frustrates me to no end when I have to listen to a lengthy recording. So often I have found that the recording I have to suffer through takes more time than the message I leave for the person. I have had the misfortune of needing to call people who go to the extent of telling me where they might be and why they may not be answering the phone and speculating as to when they might be able to return my call. Please, I just want to leave a message and get on with my day!

The worst I have encountered so far are the multilingual messages - ones that seem to go on till the end of time and then repeat in two other languages! Seriously, anyone anywhere knows that a beep means leave a message! Its like the universal language of numbers - everyone gets it!

I love WiFi

This week began my official summer vacation. I decided this year that I wanted to be on my own and went about planning accordingly. My careful planning went awry however, as plans often do and with three days left for me to move off campus, I still didn't have a place to stay. Out of desperation, I turned to Craigslist - reasoning that if people can get murdered due to the site, I was bound to find a place to stay. I was right and, finding a room for a decent rate, I moved in. Seeing as how things ultimately panned out, I didn't expect much from the place and was ready to rough it out. It turns out though that I am comfortable here and the issues aren't something I cannot live with.

One thing not included in this awesome summer package - a connection to the World Wide Web. Asking an international student to stay away from the web however is asking for way too much and access to the web was something I was not willing to do without. So I asked one of the tenants what the others do and he told me that the others use the neighbor's wireless. So here I am, trying to find a place in the living room with a signal strong enough. Finding it brought an overpowering urge to blog about something. It turns out that my quest for "borrowing" the neighbors WiFi connection is something, hence this post.

The point - a prayer for the continued availability of the neighbors WiFi as that is what currently sustains my sanity.

1225 = 4400,000,000,000

Forbes says that for the first time ever, the number of billionaires in the world has gone into four figures - 1225 to be exact. These 1225 people are considered to be worth $ 4.4 trillion. To those of you who like me, have difficulty with numbers, one trillion has twelve zeros after the one. The entire list can be found here and the article on it here.

Out of all the interesting things coming out of this list, what has my attention is the fact that only two years ago, half of the top twenty were from the US and this year it is down to four. Even more interesting is the fact that four out of the top ten are from India. There are a total of 19 Indians and 28 Chinese who made the list. Some of this may be a result of the weak dollar, but still, significant nonetheless.

Can this list be considered a reflection of shifting economic clout in the world? If it can, then simply put, it reflects the decline in American economic power and the dramatic rise of India and China. Maybe it is time to accept that these two are nations to reckon with and especially in the case of China, accept that it is time to give her a proper place on the world stage.

All this concern about military expenditure and such seems to me to be a waste, given the Chinese claim that they have no malicious intent. I know communists can never be trusted, but they have not acted in any way contrary to their claim. On the other hand, American rise to power has always been through violent means cloaked in a "noble cause" and "fight against evil" - a trend still seen today in the struggle to hold on to that power.

Compare this to China, who has never acted in aggression and has so far not interfered in the internal workings of other countries, despite pressure to do so. I am forced to think that China as the next superpower might not be such a bad thing (as claimed by some). Maybe it is time for another country to set the bar on the world stage - one that understands when it is not welcome and knows when to stay out.

A survivor

I have always admired Tony Blair. I think he is one of the most astute politicians ever. I admire him the most though for his survival skills. His role in the Iraq War and support for Bush's foreign policy came at great cost to his popularity. The more the war dragged on and the more revelations about his role in it came out, the more people started questioning his credibility. The result was a lot of people, including some in his own party openly turning against him. There were constant calls for his resignation as Prime Minister. However he deftly survived the onslaught and despite all the pressure, left politics on his own terms. This ability to keep ones head above the water is a quality that I very much admire.

In the last week I have come to realize that there is another politician who should get as much (if not more) admiration in my book. I am referring to Fidel Castro. He has survived much more than the onslaught of the British public and media. He survived the American propaganda against him, American attempts at inciting the Cuban population against him, an offense by the American military and a good number of covert assassination attempts by the CIA. Heck, he even survived Bush's obsession for the spread of "freedom". He finally retired on his terms after over 50 years in power. He is definitely a survivor in my book.

The "Rot at the Top"

One of the four characteristics of Americans that we have studied is the idea of "the rot at the top". This is a belief that Americans share - the idea that if there is something wrong with an organization or institution, removing the person at the top, ie the leader will solve it. This idea is attributed to the uniqueness of the American experience and plays a huge role in how Americans look at the world - often reflected in foreign policy. The most recent example is Iraq, where there was, and still is a widespread belief that taking out Saddam will solve everything. This is one of the reasons why there was so much focus on the execution of the war and taking Saddam out with minimum casualties. This belief also seems to me to be one of the reasons why Americans are unable to indulge in "nation building".

However, reading articles about how people outside the US are looking at the American presidential election process, I question whether this idea is truly American anymore. The impression I get is that people the world over want change and they think that the exit of Bush means that all the problems they perceive to be a result of his presidency will disappear. Isn't this in some way espousing the idea of "the rot at the top"? Is it just a desperation for change or has the strength of American influence on the process of globalization actually spread more than just "American values"?

Either way, change is always incremental and whoever the next president is and whatever his/her campaign promise, nothing significant is going to change fast. Besides, the bureaucracy is so vast and the special interests are so powerful that it might take months for any satisfactory change, if any.

Personally, I hope this idea that getting rid of Bush will solve everything is just a desperation for change rather than adoption of the idea of "the rot at the top" because it is not true in most cases and is a dangerous ideal to have. If anything, Iraq has proven that.

Altered tastes?

I was listening to some music today and it got me thinking about my current taste in music. The genre I have been listening to is quite different to what I used to listen to back home. This got me thinking about whether my tastes in music have changed with my experiences in America, or whether I would have always liked this genre if I had given it a try before I got here. After all, the music I am currently listening to is not something I actively sought out, I heard it at parties and stuff and found that I like it. Its not like I don't like the music I used to listen to anymore, its just that I like the new stuff better.

This has got me wondering on whether the type of music a person listens to is a reflection of who the person is, as in something innate (born with a predisposition to one genre) - or is it a reflection of a person's experiences? Will I still like Oasis and Coldplay twenty years from now or would fresher experiences have altered my taste?

The best, the worst, the most memorable...

Its the time of the year again, the time when the list of the best and the worst and the most memorable and what not is released.

On list in particular caught my attention today and that is "The Top Ten Memorable Quotes of 2007", compiled by the editor of the Yale Book of Quotations. No. 1 just cracks me up (though there was nothing funny about the situation):

1. "Don't taser me, bro." - Andrew Meyer, a senior at the University of Florida, while being hauled away by campus police during a speech by Sen. John Kerry.
2. "I personally believe that U.S. Americans are unable to do so because some people out there in our nation don't have maps and I believe that our education like such as in South Africa and Iraq and everywhere like such as and I believe that they should our education over here in the U.S. should help the U.S. or should help South Africa and should help Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future for us." - Lauren Upton, South Carolina contestant in the Miss Teen USA contest, when asked why one-fifth of Americans cannot find the U.S on a map.
   
   The video is on youtube. Click here to watch.
3. "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country." - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, speaking at Columbia University in New York.
4. "That's some nappy-headed hos there." - radio personality Don Imus, referring to the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
5. "I don't recall." - former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' repeated response to congressional questions about the firing of U.S. attorneys.
6. "There's only three things he (Rudolph Giuliani) mentions in a sentence: a noun and a verb and 9/11." - Sen. Joseph Biden, speaking during a debate for Democratic presidential candidates.
7. "I'm not going to get into a name-calling match with somebody who has a 9 percent approval rating." - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, referring to Vice President Dick Cheney.
8. "(I have) a wide stance when going to the bathroom." - Sen. Larry Craig, explaining why his foot touched the foot of an undercover police officer in an airport men's room.
9. "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." - Sen. Joseph Biden referring to rival Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama.
10. "I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history." - Former President Jimmy Carter, referring to the Bush administration.

I noticed that there were no Bushisms on this list and I thought "I'm the decider, and I decide what is best; and what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain as the secretary of defense" should be on the list, but it turns out, this was said in 2006. I guess I can relegate it to the best quotes of the decade, for the sheer irony if nothing else, given that Rumsfeld was gone a couple months later. I guess he decided it was time for Rumsfeld to go.

While on Bushisms, my favorite so far is "I heard somebody say, "now, where is Mandela?" Well, Mandela is dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas".

What would we do without Bushisms? This is a talent....

Totally globalizational!

I had my Black Friday experience this year! After hearing about the super deals last year, I decided that I will try to go out this year, to check it out, if nothing else. It turned out though that I needed a laptop, and learning about the deals that Best Buy had, I was ready to face the elements.

When I told my friends about it, they refused to come along to give me company and told me that I was crazy. I however was determined to have this totally American experience. I was told that getting there at 10.30 pm for a store that opened at 5.00 am was a crazy idea, but when I got there, there were easily over a hundred people ahead of me. There were entire families with tents pitched outside the store! Of course, there was plenty to keep me entertained. Two fights that cracked me up and various other conversation kept me entertained most of the time. After a 7 hour wait, I did get what I had gone there for, so it was totally worth it.

When I got back, I had trouble setting up my system and so I called customer support. To no surprise, an Indian answered and identified himself as Jack. I told him I was Sri Lankan and asked him what his real name was. From that point, we discussed everything from the recent bomb blasts in India to "Jack's" plans for the future.

He was completely informed about Black Friday and knew about the deals that were offered and then he asked me about my plans for Cyber Monday. I had no idea what that was and he explained it to me. When I talked to my American friends about it though, no one knew what Cyber Monday was!

Globalization in simple terms, is the world becoming one big village - to me, this incident defines globalization.

Its that time again!

Thanksgiving is here again! I have decided that it is my favorite American holiday. Campus is looking empty already and I love how quiet it is. The feast is tomorrow and I am ready! Haven't had the opportunity this year to sit around much and I cannot believe how fast the semester has gone by. So many of us already have vacation plans in place!